Unedited
….
The Peak
“Wait… so you are planning to hijack their tanker?” Zhou Jingren asked. “Why?”
“No reason.” She smiled. “That Leon… cannot be trusted. Everyone is expecting me not to play dirty. This is probably because they knew my grandmother is known for her clean reputation.” She sneered. “They are wrong.”
“You mean the Corneel?”
“Everyone.” She narrowed her eyes. “Leon — alright, not just him. His son and even that fiance are acting suspicious. They are acting warm, as if… you know I can always spot fake people. No matter how big their smile is, or how warm they sound, I can smell them from a mile away.”
Her words immediately made her husband chuckle. “What are you a bear?” He froze. He widened his eyes when he realized how silly he is to insinuate that she is a bear.
As expected, Lily’s face already darkened. “Are you calling me fat, Mr. Zhou?”
“Eh? No — No—” he held his hands in front of him. “Bears have the best— “
“You just called me a bear!”
“If you just let me— “
“Bears are fat!”
“No, they’re not. Hey — before you say anything, just let me— “
“You dare call me fat?” Lily narrowed her eyes at him. She stood and walked opposite him. “You really called me fat?”
“No. I didn’t call you fat. Bears have the best…”
“I am not listening!” she covered her ears. “Don’t you use whatever knowledge that you have to try to convince me that you didn’t call me fat.”
“I didn’t!”
“I can’t hear you!” Lily yelled. “You called me fat! Your child will hear about this bullying when he or she grows up! I will make sure to add and twist this story and make my child hate their father for calling their mother fat.”
“Hey! Hey! You are going overboard. Bears are— “
“I won’t listen to you! These reasons — ” Lily’s words were interrupted by a knock on Zhou Jingren’s door.
“Hey!” Qin Yuanfeng walked inside smiling at the two before he froze on his feet. Did he come at the wrong time?
“Yuanfeng! Good thing you are here!” Zhou Jingren instantly gestured for his brother-in-law to sit down. “Come… I need your help with something.”
“Oh. What is it?”
“Why are you here?” Lily chimed in.
“I was going to show you the— “
“Before anything else,” Zhou Jingren interrupted him. “Why don’t you tell Lily what terrestrial mammal has the best sense of smell in the world?”
“Bears.” Qin Yuanfeng answered before Lily could rebut. As expected, Lily’s ear turned scarlet. She pursed her lips, unamused by the fact that she could not act so childish in front of her brother and risk showing her true self in front of Yuanfeng. Lily cleared her throat, a smile bloomed on her face.
“I know that.” She said with a straight face. “I also happen to know that sharks have a good sense of smell.���
“Actually— “
“Yuanfeng… there is no, actually.” Lily interrupted him before he could correct her. These two… these two seem to think that they are so smart, ah. “Why don’t you tell us why you are here? You know… you are interrupting our foreplay, ah.”
“Huh?”
“She is joking.” Zhou Jingren chuckled as he shook his head inwardly.
“Oh! Then… please check your email. I sent you an encrypted one.”
“What did you send him?”
“It was a video of some pirates hijacking an oil tanker two months ago. I got it from the satellite. I figured Zhou Jingren could analyze it before I showed it to you. I am not sure if I got something so…”
“Really?” Lily lifted an eyebrow. “Isn’t that illegal?”
“Only if you get caught.” Qin Yuanfeng shrugged. “Anyway… this one…” he pointed at Zhou Jingren’s laptop screen. “I think… I think these people are experts. Look at how organized they are. As if… as if they are very familiar with the interior of the ship. Is that even possible?”
“Like expert pirates?” Lily asked, her eyes glued at the screen.
“These are not pirates.” Zhou Jingren said. “Are these the people that had been hijacking oil tankers?”
“Yes. I had three videos. All from the different timeline and this man… right here? The one wearing shades? He is in the video, so they must be in the same group. Here… let me show you the other videos.” Qin Yuanfeng used his phone to access his laptop and showed them the other two videos. “Here look, it’s the same man. Same built, the same tattoo on his right arm. Just a different hairstyle. Now… watch the last video.”
After confirming that it is indeed the same man, the trio watched all the videos again.
“I was wondering… if they are trained or something. I mean… There are three uncommon types of ships and yet, they are so organized. From the time of the attack to the camera’s blind spot. It is so organized and clean. Do you think I’m wrong?”
“I actually think you are right.” Lily nodded.
“Again, these are not pirates.” Zhou Jingren uttered, his face dark. “Is there a way to get a closeup on that tattoo?”
“Oh, right… let me grab my laptop real quick.” Qin Yuanfeng uttered before he ran out of the room.
“Is there something wrong?” Lily asked her husband. “If those are not pirates, then… who are they?”
“I know that tattoo… if I am wrong, they are an organization in South East Asia, terrorists.” Zhou Jingren uttered. “Let me see the close-up photo so I can confirm.”
“But terrorists hijacking oil tankers? I haven’t heard of that.” Lily tried to recall the news about these events. “Wait… pirates are also called maritime terrorists, no?”
“These are different.” Zhou Jingren said. “These terrorists are involved in bombing and a lot of killings in South East Asia.” His jaws thinned as he continued playing the video. “This could mean that there is a possibility these people are not Somali Pirates and are only using their name to commit atrocious crimes.”
“But… isn’t that too… organized? First, terrorists wouldn’t have the means to do a large scale assault like this. They would need resources and money, expertise, and a lot of practice to be able to pull this off.” She stared at him. “Unless… someone is supporting them behind the scenes.”
…
Previous chapters are already edited.
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