Volume 8 – Chapter 30: ‘ ‘Hunter’ And The Old Captain
“Who is there!?”
Suddenly, a loud shout disrupted the fight between the two. Qian Guoliang and the man with the mask wrestled to a stalemate at the moment. Both of them stared at each other in apprehension.
“Uncle, the way things are going is not good for either of us. Why don’t we calm down and talk this over?” The man in the mask suddenly said with bravado.
“Are you afraid?” Qian Guoliang sneered. “Unfortunately, I never talk to guys of unknown origin.”
The man with a mask smiled slightly, “Uncle, honest people don’t speak in riddles. Your skill definitely means you’re not an ordinary person… You probably came for something?”
“Then, who are you?” Qian Guoliang pushed the person to the railing as if he wanted to push the person down the railing, but the man in the mask held his foot against it.
The two were still deadlocked!
“Uncle, you don’t deny that you sneak into the engine room for some personal purpose?” The man with the mask smiled at this moment and said. “As for me… Of course, I am just a tourist with some sideline interest.”
Qian Guoliang sneered, “This sideline interest… I’m afraid you’re the gentleman on the beam [1].”
The man with the mask chuckled and said, “Uncle, you are a gentleman on the ground but without the freedom and leisure of us being on the beam.”
Qian Guoliang said indifferently, “To be a thief is good, to catch a thief is better.”
The thief with a mask narrowed his eyes and said, “This uncle, are you sure you can deal with me? What if I give a shout here, you will be in trouble too? Since everyone is here for money, why hurt each other before finding the object? If you want to fight, wait till we find the object, then we can have a good match?”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Do you think you have a choice?” The masked man smiled and said. “If we continue this way, neither of us can escape.”
…
When the crewman entered the engine room with a flashlight, he found nothing. The crewman shook his head suspiciously and went on to inspect other places.
After the crewman left, the two figures dropped effortlessly from the pipes above in the dark. The moment Qian Guoliang was on the ground, he immediately attacked the masked man.
“Uncle, trying this again?” The masked man seemed well prepared and easily blocked off Qian Guoliang’s attack.
Qian Guoliang withdrew from attacking and said indifferently, “Leave this place first, and then we’ll talk.”
…
Qian Guoliang leaned against the railing at the deck, lit a cigarette, and smoked. The masked man put his hands in his pocket, stood next to him, looked at the sea for a while, and then suddenly said, “Uncle, you came here for the treasure of Baiyu Cruise Ship.”
“What treasure?” said Qian Guoliang indifferently. “I don’t quite understand what you are saying.”
“Then, what are you sneakily looking for in the engine room?”
“I’m an engineer. I am just looking for reference and to find some inspiration in the engine room.”
The man in the mask said, “Engineer… being an engineer is good. It’s a highly paid profession. Then, you be your engineer. I’ll be my gentleman on the beam. We mind our own business. However, uncle, let me make it clear first. If I find the object, don’t come and pursue me… Anyway, like you said, you are just an engineer. Bye.”
The masked man turned away from Qian Guoliang.
Qian Guoliang dropped the cigarette butt on the deck and stamped it out. He then suddenly said, “Wait, come back.”
The masked man turned around, “Uncle, you know… Once you’ve moved on, don’t go back.”
Qian Guoliang said indifferently, “Cooperation is possible, but I must know what’s that you have on hand.”
“What about you?” the masked man asked rhetorically.
“Say together.” Qian Guoliang shook his head.
“I count one, two, three.” The masked man nodded.
When he counted to three, Qian Guoliang unbuttoned his clothes and took a half-sized, round, strange pendant from his neck…like a ring-shaped protractor.
The masked man pulled a piece of paper folded into a square from the belt. The masked man said, “This is the original design of Baiyu Cruise Ship which my grandfather left me.”
“This protractor. If I’m not wrong, it should be the only tool that can interpret this blueprint in your hand,” said Qian Guoliang indifferently.
The masked man was surprised and said, “It’s such a coincidence. This is truly a fated meeting … Can the legend of the Baiyu Cruise Ship really be true?”
“Huh, you are not even sure about the treasure and yet you dare to come here so casually?”
The masked man shrugged and said, “Anyway, my grandfather was still thinking about this thing before he died… I didn’t believe it, and the drawings were left as remnants. However, I heard that the ship was about to be retired. So, I thought about it and decided just to take a look. Anyway, if there are no treasures, at least I make some gains.”
“Are you talking about these?” Qian Guoliang calmly took out a watch and a few necklaces from his suit pocket.
The masked man unconsciously touched his bag. Then, he suddenly laughed, and he removed the mask on his face… The young man, about twenty-seven or eighty years old, introduced himself, “Uncle, let me introduce myself again, my name is Fei Ying.”
“Qian Guoliang.”
“Uncle.” Fei Ying walked back at this moment, wondering. “Why did you come to own this protractor?”
“I said that I am an engineer.” Qian Guoliang said indifferently. “I found this protractor in the shipyard where the Baiyu Cruise Ship was built some time ago, and there is also a message saying what was hidden in the Baiyu Cruise Ship. I checked all the previous reports of the Baiyu Cruise Ship, but did not find anything. Seeing that it will be retired, if it is completely demolished, I am afraid that whatever is hidden, will not be hidden anymore.”
Fei Ying glanced at Qian Guoliang and smiled indifferently, “Since this is such a coincidence, with you and I both have important things to search for independently, it seems that our cooperation is really… destined. Let’s find a place and unlock this thirty-year secret?”
“Alright then.” Qian Guoliang nodded, but returned the pendant to his clothes.
The two entered the cabin one after the other.
…
His gaze shifted from the deck below… This was Boss Luo with a maid from the same profession who were outside on a pretext to enjoy the sea breeze after dinner.
At this moment, Luo Qiu smiled and said, “This is really in response to what Li Zi said. A deception battle unfolded for the treasure hunters to meet at sea.”
“I wonder what this treasure is.” You Ye gradually smiled.
However, Boss Luo’s sight looked elsewhere instead… Before he saw Qian Guoliang and Fei Ying, he was looking somewhere here.
Lights, camcorders, microphones, several men and women, and the old captain whom Luo Qiu had met… and the man in his thirties who had an argument with the old captain.
He learned from the conversations of these people that it turned out that the man in his thirties was the son of the old captain. The people with the filming tools were from a certain program group of the invited TV station.
The purpose of their presence was to make a show about the last voyage of Baiyu Cruise Ship. In addition, this was also the last mission for the old captain.
The cruise ship that was about to retire, as well as the old captain who had served onboard the ship for thirty years was about to retire as well… Probably they wanted to make a touching episode.
The public audience always yearned for episodes that were enriched with sentiments.
However, the old captain did not seem to like the camera very much. Even when sitting in front of the camera, he was expressionless… or even with an expression of resistance.
The son of the old captain who sat next to him was also the deputy captain of Baiyu Cruise Ship, looked at the camera with a smile on his face, “I was adopted by my father from an early age… Father is a busy person. Almost all of his life was dedicated to this Baiyu Cruise Ship. So, I can say that I grew up on this Baiyu Cruise Ship…Baiyu Cruise Ship can be considered to be my home…”
At this moment, the old captain suddenly stood up and turned away without saying a word.
The filming crew looked at this scene with surprise. The leader quickly ordered the camcorder to be switched off immediately, walked to the deputy captain, frowned and said, “This…Deputy Captain Mu, this is the third time that the old captain behaved in such manner. Every time we were halfway, the old captain left. If we go on like this, our documentary will be difficult to shoot.”
“Director, it’s okay.” The man…Deputy Captain Mu quickly said, “My dad is old, and sometimes he gets a little emotional. Otherwise, let’s continue tomorrow. I will chat with him again tonight. As for all of you, I have arranged the best suite. Everyone take a good rest tonight.”
“Hopefully there will be a good outcome tomorrow.” The director nodded and then led the people to pack the tools and leave.
Deputy Captain Mu frowned. His face sank slightly, and he chased in the direction of the old captain when he left.
[1] Gentleman on the beam: a thief
