“WTF…” Lu Youyi’s mouth dropped open. He thought he’d misheard. “Blow up the ship?”
Jiang Luo nodded confidently. “That’s right. Blow up the ship.”
Ge Zhu swallowed nervously and exchanged looks with Ye Xun. “How? If the ship blows up, the blood eel fish can still survive in the water. We might not.”
“I might not have explained clearly,” Jiang Luo smiled brightly, enunciating each word. “I mean, blow up the ship and the blood eel fish together.”
Ideally, blow up that d*mn Chi You as well.
Thinking of blowing up the malicious ghost, Jiang Luo got excited before his friends could react. “This ship is full of blood eel fish eggs and fry. If some female fish fry escape, the consequences are unthinkable. This ship is the male fish’s nest for female fish to laid eggs. You know what’s in the lower deck.”
“Every victim has dozens of fish fry in their belly. If left unchecked, those fry will hatch sooner or later. The easiest way is for ordinary people to escape by lifeboats before nightfall. We also prepare our own lifeboats in advance. After night falls, kill the female blood eel fish and escape to the lower deck. Then lure all the male fish there, lock the door, and blow up the lower deck, completely destroying the ship.”
Lu Youyi and the others listened, stunned. But Wenren Lian was already considering the possibility. “The Angonise is huge. From blowing the lower deck to sinking the whole ship will take at least two hours. We have time to escape the whirlpool.”
“Are we really going to blow it up?” Cyril gasped, “Won’t the police come?”
Jiang Luo’s expression turned serious. “Normally, we should wait for the police. But,” he paused, pointing at the 320 crew photos on the wall, “if there are 320 male fish on this ship, plus countless fry and eggs, how many police do you think it would take to catch every single one alive?”
There’s no need to think more. The simplest and most effective way to deal with the blood eel fish is exactly what Jiang Luo said.
Ge Zhu smiled wryly, a trace of melancholy appearing on his face. “Even if the police come, if we don’t destroy these fish, some people will be fooled by their ‘longevity and youth’ effects. No one can resist the desire for eternal life and youth.”
Zhuo Zhongqiu took the photos off the wall and said firmly, “Then let’s just blow it up.”
Wenren Lian smiled and looked at Jiang Luo. “Yeah, I’m voting for blowing up the ship too.”
Kuang Zheng silently raised his hand.
Lu Youyi suddenly jumped up excitedly, shouting, “Blow it up! Anyone who doesn’t blow it up isn’t human! I’ve never blown up such a big ship in my life!”
“We’re different from you,” Ge Zhu joked, “We’ve never blown up a ship before.”
This proposal clearly energized everyone. Jiang Luo also felt eager. He found some paper and a pen in the room, writing as he spoke, “Blood eel fish have poor eyesight. We’ll cover ourselves in slime, then take everyone to lower the lifeboats. Tell them not to wear shoes or carry anything that makes noise, like keys or jewelry.”
“We’ll quietly lower the lifeboats, then they’ll leave first.”
Jiang Luo wrote “Lifeboat locations” on the paper. “Last time, Ge Zhu and I used the excuse of having the first mate show us around the ship. We saw where the lifeboats and life jackets were stored—right in the middle of the ship. After they leave by boat, we’ll go to the kitchen and storage to find oil barrels and gas canisters. We’ll pour oil all over the bottom deck, then use a gas canister with a fire symbol to set it ablaze, enough to blow those blood eel fish to bits.”
Lu Youyi rubbed his hands eagerly and suggested, “We can use a formation to hide the gas canisters first, then draw fire talismans on them—that way it’s safer.”
Jiang Luo gave a thumbs-up. “Good idea.”
“Besides that, there’s one more important thing.” Jiang Luo told them about the female fish’s ability to control the consciousness of rich people.
“I get it,” Wenren Lian said knowingly. “We should capture the leader of the blood eel fish alive, and interrogate to find out which rich people are controlled.”
Jiang Luo winked at him. “Exactly.”
“The leader of the blood eel fish…” Zhuo Zhongqiu pondered, handing over the captain’s photo at the top. “Is it the captain?”
“Very likely,” Ye Xun said calmly. “The crew are all afraid of him.”
They quickly filled in all the details. To save time, they didn’t delay further and took the photos out to find suspected blood eel fish disguised as humans.
Among the refugees were not only poor people but also some rich, frightened ones. Jiang Luo found some rich people who had taken the female fish larvae and tested them; these rich people still hadn’t lost their sanity.
Jiang Luo realized the female fish’s mind control had a transition period.
He grouped those people together to hand them over to the police later. After checking again, their companions confirmed they hadn’t found any blood eel fish disguised in the crowd.
This was definitely a blessing in disguise.
Ordinary people hiding here, suddenly seeing those ugly and disgusting blood eel fish monsters—who had lived normal lives until then—felt as if the sky and earth were collapsing. It was like a movie monster suddenly appearing in front of them. Some nearly fainted out of fear.
They didn’t faint because fainting meant being eaten by the monsters—they dared not pass out.
At this moment, no one dared cause trouble. Whatever Jiang Luo and the others said was followed exactly.
When organizing the ordinary people to roll in the slime on the floor and escape, rich or poor, they all obeyed, throwing away anything that could make noise, trembling as they followed quietly.
Their cooperation was a good thing.
Zhuo Zhongqiu, Lu Youyi, and Kuang Zheng led the way. Ge Zhu and Cyril flanked the sides of the group. Jiang Luo, Wenren Lian, and Ye Xun brought up the rear.
Nearly four hundred people walked barefoot, stepping lightly through the corridor toward the deck.
Though there were so many people, their noise was very small. The ship was now full of blood eel fish. Those who could avoid them did, but when they couldn’t, they fought.
The lifeboat storage was not far from the bottom deck, but it still took them half an hour to reach it.
The door was locked and had an emergency button beside it. Jiang Luo opened the door. The lifeboats were neatly arranged inside.
The whole row of rooms stored survival supplies. Everyone carefully passed lifeboats to the railing, and under the cover of the sea’s sounds, boats were lowered one by one with people boarding.
Each lifeboat could hold about twenty people. There were plenty of life jackets.
Soon, only Jiang Luo and his group remained on the ship. Jiang Luo wanted to put Cheng Li and Lisa on a boat, but Cheng Li insisted on staying with Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo gave up and looked at Lisa, gently asking, “Lisa, you’re not leaving either?”
Tears of fear filled Lisa’s eyes. She grabbed Jiang Luo’s clothes and shook her head silently.
Jiang Luo smiled, “Then stay on the ship.”
He told Cheng Li to take Lisa back to the bottom deck, while he went with companions to get oil and gas canisters from the kitchen.
Nervously, they reached the kitchen. Besides oil barrels, Jiang Luo also found a cigarette pack and a lighter left behind in a panic.
The lighter still had fire, so Jiang Luo kept it on him.
On the way back, Lu Youyi found a cart, but it made too much noise on the floor. To avoid alerting anyone, they carried the items by hand.
Zhuo Zhongqiu was the strongest and carried two gas canisters so the others wouldn’t have to make a second trip.
When Jiang Luo bent down to carry an oil barrel, his waist tensed slightly but then he stood up with no sign of pain.
Taking a step forward, Jiang Luo suddenly turned his head sharply.
He felt the sensation of being watched.
The corridor behind was long and empty. Jiang Luo stared for several seconds, squinting, then turned back with a faint smile.
Though he ended up somewhat embarrassed because of the greedy ghost…
After all, who really is the master of desire?
***
When they carried the things back to the lower deck, the sky was already growing dark. They quickly spread oil all over the lower deck and placed the gas canisters at the front and back ends. Jiang Luo personally drew the talisman; after finishing the last stroke, he let out a sigh of relief. “Done.”
Wenren Lian glanced outside the door. “It’s already dark.”
The next battle was about to begin.
There wasn’t enough time to think much. Once the group was ready, they prepared to leave the lower deck.
Cheng Li and Lisa could no longer stay in the lower deck. Jiang Luo said helplessly, “Let them follow us, but stay away and keep quiet.”
Ge Zhu asked, “Isn’t that a bit too dangerous?”
“If they don’t stay with us, it might be even more dangerous,” Jiang Luo shook his head and patted Lisa’s back. “Who knows what else is on this ship?”
After Jiang Luo said that, and seeing Lisa and Cheng Li unwilling to leave him, Ge Zhu didn’t argue further. They slipped out under the cover of night and quickly made their way to the ship’s bow deck.
Along the way, they surprisingly did not encounter a single male fish. Just as they were wondering about this, they saw the huge deck crawling with blood eel fish.
All the blood eel fish were gathered on the deck, and in their center was the female blood eel fish. These fish opened their mouths, emitting low, strange cries.
Slime dripped from their bodies, the huge, dark red, eerie fish crowd pressed tightly together like a snake pit—an even more terrifying sight that made everyone’s scalp tingle. The sea breeze brought a heavy, fishy stench that nearly made them gag.
Ye Xun’s face grew serious. “The female fish is at the very center.”
The male fish formed layer after layer around the female fish, leaving almost no space to step.
Jiang Luo turned and sat down, leaning against a container and pulling out a cigarette. Three hours after their first night together, he finally got to have a post-event smoke. The others sat down beside him, all wearing worried expressions. “What are we going to do?”
Jiang Luo exhaled smoke leisurely. The redness at the corner of his eye had faded, but the subtle aftertaste of the night’s intimacy lingered, blending a discreet charm with casual coolness, creating a unique aura.
He said calmly, “I have the Yin-Yang hoop.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up immediately.
Right, they could use the twelve secret incantations from the Yin-Yang hoop to turn into zodiac beasts and bind the female fish to rush into the lower deck.
