The sky grew darker.
The male fish’s cries became louder and higher-pitched, their tails thumping heavily on the floor with loud sounds.
Blood eel fish were beasts, and viewing them as such made it clear that the male fish were courting the female fish. Among the males, one blood eel fish was extremely huge; it stood closest to the female fish, roaring at the approaching males.
The males shrank back but also prowled restlessly.
“That fish must be the leader, right?” Zhuo Zhongqiu lowered his voice.
Ye Xun said, “Probably.”
After identifying the male leader, Jiang Luo sent out the Si Snake. The golden python slithered quietly through gaps in the fish crowd, slowly approaching the female blood eel fish.
Behind the container, eight pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the Si Snake.
The male fish did not notice the golden python. Si Snake successfully reached the female fish. Everyone held their breath, silently cheering the snake on.
Just as they expected, Si Snake quietly coiled around the female fish.
Several people exhaled in relief—but the moment they relaxed, a loud noise came from behind them.
Jiang Luo turned around and saw Cheng Li clutching Lisa, looking frantic as they approached.
By their feet, a fire extinguisher had been knocked over and rolled on the ground.
At that moment, Ge Zhu stiffly tugged on Jiang Luo’s clothes. “Jiang Luo, trouble.”
Jiang Luo looked back toward the deck. All the blood eel fish simultaneously turned their heads. On their strange fish faces, pairs of large, blood-red eyes like bulbs quietly stared at them.
Jiang Luo decided immediately. “Plan changed, start the action early!”
He turned and ran to Cheng Li, without hesitation taking Lisa from his arms into his own.
At the same time, Si Snake tightly coiled the female fish and soared into the air. The female fish let out a panic-stricken cry. The male fish on the deck instantly went into a rage. One after another, they collided with each other and growled, chasing after the female fish.
A chase between humans and blood eel fish broke out immediately. Jiang Luo ran holding Lisa and asked, “Lisa, how did you and Uncle Cheng Li make noise?”
“Uncle Cheng Li kept turning to look at the deck,” Lisa said in a scared, tearful voice, “but accidentally knocked over the fire extinguisher.”
“That’s okay, don’t cry,” Jiang Luo comforted her. “Did you see your dad on the deck?”
Lisa sobbed, “The biggest fish is my dad.”
Jiang Luo showed a relaxed expression. Lisa hugged his neck. “Brother, will Dad die?”
“No way,” Jiang Luo said immediately in a light tone, without any shame at deceiving a child. “Brother just locked them up so they can’t hurt us. Your dad will be brought ashore with us. Didn’t you want to go to the shore to find a doctor to treat Dad? Bringing him ashore makes it easier.”
Lisa obediently nodded, “Thank you, Brother.”
Jiang Luo hugged her tightly and smiled.
Si Snake, still coiling the female fish, followed closely behind Jiang Luo. Behind them swarmed the crazed male fish.
To slow the blood eel fish down, Jiang Luo purposely took a narrow route. When they reached the lower deck door, Lu Youyi and Kuang Zheng had already opened it ahead of time, hiding on each side of the two big doors.
Jiang Luo brought Lisa to hide beside Lu Youyi and covered her mouth, while Si Snake carried the female fish and directly slipped into the lower deck.
The female fish’s cries came from deep within the lower hold. After a few seconds, groups of angry male fish roared as they quickly dove into the lower hold.
The ground shook; the entire ship rocked violently from the blood eel fish’s frantic running.
The three counted the male fish—except for those already dead, every single remaining male chased the female fish into the lower hold.
After the last male fish ran inside, Lu Youyi and Kuang Zheng forcefully closed the door.
The golden python flew out just in time. As the door was about to close, Jiang Luo tossed a lit lighter from his right hand; it fell through the crack onto the floor.
With a whoosh, flames burst up. Crimson fire rapidly spread across the oil-covered floor.
The heavy door of the lower hold was completely shut.
The blood eel fish and countless fish larvae and eggs would all be consumed by the fire.
But for Jiang Luo and the others, the most dangerous moment had not yet ended.
Once the flames reached the gas canisters, the fire talisman would ignite, causing a chain explosion.
They needed to successfully get away from the lower hold before the explosion.
Without pausing even half a second, the three dashed out at their fastest speeds ever.
Kuang Zheng and Lu Youyi both reached out to Jiang Luo. “Let me carry her.”
Jiang Luo was indeed a bit unable to carry Lisa, who was about eight or nine years old. Not trusting Lu Youyi, he handed Lisa to Kuang Zheng, warning, “Don’t let go of her.”
Kuang Zheng felt something off about that, so Jiang Luo anxiously added, “She’s just a little girl—she can’t keep up with our speed by herself.”
Kuang Zheng’s expression turned serious as he held Lisa tightly. “Got it.”
Their legs moved so fast they left afterimages. Jiang Luo gritted his teeth and slowly darkened his face, ignoring all discomfort on his body. Just as the three reached the lifeboat area, two explosions came from the lower hold. The ship violently shook, thick black smoke billowing from the stern.
Jiang Luo grabbed a handrail to steady himself. On the other side, Ye Xun and two others successfully captured the male fish disguised as the captain. They bound it tightly with hemp rope and pushed it over on a small cart.
The entire operation had gone unexpectedly smoothly. After everyone boarded the lifeboats and quickly distanced themselves from the Angonise, they finally stopped at a safe distance and quietly watched the luxurious cruise ship sink.
Black smoke rolled as the sea remained calm. Fierce flames blazed on the Angonise, the ship listing—almost beautiful in its tragic splendor.
After a long while, someone sighed, “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Jiang Luo stared intently, suddenly spotting a black dot near the ship’s railing.
It looked like a person.
He fixed his gaze, but at that distance couldn’t make out their face.
Frowning, Jiang Luo sat back down, grabbed a bundle of rope, wrapped it several times around his wrist, then took Lisa’s hand and wrapped her wrist as well.
Lisa looked at her hand curiously. “Brother?”
Jiang Luo smiled, “It’s not very safe on the sea. Brother tied you and me together so I can feel safer.”
Lisa smiled shyly. Wenren Lian reached out to touch her black hair. “Lisa, seeing your father like this, does it make you sad?”
Lisa looked fearfully at the bound male fish nearby. She shivered, tears glistening in her eyes, but shook her head. Carefully, she crouched beside the male fish and gently patted it, cooing like a baby, “Daddy, be good. Lisa will make you better.”
Ge Zhu looked away with some pity, sighed, then noticed Cheng Li staring blankly toward the ship. Ge Zhu tried to break the silence, “Big brother, why are you still holding a bag?”
Cheng Li answered absentmindedly, “It’s my wife’s and daughter’s things.”
Jiang Luo looked at the bag in Cheng Li’s hands.
It was a woman’s backpack, with faded metal zippers and heavily worn surface—though well protected, it couldn’t hide the wear of time. It must have been there for years.
“Brother Cheng, what happened to Sister Zhao and Jianjian?” he asked.
Cheng Li came back to himself, fingers nervously clutching the bag. Pain slowly filled his eyes. “Two years ago, your Sister Zhao took Jianjian on board to accompany me. We sailed to the Caribbean when a huge storm suddenly struck. There was a group of children playing on the bow deck; the storm swept them into the sea, including my daughter Jianjian… Your Sister Zhao and several mothers, plus two crew members, jumped in to save them, but only a few came back. Sister Zhao and my daughter… they never came up.”
After finishing, Cheng Li choked up and buried his face in the bag, crying bitterly. “Everyone back home thought I’d made it big and had an affair, tricking my wife and daughter onto the ship to then throw them into the sea. How could I do that?! I stayed on this ship all these years—not because I didn’t know about the blood eel fish, but because this ship holds my last memories of my wife and daughter. I just can’t let go!”
Jiang Luo caught a crucial piece of information in that story and thoughtfully asked Lisa, “Lisa, did your mother also die in that storm?”
Lisa wiped her tears and silently nodded.
“Did you fall into the water too?” Jiang Luo’s voice softened. “Did you fall in, so your mother jumped in to save you?”
Lisa sniffled, “Yes.”
“Good girl,” Jiang Luo continued, “Did your father jump in to save you?”
Lisa shook her head and said maturely, “Daddy is the captain, he was very busy.”
“Brother Cheng, how many survived?”
Cheng Li stifled his pain. That question was almost automatic for him; after all, he had endlessly wondered why his wife and daughter didn’t survive.
“Two crew members and one child. Lisa is the captain’s daughter. The storm back then was too fierce—the crew could only save one child, and they brought Lisa back.”
These words were laced with thorns. Cheng Li had held them in his heart for two years, and now, he finally let them out.
After he spoke, silence fell over the lifeboat.
Birth, aging, illness, and death are all too common—accidents happen every minute of every day. Everyone thinks tragedy won’t happen to them, and when it does, it’s already too late.
Wenren Lian had brought extra signal flares and lit another one. Less than half an hour later, a police boat successfully located them.
The people who escaped earlier had already been rescued and brought aboard.
Once Jiang Luo and the others were on the ship, the police surrounded them. Jiang Luo accepted a towel and warm clothes, and in the crowd of officers, he spotted a familiar face: Officer Lin Qinlin.
The usual sunny, kind smile was gone from Officer Lin’s face, replaced with deep concern. “Are you all alright?”
The group shook their heads. Officer Lin wasn’t quite reassured and asked again, “Some survivors said people were being used to feed fish on the ship. Do you have fish eggs or larvae inside you?”
Kuang Zheng gave a bitter smile and was the first to shake his head.
Once Officer Lin was sure they were fine, he relaxed visibly.
Jiang Luo said slowly, “Officer Lin, we don’t have anything inside us. But a boatload of rich people earlier—they had something in their heads.”
Officer Lin’s face darkened. “Which boat?”
Jiang Luo scanned the crowd and pointed them out. Officer Lin was about to act, but Jiang Luo said, “Their matter can wait. First, we need to handle something more important.”
Officer Lin was puzzled. “What’s more important than that?”
Jiang Luo patted Lisa’s shoulder and smiled, “The most important thing is to subdue the blood eel fish’s leader.”
