Chapter 105: A Passionate Kiss in the Dark

One-Eye was startled by Chu Dong’s shot. Refusing to step forward under any circumstances, he instead ordered the others to open fire inside. Even though Chu Dong was a crack shot, this time he could not even see his targets. Everyone simply poked their muzzles through the hatch, firing blind bursts without caring if they hit anyone. They unleashed volley after volley as if ammunition cost nothing, shooting wildly into the cabin.

Tan Xue and the others were hiding in a blind spot out of the hatch’s line of fire, so Chu Dong did not have to worry about them getting hurt. For now, he only needed to look after himself, and everything would be fine.

Hiding behind a makeshift barricade stacked from two mattresses, Chu Dong shot out the lights in the lower hold one by one, increasing his chances of remaining undetected in the dark.

Although the firepower from above was fierce, the bullets did not have much penetrating power, or the ship might have sprung a leak by now. Even so, Chu Dong braved the risk of stray bullets to fire back at the hatch from time to time. Even if he did not hit anyone, he managed to disable some of the guns poked inside, rendering them useless.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate—those inside could not break out, and those outside could not get in.

Outside, One-Eye was flying into a rage. The buyers were pressing him again, having contacted him several times in rapid succession. They had already arrived at the designated rendezvous point, and without seeing his ship, they were naturally getting anxious.

One-Eye was anxious too, but panic would not solve his problem. Leaving his men with orders to eliminate the people inside at all costs, he went to deal with the buyers.

Tian Bing sat leisurely in a plush armchair, holding an encrypted satellite phone, shouting in a highly dissatisfied tone, "Listen to me, and listen carefully. I'll give you two more hours. If you can't reach the rendezvous point by then, I'm pulling out. I'll just treat it as wasting some gas money to enjoy the ocean view. You will bear all the losses and responsibility."

"Don't try to scare me; I wasn't born yesterday." One-Eye was not about to be intimidated by a kid. This was his first time dealing with Tian Bing. Previously, it had always been a vice president from Hongfa Enterprises, Tian Bing's family business, who contacted him directly. Now this kid wanted to show him who was boss on their first deal; One-Eye was not having it. "Safety first. Who knows if you brought a tail with you? Just wait. I'll contact you once I'm sure it's safe."

Tian Bing cursed at the dial tone. He had volunteered for this mission, even making a guarantee to his old man. He was always comparing himself to Wang Dongliang. Wang was only a few years older than him, yet Wang Jintong always entrusted him with the most important tasks. What did Tian Bing lack? Harboring a grudge, he had insisted on taking this assignment.

Who would have thought his first time would go so poorly? He had arrived at the designated spot only to find nothing. When he first called to press him, One-Eye had been relatively polite, saying he was delayed by some business and asking him to wait. But after waiting another two hours, there was still no sign of them. When he called again, One-Eye's attitude had completely changed, suddenly turning aggressive. This infuriated Tian Bing. However, since this was his first solo operation, if he messed it up, not only would he lose face back home, but his father would never agree to let him handle anything else. Thus, he could only swallow his anger and keep waiting, planning to teach One-Eye a lesson once they finally met.

At the sub-bureau, Luo Feiyu received real-time updates from the front line. She learned that the suspicious vessel had stopped shortly after entering Chinese territorial waters and showed no signs of moving. The large fishing boats cruising along the edge of the territorial waters had also come to a halt, leaving everyone puzzled about their intentions. Some suggested boarding them for inspection, but Chen Xiao advised against it. If they startled the target, not only would the informant be in danger, but the suspects they were about to capture would have to be released due to a lack of evidence.

Luo Feiyu actually disagreed with Chen Xiao's opinion; she cared more about the hostages' safety. However, the veteran team leader's advice was indeed the best course of action for now. Unable to offer any valid objections, she could only bury her anxiety deep inside.

Leaning against a wooden plank, Chu Dong struggled to tear a strip from his white undershirt. Using his teeth to help, he managed to bandage a gash on his shoulder left by a stray bullet. As the gunfire from the hatch began to die down, he casually fired another shot in that direction.

Instantly, the gunfire erupted again in a dense barrage.

Chu Dong knew he could not keep this up. Even if he had plenty of ammo, he could not just waste it. Once his bullets ran out, he would be a sitting duck.

While Chu Dong was still hesitating, the shooting at the hatch stopped. He sensed that this pause would bring a change.

Chu Dong had been relying on his pistol. Another two hours passed, and he had fewer than ten rounds left, causing the intervals between his return fire to grow longer. For now, the men above had not realized, but once they calmed down, they were bound to notice.

Sure enough, One-Eye returned, fuming with rage. Having been cursed out by a wet-behind-the-ears kid, he was looking for a place to vent his anger. Returning to the hatch, he found his men still huddled in a safe corner, too terrified to go down by Chu Dong's sporadic shots. He raised his gun and shot dead a man who had tried to shrink back upon seeing his anger.

After listening for a moment, One-Eye realized that Chu Dong was running low on ammo. He barked orders for them to charge.

"He's almost out of bullets! Charge down there! Whoever goes down and kills him gets a million!"

A heavy bounty always breeds brave men. No sooner had One-Eye spoken than several men stepped forward, shouting eagerly.

"I'll go! As long as the boss keeps his word, I'll risk my damn life!"

"Me too!"

"Count me in..."

Within moments, dozens of men present stepped forward.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Kill him!" Following One-Eye's raspy shriek, seven or eight men scrambled to jump in, rushing down the stairs.

The carbine in Chu Dong's hand roared. The moonlight spilling through the hatch became a death warrant for these men. Tucked under his single arm, the carbine spat deadly fire, harvesting the lives of the seven or eight intruders. One lucky survivor had just raised his barrel when Chu Dong dropped him with the pistol in his other hand.

It was a flawless execution. Even faced with a sudden rush of so many enemies, Chu Dong remained calm, firing in controlled bursts and completing the counterattack with just over a dozen bullets.

From the moment they burst in to the moment Chu Dong lowered his barrel, only a few seconds had passed. The remaining men who had been about to charge threw themselves to the ground in terror, refusing to budge no matter how One-Eye urged them.

Their loud bravado earlier had only been a brief rush of adrenaline stimulated by the promise of wealth. Seeing the fate of their comrades, who else would dare gamble with their life? Even if the money was real, they needed to be alive to spend it.

One-Eye flew into a rage. Under the threat of his gun, another six or seven men entered. Just as they stepped onto the stairs, Chu Dong's gun barked again. Instantly, five or six of them fell into pools of blood before they could react. One man, seeing things go south, threw himself forward down the stairs. When he scrambled to his feet, he suddenly realized there was someone alive right next to him.

The photographer was hiding with Tan Xue and the others. Positioned right at the edge, the blood dripping from the stairs splattered right beside him. His face had long since turned pale. If not for a sliver of male pride keeping him together, he felt he would have gone mad. His heavy, ragged breathing could be heard not just up close, but even from several meters away.

And so, he was discovered. One of the sailors grabbed him, pressing the muzzle of a gun against the photographer's head. The sailor believed that by capturing Chu Dong's companion, Chu Dong would be forced to show himself out of concern for the hostage's safety. At that moment, he could almost see the million-dollar bounty piled up right before his eyes.

"Stop! I have your man!" the lucky sailor yelled. There was no reply, but no gunshots either.

He figured Chu Dong understood that if he fired, he would most likely hit his own ally. The lack of gunfire seemed to confirm this submission.

He switched on his flashlight, casting a beam of white light onto the photographer. Even as the sailor turned it on, no shot rang out. Looking around, he realized that besides the one he held, there were several girls and the yacht pilot crouching in the corner. From their terrified expressions, he felt incredibly lucky. The million dollars seemed to be waving at him.

Just then, the sailor saw a flash of fire about thirty meters ahead. Immediately after, he felt as if a massive force was pulling him backward, slamming him against the cabin wall before he stopped.

*He fired anyway...* was the last shred of consciousness in his mind.

"Ah!" The photographer covered his ears, jumping up and down. The sailor's blood had splattered across his face, and the sudden shock made him shriek uncontrollably.

"Shut up." Tan Xue could not bear to watch any longer. Not only was this grown man useless to Chu Dong, but he was also less composed than the women. Miss Tan picked up the flashlight the sailor had dropped and kicked the wailing photographer.

Chu Dong waited with his gun raised for a dozen seconds. Seeing that no one else was coming down for the time being, he made his way through the dark toward the direction of Tan Xue's flashlight.

"Point the flashlight down. Lower." Chu Dong's throat was dry, and his voice was hushed. He had to repeat it before Tan Xue heard him clearly.

Seeing Chu Dong search the corpse on the ground, Tan Xue turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch.

After replenishing his ammunition, Chu Dong was pleasantly surprised to find two hand grenades hanging from the man's gear.

Snatching them off and stuffing them into his pants pockets, Chu Dong wiped the sweat from his face, leaving dark streaks that resembled camouflage paint.

"You... you're hurt?" Tan Xue saw his torn shirt and the bright red blood seeping through. Her heart trembled as she asked in a shaking voice.

"It's nothing, just a mosquito bite. The mosquitoes out at sea are ridiculously huge," Chu Dong said with a wry smile. "Turn off the flashlight, stay with Yu'er, and wait for me to come back."

"Okay."

Tan Xue agreed. She did not know why she had become so compliant. She turned off the flashlight and was about to walk back from memory when she suddenly felt Chu Dong pull her from behind. As she turned her head, her soft lips were captured in a kiss.

Wrapping her arms around him, Tan Xue did not resist or reject him. Her wide-open eyes slowly fluttered shut...