Chapter 59: Video Request, Get Moving
Hearing that all the enemies had been dealt with, Ren Yuanyang let out a sigh of relief.
"Come get me!"
Qin Haonan immediately paddled the small boat over to pick up Ren Yuanyang, then returned to the enemy’s speedboat.
Seeing the grim look on Lu Jiamei’s face, Ren Yuanyang frowned and asked, "What’s the situation in the cabin?"
"These people are monsters!" Lu Jiamei said, gritting her teeth.
Puzzled, Ren Yuanyang walked into the cabin, and the overwhelming stench of male hormones assaulted his nostrils.
The floor was littered with clothes torn to shreds. Beneath them lay a woman, a bullet hole in her forehead still oozing blood. An expression of utter despair was frozen on her face.
A man was tied up to the side, a dagger plunged into his chest. Blood trickled from the corner of his eye, his face a mask of rage, despair, and helplessness.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of heinous atrocities these soldiers from Lvzhi Country had committed.
Ren Yuanyang let out a breath and ordered, "Let’s clean this up. Lu Jiamei, help get her dressed and move her to the heroine’s boat. Haonan, you come with me and we’ll deal with the outside."
"Yes, sir!"
Ren Yuanyang led Qin Haonan out, and they first gathered all the soldiers’ firearms.
"Boss, what should we do with their bodies? Just toss them in the water?" Qin Haonan asked, looking at the corpses of the Lvzhi Country men with disgust.
"Let them be buried with the heroine and those two civilians," Ren Yuanyang replied coldly.
’He knew it was a pointless gesture, but just dumping them in the water felt like letting them off too easily.’
Qin Haonan nodded and moved all the bodies to the stern of the boat.
Just then, a ringing sound suddenly came from inside the cabin.
Ren Yuanyang and Qin Haonan immediately charged in, automatic rifles at the ready.
Lu Jiamei nervously snatched up her rifle as well.
They followed the sound and found a cell phone in the pilot’s seat. A video call was coming in, the screen displaying a string of what looked like gibberish to Ren Yuanyang.
’But he knew it. The Feixiang definitely had a schedule with this speedboat for them to report their position and mission progress.’
"Boss, should I just hang up?" Qin Haonan asked for Ren Yuanyang’s instructions.
Ren Yuanyang shook his head. "If we hang up, they’ll definitely realize something is wrong. Better to just let them hang up on their own."
"That won’t work forever. They’ll figure out something is wrong sooner or later," Lu Jiamei said, walking over with a frown.
"Check the fuel level of this speedboat!"
Qin Haonan immediately walked to the pilot’s seat, looked at the dashboard, and replied, "Boss, this speedboat still has three-quarters of a tank!"
"Then let’s move out immediately," Ren Yuanyang said after a moment’s thought.
"We’re going to use this one speedboat to tow all our boats and the container?" Qin Haonan’s eyes widened. "Does it even have that much horsepower?"
"The container is the heaviest, but the Duckweed is keeping it afloat on the surface, so there’s not much horizontal resistance. In comparison, the drag from the other boats will actually be greater," Ren Yuanyang explained.
Lu Jiamei understood at once. "You’re right. So, we’re leaving now?"
Qin Haonan was completely lost. "Is that right?"
"Stop hesitating. Just follow the Chief’s orders for now. Other enemy teams could show up at any moment!" Lu Jiamei urged.
Qin Haonan nodded. "Okay!"
He immediately began to get a feel for the speedboat’s controls. Ten minutes later, he had successfully brought it alongside the container.
Ren Yuanyang and Lu Jiamei used cables to tie the container and the other boats to the newly captured speedboat.
"Accelerate slowly," Ren Yuanyang cautioned, then focused his attention on the Duckweed under and around the container, watching for any slippage.
If it started to slip, he would need to use the creeping stems of the bitter grass to readjust the Duckweed’s position and keep the container on the surface.
’Even now, Qin Haonan was still skeptical. Could this speedboat really tow the container?’
Filled with doubt, Qin Haonan slowly applied the throttle. To his astonishment, the container behind them actually began to move forward!
"Holy crap, it’s actually working!" In his excitement, Qin Haonan gave it a little too much gas, causing the container to slide forward a bit.
"Slower, don’t rush!" Ren Yuanyang shouted, then immediately controlled the creeping stems to pull more Duckweed to the water in front of the container.
Qin Haonan ducked his head and began to focus on accelerating slowly.
It took a full five minutes for the speedboat to accelerate to 27 knots, which was about 50 kilometers per hour.
"Let’s maintain this speed for now," Ren Yuanyang said.
"Okay. This speedboat from Lvzhi Country is pretty advanced. It even has cruise control, which makes piloting it a lot easier!" Qin Haonan said with a smile.
Even though he couldn’t read the Lvzhi Country script, he had figured out the cruise control through his natural talent for piloting. His methods might not have been by the book, but he had indeed managed to activate it.
Ren Yuanyang thought for a moment, then instructed, "Keep an eye on the fuel. When we’ve used up half the tank, drive for another half an hour, then we can stop."
"Huh?" Qin Haonan was stunned for a moment. "Didn’t you say enemy teams might be on their way? Isn’t stopping too dangerous?"
Lu Jiamei helped explain, "The speedboats they sent to find the test subjects should all be the same model. They have to account for fuel for the return trip, so they’ll only burn through half a tank at most before turning back. Otherwise, they won’t be able to make it back to the Feixiang Aircraft Carrier."
It dawned on Qin Haonan. "That makes sense. Why didn’t I think of that? The Boss is brilliant!"
Ren Yuanyang rolled his eyes. "You’re so sharp in a fight, how can you not figure this stuff out?"
"I’m good when it comes to a fight. Thinking things through, not so much!" Qin Haonan said with a chuckle.
Ren Yuanyang was speechless.
With the speedboat and container moving at a constant speed, the container was stable enough that Ren Yuanyang didn’t have to control it constantly.
"Chief, you should get some rest," Lu Jiamei said as she approached. "I’ll keep watch. If there’s a problem, I’ll call you right away."
Ren Yuanyang glanced at the time. It was already past one in the morning. Constantly focusing on controlling the creeping stems of the bitter grass to make micro-adjustments to the Duckweed was indeed draining his Mental Energy.
He nodded slightly and reminded them, "Call me when the fuel is half gone. And whatever you do, do not brake suddenly."
"Got it, Boss. Don’t worry!" Qin Haonan replied.
Ren Yuanyang got up and jumped over to Xin Wan’s speedboat. He didn’t dare sleep in the container under these conditions.
If it happened to sideslip, he would fall into the water right along with it.
Right then, Xin Wan and Lu Jiamei were cleaning out the cabin of the captured speedboat, freeing up her own boat for Ren Yuanyang to rest in.
"How can these people from Lvzhi Country be so disgusting!"
Xin Wan’s brow had been furrowed ever since she stepped into the speedboat’s cabin.
"The people of Lvzhi Country are truly despicable," Lu Jiamei lamented. "But this is just a glimpse into the life of an ordinary survivor. If we hadn’t met the Chief, we might have suffered the same fate."
Xin Wan’s expression tensed, and she nodded in solemn agreement.
"Sister Mei, is it just me, or is the rain letting up a bit?" Qin Haonan’s voice came from the cockpit.
Hearing this, Lu Jiamei immediately rushed over.