Special Forces Medic

Chapter 941 913: The Stormy Sea

A long whistle sounded slowly, the fishing boat set sail, navigating through the coastal waters near dusk, while the patrolling boats circled around it but showed no intention of approaching, leaving silently after several rounds.

The honest fishermen were sweating, deeply afraid that the patrol might really stop them for inspection. Let alone anything else, just the smuggling charge was enough to trouble them, not to mention having a murderer onboard. They sighed heavily while fiddling with the compass, hoping to resolve the situation quickly and return home soon. However, the evening wind was not cooperative, slowing down the already sluggish fishing boat due to the resistance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we might be delayed compared to the expected time. With this wind force, the vessel cannot risk advancing further. I suggest we first take refuge at a nearby island," said the fisherman as he walked onto the deck, with the old fishing boat shaking back and forth as if it could be dismantled by the wind at any moment.

"How long will it take to reach the nearest island here?" Xiao Lin asked, puffing on a cigarette, with the boundless sea revealing no trace of even a single island. "Can the boat reach the nearest island in this wind condition?"

"It's hard to say. I estimate it might rain soon, as the weather at sea changes as unpredictably as a child," the fisherman replied.

"How long to reach international waters?" Hua Qingyi asked, entering the cabin from outside, feeling the wind picking up with occasional raindrops, just as the fisherman mentioned.

"At normal speed, it takes about half an hour to reach international waters, and it would take over an hour to reach your destination. But with this weather, it might not be possible to get to the nearest island," the fisherman assessed.

"Are you planning to anchor here?" Arthur became anxious upon hearing this, speaking in somewhat broken Chinese. He didn't care about any damn weather; he just needed to reach the destination to return home. "Old man, you'd better not do that. If you delay my business, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish."

"Oh dear, let me tell you, sir, with this weather, heading out ensures a deviation in direction, and we don't have enough supplies to drift at sea," retorted the fisherman, nervously eying the more agreeable individuals, unsure about offending these people.

"Anchor us in international waters before the storm intensifies," said Xiao Lin, glancing outside at the oppressive dark clouds overhead, devoid of stars. Truthfully, venturing out now was indeed dangerous, but staying here meant the patrol boats would undoubtedly cause trouble.

"Ah...," the fisherman hesitated.

"Keep hesitating, and I'll kick you into the sea immediately," Arthur threatened.

The foreigner's intimidation pushed the fisherman to scramble out, and shortly, the fishing boat's motor droned as it bumped forward. Hua Qingyi pulled out a communicator to contact the others, negotiating in fluent Italian, though judging by his tone, the conversation wasn't exactly pleasant. Arthur glared with eyes full of rage.

"They want us to change the time to tomorrow. Due to the weather, they dare not dispatch a plane rashly," Hua Qingyi stated, planting a foot in the doorframe to block Arthur's exit. "However, we reached another agreement; once this storm passes, they'll directly come to our coordinate position to pick us up."

"No, no way, I want to speak to them personally," Arthur insisted against the plan.

"You heard just now; it's not us preventing you from going; it's the heavens that aren't helping," Xiao Lin replied, glanced at Charles playing with blocks on the side, and left the cabin.

Raindrops pounded the deck like beads from a broken string. Fortunately, the ship was made of steel; otherwise, such rain mixed with hail in a storm in old times would puncture a big hole.

"Old man, how long do you think this storm will last?"

"Sir, why don't you talk to the other boss inside? Proceeding further really risks an accident. Had I known you were like this, I wouldn't have taken the gig even for more money!" The fisherman complained a bit more, finding Xiao Lin the most reasonable.

Xiao Lin glanced left, estimating there were about ten minutes before reaching international waters, but every moment at sea brought millions of changes, making these ten minutes the hardest to endure.

"Old man, I believe if you stop the boat now, the foreigner inside will certainly kick you off. Even if there are no sharks here, in your current state, it could still be deadly," warned Xiao Lin as the fisherman fell silent. The seemingly agreeable person was, in fact, just as tough to deal with. "Do you think you could take this route?" Xiao Lin smiled; the old man seemed quite endearing. Observing the satellite navigation system showed a change in weather patterns, suggesting one spot wasn't too severe.

"Hey, hey, don't touch that. It's expensive," the old man protested when Xiao Lin traced his fingers over the electronic screen, screaming his heart out. "That place is a no-go; beneath are all hidden reefs and numerous undercurrents, whirlpools. Not even during the day, let alone at night, does anyone dare venture there!"

"So that's how it is!"

"Tell my boss, we agreed beforehand, as soon as we reach international waters, we'll drop anchor. I'll be damned if I move from there!"

"Hmm, I agree to that."

Xiao Lin returned to the cabin, immediately sensing the eerie atmosphere. Arthur was sulking alone, Charles had stopped playing with his blocks, as if on guard for something, and Hua Qingyi was lying on a bag with eyes half-closed. Xiao Lin didn't ask, and simply leaned over to him. "We probably have ten more minutes before we reach international waters, then we'll stop and wait for the storm to pass."

A big wave crashed over, causing the ship to tilt towards the left. Several canned meats rolled over from the right and hit Arthur's calf. After hearing him curse a few times, the ship steadied again.

"There's a presence of others here, let's be careful." Hua Qingyi whispered cautiously in Xiao Lin's ear, and the latter nodded.

"Hold on tight, everyone. We're entering a wind tunnel now, make it through and we're fine, fail and get ready to feed the fish!" The fisherman's voice came from a black speaker, not sounding too fearful. "We coastal folks live off the sea, reluctant to take risks but when faced with real danger, we're not to be messed with. Negotiating with nature isn't a day or two's business, this scale is merely child's play! Hahaha, gentlemen, when we return you need to pay me triple, or else I'll send you straight to the bottom to feed the fish!"

"Damn it, I'm going to slice him up!" Arthur couldn't take the insult, and rushed out.

"You go ahead and kill him, I assure you it'll take less than half a minute to finish. Once he's dead, will you steer the ship?" Hua Qingyi rolled on the ground, blocking Arthur once again. "But I'll lay out the ugly truth first: nobody here wants to die with you. If you want to return to your Godfather, you'd better not cause trouble here, or I don't care whether you're Mafia, I'll send you off too to meet King Yama."

Xiao Lin knew Hua Qingyi had been enduring for political reasons; after all, Arthur nearly cost Hua Muyun his life. If given the chance, he would definitely kill Arthur with justification. "Go pull Arthur back, he will definitely do what he says." Xiao Lin whispered to Charles. The little boy walked steadily on the swaying deck, reaching out his small hand to grab Arthur's coat and pulled him to the back of the cabin.

Another wave surged, mysterious creaking noises echoed around the four people, heightening tensions, sounding like the ship was about to be dismantled. The speaker no longer transmitted the fisherman's voice, Xiao Lin sensed something amiss — even in the worst wind tunnel, this amount of time should have passed, and life or death had long been decided. After signaling Hua Qingyi with his eyes, Xiao Lin exited the cabin.

The wind swept over his head, raindrops stung like knives against his face. Charging into the cockpit, the fisherman had disappeared, and the ship cruised on autopilot. Judging by the marker, they were heading in another direction, straight toward the reef cluster. It's no longer possible to reset the course. Xiao Lin scanned the cockpit. In such a small, transparent space, where could the fisherman go?

Activating the speaker, the red light kept flashing. Xiao Lin tapped his fingers on the panel, transmitting through the speaker into the cabin.

"Damn it, what's the old man trying to do? It's deafening!" For some reason, Arthur appeared exceptionally irritable, often overreacting to small matters. Hua Qingyi watched Arthur, who was far beyond the coolness a professional assassin should possess.

"Calm down!"

"What, want to fight me? Come on, I've had a grudge against you for a long time. Damn it, should've shot your old man once more!"

"What did you say?" Despite Arthur's provocation, Hua Qingyi struggled to maintain his composure. Xiao Lin's urgent message from the cockpit indicated a change on the ship; they wouldn't reach international waters.

"Can't understand Italian? Freak!"

Without hesitation, a fist flew at Arthur's face. He despised anyone mentioning "freak" in front of him; that was intolerable.

The two started to tussle, while Charles cautiously moved to the side. He frowned; Arthur indeed seemed more volatile than Hua Qingyi had described, and aside from Xiao Lin, everyone in the cabin seemed restless. He understood these feelings better than anyone, a foreboding sense of doom swept over him.

The tapping sounds emerging from the speaker resembled telegraph rhythms, incomprehensible to him. He glanced at the two fighting, silently moving his small frame outward. It had been a while since Xiao Lin went out; something must be happening outside. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes, monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)