Chapter 166

Chapter 166: A Ship

The ship sailing from the horizon seemed to be coated with a layer of golden light, creating an indescribably beautiful scene.

Yi Shaoqing squinted and said, “If everything goes smoothly, it will take a whole day to reach the capital’s port by ship from here. But there are no zombies at sea, so compared to driving to the capital, we can save a lot of time. We can try to negotiate with the people on the ship to see if we can rent it. First, we need to make sure they see us.”

Gu Ning took out a large red bedsheet from her space. Xia Yu and Yi Shaoqing climbed onto the roof of the car and waved the sheet vigorously toward the ship, trying to attract attention.

Zhuang Chen fired a few shots into the air.

Gu Ning packed the tent into her space and walked forward, only to see the ship heading their way.

Zhuang Chen squinted as the ship approached and warned, “Everyone, be careful.”

As the ship got closer, its massive size became more apparent. It was a huge ship with a red hull at the waterline and a white body.

Yi Shaoqing jumped down from the car and said to the others, “Looks like a cargo ship.”

The ship stopped about a hundred meters away, as any closer would risk running aground. A small boat was lowered from the ship, and a few people climbed down the ropes, jumped into the boat, and rowed toward them.

Gu Ning saw two men in their thirties sitting in the boat. They rowed quickly toward the shore and, as they got close, threw a rope over, shouting, “Pull us in!”

Xia Yu and Yi Shaoqing stepped forward and pulled the boat from the shallow water to the shore.

The two men stepped off the boat. One was tall, about 1.8 meters, and the other was short, around 1.62 to 1.63 meters. The tall one was burly, while the short one was skinny with a thin mustache and sharp, triangular eyes that occasionally gleamed with cunning. Both had dark, weathered skin, cracked from the cold wind, and wore thick coats and hats. The short man’s triangular eyes scanned Yi Shaoqing and the others, lingering particularly long on Zhuang Chen.

Xia Yu suddenly stepped in front of Zhuang Chen, glaring at the short man with displeasure.

The short man wasn’t offended; instead, he chuckled, a laugh that felt unsettling.

The tall man seemed annoyed and shot the short man a look before glancing at the bedsheet in Yi Shaoqing’s hand. “You want to board the ship?”

Yi Shaoqing replied, “To be precise, we want to rent your ship.”

The tall and short men exchanged glances. The short man laughed and said sarcastically, “How much are you willing to pay to rent our ship, huh?!”

Director Zhong opened the car’s trunk.

The short man’s laughter stopped abruptly as he saw the trunk filled with supplies. His eyes lit up with greed, and he gave the tall man a meaningful look. The tall man nodded and made a few hand signals toward the distant ship.

Gu Ning squinted and saw someone on the deck watching them through binoculars.

Soon, two more small boats were lowered from the ship, each rowed by two men, heading toward them.

“Get on!” the short man said. “Our captain will be happy to discuss business with you.”

Yi Shaoqing and Gu Ning exchanged glances. Confident in their abilities and with Gu Ning’s special powers, they weren’t afraid of any tricks. Yi Shaoqing and Zhuang Chen boarded one boat, Director Zhong, Gu Ning, and Xia Yu boarded another, and the supplies were loaded onto the last boat. They were rowed toward the ship.

Gu Ning was the first to climb the rope ladder hanging from the ship. As she reached the top, a hand reached out to her. She looked up and unexpectedly met a pair of deep green eyes. “Miss?” the man said, smiling as he extended his hand further.

Gu Ning’s eyes flickered slightly, and she grabbed his hand, jumping onto the deck. “Thank you.”

The man with green eyes gazed at her warmly. “It’s been a long time since such a beautiful lady graced my ship. I should be the one thanking you.”

Gu Ning raised an eyebrow, not because of the compliment, but because she was surprised to hear such fluent and standard Mandarin from a foreigner. In fact, seeing a foreigner on this ship was already a shock.

The man who helped her was a foreigner in his thirties, with short, golden-brown hair. His skin was pale, and his high nose and deep-set eyes made his green eyes look like a pool of mysterious, deep water. When those green eyes looked at you, it felt as if they were filled with deep affection.

“You can call me Anderson. May I know your name?” he asked in a magnetic voice, his green eyes fixed on Gu Ning.

“Gu Ning,” she replied, then turned to help Director Zhong.

Director Zhong was also surprised. “A foreigner?”

Xia Yu, who climbed up next, was equally shocked.

Then came Zhuang Chen, and finally Yi Shaoqing.

Everyone was on board, but Anderson didn’t greet them as warmly as he had Gu Ning.

The short man climbed up last and walked over to Anderson. “Ahem! Let me introduce you! This is our Captain Anderson!”

Everyone, including Gu Ning, looked surprised.

The short man then fawned over Anderson. “Captain, these people want to discuss business with you.”

Anderson, who had been gentle with Gu Ning, now looked at Yi Shaoqing and Xia Yu with arrogance. “Oh? What kind of business?”

Yi Shaoqing’s surprise was fleeting, and he quickly regained his composure. “We want to rent your ship.”

Anderson smiled. “Of course, no problem. Even without payment, for the sake of this beautiful lady, I’d be happy to help.”

Yi Shaoqing frowned, thinking Anderson was referring to Zhuang Chen. But when he noticed Anderson’s “affectionate” gaze fixed on Gu Ning, who was observing the deck, his expression turned strange.

Gu Ning ignored their conversation, quietly scanning the deck. The sea breeze tousled her golden hair, bringing with it some unsettling information.

There were over a dozen men on the deck, all of whom were subtly glancing their way. Most of their gazes lingered on Zhuang Chen, with a few occasionally flicking to Gu Ning. She felt the hostility and lewdness in their stares, making her uncomfortable. When her eyes landed on a corner, she saw a boy, about sixteen or seventeen, cleaning the deck with a broom. He was sneaking glances at her, his eyes filled with worry. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away and continued scrubbing the deck. Gu Ning’s gaze darkened as she watched him thoughtfully. She then noticed a man shamelessly staring at Zhuang Chen’s back, a disturbing smile on his face.

Gu Ning frowned.

“They’ve reached an agreement,” Zhuang Chen said as she walked over, her expression displeased. “The people on this ship are unbearable.” Her sharp eyes shot toward the man who had been staring at her, and she said fiercely, “If you keep looking at me, I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

The man, intimidated by Zhuang Chen’s fierce glare, quickly stopped smiling and walked away.

Anderson approached, apologizing to Zhuang Chen. “I’m sorry if my crew made you uncomfortable. Please forgive them. It’s just that we haven’t had such beautiful ladies on board in a long time. I’ll make sure they behave.”

“Captain Anderson?” Zhuang Chen said with a smile. “If you can’t control your crew, I can’t guarantee I won’t do something… inappropriate.”

Anderson wasn’t fazed by the threat and maintained his gentlemanly smile. “Of course!”

“Now, let’s forget about the unpleasantness. The wind is too strong here. Please follow me to the lower deck,” he said, leading the way.

Gu Ning suddenly grabbed Zhuang Chen’s arm, deliberately falling behind the group. In a low voice, she whispered, “Be careful. They eat people…”

Zhuang Chen’s pupils contracted sharply. She glanced at Gu Ning, who was looking straight ahead, her expression calm but giving a slight nod.

When they were on the small boat, Gu Ning had sat behind the two men rowing. She had smelled a familiar sour stench, one she had only encountered in one place before… And now, on the deck, the salty sea breeze carried a faint scent of blood. Someone walked past her with a bucket of dirty water, its color strange. If she wasn’t mistaken, they were cleaning bloodstains from the deck…

Outside, the sun was shining, but as soon as they entered the lower deck, the atmosphere turned cold and damp. A single dim light bulb swung with the ship’s movement, casting shadows. The room was about thirty to forty square meters, and a few men were playing cards at a table under the dim light.

At the back of the room were two large glass windows and a closed door. Through the windows, Gu Ning could see a dark room with over twenty iron bunk beds. On one of the beds, a man was on top of a naked woman, thrusting violently. The woman’s arms were covered in bruises, and her head was turned to the side, her expression blank and lifeless. Her large eyes stared straight through the glass window, directly at Gu Ning…

A tall figure blocked Gu Ning’s view. Her pupils contracted slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and looked away as if lost in thought. She looked up to see Anderson standing in front of her, holding a bottle of red wine in one hand and a wine glass in the other. He smiled and asked, “Would you like some wine?”

A cold chill ran down Gu Ning’s spine.