Chapter 152: The Ship-Seizing Plan

"That sentence of yours has a very story-like vibe to it," Mofei said, being the person present who was most familiar with Li Momo, though still not all that close. He chimed in, "Since that's the case, why not tell us your story?"

Li Momo wore a puzzled expression. "Huh?"

She almost doubted her own ears.

"I'm serious. Since we're all in the same boat now, and there are dead ends ahead, behind, to the left, and to the right, we might as well open up and chat," Mofei said, pointing to the operating table in the room. "If you don't believe me, just look."

"There's a victim right here on the bed, there are dozens of armed thugs outside ready to bash our brains out at any moment, and we're out in the open ocean. No matter how you look at it, we're dead for sure, right?"

Li Momo got up and checked the beds one by one.

She looked very carefully and earnestly.

She paused for a moment when she saw the girl who had been reserved like a piece of cargo from head to toe, but in the end, she shook her head. "I'm not going to say anything."

Her lips were tightly sealed.

And it wasn't like they could just grab her and beat her up.

Extorting confessions through torture was illegal in this day and age.

Besides, they even had a moral pillar of a police officer among them, young Officer Xu. Who would dare step out of line?

"Even your boss sent you up on this boat to get yourself rubbed out, and you're still sticking up for him," Baitian shook his head repeatedly. "How foolish."

Li Momo let him talk, remaining completely unmoved.

The atmosphere instantly turned deadlocked.

Trapped in the same space as ten corpses whose hearts and lungs had been hollowed out, even chatterboxes like Mofei and Baitian had nothing left to say, let alone the quieter ones.

Who knew how much time had passed before a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out from the doorway.

Just as everyone braced themselves and prepared to fight, a woman's voice echoed from outside: "Open the door for me, you lot aren't all dead yet, are you?"

Baitian was overjoyed. "It's Cuihua!"

He pulled the door open, and standing outside was none other than a woman covered in grime, looking as though she had just crawled out of a chimney.

Natalie waved at them. "Come on out. You really have no shame making me come rescue you."

"Cuihua—" Baitian said, his face full of emotion as he reached out for a hug.

"Get away from me, you brute," Natalie pushed him away with a single finger in utter disgust. "Who are these people? Didn't you say there was only one?"

Hearing an exotic beauty speak in fluent Mandarin with a heavy northeastern accent gave Mofei quite a mental shock.

Qin Qing was already used to it and explained, "This is our target, these are peers, and these two... are cops catching criminals."

Natalie couldn't make heads or tails of this bizarre turn of events, but now wasn't the time to sort it out, so she simply stated her progress: "The head of security is dead. I found the ship's structural blueprint and blocked the ventilation ducts in the lowest-level wheelhouse."

"Cuihua is amazing!" Baitian relentlessly showered her with praise. "What would I do without you?"

"Go stand over there," Natalie gave him a punch. "Stop messing around."

"Without ventilation, the air in the control area can only last an hour or two at most, so the captain is bound to send out a distress signal," Qin Qing thought seriously. "By then, there might be a turning point."

Mofei glanced at the [Advanced Ship Navigation] skill in his skill bar and raised his hand. "Maybe we can take the wheelhouse by force, and I'll direct the steering."

"You?" Natalie sized up this rescue target. "You know how to drive a ship?"

Mofei nodded decisively. "Things have come to this, would I try to trick my own people?"

There was no way a single person could pilot a vessel of this massive size on their own, but they only needed to capture the captain and threaten the crew to achieve their goal.

All Mofei needed to do was control the general direction so the crew couldn't fool them.

Since Natalie had sealed off the ventilation system, the people below would have no choice but to communicate with the upper levels if they wanted to survive.

This was their best opportunity to attack the lower deck.

"Fortune favors the bold; I think we can take a gamble," Baitian chimed in enthusiastically, casting a vote in favor.

Qin Qing nodded as well. "It has a fair degree of feasibility."

Everyone's gaze fell upon Long Er.

He carried the aura of a big boss, and no one dared to ignore his opinion.

Long Er was considering matters on a deeper level.

First of all, the navy was already on its way, and the best course of action was to hide until the navy arrived.

However, he couldn't be certain how long it would take for the navy to get here, nor how much effort it would take to take down this ship once they did.

If they adopted the others' plan—storming the wheelhouse to seize navigational control of the entire ship—they could turn from passive to active, but the corresponding risks would also be much greater.

If not for the mission on his shoulders, Long Er certainly wouldn't want to be at the mercy of others or gamble on that uncertainty; he would prefer a much more aggressive approach.

Right now, his primary objective was to ensure Mofei's safety.

After thinking for a moment, Long Er offered his improved suggestion: "First blow up the operating room, lock the two of them back in the third-deck cabin, and the rest of us will head to the lower deck to seize the wheelhouse."

Dragging Officer Xu and Li Momo along at this point would purely be dead weight; it would be better to lock them back inside the cabin.

After blowing up the operating room, even if there were multiple operating rooms, the organ-harvesting surgeries would inevitably slow down. Shutting them away in the rear cabin would maximize the safety of both individuals.

Out of a sense of duty, Officer Xu would also keep a close eye on Li Momo. Giving him a weapon was the best preventative measure they could manage.

If any unpredictable variables arose beyond that, then it would simply be up to fate, and they would have to rely on whatever skills they had left.

Officer Xu knew that his physical condition right now meant he couldn't be of much help, and life-or-death situations left no room for flaws. The four of them protecting Mofei alone was already a pretty good arrangement.

He nodded in agreement with the plan, and Li Momo had no room to voice an opinion.

Qin Qing finally hammered down the decision: "Then let's do it."

The group returned to Cabin 18, having Officer Xu and Li Momo hide inside.

The mental state of the human "livestock" in the cabin was already quite precarious.

They had heard all the gunfire and fighting on the ship. Despair wasn't the most terrifying thing; what was truly terrifying was experiencing hope only to be plunged back into despair.

The captives were somewhat noisy when they entered.

Mofei handed his pistol to Officer Xu. "Officer Uncle, please do some ideological work with them and have a chat therapy session."

Even though the guards were unlikely to search this place thoroughly, having the captives cooperate and provide cover would undoubtedly make Officer Xu and Li Momo much safer.

"Can't lose the traditional craft," Mofei tried to liven up the atmosphere.

Officer Xu felt heavy-hearted, but still managed a bitter smile. "Yeah."

After hiding the two of them, the four combatants began discussing their plan.

Natalie had memorized the entire structure of the ship and gave a brief rundown to Long Er and Qin Qing.

As for Baitian?

Forget about missions; the guy didn't even have brains during peacetime, otherwise why would he be tethered to Qin Qing?

Explaining things to him was just redundant; when the time came, they would just directly order him where to go and attack.

"There are two stairwells leading to the lower deck. Well, there used to be more than two, but now there are only two left," Natalie pointed out the directions. "One at the bow and one amidships."

"Below the bow passage is the wheelhouse, and below the amidships passage is the crew's rest area."