Chapter 141 Crisis on the Sea

Seven a.m., the Dolphin cruise ship, the captain's cabin.

"Captain." Hai Meilong hadn't even fully entered the cabin before walking to the captain's side and getting straight to the point, "There's been a situation on the island. I'd like you to take a look."

The captain of the Dolphin was named Joseph Campbell, a seasoned veteran nearing sixty years of age.

Seeing Hai Meilong's arrival, Joseph's expression didn't change much; he simply responded calmly, "What is it? Has someone finally been seriously injured... requiring a helicopter?" He hazarded a guess.

"Not quite," Hai Meilong replied. "Please take a look at this..." As he spoke, he picked up the tablet he carried, bringing up a video, "This is footage we took an hour ago."

The video Hai Meilong showed was naturally the one of Lie Nong being abducted by the pirates. The video wasn't very long, only a few minutes, because Lie Nong offered almost no resistance and was dragged away by the group.

"Hmm..." Captain Joseph mused after watching it for a good while. "You're showing me this... what does it mean?"

"It's naturally to get your opinion," Hai Meilong said. "What do you think those people are?"

"I don't know." Joseph didn't even bother answering the question. He stated directly, "But I know what to do next..." He paused, turning to look directly into Hai Meilong's eyes. "You and your boys need to stop filming immediately and withdraw from the island. And I... will call the Coast Guard right now."

"Wait!" Hai Meilong saw the other man reaching for the intercom and quickly grabbed Joseph's elbow, dissuading him. "Is that necessary?" he said in a low voice. "Joseph, you need to think this through... the production costs of our show are very high, and we're already halfway through filming. Do you know what reshoots mean?"

"That's none of my concern." Joseph replied firmly, "You hired me to ensure that everyone on this ship comes and goes safely. I took the payment, so naturally, I have to do my job." He shook off Hai Meilong's hand. "Don't talk to me about production costs or filming schedules... All I know is that right now, not far from us, there's a group of unidentified armed individuals, and they've already taken a passenger from our ship." He raised a finger to point at the console beside him. "The worst part is... I didn't see anything on the radar. That indicates that the group either appeared out of thin air or arrived on some kind of vehicle with anti-reconnaissance capabilities." He took half a step forward, glaring at Hai Meilong, lowering his voice. "Civilian ships can't possibly carry that kind of equipment, and their clothing doesn't look like any regular army, so... they're either pirates, drug lords, or both." At this point, he mimicked Hai Meilong's earlier tone and asked rhetorically, "Do you know what being targeted by this group means?"

Listening to the captain's words, Hai Meilong's expression changed several times, but he still didn't show any panic.

Dozens of seconds later, Hai Meilong seemed to have made up his mind and replied, "Alright... Joseph, I think you're right. Notify the Coast Guard." As he spoke, he turned to walk out of the cabin. "I'll be responsible for contacting and recalling the staff and contestants from the island..."

Boom—

His words were interrupted by a loud noise.

Along with the sound, the entire ship vibrated violently.

"What was that?" Captain Joseph's shout rang out immediately. The old captain almost fell to the ground from the impact, but he reacted quickly, grabbing the edge of the console, preventing himself from falling to his knees.

"Captain! The hull has been hit! The second engine is damaged, and the rear cabin is taking on water!" A crew member who had been sitting by the console scrambled back to his seat, looking at the screen and shouting in response.

"Seal off the rear cabin! Call for help, quick!" the captain roared.

"What's going on? Joseph?" Hai Meilong was at the door (he happened to be standing at the doorway when the impact occurred, holding onto the doorframe, so he didn't fall). "What was that?"

"Who knows!" Joseph pressed down on his captain's hat with one hand and used the other to support himself as he stood up. "Maybe we were hit by some large marine life, maybe..."

Screech—wooo—

At this moment, a dull, massive sound of metal scraping suddenly came from the stern of the ship, drowning out the captain's words.

"Damn it!" Hai Meilong cursed under his breath and immediately rushed out the door, running along the deck toward the source of the sound.

Throughout this process, the sound of metal scraping never stopped, and... as the sound grew louder, the ship began to gradually tilt, the stern side becoming higher and higher...

However, Hai Meilong's physical fitness was surprisingly good. Even though he was walking "uphill," he quickly reached the stern and witnessed firsthand...

"Oh! God!" The scene before him shocked even Hai Meilong.

At this moment, a huge hole had been torn open at the stern of the cruise ship, and globs of green, semi-solid matter were constantly pouring out. The substance expanded violently upon contact with seawater, then quickly solidified into a solid metal...

The amazing thing was that this metal showed no signs of sinking in the seawater. It floated strongly on the surface and pushed the stern of the Dolphin upward, causing the entire ship to tilt.

"Metal slurry torpedo..." Hai Meilong immediately regained his composure and identified the true nature of the substance. In the next second, he gripped the railing, stretched his neck, and began to scan the sea intently.

About ten seconds later, what he was looking for appeared...

A submarine with a skull emblem printed on its hull slowly surfaced from the sea, breaking through the waves from the side of the Dolphin, and in the blink of an eye, it was within two hundred meters.

"Damn it! It really is pirates..." Hai Meilong knew something was wrong when he saw the shadow of the submarine. He immediately turned and ran back towards the captain's cabin.

"Joseph! Pirates! They're coming!" Hai Meilong almost shouted as he entered the captain's cabin.

"James..." Looking at Hai Meilong staggering into the cabin, Captain Joseph announced some bad news with a deathly pale face, "Our communication signals are being blocked."

"What!" Hai Meilong exclaimed in surprise.

"The pirates' ship must have jamming devices that target long-range signals. We... can't contact the Coast Guard..." Joseph took off his hat. "We may not even be able to send out a distress signal."

"Abandon ship, Joseph! Let's escape to the island first!" Hai Meilong stepped forward and said.

"It's useless, look." Joseph said, reaching out to press a few buttons on the console, bringing up the image from the bow camera. "Look... they foresaw the reactions we might make. Just now, as soon as the torpedo hit, more than a dozen pirates hiding underwater rushed ashore and occupied the beach... In broad daylight, we can't possibly get past that group of armed thugs."

Thump—

At this point, even Hai Meilong, whose will was as strong as iron and who could handle everything with ease, slumped heavily into a chair, a look of despair on his face.

"Haa—" Captain Joseph sighed deeply. "Maybe this is fate." He shook his head slightly. "I was planning to retire after this trip, but I didn't expect... haha..." He flagrantly erected a death flag and continued to say to Hai Meilong, "Don't worry too much, James, you're all important people. They won't kill you casually. Pirates... they just want ransom. When the time comes, the government will definitely come to rescue..."

"Hey!" Suddenly, something flashed through Hai Meilong's mind. He shouted suddenly, interrupting Joseph's words, "Joseph, you said long-range signals are being blocked, what about medium and short-range signals?" He quickly continued, "Like... the communication between here and the island?"

Joseph frowned and glanced sideways, thinking for a moment before replying, "Hmm... that... should still be possible..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Hai Meilong jumped up from the chair, grabbed the intercom on the console, and turned to a crew member a few meters away. "Tune me into the regional full frequency! Quick!"

The crew member was at a loss, but Captain Joseph quickly gave him a confirming look. "Do as he says."

Thus, five seconds later, Hai Meilong's voice rang out from all the communication devices in the area...

"Attention, everyone who hears this! This is an emergency! This is James Francis Hai Meilong, speaking to you from the Dolphin cruise ship! Right now, our cruise ship is under attack by a group of pirates! Repeat! Under attack by pirates! Everyone who hears my voice, if you're still on the island, please hide yourselves! And try to seek help from the outside world! I will try to destroy the ship's surveillance equipment as much as possible, to prevent you from being tracked down by the pirates!"

Hai Meilong repeated this message twice in a quick, loud, and clear voice, then handed the intercom to Captain Joseph. "Continue broadcasting, Joseph, don't stop until someone bursts in."

"Understood." Joseph took the intercom and immediately put it to his mouth, starting to repeat Hai Meilong's message.

Hai Meilong himself rushed out of the captain's cabin and ran towards the surveillance room...

…………

On the other side, inside the pirate submarine.

"It seems there's a pretty smart guy on the other ship..." Max listened to the broadcast, a cold smile on his face. "Heh... as a director, this guy is quite impressive. He can be said to be calm in the face of danger, commanding with precision..."

"Son." At this moment, Greybeard spoke, "You don't know the full story..." For some reason, his tone and expression seemed particularly cold at this time. "This 'Hai Meilong'... is much more capable than you think..."