Chapter 60#

Before seeing it with his own eyes, in the past two days, what Yan Zishu imagined the most was the scene when Wen Biao came to negotiate with Fu Jinchi and the others. After much thought, lacking experience, he could only infinitely approach the scenes of “negotiations” in movies.

But for a few minutes each day, he also found it incredible. Could he really see Fu Jinchi again at such a time?

Yan Zishu had no watch or phone. His sense of time had been a bit chaotic recently, and he could hardly remember how long Fu Jinchi had been gone.

He tried his best to tidy himself up, combing all his hair back, wiping his lenses until they were transparent, and tucking his low-quality shirt meticulously under his belt, forcing the soft, cheap uniform to give off a feeling of a pine-shaped crane bone. No one who saw him could say he was in a sorry state.

When he was brought to the deck, Yan Zishu’s most intuitive feeling was that there were many people.

It turned out that when a crowd was squeezed together, it was not easy to distinguish who was who. He only saw a dense mass of heads. To make an inappropriate analogy, it was like a large company’s annual meeting, except that everyone was tense, unsmiling, and the atmosphere was solemn.

Dark clouds pressed down from above, and the surrounding visibility was low. The wind chased, the waves were rough, and the ship’s hull rose and fell erratically. But everyone’s feet seemed to be rooted, on high alert, warily guarding against each other, as if they were ready to start a full-blown fight at any moment if there was a disagreement.

This even made Yan Zishu feel a bit inexperienced.

Of course, not everyone in front of him was Wen Biao’s subordinate. The visitors were guests, and half of them were bodyguards brought by the guests.

At this time, Yan Zishu realized that his idea of a lone hero breaking into the enemy camp was childish.

His perspective was too narrow. Which rich person couldn’t hire a bunch of professional bodyguards from a security company?

The main characters were not outside. Yan Zishu passed the deck and was taken to the banquet hall.

Someone was guarding the door. Seeing them, he coughed and opened the door. After entering, he looked around and knew that Fu Jinchi should have arrived. His heart suddenly beat faster, but the first person he saw was still Fu Weishan, and Ji Chen, who was almost nestled in his arms.

Perhaps because there was a light shining on that position, like a protagonist’s halo written on the face, it always attracted the most attention.

Yan Zishu’s eyes darkened. His first thought was that Fu Weishan had been bailed out—it seemed there was such a thing; Assistant He had said before that it was almost successful—his second thought was that it was probably not compliant for a bailed person to leave their place of residence at will.

Perhaps Wen Biao had used his own power.

Whatever. He quickly looked away, actually feeling a little disappointed.

The weather outside was bad, and the indoor lighting was also poor. Even with the main lights on, the banquet hall looked a bit gloomy and eerie, flickering between light and dark.

Looking closer, it was actually just a long conference table with five or six people sitting around it as if in a meeting. Someone was just saying something, perhaps bargaining? It looked no different from a normal business negotiation, just missing a PPT and a projector.

Hearing someone enter, everyone naturally stopped talking and looked over.

Wen Biao was at the head of the table, and Third Uncle Fu was also there. Besides Fu Weishan and Ji Chen, there were two other strangers, neither of whom was young.

Counting them one by one, Yan Zishu finally found Fu Jinchi, who seemed to be hidden in the shadows, at the very end.

Only Fu Jinchi didn’t turn his head to look at him.

While he was in a daze, not knowing what to do, a heavy tray was suddenly placed in his hand.

Yan Zishu came to his senses. At the same time, his shoulder was pushed suggestively. He had no choice but to go up and serve tea and water.

Wen Biao was calm and composed, Fu Weishan still held a grudge, Ji Chen looked over with worry, and Third Uncle Fu acted as if he didn’t know him.

After filling the last person’s cup, Fu Jinchi finally looked up at him: “Thank you.”

Yan Zishu paused: “You’re welcome.”

He was about to leave, but Fu Jinchi stopped him with a light gesture.

“I heard Assistant Yan has been on leave recently, and no one could find him.” Fu Jinchi glanced at Wen Biao, but spoke to Yan Zishu, “So you were staying with Brother Biao. But why are you personally carrying a tray? Are you short of money and doing a part-time job here?”

Yan Zishu’s throat tightened as he met his eyes.

Fu Jinchi’s eyes shone with a deep, dark light: “Look, you’ve lost so much weight.”

This long-lost, frivolous, and lazy tone almost immediately brought a layer of moisture to his eyes.

Fu Jinchi was angry. In the eyes of others, it was an elegant and sharp demeanor, but Yan Zishu could feel his anger from a distance.

But not only was he not nervous, he even thought again, Why is this person still dressed so seriously? It doesn’t suit him.

At this inappropriate time, Yan Zishu inappropriately wished that he was still the playboy he used to be.

He suddenly had the urge to hold Fu Jinchi’s hand, but in full view of everyone, he ended up doing nothing.

In fact, he regretted it a little after missing that moment, and thought, Holding it wouldn’t have mattered. Who knows if there will be another chance next time.

*

Wen Biao explained something with a smile, gave a look to one of his subordinates, and Yan Zishu was quickly taken back to his room.

The meaning of his appearance on the scene was that the hostage was brought out for a walk to prove that he was alive and breathing.

Like a chip, thrown into the balance of the two sides’ struggle. But how the balance swayed was not something the chip itself could decide.

The negotiations in the banquet hall continued. Yan Zishu had no chance to witness it in person, only knowing that it was a long tug-of-war.

He paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast, and finally gave up, unable to figure out how they would end it. Was it that difficult to solve—it should be quite difficult; none of the parties were easy to compromise. So were those people going to play Russian roulette?

Time passed from morning to afternoon. The weather outside became more and more sinister. Rain finally began to fall, and gradually became heavier.

The window glass was hazy, and the sky and the sea merged into a vast expanse of darkness, with no visible boundary.

Yan Zishu looked out with a restless mind. Amidst the pattering sound, someone knocked on the door to deliver lunch.

After saying “come in,” the person who walked in was Ji Chen.

In fact, in the past two days, Ji Chen had repeatedly asked to see him, but when someone came to pass the message, Yan Zishu refused.

He just felt it was unnecessary, but Ji Chen seemed very persistent in apologizing to him.

Since he was already here, Yan Zishu glanced at him, turned around, dragged a chair and sat down: “Why did you run out?”

Ji Chen carefully put down the tray: “I know you must be very angry with me. But, but…”

“But you did it all for President Fu?” Yan Zishu crossed his arms. “I’m not angry with you. And you don’t need to apologize.”

Ji Chen stood in front of him like a primary school student who had done something wrong. Yan Zishu looked away and pointed to the other side: “Sit.”

Ji Chen, tormented by his conscience, sat down nervously: “Are you not just saying that out of anger?”

“No.” Yan Zishu thought for a moment. “I was a little angry at the time, but I got over it. If Wen Biao wanted to catch me, he would have found a way whether you cooperated with him or not. On the contrary, you, did you have to get involved? I feel sorry for you.”

Ji Chen couldn’t quite understand. He was like a small animal that acted on instinct and preferences, so he was easily led by the nose and often didn’t have to consider right or wrong for himself. Perhaps Wen Biao told him how to save Fu Weishan, and he was willing to do as he was told.

But in fact, could he ever open his eyes and see the path he had chosen even once? Yan Zishu doubted it.

But Yan Zishu didn’t have the extra energy to act as a life mentor at this time, so he didn’t explain why he felt sorry.

He picked up the fork, and just as he was about to ask “Have you eaten?”, he suddenly heard a loud noise from outside.

The ship’s hull shook violently, and the cups and plates clattered.

Both of them were surprised and looked at each other.

Yan Zishu turned his head to look out the window again, hesitated for a moment, went over and opened the door. Someone immediately stopped him: “You can’t come out.”

“He can go out, right?” He gestured behind him, letting Ji Chen come over. Ji Chen had freedom of movement on the ship.

The man agreed and was about to let him pass when his vision went black. Yan Zishu struck him on the back of the neck, and he lost consciousness.

Ji Chen was shocked: “You… you knocked him out?”

Hitting someone like that was actually a bit dangerous, but he couldn’t care too much at this time. The man was wearing a rain jacket. Yan Zishu took it off, put it on himself, covering the too-obvious waiter’s uniform: “You can stay here or go wherever you want. Decide for yourself.”

It was also Wen Biao who, in order to make up the numbers, had brought many stragglers onto the ship. Yan Zishu hid and walked out. At one moment he heard “the engine exploded,” and at another “damn it, who brought the cops.” They scattered like a group of monkeys, and no one paid much attention to him.

As for him, when he reached the deck, he found that it was already in chaos. Someone was even shouting with a megaphone, and the scene was not without its comical aspect.

However, there were too many and too mixed a group of people here, a chaotic mess, making it difficult to hear clearly. Besides, many people were fighting in a group.

After a burst of heavy rain, it temporarily stopped for a while. Yan Zishu hid behind a door and made a rough guess.

It sounded like there were undercover police among the people on board, but they were somehow exposed in advance. Someone on Wen Biao’s side was so crazy that they even brought explosives on board. If what he had just heard was true, they had blown up the engine. Were they planning to fight to the death?

The reality was not much different from what he thought.

And the whole incident happened in an instant. From the explosion to now, it changed in the blink of an eye.

Before Yan Zishu had much time to react, the chaos on the deck turned into orderly chaos. Although the police were forced to close the net, they acted swiftly and soon controlled a portion of Wen Biao’s men. Most of the bodyguards were there to protect their employers, and they quickly distinguished their positions and would not obstruct the investigation.

Seeing this, Yan Zishu was also about to go out. At this moment, there was a sudden uproar in the crowd. It turned out that Wen Biao, under the cover of an old subordinate, came out of the banquet hall with a gun, his eyes bloodshot. Fu Weishan, Third Uncle Fu, and Fu Jinchi were all at gunpoint.

His footsteps stopped in place, and his heart felt as if it had been hit hard.

Immediately, a policeman shouted, asking the suspect not to act rashly and that he could be treated leniently if he turned back in time.

At this time, Wen Biao finally gave up his pretense and cursed hysterically, waving his gun wildly, emotionally agitated.

He even fired a shot on the deck as a threat. Yan Zishu watched from a distance and saw that the scene was also extremely strange. Being pointed at by a gun, Fu Weishan had a cold expression, Fu Jinchi was indifferent, and only Third Uncle Fu was trembling seriously, desperately trying to persuade Wen Biao to calm down.

Naturally, Fu Weishan knew that Wen Biao would never shoot at him. Wen Biao was doing this just to help him clear his name.

He seemed to have lost control of his emotions, but he hadn’t lost his mind or forgotten his loyalty.

Wen Biao asked for a lifeboat on the ship, demanded that the police absolutely not follow, and wanted to take a hostage down with him.

He gave up the older and weaker Third Uncle Fu, who would have been easier to control, and instead viciously demanded that Fu Weishan go with him.

Yan Zishu was even more certain that Wen Biao was pretending to be crazy and disowning everyone. Taking Fu Weishan as a hostage, Fu Weishan would not resist on the sea and cause danger, and could cooperate with him to escape to the greatest extent. And after being “released” on shore, he would not reveal his escape direction.

Perhaps, the blame for Fu Weishan’s unauthorized departure from his residence during his bail period could also be pushed onto him afterward.

However, the police did not dare to gamble on whether there was any trickery involved. Fearing that Wen Biao would hurt ordinary people, after a long standoff, they still met his request.

Just as Wen Biao was about to succeed, someone suddenly cried out: “Where are you taking Weishan?! Don’t hurt him!”

It turned out that Ji Chen had arrived. Frightened by the scene, he instinctively let out a cry, attracting the attention of many people.

Fu Weishan’s attention was also distracted for a moment.

Suddenly, Fu Jinchi took the opportunity to tackle him to the ground, rolled half a circle, and created some distance from Wen Biao.

And besides Fu Jinchi, the only one who was not distracted was the sniper who had been aiming from a hidden position for a long time—

Wen Biao had an illegal firearm in his hand and was clearly in the process of seriously threatening the lives of others. He was shot and killed on the spot.

In a flash.

Blood splattered on both brothers.

Third Uncle Fu sat down on the ground with a plop.

Fu Jinchi suddenly smiled at Fu Weishan, who was still in a daze: “Good brother, although I saved you, you don’t have to thank me.”

After a long while, Fu Weishan found his voice and suddenly roared: “Fuck your mother!” and started to fight with him.

Soon someone rushed up to pull them apart and separate them. Suddenly, the ship’s hull shook again.

The sound was two different noises, and thick smoke rose from the bow of the ship.

Someone shouted in horror: “Why is there still a bomb?” “Is it on fire?”

At the same time, a plainclothes officer shouted to his colleague: “Attention! There is still a person with a gun on top!”

It was another of Wen Biao’s old subordinates. He had passed through the crowd earlier and secretly hid on the small observation deck on the upper level. Stimulated by the scene of his tragic death, he was filled with hatred for a moment. He slipped along the railing, pulled out his gun, and aimed the dark muzzle at the back of Fu Jinchi’s heart—