Everyone had their own opportunities, and if one were to seize this chance, one might be able to reach the sky in a single bound. Yet, for Tang Xiu, he did not expect that his action of purchasing prisoners gave Chen Yan such a big chance.
Escaping from prison, yet encountering the path to become immortal.
Having learned the whole story, Tang Xiu could only lament inwardly for the rough fate Chen Yan had to go through in the first half of her life, though she found good fortune in the latter half of her life. Although he hadn"t read the file on Chen Yan, for her to be detained in labor camp 1319 showed that she was a criminal who possessed some strength and excellence.
"It"s a coincidence indeed, so might as well let her stay."
Tang Xiu cast a seal on her and spoke no more.
At present, Chen Yan felt like she was dreaming. She had escaped from the prison by a strange mixture of circ.u.mstances and became Tang Xiu"s subordinate. All of a sudden, she truly looked forward to her future life.
Port of Portorua.
A pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p quietly moored at the port. Even though the spotlights illuminated the surroundings like daylight, there was no sign of anyone in the entire port. Ye s.h.i.+san and Hei Wuya stood side by side on the bow of the liner, watching the road in the distance.
"They are coming."
As the headlights of the cars shone in the distance, the two men with excellent eyesight had their expression stirred as they jumped and flew to the sh.o.r.e. After the vehicles stopped in front of them, they saw Tang Xiu get out from the SUV as they greeted him, "Boss!"
Tang Xiu nodded in response and asked, "Everything prepped?"
"It"s all arranged. All the crews and attendants are already in place in the liner and we can set sail at any time," said Ye s.h.i.+san.
"No hurry. Jin s.h.i.+"s team hasn"t come back yet. We"ll set sail after they come back," said Tang Xiu. "Also, organize the prisoners we brought out of the prison and arrange them to board and wait on the liner first."
"Affirmative."
Without much effort, 200 prisoners came down from the buses. Their eyes lit up after seeing the liner and they looked excited as they ran toward the s.h.i.+p. Escaping from prison was tantamount to going to heaven for these people to begin with, and this large luxury liner was something people really liked.
Tang Xiu himself didn"t share the joy of these jubilant convicts, nor did he care about them scattering about disorderly. He was perfectly aware that it was probably the last time they had a chance to wildly run about together. Once he found a deserted island and drilled them with inhuman training, these fellas would likely refuse to run as wild as now even if they wanted to.
After half an hour pa.s.sed by, everyone was settled on the s.h.i.+p. Each prisoner brought out of the prison had their own cabin, as well as their share of a large amount of wine, meals, and fruits. There was also a hall that was originally a gambling establishment for the liner"s guests, and a lot of them had now gathered there to gamble. Nearly every one of them had a private small vault even if they had been sentenced in the prison, so they pulled their wealth out and directly used debt note as chips.
The whole interior of the liner was now filled with wild lawlessness, filling the air with a pestilential atmosphere, so much so that the crews and attendants of the liner had to avoid them with utmost care.
On the bow deck of the liner, Tang Xiu quietly waited for the trio of Spectre, Jin s.h.i.+, and Xue Sha. Time pa.s.sed by and the clock now pointed to 4:30 AM as three lightning-like figures dashed from the distance, then stood in front of Tang Xiu after a few breaths.
"All done, Boss," reported Jin s.h.i.+ after cupping his fist.
"Is Augustino dead?" asked Tang Xiu.
"He has been shot dead by the cops of this country. Also, all the dozens of prison guards who escorted the convicts out have been killed in the fierce battle after they left us, so you can rest a.s.sured—we even joined in the killing. Even if some of them didn"t die there, n.o.body could save them either."
Tang Xiu nodded and motioned for Mo Awu behind him and said, "Let"s leave! Strive to leave the waters of this country as fast as possible. Once we enter the high seas, find a deserted island to temporarily station at. Uncut jade is worthless; these convicts we brought out of prison kind of need some beatings."
"How do you want to drill them, exactly?" asked Spectre.
"Except you, the rest must undergo inhuman training." Tang Xiu glanced at him and lightly said. "Of the 200 convicts we brought out of prison, there may be 100 of them who can last after the training."
The answer made Spectre shudder inside and he was rendered speechless.
****
Inside the liner.
Gillon Touma quietly sat on the bed, watching the coast outside through the window. He was convicted and sentenced to 180 years in prison for his heavy crimes. He originally thought that he would die in prison, but didn"t expect that he would have a chance to go on living outside.
He longed for freedom more than anyone else.
He had been rescued from prison, and even though Tang Xiu stressed that he had cast a seal on his body, he didn"t believe it in the slightest. He firmly believed in the "I control my fate not the G.o.d!" creed. Being restrained was a situation he abhorred the most, so he had long thought of a plan to find a way to escape immediately after leaving the prison. Even if Tang Xiu had eyes and hands that covered the sky, the world was so big. He believed he could still enjoy his life free and unfettered as long as he concealed his ident.i.ty and was low-key.
"I gotta escape."
Gillon took a deep breath and sat up from the bed. He opened the door and quietly headed out to the stern. After looking around, he finally left the cabin and appeared on the aft deck after avoiding many people who came to the stern.
"Hehe… you wanna make this Gillon Touma pledge loyalty to you? Hmph, dream on! The one who can boss me around in this world isn"t born yet."
Gillon jumped out of the s.h.i.+p with a queer laugh. During the fall, his palm easily grabbed the chain hanging on the hull as he glided soundlessly into the water.
Amid the curtain of the night, Gillon dived into the dark sea and swam 100 meters in one breath without break; only then did he reach a dark area. Still, he didn"t dare to lower his guard and kept swimming further towards the distance while trying not to make a sound.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
However, two hazy silhouettes appeared on the stern where Gillion just jumped out from. Shui Gui and Ye s.h.i.+san exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
"Well, Boss guessed it right. Some people think that the seal Boss told them about was just to frighten them. They refuse to be controlled, so they will seize the chance to escape by jumping off into the sea when the liner is about to sail off. Well, water is your world, Shui Gui, so it"s up to you whether you wanna bring him back!" Ye s.h.i.+san grinned.
Shui Gui smugly smiled. His figure then hurled forward like an artillery sh.e.l.l and dashed out on the water"s surface toward where Gillon Touma was fleeing. He went so far as to directly dive into the water when he was only 100 meters away from Gillon and went diving to catch up with him.
****
Tang Xiu entered the interior of the liner and headed straight to the gambling hall. Although many convicts saluted him, it was nearly perfunctory. These fellas who just escaped from prison did that for no other reason other than dreading Tang Xiu"s powerful strength, not out of respect.
"How interesting."
Tang Xiu was aware of it and he didn"t take them seriously either. He knew that bringing these unruly and intractable people under his control was not an easy task. He kept walking quietly to the bar and asked a waiter with a pale face for a gla.s.s of red wine. He gently took a sip of it and shook the gla.s.s as he watched the crowd and pondered about how to show them who was in charge here.
Not long after, Ye s.h.i.+san came to Tang Xiu"s side in a hurry and whispered, "Boss, a prisoner has just tried to escape and Shui Gui is currently chasing him. He should bring him back soon."
"That will make things more interesting."
A strange smile appeared on Tang Xiu"s charming face as he dropped all the wine in the gla.s.s. He threw the gla.s.s to the floor and shouted, "Notify everyone to gather here immediately. I"ll give you all 10 minutes! Should anyone fail to come within 10 minutes, I don"t think they need to leave with us anymore."
"Affirmative!"
Mo Awu and the other four nearby quickly disappeared from the gambling hall.
Time ticked slowly as the nearly rescued criminals steadily came in one by one. Not including Spectre, only 195 felons of the 200 had come here when the time was about to reach the 10-minute deadline.
"There are still 20 seconds left…"
Tang Xiu stood at the bar counter as a Mitsubis.h.i.+ army knife soundlessly appeared in his hand.
"Get f.u.c.king away from this Big Daddy"s path!"
A rough, rude voice came from the gambling hall as Chen Yan, who was late, staggered to rush inside with unsteady steps. Once she stabilized her footing, she glared angrily at the burly man behind her, whose upper body was naked and full of scars and tattoos.
"Close the door!" shouted Tang Xiu as the ten-minute deadline was up.
As the front door to the gambling hall closed, Tang Xiu released his spiritual sense. He swept it over the s.h.i.+p and clearly sensed the three people who didn"t come then immediately shouted, "Awu, go and drag Yale Sa.s.s and Getae here!"
"Roger!"
Inwardly, Mo Awu paid a silent tribute for Yale Sa.s.s and Getae and headed outside fast. In just a few minutes, he had already grabbed the throats of the two men and dragged them into the gambling hall, then threw them in front of the bar counter where Tang Xiu was standing at.
"f.u.c.king a.s.sholes! This Big Daddy would"ve kicked your f.u.c.king b.a.l.l.s if it weren"t for your sneak attack!" Yale Sa.s.s was famous for his fiery temper and as a man difficult to deal with in labor camp 1319. Stirring up troubles was something he liked the most. However, only a few people dared to fight him because of his formidable strength.
Mo Awu"s expression turned frosty. He dashed to the front of Yale Sa.s.s before his feet sent out a lightning-fast kick to his face. Right at the moment that blood splashed out, a dagger suddenly appeared in his hand out of thin air and stabbed both of Yale Sa.s.s"s shoulders very quickly, creating two b.l.o.o.d.y holes.
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"
BAM…
The moment Yale Sa.s.s spat out the profanity, Mo Awu"s fist smashed his mouth. Even if this guy had firm and strong teeth, several of them were broken at once.
"Kneel!"
Tang Xiu, who was now sitting cross-legged on the bar counter, only watched the savagely beaten Yale Sa.s.s and Getae with a cold and detached demeanor. Facing these felons who had drenched themselves with crime, he made up his mind to teach them a lesson and make them remember how dreadful and horrifying he was.