Afternoon.
On the cargo ship.
Panting heavily, Dong Xuebin stepped onto the deck and swept his gaze around. Three Asian-looking crewmen stood three meters away at an angle—the same three figures he had seen from afar on the reef earlier. Judging by their features and clothing, they looked Japanese. One had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, its smoke ring frozen in midair. The other two wore smiles, as though they had been laughing about something before time stopped.
He ducked aside and silently canceled Stop.
Frozen time resumed. The Power of Time and Wealth 498
"Who was that just now?"
"Probably a shipwrecked fisherman. How did he get here?"
"Yeah, haha. He actually wanted us to save him? Dream on."
"I don't think he'll last many more days. No food, no water—he'll die sooner or later."
"Mm. We only came through these waters because we deliberately took a detour. No other ships will pass by here."
"Huh? Where did he go? Check the reef?"
"Did the waves drown him?"
"There weren't any waves. Could he be swimming after us?"
"Haha, that'd be stupid enough. Swimming? Like he could catch us!"
Dong Xuebin could not understand what they were saying, but he could tell it was Japanese with a slight dialect. They really were Japanese? Damn it, a plane from his country had crashed, and these bastards had actually stood by and watched him die? Still, their expressions gave him another impression. They did not seem like ordinary cargo-ship crewmen; they had a rough, thuggish air about them. When he looked at their waists, Dong Xuebin's pupils contracted. He finally understood why they had not rescued him. They had holsters at their waists, and he could vaguely see black guns inside!
A black ship?
Drug smugglers, or people smugglers?
Dong