The Stubborn Anchor

The three men who kidnapped Chu Xiaoxiao were notorious desperadoes in Nanwan, known collectively as the "Desperate Trio"!

They had been hired by a mysterious employer who offered a massive bounty to kidnap Chu Xiaoxiao, the eldest daughter of the Chu Group. If they pulled this job off, the three brothers could emigrate overseas and live the rest of their lives in luxury.

The leader was the absolute core of the group, known for being ruthless and cunning. The second-in-command was cowardly and sleazy, but he was an expert in all kinds of vehicles and theft, and was quite shrewd. The third was dull-witted, but he was the strongest fighter of the three, a former underground cage fighter who held the leader's absolute trust.

The second-in-command harbored his own secret agenda, but he moved quickly, and soon a simple military tent was set up. The leader drove Chu Xiaoxiao into the tent, closed it, and sat right in front of it, never leaving his post.

"Boss, who do you think the employer is? Why would they want to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Chu family?" The second-in-command sat down next to the leader, feigning curiosity while his eyes kept darting toward the tent.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't. The more you know, the more trouble you're in. Have you forgotten how your previous brothers died?" The leader gave him a cold look. Although the second-in-command was quite capable, he had too many ulterior motives and was hard to control.

The second-in-command chuckled sheepishly, "Right, right! It's my big mouth! Don't be angry, Boss! But this little girl is just unlucky. She had a perfectly good life in the big city, but she had to run off to this godforsaken place. Otherwise, how would we have had the chance to grab her!"

"Hmm, this time it was just luck. The Chu Group is one of the largest conglomerates in Min Province. Although they haven't been around long, neither the mother nor the daughter are pushovers. The Chu Group's expansion speed is staggering, and I hear they are moving into Southeast Asia. It's a rising behemoth!

I suspect that whoever wants to kidnap the Chu family's daughter is one of the old-guard factions whose interests have been threatened." The leader had clearly done his homework; his eyes held a shrewdness that didn't match his rough appearance.

"Oh, in that case, this Chu family girl should be worth a lot! Is 10 million a bit low for us? Split three ways, that's only three million each—not even enough for one of those rich kids' luxury cars!" the second-in-command complained.

The leader narrowed his eyes and glanced at the second-in-command, a cold glint flashing in his gaze.

"I've told you many times: eat only what you can handle! If you had their power, you could use this girl to get even more benefits. But we are just knives in their hands. They use us to draw blood, and when they're done, they can toss us into the Huangpu River without a second thought!"

The second-in-command felt a chill from the leader's warning glare and his throat went dry. "Don't be angry, Boss, I was just joking, just joking. Oh, the third guy is taking so long to gather firewood, I'll go help him."

With that, the second-in-command hurried toward the woods deep in the island.

"Hmph!" The leader watched the second-in-command's retreating back, a flash of murderous intent crossing his eyes.

"You're wrong. It's split between two people, five million each. That's plenty..." The whisper in the darkness was carried away by the moaning wind.

On the other side of the beach, the third man stood before the "dilapidated shipwreck," holding a flashlight and examining the abandoned fishing boat with a strange expression.

"Why are there so many holes? It doesn't look like it hit a reef; it looks more like it was shelled," the third man muttered, scratching his head in confusion.

In the darkness.

Nie Yun: "..."

Mechanical Insect: "..."

It seems I might have overdone it...

"Whatever, I'll just go on board and strip some wood. That's much faster than picking up firewood in the woods. This is a great idea! Has my IQ gone up lately? As expected, I should learn more from the boss; that way I'll get smarter and smarter!" The third man felt quite proud of himself.

He walked into the "shipwreck," swept his flashlight around, and headed straight for the cabin, intending to find some broken tables or chairs.

As soon as he entered the cabin and the bright light illuminated the space, the third man froze. It was completely different from what he had imagined; the cabin was clean and tidy, and he could even see various daily necessities.

After a brief moment of shock, a wave of alarm hit him—there was someone here!

However, at that moment, a sliding sound came from the darkness beneath his feet, and his ankles tightened. Startled, he swept his flashlight downward and saw a silver-white cable wrapped around his ankles.

"What is this?" The beam of the flashlight followed the silver cable upward, finally landing on a crossbeam on the ceiling. Resting there was... an anchor!?

The third man was terrified and immediately reached for his dagger to cut the cable. But just then, the anchor on the crossbeam jumped off on its own!

That's right, the third man could swear that the area around the anchor was clear—there was absolutely no one there, and no mechanism. It was as if the anchor had simply decided it didn't want to live anymore; it jumped with such determination!

A suicidal anchor?!

That was the last bizarre thought that crossed the third man's mind. The next moment, his feet were jerked upward. "Ah!" After a short, sharp cry, by the time he regained his senses, he was hanging upside down.

Before his eyes, the suicidal silver-white anchor was swaying back and forth on the crossbeam just like him. The third man's brain was a mess; this eerie situation made his skin crawl.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Footsteps approached from the cabin entrance and stopped right behind him. Although he couldn't see behind him, he could feel the undisguised malice coming from the person there.

"Who is it!?" The third man's hair stood on end. There was someone in this dilapidated shipwreck! No—was it a human or a ghost?!

He suddenly thought of the legendary ghost ships. Damn it, I can't be this unlucky, right? Is this what they call being too clever for one's own good?

"Thud!" After a dull impact, the third man's eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

Nie Yun casually tossed aside the frying pan in his hand, which dissolved into a pool of silver-white liquid and merged back into the Sea Wolf.

He clapped his hands and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Well, our first time working together was quite in sync, not bad at all! Let me see what kind of good stuff this guy has on him!"

In the end, Nie Yun searched the third man and found a satellite phone, a Swiss Army knife, a pistol, two magazines, and some miscellaneous items like a compass.

He stared blankly at the black pistol in his hand. It was a Type 54 7.62mm pistol, the most common handgun in the country.

Although Nie Yun had seen some low-level gangsters before, this was his first time seeing the real deal.

"Oh my god, if it weren't for my little babies, I would have almost caught a bullet!" Nie Yun felt a lingering fear. The country's gun control was world-famous; he had never expected the other party to have firearms!

This group of kidnappers was not simple!

Nie Yun put the items away, tucked the pistol into the back of his waistband, and then looked at the third man still dangling in mid-air. He waved his hand and said, "Don't waste it. He still has some food on him. Remember to tie him up after you're done eating!"

Then, the anchor turned into a pool of silver-white fluid. The third man fell with a "thud" and was immediately enveloped by a silver-white mass. A moment later, all the iron items on him were swept away, down to the metal buckle on his belt.

Nie Yun watched the third man, who was now tightly bound by the silver-white cable, and nodded with satisfaction. Then, he turned his gaze toward the outside of the cabin, where the only light source in the dark night was very conspicuous...