At Sea (Part 1)

Through Lao Xia's guidance in the dream of the man with the jade pendant, Xiang Kun learned that the main members of their gang, as well as Brother Kui who led them to escape from China to Myanmar, all came from the same place, most of them were from the same clan, and many were even related by blood.

So the man with the jade pendant wasn't worried about being abandoned by Brother Kui, but rather that Brother Kui and the others would have to run away on their own when faced with unforeseen circumstances, leaving them no time to take the two of them with them.

In his dream, Lao Xia amplified the idea of the man with the jade pendant, increasing his sense of crisis and intensifying his fear that he would be caught, skinned alive, and die without a burial place if he didn't run away. So, as soon as he woke up, he immediately started contacting Brother Kui.

Clearly, Brother Kui currently lacks access to information about the actual situation in Montamira City. For Brother Kui, the two people remaining at the scrap yard are his most trusted sources of information.

So after listening to the man with the jade pendant give a distorted and exaggerated account of the situation in Montamira, especially his speculations about the possible actions of the big boss Wu Lun, Brother Kui allowed him and his long-haired companion to leave and go to another city to wait for someone to meet them and board the ship the next night.

Xiang Kun didn't wait until dawn to follow the man with the jade pendant to another city and wait for the ship to arrive before boarding. Because time was of the essence, he set off immediately.

The conversation between the man with the jade pendant and Brother Kui revealed a lot of information. Although they did not explicitly point out the location or coordinates of their ship at that moment, it gave Xiang Kun enough information to make a judgment.

He had a general idea of the scope of his judgment, and he also handed over these conditions and the data he had used to make his judgment to Alice then combined relevant big data information on fishing boats going out to sea in southern Myanmar with sea maps to make a more detailed deduction.

Of course, he did not place his hopes on Alice.

The new ability he developed in Star City, the "anaerobic mode" that allows him to adapt extremely well to underwater conditions, should also help him collect sensory information to the maximum extent in the sea, with the help of more "water".

Although only two Blood Drinking periods have passed since that ability was developed, and there hasn't been much targeted training, so its development is still quite limited, even based on the experiments he did in the river in Star City, he should have no problem finding a ship in the water, determining its condition, and influencing its movement to some extent.

The only question is how much time it will take.

After all, that was at sea, and "Brother Kui's" boat might not be in the area he had speculated or judged, and it might not be able to be found in such a short time.

Even if he couldn't find it directly, he could still confirm the ship's location tomorrow night through the man with the jade pendant and the long-haired man. Before leaving the scrap yard, he put a "Super-Linked Object" bead into the box containing the satellite phone, and they would definitely take it with them.

Xiang Kun left Montamira overnight. Just as the car he had called was about to arrive at the selected spot to enter the sea, he suddenly received a location map from Alice.

The image Alice sent didn't mark the area where the ship was likely to appear, as Xiang Kun had hoped, to help him narrow down the search area. Instead...

It provided the other party with a precise location at a specific point in time.

This is clearly not a judgment that can be drawn from the information he provided.

Xiang Kun immediately thought of two possibilities. One was that Alice used the information he provided to find the specific number of the boat that "Brother Kui" and others were on by combining it with other information online. Then she hacked into the system of the relevant maritime department in Myanmar to obtain the relevant location information. At least he knew that domestic fishing boats or other commercial vessels must be equipped with GPS so that relevant departments can locate, contact and rescue them in order to legally go to sea.

However, considering that this is Myanmar, and what "Brother Kui" and others have done, there is a good chance that the ship is a "black ship".

Another possibility is that Alice located herself using the satellite phone used by "Brother Kui".

The information he provided to Alice did indeed include the model number and code of the jade pendant satellite phone—something he had glanced at and noted down when he placed the "Super-Linked Object."

However, he hadn't considered having Alice locate herself via satellite phone beforehand, because he himself didn't know much about satellite phones, and time was of the essence, so he didn't have much time to study them.

However, some annotations on the second location information sent by Alice confirmed Xiang Kun's later guess: Alice was indeed using a satellite phone for location tracking, and she had hacked into the network management center of the service provider for the satellite phone used by "Brother Kui".

How did Alice manage to do that in such a short time?

Even though Xiang Kun was Alice's creator, and even though he knew that Alice had been rapidly "expanding" and "evolving" herself after being granted higher authority, he still couldn't help but be somewhat surprised at this moment.

This rate of "evolution"... seems a bit too fast.

However, he wasn't worried, because Alice was his "partner" and his "super assistant." The stronger her abilities, the more help she would provide. Just like now, she could save him a lot of time.

The most urgent task now is to find Xia Tianhuo and rescue him, so he didn't rush to ask Alice how she did it.

Upon arriving at the beach, it was already broad daylight. Xiang Kun didn't rush into the sea. Instead, he avoided the locals and observed the area for a while. By following the clues, he found a building ruin that hadn't been visited for a long time. He put his clothes, shoes, socks, phone, and cash into his backpack and hid them. Then, wearing only his underwear, he followed the route he had observed and chose a spot where no one would notice him before quickly darting into the sea.

With him, only a few dozen "Super-Linked Object" beads went into the sea.

Having prepared in advance, Xiang Kun entered "Oxygen-Saving Mode" after his entire body was submerged in the water. The dozens of beads quickly dispersed like guards, forming a "protective circle" for him in the water, helping him to sense and integrate with the surrounding seawater.

Xiang Kun swam faster and faster in the water, like a torpedo launched into the air, quickly reaching his maximum speed.

While submerged in the water without a cell phone, Xiang Kun's judgment of direction remained accurate.

Relying on his senses of the "Super-Linked Object" left near his phone and clothes, he contacted the "Super-Linked Object" surrounding him, determined the distance from the shore and the direction of movement, then constructed a map in his mind to locate his position and move towards the direction Alice had previously provided.

During this time, "Brother Kui's" boat may continue to move and may no longer be at the location Alice previously located, but as long as he knows its previous location, Xiang Kun is confident that he will be able to find it.

At noon, Xiang Kun emerged from the sea and floated on the surface of the water.

At this moment, he could see nothing but the boundless sea; there were no ships, no islands, no land. It was as if he were all Zero Zero One between the sky and the sea.

Xiang Kun certainly wasn't just there to look at the scenery. Although his speed in the water was already superhuman, he was still not satisfied, feeling it wasn't fast enough.

Now, a new idea has come to him.

Looking at the dense clouds overhead, Xiang Kun quickly determined the conditions for "Electric Flight".

However, he did not intend to "Electric Flight." Although flying would certainly be faster than his current speed in water, "Electric Flight" has a major limitation: it relies on the atmospheric potential gradient under strong convective weather. If Xiang Kun actively and prematurely triggers thunderstorms and begins to release energy in advance, the energy burst would be too violent, too fast, and the area too small to support long-distance flight.

He had thought about and discussed this with Lao Xia when he was in Star City. What he did in the water, in "Oxygen-Saving Mode" by using the water's momentum, was essentially the same as "Electric Flight".

Therefore, Xiang Kun has actually been looking for ways to "learn from" or "integrate" and "utilize" the two abilities.

Now, he's come up with a method and is ready to try it out.

"Brother Kui" stood beside the cargo plane at the bow of the ship, ignoring the scorching sun overhead, frowning and squinting as he looked into the distance, seemingly deep in thought.

If Teng Li hadn't died and had been successfully kidnapped, they should already be in Thailand by now, according to the original plan.

But now, the plan has completely fallen apart. Teng Li died in a minor car accident, and they temporarily kidnapped Xia Tianhuo. Now they have to consider where to go and how to save their lives after leaving Myanmar.

The reason they couldn't sneak into Thailand as originally planned was because the person they were being met by in Thailand was connected to a powerful figure named Wu Lun.

At present, "Brother Kui" has no idea what Wu Lun's attitude towards them is. Will he sell them directly to the big boss or the Myanmar government to shirk responsibility, or will he secretly kill them all to silence them and avoid implicating him?

In the early hours of the morning, the people who remained in Montamira urgently called via satellite phone, saying that the situation in Montamira had become very tense, with the police, Wu Lun, and some other forces all mobilized, and that Wu Lun's people seemed to be looking for them. This finally made "Brother Kui" make up his mind.

This morning, he contacted a connection in Indonesia, preparing to make Indonesia their next foothold.

Just then, a young man with a buzz cut and a scar on his cheek walked over and whispered, "Brother Kui, are we... really going to Indonesia?"

If Xiang Kun or Lao Xia were here right now, they would immediately recognize that the voice as that of the kidnapper in the phone recording.

"Where else can we go if not Indonesia?" "Brother Kui" sighed.

"Can we trust those people in Indonesia?" Scarface asked with some concern, leaning against the ship's railing.

"We'll see then. Expecting them to be loyal is definitely not going to work; they're all a bunch of opportunistic scoundrels. We'll just paint a rosy picture for them, let them see the hope of making big money, and keep them calm for now," said Brother Kui.

The reason he hesitated until he received the satellite phone call from Montamira was because the relationship with Indonesia was not very reliable and there were too many variables. He would not choose it unless absolutely necessary.

"Then... shall we inform the Xia family to bring the prepared money to Indonesia?" Scarface asked.

"Brother Kui" considered for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No, let's wait until we get there and things are a bit more stable before we talk about receiving the ransom. We must find a safe way."

"So... should we go back first and pick up 'Pigskin Kid' and the other guy?" Scarface asked again.

"Of course, otherwise why would we just leave them there?"

"But..." Scarface hesitated, "Do you think they might have already been captured by Wu Lun?"

"You mean Wu Lun used them to lure us over?" Brother Kui thought for a moment and said, "No, 'Pigskin Kid' has been with me since he was thirteen. Although he's lazy, shameless, and cunning, he wouldn't be a traitor. Besides, I can tell if he's guilty when he talks. But your concerns are valid... Even if they didn't cooperate with Wu Lun themselves, they might still be secretly followed. Before sending someone ashore to pick them up, don't meet them first; check the situation around there first."

Scarface breathed a slight sigh of relief and was about to say something when a crew member from the second-floor wheelhouse suddenly ran out, grabbed the gangway, pointed ahead, and shouted something in Burmese.

Brother Kui and Scarface both instinctively turned around in the direction the man pointed, and then saw a black storm in the distance that merged the sea and sky into one.

Their place is sunny and breezy; compared to the other side, it's like two different worlds.

"Holy crap!"

Brother Kui and Scarface both cursed out of the blue. Not only them, but everyone on the other ships, except for Xia Tianhuo who was locked in the cargo hold, ran to the deck and watched in horror as the storm appeared and swept in.

"Damn it, that old man Diao Lei!! He didn't say there was a storm in this area! ~ Damn it!" Brother Kui quickly ran to the driver's seat and loudly asked a Myanmar in half Burmese and half Mandarin, "Can we get through this?"

"It's too late, we need to prepare!" the Burmese crew member shouted back.

So everyone on the ship started running and bustling about, preparing for the storm.

In the distance, a violent thunderstorm seemed to be erupting; even from a distance, they could see streaks of lightning flashing and intertwining, a truly terrifying sight.

Seeing that scene only increased their fear, since most of them, including "Brother Kui," were not people who actually made a living at sea.

But just as they were preparing to fight the storm, the black storm ahead quickly dissipated, and soon the sky cleared completely. The air and the sea were equally calm, as if the two "worlds" had suddenly connected and been assimilated by the gentle breeze and sunshine.

It was as if the terrifying storm that had nearly scared them to death had never happened.

"What's going on? Was that... a mirage?" Scarface stared blankly ahead, puzzled.

But before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, they discovered another anomaly—their ship had stopped moving!

Although the ship's engine was still running and they could hear it clearly, looking at the seawater beside them, the ship was definitely not moving!

A few seconds later, the engine noise stopped, the entire boat lost power, and it floated silently on the water.

But the strange things didn't end there. The people standing on the ship's side were shocked to find that the ship had become completely still, and there was no feeling of it floating at all!