Saving the Medicine Ship Without Showing Your Trump Card

"If you want to save that ship, show me Nika's power in its complete form."

An unfamiliar voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

The last torpedo was only a hundred meters from Medical Ship No. 2.

Mia stared fixedly at the line of waves, her voice tight.

"It's still accelerating. It'll hit the stern within fifteen breaths. There are shattered Seastone nets to the medical ship's left and reefs close on its right. There's no room to turn!"

Qi Hai seized the helm.

"The Dawnbringer can't catch up."

"Then we won't chase it."

Su Hang threw down the heavy crossbow and spun toward the stern.

A cold voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"You don't have time to think. Release that power, or watch them die."

Su Hang did not slow down.

"If you want to see my trump card, come take it yourself."

"There are fourteen medical workers aboard and three hundred crates of fever medicine. Refuse once, and they'll all sink into the sea because of your arrogance."

"A trump card isn't an excuse not to save people, and saving people doesn't mean following the enemy's script."

Su Hang kicked open the spare anchor compartment.

The heavy iron anchor crashed onto the deck, its four curved hooks throwing sparks.

More than forty meters of anchor chain lay coiled behind it, every link thicker than a wrist.

Qi Hai glanced at the torpedo's position and immediately understood.

"You're going to use the anchor to create a sound signature?"

"An empty barrel won't fool the last one. It already remembers the sound of the hull hitting waves and the keel vibrating. Then we'll give it a heavier target."

"An iron anchor has no propeller or rudder."

"Then we'll make it move."

Su Hang grabbed the end of the anchor chain, stretched his arm backward, and wrapped it around the broken mainmast.

"Qi Hai, fire the anchor in front of the medical ship. Don't hit the ship. Make it land thirty meters to the torpedo's right."

Qi Hai looked toward the heavy crossbow mounted at the bow for securing cargo.

"The crossbow frame can't take an iron anchor."

"Add two cables. Even if it breaks, fire it."

"What about you?"

Su Hang wrapped the anchor chain around his waist, and blood began seeping from his right shoulder wound again.

"I'll make it sound like a ship."

Qi Hai stopped arguing.

"Dismantle the crossbow arms! Run two ropes in parallel and nail the base into the deck!"

Before the sailors could approach, Qi Hai had already dragged over a thick cable and wrapped it around the crossbow frame himself.

He hammered two iron spikes into the planks with the back of his knife, and the cracked base let out a piercing groan.

Mia continued staring at the sea.

"Seventy meters!"

Cries of alarm came from Medical Ship No. 2.

"The torpedo has entered the stern wake zone!"

"The medicine hold can't be moved!"

"Captain, do we abandon ship?"

Qi Hai pressed down on the Den Den Mushi.

"Everyone to the bow. Put on your life vests. Without my order, no one jumps into the shattered-net waters!"

The unfamiliar voice came through the Den Den Mushi again.

"Su Hang, you have ten breaths left."

"You talk too much."

Su Hang smashed the Den Den Mushi's external speaker with one punch, leaving only the shared channel.

Qi Hai triggered the heavy crossbow.

Bang!

One of the bowstrings snapped on the spot.

The iron anchor flew just above the sea, the chain whipping out wildly and jerking the entire Dawnbringer forward.

The crossbow frame split apart with a crash.

The iron anchor did not reach its intended position, dropping into the sea more than ten meters early.

Mia's face changed.

"The landing point is off! The torpedo won't turn!"

Su Hang's arms stretched out in an instant, one hand gripping the mainmast while the other clutched the anchor chain.

"Mia, the side sail!"

"The right-side sail is already fully raised."

"Add another one!"

"The mainmast is cracked. If it catches more wind, it'll break!"

"That's exactly what I need. Make it lean left!"

Mia gritted her teeth and cut the spare sail line.

The thick sail billowed in the wind, and the Dawnbringer veered sideways.

The anchor chain stretched diagonally from the stern. The submerged iron anchor was dragged by force, its four hooks violently scraping across the reef.

Crack!

Underwater stones burst apart.

Dull vibrations traveled up the anchor chain, their rhythm almost identical to a ship's hull striking reefs.

The last torpedo abruptly shifted half a foot.

Mia nearly pressed herself against the nautical chart.

"It heard it, but it's not enough! The anchor is moving too slowly!"

Su Hang compressed his legs backward.

"Qi Hai, lock the chain!"

Qi Hai wrapped a short rope around the anchor chain, jammed his knife sheath into the locking catch, and twisted it shut.

"It's locked!"

Su Hang released the mainmast.

Boom!

His rubber legs, compressed to their limit, suddenly rebounded, dragging him and the anchor chain toward the stern.

The iron anchor was ripped from a crack in the reef and swept sideways across the seabed for dozens of meters.

The anchor hooks struck the reefs repeatedly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The torpedo completely changed direction.

"It turned!"

The moment Mia shouted, Su Hang had already stepped onto the stern railing.

The anchor chain had reached its limit.

A tremendous force yanked him off the deck, sending him flying sideways over the sea.

Su Hang kicked off a reef peak, compressed his legs again, and used the rebound to change the anchor's direction.

The torpedo passed less than five meters from the medical ship's stern.

The medical workers aboard could even see the black Seastone embedded in its warhead.

The next instant, the torpedo chased the iron anchor toward the uninhabited reef cluster.

The unfamiliar voice finally changed.

"Cut control! Lock onto the medical ship again!"

The torpedo's tail swung as it tried to turn back.

"Too late."

Su Hang pulled the anchor chain tight with both hands.

The iron anchor slammed into the reef wall!

The torpedo followed close behind.

Boom!

Half the reef peak exploded apart.

Seawater and shattered rocks surged several yards into the air. At the same time, the Seastone metal net folded inside the torpedo sprang open, spreading densely toward Su Hang.

"Cut the chain!"

Qi Hai stood at the Dawnbringer's stern and slashed at the locking catch.

A chip broke from the blade.

The anchor chain did not snap.

"The chain's jammed!"

The blast wave was already crashing toward them.

The anchor chain dragged Su Hang toward the Seastone net, his right hand still gripping a chain link tightly.

If he loosened his grip for even half a breath too long, the entire shattered net would crush him into the sea.

Mia abruptly turned the side sail.

"The wind is shifting left! Su Hang, grab the sail corner!"

The spare sail was blown out over the side by the crosswind, its corner sweeping across the sea.

Su Hang flung out his left arm, his fingers locking around the thick rope as his right hand came together.

His rubber palm stretched into the shape of a long blade and slashed viciously at the anchor chain connection.

Once.

Twice.

On the third strike, the old locking catch finally broke.

The iron anchor and most of the anchor chain fell into the shattered net.

Su Hang, meanwhile, was dragged toward the Dawnbringer by the sailcloth lifted by the crosswind.

More than a dozen Seastone fragments flew past his body.

One of them sliced open his right leg and embedded itself in the outside of his calf.

His power vanished instantly.

His stretched left arm went limp, and Su Hang crashed toward the ship's side.

Qi Hai leaned half his body out and grabbed his collar in one motion.

Bang!

Both of them fell back onto the deck.

Su Hang's right leg could not retract, and the area around the wound had gone numb.

Qi Hai did not immediately pull out the fragment. He only pressed sailcloth firmly over the wound.

"Don't move."

"What about the medical ship?"

"It's still afloat."

The shared Den Den Mushi carried the ragged breathing of Captain No. 2.

"The stern isn't breached, and the medicine hold is intact! All fourteen medical workers are safe!"

Only then did Su Hang release his grip on the deck.

But Qi Hai's expression did not ease.

"You nearly fell into the Seastone net."

"Nearly means I didn't."

"If your right leg had been half a foot farther over, you'd be at the bottom by now."

"Which is why you grabbed me well."

Qi Hai pressed down harder, drawing cold sweat onto Su Hang's forehead from the pain.

"Shut up. Wait for the doctor to remove the fragment."

Mia crouched beside the wound. Only after confirming the Seastone had not reached the bone did she press the shared channel.

"The last torpedo has been destroyed. The shattered nets in the northern route have sunk. The medical ship will pass first, followed by the witness merchant ships in order."

One merchant ship after another sailed past the Dawnbringer.

No one cheered, but every ship sounded a short whistle as it passed.

Three times.

On the Dawnbringer Merchant Guild's first escort mission, under the encirclement of seven Seastone Torpedoes, not one ship sank and not one crate of medicine was lost.

Several miles away, an observation ship disguised as a fishing boat hid behind the reefs.

Grave lowered his telescope and quickly wrote the last line of his report.

The government agent beside him asked in a low voice.

"Nika's complete form never appeared. The experiment failed."

"There had been no failures."

Grave arranged the times Su Hang had changed course, carried out rescues, and been injured on the same sheet of paper.

"He could detect bait and would refuse to expose unknown capabilities. Forced to choose between power and strangers, he would try to find a third path."

"Wouldn't that make him harder to control?"

"The third path required time, and it would also make him approach danger of his own accord."

Grave tapped the location of Medical Ship No. 2.

"Medicine, human lives, and escort contracts already signed—their priorities all outweighed hiding his abilities. As long as the pressure was great enough, he would rather be injured himself."

The agent sneered.

"Then deploy more ships."

Grave shook his head.

"One ship would only make him save the ship. To force out all his power, we needed a heavier bargaining chip."

He closed the notebook, his gaze settling on the departing Dawnbringer.

"Next time, put the people of an entire island between him and his opportunity."