“Are you certain their ship is just ahead?”
On the sofa in the cabin’s living area, a man spoke to a woman holding a tracking device.
Although it was called a speedboat, this vessel was larger than a typical yacht. The cabin was fully equipped with a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. If not for its incredible speed, it would be difficult for most people to associate it with a mere speedboat.
Hearing the man speak, the woman nodded with a grave expression.
“The location shown on the tracker cannot be wrong—unless they abandoned their ship and fled.”
“Tsk.”
As time passed, the sunlight outside the cabin grew increasingly fierce. It poured through the windows, illuminating the man’s reasonably handsome face.
If Luo Shaoran and her group were here, they would have recognized him at a glance. This was precisely the man they were desperately trying to escape: Xu Qiliang.
Xu Qiliang didn’t seem to care about the woman’s answer; instead, he let out a highly contemptuous click of his tongue. He spread his arms wide, leaning back against the soft sofa cushions as he mentally calculated how he would punish Luo Shaoxing and the others once he caught them.
He had thought they could hold out for a few more days; he hadn’t expected them to fail after only a month.
What surprised him, however, was that a woman as cunning as Luo Shaoran would give up her flight so easily, staying in one place and waiting for him to seize her. He had thought she would be stupid enough to seek out another offshore base to use against him.
It was truly strange.
He shook his head, casting these annoying thoughts aside. Since they were about to catch up, he would find out what she was thinking soon enough.
An hour later, those on the speedboat finally saw the lighthouse standing tall upon the sea. This sudden appearance of a structure immediately triggered the crew’s vigilance.
“What on earth is that? Send someone to check it out. It’s probably just a mirage.”
It was broad daylight, and the sea monsters were still slumbering deep underwater. Naturally, Xu Qiliang did not associate the structure with a monster. The only possibility in his mind was a mirage.
Xu Qiliang frowned and gave an order to a subordinate. The man quickly acknowledged it, walked out onto the deck, and took a motorboat out of his spatial storage, lowering it into the sea. He boarded the motorboat and sped toward the lighthouse.
Ten minutes later, the motorboat reached the lighthouse.
It’s actually real?
The man sent by Xu Qiliang took off his goggles, staring at the lighthouse in genuine shock.
Coincidentally, Li Han’s crew had just finished their discussion. They left the ship’s canopy without a moment’s delay and began walking toward the lighthouse. There was no helping it; after only a single day, they could no longer tolerate the humid, sweltering heat of the ship after experiencing the comfortable temperatures of the lighthouse.
As soon as they stepped out, they spotted the shocked man idling in front of the lighthouse on his motorboat.
“Friend, are you here to stay at the hotel too?” Li Han spoke quite casually.
“Stay… stay at a hotel?”
“Yeah, there’s a hotel open on this lighthouse. It’s great—they have food and drinks.” The person following right behind Li Han added with a smile.
Only then did the man on the motorboat notice the three ships docked at the side of the lighthouse: two broken wooden boats and Luo Shaoran’s ship.
Having found the target, the man ignored Li Han’s attempts at conversation. He quickly pulled his goggles back on, started the motorboat, and sped back the way he came without a second look.
“What was that about? Why did he leave?”
“Who cares? Let’s get inside. It’s getting hotter and hotter.”
In just one day, the outside temperature had risen by several more degrees. Dismissing the strange man from their minds, Li Han’s crew hurried back to the lighthouse, as if a second’s delay would cause them to collapse from heatstroke.
Meanwhile, inside the hotel lobby, Luo Shaoran and her group—who had guessed their pursuers were close—were gathered in a state of high tension.
“Sister… do you think they’re about to catch up?”
Having lived by Xu Qiliang’s side for four years, Luo Shaoxing knew exactly how fast his speedboat was. By her calculations, he would inevitably find this place in less than half an hour. She gripped her sister’s arm nervously, her body trembling involuntarily.
Luo Shaoran was much calmer. She placed her hand over Luo Shaoxing’s and comforted her in a low voice.
“It’s alright. Don’t forget what the Boss said. This place is absolutely safe. As long as we don’t go outside, no one can trouble us.”
Su Su, suddenly being mentioned, looked up with a face full of confusion.
Seriously, can’t you guys talk behind my back?
Su Su looked back at the wall clock without saying a word. It was time for lunch. She silently took out a bottle of water and a bowl of mixed noodles and began to eat, which promptly made Luo Shaoran’s group feel hungry as well.
“Should we eat too?”
Before the apocalypse, Tian Wen had been a total foodie. Seeing Su Su eat with such relish, she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.
The tense atmosphere was mysteriously broken. Su Su watched as Tian Wen pulled out a folding table, followed by four folding chairs. Once she finished setting everything up, she turned back to look at Su Su with a pitiful expression.
“Boss, can we eat lunch in the lobby?”
“…”
Su Su didn’t want to talk. However, since there was no one else in the lobby and no new guests had arrived, she gave a slight nod.
“Just this once.”
“Great! Thank you, Boss!”
The girls thanked Su Su with smiles and quickly brought out the food they had packed in their spatial storage. They sat not far from the hotel’s main door, where they could see the scene outside through the glass.
Across the sparkling sea, a motorboat carved a long white wake, returning to the speedboat at extreme speed. The man didn’t even have time to put the motorboat away before he scrambled onto the larger vessel.
“What’s the rush?”
Xu Qiliang was currently sitting on the sofa enjoying a massage from a subordinate technician. He was naturally displeased at being disturbed.
“Fine, leave.” He pulled his leg back and dismissed the masseuse. Adjusting his posture, he glanced at the man in front of him. “What on earth did you find to make you so flustered? If it’s nonsense, I won’t let you off easily.”
“B-Base Leader! Ahead… there’s a hotel ahead. The Madame and the others are there.”
“You saw them?”
Hearing news of Luo Shaoran’s whereabouts, Xu Qiliang sat up straight. He stood and approached the man.
“I didn’t see them personally, but I saw their ship. It’s docked right under a lighthouse.”
In a marine apocalypse, humans without ships were helpless. No matter how powerful or cunning Luo Shaoran was, it was impossible for her to abandon her ship and flee. Hearing that her ship had been spotted, Xu Qiliang could basically confirm they were indeed at the location shown on the tracker.
He finally relaxed once he realized this, but then the rest of the report registered.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Lighthouses? Hotels? Did you drive so fast that you left your brain in the ocean?”
Xu Qiliang didn’t believe a single word the man said. Everyone knew that lighthouses were built and fixed to the seabed, but in the current world, even the most advanced submarines and probes from before the apocalypse couldn’t find the bottom of the ocean. Some had even asserted that all land on the planet had vanished, leaving only water.
What a terrifying thought! But it also perfectly illustrated the situation everyone was facing.
A lighthouse? Pure fantasy.
Xu Qiliang let out a disdainful snort, took a step back, and sat back down on the sofa.
“Fine. You’ve made your report. Now get out.”
The man wanted to explain further, but seeing Xu Qiliang’s impatient wave for him to leave, he didn’t dare say more. He bowed and backed out of the living room.
“What happened? Why were you so panicked when you came out?” the man was immediately grabbed and questioned by other colleagues.
“I… I saw a lighthouse.”
“A lighthouse? Kid, since when did you learn how to tell jokes? That kind of thing was submerged ages ago. Even mountains thousands of meters high have been swallowed by the sea—you think you can still see a lighthouse?”
None of the others believed him. After mocking him for a bit, they returned to their work.
Xu Qiliang had just issued a notice: they were to accelerate to full power and reach Luo Shaoran’s last known location as quickly as possible.