"Did you hear that sound?"
"Sounds like it's down there! Quick, lift the deck and go look below."
"Hurry up! Be quick about it! If anything goes wrong, General Manager Lu won't spare any of us!"
"..."
Along with the voices came the sound of the deck being pried open and heavy footsteps.
Shen Jianyi was a bit helpless. Under her mask, her expression was cold, and her eyes could shoot out a cold light. She grabbed Lu Suowei and, without hesitation, lifted him up and stuffed him into a wooden barrel.
Lu Suowei was choked by the water in the barrel. Just as he was about to cough, the woman's hand covered his mouth. He could feel that the air pressure around seemed to drop a few degrees.
The woman firmly closed the lid, leaving only a tiny gap.
Then, a cold voice came from outside: "If you don't want to die, stay inside obediently. Don't blame me for not warning you!"
As soon as the voice faded, Shen Jianyi turned to look at Lu Ming huddled there. He was so scared that his legs went weak. He could hardly speak, his eyes wandering as he sat there shivering.
Shen Jianyi reached out to rub her aching temple but remembered she was wearing a mask. She sighed and pointed at another wooden barrel: "Get in by yourself."
Lu Ming was very obedient. Without saying a word, he climbed into the barrel from below and even actively closed the lid. He was much more well - behaved than his father.
Just then.
The light from outside shone in. A group of people climbed down the ladder in a mighty way, making the cramped space even stuffier.
The originally small warehouse was filled with people. Seven or eight people rummaged around wantonly. Shen Jianyi hid among the wooden barrels. She wanted to take advantage of the chaos to get out of here because it was not safe to stay.
She had just helped the Lu father and son only because she didn't want to expose herself. Otherwise, Shen Jianyi didn't have such a kind heart.
The crowd was approaching her. Although the deck above the warehouse was open, it was still a bit dim inside. If she could slip away without bumping into anyone, she wouldn't be noticed.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she squatted on the ground and inched forward step by step. Her movements were extremely gentle, as if each step was stepping on tofu, for fear of making the slightest sound.
As the people moved further in, Shen Jianyi let out a sigh of relief. She took the opportunity to climb up the ladder. She thought she could escape easily like this, but unexpectedly, a crew member who liked to look around noticed her.
"Quick, quick! She's over there!"
He slapped the people beside him hard, forcing them to turn around. When everyone turned their heads, they saw Shen Jianyi climbing up in a hurry.
"Go after her!" Maybe it was the leader of the group who gave the order. All of them climbed up the ladder.
"Catch her alive today. I'd like to see who dares to break into our Lu family's ship."
Shen Jianyi gritted her teeth, leaped over, and landed on the other side. Almost all the crew members on the ship were patrolling. In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on her.
"Who are you?"
Shen Jianyi turned around and ran at top speed. But the ship was only so big. Soon, she was surrounded by a group of people.
A dozen crew members surrounded a woman. She looked extremely petite among these tall men.
"Take off your mask. Why did you break into the Lu family's ship without permission?" The crew member wearing a blue hat faced her without showing any sign of panic.
Shen Jianyi took a step back. Her back was already against the railing of the sailing ship. If she wasn't careful, she might fall over the railing. She tried her best to keep a distance from these people.
"I'm asking you a question. Why don't you say anything?"
Now, her rationality told her that only by taking care of all these people could she find the person with the chip safely.
Just then, a message popped up on her watch. It was from Xia Liang.
Xia Liang: [Big news! Xu Wenji is taking the real chip and about to set sail on Lu Weiran's ship. The ship has already set off. Should we go after it?]
Sure enough, Shen Jianyi guessed right. Xu Wenji just wanted Lu Weiran to carry those fake chips as a cover so that he could escape with the real chip.
Once he escaped from this sea area, he would enter an unregulated area. By then, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack for Shen Jianyi to find him.
While she was hesitating.
The people in front of her had already raised their weapons and slashed at her.
Pulled back to reality, Shen Jianyi quickly dodged the attacks. Facing more than a dozen people, she didn't show the slightest sign of panic, as if the number of opponents didn't matter to her at all.
Shen Jianyi dodged to the side and kicked one of them in the abdomen. The man fell and knocked down two of his comrades.
"Clang──"
The man's knife hit the railing, only a few millimeters away from her. If it had been a bit off just now, it would have been her arm that was cut off.
Shen Jianyi struck the man's hand bone with a palm, forcing him to drop his weapon. Then, the masked sailing ship hit a huge wave. The whole ship tilted to one side.
She quickly grabbed the railing and managed not to be thrown out, but several people weren't so lucky. They were thrown by the inertia and hit the deck.
Now the sailing ship had entered the most dangerous area. Due to the weather, huge waves were rising ahead. The crew members didn't have time to kill Shen Jianyi. Several of them, despite their injuries, immediately went to change the direction of the ship.
He shouted hoarsely: "A few people come quickly and raise the sails! Let's go around. Don't confront the waves head - on!"
Just now, everyone was attacking Shen Jianyi together. Now, in order to survive, they all went to do some emergency work.
Shen Jianyi let out a sigh of relief. Her body was already soaked by the sea water. In a daze, she seemed to see a very familiar person, but the next second, she was thrown out because the ship was hit again.
She rolled to a corner of the ship. Shen Jianyi reached out and picked up the knife beside her, using it to support herself.
Xu Wenji was on this ship. She must find him and get the chip from his hand to prove to the professor that she had never betrayed the organization. All along, it was she who had been misunderstood.
A sly person like him definitely wouldn't show up in the open. He was surely not inside the ship. Maybe he was with the other chips.
Shen Jianyi still remembered what the Lu father and son had said in the warehouse. Presumably, they were very familiar with this ship and could accurately find the place where a large number of chips were stored.
She quickly returned to the warehouse. The ship was still being forced to change direction and would tremble violently from time to time. Shen Jianyi tried her best to hold on to something solid beside her.
But this time, before she could grab the pillar beside her, her hand was tightly grasped by an inexplicable strong force.