Chapter 37

Ruan Ning's face drained of color as the man's iron grip locked around her, her muscles so weak they felt like they'd snapped. The man had apparently been hiding in the cabin for days without bathing, and his body odor was so pungent it made her dizzy.

Instinctively, she struggled and screamed for help, but before a sound could escape, he squeezed her throat hard and threatened, "Don't move! If you dare scream, you'll end up like them!"

Ruan Ning followed his gaze to the front desk of the spa room, where the staff lay scattered on the floor, motionless.

"What did you do to them?" Ruan Ning struggled desperately, the terror of death closing in like a net and overwhelming her reason. She clutched at the man with both hands. "Tell me! What happened to them? Why are they all on the ground? What did you do?"

"Shut up! You want to die?" The man spat out a string of foreign curses she couldn't understand, then pulled out a small silver pistol and pressed it against Ruan Ning's throat.

Ruan Ning fell silent instantly.

The gun was tiny and easily concealed. Ruan Ning had some familiarity with mainstream firearms from playing video games, but she'd never seen anything like this—it was almost certainly custom-made.

Ruan Ning was so desperate she couldn't speak. How could a criminal have been hiding on Bu Chen's private yacht? Most of the people were partying on the upper deck right now, so even if she screamed her lungs out, nobody would come to save her. She had never been so close to death; her mind went blank, and she could only passively obey the gunman.

What sin had she committed? Why did fate keep raining misfortune down on her?

When it came down to it, this was all Bu Chen's fault—if not for him, none of this would have happened!

But the man had been starving in the cabin for days, and his strength was flagging. His grip on Ruan Ning loosened slightly. Sensing an opening, she summoned her courage and tried to negotiate.

"Please let me go, okay? If you don't hurt me, I'll give you whatever you want."

"Where is this?" the man asked in a hoarse voice. "Burp..."

He hiccuped again, the sour stench of stomach acid from prolonged hunger wafting out. He was starving.

Ruan Ning almost laughed, but only for a split second before his fierce glare cowed her.

"You don't know where you are? Then how did you get here?" Ruan Ning asked, puzzled. She'd assumed the intruder was some thief who squatted in the villas and yachts of the rich to steal food and valuables, but his reaction ruled that out.

"Looks like you really don't know when you're dead," the man said, his breathing suddenly ragged as he raised the gun again, the cold metal pressing against her and sending a shiver down her back.

But this time she caught his accent—it was odd, not from Talun. With his weakened body, he spoke in short, clipped sentences to conserve energy.

That made the situation even more dangerous, and Ruan Ning snapped back to alertness. Bu Chen was too devious, too wild in his ways, and Heaven knew how many enemies he'd made. If this man had a grudge against Bu Chen and took it out on her, she'd die for nothing.

Ruan Ning held her breath, terrified that even the smallest sound, like swallowing, might provoke him to blow her head off.

"Um, don't worry. I didn't mean anything by it. I figure you haven't eaten in a while, so maybe you should fill your stomach first. It's not like I can run away—I'm all alone here."

As she spoke, she kept her eyes fixed on the man's breathing. The moment he heard "food," his breath steadied, which told her she'd hit a nerve.

The man quickly tied up Ruan Ning and the others in the room. It was only then she realized he hadn't actually hurt the staff—he'd just knocked them out.

He slipped out and came back with a plate of cream pastries, then sat cross-legged on the floor and wolfed them down.

With her hands bound, Ruan Ning's heart thudded wildly as she finally got a good look at him. His hair was a greasy, tangled mess, and his gray-black eyes and dark brown skin marked him as of the same ethnicity as Country B—that explained his strange accent. His frame was thin and small from chronic malnutrition, his face sunken over a stubbly beard, his camouflage uniform faded from countless washes, the collar missing a few buttons and slashed with several gashes—whether from whippings, she couldn't tell.

Under normal circumstances, Ruan Ning might have felt a pang of pity for such a ragged figure, then quickly moved on.

But his eyes, bright and fierce beneath the tangled hair, caught her attention—stubborn and unyielding. He was like a tiger caged behind steel and concrete, its claws clipped but its fangs still bared, its roar still shaking the mountains. No one could afford to underestimate him.

Ruan Ning sighed inwardly, racking her brain for a way to escape.

Surprisingly, she didn't hate this rough, violent man; in fact, she felt a deep sympathy for what was happening in his country. He hadn't harmed her or the staff—just tied them up—so she didn't want anything bad to happen to him either. She hoped he'd at least get away safely and stop appearing on the yacht.

Meanwhile, the man didn't waste time while he ate. Between gulps, he found paper and a pen and sketched out a map of the yacht's upper deck, then asked harshly, "Is this what it looks like up there?"

Ruan Ning studied it carefully. It matched the layout Bu Chen had shown her on the tour.

This guy was smarter than her teammates—he'd hidden below deck yet still managed to scout the upper layout. She nodded. "Roughly like that."

The man tossed Ruan Ning aside and made to leave. Ruan Ning hastily called out, "Hey! You're just going to leave me here alone?"

She remembered Bu Chen saying the yacht was huge; if abandoned, she'd never be found until they docked. All alone on the yacht, who would care what happened to her? She didn't want to be trapped below deck, waiting in despair to be discovered.

"Stay put," the man sneered and walked off.

"Wait! If you go up there now, you'll die!" Ruan Ning scrambled for the right words. "The people up there are all rich and powerful, surrounded by bodyguards. Any suspicious figure will set off alarms. You can't fight them all. Unless you have help, you'll be caught red-handed."

"If you take me with you, I can help you!" Ruan Ning said loudly, with conviction, straining against her bindings, afraid he'd abandon her for good.

The man paused, his furrowed brow still set in a deep frown, but he didn't respond.

"You may not believe this, but I was basically brought onto this ship against my will. If you let me go and don't hurt anyone, I can help you escape."

"I have no quarrel with you, so please just let me go."

By the end, Ruan Ning was on the verge of tears, her words tumbling out faster and faster.

Whether it was a woman's tears—the world's most effective weapon—or his fear that she'd attract the security guards with all the noise, the man stopped. He glanced back at her dismissively. "What can you do?"

Catching that precious sliver of opportunity, Ruan Ning sniffed back her tears and spoke in a rush.

"I can arrange a fishing boat for you. It's a small boat for deep-sea fishing, stocked with supplies and good for a few hours. Tonight's dark, and with a crowd this big on the yacht, slipping you out under cover of night shouldn't be a problem."

But the man just sneered coldly. "I don't trust people from Country A."

"Hey, don't go up there!" Ruan Ning called quickly. "Do you know who's up there? There's Bu Chen, son of the Duke of Banting. His father is the leader of the Conservative Party, the one pushing to send troops to your country. Are you just going to march up there and die?"

The man's eyes flashed with a cold, murderous glare. Ruan Ning softened her voice again and pleaded, "I have no grudge against you, and you don't want to kill me. Working together helps both of us, right?"

He tightened his grip on the gun and looked Ruan Ning over with cold calculation. Over the past few days, he'd secretly observed all kinds of people on the yacht. Ruan Ning, in her plain clothes, stood out from the arrogant guests above—her eyes were clear and pure, with a hint of compassion about her.

He pressed the gun against her ribs. "Don't try any tricks in front of me, or I'll blow your head off."

"I promise! I'll find a way to help you!" Ruan Ning nodded frantically and wriggled. "So can you untie me now?"

The man stripped the uniform off one of the staff and put it on himself, then found a hat and mask from a drawer and put them on. Pistol against her back, he ordered her to walk ahead and have the small boat prepared.

Sweat beaded on Ruan Ning's forehead as she led the disguised man upstairs, her expression stiff. She didn't dare look back, because a gun-toting criminal was behind her, and if she made a single wrong move, she'd be the first to die.

Once up the stairs, the blare of music hit her ears, and the bustling crowd felt jarring after the quiet of the lower deck.

That elderly servant was standing at the edge of the hall, holding a tray of filled glasses, ready to serve the young masters and misses. He spotted Ruan Ning and came over warmly. "Miss, are you feeling better?"

The gun pressed into Ruan Ning's side, and she froze, forcing herself to stand still and suppress the trembling in her legs. "I'm fine. Go on with your work."

The old man noticed that her complexion wasn't right and that a strange spa attendant had appeared behind her, so he gave them a second glance. Ruan Ning quickly stepped in front. "Oh, by the way, I suddenly want to go night fishing. Can you prepare a boat for me?"

The old man's smile faded, replaced by a serious, slightly uneasy look. He asked for confirmation, "At this hour? You want to go night fishing now?"

Ruan Ning asked, "Why not? Mr. Bu said I could do whatever I want on the yacht. Is fishing off-limits?"

The old man looked troubled, but finally answered honestly, "The young master did say to get you whatever you need right away, but the only boats we have that can go out are the night-fishing ones."

The man raised his gun again, but Ruan Ning pressed her hand down on it and, without changing expression, said to the old man, "Why? I just want to go out and fish a bit. It's not like I'm going to run off. You're making too big a deal out of this."

The old man was stumped. Who dared ask why when working for the young master? They just followed orders.

What's more, everyone on the ship could see the young master was unusually serious about Miss Ruan, so they wouldn't dare defy his instructions.

The old man hesitated, then replied, "Well then, please wait a moment. I'll go inform the young master."

Ruan Ning inwardly cursed. She was in too deep to back out now, so she played along. "Fine, I'll wait."

"No need, dear. I'm right here. Just say what you need."

Ruan Ning felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She slowly turned her stiff, cramping neck to find Bu Chen standing to her left, grinning shamelessly at her.

The man's expression suddenly twisted. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger at Bu Chen!