Huo Shaoheng’s dark hair was barely visible in the blue waters. The choppy waves slashed at the boat, and the bullets whizzed by Huo Shaoheng creating huge splashes in the water. The water was as salty as a lover’s tears. Because Huo Shaoheng’s group was visiting an island nation, they were all fully prepared with a variety of diving equipment including the most basic tool: goggles. Huo Shaoheng wore a pair of high-quality diving goggles, which greatly facilitated his ability to swim under the water. However, he didn’t have a snorkel, so he was forced to come up to the surface to breathe. The masked gunmen was a close distance away, and he used this an opportunity to fire, but he missed every time. The bullets merely whizzed past Huo Shaoheng’s body and impacted the gunman’s sense of direction.

It was very difficult for Huo Shaoheng to carry an AMR on his back while swimming. The masked gunman kept missing his target, and he stood up in a rage, waved his arms, and made lewd gestures at Huo Shaoheng. Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips and attempted to keep his body concealed underwater. The waves splashed loudly and crashed into the shores. It was a challenge for both the people and the boat to move away from the coast. But the sky was growing darker, and it looked like it might rain. In tropical climates, storms came out of the blue and were unpredictable. The masked gunman saw the weather was working against him and began to shout angrily. He couldn’t take it anymore and knelt down to press the muzzle of his gun against Gu Yanran’s chin. He ripped the tape off her mouth and said, “this is the last time I’ll ask. Where is your father? If you don’t tell me now, I’ll send you to your mother and sister early!”

“Do it then! I’ll never tell you!” From the corner of her eye, Gu Yanran saw a person’s silhouette float up in the water. Her heart began to hammer wildly, and she shrunk back fearfully as she shouted, “I’ve wanted to see my mother and sister for a long time now! Go on and shoot!” She closed her eyes as if she were welcoming death. The masked gunman glared at her with fearsome eyes and replied cruelly.

“You think I’m too scared to kill you? I’d murder my entire family if I got angry enough! But I won’t let you die so easily. I’ve failed my mission, so I might as well have some fun before I’m punished.” Throwing his gun away, the gunman began tearing at Gu Yanran’s clothes. He took a needle out of his pocket and was about to stab it into Gu Yanran’s neck when Huo Shaoheng climbed into the boat. He tried to be gentle with his movements, but the tiny boat could barely hold all their weight. It nearly overturned from the crazed gunman’s shifting weight. When Huo Shaoheng boarded, the gunman noticed the movements. He turned and saw Huo Shaoheng had actually climbed into the boat. His face filled with horror, and he tried to grab his gun, but Gu Yanran took it from the floor of the boat and fired at his chest several times.

“Go to hell! Die! Monster! You can go die!”

The masked gunman didn’t think the helpless Gu Yanran would defend herself, and he didn’t have enough energy to turn back. She sat up and pushed the masked gunman’s corpse into the ocean.

Huo Shaoheng looked at the half-mad Gu Yanran and put a hand on her shoulders to calm her. “Miss Gu, it’s me. Don’t worry, he’s dead now.”

Gu Yanran glared at Huo Shaoheng and only seemed to recognize him after a long moment. She wailed and threw herself into his arms. Her Chanel suit was already in shreds from the masked gunman.

Huo Shaoheng raised his hands instinctively to avoid touching Gu Yanran’s shoulders, but he didn’t have enough room to turn away. In a tiny boat like this, one strong movement could send him or Gu Yanran straight into the sea. It would be just as easy as Gu Yanaun shoving the corpse into the water. Just as he was hesitating, a bolt of lightning suddenly illuminated the sky, and booming thunder followed. Torrential rain fell from above and further agitated the sea. The small boat was unable to balance under all the calamity and was on the brink of turning over at any moment. Huo Shaoheng quickly removed his jacket to cloak Gu Yanran. He quietly supported her by the arm and sat her down in the boat.

“Miss Gu, I’m going to navigate. Please sit here for now.”

Gu Yanran shivered, and her lips were completely pale. Her lips devoid of color resembled a cactus flower in a summer night, gentle yet beautiful. She nodded and steadied herself against the side of the boat to watch Huo Shaoheng attempt to control the paddles.

The heavy rain was so dense that the sound of the storm overpowered any other noise. Gu Yanran was in no mood to speak but only watched Huo Shaoheng navigate the boat on the vast sea amidst the storm. The water was too rough for them to approach the coast, so they were forced to head towards a small island nearby. They docked the boat and got off. Huo Shaoheng carried his AMR with one hand and steadied Gu Yanran’s shoulder with the other as they made their way up the small island’s beach.

Gu Yanran finally came to her senses, and her terror faded. She tightened Huo Shaoheng’s jacket around her and looked around before telling him, “this is Mara Island. I used to vacation here with my parents and sister all the time. Come with me.”

Huo Shaoheng gave her a strange look. “You have a house here?”

“Our family owns this island.” Gu Yanran turned back with a smile, “thankfully you have a good sense of direction, otherwise I don’t know where we would’ve drifted.”

This was true, getting lost at sea was basically a death sentence. They’d either die from starvation, dehydration, or exhaustion. Huo Shaoheng remained silent for a long moment then also looked up.

“Where is your house?”

The heavy rain continued to fall so densely it appeared like a sheet of luxurious grey satin, making everything look hazy. Although Gu Yanran was familiar with the area, it took a long time for her to find her vacation cabin. In order to maintain the original environment of the island, the cabin was built from logs and simply varnished. However, the interior was a completely different world. It had all the modern facilities, including a power generation. The only flaw was there was no internet.

Huo Shaoheng walked into a guest room to immediately shower and rinse the salty sea water off of himself. As he showed, he turned on his Bluetooth headset. Even though it had been soaked in the ocean for such a long time, the call quality was not affected.

Huo Shaoheng connected with Zhao Liangze. “Little Ze, locate my position.”

Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong had deeply regretted not restraining Huo Shaoheng once they’d witnessed him jump into the ocean to chase after the masked gunman. They were devastated and even prepared to commit suicide once they found Huo Shaoheng’s… corpse. They never imagined Huo Shaoheng could survive in the ocean! Zhao Liangze’s rollercoaster of emotions sent him from the pits of despair to the highest joy. When he heard Huo Shaoheng’s voice, he felt better than he ever had in his life.

He quickly answered, “no problem! Mr. Huo, please don’t hang up yet. I’ll locate you right away!” In just five seconds, Zhao Liangze determined his coordinates using the satellite positioning system in his Bluetooth headset.

“Mr. Huo, how did you go over there?” Zhao Liangze was speechless. “It’s too far, and we can’t use helicopters because of the storm. We’ll have to pick you up tomorrow once the rain stops.” He continued. “Are you alone there?”

Huo Shaoheng paused and glossed over his question. “I’m on a small island that belongs to the Gu family. Gu Yanran is here too.”