Chapter 869: Dilemma

As Kurim finished speaking, White Mo and the others were overjoyed.

They finally confirmed these were the people coming to rescue them!

For over half a month, they had lived in constant fear.

Terrified that Zhang Yi might kill them any day.

Now, their saviors had arrived!

They firmly believed the Columbus Navy was invincible - Zhang Yi would have to let them go the moment these forces appeared.

White Mo raised his hands and cheered: "Oh my God! You've finally come! Praise the Lord, praise the great Columbus Navy!"

He covered his head with his clothes, ignoring the acid rain, and excitedly rushed toward the naval soldiers.

All he wanted was to leave this place and return home to find his wife and children.

Seeing White Mo move, several foreigners from the Rockflow Group also started running that way.

They cheered excitedly as they ran, feeling like Andy escaping from Shawshank.

They believed they'd broken free from a dangerous cage and returned to civilization's embrace.

Che Haicheng raised his hands excitedly: "Long live Columbus! Long live!"

As they passed Zhang Yi and Old Tian's group, they deliberately wiggled their butts mockingly to vent their pent-up emotions, their faces full of ridicule.

Their expressions clearly said: Now we're under Columbus Navy's protection - stay mad!

Su Nuanxi was also tempted, her eyes shimmering with desire.

Suddenly she told Zhu Yunque: "Senior Sister, I want to go with them. After all, I'm a Columbus citizen. I'd rather return to Columbus than go back with you."

Zhu Yunque was furious: "Are you insane? Can't you tell they're hostile?"

Su Nuanxi sighed and looked at her resentfully:

"Senior Sister, stop being so paranoid!"

"Columbus is a wonderful, free country that won't force us to do anything."

"I've had enough of this ship anyway - that Zhang guy has always treated me poorly. I'm leaving with them!"

As Su Nuanxi tried to leave, Zhu Yunque grabbed her tightly: "Idiot! Look at the situation first!"

Only then did Su Nuanxi notice something was wrong - the deck was tense, with Old Tian and crew having unlocked their safeties, ready to open fire at any moment.

Her face paled as she quickly retreated two steps, deciding to wait and see.

On deck, Zhang Yi watched Che Haicheng, White Mo, and Xie Yunfan with surprise in his eyes.

He finally understood these were the ones who secretly contacted the Columbus Navy.

But two things puzzled him:

First, how did they contact the navy when he'd confiscated all communication devices?

Second, and more importantly - why contact them at all?

Zhang Yi had treated the Rockflow Group well aboard the Golden Edge.

They'd never lacked food, warmth or other necessities.

From Li Zongyu and others, he knew Columbus officials wouldn't rescue citizens stranded overseas - White Mo's previous distress calls had gone unanswered.

Yet they still chose to betray Zhang Yi for the Columbus Navy.

As a rational person, Zhang Yi couldn't logically understand this.

But soon he realized - the world has too many fools. No point wondering what pigs think.

In that instant, Zhang Yi figured many things out:

The Columbus Navy wouldn't come without reason - they wanted something.

For them to dispatch warships, the intelligence must be extremely valuable.

So information about the Divine Source might already be leaked by Che Haicheng's group.

Even if they only heard fragments from Li Zongyu, top forces took the Divine Source seriously.

They'd retrieve White Mo and Che Haicheng even without confirming the intel.

By the same logic - Zhang Yi couldn't let them leave!

Zhang Yi waved at Old Tian's group.

Understanding immediately, they blocked Che Haicheng's path with guns.

The escapees' expressions changed instantly:

"What's this? I'm a Columbus citizen! You can't stop us!"

"This is illegal detention! Sir, save us!"

"We've endured inhuman treatment here! We demand protection!"

Emotionally charged, they desperately wanted to leave.

With the Columbus Navy present, they grew bold enough to yell at Zhang Yi.

Even Che Haicheng, who once licked Zhang Yi's shoes like a dog, now wore a defiant expression.

Kurim looked at Zhang Yi: "These are Columbus citizens. We're taking them."

His voice dripped with arrogance: "Also, your activities are suspicious. We're seizing this ship for inspection!"

"From now on, the Columbus Navy commands this vessel. Any resistance will be met with lethal force!"

Since they'd already boarded, there was no need for pretense.

If they wanted confrontation, they'd go all the way - taking the entire ship.

They could even press-gang the crew into labor.

Che Haicheng pointed at Zhang Yi and shouted to Kurim:

"Sir, I accuse that man! He's a high-ranking Huaxu Kingdom official! That woman with him is also related to Huaxu officials!"

"They're hiding major secrets at sea. Don't let them escape!"

Confident against the mighty Columbus Navy, they believed Zhang Yi's group would surrender.

Su Nuanxi couldn't take it anymore. She stepped forward righteously:

"Although he's done some wrong, he did rescue us from the island."

"Let's forget past grievances. Those who want can go to Columbus, others to Huaxu Kingdom."

"Isn't that fair?"

She smiled innocently at Kurim:

"Sir, we Columbus citizens wish to leave. Please don't trouble the others. Thank you."

Her naive expression made many look at her strangely.

Kurim gave her a cold glance before ignoring her completely.

Zhang Yi narrowed his eyes at Che Haicheng's group.

He faced two choices now:

1) Kill everyone aboard and escape with Zhou Ke'er.

2) Eliminate the Columbus Navy forces and flee across the sea.

Both options had major downsides:

Option 1 meant killing all crew including Zhu Yunque - causing issues with Zhu Zheng.

Option 2 meant open warfare with Columbus Navy on international waters - inviting devastating retaliation.

Option 1 was clearly more convenient.

But Zhang Yi refused.

He might not care about others' lives, but killing his own crew under foreign pressure disgusted him physically.

Soon, Zhang Yi made his choice.

He calculated silently:

The Copernicus had torpedoes locked on the Golden Edge.

Distance: 5 nautical miles. Spatial traversal would take 9 seconds.

With Columbus soldiers aboard, they might not fire immediately - but they could be ruthless enough to sacrifice their own.

First, for mission secrecy, no other high-level combatants were aboard besides him.

Abandoning these people to capture the Copernicus would leave the Golden Edge crew vulnerable.

Second, quickly killing the Columbus soldiers here would prompt torpedo fire once his abilities were revealed.

A true dilemma.

But time wasn't on Zhang Yi's side.

[Rain Man] Barot Kurim was already preparing for their resistance.

He stepped back, vanishing completely into the rain.

Author's Note