CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 204: GUNSHOTS IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT

The people nearby, hearing this, immediately became excited again, with greed filling their eyes.

On such ocean-going ships as theirs, there are guns on board, mainly for defense against pirates.

"That’s right, as long as we have guns in our hands, we can control the situation."

...

Late at night, Lao Hei lying on the bed suddenly opened his eyes, his ears moving slightly as if listening for some sound.

The next second, a "bang!" sound was heard outside, as if something had collided with the wall.

Following that was a series of consecutive gunshots, "bang! bang! bang!"

The sudden change broke the silence of the sea.

Qi Yun, who was sleeping soundly, was startled awake by the gunfire and sat up abruptly.

In the dark, Lao Hei had swiftly turned over and gotten out of bed, holding a gun, his facial expression cold and stern: "Boss, we have a situation."

Before he finished speaking, urgent footsteps and chaotic shouting mixed with muffled collision sounds came from outside the door.

Qi Yun quickly put on a jacket, preparing to go out and see what was happening.

At this moment, Lao Hei blocked him and advised, "Boss, you stay in the room, let me go out and check first."

Without waiting for Qi Yun’s reply, he leaned against the door and listened to the sounds outside, then swiftly opened the door and slipped out.

Qi Yun felt a bit worried; the gunfire just now sounded very close, probably coming from the corridor outside, most likely related to Chen Wei.

Though he absolutely trusted Chen Wei in terms of skills, bullets are blind, under the gun muzzle all are equal; even the best skills may not suffice.

However, his worry didn’t last long, as Lao Hei quickly returned after going out.

"What’s the situation?" Qi Yun asked anxiously.

"The danger has been dealt with, maybe the boss could come out and take a look." Lao Hei scratched his head and said.

Qi Yun looked at him suspiciously, then stepped outside.

In the corridor, several figures lay haphazardly on the ground, moaning continuously, with crimson blood flowing beside them, guns scattered around.

Chen Wei was squatting, collecting those guns one by one and removing the magazines.

Seeing that Chen Wei was fine, Qi Yun finally felt relieved and went over to ask, "Brother Wei, what’s going on?"

Chen Wei removed the magazine from the last gun and stood up to respond, "These guys were sneaking outside trying to unlock the door, but I handled them."

Although his words were light, Qi Yun could imagine how dangerous the situation must have been earlier.

Qi Yun stepped forward, eyeing the few people on the ground who were wailing repeatedly, besides the ones he had seen during the day, Ao Debiao, there were the first mate and three other crew members.

The commotion was not small and soon alerted others; first, Ah Jiao and others rushed over, concernedly asking, "Boss, are you okay?"

"I’m fine." Qi Yun shook his head at her, just about to ask her to call the captain Jeff, when he heard footsteps from the other side of the corridor.

Chen Wei and Lao Hei became instantly vigilant, one hand hidden behind their backs.

The newcomer was Captain Jeff; he looked at the scene in astonishment, his gaze sweeping across everyone’s faces and finally landing on the moaning first mate on the ground.

"What on earth is going on?" Jeff’s voice carried anger, looking at the guns at Chen Wei’s feet, "Who allowed you to take guns in private?"

Only moans answered him.

Jeff frowned, then turned to ask Qi Yun, "Mr. Qi, are you okay? What actually happened?"

"These people took guns wanting to rob things, but my people subdued them." Qi Yun replied with a calm face.

Upon hearing this, Jeff’s face changed drastically, staring at the miserable first mate and Ao Debiao on the ground, a flicker of unnoticeable panic flashed in his eyes: "This is simply absurd! Mr. Qi, please rest assured, I will certainly give you a satisfactory resolution to this matter."

With such an incident occurring on the ship, as the captain, Jeff could not shirk responsibility; he now understood clearly, the only thing he could do was to try and pacify Qi Yun’s anger. If Qi Yun chose to expose this, both he would be finished, and possibly their whole company undone.

After all, no one would entrust their safety to a bandit company.

Qi Yun took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, coldly staring at the people on the ground, saying nothing.

Seeing this, Jeff cleared his throat, grinning: "Mr. Qi, would you allow me to take them to the infirmary to treat their wounds? Although they deserve it, it would be troublesome if they truly died here."

Qi Yun exhaled a circle of smoke, his gaze sweeping over the wounds on their arms, after a moment of silence, he nodded: "My people will accompany you."

Jeff begrudgingly forced a smile, nodding in agreement: "No problem."

Having said that, he instructed the nearby crew members: "Take them to the infirmary."

Qi Yun gave Lao Hei a look, Lao Hei understood, and followed them out.

Once Ao Debiao and the others were taken away, Jeff glanced at the guns on the ground again, forcing another smile: "Mr. Qi, about these guns... how about I take them and keep them safe with me, rest assured there won’t be any more mishaps."

Qi Yun glanced at him, replying flatly: "For now, we’ll help you keep these guns; they’ll be returned once we dock."

Jeff’s smile froze instantly, his Adam’s apple struggling to move, knowing Qi Yun no longer trusted him.

"Okay, we’ll do as you say, I’ll report the incident on the ship to the company immediately."

Qi Yun nodded, saying no more.

Seeing his lack of interest in conversation, Jeff did not linger, instructing two crew members to clean the area, then he proceeded to the infirmary.

Inside the infirmary, Ao Debiao and others’ wounds on their arms had been simply bandaged, temporarily stopping the bleeding, but to remove the bullets, they’d have to wait until they could go to a hospital after docking; the ship’s medical conditions were limited, unable to perform surgery.

Their faces were pale one by one, not knowing if it was due to excessive blood loss or sheer fright.

Jeff walked in, glancing at the people on the beds, his brows tightly knit, his voice severe: "You are practically courting death! Do you realize the trouble you could cause the company with this act?"

None of them responded, each showing a painful look with their heads down.

"I will report this to the company immediately, prepare yourselves for jail."

The first mate, hearing this, hurriedly raised his head, struggled to support himself, and pleaded: "Captain, please don’t do this; we were momentarily lost, blinded by the treasures. For the sake of our years together, please help us."

"Help? How can I help you?" Jeff sneered, "Stealing guns to rob clients’ belongings, do you know the nature of this?"

"You foolish ones not only harmed yourselves but will implicate everyone on the ship, causing us all to lose our jobs because of your stupidity!"

Having said this, Jeff didn’t waste more words, instructed the nearby crew in charge of guarding to do a few things, and left the infirmary immediately.

...

In the morning, the Deep Sea Hunter docked at the Cape Town port.

As Qi Yun just stepped off the ship, he saw Kaisen, the vice president of the salvage company, and another middle-aged man walking briskly towards him.

Kaisen came closer, apologetically bowing and apologizing: "Mr. Qi, regarding what happened last night, I represent the company to express our sincere apologies to you."

"This is our company’s boss, Pete; upon hearing the news last night, he specially traveled from Johannesburg to apologize to you and hopes to gain your forgiveness."

The middle-aged man named Pete also spoke, "Mr. Qi, please rest assured, we have contacted the police bureau, those crew members will definitely face legal penalties."

"Additionally, after the company’s deliberation, we decided to waive your fees for this ship hire this time..."

Pete’s words were cut off by the roaring engine sound.

The next second, a few black Land Rover Range Rovers stopped nearby, a well-dressed burly man stepped out, walked up to Qi Yun, and bowed: "Mr. Qi, hello, President Li sent us to pick you up."