Chapter 9: Who Provoked Whom (Part 1)
Shi Wei had been secretly warned by Long Bao that the kidnappers might have been monitoring their communications and internet activities, so they had to be extremely careful not to leak any information about their strategy to rescue Wen Li. He knew that computer experts could track which websites he had visited, so he tried his best to control himself from checking online information about world oceanography and climate data, even though he really wanted to. He could only stay in Long Bao's villa with Qiu Ya Jing Er and the others, enjoying the strict protection. However, Jing Er also told him that her own abilities in divination were limited, and if her grandfather were there, he would have been able to accurately calculate the location where Wen Li and the others were being held captive. She could only figure out the general direction. Shi Wei felt a bit resentful towards Long Bao for burning the divination materials passed down by Jing Er's grandfather. If they had not been burned, Jing Er would have been able to calculate the exact location, and they could have directly sent a special attack team or mercenaries to rescue them, without having to go through the trouble of negotiating with the kidnappers and worrying about Wen Li's safety.
This is a trick under Long Bao's sleeve. Firstly, it can guarantee their safety, secondly, at a critical moment, they can use Shi Wei's words and deeds to pass on the information he wants to convey to the kidnappers who are secretly monitoring Shi Wei, and thirdly, they can use this seemingly childish protective action towards friends to make the kidnappers underestimate themselves.
Long Bao sat on the sofa, his heart filled with sorrow as he thought: This is a war, an unavoidable war, a war for life and safety. The opponent has been planning for a long time, while I can only passively respond, so to win, I must come up with unexpected and strange moves, otherwise, I will surely lose.
The leopard seemed to have sensed Long Bao's emotions as well, and instead of playing with him, it also hung its head low on his thigh, looking at him with a tilted head. Long Bao looked back at the leopard, reminiscing about Xiong Shan, his childhood years, his university days, and everything that had happened since he joined Li Heng Group. He couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, thinking: Everything is just life following its rules to survive. Since understanding survival, life has only followed the law of blood repayment in front of survival resources, and in any distribution relationship or evolution, only the life with the most temporary power can decide the rules of this temporary period. In this competitive fighting system, only he had the final say.
Long Bao patted the leopard's head and muttered: Leopard, do you think this world has justice? Who is the so-called representative of justice in all violent competitions? Is justice able to decide the final outcome of victory? What is called victory?
The leopard let out a low, muffled roar from its throat as if in response to the question. Long Biao smiled wryly and continued thinking: Leopard, when we used to hunt wild rabbits, it was for food and to make money, which seemed reasonable for our survival. But is this justice for the wild rabbits? Is it justice that we avenge all the harm inflicted upon us? Is it justice that we devour and absorb our opponents for the sake of our organization? And now, I have to put them in danger of being controlled and imprisoned by the kidnappers again in order to find the root of the problem. Can this be considered justice? Does justice even exist? War has always been cruel, but this battle must be fought thoroughly, otherwise there will never be peace.
He inserted his hand into the leopard's mouth, feeling the sharp canine teeth with his fingers. These teeth had experienced many bloody stories. His eyebrows were tightly locked together, and a hoarse voice echoed in this enclosed room: Who provoked whom? Is justice provoking evil or is evil provoking justice? Is justice provoking justice or is evil provoking evil? Which one is correct between good and evil? What kind of thing is the root of all troubles? Is it benefit? Is it human nature? Or is it human nature under the influence of benefits? In such a world, the true rule of the game hidden in the so-called "justice" is actually the orientation towards real interests!
Yes, no one provoked me, it was the money that provoked them. They didn't provoke me, they only provoked the money. Life is just a price tag for money!
……
The floor was littered with cigarette butts and ashes, and a meal was laid out on the tea table, but Long Wan didn't touch it. He couldn't eat, he felt that if he forced himself to swallow this stuff just because his body needed it, then it would be better not to eat at all. Missing a few meals wouldn't kill him. He absurdly explained to himself: This is what the body needs to tempt the stomach, but now the stomach was stubbornly resisting this temptation.
The due date is tomorrow, but Ouyang doesn't have the same pre-birth feelings as Wen Li. She's afraid that the fetus might not be normal and is anxiously waiting for labor to start. Fortunately, the kidnapper has already hired a gynecologist and nurse with high salaries to ensure her safe delivery. The doctor has examined her and found that the fetal position is normal, heartbeat and limb movement are good, and although the birth may be delayed by two days, she can safely give birth. Surgical equipment and medication have been prepared, guaranteeing everything will be fine. Ouyang and the two doctors are being held in separate rooms on the first floor, unable to see what's happening on the small island.
The entire island is over ten square kilometers in size, and the island is filled with typical tropical plants, as well as many rare and exotic animals. This small house is nestled in a recess on the mountain slope, about one kilometer away from the coastline. On this morning, the weather was still fine, with a gentle sea breeze, and there were a few wispy white clouds at the horizon. Two of the bandits had gone into the jungle to hunt for wild game, armed with guns, while the others were lounging in front of the small house, lazily playing cards and drinking beer, making it seem like just another peaceful day.
Around noon, a mass of cumulonimbus clouds gathered in the northwest and soon reached a position less than seven nautical miles from the island. The tall and thin hijacker opened the intercom and called: Four, four, please respond if you hear this, OVER.
After a rustling sound, the intercom crackled to life: "Shh, shh, something's off today. Those ghost monkeys are going crazy, pouring into that cave like they're possessed. I barely made it up here myself, don't scare them away!"
Tall and thin guy shouted: Number four, return immediately. The captain said that according to the latest marine weather forecast, a large-scale tropical cyclone will form in two days, which may affect the surrounding sea area. He ordered us to make emergency preparations. You must return immediately, return immediately.
This number four obviously didn't believe it, and replied: This place hasn't had a hurricane in twenty years, the boss chose to come here because it's safe, it's not that coincidental that a hurricane would come this time. Besides, it won't arrive here for several days yet, let's catch two monkeys first.
The tall and thin man shrugged, put the walkie-talkie on the table, and continued drinking beer with the other two. After a few minutes, a sudden shout came from the walkie-talkie: "My god! You guys look at 9 o'clock direction, what the hell is that thing in the sky!"
Several kidnappers heard the sound and immediately looked over——
That mass of cumulonimbus clouds has turned into black water vapor, a straight column of water like a pillar inserted on the surface of the sea, penetrating between the sea and sky, strips of cyan-gray lightning occasionally piercing through it, the blue sea surface, distant sunlight, black clouds, the whole scene is eerie and mysterious!
The place where the water pillar and dark cloud meet is a funnel shape, the water pillar is bright grayish white in color, and it's moving slowly. The seawater at the bottom of the pillar is churning up white foam and waves, rising to several stories high, as if the seawater is rising upwards. The water pillar gradually turns black and extends straight into the cloud base.
The tall and thin man suddenly started shivering, shouting loudly into the intercom: You piglet, hurry back! This thing is a sea dragon roll! Sea dragon roll!
At this time, Ouyang's belly reacted and she felt the uterus starting to contract. The tall and thin person immediately asked the doctor if Ouyang was going into labor, and the doctor said it would be at least several hours.
The tall and thin person initiated the emergency contact program, reporting to their leader that a sea dragon tornado was about to appear on the surface of the sea and that Ouyang was about to go into production. The leader ordered them to unlock everyone's handcuffs and lock up Ouyang Wenli and the doctors and nurses in the underground room as a precaution against the possible attack by the sea dragon tornado.
In the underground room, the two doctors and nurses were controlling their tense emotions as they performed a physical examination on Ouyang, who was lying in bed with increasingly severe abdominal pain. Wenli stood beside Ouyang, softly comforting her. One of the kidnappers sat there, holding a camera, his responsibility being to film the entire delivery process. He was convinced that Ouyang would not give birth for a while yet, but he couldn't resist his curiosity about the dragon roll, so he turned around and left the underground room, starting to film the dragon roll with his camera.
The sea dragon is getting bigger and bigger, its diameter has exceeded 150 feet according to visual measurement, with a height of at least 300 meters. It's like a black dragon that mercilessly sweeps the seawater and marine life into the air. Its moving speed is still quite slow, but the direction of movement is not optimistic, it's heading straight for the small island!
The sea surface was like boiling water, rolling up in waves, while the cloud layer was also churning like seawater, one black and one white, connected by this strange sea dragon roll. The sea dragon roll grew bigger and bigger, and the cloud layer got lower and lower, as if the sky had opened a huge black mouth to wildly and terrifyingly suck in the seawater. The rotating evil wind gradually showed its terrifying power, and the tree branches on the island made urgent rubbing sounds. This group of bandits watched the movement of the sea dragon roll with bated breath while also urging the two bandits who were out hunting to return immediately.
The dragon rolled in under the dumbfounded gaze of the bandits, and instantly began to sweep through the island with an unstoppable momentum, uprooting or snapping trees as it went, casting a dark shadow over the sky.
The three kidnappers had already taken shelter in the basement before the arrival of the tornado, and at this moment, Ouyang's abdominal pain had reached its peak. In this area ravaged by the tornado, the air pressure had become extremely low, and everyone clearly heard the roar of the tornado looming over the sky. They could fully imagine what fate would befall them if the tornado swept through this brick-and-wood house.
The tall and thin man desperately called out to the two kidnappers through the walkie-talkie, trying to find a place to hide, but all he could hear was static noise coming from it. It seemed that communication had been severely affected by this sudden disaster. Now, in the face of such a terrifyingly powerful foe, there was nothing left to do but pray to God for protection and safety for everyone.
The tornado came and went quickly, people hiding in the basement couldn't hear a thing half an hour later.
They cautiously poked their heads out, and the scene in front of them was devastating. Although the tornado did not directly sweep over the wooden house, but passed by about 200-300 meters to the right front, its power had already blown off half of the house, and a clear mud ditch was swept out along its path, with only a few broken tree stumps left in the ditch.
Ouyang's stomach mysteriously stopped hurting, and the hijackers carefully scanned the sky around them, searching for any remaining danger from the sea dragon. The sky was even more strangely colored at this moment, with dark clouds covering the eastern half of the sky, making it extremely gloomy, while the western half of the sky was bathed in sunlight, forming a strong contrast with the dark east side. This breathtakingly beautiful scene was impossible to describe with words, and the sea surface sparkled with bright blue, green, and yellow colors, leaving people mesmerized and speechless.
The whirlwind has disappeared, the sea is calm again, and the waterspout is gone. The tall and thin man finally understands why the kidnapper reported on the walkie-talkie that those monkeys were going to run into the mountain cave. It turns out that the animals' instincts had predicted this disaster, so they hid in the cave. The tall and thin man also found that the satellite transmission device was severely damaged, which means he can no longer make emergency contact with the kidnapper's organization. What's worse is that these two brothers have not responded to the call yet.
Wasn't that unexpected? The tall and thin man discussed with the other two, then decided to lock up the basement, leaving the tall and thin man to watch over it and try to repair the device. The other two immediately went out to search.
Not long after the two people left, the sky gradually darkened, and the beautiful colors in the west also disappeared without a trace. The clouds gradually filled the sky.
Half an hour later, the two people who went out to search reported back to the tall and thin man that they did not find any trace of their companions near the cave, but instead found monkeys still lingering around the cave. Several monkeys were fighting over a hat, which belonged to one of their companions.
At this time, the dark clouds had become even more dense, thunder and lightning began to strike, a strong gale blew in from the southwest, and in an instant the wind direction changed from northeast to southeast, then again to southwest and northwest. A torrential downpour mixed with hail poured down, the temperature plummeting sharply, making one shiver with fear despite being in this sweltering region. The tall and thin man became extremely frightened, hastily urging his two companions to return quickly, fearing that this was the legendary hurricane.
His concerns were right, and a strong typhoon was indeed forming in this sea area on the satellite cloud map. Longbiao knew that if Jing'er had really calculated the location where Wenli and others were detained, then this typhoon would inevitably sweep through this sea area, and the danger of the typhoon's sweep was imaginable. Now, Longbiao even hoped that Jing'er had not calculated correctly.
Long Bao has investigated that Ou Yang's uncle's son in Taiwan is involved with the underworld, and the leader of this underworld organization was a participant in the scam that previously worked with Ye Zi Hen to extort money from Qian Tong Hua. There is even intelligence showing that Ye Zi Hen had dealings with Japan's Noda group. This means that all of this could very likely be a game planned by Ye Zi Hen and these people. Long Bao secretly invited helpers who have infiltrated Jing Er Bu to carry out secret investigations in those areas, and he also instructed Shi Wei to intentionally visit the websites of Japan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, etc., to query local information, in order to numb the attention of the kidnappers who are monitoring Shi Wei's movements. Next, he also instructed Ah Hui to slowly release goods for cash, and Long Bao is increasingly suspicious of two anti-kidnapping experts.
Long Bao is ridiculous, and he even specially sent someone to bring a chip from the United States that can be implanted under human skin and tracked by satellite to show its location. He asked Shi Wei and others to install it, except for Chang Cheng, everyone else did. Chang Cheng and Long Bao haven't exchanged three sentences yet, if he wasn't accompanying Qiu Ya, he wouldn't come here to suffer.
The pirates in front of Long Bao were now showing a flustered and numb expression, while the pirates themselves were confident that the most powerful weapon to achieve their extortion goals was the entire process of Ouyang's production. However, they too had become somewhat panicked. It was simple: a ship had seen the massive sea dragon sweep across the island, and this event had been broadcast on TV as news, with real footage of the sea dragon being shown. Moreover, after the sweep, they found that they could no longer contact their accomplices, and they were worried that this sea dragon would attract scientific investigators, secondly, that this pirate island would also draw the attention of the Indonesian government, thirdly, about the safety of Wen Li and other hostages and their own accomplices, and most importantly, Ouyang's safety.
They did not learn of the news until four hours later, and they had originally decided to immediately dispatch a seaplane to pick up the person and transfer them to a second location. However, the subsequent formation of a typhoon and concerns about Ou Yang's production period forced them to abandon this idea, and they could only secretly order personnel stationed in Indonesia to rush to the detention site to check on the situation.
It was already 5 pm local time, thick clouds had filled the sky, and the sky had completely darkened. The seaplane took off against strong winds but was forced to return within ten minutes. The meteorological station reported that this was a powerful tropical cyclone generated on the surface of the western Pacific Ocean, forming a dangerous hurricane, which they named "Seadragon Hurricane".
