Chapter 2345: Chapter 2248: Something’s Off

Huo Sining’s guess was indeed correct. The ship described by the Oil Rat was indeed lurking nearby.

This area is close to the High seas. Although this ship doesn’t dare to blatantly enter the Huaxia Country waters, it is also unwilling to return just like that. So it has been lingering in this area, sending several people on small rescue boats searching everywhere nearby, seemingly looking for the Oil Rat’s trace.

These people clearly do not believe that the Oil Rat, after being so severely injured, can escape smoothly. Hence, they remain at the original location, attempting to find the Oil Rat’s hiding spot.

There are several islands around here, and this group of people is convinced that Oil Rat is hiding on those islands. They haven’t considered that Oil Rat might have drifted, following the ocean current, to the deserted island where Huo Sining and the others are stationed, almost thirty to forty nautical miles away from this place.

However, this allowed the Oil Rat to escape death, successfully avoiding these Dongyang ghosts’ pursuit. Huo Sining couldn’t help but marvel at how the Oil Rat really shouldn’t die; he’s had another stroke of luck.

A Yin led Huo Sining and Gu Xu closer to the ship, and from afar, using the ship’s dim lights, she already saw clearly the large Dongyang characters "Okinawa 0288" on the ship’s body.

The ship with which the Oil Rat and his partner originally met the mysterious buyer was precisely the one with the hull number "Okinawa 0288," so it can be determined that A Yin did not lead them to the wrong target.

However, what surprised Huo Sining was that this ship turned out to be a fishing boat with a displacement of two to three hundred tons.

Fishing boats are usually owned by ordinary fishermen, typically not involved in any Iga-ryu conflicts. Huo Sining originally thought the ship described by the Oil Rat would be a cruise-type vessel, belonging to Fujiwara Seiho’s assets. If that were the case, Huo Sining wouldn’t hesitate to act. But involving ordinary people would make Huo Sining more cautious.

After all, this fishing boat might indeed be for sea fishing, and fishing on the High seas truly does not break any laws. At most, it’s just used by Fujiwara Seiho’s people to provide a venue for smuggling transactions and illegal captivity. If really argued, it’s not considered a significant wrongdoing.

But without clarifying the specific situation, Huo Sining dared not jump to conclusions. She nodded at Gu Xu, and taking advantage of the dark night, they quietly approached the stern of the fishing boat.

Climbing onto the fishing boat, Huo Sining and Gu Xu went straight to the deck, with Invisibility Skill, the crew on the fishing boat didn’t notice any strangers approaching. The sailors on the deck were gearing up, seemingly ready to cast their nets to catch sea goods.

Although it was early morning, all the busy people on this ship were ordinary fishermen. Huo Sining really couldn’t see anything unusual about the ship, she couldn’t help but furrow her brows and exchanged glances with Gu Xu.

Gu Xu was also baffled, and he could only gesture toward Huo Sining as they followed a crew member into the ship cabin.

This ship was countless times larger than Huo Sining and Gu Xu’s yacht. Once inside the cabin, utilizing Special Ability, they continued to investigate but couldn’t find the Medicine King Cauldron nor the dying partner described by the Oil Rat.

Huo Sining couldn’t help but worry—could it be that the Iga-ryu Ninja noticed the Oil Rat escaped and, fearing the incident might be exposed and later pursued by Hua Country, had already led the Medicine King Cauldron and the dying partner back to Dongyang?

This speculation is not impossible, but if true, it might be troublesome. Once the Medicine King Cauldron reaches Dongyang, who knows where it may end up. Moreover, given Fujiwara Seiho’s caution, he certainly wouldn’t let anyone know the whereabouts of the Medicine King Cauldron. Trying to retrieve it would basically be impossible.

Huo Sining’s heart hung in suspense, intending to pull Gu Xu into a corner to discuss. But unexpectedly, at this moment, a Dongyang person came out from a side power distribution room, walked to the captain’s cabin, knocked on the door, and then entered:

"Boss, once we set this net, our cargo hold will be full. Should we set sail back directly?"

A faint "Uhm" came from the person inside the captain’s cabin, and that person continued: "Then how do we handle the Chinese people in the cargo hold?"

Huo Sining had stayed in Dongyang for half a year, and although she wasn’t fluent in Dongyang language, she could understand some simple vocabulary. Upon hearing "cargo hold" and "Chinese," her heart suddenly skipped a beat, instinctively squeezing Gu Xu’s elbow, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

What a discovery when least expected, effortlessly obtained!

No wonder they hadn’t found anyone on this level; it turns out they were hidden in the cargo hold!

Huo Sining couldn’t help but feel delighted—finding them would make things easier. She wasn’t in a hurry, just waiting to see how the captain would respond.

Silence prevailed for a while before asking: "Have you searched all the nearby islands? Haven’t found Oil Rat’s people?"

"No, after sustaining such serious injuries, even if they escape, they would be doomed. Sharks often appear in this area, and I’m guessing he has either sunk into the sea or been preyed upon by sharks. Definitely impossible to return alive to Hua Country!"

"Dead is dead. The people in the cargo hold are useless as well, throw them to the sharks. After harvesting this last net, let’s head back directly!"

"Yes!"

These people were about to harm the Oil Rat’s partner. Upon hearing their conversation, Huo Sining knew things were about to take a turn for the worse, her face tightened.

Seeing the speaker come out of the room, she had no time to see how the captain in the captain’s cabin looked. Hastily, she pulled Gu Xu to closely follow behind that person heading toward the cargo hold.

Arriving at the cargo hold entrance, both Huo Sining and Gu Xu were ready to take action against the Dongyang person whenever needed. But unexpectedly, when that person opened the cargo hold, Huo Sining and Gu Xu froze at the same time.

Originally, they assumed they would see a bloody Hua Country person after entering the cargo hold, but the scene before them completely defied their expectations.

There were more than a dozen people locked in the cargo hold, mostly young and robust men among them, but there was also a child and two women. All the detained individuals had their hands and feet tied with ropes, completely restricting their movements.

These people were covered in blood and wounds, with torn clothes, looking extremely miserable. Perhaps they’ve been locked up for a long time, already exhausted, and when the hatch opened, they merely lifted their heads slowly to glance, not speaking.

Once inside the cargo hold, the Dongyang person’s gaze scanned around, finally landing on the two women with a sleazy expression emerging, a smirk forming at the corner of his lips, heading directly towards those two women.

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