Chapter 55: Robbery and a Pleasant Surprise

Jiang Si and the others devised a plan. Once the two steamships drew near, she and Qin Shen would board them separately, while the rest stayed on the yacht to defend against the enemy.

She and Qin Shen were the strongest and most skilled fighters, which would prevent the enemy from sailing away.

The two steamships circled them, using iron chains to trap the yacht in the middle.

Peering through an observation port, Jiang Si saw that there were at least twenty people on the two steamships. Apart from the two men leading them, the others weren’t carrying guns.

’As long as we kill the two leaders, the rest won’t pose a threat.’

The two ships gradually drew closer, but they showed no signs of wanting to board.

Jiang Si strained to hear what they were saying, but Qin Shen’s hearing was better. He said in a low voice, "They’re convinced we’ve been poisoned to death. They want to wait for the sun to burn off the toxins on the yacht before boarding."

’If it weren’t for the oxygen tanks and gas masks, their vicious scheme would have actually worked.’

Jiang Si’s expression hardened. "Everyone eat something to conserve your energy," she told the group. "As soon as the two ships get close enough, we’ll counter-attack."

"Right."

Shen Baoying handed out the sweet sesame cakes she had made the night before, and the sugary treat quickly restored everyone’s strength.

Little Black and Big Black quietly finished their food and lay obediently at Jiang Linhai and Shen Baoying’s feet, their pointed ears pricked up and alert for any enemy movement.

They remained on high alert for a long time. The next day, the long-absent sun was hanging high in the sky, but there was still no sign of movement from the enemy.

’This crew is so cautious. They’re likely wary of the Poisonous Guavas, but also afraid we might not be dead.’

The stalemate dragged on for several days. The rising temperatures and brilliant sun evaporated all the moisture from the yacht.

Suddenly, Big Black heard a faint noise and pawed at Jiang Linhai as a warning.

Jiang Si looked closely and saw people from both steamships appearing on deck one after another.

From her observations over the past few days, Jiang Si had determined that one steamship held at least eighteen people, while the other had at least twelve.

The steamships drew closer and closer until their hulls bumped against the yacht. Everyone felt the jolt, their expressions tense as they gripped their guns tightly.

They had all practiced shooting, but firing at the Weasel Crocodiles in the water was a world away from the pressure of shooting at a person.

Shen Baoying’s face was tense, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Niu Niu was trembling all over.

If Lu Zhifeng kept shielding Niu Niu from the world’s cruelty, she would never adapt to its dangers or learn to protect herself.

Lu Zhifeng could only comfort her. "Don’t be afraid."

Niu Niu gave a pale smile, not forgetting the bold declaration she had made earlier. "Niu Niu isn’t afraid! Niu Niu will shoot to kill!"

Hearing such bloodthirsty words from a child’s mouth, in the atmosphere of this apocalyptic world, was pathologically relieving in the most pitiful way.

Five men descended from the steamship, clad in raincoats, hats, gloves, and high boots.

They began lashing the steamship and the yacht together with iron chains. Jiang Si and Qin Shen exchanged a glance.

Gun in hand, Qin Shen yanked open the cabin door, kicked three of the men into the water, and fired two quick shots to eliminate the remaining two.

The people on the steamship had never expected Jiang Si and her group to still be alive.

The two leaders were even more shocked that Qin Shen had a gun.

The instant they drew their guns to fire on Qin Shen, a single gunshot—CRACK!—rang out from the yacht’s observation port. Jiang Si had shot one of them through the head.

Blood sprayed as the man collapsed. The moment his subordinate snatched up the fallen pistol—CRACK!—Jiang Si fired again, shattering the man’s hand.

The leader on the other steamship saw this and knew instantly that Jiang Si’s group had been prepared for them.

He ducked down, yelling at his men to unfasten the chains connecting them to the yacht as he scrambled for the cover of the ship’s cabin.

As if Jiang Si would let him hide. CRACK! A bullet tore through the man’s thigh.

The man screamed and struggled, but his men were too afraid of being shot to help him, fumbling frantically to undo the iron chains.

Jiang Si turned to Jiang Chengwu and the others. "They’re all yours."

"Right."

Qin Shen vaulted onto the steamship. Two men charged him with large cleavers. BANG—

Lu Zhifeng and Jiang Chengwu fired simultaneously, shooting both men dead.

With Jiang Linhai providing cover, Jiang Si also leaped onto the other steamship.

Jiang Si held her gun at the ready. Seeing she was a woman, the men on the ship hesitated for a moment before their expressions turned vicious and they charged her with knives.

"BANG—"

Jiang Linhai shot one, and Jiang Si kicked another down. Working together, they quickly dealt with the rest of the men on deck.

Meanwhile, Qin Shen had disappeared into the cabin of his steamship.

The moment Jiang Si slipped into the cabin—BANG! BANG! BANG!—a woman with a piercing gaze raised a gun and fired a volley of shots at her.

Jiang Si dodged aside as the sound of the woman’s footsteps drew nearer.

Pinpointing her position by sound, Jiang Si fired. BANG! The bullet hit the woman in the heart.

The woman collapsed. As Jiang Si stepped further into the cabin, she saw the woman was still breathing, her gaze a mixture of desperate pleading and bitter unwillingness to die.

"BANG—"

Jiang Si finished her off and stepped over the body. A few steps further in, two men burst from rooms on either side, attacking simultaneously with high and low kicks.

Jiang Si slammed her elbow into one man’s face, then pivoted and delivered a side kick to the other’s head.

A moment later, two more men surged out from up ahead.

They were holding a little girl of about ten hostage and pleaded with Jiang Si, "Don’t kill us! Don’t kill us! We surrender! We surrender!"

The little girl was crying, reaching out to Jiang Si. "Miss... miss... miss..."

Jiang Si hesitated. The man threw the girl at her like a shield as a sharp axe came flying at her head.

Jiang Si caught the little girl, narrowly dodging the axe.

The trembling girl in her arms suddenly looked up, her eyes glinting with malice. A hidden razor blade in her hand slashed viciously at Jiang Si’s neck. "I’m avenging my parents!"

Jiang Si reacted in a flash, slapping the girl to the ground. She yanked the axe from the floorboards and made short work of the remaining men.

The girl’s glare was venomous, as if she wanted to flay Jiang Si alive.

’Leaving her alive would be a future threat.’

If Jiang Si hadn’t lived through ten years of the apocalypse, she would have softened and left the girl to her fate.

But there were no what-ifs.

Jiang Si would not allow any potential threat to harm her family.

"BANG—"

Jiang Si raised her gun and killed her cleanly, without a shred of guilt.

Only when everyone on the steamship had become a corpse did Jiang Si begin to inspect the ship’s interior.

There were plenty of provisions: rice, millet, flour, canned goods, instant noodles, dried fruit... an abundance of non-perishable food.

Under a bed in one of the rooms, Jiang Si also found a considerable amount of gasoline and diesel fuel.

In the steamship’s hold, there were also tens of thousands of pounds of coal.

The most pleasant surprise was in a room at the very stern of the ship: a milking goat and a pregnant wild sow.