Chapter 98 - 96: Fireworks

Lis was Tom’s best friend, so he was the most furious about Tom’s injury.

The moment he found the guns, he decided he had to find a chance to get revenge for Tom.

But the bomb constantly strapped to Jiang Si was his biggest concern.

So, not daring to act rashly, he went to find Tom to discuss the matter. "Hey, man, you doing okay?"

Tom’s palm had been shot through; how could he possibly be okay? He shook his head. "I’m not okay at all. If I get the chance, I’m going to personally slaughter those Yellow Monkeys."

Lis secretly pulled two pistols from his coat. "We have our chance!"

Tom’s eyes lit up. "Where did you get these?"

Lis lowered his voice. "Found them in the cruise ship’s casino. There are two sniper rifles, too. But none of us are good shots. I’m worried if we miss, we’ll detonate the bomb and never make it to shore."

Tom was an excellent ex-soldier and an incredibly accurate shot, but his hand was useless now. He sighed deeply, then suddenly thought of someone. "Rossi can do it. Rossi never misses. Last time we went hunting, he took down two elk all by himself."

Lis was instantly thrilled. "That’s perfect! Once we get a chance, we can take the ship back."

But then Tom frowned deeply and shook his head. "He might not have the guts to kill someone, though. You’ll have to convince him."

Lis was confident. "These Yellow Monkeys are vicious. They’re using us for slave labor and they’ve taken our ship. They say they’ll take us to shore, but they’ve probably got some other motive. Rossi will definitely be on our side."

Tom agreed. "Then go find him." After a moment of thought, he lowered his voice and added, "If he doesn’t agree, you can tempt him with the supplies. He’s got a wife and kids waiting for him back home; he’ll definitely want the supplies."

"Okay."

Lis quickly found Rossi’s room. He and several other men were huddled together for warmth. Since there was no electric heat in the room, they had to use a charcoal stove.

When Lis came looking for him, Rossi frowned, clearly reluctant.

He didn’t want to leave the room and freeze outside. One wrong move and you could get frostbite or sunburn. He’d been through it once before and had no desire for a repeat performance.

Lis stood in the doorway, letting a cold draft blow in. The others weren’t happy about it, so Rossi had no choice but to follow him outside. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

Lis glanced around, then looked toward the Icebreaker’s position before pulling Rossi into his room.

The room was packed with tall, imposing men, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Rossi frowned. "What do you guys want?"

Lis waved a hand at the men, and they filed out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

The gesture made Rossi even more wary. His muscles tensed and his gaze sharpened, like a beast poised to strike.

Lis quickly raised his hands. "Hey, man, I don’t mean any harm. I just want to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?" Rossi asked cautiously.

Lis started with a compliment. "Tom said your aim is god-like, that you put everyone else to shame on the hunting grounds. I think you could easily kill those few Yellow Monkeys over there and help our captain take back the Icebreaker."

"Of course, you’d be our greatest hero. One-tenth of the supplies on this ship would be yours to take. What do you say?"

Rossi had grown up in the forest, and his marksmanship surpassed even that of an average mercenary.

He wasn’t afraid of killing.

But Jiang Si had treated him before, waking him from a coma. He owed her a debt of gratitude.

Rossi shook his head, his expression firm. "No. I can’t repay a kindness with betrayal."

Lis grinned. "How about one-fifth, then?"

"With one-fifth of the supplies from this ship, your wife and kids... even in this frozen apocalypse, they’d probably be set for life, don’t you think?"

Rossi faltered. He was clearly tempted.

Lis pressed his advantage. "We can also provide you with guns. You’ll be a god in this polar world. Those Yellow Monkeys only saved us because they have their own agenda."

’The debt he owed Jiang Si was nothing compared to his own wife and children.’

’Once I have a gun and find my family, I can protect them, just as Lis said.’

Rossi nodded. "Fine. I’m in."

"But you have to show me the gun."

’Jiang Si and Qin Shen are too fast. With a standard gun, if I miss, they’ll definitely come after me. I’d be a dead man for sure.’

Lis took a sniper rifle out of a cabinet and handed it to Rossi. "Give it a look."

Rossi worked the bolt and inspected it carefully. "A fine weapon," he said.

’This was a high-grade sniper rifle, the kind he’d only ever had the chance to drool over online.’

Lis explained, "This rifle has a range of over two hundred meters. Our yacht is only about fifty meters from the Icebreaker. Are you confident you can hit them with a single shot?"

Rossi had been at sea for over a year and hadn’t touched a gun in a long time. His skills were bound to be a little rusty.

’But for my wife and kids, for their future, I have to use every ounce of my skill and take Jiang Si down.’

’It’s all for the sake of survival. I hope God lets her into heaven.’

"No problem," Rossi said confidently.

Lis breathed a sigh of relief and gave Rossi a handful of bullets.

"Once we take back the Icebreaker, I’ll give you two more guns and a box of ammunition. You can keep them to teach your wife and son."

Lis’s thoughtfulness only strengthened Rossi’s resolve to kill Jiang Si.

They had their sniper. Now a new problem arose: how to lure Jiang Si and her people out.

’If this fails, we’ll most likely infuriate those Yellow Monkeys, and they’ll abandon us here forever.’

Lis couldn’t think of a plan. Jiang Si had already arranged with Dr. Shire that if there was no blizzard tomorrow morning, the Icebreaker would set off.

Once they were on the move, the opportunity to kill the Yellow Monkeys would shrink.

Lis went to Tom again. "How are we going to lure all of them onto the deck?"

"In a blizzard this bad, they’ll only come out if it’s for something extremely important."

"No, we could also create a little surprise for them. Don’t all Easterners love watching fireworks? Go check the cruise ship and see if there are any."

Tom hated the Yellow Monkeys and all their customs, which was precisely why he remembered them so clearly.

"Man, you’re a genius," Lis said excitedly. "I’ll send someone right away."

’There have to be fireworks on the cruise ship. Rich people love that kind of stuff.’

Three hours later, the fireworks were brought over—an entire truckload’s worth.

Dr. Shire found it strange. ’Why on earth would they be setting off fireworks now?’

’Weren’t they worried about attracting other ships to compete for their supplies?’

He heard that it was Lis’s idea, so he went to Lis’s room to find him. Pushing the door open, he saw Lis and his men, each holding a large weapon.