Chapter 848: Heartfire

Chapter 848: Heartfire

Zagu squinted his eyes, hesitating over whether or not to kill Lu Dahai.

But just as Lu Dahai had said, they were already the bosses of this lower deck. Food was sufficient.

There was simply no need to take unnecessary risks.

However, if a real fight broke out and attracted the attention above, even if Captain Zhang didn't care about the lives of the people on the lower deck, in the end, he was closer to these Huaxu Kingdom people.

If conflict erupted between the two groups and the stowaway gang killed the Huaxu Kingdom people, then even from a purely human perspective, it was almost certain who Captain Zhang would side with.

When people had nothing, they could act recklessly.

But once they were full, risking their lives was no longer so easy.

Zagu stared at Lu Dahai. "Cooperate? Interesting. Come on, tell me, how exactly do you plan to cooperate?"

Lu Dahai took several deep, difficult breaths before calming himself.

"From now on, in this lower deck, our two groups will be in charge, unifying food distribution. You take priority, we follow!"

"As long as we unite, no one else can cause trouble. Then everyone can eat well and live well. Isn't that better than constantly being suspicious of each other now?"

To dispel Zagu’s doubts, Lu Dahai continued, "We’re all just fighting for a bite to eat. Who really wants to risk their lives?"

Zagu stared hard into Lu Dahai’s eyes.

Silence.

He gave no response to Lu Dahai’s proposal.

That silence was suffocatingly oppressive.

Lu Dahai’s heart pounded loudly.

But this hurdle had to be overcome.

...

After a while, the cabin door opened, and Lu Dahai walked out calmly.

Rong Lei, Yu Gang, and the others quickly gathered around. Seeing the injuries on Lu Dahai’s face, they anxiously asked if he was alright.

"I'm fine. This hurdle is passed. Everyone, let's go back!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, those watching the commotion in other cabins felt extreme disappointment.

They all wished that Lu Dahai’s group and the stowaways would fight to the death, preferably wiping each other out.

That way, the bullies would be gone and there would be enough food to eat.

As Lu Dahai passed by other cabins, he naturally saw the expressions on their faces.

He could guess what they were thinking, and a cold, mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Back in their cabin, Lu Dahai said to Rong Lei and Yu Gang, "I knew those people wouldn’t dare touch me. They aren’t lacking food or drink now. What they fear most is dying."

"I’ve seen through Captain Zhang. He has his principles. As long as no one causes trouble, he won’t bother us. But anyone who crosses his bottom line and causes him trouble, he’ll kill us like killing chickens."

"Zagu doesn’t have the guts to kill people here."

One man happily said, "That’s great! As long as we get along peacefully with those stowaways from now on, we won’t worry about food and drink!"

Lu Dahai glanced coldly at him, saying nothing.

The three of them—Lu Dahai, Rong Lei, and Yu Gang—had an unusual look in their eyes.

Keeping the peace was not their style.

The day Zagu and the others beat them up nearly to death, they had not forgotten that grudge.

Having fished all their lives at sea, their hearts were colder than the knives that caught fish!

In the following two days, the relationship between the stowaways and the fishermen’s alliance was, as agreed, very peaceful.

The stowaways got to pick food first, while the fishermen’s alliance took two portions afterward.

However, this made the already starving passengers in other cabins face even greater food shortages.

God only knew how they survived those two days; some went three days without a single grain of rice.

Struggling and despair made some unable to endure any longer.

Some, suppressing their fear, came to find Lu Dahai, begging for food.

"Boss Lu, we didn’t help you before because we had no conscience. We know we were wrong. Please show mercy and spare us a chance to live!"

A group gathered outside Lu Dahai’s cabin, kneeling and pleading bitterly.

Lu Dahai sneered and asked, "Why don’t you go beg the stowaways instead of begging me?"

A few glanced at each other and said, "We’re compatriots, but they’re outsiders!"

Lu Dahai laughed coldly, "So compatriots are easier to bully, huh?"

Suddenly pointing at them, his face changed. "You’re all cowards who pick fights at home!"

"You don’t have the guts to challenge them, but you kneel here to beg me for pity."

"But it’s too late. I don’t sympathize with you at all. All of you get out now!"

At Lu Dahai’s command, a group of henchmen immediately went to chase them away.

Those people cried and screamed, beaten harshly for being hungry, blood flowing everywhere.

People in other cabins saw this and were furious.

They hated Lu Dahai intensely.

By contrast, the instigators like Zagu weren’t as hated.

Because outsiders bullied them, they felt it was only natural.

But Lu Dahai was the same as them—both Huaxu Kingdom people—so they thought Lu Dahai was scum, a beast.

Those people probably forgot that the scum they encountered in their own country were mostly their own compatriots.

And most of the wealth in their hands was gained by exploiting and cheating their own people.

Now thinking about blood ties was simply ridiculous.

At the stowaway cabin, Zagu saw Lu Dahai brutally beating his own compatriots and showed a mocking smile.

"They just like to fight among themselves. Let them fight, let them fight!"

The deeper the conflict between Lu Dahai and the other cabins grew, the more secure Zagu felt.

This greatly reduced the threat from the fishermen’s alliance.

...

That night, Lu Dahai’s cabin was pitch black.

Through the porthole, faint light filtered in, barely making out figures.

Shadows gathered in the cabin.

In the middle of several beds, seven or eight people sat on the floor.

They were representatives sent from various cabins.

The three Lu brothers also sat in the center.

Lu Dahai’s eyes scanned the indistinct faces, a pair of ruthless eyes radiating intimidating killing intent.

"How are things in your cabins now?"

Lu Dahai’s voice was extremely low.

After he asked, the others could no longer hold back and began to complain all at once.

"Brother Lu, people in our cabin are starving to death! Several women are just one step from the underworld!"

"If this continues, at least half the people in that cabin will die!"

"We really can’t hold on anymore, or we wouldn’t have come to ask you. We also know we acted badly at first. Please give us a chance to live!"

...

After hearing them out, Lu Dahai coldly said, "The ones who won’t give you a chance to live aren’t me. Have you forgotten who’s responsible for us not having enough to eat?"

Author's Note