BL Ch127

Everyone on the deck heard it, freezing in place.

“What’re you blabbering about? We’re standing just fine—” Lou Baoguo didn’t finish, cut off by a strange noise from below.

Something was splitting.

Listening closely, it wasn’t one sound but thousands converging, like countless crabs scuttling onto their yacht, their eight legs clacking against the hull, rampaging freely.

The surging waves masked these faint noises, and their focus on Fei Zheng had blinded them to the sounds underfoot.

Only now, in the silence, did they realize the ship’s swaying wasn’t just from the waves.

Lou Baoguo’s hairs stood on end, forcing calm, gesturing to the air, “Everyone, stay steady. It’s fine. Madam Yu said the coast guard’s almost here, helicopter too. Hold on five minutes…”

Captain Sun wailed, “No time! Three minutes, max, and it’s down! This ship’s huge—sinking, it’ll suck people under. Escape now! Any later, we’re done!”

As if proving him, the dense noises abruptly stopped.

Then, the hull shuddered, a deep, whale-like wail echoing from its core.

The deck they stood on stilled, tilted slightly. Seconds later, the bow’s weight shifted downward, the horizon in their view like a clock’s hand, eerily rotating—not the apocalypse, not Earth reversing, but their ship tilting, sinking.

Captain Sun, ignoring all else, rushed to free his first mate and crew, yelling, “Help me!”

The two cops exchanged glances, wordlessly holstering guns to join the rescue.

The crew, skilled swimmers, needed no worry once freed. The problem was the injured, unable to escape alone.

Lou Baoguo and Zhou Yi, heeding Captain Sun, raced to find Yu Duqiu a life jacket, but the bow was the entertainment zone—all life jackets, kayaks, and escape gear were at the stern.

Now, the ship had split in two, each half tilting east and west, the widening central rift an uncrossable chasm, impassable even for an Olympic long jumper.

“What do we do?!” Lou Baoguo sweated anxiously.

Bai Zhao decided, “Grab the speedboat!”

The waves hastened the wreck’s sinking, faster than imagined. In seconds, the tilt grew so steep standing was nearly impossible, freed crew leaping overboard to escape.

The cops, done freeing hostages, turned to aid Yu Duqiu, only to see the lounge’s sofa and coffee table, unable to resist gravity, sliding fast from above, barreling toward them!

A hit would cripple or kill. With no dodge, the cops jumped to the lower deck. The sofa smashed through the railing, landing a meter from their feet, caving the deck.

Relieved to survive, they looked up, dumbfounded—this deck’s inner cabin glass was shattered, revealing a cursed onboard gym. Treadmills, spin bikes, punching bags… countless steel machines, like wild horses, charged at them!

Leading was a twenty-kilogram barbell.

“…”

“Goddamn rich people!”

Splash! Two more joined the floating survivors awaiting rescue.

At the horizon, a white patrol vessel appeared, and from the sky, the faint whir of a helicopter’s blades.

The cops, powerless, could only pray those left on board held out until help arrived.

A three-minute race against death.

Yu Duqiu and three others, as the cops freed hostages, dashed to the stairwell—where Fei Zheng blocked.

Fei Zheng, barely standing, couldn’t hold Hong Liangzhang, shoving him forward! As Lou Baoguo and Hong Yuanhang scrambled to catch him, Fei Zheng grabbed the frail Du Shuyan, “Move!”

Du Shuyan, drugged from tainted juice, could hardly stand, dragged forcibly by Fei Zheng.

They hit the stairs first, but as they landed, the ship sank deeper, seawater flooding the cabin, soaking their shoes. Fei Zheng’s limp leg slowed him, dragging Du Shuyan worsening it.

The stern platform, wrecked by Hong Yuanhang, had forced the bodyguards to lower the speedboat off the port side, tied with ropes. Now, with the ship splitting and sinking, if the ropes weren’t cut, the speedboat would go down too.

Fei Zheng shoved open the side door, stepping out, about to set Du Shuyan down to untie the ropes, when the delayed group caught up—Bai Zhao with Yu Duqiu, Hong Yuanhang with his grandpa.

Both injured couldn’t swim to safety, making this a life-or-death fight for the speedboat.

Fei Zheng slammed the side door, locking it from outside. Lou Baoguo roared, ramming it!

But the billion-yuan yacht’s custom furniture was built to last, sturdy against extreme weather or capsizing, resisting water briefly. Now, with the hull split, these robust fixtures trapped them, blocking their escape.

Lou Baoguo’s bulk couldn’t budge the door, let alone the old, weak, or injured, who watched through the door’s glass as Fei Zheng untied the ropes, hoisting the feeble Du Shuyan, making him grab the ropes to board the speedboat first.

Surging seawater sped the sinking; in a minute, they’d lose their footing, with no time to detour for the speedboat.

Were they doomed to die here?

Lou Baoguo, overcome with grief, gave a heroic farewell, “Old Zhou! Looks like we’re going down together. No regrets being your brother! When the ship sinks, we jump—company on the road! What’s that line… Right! Have flippers! Love flippers!”

Zhou Yi snapped, “Who the hell’s dying with you? I’m seeing my daughter get into college! And stop butchering Titanic if you can’t speak English! It’s ‘You jump! I jump’!”

Yu Duqiu coughed hard, nearly spitting blood, muttering, “…Don’t say you’re my bodyguards out there…”

Bai Zhao shouted, “Old Zhou! Behind you!”

Zhou Yi, thinking an enemy attacked, spun—no one, just a wall with a huge surfboard leaning against it.

“Take Duqiu and go! I’ll catch them!” Bai Zhao was about to hand Yu Duqiu off, but Yu Duqiu gripped his sleeve, shaking his head, “Let Hong-bo go first.”

Hong Liangzhang, head drooping, half-conscious, jerked at this, lifting bloodshot, cloudy eyes in disbelief. “Young master… It’s fine, don’t mind me… After what I’ve done, I’ve no face to see you. Better dead…”

“Old Zhou! Didn’t hear me?” Yu Duqiu ignored his remorse, barking, “Take Hong-bo! I won’t say it a third time!”

Zhou Yi, hearing his resolute tone, knew the order was final, nodding with tears, “Got it. A-bao, Xiao Bai, protect the young master!”

Hong Liangzhang tried to stay, but his frail body was no match for Zhou Yi and Hong Yuanhang’s strength, soon dragged through the starboard door. The surfboard could hold an elderly man, and with their escort, he’d likely last until rescue.

“You’re too soft on him!” Bai Zhao fumed. “What about you?!”

Yu Duqiu forced a smile. “You’re wrong—I’m not that noble… I’m selfish, don’t want to part from you. Is that a crime?”

Bai Zhao froze, his scolding stuck.

“Oh, my dear young master, my big bro, can you not feed me dog food now? Let’s find something else that floats!” Lou Baoguo saw Fei Zheng toss Du Shuyan onto the speedboat, sweating coldly—not worried they’d escape justice, but if they took the speedboat, Yu Duqiu had nothing to float on. Captain Sun warned of the sinking ship’s suction; if they jumped and couldn’t hold Yu Duqiu… unthinkable.

“Don’t panic… Isn’t there another boat?” Yu Duqiu pointed faintly—

The speedboat that crashed into the yacht’s belly sat at its center. As the split halves tilted, forming an inverted triangle—high at both ends, low in the middle—seawater submerged the lowest point, buoying the speedboat, floating steadily. But if not driven out, it’d soon be crushed by the collapsing deck, sinking with the yacht.

Lou Baoguo doubted the plan’s odds, but Bai Zhao was already rushing Yu Duqiu toward it. He followed, anxious, “Young master, if the deck collapses before we get out, we’re done. Let’s jump—I and Big Bro can carry you, might work.”

Yu Duqiu shook his head. “Not just me.”

Bai Zhao added, “And Ji Lin.”

Lou Baoguo jolted, remembering, “Right! Where’s Captain Ji?”

Yu Duqiu had suspected Fei Zheng had bigger plans, not killing them outright, and needed Du Shuyan’s crime evidence. So, before the collision, he sacrificed escape time, arranging an ambush to preserve strength, making Fei Zheng’s side think they had the upper hand, lowering their guard.

For those ten-plus minutes, they clung to the ship’s outer hull. Its curved sides hid them from view, even if someone checked from above.

Lou Baoguo faintly heard Ji Lin’s gunfire but saw no sign of him after climbing up.

“He fell to the lower deck before you came up, leg injured. It’s been seven or eight minutes, no sign—might be bad,” Bai Zhao said.

Lou Baoguo’s heart sank, understanding why Yu Duqiu insisted on the speedboat—two could carry one injured, but not two.

Resolved, Lou Baoguo charged to the speedboat, “Captain Ji can’t die! I want him as my and Xiao Lu’s officiant!!!”

“…” Yu Duqiu coughed, “Should we tell him… marriage needs a partner first?”

Bai Zhao, hauling him, rushed forward, “You’ve got one.”

Yu Duqiu paused, then got it.

That little scheme, plain as day.

The floor tilted thirty degrees, dress shoes slipping, gravity pulling them down, nearly sliding multiple times. They also dodged furniture crashing from behind.

Reaching the speedboat, all three exhaled.

But no time for relief—Lou Baoguo stared at the dashboard’s buttons and gauges, brain crashing, “How do you drive?! I can’t! Help!”

Bai Zhao shoved him aside, “Who’s counting on you?”

Luckily, Hong Yuanhang, no pro criminal, was sloppy. After ramming the yacht, likely dazed and eager to save his grandpa, he jumped off, leaving the keys in.

Bai Zhao flipped the power, started the engine, and shifted gears, all in one go.

The speedboat, dented by falling furniture, had intact critical parts. Hong Yuanhang wasn’t entirely hopeless, picking a sturdy boat to ram, boosting his survival odds.

Yu Duqiu, gasping, sat, directing, “Once out, scan the water. If he’s not there, he’s trapped in the yacht—we’ll need to go back… Honestly, I shook my head, told him not to come, no rapport—”

Clunk!

The turning speedboat jammed.

“What’s wrong?” Lou Baoguo asked.

Bai Zhao checked the dashboard—normal. “Not the boat. Something’s caught underneath.”

With Yu Duqiu injured and Bai Zhao driving, Lou Baoguo jumped off, wading through knee-deep water to the stern. Sure enough, a massive Brazilian rosewood tea table, upside down, had two legs snagged on the boat’s bottom.

Lou Baoguo rolled up sleeves, yanking a leg, unaware the heavy, pricey wood weighed two to three hundred pounds. Straining, face red, roaring “Aaaah!” he lifted it halfway. Given time, he could free it, but time was gone.

Bai Zhao, seeing this, moved to help, when a thunderous crash sounded overhead!

The upper deck, unable to hold, fully collapsed.

Above them was the yacht’s study, a large bookcase toppling, straddling the rift, dozens of books spilling, pages fluttering like diving gulls.

Bai Zhao raised the suit jacket over Yu Duqiu, shielding him, taking several hits himself.

Lou Baoguo, at the stern, dodged the books but saw the collapsing ceiling closing in, hope fading, shouting, “Young master! Jump! This thing’s too heavy, I can’t move it! Too late!”

Yu Duqiu, pale, clutched Bai Zhao’s clothes.

Bai Zhao, understanding, kissed his forehead, “I’ll get you out, then come back for him.”

They knew if Ji Lin sank with the ship, no rescue could save him—hundreds of meters of water pressure would crush a man instantly.

“…Let’s go. I can’t get you two killed.” Yu Duqiu made his final call, pushing off the jacket, gripping the boat’s edge, ready to jump.

Lou Baoguo sniffled hard, about to let go, when he noticed another pair of hands on the table’s other leg.

Thinking he was seeing things, he blinked teary eyes, not fully open when a furious roar exploded, “You got some young master syndrome, huh, Yu?! Escaping in a speedboat?! Still picky at a time like this? Lucky me, having a teammate like you!”