Yu Hanjiang and his teammates finalized their action plan, and it was already 1 a.m.
The cruise ship has just left the dock, and this is only the first day of the confinement room. Normally, the first day is reserved for everyone to get used to the environment, so there shouldn't be any major problems tonight.
Yu Hanjiang told everyone to go back and get some sleep to be well-rested so they could deal with any unexpected situations that might arise after daybreak.
They agreed to meet at the restaurant on the sixth floor at 8:30 the next morning.
***
The next morning at eight o'clock, Xiao Lou woke up on time.
Upon discovering Captain Yu standing on the balcony, Xiao Lou pushed open the French windows and walked over.
After a night's voyage, the cruise ship had entered the vast sea. A soft sea breeze caressed his cheeks, carrying the damp scent of the sea. The morning sea breeze was refreshing, and Xiao Lou couldn't help but squint his eyes in enjoyment.
Yu Hanjiang gently leaned on the balcony railing, gazing calmly into the distance. Noticing Xiao Lou approaching, Yu Hanjiang whispered, "This is my first time on a cruise ship. I didn't expect the scenery at sea to be so beautiful. If I ever have the chance to return to reality, I definitely want to go on one again."
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Me too, shall we go together? We can choose some unique routes, travel around the world, and visit different countries."
Yu Hanjiang turned to look at him: "Okay, it's settled then."
The two watched the morning sea view side by side for a while. When they estimated that it was about time, Xiao Lou turned around and went to the restroom to quickly wash his face and brush his teeth. Then he went to the dining area on the 6th floor with Captain Yu.
There's a buffet restaurant here where all the food is free, and 80% of the seats are by floor-to-ceiling windows. Sitting by the window, eating free food, and watching the sea is just as pleasant as being on vacation.
At 8:30 a.m., breakfast time, the buffet restaurant was packed with people.
Many of the people were clearly part of the Challenger team; a dozen or so sat at one table, and they deliberately lowered their voices when speaking. There were also some indigenous groups traveling together—elderly people, young couples, and children—who seemed to be enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, it was also quite unfortunate for them to encounter such a perilous boat while traveling as a family.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang walked to the door and saw Shao Qingge and Ye Qi waiting there. Upon seeing the two of them, Shao Qingge stepped forward and said, "Let's go to the restaurant with the extra charges. Let's not eat here."
Xiao Lou asked, "Won't the fee be very expensive?"
Shao Qingge laughed and said, "You guys are just overthinking it. I always feel that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Anyway, we are not short of money, so there is no need to queue up and squeeze for a seat with so many people here. I think the Chinese restaurant next door has a nice atmosphere, let's go eat there."
Xiao Lou thought it made sense, so he nodded in agreement with Shao Qingge's suggestion.
He established a communication channel with Liu Qiao and conveyed the message through the channel: "Xiao Liu, take Qu Wanyue to the Chinese restaurant on the 6th floor for dinner."
Shao Qingge also relayed the message to Lao Mo, and soon after, everyone met at the Chinese restaurant on the 6th floor.
The themed restaurants on the cruise ship are indeed very expensive. A plate of small steamed buns for breakfast costs 5,000 gold coins, which is practically robbery.
Ye Qi gripped the menu, practically glaring a hole through the prices: "It's too expensive..."
Shao Qingge calmly ordered: "Eight servings of xiaolongbao, eight servings of youtiao, and what would you like to drink? I'd like a bowl of pumpkin porridge."
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "I'd like red bean porridge, thank you."
The two accountants started taking orders, and everyone stopped being polite and ordered their favorite porridge.
The breakfast cost 100,000 gold coins, nearly 1,000 RMB. Old Mo couldn't help but mutter to himself, "With that much money, I could make steamed buns for a month if I bought the ingredients myself."
Shao Qingge waved his hand dismissively: "Don't worry, we can earn more money when we run out. Besides, nobody knows how long we'll live, so let's enjoy ourselves while we can. Maybe this meal will be our last..."
Xiao Lou interrupted him: " CEO Shao, don't jinx it."
Shao Qingge immediately zipped up his mouth and lowered his head to eat.
Perhaps because the food in the Chinese restaurant was too expensive, there weren't many customers. Their private rooms were very quiet, and no one disturbed them, which made it convenient for everyone to discuss things.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Yu Hanjiang looked at Ye Qi and asked, "Did you get anything from listening in last night?"
Ye Qi said, "Over in the captain's cabin, the captain and the first mate have been talking about the typhoon for almost half an hour. They said that the typhoon has caused heavy casualties in coastal cities in the past few days, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. However, the typhoon's path does not conflict with our current flight route, so they don't seem worried at all."
Ye Qi paused, then continued, "The crew members are all complaining that due to the typhoon, the cruise company's business has been very bad lately. Tickets aren't selling, and only 70% of the tickets for this ship have been sold. Recently, the salaries of the ship's service staff have been reduced across the board, and quarterly bonuses have been canceled. Everyone says that they're almost starving, unable to afford to get married or raise children..."
Ye Qi listened until 1 a.m. last night, listening to the crew's complaints and rants until his head was about to explode.
Xiao Lou smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Ye. Is there anything unusual at the service desk?"
Ye Qi said, "Some people asked if we could provide an upgrade service, wanting to move to a deluxe suite on the fifth floor; others are booking daytime activities, and a woman with a very gentle voice has booked the Captain's Restaurant, saying she wants to try the captain's personally prepared dishes."
Most of the remaining people have booked tickets for this afternoon's play.
He scratched the back of his head and looked at Shao Qingge: "What's the name of the play we're performing this afternoon?"
Shao Qingge squinted and thought for a moment, then said, "It's the classic play ' Thunderstorm '."
Ye Qi slapped his forehead: "Right, right! ' Thunderstorm,' I remember learning that text in high school."
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said, "The captain and first mate have been talking about the typhoon. The crew mentioned that the typhoon has caused business to suffer and bonuses to be reduced. And the play that is going to be performed this afternoon is ' Thunderstorm.' Do you think this is a coincidence?"
Typhoon, thunderstorm... these keywords were mentioned in all three surveillance reports, which cannot be a coincidence.
Xiao Lou said, "In the style of Spade Secret Room, these conversations are more likely to be clues left for us—that this cruise ship will encounter typhoons and thunderstorms during its voyage."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions gradually turned grim.
Old Mo analyzed seriously, "Typhoons can be big or small. Small typhoons can withstand our giant cruise ship smoothly. But if it's a very strong hurricane at sea, this cruise ship could be capsized. In the real world, there was once a cruise ship that capsized due to a thunderstorm. Of the more than 400 passengers on board, only a dozen or so survived..."
Everyone had heard about that shipwreck, and hearing Lao Mo mention it now filled everyone with dread.
If a hurricane at sea causes the ship to capsize, such a large cruise ship will drown everyone on board. In that case, it is necessary to abandon ship as soon as possible. However, the inflatable escape boats are too light and too slow. If a typhoon occurs, they may be swept into the hurricane's vortex and sink to the bottom of the sea. It would be best to grab a faster electric escape boat.
Yu Hanjiang quickly calmed down and said, "Once the cruise ship capsizes, according to the original plan, Liu Qiao will immediately fly to the stern to grab an electric escape boat, and we will abandon ship and escape as soon as possible."
Xiao Lou said, "If we abandon ship, we'll likely be adrift at sea for several days, and we'll need to prepare supplies in advance."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Go to the supermarket on the 7th floor and buy some mineral water and biscuits in advance. Put them in a backpack that is easy to carry. Keep the items as simple as possible, just enough to keep us from starving. Leave this to Lao Mo."
Mo Xuemin nodded: "Don't worry, I know exactly how much stuff eight people need to stock up on."
After breakfast, everyone went up to the 7th floor. Lao Mo took Liu Qiao and Qu Wanyue shopping, while the others stood on the deck, enjoying the scenery and observing the other passengers.
The weather was great today, with clear skies, so the top deck and the amusement center on the 7th floor were packed with people.
Some people were paying to experience activities such as parasailing, gliding, and aerial sightseeing, while excited screams from children could be heard from time to time. Xiao Lou didn't want to participate in these thrilling activities, so he stood quietly to the side and watched.
Just then, a little child suddenly cried out, "Mommy, my tummy hurts!" The woman took the child to the bathroom.
Immediately afterwards, another girl said, "I'm going to the restroom."
Gradually, more and more people started running to the toilets, and long queues formed outside. While waiting in line, people complained, "Could it be that we've all gotten food poisoning?" "Why are so many people getting food poisoning? Is the food on the ship unclean?"
Xiao Lou was taken aback—a free restaurant.
Many people ate breakfast at the free restaurant today. A few of them followed CEO Shao and splurged on steamed buns and fried dough sticks costing 1,000 RMB. Their stomachs are currently fine. However, the other travelers who ate at the free restaurant seem to have been affected by the "unclean" food, and everyone is suffering from diarrhea.
The complaints grew louder and louder, until a hot-tempered man grabbed a waiter by the collar and shouted, "Get your captain here! There's definitely something wrong with the food on board, otherwise why would we all have diarrhea?!"
"That's right, did you serve us moldy and rotten food? We want to file a complaint and get a refund!"
"The service on ocean shipping companies is getting worse and worse! If the food isn't clean, how are we supposed to get through these seven days?"
The agitated passengers gathered together and nearly tore the staff apart.
Seeing that things were getting out of control, the waiter, his face pale, called the captain on the intercom, saying that many passengers had food poisoning and there were long queues at the restrooms. The captain realized the seriousness of the situation and rushed over quickly.
The captain, a man in his fifties with graying hair and a very good temper, picked up a megaphone and explained to everyone: "Please don't get agitated! We are thoroughly investigating whether there is a problem with the food! If we find that the food stored on board is expired, moldy, or rotten, we will deal with it immediately and provide everyone with appropriate compensation!"
"Please trust our ocean cruise company; we will definitely give you a satisfactory answer! For those with severe symptoms, please go to the medical room on the first floor to see Dr. Zhang. Medications for acute diarrhea will be provided free of charge!"
With the old captain's assurances, the passengers gradually calmed down.
Lao Mo, Liu Qiao, and Qu Wanyue had just returned from buying food.
He put the food into three travel bags, one for each person. After walking over to Yu Hanjiang, Lao Mo whispered, "Tampering with the food is a common tactic of the Spade Secret Room. There's a high chance there's something wrong with the food on this ship. From now on, we should try to avoid eating in the restaurants and eat vacuum-packed food from the shopping stores."
Xiao Lou said helplessly, "It feels like we're back in Spade 3. Looks like we need to stock up on more food."
Old Mo laughed and said, "Don't worry, I bought high-calorie compressed biscuits, concentrated fruit juice with lots of vitamins, and water."
Mineral Water. One pack of cookies will keep us full all day; these three big backpacks will last us seven days.
Xiao Lou gave him a thumbs up: "Old Mo is really experienced. Compressed biscuits are much more convenient than instant noodles."
Shao Qingge squinted and said, "Free things are always suspicious. Luckily, I was careful and treated everyone to expensive steamed buns this morning, otherwise we would all have diarrhea now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qi's expression suddenly changed: "Damn, my stomach hurts! Could we have caught it too?"
Long Sen quickly added, "I...I also feel like I need to have diarrhea!"
Yu Hanjiang's face darkened, and without saying a word, he turned around and went to find the restroom.
Xiao Lou looked at Shao Qingge with a wry smile. He had originally wanted to praise CEO Shao for his wisdom, but now there was no need to.
Shao Qingge's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "We wasted so much money on steamed buns, and it turns out the expensive Chinese restaurant food is also problematic? The only difference is that the diarrhea symptoms came on ten minutes later than at the free restaurant? Ace of Spades is going too far, ripping off rich people like this!"
Old Mo laughed and said, "Consider it a lesson learned. I'll go line up and reserve a spot..."
Shao Qingge felt a sudden discomfort in his abdomen and had no choice but to go to the bathroom with a dark expression.
I will never spend money recklessly again.
Eating a free breakfast will give you diarrhea, but eating a 100,000 yuan breakfast will still give you diarrhea. What kind of world is this?
These 100,000 gold coins are practically a gift for Spade. Guardian paid a hefty "stupidity tax"!