Yu Hanjiang crouched down, stared into the young man's eyes, and asked in a low voice, "What's your boss's name?"
The young man said, "I don't know..."
Yu Hanjiang gently grabbed him by the back of his collar, as if to push him into the sea: "Think carefully about how to answer."
The young man was terrified of being submerged. He shook his head like a rattle drum, his face contorted with grief, and said, "I really don't know! Our boss has never shown his face. Only a few of his most trusted executives know who he is! Brother, I'm not lying, really! I really don't know!"
Yu Hanjiang believed this answer, grabbed him and pulled him back, continuing to ask, "How do you determine that outsiders will have activities?"
The young man, shrinking back like a quail, honestly replied, "The organization has professional hackers who can get ticket booking information from major companies immediately. The Ocean Shipping Company's ' Caribbean ' cruise ship has over 500 outsiders going out to sea this weekend. The organization issued a cruise ship hunt mission, and I thought the bounty was high, so I accepted..."
Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly— the Hunter Alliance also has hackers, so it seems they should have the Challengers ' identity information. Once the Weekly Routine starts, a large number of Challengers will enter a certain world at the same time, and they can detect this in advance and make arrangements based on the ticket booking information.
Yu Hanjiang then asked, "Where did the Water Ghost and Quiet World cards come from?"
The young man said, "These were assigned by the organization because the mission is at sea, and having these cards will make it easier to move around."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "How many people are in your organization? How do you usually communicate with each other?"
The young man hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and whispered, "We all communicate on the internal network. Every Friday, some mission information is released on the internal network. Hunters who want to collect bounties will take the missions. After accepting the mission, the organization will arrange for someone to book tickets for us and give us some useful cards for the mission. After we complete the mission, we collect the bounty according to the number of kills..."
Yu Hanjiang coldly asked, "Why slaughter outsiders?"
The young man, pale-faced and trembling, said, "Our boss told us that the existence of outsiders will affect the world we live in. If we don't kill all the outsiders, perhaps one day our world will completely collapse..."
Yu Hanjiang interrupted him: "Be careful—"
Yu Hanjiang's keen senses, honed from years of fighting on the front lines, suddenly gave him the intuition that a venomous snake was watching his back.
Without hesitation, he threw himself onto the boat, tumbling nimbly with the young man. The next moment, a bullet grazed his scalp and flew past, hitting the corpse next to him with a "thud"!
The young man's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and he said in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes, it's the team leader!"
Just as Yu Hanjiang was about to ask what a "team leader" was, another bullet came flying and hit the young man squarely in the forehead.
A burst of blood erupted on the young man's forehead, his eyes widened, and he collapsed stiffly onto the boat.
The opponent's marksmanship was extremely accurate; it was likely a sniper rifle with a range exceeding one kilometer, and it was equipped with a silencer, so the gunshots were inaudible.
Yu Hanjiang, with a grim face, checked the young man's breath—he had died a swift death.
He teleported to another lifeboat, and the two Hunters who stubbornly refused to reveal any information were also swiftly and decisively silenced.
—The leader? There's actually a leader in the Hunters? I was so careless!
The telepathic connection was transmitting information. Xiao Lou noticed the change in Yu Hanjiang's situation and his heart was in his throat. He immediately called out to Yu Hanjiang, " Captain Yu! Captain Yu, are you alright?!"
Yu Hanjiang answered in his mind: "I'm fine, but the Hunters have all been silenced."
He thought there were only three Hunters in this operation. After capturing the three, he removed their fangs and interrogated them for information. He didn't expect that there were other Hunters lurking in the shadows, and they killed their comrades to silence them at the crucial moment.
Yu Hanjiang clenched his fists tightly, took a deep breath, and jumped into the sea. He shouted to Xiao Lou, "Protect everyone! Don't let the lifeboats leave the safe zone—there's a Hunter nearby, and he's the captain!"
Xiao Lou's expression changed, and he immediately told his teammates, "Everyone, be on full alert."
Ye Qi, clutching the guitar, stared anxiously at the water: "What's wrong?"
"There are still some who escaped. A few Hunters have been silenced, and Captain Yu has gone after them." He took a deep breath to calm himself and looked at Long Sen: "You and Teacher Qu go check it out. The Chameleon Card can completely blend into seawater. You can become seawater and float on the sea, and the enemy won't be able to spot you. In case Captain Yu runs into trouble, you can provide timely support."
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue exchanged a glance, nodded immediately, and floated on the sea using the chameleon card, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Lou said, "Everyone else, stay put and take out any useful cards beforehand. If we don't leave the safe zone, we won't be attacked for the time being, but we can't let our guard down!"
Everyone immediately cooperated, tensed up, and went into a state of alert.
Captain Yu is going after Hunter, and Xiao Lou needs to make sure he has no worries.
***
At this moment, with the help of the [ water ghost card ], Yu Hanjiang submerged underwater. Combined with the [ teleportation card ]'s ability to teleport 50 meters horizontally, allowing him to teleport even underwater, Yu Hanjiang jumped into the sea and flew like an arrow towards the direction from which the bullets were fired—
A lifeboat suddenly departed at that moment, carrying only one person.
Yu Hanjiang stared intently at that retreating figure in the lifeboat.
They were relentlessly pursuing them from behind!
With a single teleportation of 50 meters, even with the escape boat's accelerator floored, the arrow-fast Yu Hanjiang caught up with it within 10 seconds!
Yu Hanjiang decisively took out the [Nightmare Military Knife ] he got from plum blossom 4.
He grabbed the bottom of the lifeboat with his left hand and thrust upwards with his right— the military knife, sharp as a knife, pierced a hole through the lifeboat!
As a large amount of seawater flooded into the cabin, the escape boat's movement was hindered. Without hesitation, Yu Hanjiang followed up with another slash, splitting the escape boat in half with a huge crack!
The escape boat, which had been split in two, was about to sink, and the person in the driver's seat immediately abandoned ship and jumped into the sea.
With the protection of a water ghost card, Yu Hanjiang moved underwater as if on flat ground, quickly swimming towards the direction where the other man jumped.
However, the other person also seemed to have a water ghost card, and swam extremely fast. The two chased each other in the sea, but in the end, Yu Hanjiang's teleportation card had the advantage, and he quickly circled around to the other person's front with a 50-meter teleportation distance.
The situation was critical just now. Yu Hanjiang didn't have time to use other cards, and the visibility was poor in the sea, making it difficult to locate him while moving.
After catching up with his opponent, he immediately took out a control card [ Nine Palaces Grid ] from his card holder and threw it at the opponent's location. Nine Palaces Grid only controls for 9 seconds, but that was enough for Yu Hanjiang.
He reached out and grabbed the other man's wrist.
The opponent was likely male, tall but extremely agile. His upper body slipped past Yu Hanjiang's armpit like an eel, and instead struck Yu Hanjiang's nape with a palm strike!
Yu Hanjiang turned his head to dodge, then turned around and kicked the man in the stomach!
As if he had a premonition, the man suddenly leaned back, almost lying flat on his back, and narrowly avoided Yu Hanjiang's kick.
With his underwater movements hampered, Yu Hanjiang could only utilize 30% of his fighting skills. Seeing his opponent lean back, he immediately reached out and grabbed the opponent's ankles tightly, trying to forcibly pull him over and control him—but the man's movements were extremely agile. He crossed his legs and twisted them violently, rotating in the opposite direction, instantly breaking free from Yu Hanjiang's control and swimming forward as fast as a fish!
After only a few moves, Yu Hanjiang knew that this person must have practiced professional martial arts, and at a top-notch level!
Yu Hanjiang wanted to capture the suspect alive, so he didn't use weapons like knives, guns, or daggers. Besides, it's difficult to aim at a moving target underwater, and it was late at night, so his vision was severely impaired. He could only vaguely see the other person's shadow by the moonlight.
Yu Hanjiang naturally wouldn't let this person go and continued to chase after him using his teleportation card!
He was very puzzled. The control effect of Nine Palaces Grid was to immobilize the opponent for 9 seconds, but the opponent was not immobilized. Yu Hanjiang was sure that he placed it correctly, so there was only one possibility - the opponent had a higher-level escape card that could remove the effect of the control.
Yu Hanjiang caught up with that man again in the blink of an eye.
The man suddenly leaped up, his long legs stretched straight, and with a light touch of his feet on the water, he landed steadily on the sea like a roc spreading its wings!
Even though it was water, he seemed to be standing on flat ground.
Yu Hanjiang emerged from underwater and discovered that he could actually stand directly on the surface of the sea.
What's going on?
Yu Hanjiang was puzzled, and the next moment, he heard a low laugh: "Did you think this kind of trash card could trap me?"
The man's voice had a distinctive huskiness, and when he chuckled softly, it sounded like a note played in the bass register of a cello. Yu Hanjiang suddenly felt that the voice was very familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Yu Hanjiang stared coldly at the other person: "Who are you?"
Under the moonlight, the man stood on the sea. Yu Hanjiang could not see his face clearly, but could only vaguely see his outline—his tall stature of nearly 1.9 meters made him appear particularly upright and slender. His straight legs stood firmly on the sea, his posture upright, and he had a kind of elegant and dashing temperament.
The man's lips curled slightly, his voice laced with mockery: "Knowing I'm the Hunter, you still keep chasing me. You're getting bolder and bolder—aren't you afraid I'll silence you?"
The hoarse voice echoed across the empty sea, the last sentence deliberately lowered, revealing a hint of coldness.
Yu Hanjiang was surprised to find that he had followed the other person to an unfamiliar sea area.
There was no one around, the sea was calm and windless, and the sky was dotted with stars. The sky and the sea merged into one, forming a closed scene like a "cage", as if only the two of them remained in the world.
Yu Hanjiang suddenly turned around—he could no longer see the lifeboat where Xiao Lou was.
Based on the Teleportation Card's calculation of 50 meters per teleportation, he had only moved about two kilometers with this man. Just a moment ago, he could still see the luminous pearls shining on the lifeboats of the Challengers behind him, but now, they were all gone.
Logically, speaking on the open sea should weaken the sound. But just now, he clearly heard this person's voice echoing in the space, and it even produced a distinct echo—it didn't sound like speaking at sea, but rather like speaking at the bottom of a closed well.
Moreover, the fact that the two of them could stand directly on the water without falling in was eerie.
Yu Hanjiang tentatively called out to Xiao Lou in his mind: " Xiao Lou, can you hear me?"
In his haste, he stopped addressing him politely as " Professor Xiao " and instead called out Xiao Lou's name directly in his mind. Xiao Lou received his signal and quickly replied, "Okay. Captain Yu, where are you? Are you alright?"
Hearing Xiao Lou's gentle voice, Yu
Hanjiang's heart calmed down instantly.
Xiao Lou and his teammates were still nearby, in the same sea area, but he couldn't see them because his vision was impaired.
He took a deep breath and looked at the other person coldly, saying, "Was this your doing? Is it another card similar to [Quiet World]? That card can block ambient sound effects, but your card pulled me into a separate space at sea?"
The man smiled and said, "That's right, you're quite smart."
Yu Hanjiang frowned and asked, "What is your purpose in bringing me here?"
The man countered, "What do you think?"
Yu Hanjiang remained silent for a few seconds. Seeing that the other party did not interrupt him, he calmly speculated: "Just now, the timing of your move was strange. That Hunter had already revealed most of the information. If you were really worried that he would reveal too much, you could have killed him to silence him when I asked the first question, instead of waiting until the end."
Yu Hanjiang interrogated three people in succession. The first two kept their mouths shut, while the third young man had the worst mental fortitude and was the most likely to confess. If he really wanted to silence him, he should have made sure the young man couldn't say a single word.
But he didn't take action until the young man had answered most of the questions.
Yu Hanjiang didn't believe he was late or couldn't find his companion. After all, the fluorescent green stain Lao Mo had applied was too obvious; he should have known his companion had been arrested long ago.
More likely, this person did it on purpose.
Yu Hanjiang stared intently at him: "Who exactly are you? Why did you kill me to silence me after I had extracted so much information from you?"
The man chuckled softly and said, "After all these years as a policeman, it seems you haven't wasted your time. Your reaction just now was quite sharp. If you hadn't rolled away in time, that shot might have pierced your shoulder."
Yu Hanjiang was suddenly stunned—that's right, that shot wasn't meant to kill him. He was leaning over to ask a question when he fell, and the bullet grazed his scalp. If he hadn't dodged, the bullet would have hit his shoulder according to its trajectory, but it wouldn't have been fatal.
Who is this person? Why does he feel a strange sense of familiarity?
As if guessing his thoughts, the other party took out a luminous pearl.
The surrounding fan-shaped area was immediately illuminated by soft white light, and Yu Hanjiang finally saw the man's face clearly—
His face was extremely handsome, with a strong and sharp jawline, and a pair of sword-like eyebrows that slanted upwards into his temples, exuding a heroic air. His nose was so high and straight that it looked as if it had been carefully sculpted and attached, and his slightly thick lips revealed the sexiness of a mature man.
He has a face that is very popular with girls, especially when he wears a military uniform, he is simply a male god in uniform.
Unfortunately, a noticeable scar about 5 centimeters long on the left side of his forehead mars his handsome face. This scar, however, instead of disfiguring him, adds a touch of wild charm.
The man stared intently at Yu Hanjiang with a playful smile in his eyes.
Upon meeting those deep, dark eyes, Yu Hanjiang's body suddenly trembled violently!
He clenched his fists, a flicker of barely suppressed excitement and disbelief flashing in his usually calm eyes: "Ninth Brother?"
—Lu Jiuchuan, Captain of the Naval Arrow Commando Unit.
Three years ago, he heroically sacrificed his life during a secret mission.
When the body was found, his forehead was scratched, leaving a noticeable 5-centimeter-long scar.
That year, Lu Jiuchuan was 29 years old and Yu Hanjiang was 25 years old.
Yu Hanjiang still remembers the day he went to the martyrs' cemetery. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring down. Dark clouds covered the entire sky of Jiangzhou City. None of Lu Jiuchuan's men had umbrellas. A group of soldiers stood in the rain and solemnly saluted his tombstone. His uncle also stood in the line to salute his son, his eyes filled with tears, but he held back his tears.
The Lu family has served in the military for generations. Yu Hanjiang's uncle, Lu Qing, is a major general in a military region of the army, and her mother, Lu Yan, is the conductor of the military band.
Lu Jiuchuan and Yu Hanjiang grew up together and are as close as brothers.
The year he was admitted to the police academy, Lu Jiuchuan happened to be back from leave from the military. He patted his younger brother on the shoulder with a smile and said, "The military and the police are one family. In the future, I will be at sea and you will be on land, so we will definitely have fewer and fewer opportunities to meet. Study hard at the police academy and don't embarrass your father."
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Just don't embarrass your uncle."
Lu Jiuchuan laughed heartily, gloating, "I'm terrified of my dad's stern face. I even joined the navy to avoid him; he can't touch me there. But you, you won't have a good time working under your dad!"
Yu Hanjiang said with a straight face, "I will find a way to transfer to the Jiangzhou Detachment in the future, so that I will not work under him."
Lu Jiuchuan raised his fist and bumped it with Yu Hanjiang's: "Brothers in arms."
Their fathers were equally serious, stern, and strict, and they beat them a lot when they were young, sometimes three times a day. The two of them had a lot in common when it came to "complaining about their fathers".
That was the last time they met. To celebrate his younger brother's admission to police academy, Lu Jiuchuan treated Yu Hanjiang to barbecue, personally grilling the meat; he had even taught Yu Hanjiang how to grill.
We hadn't seen each other for many years, but we met again in a cemetery.
Looking at the young portrait on the tombstone, Yu Hanjiang still vividly remembers the heart-wrenching pain he felt.
Lu Jiuchuan's body was cremated, and his ashes were buried in the martyrs' cemetery. He was certain that Lu Jiuchuan had passed away—he never dreamed that he and his childhood friend would meet in Card World in this way!
Author's Note: Welcome to the first supporting character, [ Lu Jiuchuan ], who has finally made his official debut.
Captain Yu's older brother, you wouldn't have guessed, would you?:)