The detector's data, the reactions of the five superhumans detected by the radar, and the energy levels all showed... Level B!
A Rank B ability user is no longer considered weak in the world of superpowers. It's said that Black Seven, the first one he devoured, was Rank B! And Red Seven, whose scream could overturn a speeding car, was also Rank B!
“Let’s go to the deck. I need to quietly gather a group of sailors… There might be some in the crew’s lounge at this time, and then I must find a way to get weapons from the storeroom.” Nie Feng made a quick decision.
“I’ll go with you.” Li Wenjing quickly made his choice: “What about you? Young man?”
Chen Xiao thought for a moment… Miss Sato was currently in first class, surrounded by a large number of bodyguards, and also the Takeuchi sisters… That Takeuchi Yako's strength was only so-so, but… Chen Xiao had personally witnessed the strength of that terrifying little girl with split personality, Takeuchi Miki, and Tang Ying! Their sharp swordsmanship, coupled with their ghostly speed, was enough to make them trustworthy.
Furthermore, the detectors indicate that no superhumans approached the first-class cabin...
Huh? Could it be that these people who hijacked the ship aren't after Sato?
“I’ll go with you; you need help right now.” Chen Xiao sighed. “But I reserve the right to leave at any time. My primary responsibility is Ms. Sato’s safety. If her safety is threatened, I will have to leave you.”
Chen Xiao wasn't worried. Before Sato left, Chen Xiao had secretly left a mental coordinate on Sato's body. If anything went wrong, Chen Xiao could immediately use his teleportation ability to get there using this coordinate.
The ability to teleport is one of the most effective superpowers Chen Xiao currently possesses. Based on his extensive research and familiarization with this ability over such a long period, Chen Xiao has essentially mastered all the teleportation techniques he can currently achieve.
In simple terms, his teleportation ability allows him to repeatedly teleport within a 30-meter range during real-time combat, but the distance cannot exceed 30 meters. Furthermore, based on his current power level, he can perform this ability approximately eight times consecutively, which is his limit. After that, he must enter a cooldown period, which is about two hours or more.
As for long-range teleportation, Chen Xiao's current limit is within two hundred meters... However, long-range teleportation requires a prerequisite: setting up a mental coordinate. With this coordinate, there is a designated location when teleporting through spatial barriers.
This is an essential premise.
Another limitation is that, with his current strength, Chen Xiao can only perform one teleportation over a slightly longer distance, with a maximum distance of 200 meters.
The Yaksha could teleport more than ten times consecutively within a fifty-meter range, and its long-range teleportation could reach nearly five hundred meters. More importantly, the Yaksha possessed an even more advanced ability that Chen Xiao currently lacked: the ability to teleport while simultaneously carrying someone else!
During the first battle with Yasha, facing the combined attack of the three from the abandoned town, Yasha ultimately chose to retreat, managing to teleport away with the poisonous Alice.
Chen Xiao is not yet capable of teleporting others along with him.
This is probably the difference between Grade B and Grade A.
“Alright, let’s make a plan.” Nie Feng looked at the two men: “Gentlemen, based on the current situation, the only people I can trust are the two of you.”
He quickly pulled a pen from his pocket, then took out a thin notebook and drew a simple outline of a shape.
“Look, this is our ship, and we’re roughly at… this location now.” The captain knew his ship very well: “Clearly, the other side has taken control of the main control room and the communications room. As for the engine room, they don’t need to control it. They just need to control the engine crew… Without those guys, we can’t get this ship back on track. Besides… I suspect they’ve taken control of the electrical room, because these guys have stopped the elevators.”
“The other side is very clever.” Li Wenjing’s eyes gleamed. “I have three personal deductions: First, they have a considerable number of people, but not too many. There are at least seven hundred passengers on this ship…”
"Eight hundred and sixty-four," Captain Nie Feng reported an exact number.
“Okay, eight hundred and sixty-four people.” Li Wenjing smiled slightly. “Then it’s obvious that the other side doesn’t have enough manpower to arrest and control all eight hundred-plus tourists. So their method is simple and effective: stop the elevators! This way, the guests on these ships can’t use the elevators and can only use the stairs. But don’t forget that this is a ship, and there aren’t many stairs. As long as they control the stairwells at both ends of a few of the passenger cabins, and send a limited number of three or four groups of armed men to guard the stairs… then, what do you think this looks like?”
"……cage!"
It was Chen Xiao who spoke.
"That's right, it's a cage. They don't need to send people to arrest all the tourists one by one at gunpoint. They just need to lock them up in the cabins on those few floors, preventing them from moving around. At this point, with the elevators off and the corridors blocked, those cabin floors become a natural prison! If I were one of those guys who hijacked the ship, I would definitely do that. It's the most manpower-efficient way! Then I would send out several groups to patrol and search outside the ship and other areas, arresting all the scattered loiterers and tourists, and then finding a place to centrally control them..."
Li Wenjing's eyes were filled with calm: "At the same time, I will focus the main manpower on the main control room in the cockpit. This is the brain of the ship, and controlling this central brain will cut off all external communication channels! Completely isolate the ship from the outside world. Then, bring back all the engine room crew... and the ship will lose its mobility! In this way, the ship will be completely under my control!"
Chen Xiao and Nie Feng's expressions changed simultaneously. Nie Feng stared at Li Wenjing and said, "You talk as if you're one of these people's locals."
“Fortunately, I’m not,” Li Wenjing said calmly. “If it were just that, the situation wouldn’t be so bad, because if I were the leader of these guys, I would have an even more desperate method. Once I use it, we probably wouldn’t have any other options.”
"What?"
"Blow up the ship!"
Li Wenjing uttered these two short words, causing Nie Feng and Chen Xiao's expressions to change slightly.
"Blow up the ship?" Nie Feng asked with a grim face.
“Yes, but I don’t mean to actually sink this ship.” Li Wenjing suddenly smiled slightly, his eyes clearly showing wisdom! He then said slowly in a steady voice, “I have many interesting hobbies, and shipbuilding happens to be one of them. I have spent a lot of my life traveling on the world’s most famous cruise ships. I like to gamble in the casinos on board, which are always full of surprises and adventures.”
"If you like gambling, why don't you go to Las Vegas?" Chen Xiao suddenly asked.
“…Because of one person.” Li Wenjing suddenly sighed, “Because of her, I don’t want to go to that place anymore.”
He paused, then continued, "I've studied several famous cruise ships, and coincidentally, the Victoria is among them. I happened to have seen the original design blueprints for the Victoria… Oh, don't look at me like that. I studied some mechanical engineering; aircraft manufacturing and shipbuilding actually have commonalities. The Victoria is the seventh largest cruise ship in the world. When it was first built, the hull was designed with twelve drainage tanks to prevent leaks in the hull. However, according to the ship's design, in the event of a leak, the hull could only withstand the leakage from a maximum of nine drainage tanks! Once this limit is exceeded…" If that's the case, then it would be... a repeat of the Titanic tragedy. But... I think, Captain Nie Feng, as the captain of this ship, you should know very well that if these drainage tanks are used cleverly... as long as they are used carefully and skillfully, if the bow and side drainage tanks are deliberately flooded... I once conducted a simulation test unintentionally, and according to my calculations, approximately six drainage tanks on the bow and sides should be flooded... to a degree that would prevent the ship from sinking due to excessive leakage, while simultaneously causing the hull to list...
At this point, an interesting phenomenon occurs: the ship tilts forward, and about the front third of the hull sinks below the waterline! The resulting water leakage completely blocks the entrances to the passenger cabins inside the ship!
In this situation, if I were the leader of these ship-stealing gang, I could save half the manpower responsible for guarding the passenger cabins! All I need to do is spot the exposed entrance at the back!
Furthermore, there's no need to continue guarding the captured engine crew members.
"Why?" Chen Xiao asked, puzzled.
Nie Feng explained with a grim face, "Because if the bow of the ship sinks below the waterline, the stern will tilt and rise. The propeller will then leave the water! In that case, even if we can get the engine running again... the propeller will already be above the water, and the ship won't be able to move!"
“That’s right, Captain Nie Feng,” Li Wenjing laughed. “In that case, I won’t even need to leave anyone to guard the cockpit! All things considered, this will save at least half of our manpower! Then we can do whatever we want! For example… attack the first-class cabin where there are many bodyguards!”
Chen Xiao's expression changed, and he stared at Li Wenjing: "You also believe... that the other side's target is..."
"Besides her, I can't think of any other reason why this ship would attract someone to hijack it."
Suddenly, Nie Feng pointed his gun at Li Wenjing!
"Who exactly are you?!" Captain Nie Feng's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. "You actually came up with such an idea! Are you one of their people?!"
"Hey! Relax." Li Wenjing, with a gun pointed at him, remained completely calm and smiled wryly. "Do you think I, if I were one of their men, would have spent the whole night playing cards with you before we made our move?"
“Your name, your identity!” the captain said coldly. “The fact that you could come up with such an idea proves that you are very knowledgeable about ship construction and design! I am the captain! I have reviewed the guest lists of some important guests before they boarded the ship! I do not recall having any mechanical engineering designers on my ship’s guest list!”