When Fu Tianlai saw Fu Ying, the expression on his face immediately relaxed; it was Fu Ying he had been worried about.
Zhou Xuan and the other three were all gathered together. Zhou Xuan deliberately moved closer to Fu Tianlai and whispered to him, "Old Fu, be patient a little longer."
Fu Tianlai understood what he meant. If this group of pirates was a Somali sailor organization, then after being taken back, they would most likely meet Fu Ying's parents and the other hostages. That would be the time for Zhou Xuan to make his move.
Zhou Xuan spoke without much restraint, because these pirates couldn't possibly understand Chinese, and he wasn't worried that anyone would overhear him.
However, as soon as Zhou Xuan finished speaking, a young man who looked to be only about twenty years old stepped forward with a smile and walked up to him.
Zhou Xuan noticed he was wearing glasses; judging by the thick lenses, there were at least five or six lenses. Although he was of the same race as the other pirates, he had a distinct air about him—a scholarly, bookish air.
Zhou Xuan didn't understand what it meant for him to stare at him and smile, and since he didn't know their local dialect, he could only watch him in silence.
The two exchanged a glance, and the young man smiled and said, "You, still want to escape?"
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment!
Because the young man was speaking Chinese, although it was obvious that he wasn't speaking Chinese, his speech was still quite fluent.
If this person can really speak Chinese, then we need to be even more careful. Fortunately, Zhou Xuan only said "be patient" to Fu Tianlai just now, which sounded like he wanted to escape and find an opportunity. But what kidnapped person wouldn't want to find a chance to escape?
However, Zhou Xuan was unaware that the person was looking at Zhou Xuan's calm expression. In the past, every hostage who had been kidnapped was terrified. Of course, everyone would want to escape, but in this atmosphere of terror, no one dared to say such things, for fear of bringing about their own death.
However, Zhou Xuan also took a quick look at the location of the hundreds of pirates. The pirates within 15 meters of him accounted for 90% of the total, with only a dozen or so people still searching around.
A dozen or so of them had gathered up the weapons of the mercenaries Fu Ying had hired and were showing them to a pirate leader.
In this battle, the pirates killed eleven mercenaries on Fu Ying's side, while remaining unharmed themselves, which made them very happy.
The young pirate who had spoken to Zhou Xuan turned to the people around him and said a few words in the local language. Immediately, two pirates with guns came forward. One kicked Zhou Xuan, and the other smashed Zhou Xuan's stomach with the butt of his gun.
Zhou Xuan groaned, his legs and stomach throbbing with pain, and he was immediately forced to kneel on one knee.
Fu Ying was shocked and rushed forward to shield Zhou Xuan. Her beautiful eyes glared fiercely at the two pirates.
Zhou Xuan could actually endure the pain, but he kept his eyes fixed on the pirates. If he were to shoot Fu Ying, he wouldn't care about anything else, not even Fu Ying's parents. He couldn't let Fu Ying be harmed no matter what.
Zhou Xuan had also considered that if he acted now, he could quickly deal with the pirates within 15 meters, but the number was quite large, and the consumption of ice energy would definitely be severe. He was not sure if he would faint after using ice energy so intensely. If he fainted, and there were still more than ten pirates left to deal with, it would be very dangerous!
Because in the face of drastic changes, people might go crazy out of fear and excitement, and fire their guns indiscriminately. This is what Zhou Xuan is most worried about.
However, the young man with glasses smiled, looked at Fu Ying, and exclaimed, "So beautiful! I studied in China for two years, and I've never seen a girl as beautiful as you."
After praising him, he said to Zhou Xuan, "Looking at you, you don't seem like the type to make a living as a gigolo. How did you manage to hook up with such a beautiful girl?"
Zhou Xuan remained noncommittal and said nothing more. He slowly stood up.
The young pirate remained silent. The other pirates then refrained from attacking him.
The young pirate wasn't actually a pirate, but his uncle was, and held a mid-level leadership position in the Somali sailors' organization. Because this deal involved a wealthy Chinese man, a big business, they called him over to be their translator, since he understood Chinese.
This young man's name is Elady. He seems to be much more mature than his age, which may be related to the old Chinese saying, "Children from poor families learn to be independent early."
"I know your surname is Zhou and your given name is Zhou Xuan. You're the person that Miss Fu Ying, the only heir of the third generation of the Fu family, likes, right?" Elady said with a smile.
Although Ella's expression remained calm, his words were like a bomb, leaving Zhou Xuan, Fu Ying, Fu Tianlai, and Li Junjie completely stunned! "A name? And how does he know the name Fu Ying?"
Ella said calmly, "Old Master Fu, there are many things you don't know. Heh, now that I've laid it all out in the open, do you think you'll still be able to leave alive?" Fu Tianlai stood there stunned for a moment before finally saying, "Don't you have a rule? As long as the shipowner is willing to pay, you won't harm the hostages!"
Fu Tianlai was about to ask more questions when the pirate leader waved his whistle. At Elady's command, some pirates took the four mercenaries to one ship, and Zhou Xuan, Fu Tianlai, and the other seven to another ship. The other pirates boarded speedboats.
At this moment, Zhou Xuan and his group realized that there were no fewer than twenty pirate ships and speedboats. There were two larger ships, which were used to escort the two groups of people. The rest were speedboats that could carry six or seven people each. Finally, a few more people boarded and took Zhou Xuan's yacht away as well.
Ella and the leader were on the ship carrying Zhou Xuan and the other six. On the ship, he kept talking to the leader and pointing at Zhou Xuan and the others. Although he couldn't understand what they were saying, Zhou Xuan could tell that Ella was very familiar with their identities.
On this ship, besides Elady and the leader, there were four other heavily armed pirates.
Li Junjie glanced at Fu Tianlai, his eyes full of doubt and questions. Their actions didn't seem like a rescue at all, but rather like they had come to step into a trap.
The men were all tightly bound. They were not allowed to lift their heads, and on the sea, they could barely distinguish east from west. The boat sailed for about an hour before dawn.
About half an hour later, the leader whistled again.
Although Zhou Xuan didn't look up, he used all his ice energy to probe the area within a dozen meters around him. He didn't miss a single movement around him. At this moment, the boat slowed down.
A furtive glance revealed the edge of an island just over a hundred meters ahead. However, this side was clearly a sheer cliff, and looking to the left and right, the island's edge was quite wide. It appeared to be much larger than the island where they had encountered Fu Ying. But why, instead of disembarking at the lower shore, had the boat come to this cliff edge?
The boat slowed down more and more, until it was as slow as a leisurely stroll, and the distance between it and the cliff was only about ten meters.
Are we going to crash into the rocks again?
As Zhou Xuan and the others were thinking this, Zhou Xuan approached and his icy aura detected a waterway on the right side of the rock. The waterway led into a cave, but because the waterway didn't go straight into the cliff face, but rather horizontally, and there were cliffs on both sides, it looked like a single cliff from a distance. It was only visible up close, so it would be difficult to see such a cave from several hundred meters away.
Sure enough, the boats and speedboats ahead turned slightly and entered the cave hidden behind the cliff. Only after entering the cave behind the cliff did they realize that there was a completely different world inside.
This cave is actually connected to the sea outside. It is about 15 or 16 meters wide and about 20 meters high. It is quite tall and large. Speedboats and small boats can drive in without feeling cramped. After entering the cave, it becomes even more spacious.
After advancing about two hundred meters further, the cave became dark, and the sputtering sound of an engine could be heard. The boat and the dinghy came to a stop.
Ella then said to Zhou Xuan and the others, "Please, everyone!"
Fu Tianlai and Li Junjie then looked up and saw that the waterway had come to an end. There were several rope ladders along the cliff, and some pirates climbed up the ladders, laughing and joking. Then, two large iron cages were lowered from above, with wooden planks at the bottom. Each cage could hold seven or eight people.
The four mercenaries were herded into one cage, while Zhou Xuan's group of seven were herded into another. Then, a machine was started, pulleys pulled chains, and the cages were pulled up.
They pulled the cage up about fifteen or sixteen meters to the top, and several pirates pulled the cage into the four-section cave. Then they pulled them out of the iron cage and led them into the inner cave.
The cave was quite large, about four or five meters wide and six or seven meters high. Every seven or eight meters, an incandescent light bulb was hung. There were also some side paths along the way, all equipped with electric lights. Clearly, this was the pirates' lair!