NOVPUB
Chapter 150: Chapter 135 Underwater Weight Training
Knock, knock, knock—
The speedboat, leaving a long trail of spray, shuttled through the waters surrounding Yong’an Island.
The weather was clear and the sunshine just right.
Only the sea breeze was a bit strong, making the windbreakers flap and rustle.
Li Chengjun, with his hands in his pockets and sunglasses on, stood steadily at the bow of the speedboat as it cut through the waves, gazing into the vast blue sea.
He had been in this godforsaken place for almost half a year.
He still wasn’t used to life here, the overly brilliant sunlight, the too calm waves.
And...
He turned his head slightly and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the several uneasy men standing behind him.
He thought to himself:
"Stupid and incompetent subordinates."
Last night, two of his men were attacked and killed during a mission.
He didn’t actually care about the life and death of these two.
He only worried about being exposed to the police, which could affect his own plans.
Li Chengjun looked out over the boundless sea, lost in thought.
Finding some clues left by the enemy in such an environment was, after all, a slim hope.
Moreover, there were only so many people he could mobilize in the base, it felt like wishing for the impossible.
Speaking of which, carrying out such missions to search for enemy traces and gather intelligence would actually benefit more from having a few more ordinary people.
A portly middle-aged man watching Li Chengjun’s back showed a trace of wariness on his face.
After seeming to weigh his thoughts for a long time, he finally mustered up the courage to speak:
"Your Excellency, the True Thought Society may have discovered our hunting activities and couldn’t resist taking action. Shouldn’t we ask headquarters for reinforcements now?"
When Li Chengjun heard this, he turned his head, his lips curving slightly as he stared intently at the man:
"Do you really think so?"
The plump middle-aged man’s body suddenly stiffened.
He felt an invisible aura pressing down on him, making it momentarily difficult to breathe.
As the original person in charge of the base, Tang Dayuan had a deep history within the Noah Organization and wasn’t lacking in capability, thereby qualifying for such an important position.
Yet now, before this young man who had suddenly appeared, he dared not even breathe heavily.
Despite Li Chengjun’s handsome appearance and the smile in his speech, he was a complete psychopath.
Besides, it was said that he had a strong backing at headquarters, clearly not someone a minor base commander could afford to provoke.
As Tang Dayuan felt the immense pressure, fortunately, someone else spoke up, helping to cut through the awkwardness:
"I don’t think it’s like that. If the True Thought Society acted, they wouldn’t have gone out of their way to leave Merfolk at the crime scene."
After that person chimed in, it was as if the floodgates had opened.
The other silent people on the boat began to express their opinions as well.
"Yeah, there are many suspicious points in this case."
"Maybe it was discovered by some tourist or islander with special abilities, and the Wang brothers wanted to kill them to keep them silent, only to meet their match?"
"That’s unlikely; Wang Zongwu’s strength is no less than ours, he performed very well in the South Seas before being transferred here by headquarters."
"It’s hard to say, after all, it was their first time carrying out a hunting operation on Yong’an Island..."
While everyone was discussing, someone suddenly said:
"Is it possible that the Special Search Team took action...?"
As soon as this question was raised, the atmosphere on the scene became slightly tense.
Li Chengjun suddenly chuckled and said indifferently:
"You don’t need to worry. I can assure you that the Special Search Team is entangled with more troublesome issues right now and has no spare capacity to pay attention to such a wild place."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, they were just a small base, weak and isolated at sea.
If they truly became a target for an official force like the Special Search Team without timely support from the organization, they would have no choice but to flee.
Next, what Li Chengjun said completely reassured them:
"The Hunter unit that I applied to dispatch from headquarters should arrive in the next couple of days. Once we have sufficient manpower, we can initiate the plan."
After divulging some information to his subordinates, Li Chengjun, gazing at a cape that appeared in the distance, murmured to himself:
"Whoever you are, I hope to see your moves by then. That’s what makes it exciting!"
The speedboat circled the waters around Yong’an Island, gaining nothing, and thus, turned around with the sound of the motor and headed back.
.................
As evening approached, the sky turned dusky.
Under the sunset, the shadows of the training camp base building twisted and seemed mysterious.
In the meeting room on the seventh floor, flanking a long conference table sat a full array of people.
No lights were on in the room, the dim light rendering the atmosphere somewhat somber.
Heads crowded together, whispers exchanged.
It appeared that those who had come to the meeting were even more accustomed to the dark environment.
They were high-ranking officials of the Truth and Meditation Joint Practice, around thirty in number, most of them advanced in age.
And the old man sitting in the foremost position, his face full of wrinkles, was none other than the current vice-chairman and acting chairman, Zheng Hongxin.
His gaze was deep and bright as he slowly scanned the room.
Most of the attendees occupying the seats next to him were true companions who had come from all over Yong’an Island.
This included not only several instructors from the training camp but also high-ranking officials such as the chief of the island’s water police, the deputy director of the civil affairs office, and the Chen family clan leader.
Chen Jiandong sat silently by his side, acting as the recorder for the meeting.
"Chairman, fellow partners."
The water police chief, seated somewhat lower down, spoke in a clear voice:
"I’ve retrieved the records from the archives and made a careful comparison. Since we first discovered poachers in December of the year before last, our water police district has implemented strict surveillance measures, cracking down on unregistered and illegal vessels, achieving notable results."
