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Chapter 194: Chapter 163: Welcome to the Monster’s Home Turf
The fishing boat was ablaze with flames, billowing black smoke.
By the time the torrential rain extinguished the fire, the gunsmoke had been blown away by the gales.
Only a large hole remained on the surface of the deck.
Apart from a circle of dead Hunters and Merfolk, there were no signs of any other moving shadows.
"Where are the people?"
"Were they blown into pieces?"
On the steamship, only about a dozen figures remained, all staring at the scene on the fishing boat and whispering among themselves.
Two of the Hunters were shouldering RPG rocket launchers. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
One had just fired a rocket grenade and was busy loading new ammunition.
The other, carrying an unfired launcher, was looking around for targets.
Seeing that Fang Cheng possessed astonishing combat abilities and ordinary Hunters could not withstand him, Li Chengjun simply ordered his team to use this last-resort deadly weapon.
"Let’s go, leave right now!"
Supported by two team members, Li Chengjun struggled to his feet and gave the order with a weak voice.
Tang Dayuan, who had been hiding in the cabin and didn’t dare to show his face, hurriedly started the engine and turned the ship’s wheel.
The steamship had the advantage of strong searchlight beams to repel monsters and was equipped with ample firepower.
Although the Merfolk were numerous, they couldn’t gain the upper hand and were now frightened by the onslaught of the rocket grenade, with all of them leaping back into the sea.
Splash—
The propeller turned at high speed, churning up large swathes of sea spray.
The steamship quickly pushed away from the area tainted with lingering gunsmoke and the stench of blood.
Within the still-tumultuous waves, vague dark green figures could be seen.
The Merfolk were in hot pursuit behind the ship, but they were soon left far behind.
Waves continuously slapped against the ship, causing it to sway slightly.
Darkness surrounded them, with only the sounds of the engine and the sea wind, and nothing else stirred, giving the atmosphere a somber silence.
Breaking suddenly free from the dangerous and intense battle left everyone feeling a sense of unease.
The dozen or so Pursuers were all armed and had rounds chambered, with communication headsets on, vigilantly guarding various positions on the steamship.
Li Chengjun sat in the cabin and took out a black medical case.
Upon opening it, there was a syringe inside along with six vials of blue liquid.
He immediately drew up one of the vials and then plunged the needle into his neck.
As the blue liquid slowly injected into his veins, seemingly providing pain relief, his eyes flashed a faint blue light, and his expression relaxed considerably.
"Huff—"
After the injection, Li Chengjun put down the syringe and took a deep breath.
He recalled the recent fight with the masked man, still feeling somewhat frightened.
If that person was able to send him flying with a single punch and inflict serious injuries, he definitely wouldn’t die so easily.
Maybe he was wary of their fierce firepower or perhaps after killing so many people, he was running out of strength, so he temporarily hid in the sea.
As he pondered, a sharp pain flared up through his body.
His arms, shoulders, and chest suffered multiple fractures, feeling as if he had been hit hard by a dump truck; even with the injection, it would take at least ten days to half a month to recover.
If it weren’t for the protective effects of Telekinesis, he would probably have been killed outright by the opponent’s punch.
Withstanding the pain, Li Chengjun considered his next move.
This mission was not a complete failure yet.
As long as Luo Lie succeeds in killing the vice president of the True Thought Society, he might tell him the truth about this incident.
With his ability, he should be able to suppress the masked man.
Thinking this, Li Chengjun’s mind settled slightly.
It was just past 1 a.m., not too late.
They would head to a safe location first, then contact Luo Lie to coordinate their actions.
When the time comes, apart from seeking revenge, they might at least be able to get a share of the bounty...
Thump!
Suddenly, a muffled boom broke his train of thought.
It was like the sound of a hammer striking a bell, echoes vibrating the hull, buzzing in the ears.
Li Chengjun tensed up, immediately stood, and looked around.
Thud!
Just as he was filled with apprehension, that massive sound echoed once more.
It seemed... as if it started from the very bottom of the ship, shaking its way up, and finally spreading to the deck.
At that moment, exclamations of the Pursuer Team Members also came from outside the cabin.
A few seconds later, that sound, as anticipated, boomed again.
Li Chengjun suddenly thought of something, his facial expression changing dramatically, and immediately commanded Tang Dayuan:
"Full power to the engines, head to the port!"
Then he quickly directed two team members to go to the engine room to check the condition of the hull.
Dudududu—
The seawater churned continuously, the ship continued to sail through the wind and waves, heading for the nearest fishing harbor.
The sound of striking the bottom of the ship still came intermittently, around once every five seconds.
With each occurrence, it was as if thunder roared or death knells drummed, pounding on everyone’s hearts.
After the 9th strike.
About five seconds later, no new sound emerged.
It seemed, finally, to have ceased...
However.
Several frightened screams followed in the earpieces, it was the voice of the team members in the engine room.
"The hull is taking on water!"
"We can’t block the hole, what should we do? The ship is sinking!"
The shouts transmitted through the earpieces to everyone’s ears, like a rapidly spreading plague, instantly causing chaos.
Li Chengjun’s complexion was equally grim, but after regaining some composure, he shouted sternly:
"Tang Dayuan, full throttle, everyone else prepare the lifeboats!"
His quick decision-making was proper, but the ship was too small, and the water was rising rapidly inside the hull.
Once the seawater flooded the engines, the ship began to visibly sink.
Additionally, because water was entering the chambers on each side at different speeds, the ship’s balance was thrown off.
Water quickly spewed out from the deck’s crevices, catching everyone off guard and adding to the panic.
Then, a mountainous wave struck, immediately accelerating the capsizing of the ship.
At this time, the lifeboats had just been lowered.
Boom—
The entire ship was brutally submerged beneath the massive wave, everyone tumbling into the sea.
Some were unfortunately trapped under the ship, struggling to escape the turbulent current.
Others, more fortunate, desperately swam in all directions to avoid being pulled into the depths by the whirlpools formed by the sinking ship.
However, as they reached a relatively safe distance, their hearts tightened once more.
In the churning waves, pairs of eyes could faintly be seen, gleaming with a dim and icy light.
Below the darker waters, innumerable monstrous silhouettes swam and lingered, as excited hissing sounds traveled through the chilling seawater.
These Merfolk had clearly been waiting for a long time, just for them to enter their own aquatic home ground.
The Pursuer Team Members might still have firearms, but these were utterly ineffective against the creatures.
Not to mention the effectiveness of bullets underwater, non-specialized firearms would backfire before the bullet could even be shot in the water.
The Merfolk, however, had a natural advantage in the water, able to pull them down to the seabed from below the surface.
Facing this situation, the Pursuer Team Members could barely struggle; even Li Chengjun, with his superpowers, couldn’t resist for long.
Not far from the sunken ship, on the surface of the sea.
A head emerged from the pitch-black water, eyes fiercely shining as he watched them.
It was Fang Cheng.
