Chapter 21

Shan Ming snorted and squatted down in front of Tang Tingzhi. He forcefully pinched Tang Tingzhi’s chin and asked in a cold voice, “What did you say to him and what did you do to him?”

Tang Tingzhi said calmly, “Isn’t it normal for a child to miss his parents?”

Shan Ming said fiercely, “Don’t you, dare have any ideas about him again. Your little life is in my hands right now, don’t think I won’t kill you.”

Tang Tingzhi said quietly, “Why must you keep him with you? You know I won’t give up. Even if you go back to your base, I will find ways to track you guys down. He’s of no use to you and is just a burden.”

Shan Ming replied coldly, “You’re right, he’s a burden. But without this burden, wouldn’t you be able to do as you please?”

“If you agree to give him to me, I promise to give you enough compensation and never bother you guys again.”

Shan Ming revealed a ruthless smile, “If your words are true, where was the eight million you promised? And how do you explain the timed explosives in the cabin? You dumbass, don’t treat others like idiots. Once you get this kid, you will definitely find a way to silence us. I know you came to find him as a secret operation, otherwise, you wouldn’t risk your own life to force the government to officially intervene. I won’t kill you now because I don’t want to confront the government head-on, but don’t push your luck. If you come looking for me in the future, I might just solve my problems by killing you instead.”

Shan Ming’s two fingers pinched Tang Tingzhi’s chin like a pair of pliers. Tang Tingzhi squinted slightly, feeling like his bones were about to be crushed. His brain raced as he considered his next move.

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Mkxl oyp ralppkdt, yde bl eked’v byhl vkxl vs kdhlpvktyvl vbl Vlaltakdl Wyznsdp vss xwnb, cwv obyv bl nswze nsdqkax oyp vbyv vbkp xlanldyau taswr oyp ekalnvzu alzyvle vs vbl “Paytsd Jzsse Omrlakxldv Nlyj” kdnkeldv yv y plnalv xkzkvyau cypl kd vbl Zwddyd csaela qswa ulyap yts. Rd y ekalnv nsdqasdvyvksd, y dlozu tldlvknyzzu qwple cwv wdpvyczl Paytsd Jzsse Ikd jkzzle 17 xlxclap sq vbl Vlaltakdl Wyznsdp cyalbydele yde lhldvwyzzu ekle yzsdt okvb vbl srrsdldv bszekdt lmrzspkhlp.

Mbl lmrlakxldv, obknb oyp osavb 120 xkzzksd, oyp elpvasule fwpv yp kv oyp cltkddkdt vs vyjl pbyrl. Mbl rlapsd kd nbyatl sq vbl kdnkeldv oyp pvkzz clkdt elvykdle qsa kdhlpvktyvksd, yde vblu byhl clld vaukdt vs vaynj esod vbkp xlanldyau taswr vbyv oyp srlayvkdt sd vbl csaela. Bdqsavwdyvlzu, vblu ekpyrrlyale yqvla vbyv yde byhl dsv clld ynvkhl kd Gpky pkdnl.

Lso bl qswde swv vbyv vblu byhl alzsnyvle vblka cypl vs Fswvb Gxlakny.

Fbyd Ykdt oyp aktbv, lhld kq vblu ekpaltyae Fbld Ubydtgl, vbl qynv vbyv vbl Vlaltakdl Wyznsdp wdkdvldvksdyzzu pvwxczle wrsd vblka vsr xkzkvyau plnalvp xlydp vbyv vbl Vlaltakdl Wyznsdp xwpv ekpyrrlya nsxrzlvlzu qasx vbkp osaze!

Mbkp xlanldyau taswr bye vss xydu vbkdtp vbyv Mydt Mkdtgbk oydvle, pwnb yp rlabyrp vbl xspv rlaqlnv Paytsd Jzsse Ikd vs eyvl, yde vbl eyvy yde kdqsaxyvksd qasx vbl cyvvzl okvb y Paytsd Jzsse Ikd. Tsolhla, vblpl vbkdtp olal nwaaldvzu ekqqknwzv vs scvykd yp bl bkxplzq oyp pvkzz y rakpsdla kd vblka bydep.

Fbyd Ykdt zlv ts sq Mydt Mkdtgbk yde rknjle wr y eyxr aszz sq vskzlv ryrla qasx vbl vyczl. Tl vsal sqq y zyatl rklnl yde pvwqqle kv kdvs Mydt Mkdtgbk’p xswvb.

Tl vbld pvsse wr yde oyzjle vs vbl alpvassx, jdsnjle sd vbl essa voknl, yde pyke, “Usxl swv.”

Gqvla y xsxldv, vbl nbkze srldle vbl essa yde zssjle wr yv bkx dlahswpzu.

Shan Ming lifted him up, “Who told you to talk to him?”

The child, seeing that Tang Tingzhi’s mouth was gagged, boldly replied, “I was just going peepee. He was the one who talked to me.”

Shan Ming raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What did he say to you?”

“He, he said he would take me to see Mommy and Daddy, but I didn’t fall for the bad guy’s trick. He wanted to bite me!”

Shan Ming snorted, “Why does he want to bite you?”

“He… he didn’t eat dinner and was hungry, so he wanted to bite me.”

Shan Ming held the child’s collar and pushed his face against the window, looking out at the vast, pitch-black sea. The child flinched and shrank his neck.

“Do you see? There are many hungry sharks out there that haven’t eaten dinner yet, if you dare to talk to him again, I’ll throw you down there to be their dinner.”

The child clung to Shan Ming’s arm like a monkey and said quietly, “No…”

Shan Ming snorted and threw the child to the ground before turning to the guards and saying, “Don’t let this hostage have any contact with anyone from now on, not even this child.”

After saying that, Shan Ming walked towards his sleeping area.

The child ran after him, hugged his thigh, and said nervously, “Dad, I’m so hungry.”

Shan Ming squinted his eyes, “You already ate something tonight, what are you complaining about?”

“Then will you let me eat tomorrow too?” The child was very nervous. Each person was only given a small amount of food that was not enough to satisfy their hunger. If Shan Ming refused to give him food tomorrow because he talked to that person, what would he do?

“Depends on your performance.” Shan Ming wanted to kick him away, he shook his leg, but the child wouldn’t let go.

“Dad, it was him who talked to me. You can’t punish me for that.”

Shan Ming sneered, “You brat, looks like you’re starting to become cunning.”

The child indeed had become more cunning. Although he didn’t understand the concepts of “carrot and stick”¹characterized by the use of both reward and punishment to induce cooperation, he had gained some experience and knew that he had to avoid offending Shan Ming as much as possible to reduce his own suffering. Although sometimes he intentionally wanted to oppose Shan Ming, the situation was different now. There was only a small amount of food for each meal. If Shan Ming still wouldn’t let him eat, he’d cry from hunger.

So the child nervously wanted to confirm, with big watery eyes filled with eager anticipation, “Dad, can I have food tomorrow?”

Shan Ming lifted him again and said, “Depends on your performance and my mood. Now go to sleep.” After speaking, he threw him onto the sofa.

The group officially began their life of drifting at sea.

To prevent being washed away to an unknown place by a huge wave, the captain and co-pilot took on the role of sea captains, constantly monitoring the positioning of the satellite and keeping in contact with Tiger Shark.

Some people were in charge of producing fresh water, while others were responsible for fishing. They made use of everything that could be utilized from the plane, working together to endure the long wait ahead.

Perhaps the resources in this area were too abundant that the fishes weren’t interested in biting the hooks. It was much more difficult to find food in the sea than they had imagined. Even after a whole day of fishing, they only caught about ten pounds of fish, which was far from enough for them to eat. However, it was better than nothing. Under these circumstances, at least they did not have to worry about starving to death.

Their daily food intake was compressed into one meal, which was further split into two portions. The adults could still manage to endure, but Shen Changze, who was often punished by Shan Ming to go hungry, was able to tolerate it at first but couldn’t bear it anymore after three days.

Even in such a situation where they couldn’t eat enough, Shan Ming did not reduce Shen Changze’s physical training. Instead, because there was nothing else to do, he kept a close eye on the child, making it impossible for him to slack off. As a result, the child had to do various types of strenuous exercises almost every day on an empty stomach. In the end, he couldn’t help but wail from hunger.

Shan Ming was most annoyed by the child’s crying, and there was nowhere for him to hide from it in the place, it was so noisy that his ears ache.

Dino was catching up on sleep on the sofa, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He cursed, “Shan, take care of your son. If you keep abusing him like this, our ears are going to explode!”

Pelle also sighed and said, “Shan, don’t go too far. He doesn’t have enough to eat right now.”

Even Ayer, who usually wouldn’t even look at the child, couldn’t help but say, “Dear, I’m talking to Tiger Shark right now, can you please shut his mouth?”

Shan Ming smacked Shen Changze’s head and said angrily, “Why the fuck are you still not shutting up?! What do you want!”

The child said with teary eyes, “I’m hungry.”

Shan Ming rolled his eyes and said to Pelle, “Bring him my dinner.”

Pelle gave Shan Ming’s portion to the child.

The child held the bread and looked at Shan Ming for a while, then said quietly, “Dad, I’m really eating it.”

Shan Ming kicked him irritably and said, “Fuck outta here.”

The child immediately went to the side and began to wolf down the bread.

Tang Tingzhi silently watched everything, he said quietly, “I can share half of mine with him.”

Shan Ming glared at him and said, “It’s none of your business. Do you want to be gagged again?”

Tang Tingzhi secretly let out a sigh of relief in his heart.

For the first few days, everything went smoothly, but on the sixth day of their drifting at sea, the thing they feared the most happened – the weather changed.