North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 4: Destroyed Fate
Having the Damascus dagger pressed against his throat, A-Zu was just a little surprised.

What really surprised him was that he looked up and saw the person in front of him clearly in the light of the stars and the moon reflected on the sea!

"Captain Vic? Why is it you?"

Ah Zu suppressed his surprise and said, "Mr. Vick, are you going to kill me too?"

In his impression, Mr. Vick was an experienced captain and an upright gentleman.

In the more than two months on board, these Chinese workers, who were just pigs, did not suffer the inhumane abuse that was common on other transoceanic sailing ships.

In order to repay the expensive ship tickets and high interest of up to US$50 (about 75 grams of gold), these Chinese workers who "paid on credit" would become "slaves" working in the gold mining industry for the next few years.

Whether for the purpose of protecting their own "property" or out of pure integrity, A-Zu and dozens of other Chinese workers ate the same food as the crew on the "Barbara" and received minimal treatment when they were sick.

Under the control of Captain Vic, A-Zu and his companions did not even suffer too much beating or insults in the past two months.

Therefore, the Chinese workers, including A-Zu, had a very good impression of Captain Vic.

A Zu never thought that after overcoming the survival crisis and saving everyone's lives, someone still wanted to kill him!

What was even more unexpected was that this person would be Captain Vic!
why?
Under A-Zu's scorching gaze, Captain Vic knelt beside him, his face pale, his expression struggling, and his hand holding the dagger trembling slightly.

"Sorry, I had to do this!"

As he spoke, Captain Vic exerted a little force on his trembling left hand.

The sharp tip of the knife easily pierced A-Zu's skin, and a drop of bright red blood flowed along the blood groove covered with beautiful patterns.

The cold stinging sensation made A-Zu wake up instantly.

We can't sit still and wait for death!

After a full meal of fish, the body regained some strength and at least had basic mobility.

A-Zu grabbed Captain Vic's left hand holding the knife with both hands, twisted it with all his strength, and pretended to snatch the knife away!

Captain Vic is a head taller than A-Zu and is in much better condition than A-Zu who is still recovering from his illness.

But unexpectedly, A Zu didn't feel much strength from Captain Vic's left hand!
A-Zu easily snatched the dagger from Captain Vic's hand, and then kicked the tall Captain Vic to the deck with his right leg.

"Pfft!"

Captain Vic's tall figure slammed heavily onto the deck, waking up everyone on board.

Ignoring everyone's gazes and surprise, A Zu turned over and rode on Captain Vic's waist, stabbing him in the chest with the Damascus dagger in his hand.

A-Zu, who had just recovered his basic mobility and had little strength left, easily subdued Captain Vic, who was much taller than him. It was unbelievable.

Even A-Zu himself couldn't believe it would be so simple!
"No……!"

This is Vivian's exclamation!

The dagger in A-Zu's hand paused slightly involuntarily, and just managed to pierce Vic's black captain's coat.

Captain Vic, lying face up on the deck, looked at A-Zu indifferently: "Kill me now! Otherwise, I will definitely kill you!"

A-Zu was stunned!
Not only him, but everyone who woke up was stunned at that moment.

"Ship, Captain... why?" Harley looked at the captain he had always admired with an incredulous look in his eyes. "He saved us all, Li, he's our benefactor! Captain, why did you kill him?"

Captain Vic slowly closed his eyes, and two turbid tears flowed from the narrow corners of his eyes.

But his tone was surprisingly calm: "If he doesn't kill me, I will kill him. Don't ask me why!"

A-Zu stared at Captain Vic's face, the dagger in his hand still and unmoved, but he didn't put it down easily. Vivian, who had come to his side, grabbed A-Zu's arm and said, "Stop, A-Zu!"

A Zu stared at Captain Vic intently and said in a deep voice, "Captain, you keep saying you want to kill me, but there is no murderous aura in you, and no killing intent in your eyes!"

Captain Vic slowly opened his eyes. "Murderous intent? Murderous intent? What does that mean?"

"What I mean is, you didn't want to kill me at all, but... you wanted me to kill you!"

Seeing Captain Vic's slightly changed expression, A Zu continued, "I don't know why you want me to kill you, but you do want to die!"

"Everyone on this ship is filled with the aura of death, but you, Captain, are different. You truly don't want to live anymore."

"If you simply didn't want to live, it would be much easier to just jump into the sea. Why did you have to use my hand?"

At this moment, Vivian couldn't help but interrupt, "Mr. Vic is a devout Baptist. A soul that commits suicide will lose all chances of redemption...!"

Ah Zu thought about this and said, "So, if the Captain wants to die, he has to use someone else's hand! Mr. Harley is his loyal subordinate and will never kill him. The other Chinese workers are timid and dare not touch him, so... it's just me!"

With everything I showed today, no wonder Captain Vic likes me!

"Then, there's only one question left... Mr. Captain, why do you want to die so badly?"

Captain Vic closed his eyes again, said nothing, and his face was dead silent.

"Well...that!" Harley raised his hand and said hesitantly, "Maybe...the captain originally wanted to sink with Barbara, and I knocked him unconscious and carried him onto this lifeboat!"

"So it was you who made the Captain lose the chance to sacrifice his beloved Barbara!"

"Gulp!" Harley gulped. "I'm an orphan. I've been sailing with the captain since I was little. I can't bear to watch him die!"

Harley continued, "In order to buy the second-hand ship Barbara, the captain put his life savings on the line and even owed the Jewish guy over $20,000 in high-interest loans."

"But bad luck didn't let us off. The Barbara was on its first Eastern route, and both the ship and its cargo were...!"

"I see!" A-Zu frowned and said, "The Eastern route across the Pacific is so dangerous. Didn't you buy insurance for the Barbara?"

"The captain has already spent his last dollar buying the Barbara. How can he afford insurance?"

Ah Zu slowly released the dagger that was pressing against Captain Vic's chest: "Is that so? Captain, you are bankrupt!"

"I still owe a loan shark that I will never be able to pay off for the rest of my life!"

"No wonder you want to die!"

Captain Vic opened his eyes, his gaze filled with despair and death: "You already know the reason, why don't you kill me?"

"I was prepared to quietly wait for death to come, but everything you did today disrupted the trajectory of fate."

"The fate you destroyed should also be ended by your own hands!"

"Don't worry, this is on the high seas. No one will judge you for this."

"Besides, you are not a believer in my Lord, so you will not go to hell for this!"

"Kill me, and even the exorbitant ship tickets and interest you owe me will be paid for in one stroke. As long as you can reach the shore alive, you will all be free citizens, and will no longer be enslaved by anyone!"

A-Zu slowly stood up from him, swung the dagger in his hand, and pointed the tip of the knife at Captain Vic's throat.

"Captain, I have to say you've been very thoughtful! I admit, you've really moved me!"

"But...!" A-Zu changed the subject: "Have you ever thought that you are more useful when you are alive than when you are dead?"

(End of this chapter)