Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

The phone hangs up.

Su Ming's nerves had barely relaxed for three seconds when they were tightened again by a violent metallic groan.

"Snap—Bang!"

Inside the cockpit, the dual-engine transmission system, which he had forcibly connected, squeezed out its last bit of power, then emitted black smoke and a burnt smell, and completely fell apart.

One of the gears even flew out at high speed, smashing a dent into the ship's bulkhead.

The propeller at the stern spun wildly a few times before coming to a complete stop.

The "Breaking Waves," a legendary old ship that had created miracles, finally became a floating steel coffin on the endless high seas.

Fuel exhausted. Power lost. Cracks riddled the hull, and icy seawater was seeping in through the deck seams and breaches in the hull; the chill was already palpable at the ankles.

Su Ming leaned against the dashboard, panting heavily. The burning pain in his lungs made every breath a torment.

He won, but it seems he's going to die here too.

But the sea did not give him a chance to catch his breath.

On the radar screen, three new red dots appeared near the coordinates where the "Sea Eagle" disappeared, and they were approaching in a triangular formation at a speed of over forty knots.

It's the enemy's backup plan.

It was probably support prepared for the "Black Octopus," or a backup plan activated after the "Sea Eagle" sank.

"Scholar! It's three Ghost-class attack craft! They're not flying any flags, but their firepower is military-grade!" Xiao Qi's voice rang out in the encrypted channel, filled with unprecedented anxiety.

Su Ming did not answer, but silently watched them rapidly approach on the radar.

Five nautical miles.

Three nautical miles.

One nautical mile.

Three sleek, jet-black speedboats, like three bloodthirsty sharks, had the "Wavebreaker" firmly surrounded in the center. The dark muzzles of the heavy machine guns on the bows were unabashedly pointed at Su Ming's cockpit.

"Listen up, everyone on board! Hand over the core components and hard drives immediately! Raise your hands and surrender! Or we'll kill you!"

A cold, commanding voice came from the loudspeaker.

Su Ming slowly straightened up, his expression cold and stern. He dragged his weary body out of the cabin and onto the deck.

He raised his hands.

It's like surrendering.

Upon seeing this, the commander on the lead speedboat snorted disdainfully.

He's young after all; he just got lucky.

"Send a team up! Capture him alive! Be careful with that big guy, don't break it!"

At a command, six armed men dressed in black combat uniforms and carrying guns immediately detached from one of the speedboats. They skillfully threw out hooks, preparing to forcibly board the boat.

The speedboat had approached the side of the "Breaking Waves" ship, and an armed man was reaching out to grab the railing.

"Surrender?" Su Ming grinned, his expression sinister. "I just wanted you... to get a little closer."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly kicked a huge lever next to him!

This lever was a temporary assembly he made using spare steel pipes and pulleys from the ship, and it was connected to the extra-long steel cable that had been submerged in seawater since the core component was lifted!

"call--!"

As the lever was pressed down, the heavy steel cable, like an enraged deep-sea python, was suddenly pulled out of the water, splashing water everywhere, and slammed into the stern of the nearest speedboat!

"not good!"

The armed men on the speedboat only had time to utter a single cry of alarm.

"Creak—Bang!"

The tough alloy steel cable, propelled by the immense force of the lever, lashed violently against the speedboat's propeller and rudder.

The fragile propulsion system collided with the steel cable, instantly producing a piercing metallic twisting sound, and countless fragments of parts mixed with lubricating oil were sprayed out from underwater.

The speedboat's engine let out a mournful cry and then stalled completely, spinning helplessly on the sea.

One ship is disabled!

"Fire! Fire!"

The commanders of the other two speedboats were initially startled, but then reacted and roared furiously.

But it was too late.

Su Ming started the lever again, using the swaying of the boat in the waves to swing the deadly steel cable toward the second speedboat.

Same location, same result.

The propeller of the second speedboat was also snapped on the spot.

The driver of the third speedboat was terrified and swerved the steering wheel in an attempt to escape.

But Su Ming had already calculated everything. This was the turn of events he had been waiting for.

He abruptly released the lever's latch, and the entire heavy steel cable plummeted instantly under the force of gravity, like an invisible net that precisely covered the stern of the third speedboat as it turned to evade.

"boom!"

The sound of the engine running under overload lasted only a second before it stopped abruptly.

All three speedboats were rendered unusable!

This operation was both violent and precise, a true art of destruction.

But the crisis remains.

"Splash! Splash..."

Six dark figures silently slipped into the water from the disabled speedboat.

They are special forces frogmen!

Like ghosts in the water, with only their breathing tubes and goggles visible, they rapidly approached the slowly sinking "Breaking Waves" from six different directions.

Su Ming on the deck seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and just watched them approach coldly.

One of the divers reached the ship's side first, grabbed the edge of the hull, and nimbly flipped himself onto the deck.

The instant his palms and knees touched the wet deck—

"Sizzle—!"

A dazzling blue arc of electricity suddenly burst out from the deck he touched!

Before the frogman could even scream, his whole body convulsed violently, his muscles stiffened instantly, and he fell back into the sea with his eyes rolled back, still emitting blue smoke.

This is not over yet!

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

Centered on the point where he fell into the water, the seawater around the "Breaking Waves" had become an electric grid!

The other five approaching frogmen were also instantly struck by the electric current, their bodies trembled violently, they foamed at the mouth, and soon they were unable to move on the water and lost their ability to act.

Su Ming coldly watched all of this and casually turned off the makeshift device at his feet.

He had already arranged a huge high-voltage electric array on the deck using cables soaked in salt water.

He picked up a long pole with an insulating layer and, like fishing, dragged the six unconscious frogmen one by one from the water onto the deck, then tied them tightly with rope.

After tying the person up, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, plopped down on the deck, and let the deepening seawater wash over his feet.

He looked at the three speedboats that were paralyzed not far away, picked up the radio on board, and tuned it to the other party's public channel.

"Feed".

His voice carried far across the silent high seas.

"Your people are in my hands."