Huayu97: Starting with Wu Song Fighting the Tiger

A wave half a person's height crashed heavily against the gunwale of the "Haojiang" ship, making a loud noise. The splashing water was like a torrential downpour, pattering and wetting the rusty railings, and also hitting the faces of the eight bandits being held captive without any mercy!

With thick hemp ropes around their necks, half their bodies dangling over the edge of the boat, the sea breeze biting into their collars and stinging their cheeks. Fear mixed with the saltiness of the seawater streamed down their faces. Thick strips of cloth were stuffed into their mouths, allowing them only to whimper and plead. They struggled desperately, but the security guards held them down firmly, leaving them no room to move.

But the ten modified fishing boats a hundred meters away remained motionless, their dark silhouettes on the gunwales clearly defined, showing no hesitation whatsoever, like a pack of lurking wolves, staring intently at the fat sheep that had lost its power.

The captain's hand, gripping the megaphone, bulged with veins, the megaphone casing slightly deformed from his crunch. He took a deep breath and shouted again towards the sea, his voice deeper and more desperate, carrying a hint of recklessness that barely carried through the howling sea wind: "Listen up, you guys over there! Final warning! If you don't back down, I'm really going to throw them all overboard to feed the fish!"

The words had barely left his lips when a sharp gunshot rang out from the sea, shattering the deathly silence. The bullet grazed the metal railing of the cruise ship with a piercing "whoosh," its force so great that it left a shallow scratch on the railing before embedding itself precisely in the steel plate behind it, leaving a deep, dark bullet hole. The steel plate was still smoldering slightly.

This shot, like a bucket of ice water, shattered all the hopes of everyone on deck.

Huang Kun's pupils contracted sharply, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back. His years of experience in the security industry made him react in an instant, and he growled in a low voice, "AKs! They have AK-47s! These bastards are dangerous!"

Before he could finish speaking, the gunfire on the sea intensified. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Several tongues of fire suddenly shot out from the gunboat's side, particularly glaring in the thick darkness of the night. The muffled yet penetrating sound of the AK-47 echoed across the vast sea, making people's eardrums buzz.

Bullets rained down on the deck, whistling through the air as they struck the metal railings, scattering sparks and making a series of clanging sounds.

"Get down! Everyone get down now!" Huang Kun roared, shoving his teammate Amin next to him. He then lunged forward, lying face down on the deck, his hands tightly protecting his head, pressing his body as low as possible.

The bullets struck the steel plate behind, instantly leaving numerous deep craters, sparks flying everywhere, causing pain and numbness when they landed on the people; several bullets also hit the metal hull of the lifeboat, leaving dents that made one's scalp tingle.

The bandits held against the railing became easy targets. The pirates didn't care about their lives at all, and bullets accurately struck them. The three bandits didn't even have a chance to struggle before their chests exploded, blood gushing out. Their bodies went limp, the rope around their necks still tightly bound, half of their bodies still hanging outside the ship, like puppets with broken strings, swaying gently in the sea breeze.

Their blood flowed down the railing, dripping into the sea and instantly spreading into a blinding crimson. This attracted the faint shadows darting about beneath the surface, likely sharks drawn by the scent of blood, their eyes fixed on their prey above the water.

The remaining five bandits were terrified and struggled even more violently, twisting their bodies desperately to dodge the deadly bullets. However, the security guards held them firmly against the railing, leaving them no room to move. They could only let out pitiful "whoosh" sounds. Their trouser legs gradually became wet, obviously because they had wet themselves in fear. The strong smell of urine mixed with the fishy smell of the sea breeze spread across the deck.

Two security guards were shot instantly, unable to dodge in time. One guard's arm was pierced by a bullet, the flesh torn open, and blood gushed out instantly. He groaned in pain, his body convulsing uncontrollably. With his last bit of strength, he rolled behind a pillar on the deck, cowering there, not daring to show his head.

Another man was shot in the calf; the bullet pierced his calf. He staggered forward and fell to his knees, blood streaming down his trousers and pooling on the deck. Ah Ming reacted quickly and pulled him to the lifeboat beside him, narrowly avoiding further bullets.

The team member was trembling with pain, large beads of cold sweat dripping from his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and dared not make a sound, for fear of attracting more bullets.

The rubber bullet guns and batons in the hands of the security guards were as fragile as paper in the face of real guns and ammunition, completely vulnerable. The fighting spirit they had displayed when organizing the bandits as hostages was crushed by this frenzied firing, leaving only a deep-seated fear; they could even feel their hearts pounding wildly, as if they were about to burst out of their chests.

The searchlights on the deck were not spared either; they were accurately shot and blown up, the pale light disappearing instantly, and the night completely swallowed the entire deck, plunging the surroundings into pitch-black darkness.

Only the dense gunfire, the crisp sound of bullets hitting metal, the crashing of waves against the ship, and the dying sobs of the bandits intertwined and echoed on the vast sea, like a desperate prelude to death.

After an unknown amount of time, the gunfire gradually subsided, and a brief silence returned to the sea, broken only by the echoing sound of the waves and the heavy breathing of the people on deck. The fishing boats on the sea, however, started up again, their engines chugging along as they rapidly approached the cruise ship. The pirates howled and shouted in an unintelligible dialect, clearly preparing to board and plunder.

"Damn it! These bastards don't care if their comrades live or die!" Huang Kun, hiding behind a pillar, cautiously peeked out, staring at the three pirate corpses hanging outside the ship. His teeth were grinding so hard they almost broke. He grabbed the walkie-talkie at his waist and roared into it, "Captain! The pirates are launching small boats to board! They have AKs! We can't hold them off! Organize the passengers to evacuate immediately! The faster the better!"

A cacophony of noise came from the other end of the walkie-talkie: screams and cries from passengers, as well as the sounds of tables and chairs collapsing.

The captain's voice, tinged with barely concealed panic, yet forcing himself to remain calm, rang out clearly, each word distinct: "Huang Kun, I understand! I'll immediately take the crew to calm the passengers and move everyone to the staff quarters below deck! There are more rooms there, and the doors are still sturdy enough to hold them off for now! You must hold on, no matter what, until the propulsion system is repaired!"

After speaking, the captain and crew began to reassure the passengers, repeatedly calling out through the loudspeaker: "Distinguished guests, please do not panic! Please remain calm and follow the crew members to the staff dormitory on the first floor! Do not crowd or push each other! Pay attention to the safety of the elderly and children!"