The Villain Saint is my secondary account

“Oh, I’m sorry if this is a bit abrupt. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Li Cheng.” Li Cheng casually picked up a wine glass from the tray of a passing waiter. “I came mainly because I saw that it would be a waste for such a beautiful lady like you to spend such a wonderful evening alone.”

"...It's pouring rain outside, it's hardly a pleasant place." After the initial surprise, the woman finally realized that the guy in front of her was actually trying to pick her up, and replied somewhat speechlessly.

"No, no, no, with a beautiful woman by my side, even the darkest rainy night is wonderful." Li Cheng skillfully recited his cheesy pickup lines, "When I saw you in the crowd, it was like seeing the second brightest star in the vast darkness, which led me here."

Hearing Li Cheng's words, the woman couldn't help but laugh. "What's with your flirting... second most dazzling? Then who's number one?"

“There’s nothing I can do. My number one is still my beloved Saintess.” Li Cheng sighed. “That’s the only thing I can’t go against my heart.”

"You're quite devoted."

"You flatter me. This is indeed one of my most outstanding strengths." Li Cheng raised an eyebrow. "As for my other strengths, the night is long, would you be interested in discussing them with me at length?"

"Hehe," the woman's lips curled into a meaningful smile, "Interesting."

Meanwhile, in the window seat, Ye Xiao finally managed to comfort Greta by lifting her onto his lap.

"Oh, okay, Miss Maid, don't be angry, don't be angry, here's a hug, sweetie,"

He turned his head again and saw that Li Cheng and the tall woman were already leaving the restaurant while chatting and laughing.

"Wow, this guy is so efficient?" Ye Xiao was somewhat surprised.

Not wanting to sit in his lap, Greta Adam angrily turned her head away, pinching his nose with her small hand, "You're still looking!?"

"Ouch, I'm innocent! I was looking at Li Cheng!" Ye Xiao winced in pain.

"Hmph!" Greta turned around angrily and dragged over a plate of grilled fish to eat.

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Stormy Night

After dinner, Ye Xiao took Greta back to her room.

The little one puffed out her cheeks and made gurgling noises the whole way, just like a depressed kitten. Ye Xiao could only rub her head and soothe her gently.

Outside the cabin, lightning flashed and thunder roared, the storm had intensified, the sea was pitch black, and only the howling wind and the booming thunder could be heard.

Captain Castor, draped in a waterproof cloak, stood on the deck, his gaze fixed on the ever-present ghost ship.

Although it has not yet shown any real threat, it is like a lurking ghost waiting for an opportunity, always making people uneasy.

As he pondered, heavy footsteps sounded in his ears, and the first mate's voice came: "Captain, the escort ships to the east have stopped giving us their flags for the second time."

Captain Castor turned his binoculars eastward, where the escort ship was sailing alongside them through the storm, but the flag-bearer's platform, responsible for communication, was empty.

The rain was heavy, and the view through the binoculars was not clear. All that could be seen was the lights on the escort ship blending into the rain curtain, rising and falling with the waves.

"What happened? Where is their standard-bearer?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," the first mate replied.

"Shoot a signal arrow and see if there is a response."

"clear."

A moment later, an arrow trailing a flame flew into the sky, its deep red glow particularly glaring in the dark night amidst the torrential rain.

Then, three arrows emitting blue light were fired from the escort ships surrounding the merchant ship from the northwest and south as a response, but the ship to the east did not react at all.

“Something’s not right,” Captain Castor frowned.

"What should we do, Captain?" The young first mate also sensed something was wrong. "Could they be in some kind of trouble?"

"They don't give any signal when they encounter trouble," the captain pondered. "Even if it's a pirate attack, don't they have a chance to send a distress signal?"

The first mate's throat bobbed slightly as he glanced back at the ghost ship still closely following behind them. "Should we send someone to investigate?"

"Let's ask the meteorologist first to predict the weather conditions ahead." The captain took a deep breath of his hookah.

The first mate complied and returned with the meteorologist's report: "The meteorologist said that the current weather will last for about two hours, after which the storm will develop into a larger storm, probably reaching level nine or ten."

"Tsk." The captain chewed on his hookah, his face contorted with conflict.

The escort ship on the east side has lost contact, and the people on board may have encountered some trouble and might urgently need their support.

However, with a larger storm approaching, if the crew does not have time to evacuate back to the ship within two hours, something bad could happen.

However, time doesn't stop when you're thinking, and now every second can be crucial.

After a moment's hesitation, Captain Castor decisively ordered, "Send a support team over there. Have the crew on the broadside prepare grappling hooks. Once aboard, the team will guide the escort ship to the merchant ship first."

"Then we signaled to the escort ships to the north, telling them that the east needed support, and asked them to come and help as well, just in case."

Ultimately, we cannot stand idly by when lives are at stake. After much deliberation, we determined that a rescue operation must be carried out, and we must make the most thorough preparations possible.

The support team was quickly assembled. Since the captain needed to be on board the merchant ship to take command, the first mate led an eight-man team consisting of the ship's doctor, signalman, alternate helmsman, and four sailors.

They boarded the small boats on the side of the boat and were lowered to the sea by slings.

These small boats could not be equipped with huge ore engines and could only be propelled by two sailors rowing.

The first mate lit the oil lamp, its faint light like a lone star in the boundless night sky, swaying through the rain and slowly gliding across the dark sea, drifting towards the brightly lit yet desolate escort ship to the east.

Amidst the turbulent waves, the small boat approached the underside of the escort vessel.

The group took out the grappling hooks from the boat, threw them onto the gunwale to secure the small boat, and then began to climb up the ropes.

As expected, there was not a single person on the deck of the escort ship, creating an eerie silence amidst the raging wind and rain.

The first mate, holding an oil lamp, led the squad, his right hand on the handle of the musket at his waist, and shouted into the empty hatch.

Is anyone there!?

"We came to provide support from a merchant ship. Is anyone still alive?!"

However, all that answered him was a howling wind.

"Don't split up, everyone. Head to the bridge first." The first mate led his team toward the superstructure on the deck. "The signalman has informed the merchant ship that we have successfully boarded."

Upon receiving the order, the signalman took out his signal tube, inserted the propellant, and pulled the tail rope, sending a rocket flashing blue light straight into the sky.

The merchant ship responded with a blue light signal, indicating that it had received the message.

They then pushed open the tightly closed doors of the ship's deck, where the oil lamps hanging on the walls of the inner corridor were still lit, creating a bright scene.

Where did all these people go?

The first mate's wet boots sank into the floor, leaving behind some messy footprints, but it was difficult to discern which direction they were heading.

He and his team arrived at the door of the driver's cab, but this time the door was locked and they couldn't open it immediately.

The strong sailor then grabbed a door-breaking axe and smashed it hard against the metal door.

"bang"

With a loud crash, a blade was slashed into the sturdy door panel.

A pungent, rusty smell wafted from the crack, which was only a finger's width wide.

The sailor with the axe paused, then looked at the first mate beside him.

The latter, with a grave expression, drew his pistol from his waist. "Everyone, take out your weapons... This is the smell of blood."

Three sailors drew their knives and moved to either side of the column, protecting the ship's doctor and signalman in the middle.

The sailor in front of the door swung his axe again and slammed it hard against the door.

"bang"

This time, the door panel broke open with a sound, and the scene inside the driver's cab was revealed to everyone.

What came into view was a blinding crimson.

Thick blood, like free paint, haphazardly painted the entire room from top to bottom. The gruesome, mangled remains of the corpse were scattered haphazardly everywhere in sight, as if brutally torn apart by some wild beast.

Looking at the scene before him, which resembled a living hell, the sailor who broke down the door swallowed hard, and the first mate's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"By the God of Light...where is this...what has happened?" The signalman's voice trembled and began to shake.

The gruesome deaths of these people were so horrific that they seemed inhuman.

Fortunately, the ship's doctor was an old man who had served the captain for many years. In this horrifying situation, he calmly pointed to the ceiling in the bridge and said, "The steel plate over there has fallen off. The attackers... whatever they are, must have come in from there. Everyone be careful."

Chapter Fifty Search and Rescue

"On the steel plate... are these scratches?"

The first mate looked in the direction the ship's doctor was pointing and saw several menacing marks.

The power of a monster capable of scratching deep marks on steel plates is terrifying just to think about.

"First mate, do we... do we still need to dock the ship with the merchant ship?" the second helmsman asked in alarm.

“We definitely can’t rely on them now. We know nothing about the monsters,” the first mate said gravely. “Everyone retreat to the small boats. The signalman goes out to send a message to the merchant ships…”

"dong dong dong"

Halfway through his sentence, a sudden noise came from deep within the corridor.

"What the hell is that noise?" The first mate looked at the team members at the door.

"I think I saw... I saw a little boy run past," a sailor on the side of the column stammered.

"Where did this boy come from on the escort ship?" The first mate frowned. "Everyone, stay alert, let's get out of this hellhole right now."

"Damn it, did you hear that?" Just then, another sailor suddenly said, "I think I heard someone calling for help."

"Huh?" The first mate stepped out into the corridor, puzzled, when he actually heard a faint shout echoing in his ears.

"It came from below," the ship's doctor then spoke up.

"You heard that too?" The first mate turned his head and saw that the team members all nodded, their faces pale.

"It seems like someone... is in the cabin," the signalman murmured.

The first mate wiped the rain from his face with trembling hands, his tone complicated, "Damn it."

“I suggest we just leave,” the ship’s doctor said, having already sensed what the first mate was thinking. “You saw that steel plate too. That’s no ordinary monster. We can’t handle it.”

The team members all fell silent.

"...Let's go up to the deck first." The first mate didn't respond directly to the ship's doctor, but instead rallied everyone to leave the deckhouse quickly.

"First mate, we can't save them," the ship's doctor whispered. He could tell the first mate hadn't given up. "No one here will tell anyone about this."

The young first mate walked along, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "I know..."

The group hurried out of the ship's door and back onto the deck. The signalman fired two red signal arrows in succession, informing the merchant ship of the unknown dangers lurking on their side.

The merchant ship responded with a yellow signal arrow, flashing in the dark night sky, signaling everyone to retreat immediately.

In the pouring rain, the first mate and the others rushed to the side of the ship, preparing to disembark, when the first mate suddenly stopped.

"First mate?" The ship's doctor frowned.

"You all go down first," the first mate said, drawing his short-barreled musket from his waist. "I'll go check the cabin."

"Are you out of your mind??" the ship's doctor exclaimed incredulously. He and the captain were old friends, and in terms of seniority, he had watched the captain grow up since the first mate was a baby, so his words were not considered presumptuous.

“I have to see this…this is a living, breathing human being, Mr. Woods.” The first mate’s voice trembled.

"You're kidding, hurry up..."

"Five minutes. If I'm not back in five minutes, you can set sail immediately." However, the first mate only said this before turning around and running towards the cabin entrance.

"Lesteen!?!" the ship's doctor roared incredulously, "You'll get yourself killed too!!!"

But the next moment, the young first mate's figure was swallowed up by the torrential rain.

"Grass!"

The ship's doctor cursed angrily, glanced at the crew members who were dumbfounded by the sudden disagreement, and hurriedly handed the oil lamp in his hand to the helmsman next to him, "Everyone, get down here right now, I'm going to go and bring that idiot back!"

The second helmsman took the oil lamp and was dumbfounded to see that the ship's doctor had also run away.

But there was no time for them to hesitate any longer. The storm visibly intensified, and the icy rain stung their faces.

The remaining team members climbed over the railing, grabbed the ropes, and immediately descended one by one onto the small boat.

The second helmsman, with an oil lamp tucked into his belt, waited at the back. After seeing the people ahead slide down the rope, he was about to climb over the railing when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

The footsteps were faint, but they were exceptionally clear in the torrential rain.

“The ship’s doctor?” He turned around, but all he saw was an empty deck.