KN | Chapter 54

You Have Absolutely No Credibility

Even if Zhao Shengge really tied him up, Chen Wan would still find a way to break free. Even the devils in the purgatory of Xiaolan Mountain had failed to restrain him, let alone Zhao Shengge, a man so refined and gentlemanly.

When facing a gentleman, it is always the petty man who wins.

Now, it was his turn to tie up Zhao Shengge.

Learning from Zhao Shengge’s earlier mistake, Chen Wan bound his wrists extremely tightly. The knots were so intricate that they made Zhao Shengge dizzy just looking at them.

But Zhao Shengge was tall and powerfully built, far beyond Chen Wan in physique. In the face of absolute strength, all technique was nothing more than empty display.

Even with his hands tied, Zhao Shengge could still lift both arms and clamp them directly around Chen Wan’s throat.

Chen Wan’s neck was long and slender. Zhao Shengge’s large hand easily encircled it. His thumb pressed hard against Chen Wan’s Adam’s apple as he said in a low, steady voice, “Chen Wan, untie me. Now.”

Chen Wan’s breathing grew heavier. His throat bobbed under the threatening pressure of the other man’s touch. Zhao Shengge was truly angry this time, his grip tightening.

A faint sense of suffocation crept in, yet Chen Wan only shook his head, allowing the other to control the most vulnerable and sensitive point of his body, while his own hands continued to bind Zhao Shengge tighter and tighter.

Something happened outside the cabin. The ship suddenly lurched violently, and both of them fell to one side.

Seizing the moment, Zhao Shengge stretched out a leg to pin Chen Wan down. His tall body pressed forward like falling jade.

Chen Wan reacted instantly. With no hesitation, he flipped over and straddled Zhao Shengge’s waist and abdomen. His long legs pressed down on either side. From a desperate position, he turned the situation around, taking control from above, using all his strength to pin him down. Their breaths tangled tightly together, the tension razor sharp.

“Get down!” Zhao Shengge’s expression darkened, his authority pressing down without the need for anger.

Chen Wan ignored him completely and spoke as if to himself, “No matter what you hear later, don’t come out. I’ll lock the hidden compartment.”

“They’re not after me. They won’t do anything to me.”

“The moment I go out, I’ll find somewhere to hide.”

“You don’t need to worry.”

Zhao Shengge’s gaze was as sharp as a blade. His voice sank. “Chen Wan, don’t make me say it a second time.”

He carried an innate authority that made people’s hearts tremble.

But Chen Wan did not care at all. His expression turned grim, his gaze obsessive. He looked nothing like his usual gentle, compliant self. He was decisive, domineering, and extreme, issuing orders one after another.

“When the alarm sounds, activate separation from the main cabin immediately.”

“I’ll coordinate the compartment’s detachment from outside.”

“If the time comes and I find you still haven’t activated separation mode, I’ll trigger the main cabin’s emergency brake from above until it successfully detaches.”

Zhao Shengge’s pupils shrank. He went completely still, as if a bullet had already been fired into his chest.

Chen Wan was threatening him, using the entire ship, including his own safety, to guarantee Zhao Shengge’s escape.

The warning lights in the core zone lit up.

Chen Wan moved quickly, pulling out a magazine and stuffing it into Zhao Shengge’s suit pocket.

“What are you doing!?” Zhao Shengge shouted angrily.

“I still have more.” Chen Wan had prepared in advance. When he set out, he had brought several extra magazines. “I won’t need that many. Take them, just in case.”

Chen Wan would not accept even the slightest possibility of Zhao Shengge encountering danger. With his marksmanship, what he carried was already enough. If it wasn’t, then it would not be a situation a single gun could resolve anyway.

“Chen Wan!”

Zhao Shengge was furious. The dim lighting below the sea surface made his sharply defined features, filled with anger, appear even more fierce and severe.

Chen Wan froze for a brief moment. He had never seen Zhao Shengge this angry before.

Zhao Shengge had always been steady as a mountain, calm and composed. Chen Wan almost did not dare to meet those all-seeing eyes.

Chen Wan understood clearly that what he was doing might completely expose the secrets he had hidden for years. Even so, he did not hesitate.

Protecting Zhao Shengge was instinct.

A person could not go against their own nature.

Chen Wan actually smiled slightly and said, “There’s no time. Let’s meet on land in an hour, alright?”

After speaking, he turned and began setting the shutdown password on the cabin door. Once done, the hidden compartment would enter emergency protection mode.

He heard Zhao Shengge’s voice from behind him, already calm again.

“Chen Wan, if you dare take one step out, then from now on, we will have no further contact.”

Chen Wan paused almost imperceptibly.

“You have absolutely no credibility.”

“You don’t keep promises, you don’t follow orders, you don’t obey instructions. Minglong has no use for a Party B like you.”

Zhao Shengge had grown up at the negotiation table. Even in hopeless disadvantage, he could always sharply identify and analyze his subtle leverage.

At this critical moment, Zhao Shengge suddenly realized something he had never noticed before.

Chen Wan cared about him far more than he had imagined.

There was no doubt Chen Wan cared.

But he had not known that this care was so overwhelming it was on the verge of spilling over.

In the past, Chen Wan had concealed it well. Zhao Shengge had to guess whether it came from cultivated etiquette, innate gentleness, hard-earned social polish, or caution and fear due to status.

Now he knew.

It was none of those.

It was Chen Wan’s heart.

Chen Wan’s partiality.

As long as Chen Wan cared about him, Zhao Shengge would always have the upper hand.

Sure enough, Chen Wan’s finger on the door control slowed slightly.

“You know I always keep my word,” Zhao Shengge said, regaining composure, completely in control again. “Always.”

Chen Wan said, “Alright.”

He finished setting the password methodically, then turned around. His expression was calm to the point of seeming almost cold.

“I can stop contacting you, but I must ensure your safety.”

To him, Zhao Shengge’s safety came first. It was the highest priority, untouchable and not to be risked.

This was a principle. No one could break it, not even Zhao Shengge himself.

Zhao Shengge’s gaze trembled. He took a deep breath, speaking patiently, guiding him step by step.

“Chen Wan, think it through.”

His tone was calm, yet ruthless.

“Since when do you get to decide my affairs?”

“On what basis? What position do you have?”

“Aren’t you overestimating yourself?”

Chen Wan remained unmoved, head lowered, continuing to focus on entering the password.

“Chen Wan,” Zhao Shengge said bluntly, almost hurtfully, “don’t cause trouble for others.”

“I won’t be grateful. I’ll only think you’re ruining my plans.”

“Don’t make me dislike you.”

Chen Wan listened quietly, offering no rebuttal. He remained calm and steady, unaffected.

But even he might not have realized that a trace of confusion and disappointment slipped into his eyes. It made Zhao Shengge uncomfortable to look at, yet he did not soften.

“There’s no need to make things like this, right?”

Gunshots rang out again.

Chen Wan stopped paying attention to anything Zhao Shengge said. He only spoke his own words.

“The password was entered randomly. Don’t try to crack it after I leave. Even I don’t know what it is.”

“It will open automatically once it reaches a safe environment.”

“I can monitor its status from outside. If you insist on breaking it, I will follow through on what I said.”

Zhao Shengge had never encountered an opponent at the negotiation table who completely disregarded all rules. His composure wavered slightly.

“Chen Wan, do you not understand what I’m saying?”

Chen Wan cut him off calmly and coldly.

“Goodbye, Zhao Shengge.”

“Chen Wan!!”

Chen Wan did not turn his head. He did not look back at him even once. There was no trace of hesitation as he decisively sealed the hidden compartment.

Zhao Shengge watched his figure disappear cleanly behind the slowly closing door. The entire compartment fell into silence.

Once the door blocked Zhao Shengge’s view, Chen Wan had no time to deal with the dull pain in his chest. He shut down all the circuits around the compartment to prevent the killers from detecting it. After confirming everything was secure, he crouched and moved toward the ship’s side.

The lowest level of the ship housed massive machinery that kept it running. Finding him would not be easy.

The ship was moving along an uncertain route. Several sharp gunshots rang out from somewhere above.

Rapid. Chaotic. Continuous.

Lin Lian was above, blocking further infiltration into the core area. Li Shenghui’s rescue team would take at least forty minutes to arrive. It was unclear how long their people could hold out.

Chen Wan curled himself between structural panels, nearly blending into the machinery. The deafening roar of gears battered his ears, but it also masked his breathing and any unavoidable noise.

The gunfire drew closer.

Chen Wan calmly identified the direction of the approaching enemies through the noise. His fingers tightened around his gun.

They were searching methodically, inch by inch.

Chen Wan pressed himself as close as possible to the running machinery, but no closer. The high-speed rotation created suction strong enough to drag him in completely.

“Mr. Chen, we’ve seen you. Come out.”

Chen Wan’s heart tightened, then quickly steadied. It was a bluff.

The speaker was not an ordinary killer. It was likely Hu Ming, a trusted subordinate of Li Jiaming.

Chen Wan knew all their backgrounds well. Hu Ming had once worked under Li Shenghui before switching allegiance to Li Jiaming.

“You know we’re not after you. If you cooperate, Mr. Li will treat you well.”

Chen Wan let out a cold, faint laugh. Someone was actually trying to persuade him to betray Zhao Shengge. Once Li Shenghui’s people arrived, he would shoot this man first.

The machinery was too loud to pinpoint his position. Hu Ming simply cut the power.

The lower cabin quickly fell silent.

Chen Wan’s first thought was relief that the hidden compartment had an independent, sealed power system, unaffected.

But without the cover of noise, being discovered was only a matter of time. There probably were not many enemies, given the difficulty of infiltration, but those who made it in were all highly skilled.

Hu Ming began a grid search.

Suddenly, a bullet struck the steel plate just inches from Chen Wan. The smell of gunpowder stung his nose.

Chen Wan remained perfectly still, gambling that it was just probing fire.

But the footsteps grew closer.

At the final moment before the enemy entered his hiding spot, Chen Wan fired his Beretta with precise timing.

“There!”

Chen Wan vaulted over the engine, slipped into the escape ladder, and deliberately drew them away from the core area.

“Chase!”

The escape ladder closed. The killers rushed up the stairs. When they reached the upper level, they found the elevator empty.

A decoy escape.

The cunning Chen Wan had gotten off at some unknown level.

The deputy clenched his gun and cursed. The distant roar of helicopters echoed above the deck. Li Shenghui’s forces had arrived faster than expected.

Hu Ming gritted his teeth. “Search every level. We must capture him!”

Li Jiaming’s primary target was Zhao Shengge, but they knew he would be difficult to capture.

As a fallback, they could capture Fang Jian. But after several days of observation, Chen Wan might be an even more valuable bargaining chip.

This time, Hu Ming stopped searching and instead sprayed every corner with the remaining ammunition, forcing Chen Wan out.

Chen Wan dodged continuously, taking down the deputy’s key subordinates with long-range shots. Only the main sniper remained, wielding a long rifle. In terms of firepower, Chen Wan had almost no chance. He could only stall.

The roar of helicopters thundered overhead.

Gun barrels from above locked onto Li Jiaming’s men. Desperate, they made a final stand while continuing to press Chen Wan.

Chen Wan struggled to hold on. Several shots rang out right beside his ears, missing his face by mere millimeters.

His chest heaved as he ran toward the pressure window.

The killers closed in relentlessly. While firing back, Chen Wan smashed the window with an emergency hammer. Diving into the water might be his only chance.

The opponent’s aim was both precise and fast.

Just as a bullet was about to strike his vital point, a sudden, overwhelming force yanked Chen Wan away.