Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 631 - 655: The Cruise Ship is Hijacked

Chapter 631: Chapter 655: The Cruise Ship is Hijacked

The lights suddenly came back on, and the previously noisy hall quickly quieted down. It didn’t take long for everyone to assume it was just a power failure and that everything was fine now that it had been resolved.

"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening." At this point, standing at the auctioneer’s spot was a blond gentleman with blue eyes, speaking fluent Chinese with great politeness as he bowed courteously.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, wondering why the auctioneer had changed after the unexpected power outage during an otherwise normal auction.

"Let me introduce myself; my name is Cole Hovde. You probably haven’t heard of me before, but that’s not important. As long as you all recognize me from now on, that will suffice. I suppose you still do not understand what I’m doing here talking to you..."

This guy wore a smile on his face, pausing deliberately as if to tantalize the audience. He then looked around the hall and cheerfully announced, "Well, let me inform you with pleasure that I am now in charge of this cruise ship."

A buzz of confusion swiftly spread among the crowd below; obviously, they did not comprehend the meaning of Cole Hovde’s words.

Cole Hovde waved his hands, and the crowd promptly settled down again. He continued, "What I mean by taking charge of the cruise ship is that from now on, I am the one who calls the shots here, including everything and everyone aboard this ship."

"What the hell are you trying to do? We’re here to participate in an auction, and we don’t have time for your nonsense," a man in his forties, who had a short temper, stood up and shouted angrily.

"Bang!" A gunshot suddenly rang out, and the speaking man’s body jerked backward, knocking over his chair and falling into the arms of a woman behind him. The woman let out a piercing scream, not because the man had fallen onto her, but because she saw a large bullet hole in the man’s head from which blood was streaming out and staining her clothes.

People nearby who witnessed the scene were thrown into disarray, leaping to their feet and screaming in panic.

"Quiet! Quiet!" Cole Hovde yelled twice, but by then, people were only thinking of fleeing from the chaos and paid no heed to him.

"Bang, bang!" Several more gunshots followed, and a few people who had stood up fell to the ground with each shot. Cole Hovde then yelled, "Damn it, when I say quiet, I mean it! Whoever dares to stand up again, I’ll kill them."

The gunfire, along with Hovde’s angry shouts, finally intimidated everyone in the hall into complete silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Replacing his fierce look with a smile, Cole Hovde said with satisfaction, "Very good. I appreciate your cooperation. I assure you all that we are only here for the money, not to kill. I guarantee you can all return home safely."

Upon hearing that these people were not here to kill, hope ignited among the hall’s occupants, who had initially been terrified. They didn’t mind spending any amount of money as long as their lives were spared.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Now everyone please sit back down in your original places within the hall and don’t move. Unless you have permission from me, anyone who moves without authorization will end up... just like them." Cole pointed to the dead bodies.

"I know there are many among you, but let me be clear, we have 120 people on this ship, all armed with weapons. Don’t count on the ship’s security; they’ve either met God by now or are swimming with sharks in the sea."

Everyone then noticed that the security guards who used to be in the hall had all been replaced with individuals wearing red T-shirts and blue trousers. They stood dispersed along the perimeter of the hall, about ten meters apart, amounting to over twenty people. Each had a weapon in hand, not pistols, but rather compact submachine guns which, despite their small size, had significant ammunition capacity and were easy to carry.

During the boarding process, the security checks had been very stringent, not even allowing fruit knives on board. Yet, somehow, so many criminals had managed to board the ship with weapons, and significant ones at that—micro assault rifles.

Even if their guns couldn’t eliminate everyone present, who would dare to resist or be the first to stand out? So everyone, despite feeling terrified, sat still in their places.

Su Mengxin was surprisingly calm at that time, even though she had encountered more dangerous situations than this. Such displays of force could not scare her, especially with Li Yifei by her side. However, at that moment, she was somewhat speechless; Li Yifei had been right beside her before the lights came on, but now there was no sign of him between her and Xu Yingying.

Xu Yingying, on the other hand, was not as accustomed to seeing rough seas and heavy winds like Su Mengxin and was so frightened that her legs had gone weak. Instinctively, she wanted to seek comfort and protection from Li Yifei but realized that he had disappeared.

Xu Yingying immediately looked at Su Mengxin, who shook her head and then showed a comforting smile, signaling Xu Yingying not to worry. Su Mengxin was very clear in her mind that if Li Yifei had suddenly disappeared, he must have hidden himself and would rescue them all at the most opportune moment.

Xu Shanshan also noticed Li Yifei’s absence. She had been terrified by the situation initially and, like Xu Yingying, wanted to find Li Yifei for protection. But upon realizing he was gone, a spark of excitement flashed in her eyes. She believed that there was no way Li Yifei would let them come to harm.

Beside Xu Shanshan was Meng Xiaofei, who remained relatively calm. After all, she was a flight attendant and dealing with hijackers was part of her essential training. Although she had never encountered such a situation during her time as a flight attendant, she had been trained and promptly took her seat obediently.

Next to Su Mengxin were Michelle and He Fangqing; at that time, the two of them were far from calm, both so scared that they were practically limp. To not slip under the chairs was already quite an achievement for them.

"Bang!" Another gunshot rang out, a woman lay dead on the ground, causing another wave of panic. Most importantly, no one knew where the shot had come from or how that woman had been killed so suddenly.

"Sigh, there’s always someone who doesn’t cooperate, thinking they can secretly use their cellphones underneath and we wouldn’t know? Let me make it clear, if I have taken control of this cruise ship, then I have the power to do so. Do not think you can make a call in secret without me knowing. I advise everyone to turn off their cellphones right now. I have the most advanced phone signal detection equipment here. If anyone messes with their phone... well, sorry, but your fate would be to meet God."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized why that woman had died. Fearing a bullet suddenly piercing their heads, they all hastily pulled out their phones and hurriedly turned them off.

At that moment, Su Mengxin and the others obediently turned off their phones as well. They could only hope for Li Yifei now, so until Li Yifei made a move, they had no choice but to do as the criminals demanded.

After a brief lull, Xu Yingying started to worry about Li Yifei. She had no idea where her husband had gone. She knew Li Yifei must have reacted somehow, but faced with so many hijackers, she really didn’t have any confidence—they all had guns.

Moreover, Xu Yingying was worried about Little Yifei. She wondered how they were faring and whether, given Kohl Hovde had boasted about having one hundred and twenty men, the entire cruise ship had been taken over by them, and Little Yifei had surely fallen into the hijackers’ hands. Little Yifei was just a child; if she was frightened and started crying, wouldn’t they harm her?

Thinking about this made Xu Yingying shiver uncontrollably, her heart felt as if it were being fried in oil.

If she had known something like this would happen, she would have insisted on keeping Little Yifei by her side no matter what. She already treated Little Yifei as her own daughter, and her worry was no different from that of a birth mother.

She earnestly wished that Li Yifei would first ensure Little Yifei’s safety and then come to her protection, but she couldn’t see Li Yifei anywhere. She didn’t dare look around and, aside from praying in her heart, she felt utterly helpless.

"Very good! Everyone is cooperating nicely. Next, I hope you will all be even more cooperative," Cole Hovde said with satisfaction, nodding his head and smiling.

This caused everyone to tense up, knowing that Cole Hovde was about to make his demands, his true purpose.

"We are here for money. Killing was a last resort. Everyone here is of stature and renown, easily spending millions on an antique. I imagine you would not mind giving us a million or eight hundred thousand," he said.

Upon hearing this, some people felt relieved while others inwardly complained. Those relieved were worth hundreds of millions; paying a million or eight hundred thousand for their lives seemed worth it to them. But some were only worth that much altogether. Coming here was just to have fun and join in the excitement; if they were forced to pay that much, it would be even more difficult than killing them.

"Don’t worry, I know some people here don’t have that kind of money, and I won’t make it difficult for you. I have the passenger list, and I know everyone’s wealth. I will be fair and ask for money according to your assets. Just ten percent will do. I believe none of you would have any objections to that, right?"

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