"Hold on, Shen Yi isn't really a bad person. She wouldn't kill just anyone..."
The chatter of the crowd on the deck drifted along with the sea breeze into his ears. Lu Mingyuan stood by the railing, catching most of what these people were saying.
What he didn't expect was that after being rescued, these elites—regulars at charity galas—would unanimously decide to get rid of the girl who posed a threat to them first.
But on second thought, it wasn't too surprising.
Anyone invited aboard this ship had no clean blood running through their veins.
They feared death, and that made them crueler than anyone else.
Lu Mingyuan watched as the middle-aged man chosen as their spokesman straightened his bow tie and walked toward Shen Wenta. For no reason, he shuddered.
A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
Their methods were too extreme.
Perfect.
Shen Wenta was even more extreme than they were.
Lu Mingyuan knew Shen Wenta better than most people present.
Shen Wenta was already in an unstable state of mind. Right now, with Shen Yi cradled protectively in his arms, he was like a beast backed to the edge of a cliff—anyone who took one step closer, and he would drag them down without hesitation.
Lu Mingyuan clenched his jaw, recalling what had just happened.
He had to admit—he was shocked.
The Shen Yi he remembered had always been the one who liked to hide behind others.
Who would have thought that someone so timid could...
...go all out for another person?
"Sir?" The middle-aged man stopped three steps away from Shen Wenta and repeated himself:
"Hand her over to us."
Shen Wenta finally processed his words and slowly looked up.
The young man's lips had lost all color from biting too hard. Cracks ran across them, dotted with a few oozing drops of blood.
His eyes were dark. He repeated softly:
"Hand her over to you?"
"Yes. We're all very grateful that this young lady saved us," the man chose his words carefully. "But her current condition... frankly, it's highly unstable."
"She's injured and needs professional medical care. We don't have a qualified doctor on board. Also—"
The man glanced subtly toward the crowd nearby, confirming he had enough support:
"Also, her weapon, and that... ability she displayed, it's making everyone uneasy."
"Most of us on this ship are ordinary people. Most have never even held a gun. When trouble comes, all we can do is run. We need to ensure the safety of the majority."
It sounded noble enough.
Murmurs of agreement arose from the crowd.
Sui Ning stood at the edge of the group. When he heard this, his expression darkened instantly. He cut in:
"I can guarantee my own safety, sir. I believe the basic standard of being human is not to dispose of a girl after she saves you. You don't speak for everyone."
As he finished, Sui Ning couldn't help but recall the last time he'd seen Shen Yi and the things she'd said.
She said she was going to do something big. Back then, he thought she was just spouting nonsense again.
But now, looking at her covered in blood, having single-handedly wiped out all the gunners on the ship, every word she'd once dismissed as a joke came crashing back into his mind.
So she hadn't been fooling him.
But sometimes, not fooling him felt just like being fooled.
A girl he'd known for years turning out to be a killer—its absurdity was no less shocking than the bloody scene before him.
"..."
The man shot Sui Ning an icy glare but ignored his retort, turning his attention back to Shen Wenta.
Shen Wenta remained silent.
He had listened quietly to their words, understanding their intentions the moment they'd started speaking.
A group of people wanting to nip a threat in the bud.
It wasn't an unreasonable thought. If it were him, he'd probably think the same.
Provided that the person in his arms wasn't his sister.
Without a word, Shen Wenta reached out and pulled the gun from Shen Yi's waist.
The metal grip was slick with sticky blood, ice-cold in his hand.
Shen Wenta didn't care who this man was or where he came from.
As far as he was concerned,
whoever wanted Shen Yi's life would die themselves.
The middle-aged man was still trying to persuade him: "Sir, she killed so many people. Didn't you see that? What is she to you, to be worth this..."
He was too slow.
Before the last syllable had even faded, Shen Wenta raised the gun without warning, aiming it at the man who dared step forward.
His expression was cold and savage.
"Bang—"
A hole appeared in the middle of the man's forehead. His body toppled backward, his skull hitting the deck with a dull thud. His limbs twitched twice before lying still.
Instantly, everyone froze as if someone had pressed the pause button.
"Ah—!"
Screams erupted as the crowd staggered back more than ten meters in chaos, the scuffling of dress shoes and gown tails scraping across the deck in messy panic.
Shen Wenta's gaze swept past their terrified faces, one by one.
His eyes had no focus—hollow, terrifying.
"Save her." His voice, in the sudden silence of the deck, was so clear it made their scalps crawl.
He was grasping at straws, almost insane with desperation. Lifting his head to scan the panicked faces, he suddenly thought of something:
"There must be someone here with medical training."
There was indeed someone—many of them, in fact, with professional medical backgrounds.
But no one dared to step forward.
"Save her," he threatened, without a shred of mercy, "or none of you are leaving here alive today."
As if that didn't sound threatening enough, Shen Wenta curled his lips into a look of pure malice: "I can have all the exits blocked. From now on, your only choices are death—or jumping into the sea."
"Oh, and by the way, my aim is pretty good too."
He waved the gun, pointing it at everyone on deck.
"..."
Someone in the crowd sucked in a sharp breath.
Some had already recognized who he was.
"He's from the Shen family."
The name Shen meant danger in their circles.
And anyone invited aboard this cruise ship couldn't be some distant relative.
Shen Wenta's identity was glaringly obvious.
To make matters worse, no one on the ship had brought their own people.
The host had confiscated everyone's personal weapons under the guise of "security." Only the Shen family, with their good ties to Visconti, were an exception.
Not only did he have men, he had guns.
No one wanted to die.
Shen Wenta had just shot someone dead on the spot. Nobody dared to question him.
Those present began racking their brains for a way out, all the while cursing the man who had first suggested this plan.
They should have seen it coming.
This girl had killed an entire ship's worth of gunmen all by herself.
And a bird of the same feather.
How could the man beside her be a decent sort?
Sui Ning, standing at the front of the crowd, took a sharp breath when he heard this.
He clenched and unclenched his hands, then finally stepped forward: "Do you need my help?"
Shen Wenta's gaze cut toward him like a blade, sharp and full of open hostility.
Sui Ning didn't back down. His voice remained steady: "I know how to treat wounds."
He raised both hands to show he meant no harm, palms outward, fingers spread, slowly displaying his empty hands. “She and I are friends. I don’t have any weapons.”
He was worried about her too.
The image of Shen Yi, drenched in blood, was burned into his retina, making Sui Ning feel a delayed pang of panic.
“Let me check on her,” Sui Ning tried to calm Shen Wenta down. “I just want to help.”
Shen Wenta raised his voice: “Step aside!”
How nauseating.
Men who put on a show of sympathy deserved to die.
