The director was speechless for a moment. "Blow up what?" he asked, not quite processing the words.
The assistant director was equally caught off guard. "Probably not fried chicken," he muttered.
The two took a closer look.
Then they noticed the person speaking had red dots flashing on their body.
The director’s mind went blank. "Oh my god! A bomb! A bomb! Shut off the live stream now!"
The assistant director was so terrified he scrambled on all fours to cut the broadcast.
On the deck, everyone had been dancing peacefully just moments ago.
Now, they stampeded toward the yacht’s interior in panic.
Had hatred for the wealthy really escalated to this point?
Chaos erupted on the deck.
People shoved and stumbled, nearly causing a crush.
"Sis!" Shen Sizhan, his silver hair gleaming, stood firm in the crowd, searching for his sister.
Shoulders bumped into him repeatedly from all directions.
He couldn’t run ahead like last time.
He had to make sure his sister was safe first.
The next second, a foot kicked him square in the backside. "What are you waiting for, an invitation to dinner? Run!"
The pain was oddly comforting—it was his sister.
Seeing Xie Guanyan holding his sister’s hand made him furious, but there was nothing he could do.
Her other hand was clasped around Auntie Zhen’s.
Watching Shen Yihan and the others rush toward the cabin, Lin Mo scanned the crowd for Zhao Ziling.
"Let’s go!" Huo Tingshen grabbed Zhao Ziling’s wrist.
She yanked free. "I have legs! I can run myself!"
Amid the frenzy, their eyes met Lin Mo’s from across the deck, and both exhaled in relief.
Gu Jingchuan and Li Huanyu sprinted at full speed.
Gu Jingchuan even lost a shoe in the process.
Zhang Meixia dragged Gu Jingzhou along, deliberately tripping Gu Song on the way.
Damn old fool!
Though she was running, her eyes betrayed no real panic.
She had orchestrated this—no one would ever suspect her.
The crowd scrambled in terror.
Then, the person on the deck shouted again, "Running won’t help! I planted bombs below deck too—you’re all doomed!"
The announcement sent fresh waves of panic through everyone.
"Boom!"
The director’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed unconscious on the deck.
The assistant director, recalling an old trick, promptly plopped down on him to jolt him awake.
"Wu Gui, it’s not nap time yet!"
Lin Mo escorted Auntie Zhen to the cabin, then peeked back at the deck.
Now, only one figure remained standing there—a homemade bomb strapped to their body, its red light blinking ominously, a detonator clutched in their hand.
It was an older woman, gaunt and frail, her face hollowed by hardship.
She wore a janitor’s uniform.
In the earlier chaos, Lin Mo hadn’t gotten a good look.
Now, studying her closely, recognition flickered.
"Aunt Ma!" Lin Mo gasped.
This was one of the maids who used to work at their family’s villa, responsible for cleaning.
Back then, she had seemed healthy.
What had happened to her?
Lin Mo stepped forward, about to head back out.
"Don’t." Xie Guanyan’s voice murmured beside her. "I’ve already sent people to search for the bombs."
They hadn’t conducted strict checks today, given the casual fishing event.
A thin, unassuming janitor wouldn’t have raised any alarms.
"Sis, it’s dangerous!" Shen Sizhan warned.
Lin Mo stared at the woman, who looked like a strong breeze could knock her over. "Shen Sizhan, that’s Aunt Ma. Don’t you remember?"
Of course Shen Sizhan remembered Aunt Ma—she’d been meticulous with her work.
She was the one who’d figured out how to flush away the three pounds of crap Gu Jingchuan had once dropped.
He squinted. "It really is her. She’s changed so much I didn’t recognize her."
"When you passed away back then, she was utterly devastated. She quit her job soon after and returned to her hometown."
The people around them overheard the conversation.
"Lin Mo, you know her? Then hurry and talk some sense into her! None of us did anything to provoke her!"
"Exactly! My money was all earned by my husband, that unscrupulous businessman. He’s not even here today—what’s the point of blowing me up? How unfair is that!"
"She must be going through something terrible. Lin Mo, go find out what’s wrong. We can even donate some money to help her!"
The situation was dire—the yacht was adrift in the middle of the ocean.
Even if the police were called, they wouldn’t arrive anytime soon.
They had to calm her down first!
Zhang Meixia lurked at the back of the crowd, her eyes dark and sinister.
Yes, go ahead.
Go up there, and you’ll be the only one to die.
Because you’re the only target!
There were no bombs anywhere else on the yacht—that lie was just to lure the bodyguards away.
With so many wealthy people here, the event organizers had surely arranged security.
All eyes turned to Lin Mo with desperate hope.
The woman on the deck spoke again, her voice trembling with rage. "You rich people spend in a single day what I earn in an entire year! The world is so unfair!"
"Let’s all die together! None of us deserve to live!"
Her expression was frenzied as her thumb hovered over the detonator.
"Aunt Ma!"
Lin Mo stepped out from the cabin.
At the sound of the girl’s voice, the woman’s face flickered with emotion.
A moment later, she gasped in shock. "Young Mistress… Young Mistress, you’re alive! How—how are you not dead?"
The title "Young Mistress" was familiar to Lin Mo.
Aunt Ma had always called her that.
She hadn’t worked at their home for long—just about a year.
"That’s right, Aunt Ma. I’m alive. Whatever’s troubling you, tell me. There’s no need for this—I can help you!"
Perhaps the words had a soothing effect.
The woman’s agitation seemed to ease slightly as tears streamed down her face. "Young Mistress, life is too hard. I don’t want to live anymore. I just want to die!"
Then, someone in the crowd shouted, "If you want to die, go hang yourself somewhere! Why drag us into it?"
Ma Fang’s fury erupted. "No! I’m taking all of you with me!"
Lin Mo shot a glare backward, pressing a finger to her lips. "One more word, and I’ll shove my fist down your throat."
The crowd fell silent.
Turning back, Lin Mo took slow, deliberate steps forward, her voice gentle. "Aunt Ma, there’s still so much beauty in the world. What happened to make you feel this way?"
Seeing the girl’s bright, earnest expression, Ma Fang wavered. "Society is so cruel to people like us!"
Lin Mo continued moving closer, offering comfort. "I know things are tough right now. But for ordinary people to rise, sometimes they just need to press one more elevator button."
Ma Fang: "…"
A memory surfaced—back when she worked at the Shen family villa.
She had once complained, "My son hates fish. I don’t know what to do."
Lin Mo had replied cheerfully, "Easy! Get a cat instead. Cats love fish."
The Young Mistress always knew how to make people laugh.
But afterward, Ma Fang still had to return to her harsh reality.
She often wondered—why were some children born into happiness, with everything they could ever want?
While her own son was born sick, dependent on medicine just to survive!
"I remember you have a son, Aunt Ma. If you die, what will happen to him? A child without a mother suffers terribly." Lin Mo took another step forward.
Ma Fang looked at Lin Mo, who was now standing very close to her.
Tears instantly gushed from her eyes.
As if swayed by Lin Mo's words, she spread her arms wide, ready to embrace her. "You're right, Miss Lin," she said.
The moment she hugged her, she would press the button.
They would both perish together.
Her son would receive a hefty sum of money upon her death.
I'm sorry, Miss Lin. I have to kill you again.
Zhang Meixia's eyes gleamed with triumph.
She was about to witness Lin Mo blown to pieces right before her eyes.
And Xie Guanyan, who had just seen this scene, might even follow her in death out of love.
But just as Ma Fang was about to wrap her arms around Lin Mo—
Lin Mo lifted her foot and kicked Ma Fang away with a sharp cry, "Sneak attack!"
