***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
***
The corner of the cruise ship was rarely visited, as the lighting here was rather dim. Passersby would easily overlook this spot, yet now there stood two figures in this forgotten space.
A young man in a school uniform leaned weakly against the wall, his face obscured by the brim of his cap.
Before him stood a man clad in the uniform of the Malegobi cruise staff.
The man's tall frame blocked what little light there was, his shadow engulfing the boy with an almost tangible pressure.
The moment Ruan Qing heard his voice, he recognized him.
This was the staff member who had always followed Lin Zhiyan—the leader of all the crew.
...And also the same man who had inexplicably agreed with him that one time.
Though their appearances and voices were entirely different, the aura they carried was identical. There was no mistaking it—this was the same person.
This man... didn't seem entirely under Lin Zhiyan's command.
Perhaps because Ruan Qing had remained silent for too long, the staff member spoke again, polite as ever. "Sir, do you need help?"
The ship's staff were known for their superficial courtesy, their politeness a thin veneer over cold indifference. For one to proactively offer assistance was nearly unheard of.
Ruan Qing wasn't sure if he'd been exposed, but refusing the man's help now would only make him seem more suspicious.
His grip on the medicine bottle tightened slightly before he finally held it out, murmuring a quiet, "Thank you."
The man's gaze lowered, settling not on the bottle, but on the hand that held it.
The boy's sleeves were too long, covering most of his fingers and even part of the bottle—only the very tips were visible.
But even those fingertips were uncannily familiar.
Uncannily like... the boy who had supposedly fallen into the sea.
Fallen?
The overpowering scent of jasmine around him—so thick it seemed meant to conceal something—made the man's lips twitch almost imperceptibly. But the next second, his expression smoothed back into professional detachment.
"If I recall correctly, each guest is entitled to only two pills per invitation."
His tone remained courteous, yet carried an undercurrent of authority as he regarded Ruan Qing. "Sir, would you care to explain how you came by an entire bottle?"
Two? Ruan Qing glanced down at the bottle in his hand. The staff member had clearly given him the whole thing.
Had he already been noticed back then?
Ruan Qing’s heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. He lowered his voice and explained, "The staff gave it to me when I was collecting the medicine."
"Impossible." The man’s denial was absolute. "The cruise staff would never do something like that."
Ruan Qing pressed his lips together. "But it really was—"
Before he could finish, the man cut him off. "Did you steal it, perhaps?"
"No, I—" A sharp click interrupted him.
Ruan Qing looked down in stunned silence at the handcuff now locked around his wrist, barely processing what had just happened.
The cold metal was cushioned by his sleeve, but its presence was undeniable—and escape was now impossible.
The other end of the handcuff was in the man’s grip.
With a firm, unyielding tug, the man raised their joined hands slightly, his tone leaving no room for refusal. "Sir, I suspect you of theft. You’ll need to cooperate with my investigation."
The motion caused Ruan Qing’s sleeve to slip, revealing a slender, porcelain-pale wrist.
Against that delicate skin, the silver handcuff stood out starkly—light and shadow intertwined, so arresting it was impossible to look away.
So arresting it made something primal stir in the chest of anyone who saw it.
Because the sight of those cuffs on the young man wasn’t just arresting—it was indecent. It didn’t look like an arrest at all. It looked like—
The man’s breath hitched. Then his pulse roared to life, pounding so violently he could hear it, as if the entire world had suddenly woken from silence.
The hum of the ship’s engines, the crash of waves, distant passenger chatter—everything rushed in at once, vivid and deafening. No longer dull. No longer meaningless.
Like a single drop of crimson ink splashed across a monochrome painting, flooding the entire canvas with color.
And the boy was the only splash of color that mattered.
The man’s gaze darkened as he stared at Ruan Qing. He took a step forward—
The ship lurched violently.
With a sudden, jarring acceleration, the vessel surged forward even faster than before.
Passengers, caught off guard, stumbled again. Many fell outright, unable to brace against the abrupt force.
Ruan Qing nearly collapsed as well, but the man swiftly caught him before he could hit the floor.
Even so, Ruan Qing’s condition didn’t improve. The increased speed of the ship only intensified its rocking, worsening his seasickness.
The man frowned. After a brief, displeased glance in a certain direction, he abruptly scooped Ruan Qing into his arms and carried him toward the elevators.
Ruan Qing wanted to struggle, but his body had no strength left. The dizziness and nausea were so overwhelming he couldn’t even speak, leaving him no choice but to let the man take him away.
The man seemed to be in a hurry. After placing Ruan Qing on the bed and feeding him the motion sickness pills, he left the room—but not before cuffing Ruan Qing’s right wrist to the bed frame, restricting his movement entirely.
Once alone, Ruan Qing weakly propped himself up and scanned the room.
It looked no different from the standard staff quarters, with few personal belongings in sight. The only notable detail was its location on the ninth floor, directly below Lin Zhiyan’s level—a clear indication of the man’s privileged status.
At the very least, he was no ordinary crew member.
Ruan Qing tugged at the handcuff, testing its hold on the bed frame. The metal links clinked faintly, but the frame itself didn’t budge. Breaking free by force wasn’t an option.
Most doors on the cruise ship used electronic keypads, but the handcuffs were just ordinary ones.
He pulled a thin wire from his pocket and was about to pick the lock when the dizziness surged violently. His vision blurred, eyelids growing impossibly heavy.
Something was wrong. Those pills—they weren’t just for seasickness.
With his last ounce of strength, Ruan Qing pressed hard on the wound at his waist. The sharp pain sent tears springing to his eyes and momentarily blackened his sight, but it jolted him back to alertness.
The medication had indeed contained anti-nausea agents—but laced with heavy sedatives. Enough to knock anyone out cold.
A sleeping passenger couldn’t cause trouble. That was likely the crew’s real strategy all along.
Uncertain when the man would return, Ruan Qing fought through the haze, picked the handcuff lock, and slipped out of the room.
***
If the ship’s earlier speed had only unsettled a few passengers, its current velocity left most of them visibly distressed.
Arguments erupted again between guests and staff. This time, even warnings of the approaching storm failed to quell the rising unrest.
The passenger glared angrily, "Even if there is a storm coming, is this speed really necessary? We can't even stand properly, damn it! We came here for a vacation, not to suffer. Does this look like a vacation to you?"
Another passenger nearby also voiced dissatisfaction, "From the very first day we boarded, there's been one accident after another. How exactly are you running things here? If you don't know what you're doing, you shouldn't have held this lottery in the first place!"
"And look at that bright sun outside! Where's this so-called approaching storm? Are you just pulling our legs?"
"I've suspected they were lying to us all along," another passenger chimed in. "From the moment we boarded this cruise, there's been constant incidents, each time with some excuse. I think they have ulterior motives - this was never meant to be a real vacation."
One passenger shouted directly at the staff, "Tell us the truth! What's your real purpose here?"
"BOOM—!"
Just as the angry questioning reached its peak, a deafening thunderclap shook the air.
Before anyone could react, torrential rain began pouring down, pounding against the ship's deck with such force that the sound clearly penetrated into the interior.
...The storm had indeed arrived.
The passengers looked at each other in stunned silence, expressions frozen in disbelief.
The staff member's expression remained completely unchanged, both before and after the storm's arrival - as if everything was proceeding exactly as expected.
With the same professional smile, the staff member addressed the passengers, "The storm has arrived. We strongly recommend all guests return to their cabins to rest."
Having delivered this message, the staff member promptly departed.
With the storm's arrival, the ship finally slowed its speed. After all, navigating through a storm was dangerous enough - maintaining high speed would be suicidal.
As the ship stabilized, most passengers found their seasickness symptoms improving significantly. Apart from the occasional thunderclap and the constant drumming of rain, the storm caused little noticeable disturbance inside the ship, and the passengers' initial fear quickly dissipated.
After brief rests, many passengers began emerging from their cabins to resume their activities, and soon the ship was bustling with life once more.
Not a single passenger took the staff's warning to heart. None regarded the storm with any particular concern.
In fact, some enthusiastic passengers even organized a grand dance party, inviting all the lottery winners to participate.
This would become a night of revelry... in the midst of the raging storm.
As guests aboard the ship, the players naturally received invitations to the party as well.
The party was scheduled to begin at 8 PM, and many players saw this as an excellent opportunity to investigate the truth about the cruise ship.
