2

Three days later, Xia Zhi was on a boat in the middle of the ocean, clutching her suitcase like it contained her last will and testament.

“Why is the water so angry-looking? Why is the sky so grey? Why is the seagull staring at me like it knows I won’t survive?!”

Next to her, Fu Ran stood unfazed, dressed in black and sipping instant coffee from a thermos that probably contained pure intimidation.

Xia Zhi whispered, “Senior Fu… are we going to die?”

Fu Ran didn’t answer.

That was the scariest part.

The boat creaked under them like even it was nervous. The captain hadn’t spoken a word since they boarded. The crew looked like the type of people who didn’t blink during fistfights. One had a tattoo of a skull — on his actual skull.

Xia Zhi shuffled closer to Fu Ran. “Why are we even on this rust bucket?”

Fu Ran calmly checked her watch. “Because this is the only route to Blackstone that isn’t monitored by satellite.”

“...I see. So we’re criminals now.”

Fu Ran nodded once, like that was normal.

Xia Zhi let out a long, trembling breath. “And we don’t have permission to go, right?”

“No one does.”

“Because the prison is… illegal?”

“Yes.”

“Right. Great. Love that. Very normal workplace activity.”

The waves hit harder.

She thought she might die before reaching the Mysterious island.

Xia Zhi squinted at the group of foreign men sitting near the back of the boat. One had a scar from his temple to his chin and was playing with a butterfly knife like it was a fidget toy. Another was bald, bearded, and had enough muscles to qualify as a small SUV. The third looked... oddly cute with bunny teeth, but still terrifying in a "might smile while committing tax fraud and murder" way.

They were looking at her. Not just looking—staring.

Xia Zhi pressed herself closer to Fu Ran, who didn’t even flinch. “Senior Fu… why do I feel like we’re about to be sold on the dark web?”

Fu Ran didn’t look up. “Because we might be.”

“…”

One of the men—scar-face—grinned and said something in a language she didn’t understand. It sounded like ‘Hey, is that lunch or a hostage?’

Xia Zhi gave him a trembling smile and attempted to respond with the only sentence she knew in a foreign language: “Uh… bonjour?”

The men blinked.

She tried again, louder this time. “BONJOUR. No sell me please. Thank you very much.”

The bearded man raised an eyebrow.

The bunny-toothed one tilted his head, clearly amused.

Scar-face said something else and laughed. His teeth were gold. Literal gold. Like a villain from a low-budget action movie.

Xia Zhi turned to Fu Ran and whispered, “Senior Fu, what are they saying? Are they planning to cook us or just sell us to an illegal circus?”

Fu Ran finally looked up from her coffee and answered in perfectly fluent foreign language—calm, direct, and probably very terrifying. Whatever she said made the men instantly straighten up, like schoolboys caught cheating.

Xia Zhi’s jaw dropped. “You can speak their language?! Then why didn’t you stop me from embarrassing myself?!”

Fu Ran took a sip of coffee. “I wanted to see how long it would take before you offered yourself for sale in three languages.”

“Miss Heroine, your IQ is currently offline!!” Xia Zhi wailed internally. “You might be a martial arts genius, but I am just a regular citizen with an intern salary and zero combat experience!!”

The boat creaked again.

Xia Zhi curled up tighter in the corner, hugging her suitcase like it was a life raft. The foreign men kept stealing glances at her and chuckling.

She buried her face in her knees. “They’re going to sell us. I know it. This is how I die. Traded for two packs of cigarettes and a carton of eggs.”

No one knew her thoughts would eventually come true.

They really were going to sell them.

But that was a problem for Future Xia Zhi.

Present Xia Zhi was too busy panicking.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***