Chapter 440 - 316: Heaven’s Punishment Squad, Returning to the Merchant Ship (Part 2)

Chapter 440: Chapter 316: Heaven’s Punishment Squad, Returning to the Merchant Ship (Part 2)

’Could this kid be invisible?’

’But even if he can turn invisible, there’s no way he could have evaded such an intensive search.’

"Brother Long, should we keep searching?" one of his men asked in a low voice.

"Search my ass! Clean up the scene and change out all the liquor in the pools."

Although he was reluctant to admit defeat, Chen Long had no choice but to give up.

After all, the search couldn’t go on forever.

The Wine Pool and Meat Forest had to open for business eventually.

"Yes, sir!"

Hearing his order, the staff members let out a collective sigh of relief.

No one wanted to face a killer lurking in the shadows. They had only been forcing themselves to go on because they had no other choice.

Chen Long was well aware of this, of course, but he could only suppress his anger and turn back toward his office.

But he didn’t know that the moment he left, a dark figure stirred slightly behind the chandelier right above his head.

Dawn was breaking. Although Qing Province had a warm climate, the temperature down at the coastal wharf was still a bit low.

The pedestrians on the street had thinned out, and most of the bars and nightclubs had already closed for the night.

Only a few night owls, who had been drinking all night long, were staggering their way home.

Song Ling’Er clutched the pistol, hiding motionless in a corner.

The morning dew had soaked her hair, dripping down from her bangs onto her cheeks.

But even so, Song Ling’Er didn’t move. She just stared with wide eyes at the distant alley entrance, hoping to see that figure appear soon.

In truth, Song Ling’Er had long grown accustomed to spending nights out in the open.

So even though this corner was remote, narrow, and reeked of a foul stench, Song Ling’Er didn’t find it particularly difficult to bear.

Compared to the garbage district, this was a huge improvement.

Her only concern was when the person she was waiting for would return.

Finally, the sun rose. The streets grew quiet, with only sanitation workers cleaning up the mess that had accumulated overnight.

Suddenly, Song Ling’Er spotted a blurry figure appear at the alley’s entrance, and her heart skipped a beat.

’Is it him?’

As if in answer to her question, the figure walked into the alley just a moment later.

Song Ling’Er practically leaped to her feet and rushed over as fast as she could.

But as she drew near, she forced herself to a stop and lowered her head.

Wu Liangchen looked at the girl, drenched in dew, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.

It was obvious she hadn’t moved from this spot after he left, waiting right here for his return.

Wu Liangchen didn’t say anything, just smiled faintly. "Are you hungry?"

"Mhm!"

These days, Song Ling’Er had become bold enough to speak up. At least she was no longer like before, when she wouldn’t dare admit she was hungry even if she was starving.

After all, back then, admitting she was hungry might have earned her a beating.

"Let’s go. I’ll take you somewhere to eat," Wu Liangchen said.

Song Ling’Er nodded without any hesitation and handed the pistol back to Wu Liangchen.

Wu Liangchen smiled, took the pistol, and turned to leave.

Song Ling’Er followed closely behind, but a sliver of doubt surfaced in her mind.

She had caught the faint, fleeting scent of alcohol on Wu Liangchen.

It was almost imperceptible, but one mustn’t forget that Song Ling’Er had grown up in an environment filled with violence and alcohol.

Because of that, the smell of alcohol was etched into her memory; there was no way she could be mistaken.

But she quickly pushed the doubt to the back of her mind.

’No matter what, it’s good that he came back.’

In fact, over the course of the long night, Song Ling’Er had imagined more than once what she would do if Wu Liangchen didn’t return.

The conclusion was that she couldn’t even bear to think about it.

So she treasured his return immensely.

Feeling the footsteps following closely behind him, Wu Liangchen sighed inwardly.

He should have been back sooner, but that Chen Long was truly something else. After announcing they were cleaning up the scene and lifting the lockdown, he had suddenly doubled back and searched the entire place again.

Only after coming up empty-handed that second time did he finally, reluctantly, give up for good.

At the time, Wu Liangchen had been hiding behind the chandelier, using his powerful Perception Power to shield his presence.

That’s right. Although the effects of the root of his Magic had yet to manifest, Wu Liangchen had discovered that after fusing with Luo Qifeng’s soul, his perceptive abilities could not only detect enemies but also, under certain circumstances, conceal his own existence.

For instance, when he hid behind the chandelier and blended in with the darkness, no one would have noticed him unless they were specifically looking for him there.

This was how he had managed to evade the repeated, intensive searches.

Wu Liangchen had anticipated Chen Long’s final gambit.

He hadn’t believed the man would give up so easily.

And just as he’d expected, he was right.

Even after Chen Long had truly given up, Wu Liangchen waited for a full hour, only leaving quietly once he was certain there were no traps.

After leaving The Wine Pool and Meat Forest, Wu Liangchen had found a place to take a quick shower without stopping, then hurried over.

Thankfully, Song Ling’Er was safe and sound.

The two main culprits who had put him in this predicament were now dead. Next, he would return to the ship, kill the second mate, and finally get a rare chance to catch his breath on the merchant vessel.

At this thought, Wu Liangchen quickened his pace, leading Song Ling’Er out of the red-light district and into the port.

After unloading their cargo at the berths, ships would move into the port for maintenance and resupply.

Therefore, the port of Qing Province was massive, with countless ships docked inside.

But that wasn’t a problem for Wu Liangchen. Relying on his powerful Perception Power, he quickly located the merchant ship he had arrived on.

It was now resting quietly in a slip on the inner side of the port.

Wu Liangchen knew the rules of these merchant ships.

The captain and the second mate could never go ashore at the same time; one of them always had to remain on board.

And since Xiong Tianzong had gone ashore, that naturally meant the second mate, Ma Yuhui, was still on the ship.

But with only him left, the rest would be easy.

Relying on his sharp intuition, Wu Liangchen nimbly avoided the port security and boarded the merchant ship via the gangway.

The usually bustling merchant ship was now very quiet.

Any sailors who could go ashore had already left to enjoy themselves, leaving only those who absolutely couldn’t get away to suffer through their shifts.

Wu Liangchen was already very familiar with the ship’s layout, so he easily made his way to the area where the senior crew members lived.

The long corridor was empty, without a soul in sight.

Wu Liangchen had Song Ling’Er wait at a distance while he tiptoed to the captain’s cabin.

He could faintly hear some kind of commotion inside.

Sure enough, as he drew closer, he sharply picked up the sound of a man panting within.

"Tell me, do you like the captain’s big mooring rope?"

"I... I like it!" a weak and delicate female voice replied.

"Say it. ’I’m a stinky sailor, and I want the captain’s big mooring rope!’"

"I’m a stinky sailor, and I want the captain’s big mooring rope!"

This was followed by a series of high-pitched and intense impacts.

Hearing this, Wu Liangchen chuckled silently.

’Who would have thought? This second mate, Ma Yuhui, really knows how to have fun.’

’As for who the woman was, and why they were doing such a sordid thing in the captain’s cabin... it was nothing more than some bullshit power struggle. Wu Liangchen couldn’t be bothered to care.’

After confirming no one was around, Wu Liangchen gently placed his hand on the lock. His mysterious Perception Power seeped inside and directly opened the bolt.

This was another technique Wu Liangchen had figured out from Luo Qifeng’s memories.

The door swung open with a soft click, but the sound was so faint that the man and woman fiercely entangled on the bed didn’t hear a thing.

Because Wu Liangchen had shielded his presence, no one noticed him even as he slowly strolled up to the bedside.

And looking at the man’s plump, glistening back, rising and falling erratically, Wu Liangchen acted decisively. He flicked out a blade and plunged it straight in.