Chapter 621: The Cruise Ship Exploded, Quentin Blackwood...

"Alright," Zane Linton finally agreed. "President Blackwood, be careful."

"I know."

He would certainly be extremely careful. After all, there was still someone in this world he cared deeply about. Tomorrow was his and Ivy’s big day, one of the most important days of his life. They still had a wedding ceremony to hold, a honeymoon to go on, and the birth of their child to witness. There were so many significant events that were about to happen—just thinking about them filled him with joy. Therefore, he couldn’t allow anything to happen to himself. He couldn’t let Ivy lose him right when she had just lost her grandfather.

The rain seemed to have temporarily stopped. Quentin Blackwood had arranged over a dozen speedboats on his end. Half an hour was more than enough time for him to cover this short distance. He needed to sneak over carefully. Whether or not he could bring Jason Summers to justice might depend entirely on this crucial moment. Quentin piloted the lead submersible, planning to get close first and wait for a chance to board the cruise ship quietly when they were off guard.

Meanwhile, Jason Summers was calculating how he could escape from this place. The old man dying so quickly had been a real miscalculation. It ruined his plans. He hadn’t gotten what he wanted, and forcing Ivy Sherwood to hand it over in the future would be even harder. He figured Ivy must have hidden it away. If he could find a way to capture Quentin, perhaps he could use him to threaten Ivy. With Quentin as leverage, there was no way Ivy would keep it hidden.

Just as Jason was pondering this, a subordinate on the cruise ship reported, "Mr. Summers, several speedboats are approaching our position."

Jason looked over. "With that many boats, how many people are on them?"

"Unclear, sir."

"Is Quentin Blackwood among them?"

"We can’t tell yet. But coming here is just a death wish. Given Quentin’s current situation, he couldn’t possibly be coming, right?" the subordinate guessed.

Jason nodded. That made sense. Quentin had too many concerns right now; there was no way he would risk making an appearance. Forget it. Regardless of what Quentin was doing, he needed to leave. Jason stood up and headed for the top deck, preparing to board the helicopter first. As long as he survived, there would always be opportunities later. Jason only cared about his own life; everyone else’s was expendable.

There were still quite a few people on the cruise ship. Aside from the captured police officers, many of his own men were aboard. In Jason’s hand, he clutched a small red remote control. He sneered to himself. Once he was safely away, he would send everyone to their doom.

When Quentin quietly infiltrated the cruise ship, he was extremely careful. There were still many people on board, and he made sure to avoid Jason’s men. Quentin was still on a call with Zane, keeping a video feed active.

"Have your people approach slowly," Quentin commanded.

Coordinating on multiple fronts, Zane also initiated his move. The police forces on his end were following orders completely.

As the encirclement grew tighter, Jason’s subordinate came over to report, "Mr. Summers, Quentin’s men have surrounded us."

"What?" Jason wondered, *"Weren’t there just a few boats? How did they move so fast?"* Wait, correcting format for inner thought: "What?" Jason wondered, "Weren’t there just a few boats? How did they move so fast?"

"They used submersibles underwater." By using the dozen or so speedboats on the surface as a decoy, they had made it seem like there was no significant movement, tricking them into thinking such a small force was nothing to fear. In reality, the main force had traveled underwater via submersibles, completely escaping their notice.

"Damn it!" Jason cursed. "How many men did they bring?"

"A lot! They’re everywhere. Mr. Summers, what do we do now?"

"Get lost!" Jason kicked him aside, then climbed into the helicopter. Taking the controls himself, he prepared to take off.

By the time Quentin reached the top deck, Jason’s helicopter was already in mid-air.

"Quentin! Hahahaha! You’re dead meat today!" Jason even stuck his head out to taunt Quentin. Once his helicopter flew away and reached a safe distance, he planned to press the button in his hand. He had already rigged the entire cruise ship with explosives. The moment he flipped the switch, the ship would blow up. When that happened, everyone on board and in the surrounding area would become ghosts of the sea. Quentin had arrived at the perfect time—he was practically offering himself up to die. However, Jason couldn’t act just yet. His helicopter hadn’t flown out of the blast radius.

In the next second, however, Quentin raised his hand and fired a shot directly into the sky.

Jason cried out in pain as blood poured from his shoulder. He stared down at Quentin in disbelief, never expecting that a single shot from the ground could actually hit him. He quickly pulled himself back into the cockpit, frantically trying to pilot the helicopter away.

Quentin fired a few more shots into the air. Although he didn’t hit Jason, he struck the rotor blades. The helicopter instantly lost its balance and tilted violently to one side. Up above, Jason struggled desperately to stabilize the aircraft, but Quentin continued to fire.

Through the uninterrupted video feed, Zane also saw Jason’s helicopter malfunctioning. A hint of joy appeared on Zane’s face. Jason’s helicopter wobbled precariously before plummeting straight down from mid-air. But no one knew that Jason still held a small red button in his hand.

"President Blackwood, there’s no way Jason is escaping now—"

Before he could finish the word "escaping," a deafening BOOM echoed. Instantly, a monstrous fireball erupted, illuminating the pitch-black sky as brightly as day—perhaps even brighter.

Zane couldn’t believe his eyes. The massive cruise ship had exploded just like that. But President Blackwood was still on board!

The video feed went completely black; nothing could be seen.

Zane was still a certain distance away from that patch of sea. He could only watch the roaring flames in the distance, his ears ringing from the deafening blast. Thick smoke billowed, almost obscuring the waters ahead.

"President Blackwood! President Blackwood!" Zane screamed at the top of his lungs, but there was no response.

***

BOOM!

Ivy felt like she had heard a loud noise, though it seemed like a hallucination. At the same time, her heart clenched violently. Her nerves felt paralyzed, and for a split second, her vision went completely dark. Her body went limp, and she pitched forward.

"Ivy!" Fortunately, Nina Scott was right beside her and caught her with quick reflexes. However, Ivy’s knees still hit the ground, scraping the skin. "Ivy, are you okay?" Nina wondered, "Why did she suddenly collapse out of nowhere?"

"Little sister?" The others rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

Ivy clutched her chest, gasping for air. In that moment, she felt unbearably awful. It was a suffocating pain she had never experienced before—one that tugged at her blood, seeped into her very bones, seized her heart, and shocked her brain.

"Ivy! Ivy!" Everyone panicked.

"I... I..." Ivy panted heavily, staring ahead in bewilderment as her entire body trembled. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but an overwhelming sense of helplessness spread through every inch of her body. She couldn’t describe the feeling. Her palms were freezing cold, and a bone-chilling numbness consumed her completely.