I originally intended to have Mr. Mayor and his family leave first, but He Xiaoyu pulled me aside and said, "Young Master, your life is more important than theirs. You cannot die! The He family cannot be without you!"
"Xiaoyu, be good, take Mr. Mayor away first, understand? I'll be rescued soon too!"
"No, Young Master, we cannot..."
At that moment, I actually saw He Xiaoyu crying. It was the first time I had ever seen this chivalrous woman weep.
Sighing, I pushed her away forcefully. With no other choice, she took Mr. Mayor's family and left on a lifeboat. Following them were several entrepreneurs from Guangming City, as well as a writer and a scientist. After they all left, the lifeboats were used up.
There were still over 3,880 passengers on the ship who could not leave.
Looking at those who had safely escaped, a shadow of despair enveloped all of us...
Half of the cruise ship had already sunk into the sea. It was estimated to last at most another 5 minutes. Everyone was still heading upstairs, even the balcony areas were crowded with people, all fearfully gazing at the dark, deep sea around them, like a black hole devouring light. Immense anxiety permeated everyone's faces. Coupled with the influence of the surrounding gale and rain, the darkness and lightning, and the vast, sinister ocean, even I and He Jinghui saw a reflection of the Grim Reaper hovering over the sea.
At this moment, Ren Mingzhe, whom we had arrested, burst into maniacal laughter. "How ironic, you ultimately couldn't escape the clutches of death! Serves you right. Less than 4 minutes left, this ship will tilt!"
As soon as he finished speaking, we felt a creaking sound coming from the ship's deck not far away. He Jinghui shouted vigilantly, "Not good! Everyone quickly lean to the left!"
Almost the next second, the deck on the third floor split rapidly in the middle towards a certain end, as if during a magnitude ten earthquake! We had no time left. We grabbed onto anything nearby to steady ourselves, preventing ourselves from being washed into the water by the waves. The water was still relentlessly crashing in. We no longer had time to worry about the other passengers. Liu Yuning and I had swallowed an unknown amount of water, yet we still tightly held each other's hands!
At this moment, I suddenly heard a cry, "Daddy!"
He Xin suddenly opened a door from a room and was swept towards us. We hadn't found her yet, and this girl finally appeared. She had probably been trying to escape all this time. She came to our side, and the three of us held each other's hands.
Watching more and more water surge in, He Jinghui tried desperately to protect me, but even though he was a peerless master rarely seen in the world, facing the boundless force of nature, he was still helpless.
The countless waves almost ripped him away from the ship, tossing him into the water, and in the end, he could only grab a railing, barely maintaining his balance.
With just 2 minutes left, in utter despair, we surprisingly saw many ships approaching on the sea!
It was the coast guard! Reinforcements had arrived!
We were quickly rescued by the coast guard. Many passengers were distributed among the various boats, and everyone was gradually rescued...
I looked back at the cruise ship and watched it being completely swallowed by the silent sea. This originally massive and luxurious cruise ship was so tiny beneath the power of nature, like a moth that could be blown away by any storm.
I realized that no matter how powerful a person is, they cannot alter fate or control the changes of nature.
Could this be what is called the cycle of cause and effect?
After leaving the shore, we first went to the hospital one by one. Although there were no serious injuries, it was still best to get checked. After all, there had been cases of ichthyosis on the cruise ship, and we didn't know if we had been inadvertently infected during our fight.
This time, when we came to the hospital, we found that more people were coming for this disease than before. After asking a doctor, we learned that just last night, the number of ichthyosis patients had increased to over a thousand. This speed was quite terrifying. Hadn't it been said that there were only a few hundred?
This made me feel like a zombie apocalypse was imminent. If this phenomenon continues to spread...
After our physical examinations, we found no major issues, and everyone could return home.
However, He Xin was a bit weak due to being held captive for some time. The doctor recommended that she stay in the hospital for two days. She initially wanted to refuse, but after my persuasion, she finally agreed.
We first returned to the Provincial Department and then began interrogating the tattooed men we had apprehended. However, they seemed uncooperative, either refusing to speak or acting flippantly, completely unaware of the severity of their actions.
But when we investigated their information, we found something strange: the identities of these individuals were previously used by people who had died. Since their families had accepted money from others, they hadn't deregistered the information. I was speechless. What was this all about? For a little money, they facilitated criminals to exploit loopholes?
After we confirmed with these families one by one, we still couldn't ascertain the former identities of these tattooed men. Coupled with their lack of cooperation, we had no choice but to let the matter rest for now.
Regardless of who they were, we had evidence of their actions. We would directly hand them over to the procuratorate. Just like Kelly, did they really think they could get away with it by saying nothing? What a joke.
After sending those scoundrels away, I was still a bit angry. Tonight, I was in my office, looking at some recent news about ichthyosis. The data was indeed rising rapidly, with over a thousand new cases per day.
If this continues, won't it be tens of thousands in a month?
Just as I was about to go to the forensic department to see how the experts were researching, Xiahou suddenly called me. "Deputy Chief He, at the fountain near Yang Hai Gymnasium in Guangming City, many attacked citizens have been found!"
"What's going on?"
"Today is Guangming City's annual Sports Festival. Originally, everyone didn't cancel the games due to the ichthyosis. However, shortly after the games began, a large group of ichthyosis patients, like monsters, rushed into the gymnasium and attacked the citizens. They must have been influenced by cathinone. Deputy Chief, this is bad! Something is happening here, don't come! Stay away from me..."
"Xiahou!! Xiahou!!" I called out a few times, but there was no response. Then the phone was hung up. When I tried to call again, it indicated that the phone was turned off.
"Damn it! I hope nothing happens to him." I clenched my phone and cursed.
Earlier, I had heard guttural sounds over Xiahou's call, sounds similar to those of zombies.
I knew these were definitely not zombies, but merely patients experiencing a drug craving or ichthyosis outbreak.
I didn't know the specific symptoms. I'd ask the experts when I got back.
I ordered the Punishment Squad members to follow me immediately, and the entire team drove off.
Of course, several dozen criminal police officers followed us. The situation this time was extremely serious. Li Fan had already dispatched the SWAT team, and the armed police would likely be here soon.
As we approached the gymnasium, we saw rows of ichthyosis patients standing straight around it. They were like inverted bats hanging in a deep cave. But as we got closer, these people seemed to have found targets and suddenly turned their heads as if electrocuted, letting out a fierce howl. They pointed their fingers at us, their mouths trembling, as if chanting ancient scriptures. The next second, they surged towards us like zombies!
"Deputy Chief, what do we do? Should we open fire?"
"There's no other way. These patients' ichthyosis symptoms are already severe. Even if sent to the hospital, they can't be saved. Everyone, don't spare the ammunition, attack!"
At my command, over fifty criminal police officers raised their weapons and unleashed a fierce barrage of fire towards the ichthyosis patients. The scene of so many people raising their weapons and continuously pulling the trigger was quite shocking. At that moment, I felt a sense of passionate combat, as if I were on the battlefield fighting the Japanese devils!
However, as we were shooting, a large number of ichthyosis patients appeared around us. Had these guys become smart enough to employ ambush tactics?
Soon, I saw a person in the crowd. How could this be?
At the time, we thought we were seeing things, because the person who appeared was the deceased, the late Gao Mingqiang!!
"Mingqiang!!"
This Gao Mingqiang had rotten skin all over, but his face, height, and weight were recognizable. This person was him.
He had died and been buried not long ago, so how could he...
There was no time for explanations. At that moment, we hesitated to open fire on Gao Mingqiang, who had turned into an ichthyosis patient.
"Deputy Chief, what do we do? We're surrounded!" It wasn't until Liu Yuning reminded me that I realized our predicament.
That's right! We were surrounded!
There were at least a thousand ichthyosis patients here. They all had cathinone in their bodies, and it had now taken effect.
We, dozens of people, huddled together, forming a circle. Finally, a few criminal police officers disobeyed my orders and opened fire. The gunshots hit a few ichthyosis patients in the head. Those guys seemed to be provoked and charged at us even more ferociously. There was no choice, so I shouted, "Suppressive fire!!"
Instantly, countless bullets were fired. Watching Gao Mingqiang being pierced by bullet after bullet, tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. Although we had plenty of ammunition, as the shooting continued, many ichthyosis patients charged at us desperately. Even with their necks torn open, they were still charging. The sight was horrifying. We wanted to retreat, but there was no room.