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墨書 Inktalez
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, and it caught the attention of Shunzi and Jiao Ba, who both heard her. Shunzi just chuckled quietly without saying anything, but Jiao Ba chimed in, "Jenny, I have to refute you on that. You can't just lump all men together! Just look at someone like me; it's hard to find another man like this in the whole world."
"Of course! A notorious tomb raider like you is a rare find globally," I quipped, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Jiao Ba intended to argue that he was a good man, but I wouldn’t give him that chance. His face turned red as he gritted his teeth and pointed a finger at me. I smiled mockingly and said, "What’s wrong, Ba Ye? Do you have something against me? If you do, just say it."
Jiao Ba raised an eyebrow and replied, "Even if I have something to say, I won't tell you. Brother Yi, you better watch out! Be careful not to fall for someone's tricks."
Jenny casually tossed a peanut at Jiao Ba's head, and the atmosphere among us grew lively as the other sailors laughed heartily.
By six in the evening, we had nearly finished our drinks. Some of the drunken sailors began to head back to rest. Mai Lao and Shunzi left one after another, but Jenny stayed on, continuing to engage with us. Although she didn’t drink much, she was quite talkative and managed to connect well with everyone; she was a friendly boss.
I suddenly leaned in and asked quietly, "Jenny, can I ask you something?"
"What is it? Please don't tell me it's about whether I have a boyfriend," Jenny teased, as if she could see right through my thoughts.
I quickly changed my demeanor and said seriously, "I'm being serious here. No jokes—why are you only interested in things from the Ming Dynasty?"
Jenny glanced at me and replied, "Why not? I just like it."
Was she trying to dodge the question? I scoffed lightly and said, "You're just talking nonsense. If you really liked antiques, it shouldn't matter what dynasty they come from. This time you've divided everything from the Qing Dynasty and only kept one item from the Ming Dynasty; there must be some hidden reason behind that. You don't have to deny it; I'm not an idiot."
Jenny looked at me and smiled, saying, "Comrade Jin Zhongyi, you seem to be a bit too concerned! But you're right; I am only interested in Ming Dynasty artifacts, specifically from the Yongle Period."
Her admission made me feel like there was something she was hiding from everyone. I tentatively asked, "Jenny, isn't your purpose for going out to sea to salvage treasures from the wreck? Could it be... that there's something else?"
Jenny set down her wine glass and replied, "I am here to salvage treasures, but specifically those from the Ming Dynasty's Yongle Period. You saw that navigation chart; what exactly is hidden there? Honestly, I don't know either. Asking me won't help. Well, I should get going now; you all enjoy your drinks." With that, she stood up and returned to the cabin.
After Jenny left, I drank with the remaining sailors for a while. As I began to feel a bit dizzy, I got up and headed toward the Rest Cabin. Once inside, I collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
I don't know how long it had been when I vaguely heard a commotion outside—men shouting and women screaming. At first, I thought I was dreaming and planned to turn over and continue sleeping. But within a minute, the shouting grew louder.
"Brother Yi! Brother Yi!" Shunzi's voice called out beside me.
Then Jiao Ba chimed in, "Brother Yi, wake up! Something's not right outside!"
"I was already awake; such loud shouting woke me up. Damn it, who’s causing trouble after drinking too much?" I rolled out of bed and decided to see what was happening outside.
"Wait a moment, Brother Yi. I sense something's off; it seems there are outsiders on the ship. Listen closely; that's Jenny's voice," Shunzi noted carefully. If it weren't for his observation, I might have overlooked it.
We three huddled by the hatch, pressing our ears against it to listen. Outside, a woman's voice shouted, "Let go of me! What do you want? I'm telling you this is illegal!"
Indeed, that was Jenny's voice. Then Li Xin's voice came through: "Get your filthy hands off her! What are you staring at, you dog?"
Next came a sharp slap followed by a hoarse male voice: "Shut up, you brat! If you say one more word, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish." The man's voice sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I'd heard it before.
I could no longer hear the voices behind me; they had faded into the distance. All I could sense was a vague presence of sound, but I couldn't make out what was being said.
Shunzi glanced at me and asked, "Brother Yi, what's going on?"
"How would I know? But from the sounds, it seems like Jenny and the others might have been kidnapped," I replied, uncertain about what was happening outside. The chaos was filled with shouts and footsteps, and there were even sounds of something being smashed.
"Kidnapped? Damn it, it can't be the other sailors, can it?" Jiao Ba shot a glance at the Rest Cabin, where six of us usually stayed, but now it was just the three of us.
I shook my head. "I doubt it! These sailors are pretty straightforward. They shared everything we salvaged this time; there's no reason for them to do something like this." Yet, I couldn't help but wonder where that man in black was and what he might do at this moment.
"Then who could it be? There’s no one else on this ship!" Shunzi asked anxiously.
After pondering for a moment, I said, "It’s probably an outsider. Let’s go check it out."
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