Chapter 016: Don’t Panic

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But that’s understandable. For the Buddha’s Hand Gang to hold sway over southern Thailand for so many years, it’s natural that not everyone inside it would be fools.

Zhong Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked toward the boat captain standing ahead. After chuckling softly, he said to Zhong Da, “Hide that gun later; don’t take it out lightly!”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Da’s expression immediately turned grave.

“Dong Cuo, tell the captain to stop the boat,” Zhong Yuan added.

Dong Cuo froze, looking at Zhong Yuan with confusion.

Seeing his hesitation, Zhong Da frowned and shouted, “Dongzi, listen to Yuan-ge.”

Dong Cuo glanced at him, then stood up and walked toward the captain.

After Dong Cuo spoke to the captain, the captain didn’t hesitate and immediately shut down the engine. The boat glided for a while before coming to a stop, gently rocking with the waves.

Zhong Yuan turned sideways, lit a cigarette, and smoked as he watched a speedboat rapidly approach from behind.

By the time the cigarette finished, the speedboat had drawn near. It was a two-deck speedboat, much larger than theirs, with many people standing on it. Several even carried old-fashioned rifles.

Zhong Yuan’s eyes flicked over them, his eyelid twitching slightly.

He’d heard that black market guns were easy to come by in southern Thailand, but this was almost suspiciously easy.

Or perhaps they valued him highly?

At this moment, Dong Cuo’s face had turned pale. Xiao Hua was slightly better but still not in great shape. Only Zhong Da remained relatively calm.

Zhong Yuan glanced at the three of them before turning to Xiao Hua and saying, “Throw that captain into the sea!”

Xiao Hua hesitated for a moment upon hearing this but said nothing, asked no questions, and stood up to approach the captain. Without a word, he kicked—the captain hadn’t even seen his face clearly before staggering sideways and collapsing against the boat’s edge. Just as the captain’s startled shout escaped, Xiao Hua grabbed both his legs and heaved him over the edge, sending him headfirst with a splash into the sea.

As the captain hit the water, the speedboat arrived.

In an instant, seven or eight gun barrels all aimed at the four of them.

Then a man in his thirties stepped forward from the crowd, standing among them, coldly staring at Zhong Yuan and the others before speaking: “Which one of you is Zhong Da?”

His Mandarin was fluent—not like a local from southern Thailand but more like a Chinese national.

Zhong Yuan studied him carefully; his features also resembled those of a Chinese person.

“What’s your name?” Zhong Yuan asked.

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The man lowered his gaze to Zhong Yuan, scrutinizing him up and down before saying, “You’re Zhong Yuan?”

Zhong Yuan smiled, realizing this man must have done his homework thoroughly, and that his earlier question about Zhong Da was likely just a probe.

At that moment, the captain who had been thrown into the sea surfaced about three or four meters from their boat. Waving and shouting, he cried, “Save me!”

The man speaking to Zhong Yuan glanced over, then turned to whisper something to his subordinates. Soon, they threw a life ring toward the captain, and in no time, their men pulled him back aboard.

Seeing this, Dong Cuo’s face turned completely white. His lips trembled as he whispered, “Yuan-ge, Da-ge, I don’t know about him…”

“I know. It’s not your fault!” Zhong Yuan replied before shifting his gaze back to the man.

“So, what’s the deal?” he asked with a slight smile.

The man stared at him for a moment, then said, “Tell your brother to hand over Tan Wei. As long as he’s safe, this ends here.”

Zhong Yuan smiled and shook his head.

The man’s expression darkened.

“Zhong Yuan, don’t push your luck. Tan Wei started this; we admit that. But your brother and the other person didn’t lose anything. Hand over the man, and this will end—it's the best choice for you. If you don’t cooperate, you four might not leave alive today!”

Zhong Yuan responded, “You misunderstand me! I’m the most sensible person here, but if we didn’t do it, no matter how sensible I am, I can’t admit to it! And let alone conjure up a living person named Tan Wei and hand him over—it’s impossible!”

Upon hearing this, the man’s face turned completely dark, his eyes narrowing with murderous intent.

Yet Zhong Yuan remained serene, smiling gently as if chatting with old friends, seemingly oblivious to the dark barrels aimed at them.

“Zhong Yuan, this is your only chance. Are you really refusing?” the man threatened coldly.

Zhong Yuan replied, “I want to! But I can’t! We truly don’t have anyone named Tan Wei. I can’t conjure someone who doesn’t exist!”

“Fine! Since you’re so stubborn, let’s see how long you can hold out!” The man sneered and raised his hand.

Immediately, two iron hooks were thrown, snagging their boat’s edge, and they began pulling it toward their speedboat.

When the two boats drew alongside each other, the man looked down at Zhong Yuan and said, “Will you come up yourselves? Or should I have my men knock you out and drag you aboard?”

“No need to be so polite. We’ll come up ourselves!” Zhong Yuan smiled.

As he spoke, a rope ladder was thrown down.

Zhong Yuan signaled Zhong Da to go up first, followed by Xiao Hua and Dong Cuo, with himself last.

Once aboard, the four were immediately surrounded by gun barrels.

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The man stood outside the line of fire, his cold, mocking gaze sweeping across the four of them. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pointed at Dong Cuo.

Dong Cuo’s expression changed drastically.

Then, someone stepped forward to grab him.

Panic instantly flooded Dong Cuo’s face. He turned first to look at Zhong Da, then at Zhong Yuan, then at Xiao Hua, and finally his gaze returned to Zhong Da.

He called out, “Da-ge!”

Zhong Da frowned, a trace of worry in his eyes. He pursed his lips but only whispered softly, “It’s alright. Don’t panic.”

The light in Dong Cuo’s eyes instantly dimmed; that flicker of hope shattered in an instant.

Zhong Yuan sighed silently.

It seemed that once this was over, he would need to have a serious talk with Zhong Da about the meaning of the word ‘friend.’

You can have many friends, but not all friends are fit to stand side by side in matters of life and death.

Dong Cuo was a good friend, but not suited to fight alongside them in battle.

At this moment, when Dong Cuo looked at them, his subconscious had already concluded they might not rescue him. That cry was but a dying struggle of his heart.

And Zhong Da’s words, “It’s alright, don’t panic,” to him felt like abandonment, like betrayal.

It was understandable—after all, with guns pointed at them, life and death hung on a single thought. Few could remain as calm and fearless as Zhong Da and Zhong Yuan.

Soon, Dong Cuo was dragged into the cabin.

Screams rang out swiftly.

Zhong Da’s face darkened, his hand clenched tightly at his side, veins bulging with suppressed anger and pain.

After listening for a while, Xiao Hua’s face showed some pity. He glanced at Zhong Da, then at Zhong Yuan, and whispered, “Yuan-ge, Dongzi… he’s really afraid of pain.”

Zhong Yuan lowered his head and sighed softly.

In this world, debts must be repaid, or one cannot rest easy.

Dong Cuo and the others had once abandoned everything back home at a single call from Zhong Da to come here without hesitation. That debt of gratitude must be remembered.