Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

September 9th, 7:10 PM.

The sea had completely darkened.

The searchlights of the "Breaking Waves" illuminated a small area of ​​sea ahead, and the engines emitted a deep roar.

Su Ming sat in the cockpit, holding a bowl of instant noodles, eating while looking at the radar screen.

Of those three pirate ships, two capsized and one's propeller got tangled in ropes, leaving them all paralyzed on the spot.

Su Ming has already sent their coordinates to Xiao Qi, so that the platform can contact the nearby coast guard to handle the situation.

The number of viewers in the live stream continues to rise and has already exceeded one million.

The comments section was flooded with messages.

[The streamer is awesome!]

[I hereby declare that the streamer is my father today!]

[Killing people with waves? I've never seen anything like it in my life.]

[Yuan Lao's fleet has set sail! They're coming to find the anchor!]

Su Ming glanced at the comments but ignored them.

After finishing his instant noodles, he put the bowl aside and picked up the nautical chart to continue studying it.

Based on the piece of wood that was previously salvaged and the calculations based on ocean current data, the shipwreck should be located less than ten nautical miles ahead.

But now there's a problem.

That sea area is over three thousand meters deep.

It is a huge ocean trench.

Ordinary salvage equipment simply cannot reach that depth unless a professional deep-sea submersible is used.

Su Ming only had a dilapidated supply ship at his disposal.

"We need to think of a way..."

Su Ming stared at the nautical chart and began to ponder it.

Just then.

"Beep beep beep—"

The radar suddenly sounded an alarm.

Su Ming looked up and saw a new spot of light appear on the screen.

Distance: 8 nautical miles.

Speed: 28 knots.

Su Ming frowned.

This speed is wrong.

Ordinary cargo ships typically have a speed of around 15 knots, and even warships rarely exceed 30 knots.

Moreover, the movement of this point of light was very strange—it didn't travel in a straight line, but circled around the surrounding sea, as if it was searching for something.

Su Ming turned on satellite communication and sent a message to Xiao Qi.

"Could you check what kind of ships are at these coordinates?"

Xiaoqi replied instantly.

"Checking... Mr. Scholar, there is no vessel registration information in that sea area. Satellite cloud imagery shows that it is a fast patrol boat about 30 meters in length, and it is not flying any national flag."

Su Ming stared at the radar screen, his face darkening.

"Black Ships"

Xiaoqi sent another message.

"Sir, we've just intercepted an encrypted communication... That ship appears to be searching for the 'Voyage.' Their codename is... 'Black Octopus.'"

Su Ming was stunned for a moment.

Black octopus.

He had heard of this code name before.

It was an international mercenary group active in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. All its members were retired special forces soldiers who took on shady jobs.

Kidnapping, assassination, smuggling, intelligence theft... they'll do anything for money.

Moreover, this organization is extremely well-equipped, and there are even rumors that they possess military-grade weapons.

"This is troublesome..."

Su Ming turned off the communication, looked at the approaching light on the radar, and took a deep breath.

If it were just an ordinary pirate, he could still use the same trick to deal with it.

But the black octopus is different.

These people are professionals.

Moreover... they were clearly also after the "Voyage".

In the live broadcast room, someone noticed the anomaly on the radar screen.

[Host, a boat is approaching!]

[So fast!]

This is no ordinary ship!

Su Ming glanced at the comments and, unusually, typed a reply.

[Anchor: This is a bit troublesome.]

The live chat exploded with comments.

[The host said it's a bit troublesome?]

[The three pirate ships didn't mention any trouble just now, but they're saying it's troublesome now?]

[Run, streamer!]

Su Ming ignored the comments.

He walked out of the cockpit, went to the stern, and opened the iron box containing miscellaneous items.

Besides ropes, wrenches, and oil drums, there were some other things inside.

An old-fashioned signal gun.

Several flares.

A roll of waterproof fabric.

There was also a black tin box wrapped in oil paper.

Su Ming picked up the tin box and opened it.

Inside was a complete set of "ancient navigation tools"—a compass, star chart, sounding hammer, and a yellowed handwritten book.

That was left to him by his grandfather.

Su Ming opened the handwritten notebook, which was filled with all sorts of notes.

"Nighttime navigation techniques", "silent positioning techniques", "locating by listening to the waves"...

Su Ming stared at one of the pages, which read:

Even the most accurate radar has blind spots. Even the clearest satellite imagery has blind areas. A true hunter must learn to disappear into the darkness.

Su Ming closed the handwritten copy and looked up at the dark sea in the distance.

On the radar, the dot of light had already approached within five nautical miles.

"It's time..."

Su Ming returned to the cockpit and pressed a red button.

All the lights on the "Breaking Waves" went out instantly.

The radar screen went black.

The GPS navigation is off.

Even the engine's roar became so faint as to be almost inaudible after Su Ming turned down the throttle.

The entire ship was completely enveloped in darkness.

The live stream audience was stunned.

[The screen is black?]

Is the streamer's equipment broken?

[No...the signal is still there...but I can't see anything.]

Su Ming opened his phone and sent a comment in the live stream.

[Anchor: The signal might be down for a few minutes. Don't worry, I'm still alive.]

After sending the message, he turned off his phone and disconnected all electronic devices.

Silence fell over the cockpit.

The only sounds were the waves crashing against the hull and the faint sound of another ship's engine in the distance.

Su Ming closed his eyes.

Take a deep breath.

Then he opened a window and stuck his head out.

A cold sea breeze swept over me, carrying the salty smell of the sea.

Su Ming pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

The sound of the waves... rhythmic...

A cycle of seven seconds...

wrong…

It's 6.5 seconds now...

The wind direction has changed...

Su Ming opened his eyes and took out the old-fashioned compass from his waist.

By the faint starlight, he could see the direction of the pointer.

15 degrees west of south.

"Um…"

Su Ming pushed the control stick, and the ship slowly turned.

There are no lights.

There is no radar.

There is no navigation.

Only an 18-year-old, relying on a handwritten notebook and years of experience, sailed silently on the dark high seas.

---

at the same time.

Five nautical miles away.

On a black patrol boat.

Inside the cockpit, a bald man stared at the radar screen, his brow furrowed.

"The target has disappeared?"

Nearby, a young man wearing a tactical vest checked the equipment.

"Signal interrupted. The other party has turned off all electronic devices."

The bald man smirked and chuckled.

"You think you can hide from us like that?"

He turned to look at the stern, where five fully armed mercenaries stood.

"Initiate infrared scanning. Find anything with a heat source within a three-kilometer radius."

"Yes, Captain."

A young man operates the equipment, and a high-precision infrared detector begins to work.

On the screen, countless hot spots of light appeared.

But they are all schools of fish and plankton from the sea.

There is no boat.

The bald man paused for a moment.

"How could that be? Did he jump into the sea?"

The young man shook his head.

"Impossible. The radar just showed his ship was still sailing. It's impossible for it to cool down completely in a few minutes."

The bald man remained silent for a few seconds.

"Start-up sound."

"Yes."

The sonar equipment was turned on, and the detection waves spread out.

A few seconds later, a faint echo appeared on the screen.

Location: Southwest, three nautical miles away.

"Found it!" The young man's eyes lit up.

The bald man stared at the screen and sneered.

"He's pretty good at dodging... Full speed ahead, don't let him get away."

"yes!"

The black patrol boat's engine roared as it sped toward its target.