Reborn in Hollywood

Jack leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Dude, you don't expect the three of us to sail this boat away, do you? This thing needs at least twenty people—"

"I know."

Li Rui entered the cabin and stood in front of the berth closest to the door. He raised his hand, his Force coalescing into a line, and gently pierced the sailor's consciousness.

The sailor suddenly opened his eyes and tried to shout, but Li Rui covered his mouth.

"Don't make a sound."

Li Rui's voice was soft, but his eyes shone brightly in the darkness. "Listen to me."

The sailor froze. He felt himself being pressed down by an invisible force, unable to move.

"In a moment, I'll have you all get up and start the boat. Where to go, how to go, listen to me."

Li Rui stared into his eyes. "Did you understand?"

The sailor nodded vigorously.

Li Rui released his grip and walked towards the next bed.

Five minutes later, all twenty-three sailors "woke up".

They huddled together in the cabin, shivering, looking at the strange man in front of them, the odd man with smoky makeup behind him, and the young girl in casual clothes.

Li Rui glanced at them.

"Can you sail a boat?"

The sailors looked at each other, and then some nodded.

"meeting."

"Then open it."

Li Rui said, "Heading towards Tetuga Island, whoever drives the slowest will jump into the sea."

No one dared to refute it—especially after experiencing being bound by the Force.

On the deck, the sails were raised, and the Intrepid slowly sailed out of the harbor.

Jack stood beside the steering wheel, his expression indescribably complex.

He glanced at the obedient sailors, then at Li Rui standing at the bow, and finally fixed his gaze on Elizabeth.

"Honey, can you guess where this guy comes from?"

Elizabeth stared at Li Rui's retreating figure, her eyes filled with confusion.

Under the moonlight, the Intrepid sails into the dark sea.

Behind me, the lights of Port Royal grew ever more distant.

The Intrepid sailed through the night, the sea breeze billowing its sails, the hull cutting through the waves with rhythmic sounds.

Li Rui stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the distant horizon.

Footsteps sounded behind me; I knew who it was without even turning around.

"Dude."

Jack walked up to him, carrying a bottle of rum that he'd somehow found somewhere. "Which way are we going?"

Cuba.

Jack paused for a moment.

"Cuba?"

He took a swig of his drink. "What are we going to do in that godforsaken place?"

Li Rui turned and glanced at him.

"You only need to be responsible for the navigation of the ship."

Jack narrowed his eyes, a meaningful smile appearing on his smoky-faced features.

"You know, I've met a lot of strange people. Pirates, sailors, merchants, con artists—all kinds of people."

He leaned forward slightly. "But someone like you is truly the first I've ever seen."

Li Rui didn't say anything.

Jack waited a few seconds, and seeing that he didn't respond, he continued talking to himself.

"How did you get those handcuffs open? How did you get those sailors to obey you? And those eyes of yours—"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Sometimes when I look at you, I feel like you're not human."

Li Rui countered, "Then what do you think I am?"

Jack thought for a moment.

"Devil? Or angel?"

He shrugged. "Anyway, he's not a normal person."

Li Rui turned around to face him.

"Captain Jack, I have a question for you."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"ask."

"How do you use that compass?"

Jack's expression changed.

He instinctively reached for his waist, where an old compass hung.

Li Rui's gaze fell on it, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking."

Jack took a step back and placed his hand on the compass.

"Buddy, you can't just touch this stuff—"

Before Li Rui could finish speaking, the Force surged, Jack's foot slipped, and he fell backward.

He reached out to grab the gunwale, but grasped nothing.

thump.

Water splashed up, and Jack fell into the sea.

Elizabeth ran out of the cabin and peered down from the ship's side.

Under the moonlight, Jack thrashed about in the sea, cursing under his breath.

"Are you crazy?! You threw him down?!"

Li Rui walked to the ship's side and looked down at Jack in the sea.

A wave crashed over him, and Jack choked on some water, coughing as he swam upstream.

"compass."

Li Rui said, "Throw it up."

Jack paused for a moment, then burst into a tirade of curses.

"You bastard! You madman! Do you know who I am?! I am Captain Jack Sparrow—"

Li Rui raised his hand.

The Force transformed into invisible ropes, binding the compass around Jack's waist.

With a gentle tug, the compass slipped off the belt, flew onto the deck, and landed in Li Rui's hand.

Jack's eyes widened, and he thrashed about in the water even more violently.

"My compass! Give it back!"

Li Rui tucked the compass into his pocket and looked down at him.

"Can you swim?"

Jack gritted his teeth.

"meeting."

"That's good."

Li Rui turned and walked towards the helm. "See you in Cuba."

Elizabeth stood on the ship's railing, looking at Jack in the sea, then at Li Rui's back, her mouth opening and closing, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Finally, she caught up with him.

"You really abandoned him? We're still at least dozens of nautical miles from land!"

Li Rui didn't turn around.

"He can live."

What Li Rui didn't say was that Jack Sparrow is arguably the number one cockroach in the Pirates of the Caribbean series!

Even if everyone else in the entire series were to die, he would still be alive and well.

The Intrepid continued onward, leaving Jack's figure, struggling in the sea, growing smaller and smaller.

Three days later, the Intrepid sailed into the port of Trinidad, Cuba.

This is a quiet little town, where white colonial buildings gleam in the sunlight.

Several merchant ships were docked in the harbor, and people were coming and going on the dock, but no one noticed the unusual behavior of the British warship.

Li Rui brought the ship to shore and drove the sailors off the ship.

"Get lost."

The sailors, as if granted a pardon, scrambled away.

Elizabeth stood on the deck, watching the fleeing sailors, then glancing at Li Rui.

"And now?"

Li Rui jumped off the boat and reached out his hand to her.

"Get down."

Elizabeth hesitated for a second, but still took his hand and jumped onto the dock.

The two entered Trinidad.

The governor's mansion, located in the center of the city, is a two-story white building with two lazy soldiers standing at the entrance.

Li Rui walked straight over, but the soldier reached out to stop him.

"Halt! Who are you?!"

Li Rui glanced at them.

With a gentle push from the Force, the two soldiers went limp and slumped against the wall, unconscious.

Elizabeth's eyes widened.

"you--"

"Walk."

Li Rui pushed open the door and entered the Governor's Mansion.

The governor was a Spaniard in his fifties, obese and bald, who was sitting in his office drinking coffee.

Seeing someone burst in, he jumped up and reached for the pistol on the table.

Li Rui raised his hand.

The governor froze.

His hand froze in mid-air, just inches from the pistol, but he couldn't move it.

His face turned bright red, his lips trembled, but he couldn't make a sound.

Li Rui walked up to him and looked down at him.

"From now on, I'm in charge of this city."

The governor's eyes widened in fear.

Li Rui relaxed a little.

"Nod if you understand."

The governor nodded vigorously.

From this moment on, Trinidad has a new master.

Li Rui did not stay at the Governor's Mansion, but instead found a quiet house near the port.

Elizabeth lived next door, and fresh food and clothes were delivered to her every day.

She asked Li Rui several times, "When are we going back?" and Li Rui's answer was always, "Wait."

A month later, the informant sent out brought back news.

Something happened in Port Royal.

Barbossa led the crew of the Black Pearl to attack the port and kidnap Governor Swann's daughter—this news startled Elizabeth for a moment before she realized that the "Governor Swann's daughter" referred to herself.

"They thought I'd been captured by pirates?"

She looked at Li Rui, "But I was... by you—"

Li Rui waved his hand, telling her to be quiet.

Let's continue talking about eyeliner.

Barbossa's men not only attacked the port, but also captured a blacksmith.

For some unknown reason, the blacksmith later became involved with pirates and was eventually wanted by the Royal Navy.

Elizabeth was stunned.

"Will Turner?"

She looked at Li Rui, "How could he—"

Li Rui did not explain.

He removed his eyeliner, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

Will got caught up in it anyway.

Barbossa hasn't received the last gold coin yet, so the curse cannot be lifted for the time being.

But they still took Will away—perhaps under duress, perhaps Will did so voluntarily.

In any case, the plot has changed.

Elizabeth leaned closer.

Aren't you going to save him?

Li Rui opened his eyes and looked at her.

"You want to go?"

Elizabeth paused for a moment.

"I...I don't know, he saved me, but I—"

She couldn't continue.

Li Rui stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sea in the distance.

"I can't save him; he has nothing to do with me."

Elizabeth was seething with hatred, but could only watch helplessly.

Over the next few months, Li Rui began to secretly make his plans.

The governor of Trinidad became a complete puppet.

Li Rui ordered him to issue commands to recruit sailors, build ships, and procure weapons.

Shipyards near the port are working day and night to launch new ships one after another.

Elizabeth would sometimes go to see those ships.

They lined up in a row, masts like a forest, sails billowing, waiting for their first voyage.

"What do you need so many ships for?" she asked Li Rui.

Li Rui stood on the dock, looking at the ships.

"Go somewhere."

"Where?"

"East."

Elizabeth paused for a moment.

"The East? India?"

Li Rui did not answer.

He simply looked at the distant horizon.

Six months later, the fleet was completed.

Seven sailing warships, five hundred sailors, and enough fresh water and food.

The port of Trinidad was packed with people, and sailors were busy on the ships, moving supplies and checking ropes.

Elizabeth stood on the dock, watching all this, a strange feeling welling up inside her.

Li Rui stepped out from the crowd, dressed in a black captain's uniform, with the compass he had snatched from Jack hanging at his waist.

Elizabeth looked at him.

"Are you really leaving?"

Li Rui nodded.

"You can stay too."

Elizabeth bit her lip.

Six months.

She followed this man out of Porto Royal and stayed in Cuba for so long, watching him gradually take control of the city and tame the sailors.

She had hated him, feared him, but in the end, she found that she had gotten used to being by his side.

As for Will Turner...

Who is Will Turner?

"I'll go with you," Elizabeth said.

Li Rui looked at her.

Under the moonlight, there was no fear in those deep blue eyes, only a strange determination.

He stretched out his hand.

"Then come up."

Elizabeth took his hand and jumped onto the deck.

With sails raised, the fleet slowly sailed out of the port and headed towards the vast sea.

The lights of Trinidad grew farther and farther away, eventually disappearing into the night.

Li Rui stood at the bow of the boat, holding the compass.

The compass needle wobbled slightly, then steadily pointed in one direction.

East.