I accidentally joined a group of charlatans, so I immediately called the police and handed it over t

The sun in the South China Sea is so scorching, it feels like it's smelting steel.

There was no sea breeze.

The air seemed to have been drained of moisture, leaving only a suffocatingly high temperature.

What met the eye was a despairing, frozen red.

This is not the sea.

This is clearly a huge piece of red amber that seems to seal the heavens and the earth within it.

The Blue Queen's proud steel frame now resembled a broken toothpick, twisted and embedded in this piece of red jade.

Steve stood on the severely tilted deck.

Sweat dripped down his chin, evaporating in the high temperature before it even hit the ground.

The megaphone in his hand was so slippery that he could barely hold it.

Before them stood a group of fully armed engineering soldiers.

These elites, who could usually overcome any obstacle, were now deathly pale, their eyes filled with the terror of seeing a ghost.

"Hasn't it exploded yet?!"

Steve's voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed a handful of rough sand.

Every time he uttered a sound, it was accompanied by the excruciating pain of his vocal cords tearing.

"Sir, it's no use."

The engineering corps captain shook his head in despair.

The special alloy steel shovel in his hand had its tip completely blunted, like a melted candle.

"Neither gas cutting guns nor high-yield C4 explosives can do anything about this thing."

The captain swallowed hard, his voice trembling and out of tune.

"This thing is harder than diamond, and..."

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"It seems to be alive."

Steve suddenly grabbed the captain by the collar and lifted him up.

"Alive? You're telling me the sea is alive?!"

"Really! Sir! See for yourself!"

The captain pointed tremblingly to the area below the ship's side.

There, the red sea surface, which had just been burned with a white mark by a high-powered laser cutter, was writhing.

The red light flowed, like living flesh and blood.

Just a few seconds.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

The mark disappeared.

It is as smooth and clean as ever.

It's like a scab forming on a wound, even harder than before.

Steve felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

"Just now..."

The captain pointed to the infirmary not far away, his voice trembling with tears.

Tom tried to shoot at the ice with his rifle to make a hole and get water.

"As a result, the bullet bounced back the moment it touched the sea surface by a strange force."

"It pierced through the femoral artery."

Steve released his grip.

He staggered backward, his back slamming heavily against the scorching hot railing.

His skin was burning painfully, but he felt nothing.

This goes against physics.

This goes against the worldview he had built up over half his life.

This is not a natural phenomenon at all; it is a prison sent down by God.

And they are like those few ridiculous, desperately struggling insects inside this piece of amber.

"Water, sir, we're running out of water!"

The adjutant approached like a ghost.

The once crisp uniform is now wrinkled and crumpled, the lips are chapped and peeling, and the eyes are sunken.

"The inlet of the seawater purifier is sealed, and not a single drop of water can be drawn in."

"The fresh water reserves are only enough to last two days. If we don't find a solution..."

The adjutant glanced at the soldiers on the deck, whose eyes were unfocused.

"At such high temperatures, the ship's hull is like a metal oven, and the soldiers will die of dehydration."

Looking at his adjutant's withered face, Steve's last line of defense crumbled.

All around was the endless sea.

Yet it was also an endless despair.

"Contact the White House! Contact the Pentagon!"

Steve screamed hysterically, his hand gripping the satellite phone trembling violently.

"Let them put pressure on us! Let them figure out a solution!"

"If you don't get us out of here, we're dead!"

Base No. 001.

The temperature is a constant 24 degrees Celsius, making it cool and pleasant.

A faint aroma of tea wafted in the air, creating an ironic contrast with the hellish landscape thousands of kilometers away.

Li Guobang held a thick stack of diplomatic notes in his hand.

He paced anxiously in the command room, his leather shoes polishing the floor to a shine.

"Chen Xi, the phone lines at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are ringing off the hook."

"That Secretary of State, that Hillary, was crying her eyes out at the press conference."

Li Guobang slammed the document heavily on the table.

She said we were engaging in "inhumane abuse".

"She said we violated the Geneva Convention, and the media around the world are calling us cold-blooded butchers."

Li Guobang's brows furrowed into a deep frown, his tone anxious.

"Shouldn't we offer him a way out?"

"After all, there are several thousand people trapped there. If a few starve to death, the public pressure would be too great."

"The country bears a heavy burden of this blame."

Chen Xi held the enamel mug with the words "Serve the People" printed on it in his hands, looking quite content.

Gently blowing away the tea leaves floating on the water, the movement was as elegant as savoring aged Pu'er tea.

"starve?"

Chen Xi raised his eyelids, his gaze cold and a mocking smile curving his lips.

"Old Li, you underestimate the human will to survive."

"Their ship has a state-of-the-art urine recycling system; if all else fails, they can even drink blood."

Chen Xi took a sip of tea, speaking in a calm tone as if he were discussing the weather.

"No one will die."

"But……"

Looking at Chen Xi's overly calm face, Li Guobang felt a chill run down his spine.

"Now the G7 countries are putting pressure on us and even threatening to impose comprehensive economic sanctions."

"Why are we dragging this out?"

"There has to be a stance in negotiations, right?"

Chen Xi put down his teacup.

"manner?"

Chen Xi stood up and walked to the huge holographic map.

On that, the red area of ​​the South China Sea looks like a striking bloodstain.

"Old Li, do you remember going to the market to buy fish?"

Li Guobang was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"Those fish that are jumping around and struggling are always the hardest to catch."

Chen Xi stretched out his slender finger and gently touched the light spot that represented the Blue Kui.

His eyes revealed the shrewdness of a businessman, and even more so, the ruthlessness of a hunter.

"It's also the most expensive."

"They are still warships now."

"It's still that arrogant and domineering Seventh Fleet squadron."

"They're still thinking about dignity, about negotiating, about how to leave gracefully."

Chen Xi turned around, his back to the map.

His gaze was fixed directly into Li Guobang's eyes, as if he could see right through him.

"If we negotiate at this point, they'll feel like they're doing us a favor."

"We have to wait."

"Wait for what?" Li Guobang asked subconsciously.

"Wait until that breath dissipates."

Chen Xi's voice was soft, yet it struck Li Guobang's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Let the bullets fly a little longer."

"Let the sun shine for two more days."

"Wait until they have emptied all their arrogance, until they have gone from soldiers to refugees."

Chen Xi smiled.

The smile didn't reach his eyes; instead, a chilling aura emanated from them.

"At that time, they were no longer warships."

"It's scrap metal."

"We will not negotiate with warships."

"We only process scrap metal."

Li Guobang looked at the young man in front of him.

He felt that this always-smiling "shady businessman" was even more unfathomable than that frozen red sea.

This is the true meaning of killing someone by destroying their spirit.

Not only do we want to win, but we also want to dismantle the enemy's bones and sell them for money.

"Then how should we reply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

"Return."

Chen Xi sat back on the throne, closed his eyes, and seemed to be enjoying the tranquility of the moment.

"Just say that the environmental testing conducted by Nantianmen Company has uncontrollable risks."

"To prevent accidents, no one is allowed to approach this area."

"As for the people inside..."

Chen Xi's lips curled slightly as he softly uttered four words.

Life and death are predestined.