Elder brother's garrison

Page 1718

“Ordinary admirals probably can’t do it,” Xiaobai chimed in. “Only an admiral as skilled as me can manage it.”

"As expected of you!" The man looked at Xiaobai, gazing at her features, his expression overwhelmed with emotion. He swayed as he stood up, about to kneel before her. "Your immense kindness... I... I truly don't know how to repay you, I..."

"No need to be so polite, it was just a small favor for me." Xiaobai waved her hand and comforted the man, "Instead of this, if you really want to repay us, why don't you tell us about Dean Shenhai?"

"Dean of the Deep Sea..."

"That was the night you filmed those two Deep Sea Deans on the sea," Xiaobai pointed to the man's chest and asked seriously, "What exactly happened? Please tell me."

The man remained silent.

When Chen Rui bought the man's phone and videos, he went to Yu Gan's house to inquire about Dean Shenhai. Given Chen Rui's cautious nature, he must have asked a lot about Dean Shenhai, which made it easier for him to impersonate the video's creator later.

But in fact, Chen Rui said almost nothing of value about the Dean of the Deep Sea Institute, which is inconsistent with his behavior.

Thinking about this, Xiao Bai felt that it wasn't that Chen Rui forgot to ask, but rather that the man was hiding something from Chen Rui. The man in front of her might know all the information that only he knew.

Seeing the man fall silent, Xiaobai felt a slight sense of relief.

The man's behavior confirmed Xiaobai's guess.

"Can you tell me?" Xiaobai asked the man gently.

The man raised his head, looking at Xiaobai and the ship girl behind her with complicated eyes. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if he had some difficulty. But soon, the man's gaze shifted to the calligraphy on the back of his hand, and his eyes gradually became firm. Finally, he spoke to Xiaobai.

"Are you asking... what happened the night I filmed Dean Shenhai?"

"Mm." Xiaobai nodded.

“That day…” The man’s gaze softened, his voice weak, “That night… actually… I was rescued by those two Abyssal Fleet ships…”

"?" Xiao Bai's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.

"The Dean of the Deep Sea saved you? How so?" York was also surprised when he heard this and couldn't help but ask.

"The storm at sea was really fierce when we were filming the video," the man said to Xiaobai, as if recalling something. "I had just finished fishing and was heading back to port. I had checked the weather forecast before I went out to sea that day, and it said the sea would be calm. But for some reason, as evening approached, the wind and waves started to intensify, and a storm began. It was pitch black all around. As I was navigating the boat away from the storm area, I noticed what appeared to be figures in the distance. At first, I thought it was a mirage or some kind of sea ghost, and I didn't pay much attention. But those two figures became more and more conspicuous and closer and closer, so much so that I couldn't help but look over... Upon closer inspection, I realized that it wasn't a mirage or a sea ghost, but rather the deep sea..."

The man's eyebrows furrowed as he awkwardly began to explain.

"I'm just an ordinary citizen. I've only seen a few ship girls in my life, let alone deep-sea ones. I was terrified when I first saw them, but the storm at sea was really fierce, and I couldn't sail fast at all. Gradually, my ship got closer and closer to them. I desperately tried to sail away from them... Finally, I wasn't careful and lost control of the ship. A huge wave capsized it."

The man grinned bitterly.

“As a fisherman with so many years of experience, it’s really embarrassing for me to have my boat capsized in a storm… But I didn’t have the mind to think about that at the time, because I was swept underwater along with the boat. The current was very strong. I climbed out of the boat, but I couldn’t climb back out. Soon I couldn’t breathe underwater anymore, and I felt like I was going to die.”

The man paused here, his expression turning to one of doubt.

"But just then, I felt something lifting my ship from the water. When I surfaced, I realized it was the two Abyssal beings who had saved me. They had just spotted me being pulled underwater and had actually pulled me and the ship out of the water. They were very close to me; they could stand on the water like ship girls and easily lift me, who weighed over 100 pounds. They were beautiful, but also terrifying. The blue one stared at me with eyes that looked like she could kill me. But in the end, they didn't kill me because the red Abyssal being said something to the blue one, and she let me go. She even took me and the ship out of the stormiest part of the water and then left."

“I don’t know what they wanted to do, and I don’t know what they said at the time, but I know that they saved me…” The man looked up and said to Xiaobai, “So to commemorate this experience, I stood on the deck when they left and desperately filmed them… I only told Yu Gan about the contents of this video.”

“Miss Yu Gan… no wonder.” Xiao Bai nodded.

Xiao Bai now understood why Yu Gan's expression turned so gloomy whenever he mentioned Chen Rui.

Since falling ill, the man has been bedridden and unaware of what's happening in society. However, Yu Gan, as a tour guide who travels around every day, must know that Chen Rui is making a fortune off their family's videos, and she must also know that she and her father have been deceived and exploited by Chen Rui.

What should have belonged to the Yu Gan family became someone else's money-making tool when the Yu Gan family was most in need of money.

How tragic is Yu Gan!

Yu Gan probably secretly contacted Chen Rui later, but as a minor girl with no backing or status, she probably couldn't even get into Chen Rui's company. As for revealing her identity to the public and saying that she was the one who filmed the video... now that Chen Rui has her family's boat and her family's videos, probably no one would believe it.

How tragic is Yu Gan!

Xiao Bai couldn't help but repeat the same thought to himself.

"Can you recall any details about your close encounter with those two Deans of the Deep Sea Academy?" Xiaobai asked the man.

“I remember one of the two Deep Sea Deans seemed to be injured,” the man quickly replied. “It was the one in red; she looked very pale and her voice was weak, but the one in blue seemed to obey her.”

“Red… oh.” Xiaobai raised an eyebrow; this result matched her investigation. “What kind of injury is it exactly?”

“I don’t know…” The man looked embarrassed. “The situation was urgent at the time, and I was worried that I might be killed… However, the red one in the deep sea didn’t seem to have any wounds… It looked like it had internal injuries or something.”

"What is her ship equipment status?"

"Wha...what is ship equipment?"

"It's that steel beneath them."

"It seems...it seems to be intact, but it also seems...not..." The man thought for a while, then shook his head, "I really can't figure it out."

"Any other details?" Xiaobai nodded and asked, "For example, where they went after they left, or the direction they went."

Compared to Dean Shenhai's current situation, Xiaobai is actually most concerned about Dean Shenhai's whereabouts.

Even just having directions like east, west, south, and north is better than wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.

Faced with Xiaobai's question, the man's expression instantly became complicated.

"Regarding where they went in the end... the question is actually..." The man lowered his head and remained silent, finally saying in a low voice, "Actually, they... didn't leave."

"...Huh?" Xiaobai looked up, staring blankly at the man. "What did you say?"

“They didn’t leave,” the man said, facing Xiaobai.

"They...didn't leave?" Now it was Xiaobai's turn to be surprised. "How could this be?"

After the Deep Sea Director appeared, the waters near Peicheng should have been searched extensively by a large number of admirals led by the Governor's Office. If the Deep Sea Director was hiding here, it's impossible for him to have gone undetected. Besides, three or four months have passed since the video was filmed. How could Peicheng have remained peaceful and undisturbed while the Deep Sea Director remained hidden here?

“Yes, they definitely didn’t leave… to be precise, they disappeared.” The man answered, holding his head in distress. “I didn’t film the rest of the story… actually, after I finished filming, an even bigger storm appeared on the sea, and I watched them walk into the eye of the storm, and then… their figures disappeared into the storm. Finally… the storm at sea quickly subsided, and after the storm disappeared, I never saw them on the sea again.”

"Why didn't you contact the local government about something so important?" Xiaobai asked in surprise.

"I...I don't think they're bad people...after all, they saved me..."

Chapter 2354 The Wonderful Days Are Coming Soon

Xiao Bai stared at the man speechlessly.

Well... the reason that I think the two of them aren't bad people... while a bit surprising, is also reasonable in a certain sense.

"Have I caused trouble for the organization?" The man became a little nervous when he saw that Xiaobai didn't speak.

"No." Xiaobai shook her head and smiled at the man.

The fact that the man did not report his close contact with the Dean of the Deep Sea to the local organization is definitely not a good thing for the safety of the residents here, but it is quite suitable for Xiaobai. This means that Xiaobai can be more unrestrained when he goes to find the Dean of the Deep Sea.

"Thank you for the information. Is there anything else?" Xiaobai asked again.

"That's it, it's really gone this time." The man explained sincerely, "I didn't even tell Yu Gan about this, I was prepared to keep it to myself... If it weren't for the fact that you are the admiral and saved my life, I would never have told you..."

"Then I must thank you again for your trust in us," Xiaobai said with a smile.

"..." The man gave an awkward smile.

"Oh right, speaking of which," Xiaobai held up a finger to the man, "Uncle, didn't you borrow money from loan sharks before?"

“Uh…” The man’s expression instantly turned serious, and he nodded silently.

"Will that group of loan sharks send debt collectors to ambush you?" Xiaobai asked.

“Yes, they will.” The man replied dejectedly. “They’re different from the thugs I hired. They’re real debt collectors, ruthless and forceful… Every time Yu Gan earns money, they quickly take it away. But the only saving grace is that they said these days kidnapping someone is much more troublesome than collecting debts, so even if it drags on, they won’t take Yu Gan away from me…”

"Is it a local loan shark organization?"

"Yes."

"Do they have a contact number?" Xiaobai asked.

“I don’t have a cell phone anymore, but they called us hundreds or even thousands of times when they were chasing us for debts. I can recite their phone numbers by heart…” The man said, then patted himself down, and suddenly realized something, looking at Xiaobai with some confusion, “Miss Admiral, what are you going to do?”

"It's nothing. Loan sharks are illegal organizations. I don't have that kind of reach. I can't possibly shut down all illegal organizations in the world, but it's no problem to punish the illegal organizations in front of me occasionally." Xiaobai smiled at the man. "After all, I am the admiral."

"You, you mean..." The man looked at Xiaobai in disbelief.

"Live peacefully, things will get better and better."

"Thank you, thank you so much..." The man looked at Xiaobai, his body, weakened by illness, trembling with emotion.

York pulled out a pen and paper from the ship's storage compartment and had the man write down the loan organization's phone number.

Just now.

Footsteps approached from outside, and the faint sounds of Yugan and Baltimore could be heard.

Xiao Bai put away the note with the phone number written on it, took out a mask, and put it back on her face under the man's questioning gaze.

"Miss, we are back."

Just after Xiaobai put on her mask, the sound of Baltimore's voice rang out from the doorway.

Baltimore and Yu Gan returned to the outhouse one after the other. In addition to tools for repairing the door, Baltimore was also carrying two large bags of nutritious food such as sesame paste, milk, and biscuits. Yu Gan followed behind her, looking timid and submissive, with her head down and her face flushed.

"What's the situation outside? Are those thugs lying in ambush for you?" Xiao Bai asked with a smile.

"No, the journey was safe and sound," Baltimore replied, pulling up the bulging plastic bag in her hand and placing it on the table. "Miss, look, there's a small supermarket on the way. I went in and bought some nutritional supplements for my uncle to help him recover."

"Well done." Xiaobai nodded approvingly, her gaze turning to Yu Gan.

Yu Gan usually instinctively declined Xiao Bai and the others' kindness, but perhaps because she thought it was food to nourish her father and would indeed be very effective, Yu Gan did not refuse this time. She just followed behind them with gratitude in her eyes, looking so moved that she couldn't speak, her nose and eyes even red.

When Yu Gan saw Xiao Bai, she was about to say something, but the next second she saw her father sitting by the bed, and her expression immediately turned to surprise.

"Dad, why are you up?" Yu Gan ran to the bedside in surprise and quickly helped her father up.

"It's alright, thanks to this lady..." The man looked at Yu Gan with a sigh, about to say something, but then he saw Xiao Bai winking at him and immediately changed his words, "I just chatted with this lady for a while, and thanks to her, I feel much better."

"Can we chat?" Yu Gan looked at the man hesitantly, but from her observation, her father did look much better now than when she left.

“Treatment can be divided into physiological treatment and psychological treatment. Talk therapy is also a way to treat illness.” Xiao Bai replied with a smile, and then smiled at Yu Gan’s father, “Uncle, what we just talked about is a secret, so don’t secretly tell Miss Yu Gan.”

“I won’t ask about those things!” Yu Gan answered before her father could.

For Yu Gan, as long as her father's complexion improved even a little, that would be enough to satisfy her; she didn't really care about anything else.

Anyway... talk therapy can only work once from beginning to end.

After answering Xiaobai, Yu Gan couldn't help but feel a little downcast.

"Miss Yu Gan," Xiao Bai called out to Yu Gan.

"Ah, Miss Bai, wait for me! I'll fix the door right away!" Yu Gan snapped out of her daze and quickly pulled out her tools from the plastic bag. "We can go out after we fix the door!"

"No need, let's skip it today," Xiaobai said.

"Eh? How can that be..."

"It's not your fault. I just got a phone call and I have some urgent business to deal with," Xiaobai said, half-jokingly.

"Is it about Miss Bai..." Yu Gan looked at Xiao Bai with a lost expression, her voice somewhat downcast, "Alright then..."

Whether it was a misperception or not, when Yu Gan returned from outside and saw Xiao Bai again, she inexplicably felt as if she would never see Xiao Bai again.

"Miss Bai, I... will I be able to see you tomorrow?" Yu Gan asked, clutching her chest as if she were afraid of losing Xiao Bai.

"Of course, I'll be staying in Peicheng for a while longer," Xiaobai nodded.

"Ah, that's great..." Yu Gan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Xiao Bai and the other two.

"Then we won't bother you any longer." Xiaobai patted his thigh and stood up from the chair. "Miss Yu Gan, see you tomorrow."

"it is good!"

After being seen off by Yu Gan, Xiao Bai and his two companions left the thatched hut.

Yu Gan stood at the door waving to Xiao Bai and the other two until they completely disappeared from sight before lowering her hand. She then stood on tiptoe and watched them for a long, long time before returning inside.

When Yu Gan returned to the house, she was startled to see her father carrying firewood on the ground.

"Dad, what are you doing? Go back to bed!" Yu Gan was afraid that her father would overwork himself again, so she rushed to him, snatched the firewood from his arms, and pressed her weak father back onto the bed. "The doctor said before that you can't do this kind of work in your current condition! It was only thanks to Miss Bai that your complexion finally improved a little. You need to take this opportunity to rest and recuperate, and don't overwork yourself again!"

"Ha, ha, ha..." Yu Gan pressed the man back onto the bed. Looking at his petite daughter, he couldn't help but let out a few weary laughs. "It's alright, really alright... I really feel much better..."

Yu Gan ignored her father and squatted down to gather firewood. After finishing, she went to the nutritional supplements Xiao Bai had bought and took out a bag of milk and biscuits. Yu Gan opened the bag of biscuits and placed it in her father's hand. Then she turned around and put the milk, along with its packaging, into the kettle to heat it.

"Hurry up and replenish your nutrition, this is Miss Bai's kind intention." Yu Gan squatted on the ground, fiddling with the kettle, and said to her father with her back to him.

"Yu Gan, you should have some too," Yu Gan's father said, looking up at the biscuits in his hand.

"Miss Bai bought this for you. I'm very healthy and don't need to eat it."

"Sigh..." The man looked at Yu Gan's retreating figure with complicated emotions, then lowered his head. "...Yu Gan."

"what's up?"

"Once I recover, I will definitely support you to go back to school," the man said. "I'm so sorry for everything during this time."