Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 56 The Deal is Made, Ah Ning is Saved

Ah Ning, still tied to the chair, should reflect on her actions. Perhaps her meetings with Yan Huai have made her naive. Even though she had her doubts, she still drank the beverage...

At first, when the blood entered her throat, Ah Ning only felt a warm, sweet, and metallic sensation coursing through her body. But gradually, the warmth intensified, and her body became increasingly hot and burning.

"..." Ah Ning didn't expect Yan Huai to describe this kind of pain. She was so tormented that she couldn't speak for a moment, but the way she looked at Yan Huai clearly showed that she was cursing in her heart!

Yan Huai looked away, temporarily suspending the silent communication through the system. He was quite self-aware, knowing that A Ning was unlikely to say anything nice. So, rather than listening to her greetings, he decided to save his attention. What if he encountered an emergency next time?

After thinking it over, Yan Huai closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He estimated that about two minutes had passed, so he opened his eyes to look.

But upon closer inspection—uh…Ah Ning, you're still alive, right?

Ah Ning: "......"

Yan Huai shook his phone, looked at A Ning who was sweating profusely and still somewhat delirious, and asked, thinking he had suddenly become kind, "How about I help you?"

Ah Ning slumped in her chair, too exhausted even to roll her eyes. She tacitly agreed to Yan Huai's actions, and began to rattle off numbers one by one: "0, 7, 5, 9..."

"Hey, hey, slow down!" Yan Huai was absolutely certain of where the corresponding number key was before he pressed it. Looking at his serious expression, anyone who didn't know better would think he was deliberately teasing the defenseless A Ning. But actually, he was really wrong; he was genuinely unfamiliar with phones...

"This is 0, right?"

"Host, the one in the middle of the next row is 0."

"This is 7!"

"......Yes."

"this is......"

When Yan Huai finally finished pressing the seventeen numbers precisely and elegantly, only five minutes remained of the originally planned ten minutes.

Enraged, Ah Ning regained her strength prematurely. After dialing the number, she kicked out, aiming her sole directly at Yan Huai's face. But he didn't even look; instead, he kicked the chair beneath Ah Ning. Ah Ning, with her short legs, didn't even drop a speck of mud from her feet onto Yan Huai; she was simply swept back a considerable distance by the chair...

"puff......"

Wang Xu had been covering his mouth to suppress his laughter ever since Yan Huai dialed the number, but now he really couldn't hold it in anymore.

Wang Ming, standing beside Wang Xu, maintained his usual air of mystery, but the slight twitching at the corner of his mouth betrayed his inner turmoil and helplessness—the adult was really getting better and better at acting.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end of the phone was familiar to Yan Huai; it was Liu Tai, who had just been discharged from the hospital and still had an arm sling around her neck.

"I'm looking for Qiu Dekao," Yan Huai said bluntly.

"Yan Huai!" Liu Tai would never forget that voice, even in death!

“A-Ning has what your boss wants, but now, her life is no longer his concern.”

"What do you want to do?" With the boss and Ah Ning at stake, Liu Tai took a few deep breaths before desperately regaining his composure. He asked angrily while also giving his subordinates a look, signaling them to contact Qiu Dekao, who was in the United States, immediately.

"You have less than five minutes to prepare. Within five minutes, contact Qiu Dekao and reach an agreement. I will guarantee A Ning's safety."

Liu Tai's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this. Ah Ning disappeared on Xisha Island in less than a day. If she hadn't taken a flight, she would definitely still be in Hainan. Moreover, it had only been five minutes... so it was almost certain that she was on a cruise ship at sea.

"As soon as possible."

Liu Tai covered the phone's receiver and had the young man sitting at the computer nearby check the information of all ocean-going vessels and cruise ships that would arrive at the port or dock in five minutes. In less than a minute, the information was narrowed down to ten ocean-going vessels and cruise ships at two ports.

"Vice Captain, we've made contact with the boss."

Liu Tai first ordered his men to split into two teams and head to Haian Port and Haiji Port. They were to search for A Ning's whereabouts on all the ships and cruise ships docked in the port. After making these arrangements, he connected his mobile phone channel with Qiu Dekao's.

The next moment, the room was completely silent except for the conversation between Yan Huai and Qiu Dekao.

"Brother Yan, I wonder how A Ning is doing now?"

Hearing the deep worry in Qiu Dekao's voice, Yan Huai raised his index finger to his lips, signaling the lively A Ning opposite him to be quiet: "It's not good, he's been poisoned and his life is in danger."

"If Brother Yan wants to make demands, then he should be able to guarantee Ah Ning's safety, right?"

“Mr. Qiu is right. Wu Sansheng took something from the underwater tomb. Coincidentally, that same thing was also on the ghost ship that A Ning accidentally entered. However, the windy season has arrived, and that ghost ship has probably been reduced to rubble.”

"Why would Brother Yan say that Ah Ning still has something I want?"

The fervor in Qiu Dekao's voice suddenly became less pronounced than at the beginning. Yan Huai understood the reason for this change and had expected it, but he still felt a strange emotion for A Ning.

"Because the poison she was in was related to that thing, related to immortality."

Upon hearing the slightly heavier breathing on the other end of the phone, Yan Huai knew that his plan was simple and foolproof.

"What are Brother Yan's conditions?"

Yan Huai paused deliberately, and after about half a minute, he chuckled and said, "I wonder what is most important to the Wu family? Is it the status of the Nine Gates, the wealth of Tongtian, or Wu Sansheng? Or perhaps, Wu Xie? How about you help me test the waters?"

"Host, didn't you promise to stay away from the protagonist for the time being?" The system's data started to get tangled up. You clearly promised before, so why is Yan Huai getting involved with the protagonist again? Does he not love Zhang Qiling anymore?

"I changed my mind."

Yan Huai's lowered gaze trembled slightly. He didn't plan to stay in Changsha for long to help Wang Quan complete some bullshit mission. He wanted to go back and keep a close eye on Zhang Qiling, and on the so-called rules that could affect Zhang Qiling's fate and soul.

Isn't it enough for the protagonist to simply follow the plot's trajectory in the book? Then it guarantees the protagonist won't die and the plot won't change...

"Okay, I promise you, I'll send someone to pick up A-Ning right away."

Qiu Dekao's reply brought Yan Huai back to his senses. He stood up, glanced at A Ning, and said, "Words are no proof. I need to see results before I hand A Ning over to you."

"But similarly, I can't be sure if what you said is true or false. I don't even know if I'll ever see A-Ning again. How can we reach an agreement?"

Yan Huai sneered, asked only one question, and then hung up the phone: "Don't you want to live forever?"

To strike a snake, aim for its vital spot, but to trap Qiu Dekao, all it takes is a word about immortality—this is what Wang Jue's memories told Yan Huai.

Turning his gaze back to A Ning, who had almost fully recovered, Yan Huai initiated a silent communication: "After you escaped, you are free. At least until Qiu Dekao comes to demand your return, you can consider finding a new boss."

Ah Ning's expression was complicated. After hesitating for a long time, she finally replied, "Thank you!"

Yan Huai smiled slightly, turned around and left the cabin.

There are two minutes and seven seconds left in the silent communication. Ah Ning, until we meet again.

"Sir, we're about to dock." Wang Ming glanced at his watch, then looked up at Yan Huai and said.

"Hmm!" We've finally arrived...

"System, are you ready?" Yan Huai stretched on the deck.

"Host, everything is ready."

—Yan Huai stared blankly at the kettle wrapped in a red peony shell on the wooden table, wondering in his mind, "Will this thing explode?"

"Host, it will explode. When the kettle is filled with hot water and the stopper is tightened enough, the kettle will explode due to excessive pressure."

How many kettles are there on the cruise ship?

"There is one in almost every cabin, plus the spares, making a total of 170."

What would happen if they exploded together?

"It made a huge noise..."

Yan Huai had the system shield his hearing. Standing on the deck behind the cargo box, he glanced at A Ning, who had quietly slipped away in the chaos. Although his face remained expressionless, as he turned around, he seemingly unintentionally kicked the member of the Wang family who had previously provoked him by closing the door into the sea...

Yan Huai: What gave you the guts to offend me?!