Chapter 913: Another Old Friend |
"What, Ryuusei was captured by the Deep Ones?!" Yin En and the others exclaimed in unison.
Ding Kun nodded and said seriously, "Ryuusei was following behind me, but since his swimming ability is average, I would occasionally look back to see if he was keeping up with us. However, when I turned around just now, I saw Liu Xing being captured by something, which was likely the Deep Ones if there were no accidents."
"The Deep Ones?" Shima Mitsuhiro frowned and said, "I'm familiar with most of the Deep Ones around Kagoshima, but they generally don't operate in this area because it's full of various docks, with ships arriving all the time, making it too noisy for the Deep Ones."
"In that case, were these Deep Ones sent by Shima Takeshi?" Zhang Jingxu asked hurriedly.
Shima Mitsuhiro thought for a moment and shook his head, "It's unlikely, because Shima Takeshi couldn't have established a relationship and cooperation with the local Deep Ones in Kagoshima in such a short time. These Deep Ones have been allies with our Shimazu Family for hundreds of years, and we've had a pleasant partnership. They wouldn't recognize the traitor Shima Takeshi so quickly, especially since most of the Deep One tribes around Kagoshima have sent representatives to join my uncle in the Public-Military Conflict."
"Then these must be reinforcements sent by Shima Takeshi's supporters. Could you contact the nearby Deep One tribes and ask them to send people to find Ryuusei?" Ding Kun asked seriously.
Shima Mitsuhiro nodded and picked up a landline phone, saying, "No problem, I'll contact the surrounding Deep One tribes right away. However, I must say something ominous – Ryuusei may not be rescued..."
"There's still a chance!" Yin En interrupted Shima Mitsuhiro. "Since the Deep One captured Liu Xing instead of directly attacking us, it means they want to keep someone alive to gather information from us. So Liu Xing won't be harmed in the short term."
Shima Mitsuhiro sighed but didn't say anything further.
"To be honest, you really scared me half to death. I thought I was going to die at the bottom of the sea..."
Liu Xing looked at Matsui Yui with a speechless expression.
That's right, Liu Xing was captured by Matsui Yui.
Matsui Yui smiled and said, "I was rescuing you. You should know that there have been a lot of people around that dock recently, and if you followed them in, you might have gotten into trouble."
Liu Xing frowned and said anxiously, "Huh? What's going on?"
Matsui Yui gestured to a nearby Deep One, who immediately brought over a tablet.
"See for yourself."
Matsui Yui opened a video and handed the tablet to Liu Xing.
In the video, after several large trucks entered the dock, dozens of armed Black-Clad Men rushed out and quickly took control of the entire dock, locking the original dock workers in a warehouse.
However, Liu Xing could see that these Black-Clad Men were not professionals, as they made many mistakes during their operation and even accidentally injured their own teammates.
If there had been more security personnel at the dock, these Black-Clad Men might not have been able to occupy it.
"This video was taken two nights ago. Now, these Black-Clad Men have disguised themselves as dock workers," Matsui Yui explained. "When I saw you were about to walk into the trap, I had to capture you, the one swimming at the back, and bring you here."
Liu Xing nodded and then said with a wry smile, "You could have followed us through the sewer into that warehouse and then told us about these events. That way, Zhang Jingxu and the others could have left with us. Do you have a mobile phone here? I'll call and inform them about this."
Matsui Yui shook her head and said seriously, "It's not as simple as you think. After investigating, we discovered that these Black-Clad Men are actually under Shima Mitsuhiro's command."
"Shima Mitsuhiro?" Liu Xing raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You even know about Shima Mitsuhiro? Then you must also be aware of the recent events in the Shimazu Family, right? Wait, how did you and your people suddenly return to the Island Nation?"
Seeing Liu Xing's delayed realization, Matsui Yui explained from the beginning, "Although my father and I have established a foothold in Scotland with our people, my father still maintains an intelligence network in the Island Nation. So when the Public-Military Conflict began, my father sent me and a team back to the Island Nation to seize an opportunity and join the advantageous side. My father still wants to take advantage of the Public-Military Conflict to return to his homeland, as there is a shocking secret buried underground in Fisher's Village. If it weren't absolutely necessary, my father would have been reluctant to leave Fisher's Village."
"Of course, if we returned to the Island Nation with our previous identities, whether we joined the Public Faction or the Warrior Faction, our original enemies would not let us off the hook. So my father decided to give me a new identity to participate in the Public-Military Conflict in the Island Nation. That's why I've been staying here, waiting for the right opportunity to enter the scene and gather intelligence to perfect my new identity as the pirate Cynthia."
"You're right, not only humans, but my Deep One tribe also has the profession of pirates. As Liu Xing, you should know how widespread the Deep One tribe is across the world. Wherever there is an ocean, you'll find traces of the Deep One. And deep beneath the sea, there is a city belonging to the Deep One tribe every so often. Unfortunately, the Deep One tribe has never been particularly united. After the great Cthulhu fell into slumber and Father God Dagon and Mother Goddess Hydra went missing, the Deep One tribe gradually split into various tribes and city-states."
"Those who established cities under the sea are called city-states, while those who developed along the coasts are tribes. There is no subordinate relationship between the various tribes and city-states because defeated tribes and city-states are directly absorbed. However, after every war, there are always some Deep Ones who slip through the cracks. These defeated individuals who refuse to join other tribes or city-states have no choice but to become pirates, roaming the seas and occupying small islands as bases. They occasionally plunder nearby tribes and city-states for resources and sometimes attack territories of other species, recruiting other mythical creatures as pirates."
"Currently, there are four powerful pirate gangs worldwide, each distributed across the four oceans. The one controlling the Pacific is called the Deep Sea Gang, with over ten thousand mythical creatures. It's also the most aggressive of the four pirate gangs. Recently, the Deep Sea Gang was besieged by a coalition of major city-states and tribes in the Pacific. Although the Deep Sea Gang itself wasn't seriously harmed, with its main figures only sustaining minor injuries, many of its affiliated pirates chose to break away and become independent. I, Cynthia, was one of them."
"In the coastal areas of the Island Nation, the region with the fewest Deep One tribes is currently the southern part of Kyushu. This is because the Deep One tribes in southern Kyushu recently experienced a large-scale conflict, severely weakening their overall strength. So I brought my people here, intending to find an opportunity to absorb a Deep One tribe and increase our strength. That way, I could have more bargaining chips to participate in the Public-Military Conflict. However, I discovered that a new group of Deep Ones had beaten me to it and absorbed a Deep One tribe. More importantly, I happened to know the leader of this group of Deep Ones."
Liu Xing couldn't help but ask, "You mean the group of Deep Ones that came to England to hunt you down?"
Matsui Yui nodded and continued, "Exactly, those damned guys. Their original territory should have been around Hokkaido, so for them to suddenly come all the way from the northernmost part of the Island Nation to the southernmost part and cause trouble is suspicious. That's why I started investigating their situation, and I found out they were actually helping Shima Mitsuhiro."
"I know what you want to ask, Liu Xing, so let me tell you everything. Shima Mitsuhiro had a college friend named Kitano Seiichi, a rich heir from the Hokkaido region and also a Deep One Hybrid. In other words, he was the spokesperson for that tribe in human society. He and Shima Mitsuhiro have always had a good relationship because the Shimazu Family's sales channels in Hokkaido were handled by the Kitano family. So after Shima Mitsuhiro gained Shimazu Nakano's favor, he learned about Kitano Seiichi's true identity as a Deep One."
"After that, Shima Mitsuhiro and Kitano Seiichi became very close, and most importantly, even Shimazu Nakano didn't know about this. So you can probably guess Shima Mitsuhiro's plan, Liu Xing. He wanted to use Kitano Seiichi's support to become the head of the Shimazu Family. However, he also knew that relying solely on Kitano Seiichi wasn't enough to secure the position, so he didn't reveal this trump card until a few days ago when Shima Takeshi successfully took control of the Shimazu Residence."
"Coincidentally, although I had been acting secretly after arriving here, I had been dropping hints to pave the way for my future actions. So before taking action, Shima Takeshi wanted to contact me and have me provide support at sea. After all, the Shimazu Residence is located by the ocean, and if Shima Takeshi's plan didn't go smoothly, some Shimazu Family members might try to escape by sea. That's why he hoped we could capture any fleeing Shimazu Family members at sea."
"And you must have accepted that commission, right?" Liu Xing's tone was very affirmative, despite phrasing it as a question.
Matsui Yui nodded and smiled, "Correct, after investigating Shima Takeshi and the Shimazu Family's situation, I accepted the commission because I knew Shimazu Nakano had taken the main Shimazu forces to Osaka, leaving only a bunch of incompetent people behind in Kagoshima. So it was a very profitable deal... Of course, if I had known earlier that you were on Shimazu Nakano's side, I would have definitely refused the commission."
Back to the main topic, after I completed the commission, Shima Takeshi asked me for a subordinate to ensure that we could cooperate again at any time, so my subordinate heard from Shima Takeshi that Shima Mitsuhiro was organizing manpower to deal with him. That's how I learned that those guys came to Kagoshima City under the leadership of Kitano Masaichi, and they even forced Shima Takeshi not to leave the Shimazu Residence, after all, those guys were not weak in strength, so under their watchful eyes, Shima Takeshi could only stay in the Shimazu Residence.
Hearing this, Liu Xing suddenly realized and finally understood why Shima Takeshi had been staying in the Shimazu Residence all along.
However, if that's the case, Shima Mitsuhiro never considered himself and his group as his own people.
So why did Shima Mitsuhiro do this?
Liu Xing now also sensed a conspiracy.
Liu Xing thought for a moment and asked, "Were those Black-Clad Men at the docks also brought by Kitano Masaichi?"
"No, that group of Black-Clad Men should be Shima Mitsuhiro's own subordinates, because I found out that most of these Black-Clad Men are local society members from Kagoshima, and their leader was even a high school classmate of Shima Mitsuhiro, who had helped Shima Mitsuhiro cover up a case and spent a few years in prison," Matsui Yui answered.
Liu Xing took a sip of hot tea and said seriously, "If that's the case, Shima Mitsuhiro has already controlled that dock, so Kitano Masaichi should be bringing those Deep Ones over soon, which is why you forcibly took me away?"
"You're right," Matsui Yui shrugged and said, "I can't let Kitano Masaichi know that I've returned to the Island Nation, otherwise, it would definitely bring a bunch of people to hunt me down again, after all, the bounty on my head and my father's head, if converted to your human currency, would be equivalent to one trillion US dollars."
"What ghost? One trillion US dollars?!" Liu Xing said in disbelief.
In Liu Xing's impression, even Bin Laden's bounty was only fifty million US dollars.
Matsui Yui nodded and said seriously, "Actually, my father and I used to deceive you. The reason we were hunted down by our original tribe was not just because of my father's attitude towards humans, but because my father had a key that could unlock the shocking secret underground in Fisher's Village. That's why those guys chased us from the Island Nation to England like hyenas. Of course, this is also an important reason why I'm back now."
Matsui Yui paused and continued, "Actually, the reason I brought you, Liu Xing, here is also because of this."
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