Xia Lei yanked the body of the dead sailor in the doorway to himself to use it as a shield. Takeshita Nobu shot twice at him at almost the same instant.

Bang! Bang! Two bullets struck the sailor’s body. However, a handgun was not powerful enough to go through a body and hit Xia Lei.

Long Bing raised her gun and shot in Takeshita Nobu’s direction.

Takeshita Nobu was no greenhorn either. He dove to the floor. He’d avoided the shot, but a sailor behind him was not so lucky. That poor guy got three shots in the chest, one of which pierced his heart. Blood spurted almost two metres from his chest!

Xia Lei wrenched the hunting knife from the sailor’s chest, and shoved the corpse out the door. He flung the blood-stained knife at the same time, and that knife travelled like a bullet, flashing into the narrow corridor. Stab! It stopped in the head of the third sailor.

Takeshita Nobu rolled to the left.

He had brought five sailors but three had been done in in seconds. There was no time to regret his decision, however – the battle was not yet over!

Xia Lei and Long Bing had got past the most difficult part, and they had just three to deal with now. It was now a more evenly-matched three versus two. In terms of fighting ability though, the other three were like boy scouts to Xia Lei and Long Bing.

They did not charge out, however, because Takeshita Nobu and the other two sailors were on both sides of the door. The corridor was narrow too, and there was no place to dodge. They would be shot full of holes if they went out, so it was fairly dangerous.

“Who the hell are you?” Takeshita Nobu was finally calm enough to growl at them in Japanese.

Xia Lei replied in Japanese. “Who we are is not important. Why do you want to kill us?”

“Money!” shouted Takeshita Nobu. “Give me another USD 10,000, then throw your gun out, and we’ll have a ceasefire.”

Xia Lei sneered, “And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll set you on fire!” Takeshita Nobu have the order. “Go get the petrol!”

In the cabin, Xia Lei suddenly gestured at a spot to Long Bing. There was a wooden wall between them, but he had spotted a sailor’s head.

They wouldn’t get the petrol anyway. This fishing vessel was their tool for smuggling goods, not a fishing vessel owned by someone else. They wouldn’t set fire to their own vessel unless their situation was dire. Takeshita Nobu had actually only said this to put pressure on Xia Lei and Long Bing, to force them into making a mistake.

Giving him the money and the gun would be suicide.

Takeshita Nobu’s plan was fine, but he did not know who he was up against.

Xia Lei moved his fingers away, and Long Bing shot at the spot he’d pointed at without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three bullets shot in one spot. The first weakened the wood. The second made a hole, and the third went through the wood and into the sailor’s head.

The three shots had been fired in the same second, so quick and precise it seemed like it had been one. The sailor who’d been shot was dead as soon as he felt the shot.

“Bastard! Kill them!” Takeshita Nobu roared. He waved for his underling to charge in, but he himself got to his feet and escaped the corridor.

The last sailor was no fool. He turned to run away when he saw Takeshita Nobu making his escape.

Long Bing suddenly dashed out from behind the cabin door and shot at the head of the last sailor.

Bang! A huge chunk of his head was blown away. Blood and brain matter bloomed on the walls. His corpse fell forward and hit the floor heavily.

Long Bing moved her gun to shoot at Takeshita Nobu.

Xia Lei grabbed her wrist and hollered. “Stop right there!”

Takeshita Nobu froze in his tracks at the entrance of the corridor. He didn’t dare move.

Long Bing wrinkled her brows. “Why don’t you let me kill him?”

“We need someone to drive the boat. Can you drive one?” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing shook her head.

“Me neither. So let’s wait till we get to Japan to finish him off,” said Xia Lei.

Long Bing nodded but she did not put her gun down. She kept it trained on Takeshita Nobu.

“Put your gun down!” shouted Xia Lei at Takeshita Nobu.

“Okay, don’t shoot. Don’t kill me. I’ll listen to whatever you say.” Takeshita Nobu was nervous. He put down his gun and turned slowly to face Xia Lei and Long Bing.

Xia Lei was cool and handsome and Long Bing was sexy and beautiful, but they looked like two demons which had just emerged from Hell to Takeshita Nobu. They scared him and he was terrified of them.

Xia Lei walked over and picked up Takeshita Nobu’s gun. Long Bing pick up the rest of the guns in the corridor. She kept two, and threw the rest in the sea.

Takeshita Nobu was brought to the ship cockpit. Xia Lei pressed the gun Long Bing handed him to Takeshita Nobu’s head, and said threateningly, “You’ll drive the ship to Japan. Let me warn you not to play any tricks, or I’ll kill you.

“I wouldn’t dare. Don’t worry. I’ll take you to Japan. I’ll do anything you say as long as you don’t kill me.” His temper was all gone now.

“Where do we disembark?” asked Xia Lei.

“Hokkaido. We’ll anchor at a fishing village in Hokkaido,” said Takeshita Nobu. “We’ll get to it before the sun rises. I’ve been there plenty of times. Lots of Filipinos and Vietnamese enter that way through my methods.”

Xia Lei translated what Takeshita Nobu said for Long Bing. She thought for a bit, then said, “Ask him if he has his people in that fishing village.”

“Do you have your people in that fishing village?” asked Xia Lei in Japanese.

Takeshita Nobu’s gaze wavered for bit, but he said confidently, “No. It’s just an ordinary fishing village. Regular fishermen live there. I’m also a fisherman who dabbles on some extra business on the side, and I made a mistake because I was reckless. You must forgive me. Forgive me, please.”

Xia Lei did not believe this Takeshita Nobu at all because the look in his eyes had been strange. People in the smuggling business had no morals, and they would even kill their stowaways and sink the bodies if they encounter navy patrols. They would do this to avoid being taken in by the long arm of the law, so how could their disembarkation point not have one of their own there?

“He said it’s just an ordinary fishing village and he has no people there. I don’t believe him. What do we do?” said Xia Lei to Long Bing.

Long Bing thought for a bit. “Kill this guy before we get to the fishing village, then sink this boat. We swim to Hokkaido.”

Xia Lei nodded. “We’ll do that.”

“She… What did she say?” Takeshita Nobu asked craftily.

Xia Lei smiled. “She said you lost quite a few men. We’ll give you another USD 10,000 when we get to that fishing village as compensation.”

“Ah, you’re such a good man. I really like China, and Chinese people. Oh, right, that island belongs to China. Yes, I’ve always said that. Really, I detest the right-wing politicians. Fuck them! They don’t know history at all.” Takeshita Nobu spoke words to please Xia Lei and Long Bing. “They can’t see the whole picture. How big is China? And how big is Japan? It’s not the same now. If there really is a war now, and bullets start flying… we’re all gonna die, eh?”

“Heh heh.” Xia Lei smiled what what he said. “You’re an interesting guy.”

“I am a peace-loving man who’s against war. My father is Chinese.”

Takeshita Nobu was willing to say anything to live.

It was 0400 hrs and the sun had not risen yet, but a strip of beach had already appeared on the horizon. Xia Lei looked up at it, but could not see if there was a fishing village with his left eye. It was still too far away.

“How much longer?” asked Xia Lei.

“Half an hour,” said Takeshita Nobu. “I’ve kept my promise. You have to keep your promise too.”

Bang! A gunshot.

Takeshita Nobu sprawled across the deck of the ship cockpit. A hole the size of a wineglass had opened up in his head, spilling blood and brain matter.

Long Bing blew at the smoke coming from the muzzle of her gun and said flatly, “I gave him a swift death on account of him saying all those nice things.”

It was a swift death indeed. Takeshita Nobu had not even realised that Long Bing wanted to kill him when she ended his life with a shot to the head. No suffering.

Xia Lei shrugged. “There’s still half an hour before we get to Hokkaido. If we go according to your plan and swim, how long would that take us?”

“Destroy the ship. We’ll be discovered if we get too close. It’s no big deal to swim for a bit if we want to err on the side of safety. Besides, you have me, don’t you?” said Long Bing.

An explosion came from below the boat about ten minutes later, and it started sinking. Out on the surface of the sea, three lifebuoys bobbed, heading for the Hokkaido shore.

“Where is this? Huh? What is this place?” The cold shocked Gu Kewu awake, and he shouted in a panic. “Why am I… Guh!”

Long Bing smashed the butt of her gun onto Gu Kewu’s head, and he fell silent.

“I think we can get ashore on Hokkaido at daybreak. We’ll avoid a fishing village if there is one.” Xia Lei peered at the shoreline, looking for an appropriate place to swim to.

“You’ve been married to Shentu Tianyin for a while. Is she pregnant yet?”

Xia Lei was speechless.

“How many times a night do you two do it?”

“Hey! I’m talking about serious things here. What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Don’t get agitated. I’m just chatting with you. Tell me – how many women have you slept with?”

Xia Lei buried his head in the ice-cold sea...