George hurriedly pulled out the key, "Here it is."
He had just searched the guards he had knocked out cold and taken it from them.
Just as George was about to move forward to operate the cruise ship, Qiao Jing snatched the key from his hand and started the ship herself.
George was stunned for a moment, watching Qiao Jing’s operation, his face showing a hint of surprise, "Master, you know how to drive a cruise ship too?"
Qiao Jing nodded and replied nonchalantly, "I have a little knowledge, there should be no problem with the basics."
While they were talking, she had already adjusted the ship’s direction and steered the cruise ship out to sea.
George looked on for a while, feeling that his master was being far too modest.
This was not a little knowledge at all!
She was clearly very skilled, right?
It was no different from a professional sailor!
His own skills weren’t that great; he had been quite worried about not operating it well and ruining Master’s escape plan.
Now it seemed that his worries were unnecessary.
With the Master herself in charge, there would definitely be no problems!
However, he really wanted to know, what else could his Master do?
Or rather, was there anything his Master didn’t know how to do?
Meanwhile, Qiao Jing piloted the cruise ship, escaping in a certain direction across the vast sea.
On the island, as the shift time came, another set of guards arrived at the port.
Seeing the people lying unconscious on the ground, they immediately realized something was wrong.
"Quick, inform Mr. John and Mr. Frank, something has happened!"
As soon as John and Frank received the message, they immediately jumped out of bed and rushed to the port in a hurry.
"Mr. John, we were too careless, George was merely pretending to surrender. His behavior these past few days was all to make us let down our guard and look for an opportunity to help Professor Qiao escape..."
Frank was so furious he was itching with anger, but before he could finish, John interrupted him furiously.
"What’s the use of saying all this now? Or perhaps, do you want to remind me of how stupid I’ve been!"
He could not have imagined being outwitted by someone like George.
For him, a leader of a country, it was an utter humiliation!
Frank hurried to explain, "No, that’s not what I meant, I..."
"Enough, I don’t want to hear more of this useless drivel, have someone chase them down immediately!"
John interrupted Frank again, grinding his teeth as he spoke, "No matter what, we must bring back Professor Qiao!"
Frank responded and immediately gathered a group to pursue Qiao Jing at full speed.
Soon, he and John boarded another cruise ship and followed the pursuit team.
"Mr. John, don’t be too anxious. According to the time estimation, Professor Qiao shouldn’t have gone too far. I’ve already arranged for several speedboats to chase after them."
Frank stood beside John, "The speedboats travel much faster than cruise ships; they should be able to catch up unless something unexpected happens."
John snorted coldly, his face gloomy, and he didn’t respond.
Seeing his mood, Frank could only shut his mouth sheepishly.
At this moment, Qiao Jing was driving the small cruise ship, having already covered some distance.
Just as George breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard the sound of engines from behind the cruise ship.
His heart tightened, and he quickly looked back, only to see the previously calm sea now rippling with waves and several beams of light faintly shining forth.
This scene made George’s entire body tense up.
He said somewhat frantically, "Master, it’s a speedboat; they’ve caught up. The speedboat is much faster than us; we’ll definitely be overtaken!"
Qiao Jing knitted her brows, yet her expression remained calm.
She glanced at George and said indifferently, "Calm down, don’t be so nervous. Haven’t they not caught up yet?"
Anyway, she would not go back to that wretched island.
Let the soldiers block, and the water cover the earth.
Let’s see if they can catch up!
Seeing Qiao Jing so composed, George instantly felt much more reassured.
Thus, a fierce chase unfolded on the sea surface.
Although the cruise ship was slow, Qiao Jing, with her proficient driving skills, always maintained a certain distance from the speedboat behind them.
However, as dawn approached, the bottom of the cruise ship unexpectedly struck a hidden reef.
With a loud "Bang—" the entire cruise ship shook.
Qiao Jing and George staggered.
After stabilizing themselves, Qiao Jing knitted her brows and said to George, "It seems we’re not in luck, the ship’s hull hit a reef, and I’m afraid we can’t operate the cruise any longer."
Hearing this, George’s face turned several shades paler, and that frantic feeling surged back.
He swallowed hard, "Then... then what do we do now?"
This was the middle of the ocean!
With no village in front or a store behind, and pursuers chasing them, if the cruise ship sank, they would either be captured back to the island or be on a path to certain death!
At this moment, the several speedboats that had been relentlessly pursuing them had rapidly closed the distance, and seawater started to seep in through the cracks in the hull.
Qiao Jing pursed her lips and decisively said, "When I boarded the cruise ship, I had seen professional diving equipment, and there’s an island cluster a bit further ahead."
"The best plan for now is to use the diving equipment to submerge into the sea, and then head towards the islands to avoid John’s pursuit. After that, we can figure out a way to leave."
Having spoken, Qiao Jing went over to the side, grabbed the diving equipment, and handed a set to George.
After George took it, Qiao Jing suddenly remembered a crucial question, "Can you manage diving?"
"I can," George nodded without hesitation.
He knew how to swim. Although he had not dived before, with the professional equipment and decent swimming ability, there shouldn’t be a problem.
Once they had finished discussing, the two quickly put on the diving gear, and right before the cruise was about to sink, they leaped into the sea.
In an instant, the figures of both disappeared from the sea surface.
Qiao Jing had an excellent sense of direction. She took the lead, guiding George as they swam towards the direction where the islands stretched out.
When the speedboat caught up, the cruise ship had already sunk into the sea.
Suddenly losing their target, they had to stop and report the situation to Frank as it was.
Once Frank received the news, he immediately relayed it to John.
"Mr. John, the cruise ship steered by Professor Qiao has hit a reef, and the entire ship has sunk to the bottom of the sea..."
Hearing this, John naturally assumed that Qiao Jing had fallen into their hands.
Because with the cruise ship sunk, Qiao Jing could only be captured or be on a path to certain death.
Therefore, without waiting for Frank to finish, John directly questioned, "Where is Professor Qiao now? Why don’t you bring her over quickly!"
Frank’s face showed a trace of difficulty, "Mr. John, Professor Qiao has disappeared."
John rose abruptly, frowning, "Clarify what you mean by she’s disappeared?"