Chapter 857: Chapter 857: Who is the Real Mastermind? Chapter 857: Chapter 857: Who is the Real Mastermind? Luo Qiao said indifferently, “I haven’t been married into the Lu Family for long. You must have investigated that thoroughly. If the Jade Pendant is as important as you say, would the Lu Family let me know about it?”
The tattooed man stood up and burst into laughter, “You really have guts. Are you not afraid of upsetting the boss and being thrown into the sea to feed the sharks?”
Luo Qiao didn’t retort but merely took her Walkman back into her space and replaced it with a new cassette tape for later use, deciding not to waste it on such meaningless talk.
The tattooed man shouted outside the cabin, “Contact them and tell them to bring what I want by tomorrow noon at the latest in exchange for her, or don’t blame me for consigning this woman to the bottom of the sea.”
“Yes, I’ll do it now.”
The tattooed man then commanded, “Take her down, and keep a tight watch on her.”
Luo Qiao was taken down to a utility room filled with axes, hammers, wrenches, harpoons, fishing nets, life jackets, life rafts, and buckets of various sizes.
Luo Qiao found a spot to sit and thought that this tattooed man was likely not the true mastermind behind this, as his aura did not seem like that of a leader. She planned to go out to explore once it got dark.
First, she observed her surroundings and noticed a window above. Carefully, she moved some buckets beneath it, stacked and positioned them properly, and climbed up to check out the view.
She saw that the room across housed food storage, filled with beer, spirits, fried peanuts, various canned foods, flour, rice, noodles, several buckets of oil, and some vegetables kept on the outer edge.
Luo Qiao examined the window and took a tool from below to unscrew the bolts, then cautiously removed the cross-shaped iron frame from above, hiding it somewhere before settling down to rest with her eyes closed.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Luo Qiao heard voices outside: “What are you taking these for?”
“Bringing some food to the one we caught.”
“Why bother? You’re not getting soft again, are you? Don’t start trouble.”
“What the hell are you thinking? Do I look like that kind of guy? Big Brother asked me to bring it over.”
“Let her starve. It’s easier than having to keep an eye on her. She’ll be too weak to even think about running away after missing a few meals.”
“Yeah, right. In these vast high seas, even if she wanted to run, where could she go?”
“You have a point.”
“So, where are we heading anyway?”
“Big Brother said the head of the family instructed us to head for the high seas to meet someone. It’s none of our business beyond that.”
“I’ll grab some booze, let’s have a drink here, bro.”
People entered the next room briefly before leaving, and the two outside began to drink, occasionally chatting. This gave Luo Qiao a clearer picture of the situation.
Heading to the high seas to meet someone implied that someone was coming from another place to the high seas—possibly the real mastermind behind this.
Luo Qiao realized she could not act hastily and must wait until they met up with the person. They probably thought that she, a lone woman, wouldn’t cause much trouble, so they just locked her up without tying her up.
She stood up, locked the cabin door from the inside, then entered her space, where she cooked herself a fish porridge on the small stove and steamed a huge pot of rice, preparing for an extended stay and storing extra supplies just in case they were needed soon.
She then fished out a bucket of fish from the pond, cleaned them all, and set them to stew. Next, she cleaned over a dozen chickens, cut them up, washed them, and marinated them with spices for later use.
Once the porridge was ready, she did not rush to keep it in the storeroom and preserved its freshness. Only after she finished a bowl, when the pot was cooler, did she transfer the porridge to a basin and take it to the storeroom to avoid the risk of burning her mouth if she consumed it hurriedly.
She served the steamed rice and stewed fish, then started stewing the chicken, cleaning up the kitchen afterward. She then served herself some fish and a small bowl of rice, storing the rest in the storeroom.
After finishing her meal and cleaning up, she took a bath to wash off the kitchen smells and changed into a different but similarly colored outfit, washing the one she had removed and hanging it to dry before exiting the space.
She thought of changing back into the dry clothes later to prevent any observant person from detecting any anomalies.