Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 140: Volume 3, Chapter 40 The Smuggler’s Dilemma

The surrounding crew didn’t dare to breathe from the moment this chef appeared. Upon hearing the chef’s words, they all smiled broadly. One of the crew members flattered, ”Brother, you really think about this bunch of brothers.” Another crew member took the opportunity to say, ”That’s why we only respect you, brother!” He turned his head and glanced at the beautiful female captain, pouting, ”That one over there... doesn’t care about the brothers at all.” The first crew member snorted indignantly, ”This Fatty was agreed to be brought on board by her.” The chef snorted, but a slight smile appeared on his face, his expression inscrutable.

Fatty was somewhat stunned and thought, ”Is there an issue within these crew members, they don’t even seem to respect the captain.” He turned to look at the beautiful female captain with furrowed brows and couldn’t imagine how a smuggling ship full of desperate characters would have such a young and pretty girl as the captain.

Tian Xingjian stared at the beautiful female captain in a daze, oblivious to the middle-aged chef’s impatient gaze that had been on him for a long time. Fatty was shaking his head in disbelief when suddenly a pair of large hands grabbed his collar and lifted him up roughly. He reflexively prepared to retaliate but suddenly remembered that he was Zhang Yuan, a mechanic who could only take beatings from these people. He desperately controlled his hand that was about to chop at the opponent’s neck and cried out in panic, ”What are you doing? What are you doing?”

The middle-aged chef said fiercely, ”I never repeat myself. I told you to eat and get out quickly. To dare ignore me and leer at women—this woman is not for you to look at!” As he spoke, teeth clenched and muscles bulging, he forcefully overturned the table, pulled Fatty out of his seat, and dragged him like a dead pig to the door, kicking him with a flying kick that sent him tumbling. ”Get out! If I see you again, I’ll cripple you!” he roared.

Fatty’s face was the epitome of fear, his mouth agape, body trembling, eyes filled with tears, seemingly on the verge of a breakdown. Just as he was about to shed a tear, a crisp and lively voice rang out, ”Uncle Eric, don’t scare the guest...” Fatty timidly glanced over and saw the beautiful female captain, standing elegantly at the restaurant door, looking slightly valiant yet somewhat fragile.

Eric chuckled, ”Audrey, what kind of guest is this? You didn’t mistake this smuggling ship for a passenger vessel, did you?” He seemed not to acknowledge the captain’s authority and continued, his face changing, ”What class did this guest book? Do you need me to personally serve him?”

Captain Audrey’s face changed, clearly not expecting Eric to openly defy her. She retorted angrily, ”Eric, I call you ’uncle’ out of respect. Know who’s the captain on this ship. Do you think you can push me around?” Her voice, though gentle, carried an indisputable force, ”You all were my father’s old comrades. How come, as soon as he’s gone, you’re already thinking of internal strife? Whether I am the captain or not doesn’t matter—don’t think that I want to cling to this position. Whoever is qualified can take it!” She smiled coldly at Eric, ”Uncle Eric, if you want this position, you can just say so. No one says you’re bullying your niece!” As soon as she finished speaking, the scene fell into silence. Several crew members felt awkward and embarrassed, while Eric’s face turned red and white alternately with a mix of shame and anger. Finally, he snorted and turned to enter the restaurant.

Tian Xingjian saw that Audrey indeed had a certain amount of fierce and ruthless poise and silently marveled, ”No wonder a girl can lead a bunch of men in these desperate times. Silencing Eric’s provocation is not something an average girl can do.” After all the crew members dispersed, Fatty noticed Audrey gently sigh. The formerly strong and indifferent face suddenly turned soft and helpless, like an ordinary girl who had been wronged, her eyes filling with dense mist and nearly in tears. Fatty sighed inwardly, being the captain of a contentious smuggling ship would be a headache even for a strong man, let alone for a girl.

As Fatty was pondering the conflicts on the smuggling ship, Audrey noticed this seemingly honest Fatty staring at her intently, her pretty face instantly stiffened, ”Your name is Zhang Yuan, right?” Seeing Fatty timidly about to respond, Audrey waved dismissively, ”Since you paid, we’ll be responsible for getting you to your destination. On this ship, make sure not to cause any trouble; there’s not a single person here you can mess with. Whatever happens, I won’t care about your life!” Her face changed rapidly, her voice cold and sharp, completely unlike her previous fragile demeanor. Seeing Fatty nodding pitifully with tears in his eyes, Audrey snorted coldly and turned away.

With no one left at the restaurant door, Tian Xingjian found that no one was paying attention to him, so he quickly sneaked into the nearby bar. After all, the route of a smuggling ship was much longer than that of a common cargo ship. The gigantic space jump points guarded by warring nation fleets were impossible to pass through. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they usually detoured through the public star system, passing those ultra-small jump points. What originally took four or five days now took a month. Spending a month in that dilapidated cabin would be unbearable, worse than solitary confinement.