The clouds give birth to the sea tower; the sea tower refers to the mirage. After being called by the salty nickname Zhang Haiyan, he is very grateful; otherwise, life would be like a mirage, unlikely to unfold as he wishes.

As Zhang Haiyan stepped out, the sun was bright outside, and some children were already playing on the deck. He walked down the corridor and could see the vast ocean outside. The sunlight reflected in such a way that it was hard to look directly at it. From the corridor, he could see the deck from yesterday. If those “corpses” hadn’t been thrown into the water, they should have been seen by the guests passing through the corridor by now; their plans had already begun. The deck before him was empty, with only some stains resembling blood, which, from this height, looked like rust and was not very noticeable.

He felt in high spirits, facing the sea breeze, and organized his thoughts.

Regarding whether He Jianxi could keep an eye on Steven, he had no confidence at all. Steven was a shrewd person, and He Jianxi was definitely not his match. However, he believed that He Jianxi could hold on for an hour; that was all he needed.

What concerned him the most was that woman.

During yesterday’s eavesdropping, the other party mentioned a causal relationship: if someone hadn’t spread the Five Dou Disease in Nanyang, Miss Dong would not have appeared.

This meant that this plague was merely to draw out this woman?

The preliminary estimate of deaths from the Nanyang plague was already in the thousands. If it was only to draw out this woman, then what was her identity?

The second question was, why use a plague to lure out that woman? Was she a doctor? A person who wanted to see corpses? Or a plague enthusiast?

The third question was about the woman after boarding the ship; she had someone named Hualna protecting her, which meant that she anticipated encountering a killer during her visit. So, can it be said that this woman thought the plague was problematic, seemingly spread to attract her? Yet, she still came.

This was a woman so grand and confident that others were willing to spread a plague to kill thousands just to draw her out.

Miss Dong from Xiamen, with such determination, not to mention Zhang Haiyan was aware of how hard it was to obtain information about the plague and where it came from. By this calculation, Miss Dong should not be human at all. He had to meet her.

Of course, after observing the terrain, Zhang Haiyan recalled Zhang Haixia’s words and did not act rashly.

He wandered around the first-class area, and in the waiting area of the restaurant, he saw a model of the South An ship, with the design drawings of the South An ship on the wall behind the model. He paused to take a closer look and noticed that the first-class and second-class cabins shared a post office. Below the deck on the second level was a small room where guests could send telegrams through this post office.

The second-class and third-class cabins shared a fire escape, located at the very bottom of the ship. The principle was that rainwater and seawater would inevitably enter the ship; through the ship’s drainage system, some would be directly discharged into the sea, but some would gradually accumulate at the bottom of the ship. This water would be used for firefighting.

He arrived outside room 345 on the third floor of the first-class cabin, which was originally his room. However, he did not go to collect the key. He glanced at his ticket, cleared his throat, and called out to a passing waiter nearby.

“After my friend boarded the ship, he stayed in my room and didn’t go back to sleep, forgetting to take his key. This is his invitation letter. Could you please hand me the key? I will pass it on to him.”

The waiter looked at the invitation letter. This was certainly against the rules, but it was clear that Steven had a special status on the ship. After some thought, he said, “According to the rules, the other party should come to collect it in person. However, Miss Dong said to meet all the needs of Mr. Warner’s friends, so I’ll get it for you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll wait for you here.” Zhang Haiyan nodded, and the waiter quickly jogged away, returning shortly with the key.

Zhang Haiyan calculated in his mind that the key room was located at the bow of the ship, requiring a descent via the deck’s ladder down to the crew’s quarters, specifically to the middle room in that area. It would take about 10 minutes for the waiter to run there and back.

If he were Miss Dong, understanding the need for protection, she would definitely choose to stay in a first-class cabin on the fourth level, which is the top level.

Comparatively, if it took ten minutes to get to the key room, then the distance from the third level to the fourth level should only take a maximum of three minutes. The third floor could be accessed freely, but those assassins could not breach the final three minutes to reach the fourth level, could they?

Why?

He lifted his leg and headed towards the fourth floor. If he were Steven, no matter what guards were there, they should not stop him.

He arrived at the staircase entrance of the fourth floor with no guards in sight. He turned to look around and immediately identified which room belonged to Miss Dong, as there were over twenty American guards standing at the door, holding submachine guns. They were all resting with their eyes closed, clearly skilled.

He walked towards those guards, and someone immediately raised their gun, saying, “Steven, answer the question: Why did the father of the White Swan disappear after crossing the Mississippi?”

Zhang Haiyan was taken aback for a moment, and the other party continued, “You must answer directly, or I’m afraid it will be bad for you!” With that, he pulled back the gun’s bolt. “Three, two, one.”