Zhang Haiyan only had one chance, and he had to ensure a high success rate. Over the years, he often felt that his life was hanging by a thread, but the clarity of the logic that if he failed, Zhang Haixia would be implicated was something he had never experienced before. This made him somewhat indecisive.

In the end, he wrote down the names of all the assassins he had found on a piece of paper and sent it out along with the threat letter. If this woman was so knowledgeable about the situation outside, she must know some information about the assassins, and this list already covered all the names he could guess. As long as she verified it, she would know his sincerity.

However, after sending the letter, it fell into silence. Zhang Haiyan felt utterly helpless against this astonishing patience, and he dared not send another letter because he saw that there were guards watching the mailbox.

Steven wanted to come up with ideas, but Zhang Haiyan stopped him. He had already understood the routine. They were now approaching Xiamen, and for that woman, reaching Xiamen was the only victory; everything else could be sacrificed. The assassins also had only one path to take; everyone was almost playing an open game.

At this moment, a plague was spreading in the third-class cabin, and it would truly break out in one to two days. He wouldn’t be able to hold out in this room either. If the assassins stirred things up a little, a riot would begin. When the passengers stormed the first-class cabin, both he and that woman would find themselves in the same embarrassing situation.

The most awkward thing would be if the mob stormed the bridge; the ship could be forced to stop or head towards the nearest destinations like Nha Trang or Beihai. Any outcome would be unfavorable for that woman. If it were him, he would definitely make a change before the assassins incited anything.

There was a key point here: the spread of the plague was not something the assassins wanted to see; it was a last resort. Therefore, as long as the assassins found an opportunity to kill this woman, they would stop the spread of the plague and seek that opportunity.

Thus, preventing things from developing into the worst-case scenario meant that the woman would give the assassins a chance to act. This was a clear confrontation, with the assassins determined to succeed, and the woman understood that someone would act without hesitation.

So, the woman would not care about who the assassins were; she no longer had time to verify and eliminate them one by one. She was now preparing her plan to have the assassins come to kill her.

Sure enough, that evening, while Zhang Haiyan was packing up in the restaurant, he saw a large banner. It was an advertisement for the fireworks and dance party the next evening, and first-class passengers could attend for free.

In the most prominent position on the poster, it read: “Miss Dong will personally award the best-dressed at the ball.”

Miss Dong. The image of Miss Dong was replaced by a black silhouette on the poster, making her appearance especially mysterious.

The restaurant was the venue for the ball, with private boxes upstairs, a dance floor below, dining tables all around, and a stage for singing and a band. Zhang Haiyan carefully observed the layout and realized that this woman must have thought for a long time before choosing this place for a direct confrontation.

The second floor of the restaurant directly connected to the fourth floor of the first-class cabin, and Miss Dong could reach the ballroom in about a minute after leaving her room.

The possibility of being ambushed on the way is very low; the assassins must act inside the ballroom. The assassins are disguised as crew members and service staff, as well as other first-class passengers. Because the fourth floor is blocked by Warner’s firing squad, they can only enter through the dance floor on the first floor. Ms. Dong has many people on her side, and as long as they leverage their connections on the ship, they can book all the private rooms on the second floor. The second floor is like a trench.

This way, the assassins and their own people will be strictly divided into two levels. Although Ms. Dong is exposed to various firearms and hidden weapons, it is still very difficult to forcibly take her. However, compared to hiding in the metal ship’s hold with the firing squad at the entrance, there should be more opportunities.

Zhang Haiyan also knows that these assassins will have confidence in their success as long as Ms. Dong shows her face. If he were an assassin, what would he do?

Zhang Haiyan walked up and down the stairs a couple of times and suddenly saw a girl walking past him. The way she walked seemed familiar. He took a closer look and realized that this girl was one of the assassins at that time.

For some reason, when he saw her walking, the fear that surged in his heart was not related to the imminent threat of murder; he felt that the fear inside him was of a different kind. It was something he couldn’t understand. Why did he not care that the girl was an assassin, but instead cared about the way she walked?