Afterpleting their tasks, several individuals approached Arlo and respectfully handed him the detonator. One of them said, “My lord, you can detonate it whenever you wish.” Taking the detonator, Arlo inquired, “Are all the exits secured? We must ensure that once the ship sinks, nothing can rise to the surface. If any debris appears, other ships might discover that we have gone down.”<fnd0b7> Readplete version only at find?novel</fnd0b7>


    The man nodded, cupping his hands in a gesture of assurance. “Rest assured, my lord. All cabins are sealed, and every door and window is shut tight. The cargo in the warehouse is secured with sturdy irons. Once the explosion is triggered, the sea will rush in immediately, causing the ship to sink rapidly, leaving nothing to float. The fragments from the explosion, being made of iron, will also sink, ensuring they remain hidden beneath the waves.”


    Arlo acknowledged this with a nod. “Now that it’s just a few of us left, let’s proceed to the captain’s cabin.”


    “As youmand!”


    Several people followed Arlo to the captain’s room, where he firmly locked the heavy cabin door. He then retrieved a bottle of spirits, poured several sses, and distributed them to those present. “We have worked together for many years, and it is fate that we find ourselves here today. Let us raise a ss to our shared journey!”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    At that moment, each of them, having epted their fate, nodded solemnly and lifted their sses. Arlo clinked his ss with theirs, downing the spirits in one swift motion. He then grasped the detonator and pressed it without hesitation.


    In an instant, two muffled explosions resonated from the cargo hold, creating tworge holes—each about a meter in diameter—at both the bow and stern of the ship.


    Water surged into the cabin rapidly, and the freighter began to descend into the depths at an rming speed.


    Yet, astonishingly, none of the individuals on board scrambled to escape.


    This was because the rest of the crew were sound asleep in their cabins, having been given a special sedative mixed into their meals by Arlo’s orders.


    Now, everyone remained sealed within their respective cabins.


    The violent inrush of seawater failed to rouse them from their slumber, leading to their suffocation one by one as they slept.


    It wasn’t long before the seawater began to pour into the captain’s cabin. Arlo, epting his fate, sat on the floor alongside hispanions until the cabin was entirely submerged.


    Twenty minutester, the 8,000-ton freighter hadpletely vanished beneath the waves.


    Thanks to the meticulous preparations, the ship left no trace behind other than a swirling vortex on the surface of the sea. It sank like a colossal cage, disappearing into the depths without looking back…