On the first deck, Mo Guilan sat with a deep frown on her face.
Earlier, when that bald man had been standing near the doorway, she had already sensed something was wrong.
After training under Frederick Huang for several years, she had learned how to perceive a person's presence. That bald man's expression had been vicious, and there had been a faint smell of blood clinging to him—the kind only someone who had killed before would carry.
A man like that… boarding this ship—
Mo Guilan's brow tightened.
Suddenly, she stood up.
"Excuse me, please let me pass."
She spoke to a nearby passenger and made her way out onto the open deck.
"Ah—!"
A scream suddenly reached her ears.
Mo Guilan's expression changed instantly.
She rushed up the stairs to the second deck.
The stairway opened directly toward the control room. When she reached the doorway and looked inside, her pupils shrank sharply.
Several crew members lay motionless on the floor.
Nearby were a few burly men with ferocious appearances—but now their faces were frozen in despair and regret.
Among them lay the bald man. Beneath his chin was a bloody hole, still gushing blood.
Beside him stood a man in strange clothing, half-crouched, one hand resting on a corpse—clearly preparing to lift it.
Just as he was about to carry the body out to throw it into the sea, he seemed to sense something. Hearing movement behind him, he turned his head.
Mo Guilan's gaze met Shaun Cole's.
Their eyes locked.
The color drained from Mo Guilan's face.
It was him.
The man who had asked her for directions.
Shaun Cole raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected it to be this woman.
He released the corpse, straightened up, and faced her calmly.
"Y-you… don't come any closer!"
Mo Guilan backed away in terror.
Shaun Cole watched her retreat without expression. Now that he looked at her carefully, she seemed… oddly familiar.
"I'm warning you! Don't come near me—I know martial arts!"
She continued stepping backward.
"I haven't moved. Don't step back—be careful, there's—"
"Ah—!"
Before Shaun Cole could finish speaking, Mo Guilan had already stepped onto the stairs. Unable to see behind her, her foot slipped, and she tumbled downward.
Shaun Cole remained where he was, watching calmly as she rolled from the second deck all the way down to the first.
Then he turned back, bent down once more, and continued dealing with the bodies.
Ten minutes later, after throwing all the corpses into the sea and cleaning the bloodstains thoroughly, Shaun Cole finally turned his attention to the unconscious woman on the first deck.
He jumped down from the second floor, lifted her up, and carried her back to the control room, placing her gently on a bed.
Then he began examining the various levers and switches.
With both the crew and the hijackers dead, there was no one left to operate the ship.
That left only him.
About half an hour later, Shaun Cole had fully figured out how the ship functioned.
It was actually quite simple—
not much different from the ships he had handled back in Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.
"Mmm…"
A soft groan sounded behind him.