203: Chapter 203 Then why did you come here?

That sounded a bit abrasive.

Xu Zhixia didn't get angry.

She sat down beside Su Qingxue, "I am not taking his side."

She said, "I am taking the side of survival."

Su Qingxue's gaze darkened.

Xu Zhixia continued, "Qingxue, I am different from you. You were raised under protection."

"Most of the evil you have witnessed is separated by glass. Corporate struggles, business mergers, family pressures—no matter how ugly they get, there are still lawyers, contracts, the police, and the media."

"There are none here."

"I heard everything you said just now."

Su Qingxue didn't reply.

"You called that intern selfish, saying he didn't want to return the power of decision-making to others."

Xu Zhixia turned her head to look at her, "Have you ever thought about a question?"

"What?"

"He lets Yang Ningcong go, and then what?"

Su Qingxue frowned, "Then we activate the PLB and wait for rescue."

"No," Xu Zhixia shook her head, "I mean, what happens to him after he lets Yang Ningcong go?"

Su Qingxue remained silent.

Xu Zhixia spelled it out for her.

"What kind of person Wang Laoliu is, you know better than I do."

"He is an assassin raised by the Yang Family at a huge cost, not a bodyguard, and certainly not a driver."

Su Qingxue pressed her lips together.

"What did that intern do today? He held a knife to Yang Ningcong's neck, shot Wang Laoliu, tied people up, confiscated their guns, and stepped on the Yang Family young master's face in front of everyone."

"What kind of temperament do you think Wang Laoliu has? Will he just endure it? If he doesn't kill this intern, how can he survive in that circle in the future?"

Su Qingxue didn't answer.

"Yang Ningcong had a knife held to his neck, pissed his pants, got beaten up, and lost all face in front of a woman. Do you think he'll magnanimously say let it go after he goes back?"

"Upon returning to Wang Laoliu's side, what is the first thing he will do? No need to guess, he will point at this cave entrance and say, kill him."

Su Qingxue's fingers tightened on her knees.

"Qingxue, this is not a business negotiation; there are no settlement agreements, no confidentiality clauses, and no liquidated damages."

Xu Zhixia looked at her.

"This is a matter of life and death."

Su Qingxue didn't intend to take Lin Fan's life, believing that she and the Su Family behind her could protect Lin Fan.

As long as she spoke up and Yang Ningcong knew he could go back, out of respect for her and the Su Family, he wouldn't dare do anything to Lin Fan.

"Even taking a step back," Xu Zhixia continued, "even if Wang Laoliu suddenly finds a conscience and doesn't kill him, and even if Yang Ningcong gets beaten so badly that he forgets to take revenge."

She held up a finger.

"The PLB is pressed. And then?"

Su Qingxue raised her head, "Search and rescue response within twelve hours."

"What if they don't come?"

"They will come." Su Qingxue answered quickly, "The 406 MHz frequency band, the international search and rescue satellite system—this isn't a toy."

"I didn't say it's a toy," Xu Zhixia said, "I'm asking, what if they don't come?"

Su Qingxue stared at her, "Zhixia, you don't understand this. PLB technology is already extremely mature. It's a military-grade beacon with global coverage. As long as the signal is sent out—"

"What if it can't be sent out?"

Su Qingxue's words got stuck in her throat.

Xu Zhixia didn't pressure her, giving her a few seconds to digest it.

Then she brought up a matter.

"Qingxue, after you went missing, do you know what Uncle Su did?"

Su Qingxue's gaze changed.

"On the first day your signal disappeared, he mobilized all maritime resources under Shengtang to launch a carpet search in the waters where you last appeared."

"In the first week, he deployed twelve search and rescue ships and seven helicopters, covering a radius of two hundred nautical miles."

"In the second week, he raised the bounty to 500 million. 500 million for a live person, 200 million for a body."

Su Qingxue swallowed hard.

"In the third week, the bounty doubled, and he directly declared that anyone who could find you—whether pirate or fisherman—would be given 1.8 billion."

"Everyone who could be dispatched was dispatched, and this didn't even include those who didn't want money but wanted to curry favor with the Su Family."

"With money to be made, who wouldn't do it?"

"To find you, the consumption of manpower, material resources, and financial resources was the highest in history."

Xu Zhixia paused for a moment.

"By the time I set off, the bounty had risen to over 5 billion."

"5 billion for a live person, 2 billion for a body," Xu Zhixia said, "This figure was posted on the international maritime rescue network, and every ship operating in these waters around the world could see it."

Su Qingxue's nose stung, and she turned her head away.

Xu Zhixia didn't give her time to dwell on sentimentality.

"A bounty of 5 billion, dozens of search and rescue ships, national forces, foreign rescue teams, satellite images, thermal imaging scans, sonar detection, and underwater robots."

"Two months."

"Using the absolute top-tier technological level, they turned that sea upside down."

"They didn't find you."

Su Qingxue turned her head back to look at Xu Zhixia.

Xu Zhixia said, "Your entire cruise ship, hundreds of people, evaporated from those waters."

Su Qingxue's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"You told me to believe in science," Xu Zhixia looked into her eyes, "Fine, I believe in science, and science tells me that 5 billion plus the world's top technology plus two months equals zero."

"Then tell me now, on what grounds can a single PLB succeed?"

Su Qingxue opened her mouth.

"Maybe… the previous search range was wrong, maybe the ocean currents scattered the wreckage, maybe—"

"Maybe this island can't send out signals at all."

Xu Zhixia interrupted her.

Su Qingxue froze.

"Maybe the magnetic field here is abnormal, compasses fail, satellite searches yield nothing, and no wreckage can be found in the area where the signal disappeared."

She listed them one by one, "Qingxue, you studied business, you calculate probabilities. With all these conditions piled together, how much can normal explanations cover?"

Su Qingxue didn't answer.

"I'm not saying there must be something supernatural."

Xu Zhixia continued, "But you have to admit a possibility: around this island, there exists some kind of interference that we currently cannot explain."

"Maybe it's a magnetic field, maybe it's some kind of atmospheric refraction, or maybe it's signal shielding caused by undersea geological structures."

"Maybe… something is shrouding this island."

Su Qingxue's back pressed tightly against the stone wall.

Xu Zhixia continued, "Your dad spent 5 billion and mobilized half the Pacific's search and rescue forces, yet failed to pierce through this layer. What makes you think a PLB worth over a hundred thousand dollars can do it?"

There was a long silence in the compartment.

Su Qingxue's hands were shaking, and finally she asked, "Then knowing that we might not be able to get out, why did you still become Yang Ningcong's private doctor and come here?"

Xu Zhixia didn't answer that question.

The compartment was quiet for a moment, "Qingxue."

Su Qingxue raised her head.

Xu Zhixia didn't look at her, staring instead at the speck of light filtering in from outside the curtain.

"People's joys and sorrows are not interconnected."

Su Qingxue frowned, not understanding why she suddenly said this.

Xu Zhixia turned around to face her.

"I didn't come in here to discuss with you whether the PLB can send out a signal."

"Then what do you want to say?"