47: Human Ear Feast

When she saw clearly what was contained on the plate inside the basket,

Su Qingyu's pupils dilated instantly. As if struck by electricity, she recoiled two steps, covered her mouth, and let out a dry heave.

It wasn't some kind of pastry, nor was it gold, silver, or jewelry.

They were dark, shriveled things, yet their shapes were still clearly recognizable.

Ears.

Neatly arranged on the plate, there were at least twenty or thirty of them.

Human ears that had been pickled in soy sauce and vinegar until they turned black and purple.

Some ears even had shiny metal earrings still attached, reflecting a cold, grim light under the searchlight.

“So this is the Dragon King Master's way of welcoming guests.”

Jiang Ran looked at that nauseating “appetizer,” his expression showing no fluctuation at all, only his gaze grew increasingly cold:

“It seems this Dragon King Master has ‘listened’ to many people's screams in his time.

“Take this thing away...”

Su Qingyu covered her mouth, her face pale as a sheet. Spasmodic churning in her stomach made her barely able to stand steady.

As a doctor, she had seen countless corpses and severed limbs, and had even personally cut through necrotic flesh.

But human organs meticulously prepared and plated as “food” brought more than just visual shock.

It was a devastating trampling of basic human ethical boundaries.

It wasn't just disgust; it was a kind of fear that struck directly at the soul.

“Don't be in a hurry to vomit.”

Jiang Ran's voice remained terrifyingly steady.

He manipulated the Mechanical Arm, pushing the plate aside like a piece of trash to reveal a piece of paper pressed underneath.

“The main course is still to come.”

The Mechanical Arm deftly picked up the crumpled letter, which was stained with a few drops of dark brown sauce, and spread it out before the camera.

It was a page torn from an elementary school student's notebook.

The handwriting was crooked and riddled with typos, looking like it came from the hand of an uneducated butcher, exuding a sense of arrogant, lawless banditry.

【Dragon King Master's Decree — Toll List】

Diesel/Gasoline: Leave half behind.

If there's no fuel, use batteries or generators instead.

Weapons: All guns and bullets must be surrendered.

The Dragon King Master doesn't like people playing with fire on his turf.

Special Tribute: Any woman on the ship who looks decent must stay behind as a “bandit bride” for the Dragon King Master.

After the last item, a red pen had been used to draw a circle for emphasis, accompanied by a line of even more vulgar small characters:

“The chick steering the ship isn't bad; I've taken a fancy to her.”

This was no toll.

This was an intent to strip them clean, leaving not even a scrap of bone.

“Heh...”

Jiang Ran looked at the absurdly ridiculous list on the screen.

Especially when he saw that last line, the chill in his eyes finally solidified into tangible killing intent.

He turned his head, glanced at the still-retching Su Qingyu, and the corner of his mouth curled into a cruel arc:

“It seems this Dragon King Master not only has a good appetite but also decent taste.”

“Since he wants a gift so badly.”

Jiang Ran fished a red marker out of his tactical vest pocket.

From the weapon rack, he took down a round High-Explosive Grenade and tossed it lightly in his hand:

“Then I’ll give him a grand gift in return.”

“Since it's a ‘feast,’ how can we lack a return gift?”

Jiang Ran's voice was as cold as if it were drifting out of an ice cellar.

With a slight movement of his fingers on the control console, the Mechanical Arm on the deck abruptly flipped its wrist.

“Splash—”

That plate of “pickled human ears” that made Su Qingyu gag.

Like a plate of slop, it was ruthlessly dumped into the rolling corpse-water below.

Several mutated scavenger fish that had been lingering by the ship instantly leaped out of the water, fighting over the blackened cartilage and kicking up a spray of turbid water.

“Hey! Hey! Lord! That's a tribute! Don't dump it!”

The Big Red Face on the bamboo raft watched this scene, slapping his thigh in distress as if he had lost some rare treasure.

Jiang Ran ignored the shouting below entirely.

He picked up the red marker and uncapped it.

On that “toll list” covered in grease and bloody handprints, he drew two heavy strokes.

“Screech— screech—”

The tip of the pen made a piercing noise as it rubbed against the paper.

A shocking blood-red X, occupying nearly the entire page, directly covered those three absurd requirements.

Immediately after, Jiang Ran performed an action that made Su Qingyu's heart skip a beat.

He unclipped the High-Explosive Grenade from his tactical vest.

Biting the pull ring of the safety pin with his teeth, he yanked it out with a crisp “clink.”

At this point, the grenade's firing pin was on the verge of triggering, held back only by Jiang Ran's thumb pressing firmly on the safety lever.

“This order, I refuse to pay.”

With a cold smirk, Jiang Ran folded the list with the red X into a thick, stiff square of paper.

He carefully tucked the grenade into the bottom of the bamboo basket.

Using the folded paper, he wedged the grenade's safety lever tightly in place.

Within this cramped space, he fixed it into an extremely unstable “pressure-release booby trap.”

The moment someone pulled out the list or shook the basket violently enough to loosen the paper, the lever would fly off.

Three seconds later, it would be a one-way ticket to hell.

“Cover it.”

The Mechanical Arm deftly grabbed the red cloth embroidered with the character for “Longevity.”

It draped it back over the bamboo basket, hiding the lethal trap completely.

“Give this back to them.”

Jiang Ran looked at the actors on the screen who were still craning their necks waiting for a response, a ghostly blue light in his eyes:

“Tell the Dragon King Master that this gift was too light, so I’ve added some ‘weight’ for him.”

“Whir—”

With the soft hum of the Mechanical Arm's motor, the bamboo basket containing the “return gift” was steadily lowered back onto the raft.

“That’s more like it!”

The Big Red Face actor snatched the basket.

Feeling the weight in his hands, a greedy glint immediately flashed in his cloudy eyes.

To him, such a heavy weight meant either solid gold bars or the current hard currency—high-energy batteries.

“Glad you know what's good for you!”

Big Red Face grinned, revealing a mouthful of uneven yellow teeth, and waved triumphantly toward the bridge:

“Since the tribute is sufficient, the Dragon King Master will keep you safe!

From now on, mentioning our name on this river will get you far!”

After speaking, he cradled the basket like a treasure, and his subordinates hurriedly rowed with all their might.

The bamboo raft spun around on the water.

Accompanied by the annoying sound of gongs and the screeching operatic singing, it wobbled off toward the dam.

“Truly a bunch of... pathetic lunatics.”

Su Qingyu watched their retreating figures with a complex gaze.

“Don't be in a hurry.”

Jiang Ran stood by the porthole, not rushing back to the command chair. Instead, he raised his wrist, watching the second hand on his tactical watch tick.

He was like a spectator enjoying the countdown to a fireworks display, the smile on his lips growing colder:

“Let the bullet fly for a while longer.”

Fifty meters.

One hundred meters.

The bamboo raft had already rowed into the shadows beneath the dam.

Perhaps unable to suppress the curiosity and greed in his heart any longer,

The Big Red Face holding the basket finally couldn't resist reaching for the red cloth.

“Come, let me see what kind of treasures are hidden inside this iron turtle...”

His hand had just lifted a corner of the red cloth.

The folded paper used to wedge the safety lever, losing the pressure from above, instantly snapped away.

“Clink.”

The crisp sound of the metal lever flying off was exceptionally clear over the silent water.

Big Red Face's smile froze on his face.

He looked down, only to see a wisp of desperate blue smoke rising from the round iron lump.

“BOOM—!!!”

The next second.

A blinding orange-red fireball erupted on the water's surface.

The violent explosion instantly shredded the annoying operatic singing and the sound of gongs.

The crude bamboo raft disintegrated instantly under the shockwave, turning into a cloud of flying bamboo splinters.

As for the actors, they didn't even have time to scream.

They were torn to shreds by the raging flames and shrapnel, becoming new floating debris in the Red Water River.

This loud blast was more than just an explosion.

It was a clarion call for war.

“Alright.”

Jiang Ran watched the plume of smoke slowly rising from the water in the distance. He turned toward the command console, the blue light in his eyes flashing brilliantly:

“The firecracker has been set off.”

“All-ship battle stations.”

“Level that pile of trash for me!”