Then his body sped across the water as if on solid ground, moving silently at a speed far exceeding that of a ship.
As he reached the research ship, he tapped lightly again with his toe, leaping nearly a hundred metres high in a parabolic arc directly towards the bridge of the Japanese vessel.
At that moment, the crew had noticed nothing unusual. Since the fishing boat had been following behind without closing fully, no radar alarms had triggered.
The duty helmsman was focused on entering the Roaring West Winds Belt quickly before the next swell arrived, to avoid increased risk. All his attention was on the course ahead. Moreover, this sea area had never seen pirates, so he had no defensive mindset.
As he and the crew operated the ship at full speed, they were completely unaware that a figure had already descended from above the ship to the door of the control room.
While everyone was busy with their tasks, the control room door suddenly opened. A figure stood in the doorway, his expression cold and somewhat menacing.
The crew inside were startled by this sudden intruder.
The ship had departed from Japan over a month ago, carrying some crew members and some research team members. Though the two groups had not known each other before, after more than a month together, everyone was familiar with each other’s faces. It was unlikely for a completely unknown person to appear suddenly.
Yet, on this vast ocean, who else could it be besides those on board?
The helmsman instinctively asked in Japanese, “Anata…”
Before the Japanese could finish, Wu Paulo swept the room with a sharp gaze and said coldly, “Who here speaks Chinese? Step forward and speak to me!”
As soon as he spoke, the eyes of the dozen or so people in the room glazed over instantly.
For Wu Paulo, freezing these people’s minds required only a single thought.
However, freezing their minds did not mean controlling them. Only those who could understand his commands would obey and be controlled. Those who could not understand were now like unconscious statues, standing motionless.
Soon, a young man stepped out from among those controlled. He walked forward a few steps to Wu Paulo and said in fluent Chinese, “I speak Chinese. I studied university in China.”
Wu Paulo nodded with satisfaction and asked, “What is your name?”
The man replied respectfully, “My name is Matsushita Heiji.”
Wu Paulo waved his hand in disgust, “Matsushita this, Matsushita that. From now on, you are called Lackey. Whatever I tell you to do, you will do wholeheartedly. You will refer to yourself as ‘this subordinate’ when addressing me. Understood?”
Matsushita Heiji immediately said with utmost devotion, “This subordinate obeys.”
Wu Paulo hummed in acknowledgement and asked, “Lackey, tell me. How many people are on your ship in total?”
Matsushita Heiji said, “There are twenty-six crew members and twenty-two research team members.”
Wu Paulo frowned and asked, “Earlier, I had someone shout for help from the fishing boat. Why did you not assist?”
Matsushita Heiji quickly replied, “It was not that this subordinate was unwilling. The captain ordered full speed ahead, and this subordinate could only comply.”
“The captain…” Wu Paulo snorted coldly. Then he spread his right hand, and powerful spiritual energy radiated from his palm, enveloping the entire research ship invisibly.
In that instant, the minds of everyone aboard were completely frozen by him.
Then he looked at Matsushita Heiji and said coldly, “Now speak in Japanese. Order everyone on the ship to obey your commands from this moment and follow your lead in all things!”
Matsushita Heiji immediately complied. He picked up the intercom microphone, switched to ship-wide broadcast, and spoke rapidly in Japanese. The gist was that from now on, everyone must strictly follow his, Matsushita Heiji’s, orders.
Once he finished, Wu Paulo continued, “Instruct everyone to continue their current tasks normally and communicate with the outside as usual. Do not reveal any anomalies.”
At this point, these people were like robots awaiting commands. They would instinctively obey once an order was given. So, when Matsushita Heiji issued the commands in Japanese, everyone immediately resumed their original work as if nothing had happened. However, once Matsushita Heiji gave an order, they would execute it with full effort.
And Matsushita Heiji himself would only obey Wu Paulo’s commands. Thus, for Wu Paulo, by using Matsushita Heiji’s bilingual ability, he could control everyone at will.
Next, he said to Matsushita Heiji, “Lackey, use the intercom to summon your captain here!”
Matsushita Heiji bowed respectfully, then immediately picked up the microphone and issued the order to the captain.
Soon, the grey-haired captain hurried in.
As he entered, Matsushita Heiji said to Wu Paulo, “This is our captain.”
Wu Paulo stared at him with piercing eyes. He initially wanted to crush him with one palm, but then thought better of it. This bastard was the captain, so his professional skills must be solid. He would still need these people to work for him later, and he could not kill the most experienced and senior captain.
However, recalling how this scoundrel had ignored their distress earlier, Wu Paulo still could not quite swallow his anger. So he said coldly to Matsushita Heiji, “Tell this bastard to strip naked and stand penalty at the bow of the ship!”
