Chapter 118-Eating like a queen

Chapter 118: 118-Eating like a queen

"You were the one who told me about this ship. Now that we’re here, you want me to leave?"

Sarah pressed her lips together. "I only meant..."

"Then keep your opinions to yourself," Captain Rourke scolded and turned away.

Sarah stood motionless, her stomach twisting with dread. She had wanted Aymara who had always seemed luckier than her to experience the same helplessness she now endured.

But she hadn’t expected to be trapped between a pirate captain who wanted to own everything and a woman whose ship could destroy them without hesitation.

For the first time, Sarah wondered whether she should have kept her mouth shut. Unfortunately, the decision had already been made. "What will be, will be," she concluded.

On the other side, Aymara got a spark on an idea and smiled. She opened her spatial storage and casually took out a large dining table laden with steaming hot dishes.

Golden-roasted chicken, glazed ribs, fragrant seafood, bowls of spicy noodles, freshly baked bread, and colorful vegetables appeared one after another, their rich aromas quickly filling the room.

She even added a pot of thick, creamy soup and several plates of freshly made pancakes, along with chilled fruit juice.

The meal looked as though it had come straight from a luxurious restaurant, every dish still piping hot as wisps of steam curled into the air.

Once everything was arranged to her satisfaction, Aymara took out her phone, snapped several pictures, and sent them directly to Sarah.

On the other side, Sarah’s phone chimed. She glanced down, expecting another message, only for her eyes to widen at the sight of the sumptuous feast displayed on the screen.

"What the hell..." she whispered, zooming in on the picture as if doing so would somehow reveal that it was fake.

Dylan immediately leaned over her shoulder, and the moment he saw the food, his expression changed.

Captain Rourke and several of his men crowded around them, their eyes fixed on the screen. For people who had been struggling to secure enough decent food to survive, the sight of such a lavish meal was almost torture.

The dishes were fresh, plentiful, and clearly prepared with ingredients they hadn’t seen in ages.

One of the men swallowed audibly. "She’s eating like that while the rest of us are starving?"

"How can she let herself enjoy so much while the rest of the world is suffering. Inhumane!"

"She’s eating like a queen! In the apocalypse?"

Captain Rourke’s gaze darkened with undisguised greed. If Aymara could casually produce that much food, then what else was hidden inside her ship?

Fuel, medicine, weapons, perhaps enough supplies to sustain an entire fleet. The more he thought about it, the more determined he became to seize her vessel.

Dylan’s hands curled into fists, his jealousy and desperation twisting together as he stared at the picture. ’I should be in there eating with her. It should be all mine.’

He had once believed Aymara would willingly give him everything she owned. Now she was flaunting her wealth in front of him while he struggled to survive.

Sarah clutched the phone tightly, her earlier shock giving way to a burning desire to possess what Aymara had. ’Why is she so lucky!’

None of them were in a position to see the faint smile that spread across Aymara’s face as she watched their reactions through the surveillance feed.

"Good. Let the greed eat away at them. The hungrier they became for her ship, the easier it would be to make them walk straight into their own graves," she whispered.

---

The crew moved with a new determination after seeing the picture Aymara sent. However, beneath the surface, the ocean was a different world.

The heatwave had warmed the upper layers of water, and the reduced sea level had altered currents around the ships.

The water was murky, filled with drifting debris and the occasional dark shape moving through the depths.

The first group of pirates descended carefully, dragging a thick chain behind them.

Their lights illuminated the enormous hull of Aymara’s cruise ship. The vessel looked even more intimidating from below.

Its propellers were massive, protected by reinforced structures that made reaching them difficult. The water around the stern vibrated faintly with the movement of the engines.

One diver signaled to the others to say that they had found their target.

Working together, they maneuvered the chain around the propeller assembly. It was difficult, exhausting work, and several times they had to stop when the current pushed them away from the hull.

One man glanced nervously into the darkness. Something had moved beyond the reach of his light. He froze.

A second diver noticed and tapped his shoulder, demanding to know what was wrong.

The first man shook his head, trying to convince himself that he had imagined it. He needed to believe that because the things that lurked in the ocean were worse than nightmares.

They continued working. Soon, the chain tightened around the metal structure. Another length was pulled across the adjacent propeller assembly, and the divers secured both ends to a heavy anchor chain that would be fastened to the pirates’ vessel.

They had almost finished when a large shadow passed overhead.

Grrrrr!

The men stopped, their lights trembled and for a few seconds, the darkness remained still.

Just then something struck the water nearby. A cloud of bubbles swept past them, and the divers scattered in panic.

One dropped his underwater light. Another kicked frantically toward the surface, abandoning his grip on the chain but whatever had moved in the darkness didn’t follow them.

The pirates regrouped, terrified but determined not to return empty-handed. They secured the final links and signaled their companions above.

The chains were in place. All they needed to do was tighten them.

"Good, very good," Captain Rourke smiled brightly. "Now she’ll know who she’s up against."

---

Inside the control room, Aymara was examining the system’s latest threat reports when a strange vibration passed through the ship.

She looked up. "Did you feel that?"

Nathaniel, who was studying the navigation display, nodded. "The engines are vibrating differently," he reported.

Aymara immediately opened the propulsion status. For several seconds the readings appeared normal and then the warning lights flashed.

[Warning! Abnormal resistance detected in the propulsion system.]

Her expression changed. "Abnormal what?"

She quickly accessed the underwater cameras. The image showed thick chains wrapped around the propeller assemblies. The heavy links glinted beneath the water, stretching toward the pirates’ vessel.

Aymara stared in disbelief. "They actually went underneath the ship?"

Nathaniel leaned closer to the display. "They must have sent divers down while we were focused on the boarding attempts."

"Those idiots!"

She immediately ordered the system to reverse the engines and disengage the chains.

[Warning! Propeller movement obstructed. Unable to execute command.]

The ship shuddered and a second warning appeared.

[Propulsion efficiency decreasing.]

Aymara’s fingers flew across the controls. "Cut the chains. Use the underwater defense units!"

[Unable to sever all restraints with current equipment. External assistance recommended.]

"External assistance?" she repeated incredulously. "From whom? The pirates?"