The room’s windows were sealed — they couldn’t be opened.

Under the young miss’s screaming, the black-clad bodyguard pulled out a gun, the barrel aimed directly at the monkey in the cage.

“What are you doing?!” the young miss roared. “I said throw it into the sea to feed the fish! Not for you to shoot it dead! Fire a gun and it’ll make my room all bloody again — disgusting!!!”

Du Lai keenly caught the word “again.”

A chill rose in his heart.

It seemed that whether toward people or animals, this kind of violent slaughter was not her first time.

The bodyguard seemed thoroughly accustomed to the young miss’s temperament and replied in a flat, matter-of-fact tone: “Young Miss, due to the storm weather, the deck has been closed. If you dislike this monkey, this subordinate will take it to another room to deal with it.”

“I said — I want to throw it into the sea to feed the fish! Feed the fish!!! Do you not understand?!!”

The young miss of a moment ago who had been all smiles was now like a completely different person — frenzied! Shrill! Brutal! Utterly unreasonable!

“I want to throw it down right now!” She bellowed like a madwoman. “I want to watch it drop into the ocean with my own eyes! Get bitten to pieces by fish!!!”

The bodyguard at the door made a motion to step outside.

The young miss barked: “Who dares go tell Joanna?! When I get back to the estate, I’ll have Grandfather cut him down!”

With that threat, everyone froze in place.

Bodyguards were people too — no one wanted to die for no reason.

“Open the door now — I’m going to the deck!” the young miss commanded.

The bodyguard once again dutifully replied: “Young Miss, the deck has been closed.”

“I don’t care!” Her voice turned cold and cutting, her eyes filled with fury. “They keep me locked up at the estate, and now they’re locking me up on the ship too! I want to go to the deck right now! It’s been closed — then open it. Otherwise, what’s the use of keeping you useless lot?!”

The bodyguard dared not disobey and had no choice but to accompany her up to the deck.

Every single bodyguard inside and outside the room — more than thirty in all — along with Du Lai, together accompanied this willful and unreasonable young miss to the deck.

Inside the ship was blazing with light, warm and comfortable; outside the ship was the darkening sky, raging wind and towering waves.

Above them, dark clouds pressed down low; all around was an indistinguishable blackness. Cold wind carrying the salty tang of seawater swept across the ship — carrying with it the scent of the end of the world.

The moment Du Lai stepped onto the deck, he felt something was wrong with the weather.

A bodyguard also urged: “Young Miss, the wind and waves are too powerful — the deck isn’t safe.”

“Give me the cage!” The young miss insisted, reaching out her hand.

The ship swayed back and forth — she couldn’t even stand steady. The monkey in the cage was also crying out frantically, as if something terrible was about to happen.

She carried the cage and walked to the railing, gritting her teeth and gathering her strength, trying to hurl the monkey as far away as possible.

At that moment, Du Lai finally noticed something wrong — the ship was tilting uncontrollably, veering off course!

Looking straight ahead along the bow, in the pitch-black distance he could see a massive dark shape — like a towering demon connecting the roiling black clouds above to the churning sea surface below!

He finally saw it clearly.

A tornado!

Du Lai’s face turned instantly pale, and he shouted: “Get inside the ship! — A tornado is coming!!!”

“A tornado?!”

Everyone turned to look in unison!

A tornado was a terrifying disaster, yet many people might never encounter one in their entire lives — how could they be meeting a tornado at a time like this?!

The young miss stood momentarily frozen, watching that massive dark shape growing closer and closer. She murmured something nonsensical: “How beautiful…”

Everyone scrambled to run back!

The bodyguards, abandoning all decorum, grabbed the young miss by the arm and retreated toward the interior of the deck. But at that moment the ship began to tilt! Tilting more and more! About to be lifted off the sea surface by the suction of the tornado!

The tremendous wind and waves made it nearly impossible for Du Lai to open his eyes, and all around him were screams! He swung his arms with all his strength, trying to grab hold of something — when a massive wave crashed over him, and he instantly lost consciousness.

……

……