Chapter 19 Part 1

Zhong Nian failed to find Charles. When he asked at the Bridge, no one was there, so he had to return to his post in the Kitchen.

As soon as he appeared, Jie Wen grabbed him anxiously and asked about the situation.

Zhong Nian grinned and said, “What problem? I served him very well~”

It was just pulling the noble guest’s hair and kicking him once. The other guy had enjoyed it plenty.

“That’s good then. As long as you didn’t offend him… But you didn’t get bullied, right?” Jie Wen checked Zhong Nian from head to toe and relaxed with a sigh of relief when he found no injuries.

At that moment, a tall figure leaned in close. Zhan Lu reached out to adjust Zhong Nian’s untied bow tie, his voice deep. “Where’s your bow tie?”

Zhong Nian froze at the words. He looked down at his bare collar and only then slowly remembered that it had been left behind at the Ship Stern on the upper floor.

He had thrown it away in anger and forgotten to pick it up…

“I’ll step out for a bit.” He hurriedly greeted his supervisor and ran back to the original spot, searching everywhere but finding nothing.

No one came here much in such a short time. How could it have disappeared?

–

Mealtimes were always the busiest in the Cruise Ship’s Kitchen.

Perhaps because the supervisor saw that he had earned a noble guest’s favor, he deliberately assigned Zhong Nian an easier task this time: preparing cold dishes in the 6th Floor Buffet Restaurant. At least he didn’t have to smell the oil fumes in the chaotic back kitchen.

Zhong Nian wore the bow tie that Jie Wen had lent him and leisurely arranged the dessert table. From time to time, when no one was looking, he popped a small cake or cookie into his mouth, eating happily.

While sneaking bites, he also sneaked glances around the 6th Floor Buffet Restaurant. It occupied an entire floor, huge and intimidating, and operated twenty-four hours a day. But with only a hundred guests on board, seventy percent of the prepared food got thrown away each day.

Even in the game, Zhong Nian wanted to curse these damn rich people for wasting resources.

So sneaking extra bites was practically doing a good deed.

With that thought, Zhong Nian stuffed his cheeks even fuller, like a squirrel hoarding food.

As he debated whether to go for the Mini Mousse or the Lemon Macaron next, an alarm blared overhead without warning.

It swirled repeatedly in the air above, putting everyone on the Cruise Ship on edge.

Mixed in with the alarm was the broadcast voice: “Code Bravo! Code Bravo!”

The announcement repeated three times every ten seconds. Zhong Nian didn’t grasp the meaning at first and looked around in confusion until he heard colleagues shouting, “Is there a fire?” Only then did he vaguely realize what was happening and quickly ran toward the Deck outside.

He gripped the railing and looked down first—no issues there. Then he looked up and indeed saw thick smoke billowing from the upper-floor windows. His heart jolted.

Soon the broadcast announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, a fire has broken out in the Top Deck Cabins. All VIPs and crew members, please evacuate to the 6th Floor Buffet Restaurant. Repeating…”

Top Deck Cabins…

Zhong Nian was stunned. With such excellent protective measures and equipment on the top floor, how could a fire break out?

His instincts told him something was off. Ignoring the broadcast’s instructions to return to the restaurant, he headed upward instead.

Elevators were out. The Safety Passage was filled with people rushing downward. Zhong Nian pushed against the flow, nearly knocked off his feet several times. He clung desperately to the handrail to steady himself.

Some kind-hearted people saw him and warned him not to go up. He thanked them but pressed on stubbornly.

The closer he got to the top floor, the thicker the smoke. Zhong Nian covered his mouth and nose with a damp handkerchief he had prepared in advance and was finally blocked at the entrance to the twelfth floor.

“Please stay back.” A burly Cruise Attendant refused to let him take even one step closer, even when Zhong Nian lied and claimed to be a Top Deck VIP guest.

With no other choice, Zhong Nian ran to the Deck and looked up.

Under the clear sky, the smoke from the floor above hung like a fallen storm cloud, obscuring everything inside.

But Zhong Nian was certain there was no sound of firefighting efforts from above, nor any heat from flames.

No matter how well-insulated it was, shouldn’t he sense something?

Recalling the calm expression on the Cruise Attendant blocking the entrance, Zhong Nian’s sense of wrongness grew stronger.

The next second, he decisively turned and ran toward the Bridge’s floor. He grabbed a security guard’s arm and pleaded loudly, “Please let me see Charles the First Mate! Or the Ship Captain will do!”

The guard said, “They’re not here, and we’re busy right now. Come back later.”

Zhong Nian slipped past at an opportunity and peeked inside—no sign of the people he sought. He was quickly shooed away.

The ship was so huge. Where was he supposed to look?

Dazed, he asked around everywhere but found neither Charles nor the Ship Captain. Instead, he first ran into Zhan Lu on the stairs.

“Why aren’t you staying put in the 6th Floor Restaurant? What are you doing here?” Zhan Lu grabbed his arm, intending to drag him back to the sixth floor.

“Don’t—” Zhong Nian was sweating profusely with anxiety. Though not as strong as Zhan Lu, he was half-dragged away. “Zhan Lu, let go! I have something urgent!”

“What urgent matter makes you run around during a fire? Don’t cause trouble.” Zhan Lu simply picked him up and hoisted him over his shoulder.