"Is he really the navigator who participated in the America's Cup?" Zheng Yubai pushed Howard beside him.
Howard's eyes were dull. It was not because he was still immersed in the thrill of last night, but because he was looking at the vast ocean beside him with worry.
Captain Hawke had a handsome appearance, and it was obvious at first glance that he was a man who made his living on the sea. This was Zheng Yubai's first impression of him. But after watching the sailboat drifting on the sea for most of the night and a morning, it couldn't even find the direction. How could this be a professional navigator? It was clear that he was not even as good as the five abilities.
But it seems that we can't put all the blame on Captain Hawke. What happened last night was really beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Hawke can fight against violent winds and waves, but he can't accept things that can twist people's arms into knots. Not long after the sailboat sailed out last night, the sailors on the ship vomited one after another as if they were contagious. Hawke even vomited bile. Looking at their appearance, they didn't look like sailors who had experienced countless storms, but more like seasick passengers who were traveling on a ship for the first time.
The way they looked at Wu Neng was as if they were seeing the devil. Although they seemed to be submissive on the surface, from their behavior and movements, it was obvious that they had already regarded Zheng Yubai and his men as unforgivable bandits.
With such behavior, Hawke claimed that he "couldn't find a route to Australia". What could Zheng Yubai, who knew nothing about sailing, do? Zheng Yubai knew that Hawke couldn't be so stupid and naive that he couldn't even find a route to Australia. But what he did last night was obviously beyond the understanding of Hawke and others, and it was natural for them to feel rebellious and afraid. It seemed that Hawke obviously didn't want to send them to Australia, but he didn't dare to say it clearly, so he took this approach.
"This is not a solution." Zheng Yubai said. Although he didn't know where he was, Hawke and the others had already changed their minds. If they were forced to continue sailing, there might be some uncontrollable variables. Instead of forcing Hawke to do something he was unwilling to do, it would be better to come up with a solution as soon as possible.
"Captain Hawke, when can we find the route?" Zheng Yubai walked up to Hawke and asked.
Hawke subconsciously turned his head to look at the Five Energy, then looked away in horror. Compared to the Five Energy's "feat" of twisting D's arm into a knot with the Great Compassionate Thousand Leaf Hand in public, Zheng Yubai's smashing of C's wrist seemed a bit insignificant. Moreover, Zheng Yubai's appearance was somewhat elegant, which made people feel much more at ease compared to the ugly Five Energy.
"Well... we seem to be lost. The weather at sea has been bad these days and the GPS doesn't work anymore." Hawke said.
"Oh, that's how it is." Zheng Yubai looked at the endless sea and the sky without even a white cloud, and thought to himself, doesn't this captain need to look at the surrounding environment when he lies...
"Then what should we do now? Are we just going to drift on the sea?" Zheng Yubai asked.
"That won't happen. Maybe I can send you to the South Island," Hawke said.
Zheng Yubai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Hawke might be a good sailor, but he was really naive in dealing with people. He could find the location of the South Island of New Zealand, but couldn't find the route to Australia. This was just a lie. But Zheng Yubai was not an unreasonable person. He knew Hawke's concerns and said, "Okay, let's go to the South Island."
Hawke's face lit up with joy, and he said quickly, "Guys, get to work!"
The sails were raised, the motor started, the sailboat regained power, and set sail for the South Island of New Zealand.
Returning to the stern, Zheng Yubai said to Howard, "The original plan may have to be changed. I have to trouble you again."
"Nan Dao? I do know someone like him. Maybe he can help us." Howard's eyes lit up.
The waters of the Pacific Ocean are quietly dormant in the bay of New Zealand's South Island, like a whole piece of emerald green jade, or like a large piece of sticky jelly, rippling gently, as quiet as a lake.
The sailboat approached from afar and soon arrived at the dock. This was a private dock, and the owner of the dock was familiar to Hawke.
"I'm sorry, I can only take you here. It's only a hundred kilometers away from Queenstown, and my friend can take you there." After parking the boat, Hawke brought everyone ashore and introduced his friend, Robert, an honest middle-aged New Zealand man, to Zheng Yubai.
"Thank you very much. I'm sorry to have caused you a lot of trouble this time." Zheng Yubai said sincerely. In fact, he didn't want to implicate an ordinary person like Hawke. Although Hawke violated the agreement, he was also frightened, so everyone was even.
Hawke said a little embarrassedly: "I hope you have a safe journey." After that, he said hello to Robert and set sail again. I don't know if he was looking for a route to Australia.
"Would you like to eat something before going to Queenstown?" Robert said to everyone enthusiastically after seeing Hawke off.
After he said that, everyone realized that they were indeed hungry. Since the rescue operation started at 10 o'clock last night, everyone had not had a drop of water. The tense mood had now eased, and their stomachs immediately started to growl.
In addition to this small, well-equipped wharf close to the Pacific Ocean, Robert also owns a large farm. In New Zealand, a country where animal husbandry is the main industry, there are many farmers like him. Although New Zealand is small, the population is even smaller, and many farmers own hundreds of hectares of land. A large part of it is grassland, and often only a few sheepdogs and a few workers are needed to domesticate hundreds of cattle and sheep.
"It's so beautiful." Zheng Yubai and his companions followed Robert through a lush green woodland. After climbing over a small hill, they saw his farm.
The cattle and sheep were scattered like small flowers on the endless green carpet. A few sheepdogs shuttled between the cattle and sheep, faithfully performing their duties. The farm was rich in water and grass, so there was no fear of food disputes. One or two lonely trees with canopies of five or six meters cast thick shadows on the grass, like lonely sentinels. This picturesque scene made Zheng Yubai and others fascinated.
"People say this is the most suitable place for human habitation. It's true." Ding Rulong exclaimed. After being rescued by Zheng Yubai, he was not surprised at all. He already knew what kind of ability Zheng Yubai had. Ding Rulong, who had always been worried about the fate of the company, suddenly felt that falling into the trap of the opponent might be a good opportunity. If he could take advantage of this opportunity to win over Zheng Yubai to become his assistant or son-in-law, then it would be just a matter of time before the Ding family's business empire surpassed Yao Qian's glory.
"Boss Ding can move here and buy a farm after he retires." Zheng Yubai said.
"After something like this happened, do you think it's possible for me to set foot here again?" Ding Rulong laughed heartily.
Robert didn't understand Chinese and didn't know what they were saying, but when he saw their smiles, he knew they must have liked this place too.
"This place is beautiful, but Queenstown is more beautiful." Robert said proudly.
"Oh, is it more beautiful than here?" Several people came down the hill and walked towards Robert's residence, asking Robert as they walked.
"Of course, it's like a fairy tale there." Robert smiled, "I guarantee you will love it there."
Howard said, "He's right. The beauty of Queenstown is like a fairy tale world. People who have never been there will never be able to imagine it."
Hearing the two of them say this, everyone's appetite was whetted, especially Wu Neng, who was as excited as a little child.
"There is also the filming location of the movie Lord of the Rings near Queenstown. I think you must be interested in sightseeing." As the host, Robert naturally has to point out the most fun and beautiful places in New Zealand to these guests who have traveled from across the ocean.
Zheng Yubai smiled and said, "So that's where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. If I have time, I'd like to go and take a look."
Robert proudly introduced the filming process of The Lord of the Rings to everyone, and praised the director of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, who is his fellow New Zealander. Looking at his proud look, it seems that he also contributed to the great success of The Lord of the Rings.
How nice it would be if this trip could be a carefree vacation. Zheng Yubai listened to Robert's introduction and felt very fond of this wonderful land of New Zealand.
Arriving at Robert's house, everyone could finally take a break.
Robert built a large house of several hundred square meters on the edge of the farm. Anyway, the place is large and any bathroom is 20 square meters. This made people who were used to the scarcity of land in big cities like Jinghai feel that it was too wasteful.
Although it is located in a very remote countryside with no other family within 10 kilometers, Robert's home is still fully equipped with water, electricity, gas and other utilities. This makes everyone admire the completeness of New Zealand's public facilities.
Everyone sat in the spacious and bright living room. Outside the open windows was the green grass. They looked at the beautiful countryside and tasted the tea and snacks prepared by Robert. This kind of life was so comfortable.
Maybe this place will be a good place to rest when I get old. Although Zheng Yubai is still young, he is attracted by the green mountains and clear waters of New Zealand and has such a long-term idea.
Robert was busy preparing a lot of food for everyone. He was a middle-aged widower, usually only accompanied by a few sheepdogs. It was a bit difficult for him to go into the kitchen to cook, so he prepared some food bought from the supermarket.
Wu Neng was holding a piece of pizza and eating with his mouth full of oil. Suddenly he choked and tried to force tea down his throat, which made Zheng Yubai laugh and cry.
Everyone was a little hungry, and they wolfed down the food prepared by Robert, then lay down to rest contentedly.
"We should leave now. It takes about two hours to get to Queenstown from here. If we don't hurry, it will be dark when we get back." Robert was full of energy. After packing up, he immediately asked everyone to set off.
Before leaving, Howard used Robert's phone to call a friend in Queenstown, while Zheng Yubai contacted Lin Xiaoxi.
From Lin Xiaoxi's cautious tone, Zheng Yubai knew that the police had blocked the entire territory of New Zealand. Ding Rulong's photos were all over the major airports and terminals in New Zealand. In other words, unless he disguised himself, Ding Rulong would never be able to leave the main island of New Zealand.
The New Zealand police did this not because Ding Rulong was a heinous criminal, but more to save face for the twelve colleagues who were knocked unconscious. The suspect who was protected by the twelve policemen was also kidnapped, which made the public extremely indignant about the police's incompetence. Even the US government expressed great regret for adding insult to injury. The New Zealand Police Minister withstood the huge pressure and shamelessly refused to resign. He set up many checkpoints and vowed not to give up until Ding Rulong was caught.
"How is your friend? Can he help?" On the way to Queenstown, Zheng Yubai, who was sitting in the last row of the car, asked Howard beside him in a low voice.
"It should be fine. This man is a pilot." Howard chuckled.
"Oh?" Zheng Yubai was stunned. He didn't expect Howard to have such a friend.
"The control of airplanes in New Zealand is not as strict as in China, and private individuals are allowed to own airplanes here. There are pilot training schools in many places in New Zealand. My friend was originally trained to fly civilian airplanes. But now he is so happy staying in New Zealand that he only flies civilian airplanes occasionally for fun. Normally he is just a clerk." Howard said.
"Can he send people to Australia?" Zheng Yubai was a little worried.
"He can only bring one person. But it doesn't matter, because only Boss Ding's appearance is on the wanted list. No one can recognize you and Wu Neng. We agreed to meet somewhere in Australia, so there shouldn't be any problem." Howard said.
After much thought, Zheng Yubai decided that this was the only solution, and he asked Ding Rulong for his opinion. Ding Rulong naturally listened to Zheng Yubai, and the matter was finalized.
Along the way, the scenery along the road was beautiful and spectacular. When the car drove up a high hill, looking down at the valleys and forests in the distance, the magnificent natural scenery seen in the Lord of the Rings was in full view. Although everyone wanted to get to Queenstown as soon as possible, such scenery still made them stop and take a good look before getting on the road again.
"What a beautiful place." Wu Neng said with lingering feelings, "Howard, I really envy you. If I have the opportunity, I would also like to work here."
Howard rolled his eyes and said, "Do you think this place is fun? You get tired of this kind of scenery after seeing it a few times, but life is still boring. Compared to Jinghai, this place is like a comfortable rural life."
"I don't know how lucky I am." Wu Neng muttered.
Zheng Yubai smiled as he listened to their arguments. Everyone has different requirements for life, and because of their different positions, they are full of curiosity about new and unknown things. This is the origin of the saying "the grass is greener on the other side". However, each mentality is not necessarily wrong. It is precisely because of the diverse thoughts of people in the world that a world of various forms is created.
The scenery along the way is so beautiful that I won't describe it in detail. After driving for more than an hour, there were more and more cars on the highway, most of which were going in the same direction. Zheng Yubai also saw the big sign beside the road that said "QUEEN'S TOWN".
When the car finally drove into the city of Queenstown, everyone's eyes were different from the road. Robert and Howard both described this place as a fairy tale world, and now it seems that what they said is true.
Queenstown is surrounded by mountains. The white people who came to New Zealand from Europe named this mountain range the Southern Alps in memory of their homeland. In addition to the green mountains, there is also a lake called Lake Wakatipu at the southern end of Queenstown, like a pearl embellishing this land.
Queenstown is surrounded by dense forests, with beautiful villas of various architectural styles. But in fact, these places that look like villas are just ordinary houses of townspeople.
There were gorgeous flowers blooming in front of and behind every house. There was a lot of traffic on the road around the lake outside the town. Zheng Yubai and others followed the other cars and circled the town. They looked at the large and small cruise ships and speedboats passing on the blue lake, and the colorful paragliders and hot air balloons in the sky. Looking at the distant mountains, not only can you see the lush primeval forest, but also the snow-capped peaks in the distance. This scenery is just like what Robert said, like a fairy tale world on earth.
After admiring the scenery, Robert led everyone to a house in Queenstown according to the address provided by Howard.
"That's all, my friends. It's nice to meet you. I hope you can come to the farm to visit me if you have the chance in the future. The door of my house is always open to you." After everyone got out of the car, Robert said reluctantly.
Compared to the timid Hawke, Robert is a really good man. He has the simplicity and honesty of a native white man.
"Also, remember to tell this friend to be careful on the road." When Robert left, he glanced at Ding Rulong and said meaningfully to Zheng Yubai.
Watching Robert driving away, Zheng Yubai waved his hands, full of gratitude towards him.
"Your friend lives here, it's a nice place." Wu Neng was very curious about everything around him. However, his appearance was a bit out of place in this fairy tale world.
"Well, actually, he's just a tenant here." Howard said. He walked over and rang the doorbell. Soon an old man opened the door, looked at the large group of people in front of the door, and asked in confusion, "Who are you looking for?"
"Well, we are Liu Jia's friends, and he asked us to come to his house and wait for him to come back." Howard said.
"Are you Liu Jia's friend? Please come in." The residents of the small town are very friendly to foreign tourists. Although it is not a place where people do not pick up things on the road or lock their doors at night, it is a peaceful and harmonious place with very few crimes.
Everyone filed in and waited for Liu Jia in his room. As soon as the door was opened, the smell of a bachelor hit him. The room was as messy as all bachelors. Howard smiled and said, "This kid is still the same as before."
"Is this your friend?" Zheng Yubai's attention was drawn to a photo in a frame on the table. It showed a fat man with a big belly, who looked to weigh at least 200 kilograms.
Howard nodded embarrassedly: "Now you know why a plane that was originally limited to three people can only accommodate two people..."
When Liu Jia appeared in person, Zheng Yubai took a deep breath. If Howard had not assured him that Liu Jia was an advanced pilot trained in a regular aviation school with more than a thousand hours of flying experience, Zheng Yubai would never have believed that a short and fat man could fly a plane.
Liu Jia certainly doesn't look like a pilot, with a round head and a huge beer belly. But he always has a very gentle smile on his face, which gives people a good impression.
"Are you Boss Ding?" Liu Jia's eyes lit up when he saw Ding Rulong. "Your case has caused a big stir. Now the whole of New Zealand is talking about you."
"Stop talking nonsense. How is the plane preparation going?" Howard asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, I've been prepared. I've already booked the passage for 2 a.m. tomorrow. Then we just need to bring Boss Ding in quietly." Liu Jia said confidently.
"Don't make any mistakes." Howard said nervously, "You know how important this matter is."
"Don't worry, we have been friends for a long time. Don't you trust me in doing things?" Liu Jia said a little dissatisfied.
Howard was stunned for a moment, and said without giving him face: "I really have no other choice..."
It is so easy to sneak into New Zealand airports, especially the private airport in Queenstown. It is as easy as visiting a neighbor's house. This is unimaginable in other countries. However, Zheng Yubai did not find it strange at all when he thought of the news that a flight teacher in New Zealand stole a plane and crashed it into the Sky Tower.
Zheng Yubai and Wu Neng almost swaggered into making a big hole in the barbed wire fence protecting the airport and brought Ding Rulong into the deserted airport.
In fact, there were still people in the airport, but it was already two o'clock in the morning and there was only one plane waiting to take off, so the security and ground staff inevitably relaxed their attention.
Ding Rulong was secretly brought to the plane that Liu Jia had booked long ago. Not long after, Liu Jia came over staggeringly with a big belly.
"Sorry to trouble you this time." Zheng Yubai said to Liu Jia.
"It's just a small matter. Don't forget to tell me if there are any exciting things like this in the future." Liu Jia said with a smile. This fat guy is quite likable.
After confirming the landing location with Liu Jia, Zheng Yubai and Wu Neng returned quietly. A moment later, the plane piloted by Liu Jia took off and headed straight for Australia. The New Zealand police's roundup on the isolated island is still going on, but it is all in vain. (To be continued)