The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 276 - 283: Interested

Chapter 276: Chapter 283: Interested

Under the blue sky and emerald sea, swimming in such a boundless ocean, Lucy Campbell felt an indescribable sense of joy and comfort. Even with her clothes soaked and hindering her movements, she still swam happily, humming a tune with a voice as pleasant as that of any pop star.

James Brown stayed by Lucy Campbell’s side, a rope tied around his waist, the other end securing a lifebuoy, with their shoes—and his phone within—tied to it. The phone, however, was rendered useless after falling into the water and getting soaked.

Listening to the tune, James Brown too was in a good mood and smilingly said, "You sing quite well. If you were to become a pop star, you’d definitely be a hit, and a talented one at that."

Lucy Campbell proudly replied, "Not many have heard me sing, especially not young men."

James immediately responded, "Then I am truly honored."

With a giggle, Lucy said, "Now you sing one for me."

"No need for that, I sing like a banshee."

"Really? I want to hear it even more now, come on, sing for me." Lucy Campbell tugged at James’s arm, lying on her back and swimming face up.

James chuckled, "Well, don’t be scared then."

"Absolutely not, I’m prepared."

James cleared his throat and, with mouth wide open, let out a booming sound, "We are soldiers..."

The voice was so penetrating that, despite being prepared, Lucy was startled, her head plunging below the surface with a splash before resurfacing again. At this point, James had stopped and was grinning at her.

"You bad boy, you did that on purpose to scare me," Lucy Campbell said with mock anger, pinching James, but added with a smile, "Not bad, not bad at all, it definitely has the vibe of a soldier. Keep on singing."

James had just cracked a joke and started singing again, this time not as loudly. Out at sea with no one around, there was no worry of disturbing the peace, and he began to get into the spirit of it.

Most people stranded at sea would only think of how to escape, but the two of them were enjoying themselves as if playing, an indescribably joyful experience. Anyone who saw them would likely think they had no worries in the world.

After swimming for about half an hour, Lucy Campbell was growing tired. James supported her waist with one hand and her legs with the other; with a little effort from her arms, she was soon sitting across the lifebuoy.

"Ouch!" Once seated, Lucy Campbell immediately clutched her chest, her face blushing as she glared at James.

James was prepared and tossed his shirt over Lucy to cover her, chuckling, "Now you can’t see, and it’ll also shield you from the sun. Don’t think the water’s not hot—in reality, the sun is scorching."

Lucy adjusted the shirt, covering her vital parts, before saying, "What about you? You’re shirtless now."

James laughed, "I’m thick-skinned, a bit of sun will only make me healthier."

"Then I won’t be polite."

"Looks like you’ve never been polite."

Lucy couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She enjoyed that James spoke to her so casually, and having a man who could talk to her so freely was indeed rare.

Lucy stopped swimming herself, and they started to move faster. James could now concentrate on swimming. Swimming was an essential training exercise in the Hawk Squad; James could easily spend a whole day swimming in the sea. Despite being encumbered with Lucy, his performance was not affected. His arms and legs swung alternately, propelling the lifebuoy forward like a swift little boat.

Lucy did not hinder James, aware that as a second-in-command of the Hawk Squad, James would not show off his strength just to impress her. Thus, no matter how fast he swam, she believed James was holding back his energy.

However, James didn’t get much farther before slowing down, "Someone’s coming."

"No, I don’t see anyone." Lucy looked around but did not spot any boats.

"Sound travels faster in water; those should be several speedboats, likely Christopher Taylor and his people catching up to us."

Finally, Lucy saw four speedboats rapidly approaching; she smiled and asked, "So what do we do now?"

"Depends on whether you prefer swimming back or taking a speedboat."

Lucy thought for a moment before saying, "We’ve had so much fun, let’s keep swimming back."

James Brown looked over and said, "There are two options. One, we dive to avoid meeting them, or two, I drive them away and we continue swimming."

Lucy Campbell squinted at James Brown with a meaningful expression, "You said... dive?"

James Brown immediately coughed dryly. That time when he rescued Lucy Campbell, they both fled into the river and were submerged. Out of fear that Lucy might drown, he had given her mouth-to-mouth air. Now the mention of diving again naturally made Lucy think of that incident.

"Forget it, I’ll just drive them away instead," James said with a wry smile. That time, it was a matter of life and death, so nothing else mattered. Not only had he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Lucy, but he had also torn her dress. But now, the situation was not so dire, and doing the same would be taking undue advantage of Lucy.

Lucy, on the other hand, did not mind diving with James again and was even somewhat looking forward to it. But since James had said as much, if she insisted on diving, it would seem rather suspicious. She rolled her eyes at him, an expression that he didn’t quite understand, and said, "Then hurry up and get rid of them. I don’t want to see these annoying people."

"No problem," James agreed readily, holding onto the life buoy while waiting for the four speedboats to approach.

In less than two minutes, the four speedboats charged over. They had obviously spotted Lucy sitting on the life buoy, and they slowed down when they were still some distance away. Upon getting closer, the four speedboats surrounded Lucy and James.

Christopher Taylor was in one of the middle speedboats. Seeing Lucy seated on the life buoy, seemingly so relaxed and comfortable even with her hair soaked and her styled hairdo gone, she exuded a natural beauty that mesmerized Christopher.

Christopher had seen plenty of beautiful women, but Lucy was the first he encountered whose unadorned face was so enchanting. The people on the other boats were also quickened in their hearts, their eyes fixed on Lucy, and even James was automatically ignored.

Being an influential figure after all, Christopher was the first to recover his composure. He put on what he thought was his most handsome, most charming smile and said, "Miss, my speedboat could give you a ride."

"No, thank you," Lucy replied indifferently, sounding very cold. Not just anyone could expect her to speak softly and gently, like she did with James Brown – such men were rare. Plus, Christopher had issues with James, and Lucy couldn’t bear to give him a second glance.

Even though he hit a soft spot, Christopher wasn’t angry. Such a beautiful woman surely had her pride, and he promptly said, "Miss, it’s really dangerous for you to be drifting alone in this vast ocean. I suggest you get on my boat for safety."

Lucy dipped her hand into the water, still in that cool tone, "I like it this way, please don’t be so annoying."

Christopher frowned slightly and said, "If you really like it, I can keep you company, and let the speedboat follow us to ensure your safety."

"Oh, you like swimming this way too?" A man’s voice suddenly came from behind Christopher, which greatly irritated him. He was wooing a beauty, and now someone rudely butted in. Just as he was about to turn around and scold, he suddenly felt a kick on his rear, and his body flew off the speedboat like a kite, plunging into the water.

"Ah... Glub!" Caught off guard, Christopher instinctively yelled out as he fell into the sea, but as soon as he hit the water, he swallowed a mouthful of seawater. He desperately surfaced, spitting the water out as quickly as he could, but still swallowed some – it was salty and bitter, a truly horrible taste.

"Dammit, who kicked me!" Wiping his face, Christopher swore aloud and looked around.

"Hey, didn’t you say you enjoyed swimming? Why are you cursing someone who helped you into the water?" James Brown sat crouching on Christopher’s speedboat, asking with a smile, unnoticed by anyone when he had boarded the boat.

"You..." Only then did Christopher remember that Lucy was with James, and he said bitterly, "Kid, you’re definitely done for this time."

James Brown said with a grin, "Really? But I feel you’re the one who’s more likely to die right now. Do you feel your clothes getting heavier?"

Christopher’s face turned pale with horror. His clothes, soaked through and with shoes still on his feet, were extremely inconvenient. Amid his anger, he had not noticed, but now that James mentioned it, he felt himself barely floating and as if he was about to sink.

"Help!" At that moment, Christopher could no longer care about his dignity and shouted loudly for help.

People on the nearby speedboats immediately threw lifebuoys, and Christopher clumsily grabbed one, scrambling onto one of the speedboat in an undignified manner.

Seeing Christopher in such a pitiful state, Lucy couldn’t help but snicker.

That snicker was charmingly delightful. Even though Christopher knew Lucy was mocking him, he couldn’t help but stare, spellbound with not a trace of animosity. This made him even more itching for Lucy. If he could win over this woman, he would have face anywhere he went, and his family would surely approve, since her demeanor fully met his family’s criteria.

If Christopher hadn’t been so smitten or usually so arrogant, he might have realized that a person with such a demeanor couldn’t be ordinary. Such an aura isn’t natural but comes from cultivation, which ordinary families can’t foster.

And this beautiful woman being with James indicated a significant relationship. Initially, Christopher wanted to rough up James a bit, but now he was intent on killing him.

Turning to look at James, Christopher’s expression darkened and he barked, "Kid, do you realize you’ve really angered me?"

James Brown said with a beaming smile, "Really? You always seem like a rabid dog to me."

Lucy snickered again, now realizing that in addition to being calm and steady, James was a very playful guy.

Those with Christopher started hurling insults. In their eyes, Christopher was an extraordinary figure, and for James to be so defiant, they thought he was truly courting death.