The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye) novel Chapter 255

"A strange thing, you say?"

Nathaniel turned around abruptly, and the speed was so fast that Henry was startled.

"For your information, we calculate the supply of rations on the ship very carefully so there's enough for everyone. However, after we left the United States, the rations on board started to decrease for no apparent reason, and our first aid kit went missing as well. At first, we thought that we might have had a thief on board, but we couldn't find any evidence of a suspicious individual on the ship. As you might know, we have a set number of crew on cargo ships, but unfortunately, the amount of food we had kept decreasing. In the end, we had no choice but to dock at Parkland City to obtain more food. If we hadn’t done that, I think we wouldn’t have made it back to China."

As Henry spoke, Nathaniel's heart became hopeful once again.

"So, you’re saying that you have a fixed amount of food on board?"

"That’s right.”

"Could anyone have stolen more rations for themselves?"

"That’s impossible! All our sailors are professionally trained. Furthermore, we’ re usually out at sea for extended periods of time, so we will not tolerate anyone disobeying the rules. Everyone knows that food and water are the most crucial things for survival at sea, so I'm positive that none of my crew would do anything stupid like that. Nevertheless, it started to decrease after we left the United States but we couldn’t find the culprit. That's where it gets strange. Everyone is saying that we might have paranormal activity aboard the ship, so naturally, we' re all afraid."

Henry's expression was foul as he said this.

It was not uncommon for sailors to develop superstitious beliefs after a long time at sea. They believed it regardless of whether there was any scientific basis because no one could find a logical explanation for it anyway.

On the contrary, Nathaniel did not share the captain' s beliefs.

In his opinion, food and water would not go missing for no apparent reason. It was plausible for the rations to go missing, but the first aid kit had gone missing as well.

Why would the first aid kit be stolen?

Could it be that someone was injured?

Could that someone be Mango?

"Do you mind if I have look around your ship?"

"Sure!"

Henry knew that Nathaniel, the president of the HY Group, was involved in the shipping industry, so there was no possibility for Nathaniel to tamper with the ship. Furthermore, the officer of the Port Authority had personally brought them here. So, how could a humble ship captain like Henry refuse it?

After that, Nathaniel and Thomas followed Henry onto the cargo ship.

The internal of the cargo ship was large and cavernous. Furthermore, it looked even spacious since all the cargo was unloaded.

After Nathaniel boarded the ship, he asked, "Where does the crew normally get their rest?"

"Each of us has our own rooms. There are slightly more than a dozen crew members on board, and we all sleep in the rooms over there."

Henry pointed to the lounge nearby.

After that, Nathaniel went to inspect the rooms, which were in the style of a dormitory because all the crewmembers were male. It was quite dirty and the smell of unwashed feet permeated the room.

He covered his nose with his hand to avoid the smell as he looked around. After that, he left the room as he was convinced that Mango would not have hidden here.

"Is there any other place on this ship capable of hiding a person?"

"Yeah, there are some other places, but we already checked them several times and confirm no one was there."

As Henry spoke, he pointed to a small storage area beneath the ship's hold and he said, "This is where we usually store the things that we want to bring back to our families. The strange thing is that our rations have decreased but our personal items were left untouched." After Henry said that, Nathaniel intended to go down there to take a look inside the storage space.

However, Thomas hurriedly stopped him.

"Mr. Ye, I think it's better for me to do it instead of you. It's cramped in there and it stinks, so it's a better idea for me to go down there."

"It's fine, I’ll do it.”

Nathaniel obviously did not mind these things at all.

In fact, he would crawl through the fires of hell if it meant that he could find clues on Mango’ s whereabouts.

As Thomas saw Nathaniel's determined look, he did not stop him. Then, Thomas stepped aside to make way for the other man.

Nathaniel passed Thomas as he walked down into the storage space.

The storage space was very cramped, and Nathaniel did not even have the space to stand upright.

There was a musty smell in the storage space. Since all the goods had been unloaded, the area was clear and Nathaniel could see everything at first glance.

This place was completely empty, and it was obvious that nobody was hidden here.

Nathaniel felt a little disappointed.

If she wasn't here, where could Mango be?

Could it be that she had not come aboard the ship alone? Was there someone else with her? Nathaniel had no choice but to make this conclusion.

Meanwhile, Thomas did not find any other clues either. Furthermore, the smell here was very strong and he said in a low voice, "Mr. Ye, I think we’d better go back up to the deck."

However, Nathaniel did not reply as he was unwilling to give up. His eyes swept every corner of the storage space once again and suddenly, he discovered a few strands of hair.

Gosh, these long hairs could have only come from a woman!

Furthermore, these hairs were about the same length as Mango. However, there were only a few strands in the corner of the storage space and they were hard to see because it was so dark in there. If Nathaniel hadn't taken a closer look at the area, he probably wouldn't have found them.

Then, he quickly picked up the hairs and he kept them away carefully before he said, "Let’s head back."

"Yes, sir."

Thomas helped Nathaniel as they left the storage space.

Henry spoke softly while he saw them exit the storage space as if they found nothing, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ye. I’ve told you everything that I know."

"Thank you very much, Henry."