The rain came to a stop sometime after midnight, allowing the passengers on the lifeboats to collect almost half-a-nightâs worth of water. In a twisted way, it seemed as if âlifeâ was always unsatisfactory as the rain that brought joy and salvation upon its arrival soon turned into an object of hate and scorn. The survivors were terrified of their boats sinking because those abysmal sea monsters were practically products of some fiendish nightmare.
As dawn broke, a silhouette seemed to float in the distance.
At first, everyone grew excited and believed it to be land. Picking up their oars, they rowed near the unmoving figure. Cold dejection filled their hearts when their eyes landed on what stood in front of themâ a cargo ship silently sailing on the waves, showing no signs of life.
This was their first time seeing another ship since their escape from the Thalassa Goddess . After a prolonged hesitation, An Li allowed the others to clamber onto the abandoned deck in search of food, and, as sheâd expected, the results were disappointing. There was no food or water they could easily carry away, nor were there any lifeboats or lifejackets. Clearly, the sailors on board had chosen the same solution as them.
The captain knelt on the deck, noting the rust and marks on the iron boards. Since the shipâs engines and motors had also broken down, the lifeboats needed to be dragged to one side and then thrown into the sea. He then stood up and stumbled to the railings, studying every little detail. Finally, he concluded that the shipâs crew had probably fled towards the southwest.
âIf we go that way, weâd definitely find islands or land.â The captain was confident in his belief.
Though the others werenât able to find food, they managed to restock some other necessities, such as cups and bottles for collecting water, sharp knives, and a lighter which Li Shao stashed in his pocket. They also took some small items that theyâd forgotten to bring during their initial escape.
An Li searched all over the ship before giving up on her endeavour. The sailors on this cargo ship had all been men; she was only able to find some outdated Playboy magazines and even some porn stashes. However, there were no feminine products in sight. An Li was extremely worried about this, for as of now, she didnât even have a spare cloth to use. She was now regretting not bringing some extra clothes off of the Thalassa Goddess since there was no way she could use the old, stinky clothes of these sailors.
An Li rubbed her temples in frustration. What was she to do now? Pray that due to lack of nutrients and rest, she wouldnât be getting it this month?
Wait, speaking of⊠it was said that if a female soaked in water for too long and was cold for an extended period of time, they wouldnât get it as usual.
An Li stumbled back onto the lifeboat, and one look at Na Lin and the still unconscious A-Min sent her back into frustration. For the past few daysâ perhaps it was because of their encounter with the sea monstersâ they didnât meet any sharks, but if that awful situation did occur and one of the girls fell into the water, it was hard to say what might happen nextâŠ
Special abilities were nothing compared to the vast, boundless sea.
Na Lin found a long stick which she tied a bedsheet to and created a makeshift sail. The person who possessed wind abilities then utilised his power to push the lifeboat towards the southwest. Of course, the tiring job of holding up the sail became Li Shaoâs responsibility.
Maybe it was because of how unlucky theyâd been since the start of their journey, but fate finally smiled upon them; a night of rain that saved their lives, a cargo ship for them to scavenge about, and as they sailed towards the southwest, they found an island before noon. Yes, a real island! One that was covered in brilliant greenery!
âOh god! Weâre saved!â
âIf this is near the Marianas, we can head to the next island even if this one doesnât have fresh water!â The captain was even more excited. The Mariana Islands were mostly uninhabited areas full of undisturbed tropical animals and plants.
This sign of hope lit a fire in the miserable passengersâ hearts, arousing their dead spirits.
If Xia Yi was here, he wouldâve definitely warned against going to that island!
After the array of radiation, most plants had withered and died, so how could there be such a beautiful, lush island?
Yet the previously hopeless crowd had no way of remembering such reasoning. They gathered up their oars in excitement and rushed to the island. Perhaps it was due to their exhilaration that they felt like theyâd crossed what the captain had estimated to be an hourâs worth of distance in mere seconds.
Now that they were up close, they could see that it was a really small island.
It couldnât have been bigger than a basketball court, with an abundance of greenery trailing into the ocean. The only fault the survivors could find was that the plants looked a little wilted and shriveled from the sun.
âTropical plants are quite interesting,â Li Shao curiously remarked.
Given how difficult the past days had been, the captain fainted from the immense happiness somewhere halfway to the island. Afterall, he wasnât young, nor was he an ability wielder. If he was still conscious, he probably wouldâve said something about the bizarre shrubs.
There were plants that had extremely long stems and wide leaves on the sides; they seemed unable to carry their own weights and had collapsed all over the island. A little further in were vibrant plants, one of them even coloured a bright red. It wasnât tall, but it looked very strange. No one had ever seen anything like this from any illustrations or scientific magazines. It wasnât a tree, except it didnât look like a shrub either. Its leaves werenât shaped in ovals, instead squished close together like hydrangeas or flowers on an empress tree. There was another prune-coloured plant shaped like a fan with giant leaves clustered together that left no gaps and covered it from its tip to its roots.
Somehow, this island didnât sit right with An Li. It felt like it was missing something, but she couldnât place her finger on exactly what that thing was.
âAn-Jie, stop worrying. Look at the size of this island! Thereâs no high trees, much less any ferocious beasts.â Li Shao scratched his head and continued saying, âThereâs no way this is one of those prehistoric islands in movies where dinosaurs appear from!â
âBut these look like prehistoric plants!â Na Lin stared at the greenery.
âNo way! Prehistoric organisms are all gigantic. Even mosquitos were several metres long and plants were all sky-high towers! How would they look like this?â
âThen these are alien organisms!â
As ridiculous as Na Lin sounded, An Li was mumbling under her breath as well. These plants just seemed so odd.
Even though they were hesitating on their boats, there were some who were more dauntless. After suffering through borderline starvation over the course of so many days, theyâd finally encountered an island. There may not be fresh water here, but theyâd be completely satisfied with something to eat. They werenât pickyâ just some non-poisonous berries and mushrooms would do.
In the end, Li Shao was unable to hold himself back and jumped off to follow the crowd.
He didnât land firmly and fell right onto his butt. An Li was about to climb off to help him up when Li Shao gave an awkward smile and stood up on his own.
âThat hurt⊠The ground here is so hard!â
Li Shao brushed the leaves apart and found that there wasnât dirt or stone at the plantsâ roots. Rather, there was a layer of grey-ish brown lumps. He grabbed a handful and squinted to see them clearly. Suddenly, he shouted in pleasant surprise, âSeashells and conches!â
Since he was physically strong, Li Shao was able to tear off oysters and white, cone-shaped conches. Soft flesh was still squirming in the shells as they quickly retracted into their hard, protective layers. After all, theyâd survived by sucking against seemingly hard rocks.
âYou donât have to look anymore, thereâs food here! There might be snakes down in the jungle!â Li Shao was extremely pleased with himself as he grabbed another handful of oysters and conches, tossing them into the lifeboat.
As for the plants, they looked too strange so no one dared to eat them.
âLi Shao, come back!â An Li felt that the lifeboats near the island were shaking a little too hard.
âGive me a minute, An-Jie. Thereâs so many shellfish here! Layer upon layers! If we can bring about three daysâ worth, we can find other islands with a lot more ease!â
With Li Shao as an example, the rest of the group began collecting shellfishes from the ground.
As the oysters fell into the lifeboat, some of them landed on the captainâs face, efficiently waking him. Sitting up, he asked in confusion, âWhere did you guys get food from?â
âThe islandâŠâ
The captain looked up and gawked at the island, its weird plants, and the people who were happily pulling shellfish from the shore. âThis⊠what kind of island is this?â
Shellfish usually rested upon sunken ships and reefs. It was one thing for them to be washed on shore, but it was absurd for an entire island to be covered in layers of them.
An Li finally realised what was wrong with the island. It had no sandy beach, and since it was composed of rocks, how did these plants flourish? Also, could shellfish survive for a prolonged period of time without water? Why didnât this island, with its overflowing greenery, attract a single seabird? In fact, there wasnât a single animal in sightâ not even insects! If the radiation was what had killed them, then why were the plants unharmed?
âCome back! Come back now! This isnât an island!!â
An Li and the captain screamed at almost the exact same time.
Li Shao turned around, his hands still full with oysters. Puzzled, he tilted his head and asked, âHmm? If this isnât an island, then what is it?â
ăYouâre an island!ă
ââŠâ
The sound was dull, as if its owner was speaking from the inside of a jar. Li Shao fearfully looked around himself before catching on to whatâd just happened from how Na Linâs face immediately drained of colour. With a yelp, he scrambled for the lifeboat. The others saw Li Shaoâs reaction and followed suit, fully disregarding the oysters theyâd gotten. Despite their attempts, a sudden jolt occurred beneath their feet, knocking several people down to the ground; some of them narrowly missed having a tooth knocked out by the shellfish. Before they could climb back up, they saw the water flowing up and in.
âHurry! This thing will cause a huge whirlpool when it sinks! The lifeboats will all be sucked in!â The captainâs eyes bugged as he yelled at the top of his lungs. âEven an olympic swimmer would die if that happens!â
âButâŠâ Li Shao and the others had yet to reach the boats.
âCome on, letâs go!â Na Lin urged as she took out an oar and began to row.
âNo, itâs too late! If only we had engines⊠If weâre rowing by handââ
Amidst the chaos, Li Shao had already clambered onto the lifeboat.
âSea monster! Itâs a sea monster! I heard those strange sounds again! The ones that appear directly in your head!â Li Shao rambled in bewilderment.
Upon hearing this, the captain almost fainted again.
The middle-aged man who had a wind ability chimed in, âYes, and it said âyouâre an island!ââ
ăHmm?ă
The water on the island was around waist-deep, but everyone had climbed back into their boats. They rowed out for a while before realising that no whirlpool had chased after them. Looking back, they saw that the âislandâ had shrunk to about half its original size, leaving only the tips of the plants swaying above the surface like bristlegrass growing below a great dam after summerâs rainy season.
By now, even an idiot would realise that these werenât tropical plants; they were blooming algaes!
And speaking of sea monsters, many people remembered a legend which no one could recall where theyâd heard it from. It said a group of sailors discovered an island and happily went on it to find food. As they lit a fire to roast fish, tragedy struck. The entire island sunk into the sea! Turns out, it hadnât been an island at all. Instead, it was the back of a monster!
There was also a myth that spoke of a monster dwelling in the icy oceans of western Europe. Itâd often disguised itself as an island to lure in sailors, and then it would suddenly stretch out its tentacles to catch its prey or sink underwater to eat the people whoâd soon fallen beneath the waves.
Oh god! Havenât we had our fair share of sea monster encounters since we left the cruise ship? Why do these creatures keep on following us?!
Everyoneâs faces were pale from fright.
The captain remained wide-eyed and deep in thought. It was true that other than the traditional âoctopusâ and âsnakeâ form of sea monsters, there were legends about an island-resembling creature which lured prey in thanks to its appearance⊠but that was kind of pathetic. Attempting to catch humans in the ocean was no different than trying to find water in the middle of a desert. Those who waited idly usually ended up starving to death!
The whirlpool never formed because the âislandâ maintained its movement and stopped sinking down.
ăHumans, you can hear my voice?ă
An Li, Li Shao, Na Lin, and the wind user looked at each other in silent confusion.
Several nautical miles away, Siren thought that Xia Yi had yet to understand its explanation of the deep sea. Thus, in order to successfully bring Xia Yi back, it had to take a detour and came to find a certain monster.
ăThaumas has lived for a long time and understands many languagesâŠă
Xia Yi didnât want to know the details, but that didnât stop him from internally questioning what kind of sea monster it would be this time.
Before he finished his thought, Xia Yi heard an infrasonic wave that seemed to be stammering from excitement.
ăOh thatâs great! Come over quickly⊠Iâll float up immediately⊠Are you guys looking for food? Take all these damned oysters and seashells⊠Theyâre so heavy⊠and I have to carry them all day as I swim⊠What? You donât eat algae? Why?ă
T/N: Merry belated Christmas!
A huge thank you to Kiara for donating to my Kofi! I finally had the time to work out the extra chapters!
Breaking News: Extra chapters for both this and next week! Stay tuned~