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墨書 Inktalez
"Ha... ha... ha," I gasped as I burst out of the Sea Surface, taking deep breaths. Exhausted, I felt like collapsing right there, but a flicker of awareness reminded me that I was still alive, miraculously surviving yet another ordeal.
With one hand dragging Heizi and the other flailing in the water, the waves crashed against my body. Darkness surrounded me, and light rain poured down. Aside from the occasional flash of lightning, I could see nothing else. The greenish monstrosity from the depths had not pursued me; it seemed to be a creature of the deep.
I followed my previous direction, pulling Heizi along as I swam back. I had to find a fishing boat; otherwise, even if we didn't drown or exhaust ourselves, we would end up as fish bait. This was prime time for sharks to be lurking around.
After swimming for a while with Heizi in tow, I felt my strength waning. I softly called out, "Shunzi, Lao Ba, where are you?"
Despair washed over me as I swallowed mouthfuls of seawater. I had no energy left to continue swimming. Suddenly, thoughts of my family surfaced, memories of my former comrades flooded my mind, and I remembered that I had never even had a girlfriend; I was still a virgin. Yet here I was, about to perish in this merciless ocean. Who would come to help me?
Just as my mind spiraled into despair, a distant 'thumping' sound reached my ears—it was the sound of a fishing boat. Then I saw lights shining not far away. Hope flickered within me once more, igniting my will to survive. I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Hey... there's someone here... hurry..."
Before I could finish calling for help, another wave crashed over me, pulling me under again. With all my might, I surged back up through the Sea Surface. The lights ahead grew closer; I heard voices calling my name: "Brother Yi! Brother Yi!" It was Shunzi and Jiao Ba.
"Shunzi! Lao Ba! I'm here! I'm here!" I yelled with all my strength while waving one arm frantically above the water.
As the light swept across the Sea Surface, it quickly illuminated us. "Shunzi! Lao Ba! I'm here!" I continued to shout.
"There’s someone there! It’s Brother Yi! It’s Brother Yi! Hurry, bring the boat over!" Shunzi shouted urgently.
When the fishing boat finally stopped beside me, I felt life returning once more; I had escaped death yet again. A lifeline was quickly lowered, but I couldn't climb up—I was still dragging Heizi along. The poor guy hadn’t woken up yet and didn’t even know if he was alive or dead.
Seeing that I couldn't get up the ladder, Shunzi jumped into the water without hesitation. He swam swiftly to my side and supported me, saying, "How are you doing, Brother Yi? Are you okay?"
I forced a smile and replied, "I’m not dead yet. This guy is unconscious; hurry and get someone to pull him up."
Shunzi quickly dashed back to call for help. Soon after, several sailors jumped into the water. Jiao Ba also climbed down from the lifeline and reached out to assist us. The sailors first pulled Heizi aboard; without that burden weighing me down, it became much easier for me to climb up the ladder myself.
As I climbed onto the fishing boat, I collapsed onto the deck, letting the rain pour down on me. I was exhausted, utterly drained! Mai Lao and Jenny hurried over to check on me. With a worried expression, Jenny asked, "Loyalty and Righteousness, are you okay?"
I forced myself to sit up and replied, "I'm fine. Quickly check on Heizi; he seems to be injured."
A few sailors laid Heizi flat on the deck. His body was twitching uncontrollably, and the Underwater Light illuminated him. I noticed his face had turned a sickly shade of blue, which was alarming. His eyes were closed, and it was unclear whether he was alive or dead; his facial muscles were twitching violently.
Just as Shunzi was about to help, Jiao Ba urgently called out to him, "Shunzi, don't go over there! Something feels off." As soon as Jiao Ba finished speaking, the sailors quickly stepped back from Heizi.
I struggled to stand and exclaimed, "What do you mean something feels off? We need to save him now; if we wait any longer, he’ll die!"
Everyone was about to move when Jiao Ba stretched out his arms to block us. "Wait a moment; let’s observe for a bit longer."
Mai Lao and Jenny exchanged glances and agreed with Jiao Ba. We all focused on Heizi, and I suddenly noticed that his twitching had intensified. He began vomiting green liquid from his mouth, accompanied by a foul stench that was almost unbearable. Jenny and Li Xin covered their mouths and started gagging, while the other sailors retreated in fear at what was unfolding before them.
The smell was indeed overwhelming; I could barely tolerate it. Yet I remained rooted in place, my eyes fixed on Heizi. The skin around his left ankle had started to rot—this was where the green substance from earlier had touched him. I wasn’t sure if it was related, but soon his entire body began emitting white smoke that reeked terribly.
Heizi screamed in agony; the sound was unbearable, unlike anything a human should produce. I couldn't stand it any longer; I had to help him. Just as I took a step forward, Jiao Ba grabbed me from behind. "Don't go near him, Brother Yi! Stay away!"
I turned and shouted at him, "Damn it! Are we just going to ignore whether he lives or dies? Get out of my way; I'm going to save him!" Jiao Ba's selfishness infuriated me. How could he just watch a comrade die? I couldn't do that.
Jiao Ba yelled back at me, "Are you crazy? Do you think I don’t want to save him? I do! But he's poisoned! If you get any closer, you'll be infected too. Once that happens, you're as good as dead!"
Shunzi and Mai Lao rushed over to hold me back. The light rain hit my face as I looked at Jiao Ba. My anger subsided after hearing his words; they brought me back to my senses. I nodded at him, and he managed a weak smile.
"Look!" Jenny suddenly exclaimed. We quickly turned our attention back to Heizi. His face had turned green; the flesh was beginning to rot away piece by piece. The screams had ceased, and his body no longer twitched—life seemed to have left him.
In just a few minutes, Heizi's body had completely decayed; even his Diving Suit disintegrated along with him. After another few minutes passed, all that remained of Heizi was a green skeleton. The stench filled the entire boat, causing most of the sailors to vomit. Just an hour ago he had been a whole person; now he had turned into this—everything happened so suddenly.
The death of Heizi sent the entire crew into a frenzy. Most of the sailors were shouting to go back, unwilling to continue after such a tragic event. They were terrified, especially since Heizi's death was shrouded in mystery. If he had died from a shark attack or drowned in the sea, it would have been easier to accept. But instead, he had succumbed to a terrible decay, ultimately becoming a green skeleton. It was only natural for the sailors to be frightened.
The uproar among the crew was deafening, and no amount of persuasion from Jenny seemed to help. Mike shouted, "Everyone, quiet down! What are you making all this noise for?"
The sailors fell silent. Mai Lao looked around at everyone and said, "Let’s all calm down. I’m just as heartbroken about what happened, but it’s already done. We need to figure out how to move forward."
"Move forward? How can we move forward? The man is dead!" someone yelled.
"Exactly! How do we move forward? We're not doing this anymore; it's a matter of life and death! We want to go home!" The crowd began to stir again, chattering anxiously.
"Shut up!" I bellowed, and the crowd fell completely silent. I glanced at Mai Lao, signaling him to continue.
"Listen to me," he said. "This was just an unfortunate accident. None of us wanted this to happen. We've been at sea for so long already—think about it! If we just give up now, wouldn’t that mean all our efforts were in vain? Let’s work together; as long as we find Wreck, I promise you’ll never have to set sail again."
Mike went on with his grandiose speech, sounding like a motivational speaker. With his silver tongue, he could probably convince even the dead to rise again. The sailors who had just moments ago seemed ready to abandon ship were now nodding along enthusiastically, declaring that they must find Wreck.
I couldn't help but admire Old Man's ability to rally people; it was impressive! If someone with less charisma had tried that, they would have failed miserably. I even wondered if he had ever been involved in sales before—he was just too persuasive. No matter how dire the situation was, he could talk it down.
In the end, he arranged for two sailors to throw Heizi's body into the sea and instructed the others to return to their quarters for some rest. A few of us then headed to Jenny and Li Xin's cabin. The girls' quarters were quite nice—clean and fragrant—far better than our own cramped space.
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