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墨書 Inktalez
The ship rocked violently, the cockpit taking the brunt of the crashing waves. Water stains covered the tempered glass, and pools of water had formed on the bow deck, flowing chaotically with the swaying of the vessel. The moment when the stern lifted was truly perilous; the once calm sea suddenly boiled over, with surging tides rising higher with each wave. The catamaran, barely able to carry twenty people, felt like a solitary leaf in a vast ocean, rising and falling dangerously with the tumultuous waves.
After all, this was not a vessel designed for braving storms. Despite Cao Zheng's best efforts, the ship was inevitably tossed by the waves, veering off its intended course.
The sky was overcast, leaden clouds completely blocking out the sunlight. The sea wind grew fiercer, slamming waves against the hull, and ominous thunder followed in quick succession. The booming sound seemed to erupt from all directions at once, stirring the surface of the sea and attempting to swallow the audacious little boat whole.
Cao Zheng struggled to get up, using his belt to tie himself to the helm. Both he and Old Dai were soaked through; when that massive wave hit, Cao Zheng had quickly turned the ship's bow to absorb the blow instead of letting it crash against the side. Water splashed into the porthole, drenching them both.
“Qianqian, go back to the cabin!” Cao Zheng wiped his face clean of salty seawater and shouted hoarsely.
With the wind howling and waves crashing violently, it was nearly impossible to communicate without raising their voices.
Qianqian clung to the edge of a round table, her hands gripping tightly as papers and charts scattered across the floor. The ship rocked so violently that she had no time to pick them up. Besides, at that moment, those charts were useless; Cao Zheng was relying entirely on his experience and survival instinct to navigate through this chaos. His only concern was stabilizing the ship and avoiding the towering waves; as long as they survived this storm without sinking, it would be a monumental victory.
Cao Zheng's expression grew anxious; he had wanted Qianqian to return to safety before the waves surged, but she stubbornly refused to leave.
“Listen, you need to keep an eye on everyone else; they have no experience.” With no other option but to soften his tone, Cao Zheng steadied the helm while Dai Wei hurriedly turned on the searchlight. A bright beam shot out into the tumultuous sea but was quickly swallowed by its unfathomable darkness.
“No time!” Qianqian shouted back from her position at the table, her short hair whipping wildly in the wind. Her determined voice was soon drowned out by the howling gusts.
Cao Zheng felt helpless; he knew she was resolute in her decision. He stopped trying to persuade her and pulled back the cabin door that had been blown open by the wind, shouting loudly, “Old Dai!”
“Ah?” Dai Wei leaned against the control panel, disoriented and unable to tell north from south. Hearing Cao Zheng call him, he cupped his hands around his ears and shouted back, “What?”
“Get the booze!”
“Oh oh!”
Dai Wei set down his binoculars and moved toward the storage compartment when suddenly he heard Qianqian scream. He turned just in time to see monstrous waves rising up from the churning sea, propelled by fierce winds as they surged toward their rocking yacht.
“Steady!”
Two men shouted hoarsely as the yacht surged upstream. For a brief moment, it paused atop the rolling waves, the bow tilting slightly downwards. The sea roared, crashing down with uncontrollable speed, while a massive wave, towering seven or eight meters high, rushed towards them with destructive force, slamming heavily against the yacht's front and declaring its sinking.
Beside them, the Female Assistant wore a strange expression and muttered something before turning back towards the Living Quarters.
The salvage operation had yielded quite a haul: half a bottle of vodka, an empty cigarette box, a rubber tire, several lengths of soaked hemp rope, deck debris, and fragments of the boat's body with genuine leather seats. The Robust Man was not entirely satisfied; he instructed the Frogman to carry the Oxygen Tank and jump into the water. After swimming for a while, he returned empty-handed, bringing back only some seaweed.
The Armed Personnel brought the salvaged items onto the deck in an attempt to piece them together. Unfortunately, the damage was too severe and the quantity too small; after struggling for half a day, they could not form any recognizable shape.
The Robust Man squatted down to examine the debris closely, frowning slightly as he picked up the bottle of vodka and sniffed it before tossing it aside in displeasure.
Before long, the Female Assistant returned with an awkward expression and approached the Robust Man. In a low voice, she said, "Retrieve all the bodies and stand by."
The Robust Man was taken aback and chuckled bitterly. "Did you not tell her that the ship has sunk? How are we supposed to retrieve bodies?"
"I did," the Female Assistant replied defensively. Just because she said that one line had drawn thunderous wrath from across the way, resulting in her being scolded mercilessly.
"Uh-huh."
"She said that living people should be seen alive and dead people should be seen dead. Since the ship has sunk, we should bring it back up," the Female Assistant mimicked the Blonde Woman's tone, deliberately striking a coy pose as she repeated her words.
The Robust Man opened his mouth but swallowed back a torrent of curses. "When is she arriving?"
"No idea; she just told us to stand by," the Female Assistant shrugged with an indignant expression.
With no other choice, the Robust Man sighed helplessly and instructed the Frogman to pilot the lifeboat to continue searching ahead. With a grim face, he returned to the cockpit.
The driver was a lean Foreigner who stood in stark contrast to the burly men outside. He wore glasses perched on his nose and held himself upright but was still shorter than the Female Assistant.
"Let's stop for now," said the Robust Man as he called out. He grabbed a cup of water and gulped down several mouthfuls before mumbling to the Female Assistant, "You should have let her bring a sonar detector."
The Female Assistant stuck out her tongue and muttered, "You go ahead. I don't want to touch bad luck."
The short, stout foreign captain cleared his throat and spoke in standard Mandarin, "I still stand by my opinion."
"Captain, the facts are right in front of us; your stubbornness is meaningless." The Robust Man chuckled and said, "Our ships can only steer clear of it, let alone that yacht."
"That’s your order; it doesn’t mean I can’t brave the storm." The short captain scoffed, shaking his head. "If I were at the helm of that yacht, I would have a hundred ways to safely navigate through the tempest."
"Unfortunately, Captain, you are not on that yacht, and that yacht is now at the bottom of the sea." The Robust Man remained unfazed, patting his shoulder and teasingly added, "But I believe you can do it. At the same time, I hope you have a hundred ways to help us salvage the sunken ship." With a lighthearted smile, he wrapped an arm around the Female Assistant's shoulders and walked toward the cabin door.
"Idiot," the Short and Stout Captain sneered with disdain, letting out a cold huff.
The Robust Man had quite sharp ears; he furrowed his brow and turned back to the captain. "What did you say?"
"I said, fine, sir."
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