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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 239: Countdown 8
The crowd was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at the yacht drifting away, their faces filled with questions. Someone shouted, breaking the spell, and a few young men who were decent swimmers dove into the water, frantically paddling toward the yacht. Jin Bo instinctively moved as well but quickly remembered his inability to swim, forcing himself to stop and nervously watch the others. Shaoshan laughed heartily, his expression almost emblazoned with the words "schadenfreude." The two girls shot him a glance, thinking that this Soldier must have lost his mind—how could he still be laughing when the boat had already left?
The two middle-aged men who had previously tried to sway Jin Bo were furious, glaring at him with resentment. One of them spat out, "Well, now everything's gone! Are you satisfied?"
Jin Bo snorted, casting a sidelong glance at the agitated group. "If you have something to say, come over. I can't hear you."
The middle-aged man glared back, his chest heaving with anger, but ultimately had to suppress his rage. It was pointless to curse at Jin Bo; they would be better off thinking of another plan. If they truly provoked this reckless guy into giving them a beating, it would be a loss for them.
The young men who had jumped into the water swam back, struggling against the fierce tide. They felt that the yacht hadn’t drifted too far while standing on the rocks, but once in the water, they found it impossible to reach it. Before they could swim any distance, a wave crashed over them, sending them back where they came from. One young man with poor swimming skills had already swallowed several mouthfuls of salty seawater; having not eaten for a day and night, he lacked the strength to fight against the waves. The crowd's attention shifted to their returning companions; no one was focused on Jin Bo and his group anymore. The yacht had taken their supplies and even if they managed to beat Jin Bo up, it wouldn’t matter since these people weren’t considering cannibalism just yet.
Shaoshan laughed too hard and flipped over, coughing violently. The Long-Haired Girl twisted open a bottle cap and offered what little clean water remained to him. Shaoshan turned his head away from the water bottle and coughed while saying, "You guys should save it for yourselves."
The Long-Haired Girl paused for a moment, holding the bottle uncertainly. Shaoshan forced a smile and whispered, "I’m afraid I won’t make it through this. We should conserve our clean water."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Why wouldn’t you make it?" Jin Bo rushed back to his side upon hearing Shaoshan’s murmurs and said seriously, "Hang in there; we’ll get to the island and build a raft to return to land."
"Stop talking nonsense." Shaoshan grinned weakly as he glanced at his injured leg and sighed. "Do you think I want to die? I value my life too. This situation is different; being at sea is not like being on land. It’s pointless to push through when I’m in this condition. Don’t rush; those two idiots were right—my injury isn’t just a scratch; it’ll take time to heal properly. We’re short on medicine right now; this wound can’t be treated properly. Even if I’m lucky enough not to get infected, natural healing will take a long time."
"Don’t give up; we’re not at that point yet." Jin Bo’s encouragement felt somewhat hollow; he understood that Shaoshan was speaking sense and what he meant but couldn’t bring himself to abandon a comrade.
"I see now that you young ones are quite sentimental." Shaoshan chuckled lightly and said, "Be rational; I appreciate your loyalty, but you need to understand that resources are limited—try not to waste effort unnecessarily. I can’t be of much help anymore; you should take these two girls to the island and build a raft back to land or settle down on the island first. Dong Dong’s girls are with the main group; they should be fine. Gather some supplies before looking for them again. I have a sea chart in my inner pocket wrapped in parchment that Old Wang gave me before he left. It marks the locations of islands; you can find a library on land to cross-reference it."
The two girls exchanged glances filled with surprise; just moments ago they were reveling in schadenfreude, and now he was speaking as if he were writing his last will.
"Don't overthink it. I'm just giving you a heads-up in case you forget when the fever hits," Shaoshan chuckled lightly, glancing at the lower rocks that were already submerged by the rising tide. The rock they were on was relatively high, so for now, they were safe.
"What about Jiang He and Song Yao?" Jin Bo asked, frowning as he noted Shaoshan's words. "Aren't we going to worry about them?"
"Just look out for yourself," Shaoshan rolled his eyes and reassured him. "They have Old Wang looking out for them in Beijing. You're the only one left alone; do you really have time to worry about them?"
"But I have you to back me up," Jin Bo scratched his head and looked seriously into Shaoshan's eyes. "I’ve noted everything you said. Focus on recovering and try not to die on me. It's really tough handling two girls by myself; I need your help."
"I'll do my best." Shaoshan struggled to sit up, and the Long-Haired Girl quickly helped him. His leg injury was indeed severe; even this small movement caused him to break out in a cold sweat. Leaning against the Long-Haired Girl for a moment, he frowned and said, "Jin Bo, we agreed that I'll hold on as long as I can. When I really can't anymore, don't drag it out."
"What should I do then?"
"Just do what you need to do; don’t worry about me." Shaoshan gestured toward the rocks where a group of people had been pushed onto the jagged edges by the tide. Some had no choice but to stay submerged in the water, trembling as they waited anxiously. The yacht had drifted far away, only a shadow visible through the misty water, while the island on the other side of the rocks appeared increasingly clear.
Seeing that the tide wouldn't reach them here, Shaoshan finally relaxed a bit and asked Jin Bo, "Can you swim or not?"
"I can splash around in a pool... with a life jacket," Jin Bo replied sheepishly.
"..." Shaoshan wore an expression of disbelief and turned to the two girls. "What about you two? How well can you swim?"
"I have a diving license," the Long-Haired Girl brightened up and quickly announced her specialty.
"I can swim too, but not for very long." The other girl seemed a bit shy, perhaps worried about being left behind, and quickly added, "But I can read nautical charts..."
"Oh?"
"I, I study at Maritime Academy and have trained in chart operations," the girl explained timidly.
"That's great," Shaoshan said, smacking his lips and giving Jin Bo a knowing wink. "Saves you a trip to the library. By the way, what are your names?"
"Ye Qingmei."
"Fang Fei."
Jin Bo raised an eyebrow and smiled, "What lovely names, and you both look great too." The young swordsman, as usual, was blunt in his compliments, causing both girls to blush deeply.
"Are you two classmates?" Shaoshan asked, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"We met on the ship," Fang Fei replied with a modest smile. "I'm a freelancer, writing travelogues for a living. I usually have some free time, so I got my diving license."
The four of them had initially maintained a "two masters and two servants" dynamic, but after a few casual exchanges, they became much more familiar with each other. Ye Qingmei, who had been quite shy, started to speak more. Below the rocks, the crowd was in chaos, but the four of them still found time to chat. The two middle-aged men temporarily acting as team leaders kept staring at them, puzzled by their relaxed demeanor.
"Enough of this idle chatter. Little Fang, you're up; teach this kid how to swim," Shaoshan said after sitting for a while and slowly getting used to the pain in his body. Compared to his earlier sickly appearance, he looked a bit more spirited now. Ignoring the curious glances from those nearby, he pointed toward the island and said, "There's nothing useful nearby; if we want to get to the island, we have to swim."
"That far..." Ye Qingmei, still young and likely not yet graduated, hesitated as she considered the distance.
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