Shen Bing continued speaking, "Because before this mission, I trained as a flight attendant for a day and had some understanding of civilian aircraft.
Unlike buses where the driver can open and close the doors, aircraft are different! The cabin doors can only be opened and closed manually, whether from the inside or outside. So gaining control of the method can open them both ways."
Lu Zhe nodded, "I seem to have heard this too, but I was in a hurry at the time after being underwater for so long, and I was anxious to get back up. Also, I considered that after opening the door, I would be facing corpses that had been submerged in water for too long..."
Lu Zhe pointed at his eyes, "At the time I didn't have goggles, if I rashly opened the cabin door, I was worried the fluids from the corpses would flow into my eyes."
"That's right, opening the cabin door was not a good choice in that situation. Oh yes, did the other cabins start flooding after you dove down?"
"The cockpit, business cabin, and economy cabin had all flooded, and a few people who hadn't fastened their seatbelts had floated up. I think that if it weren't for the flooding, the plane wouldn't have sunk to the bottom."
"I guess the baggage and cargo compartments didn't escape either." Shen Bing thought for a moment:
"Hey, have you ever thought about searching the plane again?"
Lu Zhe nodded.
"I did consider it. Anything insignificant on the plane could be extremely useful to us. But after careful consideration, I realized the difficulty was too great.
For example, the signal lights on the plane were already out, so how to accurately locate the crash site again in shark-infested waters.
Also, how to face the rotting corpses of our countrymen throughout the cabin, safely retrieve supplies, these are all problems."
Shen Bing nodded, "You're right! It sounds simple to talk about, but too difficult to actually do. Just the 50 meters of free diving depth, I don't even want to think about it.
I only mentioned it today because you brought up the frigatebird, which reminded me of my mission, and then I thought of the plane. I was just talking about it really."
Lu Zhe nodded, "We're not able to do this for now. But it's not completely off the table either. We can make it part of the plans to improve our new island home once it's built! By then we can build a bigger raft, I still remember the general direction, maybe we really can do it, just don't know how much will be left on the plane after being soaked in seawater for so long."
Shen Bing smiled and gently held his hand, "Don't dwell on it too much. Even without those things, aren't we living quite well on the island now?"
Lu Zhe nodded, "You're right."
Shen Bing yawned and leaned on Lu Zhe's shoulder, "Feeling a little sleepy, you don't mind do you?"
"Why would I mind, you're also one of my imperial concubines, from now on my right shoulder is your pillow."
"Flirting with older sisters too, don't talk nonsense in the future, I'm not your imperial concubine!"
Shen Bing thought for a moment, then pouted and murmured, "At least I should be the mother of the nation..."
"Hmm??"
At that moment, it started raining again.
The two paid no mind to romance, hurriedly collected some fresh water, then squeezed in to take shelter with the four other girls.
Fortunately the rain wasn't heavy, and stopped after a while.
The next morning, as usual the sun came out to work, warm and gentle.
Lu Zhe went to observe the coastline, "Looks like no big waves today, perfect for towing the boat with rope. Let's hurry up and eat something then set off."
At this time, Ning Shu, who was in charge of cooking, swung the bamboo ladle, "Ning Ning's roasted banana hearts and crab seaweed soup is ready, come taste everyone!"
The nutritious, belly-warming seafood soup, and the roasted banana hearts which were soft and chewy, though slightly bitter, could give everyone a filling, wholesome feeling.
"Later, let's pack up the heavy stuff we're carrying and load it on the raft. I'll tow the rope. Also, we still need someone on the raft using a bamboo rod to steer. If the raft tilts toward shore, gently push it away to counter the lateral force!"
Ning Shu said, "Simple, I'll pole the raft! You guys can take turns relieving me later!"
"Okay, we'll take shifts poling the boat!"
Shen Bing said, "Lu Zhe, I'll help you tow the rope!"
Tang Xiaoguo said, "I'll sing a coolie's love to encourage you."
"No need!"
Lu Zhe helplessly said, "Also, Tang Xiaoguo if you dare sing, I dare throw you in the sea."
"Then I'll go treasure hunting!"
After packing up and getting on the boat, it really took barely any effort to tow the raft in the water, much less tiring than walking a husky.
The three young beauties frolicked about at the front, carefully searching and collecting many useful items along the way.
"Are these jelly shoes useful?"
"Are they watertight?"
"No leaks, can store water right?"
"Shoes filled with water, drinkable? Better for planting flowers."
"Here's a kid's floats, looks like they're not deflated."
"Ha, I found a water gun, shoots so far. Xiaoguo take out your gun, let's compete whose shoots farther."
"After beating brother Xiao Zhe, I decided to wash my hands...and retire undefeated, so I can brag for life. Not playing such childish games anymore."
The next second, Tang Xiaoguo found a Teemo hat and started cosplaying the swift scout with a bamboo tube.
The girls picked up all kinds of odd things, filling half the raft with various supplies, full of lively chatter and laughter along the way.
By noon, they arrived at the island's west side!
But here, they could go no further.
More and more rocks appeared on the beach, finally blocked by a huge cliff.
Many cliffs jutted vertically from the water, 20-30 meters high, covered in green vegetation above.
Lu Zhe jumped in the water and swam along the rock wall.
He discovered this rocky coast stretched about 100 meters. Going around it led back to sandy beach.
But the water here was strangely deep.
Hard to believe, but near the shore it was already 20 meters deep!
Lu Zhe frowned slightly, then swam back ashore.
"What's it like?"
"About a 100 meter stretch of rocks. We can get past going around them, so two options now. One is to carry all these supplies and climb up and over these rock mountains to the other side."
Ning Shu looked at the cliffs and frowned, "That's too much work, even empty-handed I might not make it across."
Shen Bing thought for a moment, "The other way is take the raft around, right?"
Lu Zhe nodded, "Correct!"
Tang Xiaoguo said, "The raft is still the most viable option!"
Lu Zhe pondered, "Our raft doesn't have great load capacity. Without cargo, it can barely fit three people. And the water here is deep, bamboo poles can't reach the bottom. For safety, two people max is best. So two routes, what are your thoughts?"
Jiang Yao thought for a moment, "I also feel the raft is more reliable."
The other girls also voiced their opinion, "Raft!"
Lu Zhe also felt it was risky but still worth trying. He made a simple wooden paddle, "You guys eat something and rest here for now. I'll take the first trip to unload the cargo to the other side, then come back to ferry you over one by one."