New salvage Plan

Shen Bing thought for a moment: “Why don’t we move all the cargo from the cargo hold here, and then transport it back to Volcano Island in batches.”

After pondering for a bit, Lu Zhe touched the reef under his feet with his hand, then picked up a barnacle and handed it to Shen Bing: “Take a look at this?”

Shen Bing took it and examined it. There was still seawater inside the barnacle.

She understood.

It was low tide now. The fact that there was still moisture inside the barnacles on the reef meant that they would be submerged during high tide.

That meant this coral reef was not always exposed above the water. It should be inundated during high tide.

“Putting the goods here still runs the risk of being flooded or washed away by currents!”

“That’s right!”

“Then first move all the supplies up here, stack them high and tie them down. Then dismantle the raft into two. We’ll split into three groups - two people at the Volcano Island camp, two watching the goods, and the other two delivering batches of goods back to the camp?”

“That could work! But it's also very risky...”

Lu Zhe was still a little reluctant to separate from the girls. If anything happened to the group he wasn't with, he wouldn't be able to help them in time.

But other than this plan, he couldn't think of a better solution.

With no other options, they would just have to proceed like this.

But even so, they had to try to maximize the safety of the two groups as much as possible.

Especially the group staying on the reef to watch the goods.

He looked at his watch: “Low tide will start again at 4am. At that time the water should be at its highest point. We'll see then how much of the reef gets submerged.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of spare bamboo from the two bundles and inserted it vertically into a crevice in the rock.

Then he set an alarm for 4am.

That would give them a clear picture of the water levels.

Shen Bing poured out some fresh water and soaked a towel in it: “Let me wipe you down, then hurry up and sleep.”

Lu Zhe nodded: “Thanks for the hard work, Sister Bing!”

Shen Bing smiled: “All in a day's work for the people!”

After a simple wipe down to get rid of the seawater and sweat, Lu Zhe fell asleep with his head in Shen Bing's lap.

At 4am, the alarm rang on time and Lu Zhe sat up yawning. Looking around, the raft was drifting on the open sea. The reef was nowhere to be seen.

Fortunately, 3 meters from the raft, the bamboo pole was still standing tall and erect, just like him in the early morning!

"You were right, the reef is completely submerged."

"How much is submerged?”

"It’s less than half a meter above the highest point of the reef, just over the knees." As she spoke, Shen Bing shook the slender bamboo pole in her hand.

"Okay, the tide should start receding soon."

Lu Zhe marked the bamboo pole.

Clearly, if they stacked goods directly here, they would get soaked again.

Some say, they've already been soaked for so long, what's a few more days?

But it really does make a difference!

Before, the clothes were stationary underwater, squeezed together in suitcases, which reduced exposure to seawater but made it easier for bacteria to breed and salt to stick on. Some clothes were ruined.

At this point, if they were carefully soaked in fresh water with lemon, then washed with soap and hung out to dry, the fabric could still regain its original elasticity.

But after two months of saturation, going through another 2-3 days of seawater immersion could cause the fabric to rot directly. Even if they didn't rot, lifespan would still decrease drastically.

That's why clothes picked up from the beach often fall apart after wearing them for a short period.

The shirt Lu Zhe had on now was full of holes.

"If only we could separate the wet and dry!"

At this moment, Tang Xiaoguo groggily got up: “Lu Zhe, do you need to use the restroom?"

As she spoke, she took off her skirt and sent up a flurry of splashes towards the water.

She didn't treat Lu Zhe like an outsider at all.

Shen Bing reminded: "Hey, aren't you afraid of attracting sharks?"

"Sharks?"

Tang Xiaoguo rubbed her eyes and suddenly screamed: "Wait, why is it all water? Where's our island?"

"It got submerged during high tide!"

"Huh?"

"This is a coral reef. It's normal for it to be flooded during high tide."

"It can do that?"

Luckily, no sharks were attracted over.

But Tang Xiaoguo's words made Lu Zhe think of something!

He remembered when they first arrived at the camp, Tang Xiaoguo had suggested building a hut on the sea as their camp!

He had firmly rejected it back then.

But now, he had new insight!

What if he did build a hut on the sea here?

Firstly, companions staying here wouldn't have to worry about drifting away, and supplies could be temporarily stored on the hut. They wouldn't have to suffer being tossed around on the sea either.

Materials?

The spare bamboo carried on the raft could be used for the basic frame.

After transporting some supplies back, they could get more bamboo to continue expanding.

Obtaining supplies, temporary storage, transport back to camp, wash and hang dry.

So they would build a bamboo hut!

Lu Zhe shared his thoughts with Shen Bing and Tang Xiaoguo. Tang Xiaoguo shrieked excitedly.

Her cries woke up the other three girls.

After hearing Lu Zhe's plan, they also gave unanimous approval.

August 24th, the 76th day shipwrecked on a deserted island, Wednesday!

Lu Zhe started on his new plan!

1. Salvage another batch of supplies.

2. Use the spare bamboo to build the basic frame for the offshore hut on the coral reef.

3. The whole team will take the boat back to Volcano Island with the current supplies.

4. Leave two people at the camp to settle in.

The remaining four will take lots of bamboo and fresh water back to the coral reef.

5. Expand the bamboo hut offshore as a temporary storage for supplies and rest stop.

6. Salvage all retrievable supplies from the plane onto the offshore bamboo hut and drain water.

7. After simple processing, the supplies can then be transported back in an orderly fashion.

The plan was set!

Lu Zhe piloted the raft away from the coral reef!

By now, the mist had cleared, and day had started to break. The girls were in high spirits, even Shen Bing who had been up all night was energetic.

Soon, the raft returned to the sunken plane!

But this time, besides suitcases and backpacks, there were two other things Lu Zhe had to retrieve!

The gun and mailed supplies!

The gun could help the girls staying at the camp avoid disturbance from wildlife.

Basically, apart from crocodiles, all the island’s creatures would be threatened and deterred by the gun.

Lu Zhe felt it was very necessary.

Shen Bing took out the key and gave detailed descriptions of where the gun was stored.

In the safe in first class!

Following the instructions, Lu Zhe took the key and went underwater!

Entering the first class cabin again, it looked noticeably different from last time.

Light green moss had grown on the four walls of the cabin, and some small fish had moved in, swimming freely inside.

Lu Zhe felt around for the safe’s location.

Behind the flight attendant’s seat. If Shen Bing hadn’t told him directly, no one would have thought to look there.

He moved the flight attendant’s dedicated seat aside and found a small circle. Prying it open revealed a keyhole!

After struggling for a while, he finally managed to turn the key and yanked it open forcefully.

A stream of bubbles rushed out, and a passing fish was instantly sucked in by the sudden negative pressure.