Night in the Sea

Ning Shu asked, "What should we do next?"

Lu Zhe thought for a moment: "Captain, gather all our supplies that can fit into backpacks into backpacks, and bundle together anything that can't fit. I'll carry them!"

Ning Shu made an "OK" gesture with her hand: "No problem!"

"Yao Yao, take good care of the fire in the can, try your best not to let it go out! If we get cold tonight, we'll all huddle around it."

Jiang Yao nodded: "Got it!"

"Guo Er..."

Tang Xiaoguo had been badly frightened, her tearful little face still sobbing!

Lu Zhe reached out and wiped away the teardrops on her face: "Scared?"

Tang Xiaoguo sobbed with a nod.

Lu Zhe knew that the once delicate young miss, who could now pick up sticks to beat sharks, had already come a long way: "Guo Er, you were very brave just now!"

Tang Xiaoguo raised her dirty little face: "Really?"

"You drove away several sharks and even dared to snatch things from a shark's mouth! Although you didn't get it!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "I was this close, and at that moment I thought, I would fight it to the end no matter what... Afterwards I don't know why, I just got scared!"

Lu Zhe comforted: "That's normal! In times of crisis, the human body secretes more adrenaline, which allows one to ignore pain and danger! But next time let's be more careful, we can make another paddle but if we lose Guo Er, who will distill fresh water for us!"

Hearing Lu Zhe say this, Tang Xiaoguo pursed her lips proudly and nodded.

She twisted her body: "Well, what else do you need me to do now?"

"You and Qian Qian check the raft for any loose spots, and tell me so I can re-tie them tight!"

Tang Xiaoguo and Lin Qianqian looked at each other and said in unison: "Don't worry!"

The four girls worked very diligently while Lu Zhe focused on repairing the loose spots on the raft!

Two hours later, the raft was finally repaired, although it was smaller than before, it could still barely hold the weight of five people!

Tang Xiaoguo helped Lu Zhe repair the raft and happily said, "Done! We can set off again now!"

But Lu Zhe shook his head helplessly.

"We can't go?"

Lin Qianqian sighed, "Do we even know which direction to go in?"

"How could we not know, isn't it towards..."

Tang Xiaoguo was about to point in the direction of the volcanic island, when she suddenly realized a problem!

The sun had long set, and the vast endless sea was pitch black without a shadow of any islands visible!

Both the volcanic island ahead and Egg Yolk Island behind were now hidden in the deep night.

Lu Zhe frowned as he looked up at the sky!

Trying to find a recognizable constellation to determine their bearings!

But the faint mist rising from the water surface obscured the entire sky.

Lu Zhe took out his homemade compass!

Yet here, the compass spun around haphazardly, completely unable to accurately determine direction!

Was there a magnetic field nearby?

Or were the waves too turbulent?

All this was beyond any survivor's anticipation!

However, this was not even the most critical issue!

The most critical thing was that they now lacked reference points, unaware if they were stationary or drifting aimlessly along the currents!

Perhaps when sunlight returns tomorrow, they would discover they had already drifted hundreds of miles into the Pacific, that would be disastrous!

They had to think of a way to secure the raft to prevent drifting along the currents!

Easier said than done though, how to go about it?

Even if MacGyver and Bear Grylls came, they would be helpless!

Just then, his sharp vision glimpsed something floating on the water surface!

Slightly smaller than a walnut, pitch black!

Curiously he reached out and fished it out, instantly receiving a system prompt in his mind: "Congratulations Host for obtaining 1 Soursop Seed!"

Soursop...Seed?

Wasn't that from Qianqian's pee...

Great, he thought there was no chance anymore. Unexpectedly he got it back!

Soon he discovered another soursop seed!

Then after a while, he picked up an empty bottle!

Ning Shu recognized this bottle, it was the one they had lost not long ago. Strange to get it back at this time, considering such a small object adrift with the raft, due to factors like resistance and buoyancy, should not be able to intersect. Unless...

In a flash, Lu Zhe suddenly realized something!

There was fog, meaning no wind!

The raft was still able to collide with soursop seeds and such, meaning they were not too far from the shark attack location!

Moreover, within dozens of miles around small islands, there were usually hidden reefs and tiny islets!

If they could find one, they could secure the bamboo raft. Wait for the fog to clear tomorrow before continuing towards Volcano Island!

Suddenly, Lu Zhe thought of a solution!

He immediately began twisting the three ropes together to make them thicker and sturdier, then connected and lengthened them!

"Lu Zhe, what are you doing?"

"A boat anchor! We'll use it to secure the raft!"

So saying, he tied one end to the stone axe handle and threw the axe into the water.

"I'm going to use this to feel around for underwater reefs. If the raft moves and hits any reefs, the axe will get stuck and act as an anchor!"

Lin Qianqian praised: "What a great idea!"

Jiang Yao worried: "What if we run into sharks?"

"Sharks will usually avoid hard objects like rocks. Even if they bump into it, it shouldn't anger them as long as they think it's a natural object!"

After speaking, Lu Zhe sighed again: "Too bad the anchor rope isn't long enough to directly hook the seabed. We can only rely on luck to hit a submerged reef!"

Ning Shu wondered: "Would there be such hidden reefs around here?"

"Don't know, but nature works in wondrous ways. All sorts of geological structures are possible! We'll be lucky if there are any, can't miss them if so!"

So saying, Lu Zhe tied the other end of the rope to the back of the raft and submerged the stone axe!

All set!

Everyone was also exhausted!

"So tired..." Tang Xiaoguo stretched out a long lazy waist!

Lin Qianqian and Jiang Yao weakly leaned against each other.

Ning Shu opened a bottle of distilled water and portioned out some fish jerky and dried coconut meat to everyone.

"Nothing else we need to do now right!"

"No more tiring tasks, but there are still some easy ones!"

Ning Shu asked: "What's an easy task?"

"Just use your eyes to look." Lu Zhe thought for a bit then assigned roles:

"Captain, you can lie prone and closely observe underwater conditions!"

"Underwater?" Ning Shu peered into the pitch black waters through the gaps in the bamboo raft: "Can't see anything leh?"

"Even if you can't see anything still keep watch. Report any conditions to me immediately!"

Jiang Yao asked: "What about us?"

"Yao Yao you can lie down and observe the sky. If you spot any stars or the moon, tell me right away!"

"That's easy!"

Lu Zhe passed fishing spears to Lin Qianqian and Tang Xiaoguo. "Qian Qian, Guo Er, you two lie on your sides and watch the water surface. Use the spear to retrieve any floating bottles, coconuts etc that drift by!"

"Mm, what if we fall asleep?"

"Then just sleep. Rest is also important. I'll keep first watch!"

"No way, that's too tiring for you!"

"Then we'll take turns keeping watch!"

"I agree!"

...