Luo Jun licked his dry lips and sat up on the overcrowded lifeboat. He squinted his eyes, gazing in the direction of the setting sun on the horizon. The touch of the early winter evening glow was particularly beautiful, but despair was etched on his resolute face.
Because it foretold that the next few days would be just as unbearable and sunny.
It had already been seven days.
On the fifth day after the plane crash, they had already consumed all the fresh water. If it weren't for the giant dead octopus they caught the next day, they wouldn't have had anything to eat.
Everyone was on the brink of dehydration, and it was no longer possible to hold out until it rained.
Perhaps tomorrow, someone would fall into a coma and never wake up again.
The three women and one young man on the lifeboat huddled together, wrapping their famished bodies in waterproof cloth, waiting in low spirits for the discovery of a merciful God.
Two of the women came from the upper class of Los Angeles society.
One was a young girl named Li Shi, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, who was studying in the United States. The other was a strikingly beautiful woman named Lorna, who was the governor of a state.
The other two were a wealthy young couple, Jack and Jenny.
"Mr. Luo..." Lorna, no longer resting, propped up her weak body and sat up. Her voice was hoarse as she asked Luo Jun.
Luo Jun had never told this woman that his original mission was to kill her, because Smith had captured his daughter and threatened him to eliminate this young and beautiful female governor.
That way, the CIA could wash their hands of the matter.
"What do you want to say?" Luo Jun asked.
"Thank you for not killing me and for saving me," Lorna said, her beautiful eyes flashing with tenderness, and she smiled.
She was still wearing the professional attire she had on before the plane crash—a gray-blue blouse and a knee-length black pencil skirt. Only her delicate high-heeled shoes were nowhere to be found, revealing her fair and beautiful feet.
However, after seven days of cramped space on the small lifeboat and enduring the torment of hunger and thirst, the originally dignified and aloof image of the female governor had become disheveled.
Luo Jun didn't want to speak and waste the little amount of water left in his body. He looked at her with confusion.
"A friend of yours told me, his name is Pan Long."
Upon hearing this name, Luo Jun's deep eyes flickered slightly.
This person wasn't really his friend, but he left a deep impression on Luo Jun.
He was a terrifying assassin who had been active in Southeast Asia. He had escaped from the assassination camp to Brazil, and miraculously survived an attack by a group of top-notch assassins in the Amazon jungle. Later, he fled to the Middle East and had been active in the war-torn region ever since.
Luo Jun had come to know him during that time.
That person, like Luo Jun, was a member of a mercenary group, but they had no real connection.
"Why did he do this?" Luo Jun asked, perplexed.
"He hopes that you can help me deal with Smith, so he saved your daughter. Your daughter is safe now."
Upon hearing these words, Luo Jun's heart trembled slightly.
"I haven't been an international mercenary for many years. That damn Smith made me get involved in this... It's meaningless to talk about these things now unless we can go back."
After speaking, Luo Jun fell silent.
He recalled his daughter, Xiao Ya. Xiao Ya was not Luo Jun's biological daughter. Her biological parents, who were of French descent, were killed by the local mafia when she was only nine years old.
At that time, she was dressed as a witch, wandering the streets filled with Halloween atmosphere.
When she returned with two delicious ice creams, she witnessed her own parents and brother being dragged to the doorstep and shot by the ruthless mafia.
With her back turned to the mafia, her body trembled uncontrollably. Tears filled her eyes, and the sparkle that once existed in her eyes vanished. She gazed at the peephole on Luo Jun's door, lightly tapping it with her small hand.
The barrel of the killer's gun was almost against the back of her head.
At that time, Luo Jun was holding a Glock pistol behind the door.
Ever since he saved her, this innocent girl had entered his cold world like a wild horse, becoming the only bright spot in his gloomy life.
"I can't die like this..."
Luo Jun thought of his daughter, and a strong will to survive surged within him once again.
Suddenly, he stood up and took off his tactical pants.
The three women awkwardly turned their heads away, especially the young Chinese girl who had just started college. She probably had never even been in a romantic relationship, let alone seen a man's body.
No one knew what he was up to. Was he seeking pleasure in his final moments?
Lorna couldn't help but ask in a mixture of embarrassment and anger, "Mr. Luo, have you gone mad?"
"Heh, I don't have the energy to do that with you all. The human intestines can absorb 15 to 20 percent of the water content, and it won't absorb viruses and impurities. We can't drink seawater, but the intestines will absorb the necessary water!" Luo Jun explained.
Everyone was astonished by this extreme survival tactic he came up with.
But in the face of death, what did a little embarrassment matter?
Luo Jun placed an empty mineral water bottle into the sea and filled it with seawater. Then, he lay down and began squeezing the bottle, forcing the seawater into his intestines.
The action was extremely crude.
But now, no one felt that way anymore because it was their only way to obtain enough water.
The three women felt extremely embarrassed and turned their heads away, unable to bear watching this scene. After all, the action was too indecent.
Jack also covered Jenny's eyes, preventing her from seeing it.
The others hesitated, but after an hour, when the sun had set, Luo Jun's previous dizziness and blurred vision, caused by dehydration, disappeared completely, and his mental state improved significantly.
Seeing that he had no adverse reactions, the others also became restless.
"Um... Mr. Luo, could you please help me?" Lorna finally couldn't resist and made this request to Luo Jun. However, under the moonlight, her embarrassment was somewhat alleviated.
Luo Jun smiled slightly.
Lorna was a very beautiful woman, and her sensuality and charm as a European-American woman were evident. Moreover, she was a governor, a politician, which added a unique and exceptional allure to her personality.
However, at a time like this, no matter how beautiful a woman was, Luo Jun couldn't muster any interest.
Lorna set a good example, and the others also began to follow suit.
At this point, there was no privacy left. They had seen everything, even the women urinating and defecating, all done on the lifeboat.
In this way, they got through the first hurdle.
At night, it was still cold, and the space on the lifeboat was limited, so they still had to squeeze together.
On Luo Jun's right was Jack, and on Jack's right was his girlfriend, Jenny.
When Jenny escaped from the plane, she was wearing a short dress and a thick blue denim jacket. Now, apart from Luo Jun, who was wearing a green leather jacket, she was the only one with good warmth.
On Luo Jun's left was Lorna, and on Lorna's left was Li Shi, who was wearing a bohemian vest-style long skirt.
They were all lying on their sides.
A few days ago, Lorna clearly felt Luo Jun's desire, but she didn't say anything. In this kind of environment, no one could control anything.
She herself was the same. After all, Luo Jun was a very charming man.
Now, she had long lost those thoughts. Exhausted both physically and mentally, she had no energy left and just wanted to rest well and survive.
Luo Jun was the strongest among them in terms of survival ability.
They still relied on him to lead them out of danger.
At this moment, Luo Jun didn't care what they were thinking. Just like a few days ago, he continued to observe the starry sky.
For survivors, the greatest benefit of clear weather at night was being able to observe the bright stars and infer their location and direction.
After observing and analyzing for these days, Luo Jun knew that they had already deviated from the plane's route, too far away!
From the beginning, after the plane had an accident, it deviated from the route. Otherwise, they couldn't have drifted so far with just the lifeboat. The result was that the search and rescue team would never come here!
If they didn't encounter an island or fishermen, they were definitely in a dead end.
The method of drinking seawater for sustenance definitely couldn't be used for long, otherwise, the salt in the seawater would damage their intestines' function!