The sea continued to boil and roar as it subrged the island. It likely wouldn’t last the day.
Jiang Si looked at everyone huddled in the makeshift shelter, then back at the sky. It was a terrifying sight—ablaze with fire, raining down embers and teorite fragnts. Her heart still pounded with fear.
In these conditions, a helicopter had nowhere to fly.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
Another earthquake struck.
Everyone ran out from the shelter, terror etched on their faces.
The tremor felt like a magnitude six, but it lasted for over a full minute. The sturdy shelter swayed and then collapsed.
Cracks of varying sizes spiderwebbed across the ground beneath their feet.
The air was filled with a foul sll, and the oxygen was growing thin.
They couldn’t stay on the island any longer. For her family’s sake, if nothing else, Jiang Si had to take a chance and get them out of there.
Just as Jiang Si was about to head for the helicopter, dozens of them suddenly appeared in the sky.
They all ca from the sa direction; it looked like the Northern Base was evacuating civilians to other regions.
Jiang Si’s eyes followed the helicopters. Suddenly, one of them, affected by the high air temperature, spontaneously combusted.
In the blink of an eye, it exploded like a mushroom cloud blooming from within.
As everyone watched in horror, several more helicopters following close behind it also exploded.
Jiang Si clenched her fists, hoping that at least one helicopter could make it out.
Realizing that flying too high would cause the helicopters to combust, the ones that followed quickly adjusted their altitude.
Just as they were about to pass through the danger zone...
Niu Niu covered her eyes in fright, and the others couldn’t bear to watch, averting their gazes.
Directly above the helicopters, a shower of teorite fragnts suddenly began to fall.
These fragnts struck like astonishingly powerful nukes; the helicopters were instantly turned to ash.
Jiang Si’s heart clenched, and she felt a pang of despair.
’If the helicopter can’t get out, then we’ll have to take our chances with the yacht.’
Suddenly, Qin Shen pointed in a certain direction and said to her, "Look."
Jiang Si followed his gaze and saw an agile helicopter that had luckily dodged the teorite fragnts. It successfully passed through the dangerous area and flew off into the distance until it vanished from sight.
In other words, as long as it was piloted well, avoiding the hot updrafts and the sudden teorites, it was possible to fly out safely.
Of course, before flying out, they also had to decide where to go.
Jiang Si thought for a mont, then looked at Qin Shen. "Where do you think we should fly?"
Qin Shen looked towards the continent of Asia, which was belching thick smoke and had already beco a sea of fire. His tone was grave. "Anywhere but Asia."
In the end, Jiang Si decided to fly towards the west coast of the Northern Country. It was the closest continent to them.
Jiang Si brought the helicopter over. Everyone put on their life vests and sat inside the cabin, while Qin Shen took the co-pilot’s seat.
He knew how to fly a helicopter; at a critical mont, he could be a great help.
Watching the island shrink in the distance, everyone felt reluctant to leave. But to survive, they had no choice but to depart and pray for a smooth flight.
Jiang Si was relying on her instincts to gauge the air current temperatures and keep the helicopter safe, but Qin Shen was able to tell her directly where the temperature was lowest.
Jiang Si looked at him. Qin Shen was remarkably calm and composed. She felt a surge of gratitude; having him along was a stroke of incredible luck.
Just as the helicopter was about to fly smoothly over the coastline, Qin Shen looked up, his tone grave. "Careful. Directly above."
Jiang Si, wearing her aviation goggles, looked up and saw a small red dot growing larger—undoubtedly a falling teorite fragnt.
She quickly adjusted their position. They had only flown a few ters when Qin Shen’s deep voice sounded again. "Watch out."
Jiang Si looked up again. ’Oh, great.’ This ti, several teorite fragnts were falling at once.
Following Qin Shen’s directional cues, Jiang Si dodged left and right, not daring to relax for an instant.
Finally, half an hour later, the helicopter broke through the clouds of thick smoke. Everyone breathed in fresh air as the sky cleared up.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Si looked at Qin Shen, her tone filled with unconcealed joy. "Thanks to you, it was like I had a cheat code."
Qin Shen smiled. "It was your skill."
Jiang Si knew her own limits. Even with good luck, given how perilous that was, she might not have been able to avoid it all. It was all thanks to Qin Shen’s sharp guidance.
The helicopter flew steadily through the air. Everyone took the opportunity to get so nourishnt, just in case they encountered more trouble ahead.
Jiang Si finished a pork floss bun and a cup of hot milk tea. Suddenly, a few snowflakes drifted down onto the glass canopy. The temperature plumted, as if they had instantly gone from autumn to winter.
When Jiang Si spoke, she could see her breath turning into white puffs.
This temperature drop was far from normal.
Everyone pulled out their polar-grade down jackets and put them on.
The snowflakes in the sky gradually turned into a heavy blizzard. Jiang Si was bundled up thickly when the fuel gauge suddenly flashed a warning.
Qin Shen glanced at it and said, "The fuel tank might be frozen."
A frozen fuel tank was very bad news.
Jiang Si had to make an ergency landing, but they were surrounded by a vast ocean. There was nowhere to land.
Suddenly, Qin Shen pointed at the sea’s surface and said, "There’s a cruise ship!"
Jiang Si looked down carefully. It was indeed a giant cruise ship.
The deck alone was large enough to park two large airplanes.
At this point, Jiang Si couldn’t worry about any other risks that might co with landing the helicopter on a cruise ship.
"Everyone, get ready to disembark."
"Okay."
The helicopter slowly approached the cruise ship. No one attacked them with guns.
After observing it carefully, Qin Shen saw that the cruise ship was frozen solid, like a ship of ice. Desolate snowflakes drifted down, but not a single person could be seen.
The temperature was incredibly low. Fortunately, the gear Jiang Si had prepared for everyone included polar-grade down jackets, so they didn’t feel particularly cold.
The helicopter landed on the icy deck, skidding for several dozen ters. The screeching sound of the friction lasted for a few minutes before it finally ca to a stop.
Jiang Linhai was the first one out of the helicopter, with the others covering him from behind. After just a few steps, he saw several bodies covered by the thick white snow.
Jiang Linhai moved closer for a look. The people’s faces were ashen, and their bodies were stiff. They had all frozen to death. It must have happened suddenly, as they were still wearing light clothing.
This made everyone realize that the people on the ship had likely been caught completely unprepared by a sudden cold snap.
With trembling limbs, Jiang Linhai slowly entered the ship’s cabin.
The sight that t his eyes left him stunned.
Hundreds, even thousands, of bodies were crowded together. Each had a peaceful expression, as if part of a bizarre ice painting.
One woman was holding a child in her arms who looked to be only a few months old.
The scene was utterly tragic.
Jiang Linhai took out the tranquilizers he carried with him and swallowed two pills at once. Only then did the tightness in his chest ease slightly.
He continued forward. Every passenger cabin he opened revealed another pile of frozen bodies. Eventually, he couldn’t bear to go on.
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