"Cough, cough!"
Tuoyin coughed.
"Gulp!"
He took a sip of water.
Not far.
A large wooden raft was taking shape. No one wanted to die, not before. They couldn’t build a raft without rope, but now, with excess clothing, they could make it into rope, and they made one.
On the island.
There was no hope, only escape.
Moreover.
What excited everyone was that one night, they saw a flicker of firelight in the far distance, and during the day, they had seen smoke, which gave them great hope, but swimming over there was clearly impossible.
So.
They decided to build a wooden raft.
Shrubs.
Tied together they would float; though not for many, ten or so could still manage. After spending four days, they finally made a big... straw heap raft.
"It’s finally done."
"There’s hope now."
"Get on the boat."
A cheer arose.
As for how they got these ’ropes’, they felt no sha; staying alive was the biggest reason, survival was justice, and as for the process, the people from Kovalro didn’t care.
Human nature?
Hmph.
It can’t fill the stomach.
"Ha!"
Tuoyin sneered.
Hope?
In your dreams.
These people had no idea how terrible the entity doing all this was. To leave, Tang Qing had to agree. To Tang Qing, these people were useless.
Not to ntion you.
Even he.
Tang Qing hadn’t been interrogated.
"Old man, what are you laughing at?" Looking at Tuoyin’s disdainful eyes, the temporary leader of this group, the forr chief combat instructor of the Tanzania training camp of Kovalro, said viciously.
"Laughing at you."
On hearing this.
The man approached, intending to hit him but feared that a punch would kill him.
"If there was hope, you wouldn’t have to beco food, so you should be happy." Although they didn’t know what Tuoyin’s role in Kovalro was, it should not be too low-ranking.
Otherwise.
The elder wouldn’t have given special treatnt to him.
Unfortunately.
Now it’s survival, who cares about that much. They asked a few tis before but the old man never disclosed Tuoyin’s identity, only saying he was high up in Kovalro, so it’s no surprise to him.
High up?
All the elders were dead.
What to fear!
"There’s no hope." Tuoyin laughed bitterly.
Hearing this.
The man ignored him, thinking he was crazy, which was normal, as many people had gone crazy these past days. Then, he ca to the side of the raft, called over a dozen people, got on the raft, and the sail was made from connected clothes.
Though it leaked air.
It still provided so power.
And oars.
The oars were forked branches, wrapped in two layers of cloth at the front, making them usable.
"Set off."
Soon.
At the command, this simple raft went out to sea. Over a dozen people rowed energetically, all strong and robust individuals. Together they rowed, although the resistance was a bit large, and the branches struggled underwater.
In no ti.
On the sea surface.
The raft grew smaller and smaller.
The people left behind gathered in threes and fives, waiting expectantly, not going fishing. With more cloth available, they had improved their fishing technology, producing quite a few ’nets,’ enhancing their fishing ability a bit.
Leaving it there.
Leaving bait.
There was always so harvest.
Twenty minutes later, the raft had disappeared from Tuoyin’s sight. The others, seeing this, ran to the high ground of the island, leaving Tuoyin alone on the beach, not fearing he would run away.
No strength.
Even if drowned, the waves would bring him back.
...
On the raft.
"Row harder."
The man stood on the raft commanding.
Looking back.
The island was no longer visible; heave-ho, everyone exerted themselves, heading towards hope. If there were people over there, they could communicate with the outside world, seek rescue, and return to their previous lives.
Suddenly.
Soone shouted, pointing to the front left.
"Shark!"
Imdiately.
Everyone’s hair stood on end.
Shark?
How could there be sharks here, they hadn’t encountered such creatures for a long ti; they had just gone to sea and encountered them, not far away, a dozen black dorsal fins glided over the water’s surface.
Nearly a ter high, apparently large in size.
That scene.
Was truly terrifying.
"Don’t panic, sharks don’t easily attack unknown creatures. Our raft is big, wait a bit, and when they leave, we’ll row again." One of the rowers shouted loudly.
This.
Did comfort quite a few.
Sitting quietly.
Stopped rowing.
However.
Ten minutes passed, and the shark school didn’t leave.
Fifteen minutes.
...
Twenty minutes.
...
Thirty minutes.
...
Nearly an hour.
The sharks were still circling there. Gradually, they surrounded the raft, and looking at the sharks seemingly ready to hunt, they felt like horses were galloping in their hearts.
"When will they leave?"
"Don’t know."
"Could they circle for a whole day?"
"Shut up."
"..."
They threw a couple of fish but didn’t lure them away. The sharks just kept circling.
Another hour passed.
"Keep rowing." The man was impatient.
"Can’t do it."
"It’s too dangerous."
"Let’s wait a little longer."
"..."
Everyone persuaded that at this point, making noise could an courting death. If attacked, there was almost no chance of survival. The man saw this, gritted his teeth, aware it was better to go along with the majority, and agreed to wait longer.
Another hour passed.
They didn’t leave.
Another hour passed.
They didn’t leave.
"..."
Everyone was speechless. Dolphins, you are, after all, the overlords of the sea, while we are the overlords of the land. Why are you forcing us? The sea has plenty of food; we are just a al.
"Row!"
"If we wait until it gets dark and lose our bearings, it will be a big problem."
"Yes."
"..."
Soon.
They reached a consensus. They had waited for nearly four hours, and it was noon. Waiting more would truly put them between a rock and a hard place. If they encountered a storm with high waves at night, their small raft might disintegrate.
Heave-ho.
Rowing.
They rowed a dozen ters.
"Splash!"
"Boom!"
A nearly six-ter-long shark leaped out of the water in front and then crashed back down. The imnse spray drenched them, activating their fear with the salty sea water.
It took quite so ti.
"Do... do we keep rowing?"
One person stamred.
Unfortunately.
No one responded. Silence hung heavy. They dared not move. Such a massive shark, with just one strike, could smash their raft. They didn’t even have a knife.
Only one stone axe.
This thing.
Clearly couldn’t compete with a shark.
In the wind.
Watching the sharks still circling, the group was disoriented, but this ti, they weren’t given much ti to think. Crack! Suddenly, the middle of the raft surged upward, a great force being applied.
The people on the edge splashed a few tis.
Half of them fell into the water.
This ti.
They were terrified, hastily surfacing as fast as they could, looking at the raft split in two, unable to think more, swiftly grabbing the edge and climbing up with all their might.
"Huff! Huff!!"
Each was scared stiff. A few seconds later, and they would have been shark food.
"Not a good day to leave."
The man broke out into a cold sweat.
If it happened again, they wouldn’t survive. Their mast was broken, much of their prepared food and freshwater fell into the sea, and though the sharks were moving further, he dared not go forward anymore.
"Let’s go back."
Try again tomorrow.
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