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墨書 Inktalez
I circled around the Sea Surface, and aside from myself, there was no one else in sight. What was going on? I clearly remembered returning along the original route, so how had everyone and the fishing boats disappeared? Just as I was starting to panic, I spotted two figures emerging from the water not far away. I couldn't see who they were, but I was certain they were our people.
I quickly swam towards them, and as I got closer, I recognized that the two were Mai Lao and Shunzi. "Loyalty and Righteousness? How are you? Is everything alright?" Mai Lao said, surprised, as he removed his Breathing Apparatus.
"I'm fine. How about you?" I looked around again; aside from the three of us, it was just the vast ocean.
"We're fine too, Brother Yi. But why are you alone? Where is everyone else?" Shunzi asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. I have no idea how I ended up here," I replied, my mind filled with questions. I still couldn't figure out what had happened.
Mai Lao looked around and said, "It seems we got separated. I think the others should be nearby; why don't we look for them?"
"I'm okay with searching for people, but what about our fishing boat? If we can't find it, we're in big trouble," I said, feeling a bit frustrated.
"You're right, Mai Lao. The most important thing now is to find the boat. Without it, we won't last long out here," Shunzi added, panting slightly.
Mai Lao carefully observed our surroundings. "Yeah, let's find the fishing boat first. How about we swim straight ahead in this direction? The boat should be over there."
"Are you sure about that? We can't afford to go in the wrong direction. If we drift further away, we'll really be in trouble." The direction Mai Lao pointed to was westward, right where the sun was setting. I wasn't sure if the fishing boat was that way; all I remembered was that when we entered the water, the sun was on our left side while we entered from the right. Now, with the ocean surrounding us, it was easy to lose our sense of direction.
"We have to take a gamble; otherwise, where do you suggest we go?" Mai Lao tossed the question back at me.
"Brother Yi, let's just trust Mai Lao's judgment. We can't just sit here and wait for help," Shunzi chimed in appropriately.
I nodded and said, "Alright then, I'll follow your lead, Mai Lao. Just tell me what to do."
With that, we swam westward towards the setting sun. Before ten minutes had passed, I heard the sound of an engine roaring in the distance. We quickly stopped swimming; the sunlight made it hard to see ahead. Shielding my forehead with my hand, I spotted a fishing boat approaching us not far away. Upon seeing it, I smiled because it was our fishing boat.
Shunzi noticed it too and exclaimed excitedly, "It's a fishing boat! It's our fishing boat! Brother Yi! Mai Lao!"
"Looks like you were right after all," I turned to glance at Mai Lao.
Mai Lao also shielded his forehead with his hand and looked ahead. "I was just guessing; looks like we're lucky."
The fishing boat quickly stopped beside us, and the Lifeline was lowered. The three of us climbed up the ladder one after another. As soon as we returned to the ship, Jiao Ba hurried over and said, "My dear brother, finally found you! How are you? Everything alright?"
"Nothing happened, Lao Ba. Has everyone else returned?" I looked around and saw that the other sailors were back, and Shandong Giant was also there.
"They came back a while ago; we were just waiting for the three of you. Jenny is really worried," Jiao Ba said anxiously.
Jenny, who was nearby, asked, "Mai Lao, how did you end up over here?"
Mai Lao took off his Oxygen Tank and said, "I can't really explain it. After coming out of that dark sea area, I only saw Shunzi first, and then I encountered Loyalty and Righteousness."
I scoffed and cursed, "Damn it, that place is impossible to dive into. Once I entered that Dark Sea Area, I couldn't see anything at all; it was pitch black all around. I couldn't even see the Underwater Light next to me. No matter how deep I dove, I couldn't get out; it felt like there was some kind of force pushing me back. But when I tried to return, I realized I had completely lost my original path. If it weren't for meeting Mai Lao and Shunzi later on, who knows where I would have ended up."
Li Xin chimed in from the side, "I felt the same way. I couldn't dive down either; it felt like something was pushing me back, and my whole body felt uncomfortable—very oppressive."
Jiao Ba said calmly, "Yes, I felt that faint pressure too. It must be caused by some special reason, but it doesn't seem like a magnetic field effect to me."
"What could it be then?" I turned to glance at Jiao Ba.
Jiao Ba shrugged and shook his head. "I can't say for sure right now, but I think the secret lies within this Wreck. Actually, on my way back, I was pushed to another location as well. Fortunately, the other sailors were nearby, and I could still see the fishing boat in the distance. After we got back on board, we realized you hadn't returned yet, so we decided to look for you."
Shandong Giant interjected, "I waited for you guys for quite a while but didn't see anyone return. So I had no choice but to head back to the ship. When I got back, I saw that Jiao Ba and the others had already returned."
"How long did the fishing boat take to find us?" Mai Lao suddenly asked.
"At most ten minutes; not long," Jenny replied.
Mai Lao took a deep breath and said, "So we weren't pushed very far; we should be just left and right within this sea area. We were pushed east of the fishing boat while Xiao Ba's group was pushed west. This should roughly outline the total area of this Dark Sea Area."
"Yes, about right," Shunzi suddenly spoke up after being quiet for a while.
Jiao Ba glanced at him intentionally and said, "Shunzi, you're quite something! You really hit the nail on the head; it's impossible to dive down from above. I'm increasingly impressed by you." The others thought Jiao Ba was complimenting him, but I knew he was being sarcastic.
This time Shunzi didn't respond; he just smiled. Normally he would have bantered back with Jiao Ba by now. I couldn't tell if he was struck by a sensitive point or if he simply didn't want to argue.
"It seems we'll have to enter from the original route," I said to Mai Lao.
Mai Lao glanced at the time and said, "Well, it seems we have no choice. Let's all take a break for now. After dark, we'll head back into the sea along the same route."
This trip had truly been a waste; not only did we squander our time and energy, but we also nearly ran into trouble. If we had drifted too far and couldn't return to the fishing boat, we would have been in serious trouble. The suggestion from Shandong Giant was utterly lacking in foresight. Although it was well-intentioned, it unfortunately led to nothing good.
Shunzi had warned against this from the start. Had I known it would turn out this way, I should have listened to him. But how could Shunzi know that we wouldn't be able to descend from above? Was it just a guess, or did he actually know something behind the scenes? I found it hard to see through Shunzi; his appearance didn't suggest he was someone who calculated everything meticulously. Yet, on the other hand, even if he were part of a gang, there were no signs on his forehead declaring him a thug.
After these two incidents, I could clearly see that Jiao Ba's suspicion toward Shunzi was growing stronger. I could only advise Jiao Ba to try not to target Shunzi too much. Many things shouldn't be judged solely by appearances. Although Shunzi seemed highly suspicious right now, that didn't mean he was guilty. As long as the truth remained elusive, we couldn't jump to conclusions.
Two hours later, darkness enveloped us completely. We geared up and prepared for another operation.
Before we set off, Mai Lao gathered everyone on the deck. "This time when we dive, we need to ensure that every cabin is thoroughly checked. We mustn't waste a single second; the faster we work, the better. Let's aim for a swift resolution."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Suddenly, I spoke up, "Let's establish a plan first. Once we're on deck, we'll pry open the Hatch. After it's opened, two people will stay outside to keep watch while everyone else goes inside. The ones on guard will be responsible for assisting outside and will immediately pry open the Hatch if they hear any knocking from within. If after forty minutes there's still no sound, we'll find a way to open the Hatch ourselves. This way, we can save some time and ensure safety."
"Sounds feasible; let's go with that," Mai Lao agreed and assigned two people to guard outside the Hatch. He initially intended for Li Xin and Shandong Giant to stay at the Hatch entrance together, but since Li Xin insisted on going inside, they had to switch out for another sailor.
The fishing boat first returned to its original position as we followed our previous route back into the sea. We smoothly entered that dark area again and crossed over a group of white Plankton before reaching the vicinity of the Wreck. We then swam along until we arrived at the deck.
Mai Lao signaled everyone to proceed according to plan. Just like last time, Shunzi and I used a Paratrooper Knife to wedge into the Hatch and pry it open slightly. A few others came over and pulled hard on the Hatch until it creaked open. Once it was ajar, Mai Lao waved his hand, signaling everyone to hurry inside…
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