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墨書 Inktalez
After returning to the ship, everyone collapsed on the deck without even unloading their gear. Even Li Xin lay on the deck with his eyes closed, gasping for breath. I felt the same way, utterly exhausted to the point of near collapse. This time, I truly felt lucky—absolutely lucky. If I had narrowly escaped death in previous encounters, this time was definitely a miraculous survival.
Jenny hurried over and asked, "You all finally made it back! How is everyone? Is everyone okay?"
None of us responded; we lay there like dead dogs, completely motionless on the deck. Mai Lao had also succumbed this time. Usually, Old Man was one of the strongest among us, but now he was down beside me, one arm draped over my body.
Seeing that we weren’t speaking, Jenny asked again, "Is everyone alright? Mai Lao, Li Xin, what happened to you all?" It was no wonder she was concerned; this was her first time seeing us all collapsed on the deck without a single person able to speak.
I opened my eyes and looked at the pitch-black sky as raindrops fell on my face, waking me up a bit. I managed to sit up and glanced at Jenny, saying, "What do you think? Just being back is a blessing; we nearly died out there."
Jenny looked surprised at my words and said, "Huh? What happened this time? Everyone made it back safely, right? Why does it seem like someone is missing?" She began counting heads as she spoke.
"Yeah, one died—just not long ago," I replied in a low tone. The thought of the sailor who had just died weighed heavily on my heart. After all, I bore some responsibility for it; if I hadn’t pushed the other sailors to go into the water, perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.
"What? Another one dead? How could this happen? What exactly went wrong? Did you encounter that Black Fish called Sting Horse Colt again?" Jenny's face turned pale; it was clear she felt some sadness.
At that moment, Mai Lao sat up and stretched his arms. "No, this situation is much harder to explain than that Sting Horse Colt."
"Exactly. The fact that we survived is already a stroke of luck. The main issue was that we spent too long underwater; we ran out of oxygen. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in such a dire state," Li Xin chimed in from her spot still lying on the deck.
Jenny sighed sadly and said, "I never expected we would lose another person. I really feel terrible about it."
Whether her feelings were genuine or not didn’t matter; it sounded sincere enough. The other sailors remained silent as well; I couldn’t tell what they were thinking or what plans they might be forming. They had already recognized how dangerous the situation was and had wanted to leave for some time. If they hadn’t listened to me, they definitely wouldn’t have gone into the water. With another death on our hands, I feared what would come next would be even more difficult.
Suddenly, Jiao Ba made a rather heartless remark: "It must be because he touched something he shouldn’t have. If he hadn’t been so quick with his hands, maybe he wouldn’t have died."
When the sailor died, neither Jiao Ba nor Li Xin were present. How did he know about it? Was it just a wild guess? Or did he already know that there was something wrong with these golden treasures since entering this forbidden area and was deliberately hiding it from us? I felt a bit confused, but I sensed that Jiao Ba wouldn't act that way.
"Damn it, Jiao Ba, what do you mean by that? Are you saying he deserved to die?" The Shandong Giant suddenly sat up, his face filled with anger as he glared at Jiao Ba. The deceased sailor had a good relationship with this Big Guy, and hearing Jiao Ba's words made him furious.
Jiao Ba remained calm and said slowly, "Brother, don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean it that way. What I meant is that when encountering anything in the deep sea, one must be extremely cautious; otherwise, it could lead to irreversible consequences. If he hadn't touched that thing, wouldn't everything have been fine?"
"How were we supposed to know that thing was dangerous? Hearing you say that makes me angry." The Big Guy was genuinely upset, his eyes fixed on Jiao Ba. It was unbelievable that Jiao Ba would make such remarks at a time like this; he was just asking for trouble. If the remaining sailors got riled up, we wouldn't be able to continue our work down below.
"I'm sorry, brother. He tends to speak like this; he's blunt but actually feels quite bad inside. After all, we're a team, and losing anyone would weigh heavily on us." Before Jiao Ba could respond, I quickly interjected and shot him a stern look.
Jiao Ba had no choice but to apologize to the Big Guy, which helped calm the situation down. If it escalated further, it would be hard to handle.
Li Xin asked with some confusion, "But how did he actually die? I still don't know."
"Yeah, what exactly happened?" Jenny added anxiously.
Mai Lao slowly stood up and said, "It's not something that can be explained in just a few words. Let's do this: everyone take a break for a while. In half an hour, let's gather in the dining room; all personnel are required to attend." After finishing his words, Mai Lao leisurely walked back to the cabin.
The rest of us gradually returned to the Rest Cabin. However, upon entering the Rest Cabin, I noticed several sailors starting to pack their things. I felt puzzled and asked, "What are you guys doing?"
One of them, Baldy, replied, "Loyalty and Righteousness! We're not going to continue; we really can't take it anymore. Another one died today; we can't go on like this."
"Yeah, Loyalty and Righteousness! We're planning to leave this cursed place tonight; it's just too terrifying down here. If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come at all," another person said with a mournful expression.
"Don't... don't do this! We're so close to success; why quit now?" At such a critical moment, if they backed out now, it would all be for nothing.
Shunzi also chimed in, "Brother Yi is right; we're on the verge of finishing up. Why stop now?"
Baldy glanced at me and said, "Loyalty and Righteousness, you don't need to persuade us anymore. We've made up our minds; we really can't do this anymore."
I shot a look at Jiao Ba, signaling him to quickly find Mai Lao and Jenny. "No, no, no, guys, we've come this far. It would be such a waste to just leave like this. What if Boss doesn't pay you? Wouldn't all your hard work over the past few months be for nothing?"
"To be honest, Loyalty and Righteousness, we'd rather not earn a single penny than stay here any longer."
At that moment, Jiao Ba arrived with Jenny and Mai Lao. A heated argument ensued between both sides over the 'stay or leave' dilemma. No matter what we said, these sailors were determined to quit; nothing we said could change their minds.
Eventually, the Shandong Giant showed up. I realized that the Big Guy had some influence among the sailors, so I pulled him aside, hoping he could convince them to stay temporarily.
"Big Guy, please help me talk to them. It would be a shame to leave now. Not only would they miss out on the money, but leaving the fishing boat doesn’t guarantee they'll make it back alive," I said as I handed him a cigarette. We chatted outside the Rest Cabin in the Passage.
The Big Guy took the cigarette, lit it, and after taking a couple of puffs, he said, "Loyalty and Righteousness, you know another brother died this time. To be honest, even I don't have confidence in continuing. When it comes down to it, life is more important than money."
I nodded in agreement. "That's definitely true. But think about it; the fishing boat won't just turn back because you want to leave. If you rely on the Lifeboat to get away, it's going to be tough to survive out there. The storms at sea can hit suddenly; it's not easy at all." I was being honest; I had told them before that wanting to go back was nearly impossible.
After pondering for a moment, the Big Guy replied, "Yeah, I know that too. Alright then, I'll do my best to persuade them. Whether it works or not, I can't guarantee anything. I'll head over now."
I patted his arm and together we returned to the Rest Cabin.
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