Part 1: A Man in the Martial World, Not in His Own Hands Chapter 130: Seizing the Boat
I held my breath in the seawater, eyes wide open, watching the black man gradually disappear from my sight, sinking until he was no longer visible. Only then did I tread water forcefully and swim towards the surface.
"Cough cough cough..." As soon as my head broke the surface of the water, I started coughing violently. My swimming skills were not very good to begin with, and I had been holding my breath underwater for so long. I had only been able to fight that black man by relying on my extraordinary physical condition and the hatred in my heart. Now I felt a tearing, burning pain in my lungs.
As soon as my head broke the surface of the water, my hearing returned to normal. Although the smuggling boat did not stop, it slowed down considerably. As soon as I surfaced, some of the crew members on the deck saw me. I immediately heard a shout, and then I saw several crew members raise their guns and aim at me.
I quickly took a deep breath and submerged back underwater.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Bullets were fired into the sea, whizzing past me as I desperately kicked and swung my arms, trying to swim downstream.
People often unleash their hidden potential in dire situations! I actually managed to swim quite a distance after struggling all the way.
I then swam down to the other side of the boat and looked at the big ship from afar.
The ship was still filled with noise, and there were occasional gunshots and the sound of people falling into the water. It seemed that most of the illegal immigrants were gone.
I floated on the water, treading on the surface, my head looking around. I was very anxious!
I'm in the middle of the ocean, without a lifebuoy or life jacket, and I can only swim by my own strength. But I can't keep swimming like this! Once I run out of strength, I'm doomed!
The crew of the large ship in front of me was still clearing out illegal immigrants, and I was unable to board it.
The ship that had been pursuing us in the distance was getting closer and closer; I could even clearly see the national flag fluttering on it…
It was a maple leaf flag, and the ship had a number on its hull, suggesting it was a military vessel. It was still sounding its warning horn.
I don't know if this ship belongs to the Coast Guard or the military or something...
I hesitated for a moment, then made up my mind.
Rather than drown or be beaten to death by those crew members, I'd rather surrender to the police. At least that's a way to survive.
It was a small gunboat-like vessel, chasing the smuggling boat while occasionally firing its cannons to intimidate it. However, the cannon fire was carefully placed far to the sides of the boat, seemingly not in a hurry to injure anyone, but purely for deterrence.
Having no sailing experience, I only felt that the gunboat seemed close enough to me by sight, but it wasn't until I swam for a while that I realized how far it actually was. What appeared to be a short distance at sea was actually a very long one!
Although the waves are not large, swimming in the seawater is very strenuous because you have to use a lot of physical strength to fight against the waves, and the waves will also carry you away from your direction.
My experiences these past few days have determined that my physical strength is much worse than before. After swimming for a while, I suddenly felt a cramp in the sole of my foot, and my heart immediately sank!
I know, I'm probably going to get a cramp!!
My physical condition was already poor, and with such cold seawater, my energy would be quickly depleted. My swimming skills are also quite poor, making swimming even more strenuous... A wave crashed over me, immediately submerging my head. When I emerged from the spray, I coughed a few times, only to find myself swept away by the waves, drifting further and further away from both the smuggling boat and the gunboat.
I let out a weak shout and tried my best to raise my arms so that the people on the gunboat could see me. Unfortunately, my actions went unnoticed by anyone.
I felt my legs getting heavier and heavier as they soaked in the seawater, and my kicking movements gradually became sluggish. It seemed I didn't have much strength left... I sighed inwardly and couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
Am I really going to die here?
After struggling for so long, going through so much, and suffering so much, am I still unable to overcome this hurdle?
Just when I was almost in despair, I suddenly heard a sound coming from the distance on my left, carried by the wind...
It sounded like a few shouts and curses, but when it came with the wind, it was faint, unpleasant, and intermittent.
I immediately turned my head and looked over, only to see a scene that rekindled a glimmer of hope in my heart!
About a few dozen meters away from me, amidst the rolling waves, three figures seemed to be struggling... Because of the rising and falling waves, my view was obstructed, so I couldn't see very clearly, but it was enough for me to determine their identities!
Surprisingly, these were not stowaways who jumped into the sea to escape, but crew members from that ship!
The three people were all wearing life jackets and were in the seawater, seemingly trying to swim in one direction, but also seemingly arguing loudly about something.
What puzzled me even more was that the three of them seemed to be supporting a dark, gooey thing... a very large thing, floating on the surface of the sea.
I felt their gaze sweeping in my direction, so I immediately and alertly dived underwater, then swam to the other side and surfaced again.
By this time, the gunboat was quite far away from us, and it seemed to be chasing after the smuggling boat.
Upon seeing this, the three crew members seemed to cheer, and then suddenly, on the surface of the sea, they tidied up the dark, gooey object...
My eyes lit up!
I immediately recognized what it was!
That's an inflatable lifeboat! You know, one of those sea escape devices!
It's obvious that this is a small life raft. These inflatable life rafts can only be used once. They have a valve on them. To use them, you just throw them into the sea, and then someone turns on the valve. They immediately inflate themselves and eventually become a small rubber raft!
Under my watchful eye, the three crew members, seeing the gunboat sail away and making sure they wouldn't be discovered, cautiously opened the valve...
laugh……
With a whooshing sound, the raft, which had initially been just a folded piece of rubber, immediately inflated, transforming into a small boat in a matter of moments. The three crew members cheered, and one of them immediately scrambled aboard. I noticed that each of them was carrying a bulging bag, the contents of which I couldn't quite make out. Then a second person followed suit, casually placing his bag on the raft as well…
But then, a problem arose!
It was clearly a very small life raft, originally meant to support the weight of three people, but the problem was, from a distance, it seemed like the bags they were carrying were too heavy! I don't know what was in those bags... After the third person threw his bag onto it, he tried to climb on himself, but as soon as he had half his body on the raft, it tilted violently under his weight!
With a cry of surprise, he quickly let go, tried to adjust himself, and swam to the other side to try to climb up again... but he failed again. He had just climbed up a little when the boat began to tilt again.
At this point, the two crew members on the ship started whispering and talking loudly to him, while the guy still in the sea spoke loudly, sounding angry and dissatisfied. Then he pointed at the bags on the ship and said a few more words.
I couldn't understand what they were saying, but the gist of it was that the sailor in the sea thought the bag was too heavy and that they should throw some of it out so he could go ashore.
However, his request was immediately rejected by his two companions!
They started arguing, and eventually, the two men on the boat exchanged a glance. One of them immediately pulled a dagger from his waist and moved menacingly towards the man in the water. The man in the water also sensed his companion's ill intentions. He stepped back slightly, and when the other man lunged, he immediately grabbed him and, with a sudden pull, dragged the man with the dagger into the sea.
The two men began to wrestle in the water. The third man on the boat also drew his knife and watched the two men in the water warily. He would occasionally lean against the side of the boat, preparing to launch a sneak attack.
I patiently hid myself behind the waves, wading through the water as I quietly followed these guys, keeping a distance of several dozen meters, trying my best not to be shaken off.
Just then, I suddenly heard them exclaim in surprise. Then, a man struggled a few times on the surface of the sea and stopped moving... The seawater turned red... One of them coldly pushed the motionless man away, pulled a knife from his body, put it in his mouth, and continued to coldly watch the man on the boat from the seawater.
I understand now. The person who jumped into the water from the boat was killed by the people in the sea. Now, the person in the water is looking at his companion on the boat... The two are sizing each other up, seemingly considering whether to continue fighting.
At that moment, the man on the boat suddenly spoke a few words, and after a brief exchange, the two quickly reached an agreement. The man on the boat released his knife and reached out to pull the man from the sea onto the boat.
I understand now... It turns out that three people were too many, so they had to abandon one of their companions. The people on the ship originally planned to abandon the person at sea. But now that one person is dead, two people are just right, so the two of them compromised and decided to stop fighting.
The two people who were hostile just moments ago are now holding hands!
Reality is just that cruel!
Before I could even sigh, I suddenly saw the man from the sea, who had just boarded the boat, grab the other guy from behind and grab him by the neck as he turned around, then quickly slash the neck with a knife...
thump!
The body was thrown into the sea, and the guy on the boat leaned against the side, panting heavily.
This guy is amazing. He was originally at a disadvantage, and his two companions were about to abandon him when they boarded the ship. But now he has single-handedly killed his two companions and taken control of the ship.
I think he must be feeling very fortunate right now...
But I had already waited for the right moment! Taking advantage of this instant, I immediately submerged in the water and quietly swam towards him...
A few minutes later, while the man was still catching his breath on the rubber raft, I suddenly emerged from the water behind him. Before he could react, I had accurately plunged a knife into his neck from behind. Then, before he could retaliate, I dove back into the water and swam to a safe distance before surfacing again.
This person is doomed.
He struggled to sit up on the boat, clutching his neck... Actually, my dagger had missed his neck; it had landed slightly on his shoulder, but it was still fatal. He struggled for a moment, staring intently at me in the water, his eyes filled with anger, surprise, and despair!
Suddenly, he yelled and lunged at me with his arms outstretched...
Unfortunately, halfway through his dive, his life was already gone; his body stiffened in mid-air before he fell into the sea.
I swam slowly over, struggled to climb onto the raft, and only when my body was out of the water did I finally let out a long breath and gasp for air.
I'm exhausted!!
I watched as the three crew members turned on each other, and then I went from being a follower to a hunter, taking the lifeboat. I felt completely exhausted; lying on the raft, I could barely move my little finger.
But after catching my breath, I still managed to get up, looked at the three bags on the boat, and struggled to move over.
I need to check the supplies on the ship now!
I have never believed in any gods in my life, but now I am praying to God...
Please, God, there must be some food in this bag... or at least some fresh water!
"..." I stared dumbfounded at the contents of the bag in front of me, then frantically opened the other two bags...
"Hahahahaha!" I burst into maniacal laughter. I laughed so hard I almost fell over. I laughed until tears streamed down my face! I laughed and coughed, panting, my facial muscles trembling. I knew I must look crazy, terrifying... but I really wanted to laugh!
That's absolutely ridiculous!
That's fucking ridiculous!!!
There were three bags in front of me, three canvas bags. When I opened them, each bag was filled with US dollars!
Thick stacks and stacks of US dollar bills!!!
Three whole bags of US dollars, probably worth millions!
But damn it... there wasn't a single drop of water! Not a single drop!!!
For the first time in my life, I have possessed such enormous wealth... Unfortunately, I am now facing the prospect of dying of thirst or starvation!
A millionaire who died of thirst or starvation!
Is there anything more ridiculous than this?
I laughed for a while. Then I felt my body getting weaker and weaker, and I collapsed onto the boat, panting heavily as I looked up at the sky.
No! No! That's impossible!
There must be food, there must be water!
It's impossible that the three crew members escaped without food and water! That's basic common sense!
I immediately felt a glimmer of hope and struggled to climb off the boat, but after searching the entire lifeboat, I found nothing...
I racked my brains and vaguely remembered. Those three crew members seemed to have some kind of leather pouch-like thing hanging from their bodies… Could it have been water bags?
They carried food and fresh water with them everywhere!
"Fuck them all!!" I roared in grief and anger, and immediately tried to search the sea for the bodies of the three crew members... but it was too late.
The rubber raft had been drifting for quite a while, and the waves had gotten bigger. The three corpses were nowhere to be found. I was surrounded by the vast ocean... I didn't have the guts to abandon the boat and jump into the sea alone to look for their bodies... Even if I found food and water... without the boat, I would still be doomed!
"Let fate decide," I sighed.
I leaned weakly against the boat, when suddenly an idea struck me. I carefully rummaged through my pocket and found something I had hidden close to my body.