The collapse of the cave did not frighten Zhou Ziwei. If it were an ordinary person, being buried dozens of meters underground, even if they survived a nuclear explosion, they would probably die a much more miserable death. However, Zhou Ziwei had the ability to burrow underground, so he had nothing to fear even if he was buried deeper.
However, Zhou Ziwei has not yet reached the point where he can survive without breathing. Although being buried underground cannot trap him, if he stays down there for too long, the air trapped in the vortex will be consumed by the three of them breathing, and the three of them will probably suffocate to death.
Therefore, the best course of action now is not to drill any further underground, but to find a way to drill out from underground before the air runs out.
However, the island has just been damaged by a nuclear explosion, and the air on the island is probably full of highly radioactive dust, so it is impossible to return directly to the ground of the island under any circumstances.
Zhou Ziwei decided to dive underground as quickly as possible into the sea outside the island, and then escape underwater...
Volume 2: The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 461: Escape at Sea
The rumbling and shaking of the earth had been incessant since the nuclear bomb exploded, making Zhou Ziwei's attempt to dive into the sea from the side extremely difficult.
The three darts spun rapidly ahead, clearing a path, but often, after only a few meters, the ground would shake violently, and a shower of rubble would fall, immediately burying the cave that had been painstakingly dug.
Zhou Ziwei had to use his soul power to guide the three butterfly darts back to dig them out.
After persisting for about seventeen or eighteen minutes, until Kyzylem and Anirias began to feel difficulty breathing and dizziness, the three frantically spinning butterfly darts finally broke through a huge rock in one go, and then a stream of cold seawater rushed into the newly dug cave.
It's finally working.
Zhou Ziwei breathed a slight sigh of relief, then led the two sisters and quickly plunged into a vast blue sea.
Undoubtedly, the seawater near this island has been contaminated by nuclear radiation, so Zhou Ziwei dared not immerse his body directly in the seawater. Instead, he used the vortex of wind to envelop the three of them, and then, like a giant bubble, they floated in the seawater and began to swim rapidly.
Because the large bubble contained some air, the buoyancy it generated in the water was quite considerable. Zhou Ziwei had to carefully use his soul consciousness to manipulate the vortex to expel air upwards, displacing the seawater and creating a strong reaction force. Only then could he barely keep the large bubble from rising to the surface of the sea due to the enormous buoyancy.
"I'm so bored... Aren't we... Aren't we going to get out?" After falling into the bearded man's hands, Anierias must have suffered some physical torture, which made her weak. Now, she was starting to experience severe oxygen deprivation in the bubbles, and Anierias was the first to feel restless.
“No…” Zhou Ziwei glanced at the two sisters expressionlessly and said calmly, “A nuclear weapon just exploded right above us. The nuclear contamination around us is too severe right now. If we go out now, even if we don’t die immediately, it will leave deep-seated health problems. So… you should be patient for a while! We’ll go out after we’ve gone as far out in the sea as possible…”
"What...it's...it's a nuclear weapon!" Kyzylem and Anirias's expressions changed drastically. They had no idea what had just exploded. They thought it was just some shells or missiles exploding on the island, which was why the earthquake was so severe.
Only after hearing Zhou Ziwei's explanation did they realize how dangerous it had been for them; they had almost been blown apart by the nuclear bomb.
No wonder Zhou Ziwei desperately tried to burrow underground when he saw the point of light about to fall. Under those circumstances, there was indeed no wiser choice than to burrow underground.
Of course... even if Anirias and Kyzylem knew that going underground was the best way to avoid the blast of a nuclear bomb, they would still need to be capable of going underground themselves if Zhou Ziwei wasn't around...
After learning the truth, the two of them naturally stopped complaining about the stuffiness inside the bubble. Even if they were suffocated to the point of fainting, they could only endure it as much as possible, believing that with Zhou Ziwei there, he would definitely be able to bring them back to life.
Conversely, if they were to surface because they couldn't stand the suffocating feeling, it would be like courting death. And for beautiful women like them, they are not always afraid of death, but being exposed to nuclear radiation and turning into some kind of mutated, ugly form would be more terrifying than dying a hundred times over.
Zhou Ziwei keenly sensed that the surrounding seawater seemed to be restlessly churning under the aftereffects of the nuclear bomb, like a frightened child, which made Zhou Ziwei feel uneasy again.
"Be careful yourselves, I'm going to speed up."
As Zhou Ziwei spoke, he suddenly stretched out a hand and placed it behind the large bubble formed by the swirling wind. After taking a deep breath of the now polluted air, he suddenly exhaled a strong gust of wind from his palm.
A large amount of wind energy shot out from Zhou Ziwei's palm and into the azure sea, instantly forming a thick water dragon that parted the seawater to the left and right. The large bubble where Zhou Ziwei and the others were located was like an underwater torpedo, which suddenly went full speed ahead and shot out rapidly underwater with a "whoosh".
At the same time, Zhou Ziwei also adjusted the shape of the large bubble surrounding him as much as possible, making it as smooth as possible, like a huge, transparent fish. This would reduce the resistance to moving in the water. Otherwise, if it were still round like before, it would encounter great resistance in the water, and even if he could use attribute-free energy to accelerate, the result would only be half the result of twice the effort.
"So fast... Master... You... are amazing..." Feeling the rapid underwater speed of the bubbles, Anirias was so surprised that her jaw almost dropped to her feet. She stared at Zhou Ziwei with a dazed look, her eyes filled with countless little stars.
Kyzylmer's performance was no better. She now understood Zhou Ziwei much better. She used to have a deep fear of the Black God, but now she realized that, if we don't count the organization's power, in terms of individual strength alone, there was probably no one in the entire black market assassin network stronger than Zhou Ziwei.
Or, in the eyes of some ordinary people, Zhou Ziwei is no longer human; he is practically an omnipotent god. If he wanted, he could just wander around any African tribe and surely gain the faith of many ignorant people!
Their minds were racing with chaotic thoughts, and they could no longer breathe in any fresh air. Kyzylem and Anirias were desperately opening their mouths wide, tightly embracing each other, watching Zhou Ziwei who was still sending out strands of pure wind energy to accelerate the large bubbles. Their minds became increasingly muddled, and finally, both sisters experienced a sudden spasm in their heads, followed by a blackout, and they completely lost consciousness.
At this moment, Zhou Ziwei was not feeling much better either. The prolonged lack of oxygen was also taking its toll on him. Fortunately, his physical condition was quite amazing, and even if he held his breath for several tens of minutes, he should not die.
Of course... if he were still, he could hold his breath for a longer time, perhaps even an hour or two, but he didn't have time to calculate those things now. He just kept accelerating the large bubbles so that they could get as far away from the epicenter of the nuclear explosion as possible, away from the source of nuclear contamination.
The all-out underwater sprint made Zhou Ziwei and his companions surge forward like a giant fish. Along the way, Zhou Ziwei also saw many other fish desperately fleeing in one direction, just like them. It seemed that it wasn't just humans who knew the horror of nuclear weapons; even these fish, which humans considered to lack intelligence, could sense the approaching danger through their instincts.
Gradually, more and more fish frantically fled from the water, and all sorts of strange aquatic creatures appeared before Zhou Ziwei's eyes. Many large aquatic creatures were also very curious about this large fish that looked like it was transparent when they approached Zhou Ziwei and his companions. Some even swam over and tried to nudge the large bubble around them, but Zhou Ziwei, with his subtle manipulation, immediately made the large bubble move nimbly in the water, thus getting rid of those annoying nuisances.
Moreover, most aquatic creatures simply couldn't match the terrifying speed of Zhou Ziwei and his companions. Along the way, they left behind groups of fish desperately trying to escape, and eventually, they ended up mixed together with a large group of aquatic creatures that were all quite large but clearly not social animals, and fled rapidly in the southwest direction.
Zhou Ziwei originally planned to head west so he could return to China sooner, but he soon discovered that almost all the aquatic creatures were swimming southwest. He figured their instincts must be right; they must have sensed the danger in the water and were choosing the best course of action.
Zhou Ziwei believes that following their instincts will not lead to any mistakes.
After a frantic underwater chase that lasted for more than ten minutes, suddenly... Zhou Ziwei felt the seawater around him begin to vibrate violently, just like a pot of boiling water about to boil, bubbling and churning.
Huh... what's going on here?
Zhou Ziwei was puzzled and looked around. He saw that the various aquatic creatures that had been fleeing for a while and were already exhausted and whose speed had gradually slowed down were now fighting desperately again as soon as they sensed the change in the water. They were all like they had just taken Viagra, and their speed was even stronger than at the beginning.
What on earth happened? Have these fish gone mad?
Zhou Ziwei was puzzled, but he could only desperately try to escape with the fish. He felt that he could probably hold on for another ten minutes or so before he would suffocate.
However, before that, he discovered an even more worrying problem, which was that... the little remaining attribute-less energy in his body was about to be completely exhausted after being used recklessly during his escape.
Once the attribute-free energy is gone, not only will he be unable to maintain this high speed in the water, but even... the huge bubble around their bodies will no longer be able to be maintained, and of course, they will be even less able to ride the whirlwind into the sky.
This means that... it seems that the three of them have no other choice but to rely on their physical abilities to swim in the water. Zhou Ziwei is alright. Although he couldn't swim before, after absorbing a massive amount of souls, many of those tens of thousands of souls were naturally good swimmers. He combined the memories of these souls to form his own swimming skills and experience. Now, he wouldn't be afraid to participate in a swimming competition. Swimming in the sea for a while would naturally be no problem.
But what about Anirias and Kyzylem? They had both been unconscious for a while. If the whirlwind around them were removed and they were left to soak in the sea, they would probably just become fish food. Without any special methods to help them, Zhou Ziwei simply didn't have the strength to do so.
Turning his head to look at Anirias and Kyzylem, who were still embracing each other, Zhou Ziwei sighed softly. What a beautiful pair of sisters... Especially when Zhou Ziwei recalled the image of the two sisters naked and making love in bed, which he had gleaned from Anirias's memories, it was truly an irresistible temptation...
These sisters are practically one person; it seems whoever wins one woman's heart will also win the other's! If only I could get both sisters into bed together...
Just imagining it made Zhou Ziwei blush and his heart race...
Zhou Ziwei felt that his symptoms were not related to the two sisters, but rather a reaction to severe oxygen deprivation. It seemed that if he didn't get fresh air, even he might not be able to hold on for much longer. He decided to go to the surface of the sea for some fresh air before the large bubbles burst.
Zhou Ziwei roughly estimated that he had escaped at least fifty or sixty kilometers underwater. Although this distance was still not far from the nuclear explosion site, it was at least a relatively safe area. Even if the nuclear radiation reached here, it should have been greatly reduced. Given his current physical condition, even if he were exposed to this level of nuclear contamination, it shouldn't be a big deal.
As for the sisters Kyzylem and Anilias... their physical condition is certainly not as good as Zhou Ziwei's, but if they are left underwater, they will definitely die. Since that's the case, it's better to let them surface and breathe some air first. As for whether they will die from nuclear radiation... that's not something Zhou Ziwei can control. He can't even protect himself right now, so he can only do his best and leave the rest to fate.
With a "whoosh," Zhou Ziwei stopped suppressing the giant bubble, and the three of them began to rise rapidly towards the surface of the sea. As the three of them finally broke through the water, the attribute-less energy in Zhou Ziwei's body was completely exhausted, leaving not a trace. As a result, the giant bubble formed by the vortex burst open with a "pop."
"Wow...it feels so good to be able to breathe air!"
Zhou Ziwei took a deep breath of the salty, damp air from the sea, feeling so comfortable he almost groaned. Then, not forgetting Kyzylmer and Anilias, he grabbed them by the back of their necks, lifting them up to keep their heads above the water and give them a few breaths, hoping they would wake up soon. Otherwise… Zhou Ziwei couldn't swim while carrying two people.
"Hmm..." A low groan rang out. Kyzylmer woke up before her sister. Before she could even open her eyes, she greedily took a few deep breaths of air. Then, she instinctively moved her arms and legs to keep her body afloat. At the same time, she opened her eyes and turned to look at her sister and Zhou Ziwei.
"Thank you... for saving us..." Kyzylmer glanced at Zhou Ziwei with some guilt, but didn't say anything more. A simple thank you wouldn't express much. She knew her sister's personality and their current situation. Regardless of whether they wanted to betray the Black Market Assassin Network, in Black God's eyes, they were already traitors to the Black Market Assassin Network. It seemed that they had no other way out but to follow Zhou Ziwei.
Zhou Ziwei had no time to care what Kyzylmer was thinking. The scene of the aquatic creatures fleeing for their lives as if they had taken aphrodisiacs still gave Zhou Ziwei a deep sense of unease. Unfortunately, he had no elemental energy left to consume, so he couldn't even leave the sea and fly into the sky. Therefore, he didn't care what dangers might be in the sea. In short, he should get as far away from the epicenter of the nuclear explosion as possible!
"Hold on to your sister and don't let go. Then I'll drag you both and swim southwest. It might be dangerous here."
As Zhou Ziwei spoke, he placed Anilias, who was still deep in sleep, into Kyzylmer's arms.
"What, we...we swim away?" Kyzylmer was slightly taken aback when she heard this. Since Zhou Ziwei had already brought them to the surface, it meant that they should be safe from air contact.
Why didn't Zhou Ziwei take the two of them with him and continue flying? Where could they possibly swim to in the water...? God, this is a vast, boundless ocean...
Just then, the sea breeze suddenly became strong, so strong that it was impossible to open one's eyes, and the sea began to rise and fall rapidly.
Before Kyzylmer could ask Zhou Ziwei why he didn't fly, he suddenly saw a huge wave, as high as a mountain, appear on the distant sea...
God... is a tsunami.
Volume 2, The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 462: The Power of Water
Zhou Ziwei had never experienced a tsunami before, so when he saw the overwhelming tide surging in, even though he had experienced countless life-and-death trials, he couldn't help but be momentarily stunned when faced with this terrifying scene of nature.
In just a moment of distraction, the surging tide had already rapidly advanced to within two or three kilometers of them, moving at a speed comparable to that of an airplane.
"Quickly... quickly take us flying!" Kyzylmer became anxious when he saw Zhou Ziwei still staring blankly at the surging tide.
She had experienced a tsunami before, but at that time she was on a tourist island in Malaysia and was climbing a small mountain on the island. So although she saw the power of the tsunami more directly, she did not suffer any real damage. However, when she saw the devastation on the island after the tsunami and the tragic scene of countless people losing their lives, she couldn't help but feel a sense of lingering fear.
Because of her previous experience, Kyzylmier was even more clear-headed than Zhou Ziwei in this situation. However, she still vividly remembered the fear of the tsunami, and she knew even better that there was a risk of death in the nearshore area during a tsunami, and if you were in the sea and were directly swept away by the tsunami, you would basically die.
Fortunately, she knew that Zhou Ziwei had the ability to fly by riding a magical whirlwind, so although she was a little panicked, she was not very afraid. So she quickly reminded Zhou Ziwei.
Although the tsunami will bring not only towering waves but also torrential rain and strong winds, it is still safer to stay in the air at this time. Otherwise, if the three of them were swept up by the waves, they would probably all be knocked unconscious by just one wave.
Surrounded by endless seawater, would someone who fainted ever wake up again? So she thought that if Zhou Ziwei could take the two of them into the sky at this moment, they could at least struggle. If Zhou Ziwei flew fast enough and reached land before being caught by the tsunami, they would have escaped death.
But if it were adrift at sea... it would surely die.
Zhou Ziwei was brought back to his senses by Kyzylmer's reminder, but... after feeling his empty middle dantian, he could only smile bitterly in despair.
He knew that flying into the sky would be the best way to escape, but the problem was that he was simply unable to fly...
"Let's go..."
Zhou Ziwei let out a deep growl with a solemn expression, grabbed Kyzylmer by the back of his collar, and immediately broke through the sea like a fish, swimming vigorously in the opposite direction of the tsunami.
"No, we can't swim past the tsunami like this."
As the thunderous sound of the waves behind him grew ever closer, Kyzylmer was filled with extreme horror and screamed for his life.
"I've exhausted all my energy, I can't fly anymore!" Zhou Ziwei roared coldly, but his swimming speed did not slow down at all. Even though he knew that he would soon be overtaken by the waves behind him if he relied solely on swimming, he was still unwilling to give up. Even if he was doomed to die, he was determined to fight to the very end.
"You...you can't fly anymore."
Upon hearing this, Kyzylmer was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale. If he could no longer fly, what was the point of their escape? Continuing like this would only prolong his life by three to five minutes. Since that was the case, he might as well just accept his fate.
Kyzylmer stared blankly at Zhou Ziwei, who was struggling to swim with one hand and two legs, and his heart was filled with excitement.
She discovered that Zhou Ziwei's swimming skills were ridiculously good. Even using only one hand and two legs, and with two people dragging behind him, his speed was still astonishing. So... if he didn't have the two sisters to carry him, wouldn't he be able to swim even faster? Wouldn't he still have a sliver of hope to escape the tsunami?
But... even at this critical moment of life and death, Zhou Ziwei still hadn't given up on the sisters, which involuntarily warmed her heart, a heart that had always lived in the shadows of the black market assassin network.
If the three of them tried to escape together, they would surely die. Since their own sisters were already doomed, why drag others down with them?
Kyzylem felt a surge of emotion, and for the first time, he thought of someone other than his sister.
If Zhou Ziwei had abandoned the sisters and run away when faced with a life-or-death situation, then given Kyzylmier's personality, she would probably have fought to the death to hold him off, even knowing that she wouldn't survive if she did, she would still want to drag Zhou Ziwei down with her and the sisters.
However, Zhou Ziwei's decision not to abandon them touched her deeply, and she couldn't help but start thinking about Zhou Ziwei's feelings instead.
"Let us go!" Kyzylem pondered for a moment and finally sighed heavily, saying, "I am already very grateful that you haven't abandoned us at this time. I think... Anirias would be just as grateful to you as I am. You are a good person... really, the best person I have ever met in my life, so... I don't want you to die. If you let us go now, or... you might still have a chance to live!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Kyzylmier. However, he then turned his head back and continued to swim forward with all his might, but his hand holding onto Kyzylmier's clothes showed no intention of letting go.
It wasn't that Zhou Ziwei was so noble as to put himself in a life-or-death situation for two unrelated women, but rather that he already knew that even if he released the sisters now, he still wouldn't be able to escape given his swimming speed.
After such a long period of exertion, Zhou Ziwei's physical strength had already been almost completely exhausted. Even though his sea of souls still contained a large amount of soul power, it was of little use at this time.