Pao Bo pondered for a moment, then asked Zhou Xuan, "Mr. Zhou, what do you think we should do?" Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and then said, "I don't have any good ideas, but I can suggest that we select some people to go out in the lifeboats to explore. However, not everyone needs to go. I think this island isn't so simple. Since we've been brought here, I don't think we'll get out so easily. I also think that those who go out are just scouting ahead, and I estimate there's a 90% chance they won't make it out. You can consider it. Anyone can go, just make sure you don't panic or fight amongst yourselves. Actually, everyone has an equal chance." Pao Bo thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, I propose that two of us four bosses go out, two stay, and the remaining 121 people be decided by drawing lots." After thinking for a moment, Pao Bo asked Zhou Xuan, "Zhou, if—and I mean if—those who go out find a way out of the island, will they come back to rescue the rest?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "I think so. People die for money, birds die for food. If we offer them a reward that exceeds their expectations, most of them should stay. Besides, if I get out, as long as I find a way out, I will definitely come back and take people with me!"
Seeing Zhou Xuan's calm words, both Bob and Charles believed him. Zhou Xuan's abilities convinced them that he was a man of his word, but they wouldn't dare to make such a guarantee about others.
After thinking for a moment, Pao Bo quickly said, "Alright, no need to think about it anymore. I suggest Mr. Zhou go. Mr. Zhou can lead the team and select twenty people to go out in three directions to explore the way out. If they find a way out, I think I can trust Mr. Zhou's reputation first!"
When Paul said this, Charles and several bodyguards all expressed their approval. At this moment, they truly had the strongest sense of trust in Zhou Xuan, and were not so sure about other people.
"Alright, I think it's most suitable for Mr. Zhou to go. Besides, didn't Mr. Zhou say that even if he went out to explore for a way out, there's a 90% chance he wouldn't find one? So I think it's most suitable for Mr. Zhou to lead the team to find a way out!"
Zhou Xuan himself certainly wanted to go, because he knew that only if he went in person and reached the edge of the energy shield could he use his special ability to touch it and find out whether he could break through the shield or destroy it. If someone else went, he would naturally have no way of finding out, and no one else could use their special ability to break through and test the energy shield, so it would be useless for them to go.
Zhou Xuan immediately pondered, somewhat hesitant. Of course, he wasn't pretending; it was genuine. He was worried about Wei Haihong. If he went alone, he was very concerned about Wei Haihong's safety. If Wei Haihong stayed on the ship and the beasts attacked again, how could they stop them?
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Xuan finally said, "I can go, but..."
As soon as Wei Haihong saw Zhou Xuan glance at him, he knew what Zhou Xuan meant. Zhou Xuan was worried about him. He immediately smiled and said, "Brother, go ahead. I'm not a child. Besides, didn't you say that even if we go to search for a way out, it'll probably be a wasted effort? Nobody can guarantee we'll find a way out!" Seeing that Wei Haihong had already said that, Zhou Xuan nodded and replied, "Alright, Brother Hong, I'll do my best. If we can get out, I'll come back and bring you out. If we can't, I'll come back as soon as possible. Be careful. It's daytime now, and the light..." "That's much better. You guys can take turns guarding it, and concentrate the heavy weapons. The visibility is better during the day. As soon as you see that monster, immediately use the heavy weapons to deal with it. As long as the beast feels pain, I don't think it will come over easily if it's far away. Besides, it's somewhat wary of the damage I inflicted on it, so it shouldn't attack too easily. If it does come, I estimate it will still choose to do so at night!" Zhou Xuan indeed thought so. He estimated that even if the monster were to attack, it would choose to do so at night. He and the others went out to find a way out and would try their best to return before dark, so they wouldn't go too far!
Zhou Xuan's opinion left them all with no objections, so they randomly selected twenty people, making a total of twenty-one including him.
The fact that none of the three bosses—Pao Bo, Charles, and Wei Haihong—went out kept the other bodyguards from panicking. Since the bosses weren't in a hurry to leave, and Zhou Xuan hadn't forced Wei Haihong out, they were relieved. To be honest, how could they not worry that Zhou Xuan wouldn't come back after leaving?
But given Zhou Xuan's feelings for Wei Haihong, there's no way she would abandon him, right? If Wei Haihong can stay without worry, what do they have to worry about?
The selection of bodyguards was settled. The chosen bodyguards were the most skilled, because rowing also requires physical strength, and only the most skilled people have the stamina to support it.
Zhou Xuan then instructed Pao Bo, Charles, and Wei Haihong to gather their forces together and monitor the area from all sides. If the monster appeared, they were to use heavy weapons to deal with it. Among the bodyguards, there were excellent marksmen who could use snipers to shoot at the monster's eyes and other vital areas to see if they could pose a threat to the monster and deter it from approaching.
Of course, Zhou Xuan thought the most likely scenario was that the monster wouldn't come during the day. The main reason was that the monster had been injured by his solar flares and must have developed a sense of apprehension, so it probably wouldn't easily come to invade.
Zhou Xuan hugged Wei Haihong before sitting on the lifeboat. The people on the boat immediately used pulleys to lower the lifeboat into the sea. As soon as the three lifeboats were in the water, the people on them started paddling and rowing away into the distance.
The sea near the island was calm. Zhou Xuan used his special ability to probe the depth and width of the seawater. The water in this area was not deep, only about thirty meters. However, the further out you went, the deeper it became. Fifty meters away from the beach, the depth of the seawater exceeded the limit of Zhou Xuan's ability to detect, which was two hundred meters.
Of course, this is only Zhou Xuan's current ability to detect things. If sunlight returns to normal, and Zhou Xuan's energy absorption resumes, his ability will become limitless, and the depth of the sea will naturally be beyond his detection.
The three lifeboats were lined up in a straight line. Zhou Xuan did not allow them to explore each other's areas separately, because under the protection of the energy shield, it would be the same no matter which side they were on. It would be better to stay together and have someone to look out for them. If any monster were to lurk in the ocean, he was afraid that no one but him would be able to deal with it.
The sea was unusually calm, but Zhou Xuan felt somewhat uneasy. However, his supernatural ability could not detect anything within a range of 200 meters, nor could it detect the edge of the energy shield outside the island. An hour later, after paddling for nearly 1,000 meters, Zhou Xuan still could not detect the location of the energy shield, so he could only continue paddling forward.
Zhou Xuan also estimated the time. Before the sun reached its zenith, no matter where they were, even if they hadn't detected the edge of the energy shield, they would have to return. Otherwise, if more than half the time had passed, they wouldn't be able to reach the shore before dark.
Volume 1, Chapter 689: A Failed Attempt
Chapter 689 Returning empty-handed
After another hour of paddling, Zhou Xuan's ability to detect the energy shield still could not detect its existence, meaning he could not detect its edge. Zhou Xuan believed that the energy shield could not extend far beyond the island.
But based on the distance they've already traveled, at least several kilometers, they still haven't reached the edge. The sun overhead is still a faint red, much like the rising sun in the morning. The sunlight is weak and lacks power, which prevents him from recovering to his optimal energy state. He can't fly, and his eyes don't have the necessary intensity to project light and pose no threat to the energy shield.
Seeing that the sun was still low in the sky, around 10 o'clock, they could row for a while longer. As long as they returned before midnight and got back to shore before dark, they would be fine. Otherwise, if they went back at night, they might be attacked by the monster. The key thing was that none of them knew what other types of monsters there were, or how many there were. If several or dozens of them came at the same time, it would be a deadly threat.
They rowed for another hour, and it was almost eleven o'clock. The sun was almost directly overhead, but they still couldn't detect the edge of the energy shield. Strangely, when Zhou Xuan looked back at the shore, he found that the distance between the shore and them always seemed to be the same.
Zhou Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stopped. With a wave of his hand, he called for everyone on the rubber boat to stop. The other two rubber boats were only about ten meters apart. After seeing them stop, the people on the other two rubber boats also stopped.
The twenty or so people didn't understand what Zhou Xuan meant, and all looked at him. Zhou Xuan strained his eyes to look at the shore for a while before asking the people around him, "Tell me, how far is it from here to the shore?"
After Zhou Xuan's boat stopped, the people on the other two rubber boats quickly rowed over. After hearing Zhou Xuan's words, everyone looked at the shore and carefully examined it for a while before starting to talk. They all estimated the distance to be about one kilometer, and Zhou Xuan's own opinion was similar.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Then think about it, we've been paddling for about four hours, how could we have only paddled one kilometer?"
Everyone was taken aback, and then they realized that it was true. They hadn't been rowing very slowly, and the distance they had covered in an hour was definitely more than one kilometer. Seven strong men had been rowing non-stop for more than four hours, so how could they only have covered about one kilometer?
They couldn't figure it out, but Zhou Xuan had a sudden realization. After thinking about it, he used his supernatural ability to probe the water area again. The depth of the seabed was definitely undetectable, far more than two hundred meters deep. But there was a strange feeling in the seawater. Although it was calm, the seawater gave Zhou Xuan a mysterious and enigmatic feeling.
It didn't seem real; it felt like looking at a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water. An ordinary person wouldn't have this feeling, but Zhou Xuan's ability was different from the naked eye. What he sensed couldn't escape his detection. At first, Zhou Xuan didn't pay much attention, but now, upon closer inspection, he discovered that this sea area had a mystery. He could sense that no matter how they rowed or used other tools, they couldn't cross this sea area. This led Zhou Xuan to guess that this area was actually the energy shield he was looking for. Because of the energy shield, this sea area had become an insurmountable region. Of course, the same was true in the sky; within the range of the energy shield, the effect was the same.
Zhou Xuan can sense it now, but he can't break through. With his current abilities, if he rushes into the energy shield, it's like rushing into a turbulent whirlpool, unable to escape or pass through. Ultimately, it's because he doesn't have enough energy.
But what can he do? Inside this island, he can't get enough sunlight, can't absorb that much energy, and has no ability to fly. Without super energy, he can't break out. But the paradox is that he can only get normal sunlight if he breaks out of this energy shield!
After trying for a while, Zhou Xuan was certain that he couldn't break through the barrier, couldn't escape, and couldn't break the energy shield's restriction. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Go back immediately. We need to hurry. There's no way out now. We have to get back and regroup before dark to discuss how to defend against the monster's attack!"
Hearing Zhou Xuan say there was no way to get out, the twenty strong men felt their hearts sink. But looking at the boundless ocean, what could they do? They were truly helpless. On this mysterious, isolated island, the ship couldn't leave, and all communication equipment was unusable. It seemed as if some mysterious energy on the island was restricting them. Half of the cruise ship was already aground on the shore. Not only was it impossible to tow the cruise ship into the sea, but even if it could, the sea was calm, the ship couldn't start its engine, and it couldn't leave. This large cruise ship couldn't be rowed with oars.
Zhou Xuan didn't hesitate any longer and waved for them to row back quickly, as they needed to get back before dark. Strangely, the return trip was quite fast; half an hour had passed. This made it even clearer to Zhou Xuan that the area was the protective zone of the energy shield, so no matter how they rowed, they remained within that range. However, once they left the energy shield's area, they returned to normal. In fact, the distance from there to the shore was only a little over a kilometer, so rowing was effective. It was obvious in just half an hour that the distance had decreased. After another half hour of rowing, they were only about a hundred meters away. The people on the cruise ship waved to signal this.
Zhou Xuan could see clearly that Wei Haihong, Bob, and Charles were all looking at them from the side of the deck, especially Bob and Charles, who seemed to be eagerly waiting.
At this time, it was probably only around one o'clock, just as the sun was passing overhead, and it was still early.
The rubber dinghy was paddled to the side of the cruise ship. The ropes on the dinghy were tied to the hooks on the cruise ship to secure the dinghy. Then, the dinghy was climbed up the rope ladder onto the cruise ship.
The twenty-one people rowed for more than five hours and had long since drunk all the water they had brought. Bob quickly ordered people to bring food and drink to the deck so that the people who went out to explore could eat and drink. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Bob asked Zhou Xuan.
"Mr. Zhou, what have you gained in the past few hours?"
Zhou Xuan nodded, then replied, "You could say yes, or you could say no!"
The other twenty people who went out with Zhou Xuan were unaware of the inside story. For them, there was no gain at all. They had only gone out to row a boat with Zhou Xuan. They saw nothing and accomplished nothing. What could they possibly gain?
Bob, of course, didn't think so, and still asked Zhou Xuan, "So... is it there or not?"
Bob was getting anxious. Zhou Xuan's words were too hard to guess. He wanted to know for sure whether there was something to it or not.
Zhou Xuan smiled wryly and replied, "The good thing is that I did find the island's energy shield. The area isn't far, actually only about a kilometer away from the island. It's a ring that surrounds the island from the sky to the seabed. At our rowing speed, it should only take us an hour, maybe less, to reach that area. But in reality, after we got there, we rowed for more than three hours and were still only about a kilometer from the shore. We were just rowing our rubber boat in that area the whole time. The bad thing is that we rowed in that area for more than three hours without making any progress. We don't have the ability to cross this invisible and intangible mysterious energy line!"