Wei Haihong nodded. Judging from Zhou Xuan's appearance, his injuries were not very serious. In fact, even if the injuries were more serious, he could have fully recovered. However, Zhou Xuan was obviously somewhat exhausted, which was different from his previous condition, so he was a little worried.
Zhou Xuan said again, "Brother Hong, you should lie down and get a good night's sleep. As long as you are not in any danger, I will feel more at ease. As for the others, I will save them if I can, it doesn't matter. I won't risk my life to save them. I just need to be able to save Brother Hong. As for the others, it depends on fate."
Wei Haihong certainly wouldn't force Zhou Xuan to save Bob and the others, and Zhou Xuan also made it clear that as long as it didn't harm the two of them, he would save them if he could, and if he couldn't, he would just have to go with them. This was already doing right by Bob and the others.
It seems this expedition is going to be extremely dangerous, even more so than when we explored the underground caves and rivers with Zhou Xuan before. What exactly is this monster? And how many more powerful creatures like it are on this island?
Zhou Xuan used his supernatural abilities to recover, and then meditated and practiced breathing to restore his energy. Later, Bob, Charles, and the others outside did not come to wake Zhou Xuan, obviously because there were no more monsters attacking. Moreover, there was no sound coming from the cabin, it was very quiet. Zhou Xuan detected that most people in the cabin were sound asleep, and only a small number were still tossing and turning, unable to sleep. They were both eager to escape from this place and afraid and worried, and their fear was growing stronger.
Zhou Xuanyi's energy was severely depleted and he couldn't recover quickly, but he had been feeling much better lately. After another two hours, he recovered some of his energy and looked at Wei Haihong, who was already asleep on the blanket.
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, then lay down and began to recover his strength while asleep. He used to do this often, so he was very familiar with it, but it was easy for him to fall asleep while practicing this way.
For a long time before, due to worries and the period when Fu Ying left him, Zhou Xuan couldn't fall asleep at night. For a long time, he needed to read books to tire his mind before he could fall asleep. If he tried to sleep without doing anything, he wouldn't be able to sleep and would suffer from insomnia. However, after Fu Ying came back, Zhou Xuan's worries were relieved, and he could fall asleep easily. He would often fall asleep within five minutes of lying in bed.
At this moment, Zhou Xuan continued practicing his skills. Ten minutes later, Zhou Xuan fell into a drowsy sleep, but his supernatural abilities continued to function, restoring his strength and healing his injuries.
Zhou Xuan's injuries were actually quite minor, only internal organs were damaged, but they were not displaced, so they were not considered serious. Moreover, his body had already been tempered and forged by his abilities, making him very strong.
Wei Haihong slept soundly until dawn. When he opened his eyes, he saw Zhou Xuan sleeping peacefully. He immediately picked up a blanket and covered him with it, and then quietly opened the door and went into the cabin.
Inside the cabin, most people were asleep, with only a few awake. When they saw Wei Haihong come out, they immediately went up to him and quietly asked if Zhou Xuan was feeling better.
Actually, they asked because they were concerned about Zhou Xuan's injuries, because Zhou Xuan's injuries were related to their safety. If Zhou Xuan's injuries were too serious, how could they resist if they encountered monsters again?
With such a large ship full of people, only Zhou Xuan could stop them. It was impossible for them not to be anxious, as what happened last night had terrified them!
These bodyguards often face life-threatening situations, but they have never encountered anything like this before. What exactly is this monster?
Prehistoric behemoths? Or, as depicted in science fiction movies, monsters created by nuclear testing?
Regardless of the type, they were terrified, as if they had an indescribable sense of despair!
Volume 1, Chapter 688: Island Energy Shield
Among the hundred or so people, only Zhou Xuan understood that this island was definitely not an ordinary place, and it was probably impossible to find it on the map of Earth. The energy shield on the island might have blocked communication with the outside world, and it might not be visible from the outside at all!
Zhou Xuan's abilities were beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Since he didn't see any islands on the sea at the time, he guessed that the island must have been blocked by an energy shield, and that no radar detection waves could detect it.
The beasts on this island are not naturally occurring, nor could they be ancient creatures. They must have been created by humans, but perhaps not by humans from Earth, but by extraterrestrial life from another galaxy.
Although Zhou Xuan was puzzled, he still had a little confidence. Other superpowers were useless against alien life forms or their modified species and substances, except for his Solar Flame. However, on this island, the sun was blocked, and its energy was greatly weakened. Zhou Xuan's Solar Flame energy could not support him to maintain the ultra-high temperature, so it was not enough to deal with aliens. But it was not completely useless, at least the monster was very afraid of his Solar Flame.
Unfortunately, the solar energy was blocked, preventing Zhou Xuan from getting enough sunlight. If it were normal sunlight, Zhou Xuan would have been able to melt the monster in one fell swoop after absorbing it with his super strength.
Of course, if there is enough energy, Zhou Xuan will also have the super-powerful abilities of flight and eye rays, which are more practical than the sun's flames. Moreover, if there is enough energy, Zhou Xuan will also have an extremely tough body, so even if the monster is ferocious, it will not be able to hurt him in the slightest.
But the reality before him cruelly shattered Zhou Xuan's thoughts; he was now unable to leave the island or break through its energy shield.
Zhou Xuan was always troubled by this, and didn't know how to tell Bao Bo and the others. "After entering the cabin, looking at the deck, there was a large area that had been scratched by the monster, a complete mess." Because the cruise ship was designed to protect against the erosion of strong winds and waves, the cabin walls were generally made of high-strength steel, which was extremely hard.
But here, in the damaged areas, the steel bulkheads were tattered beyond recognition, as if they weren't made of steel but rather paper. They thought of how the monster had smashed these steel walls with a single pounce. Yet, in the final, powerful swipe that struck Zhou Xuan's head, he miraculously escaped from the heavy, incredibly sharp claws, and even seemed to have injured the monster. This made them even more awe of Zhou Xuan.
None of them could deal with this huge monster. Even Pao Bo couldn't kill it with a grenade. Instead, he was almost killed by it. If Zhou Xuan hadn't risked his life to save him, Pao Bo would definitely be dead.
Pao Bo was genuinely grateful to Zhou Xuan, and upon seeing Zhou Xuan emerge, he immediately asked, "Zhou, is your injury any better?"
Zhou Xuan nodded and said, "It's nothing, just a minor scratch, nothing serious. I was just worried about that monster. I've never seen such a large beast before, but judging from its appearance, it seems to be a tiger or some other kind of ferocious beast, very similar in appearance, only many times larger."
When Pao Bo and the others thought about this, they couldn't help but gasp. The fear that monster instilled in them was truly indelible. Which of them hadn't lived in an environment fraught with danger and where losing their heads was commonplace? But no matter how dangerous or terrifying it was, they had never encountered anything as outrageous as this. Who had ever seen a ferocious beast that was fifteen or sixteen meters tall, taller than a three-story building?
They carried the deceased to the beach, gathered some firewood, piled it on the body, and then set it on fire, which was their way of showing their respect.
There were a total of 27 dead, all of whom were killed by the giant beast. Among them were 25 crew members and 2 bodyguards. It seems that the bodyguards with combat experience provided much better protection.
Nineteen people were injured, seven seriously and twelve slightly. Almost all of them were injured from falling and trampling after jumping off the cruise ship.
There were medical personnel on board; two doctors and three medical assistants were already treating their injuries. Zhou Xuan immediately said to them, "I have studied traditional Chinese medicine, let me help you!"
Zhou Xuan's fighting skills are exceptional, as they have all witnessed firsthand. It seems that only Zhou Xuan can effectively deal with ferocious beasts, but when it comes to healing injuries, he may be far inferior. Traditional Chinese medicine has never been highly regarded by foreigners like Paobo, and many have never even heard of it.
Zhou Xuan certainly didn't really understand traditional Chinese medicine. He was just helping the medical assistants by bandaging the injured and applying disinfectant. Of course, while he was bandaging them, he had already used his supernatural abilities to improve their injuries. However, since the sunlight was weak, he didn't dare to go all out. He only helped the seriously injured recover to the point where they were no longer in danger of death, and left the minor injuries to heal slowly.
After dealing with all the dead and wounded, Pao Bo gathered Charles, Wei Haihong, Zhou Xuan, and several key bodyguards together to discuss how to deal with the current predicament.
"As you all see, I don't need to say more. I think you all understand that there are still many dangers lurking on this island. I think the only way to be safe is to leave this island. However, our ship is aground. If we try to push it by manpower, with only the strength of the 120 people we have now, we definitely won't be able to push the ship back into the sea. Our only hope is to take the three lifeboats on the cruise ship to the open sea, and only after we leave the area of the island's protective shield that Mr. Zhou mentioned, can we contact the outside world, call for reinforcements, and use a large ship to tow our cruise ship back."
After seeing that everyone was sitting in a cabin on the cruise ship, Pao Bo began to speak intently, then stared at the group, trying to see if they had any good ideas.
Zhou Xuan was deep in thought, while Wei Haihong remained silent. He knew that if Zhou Xuan couldn't solve the problem, what use would it be for him to say anything? What others said would also be useless; only he knew Zhou Xuan's capabilities.
Charles thought for a moment and then said, "Then I have a question. Each of these three lifeboats can only hold a maximum of seven people. Three times seven equals twenty-one. We have a total of one hundred and twenty-five people. The three yachts can only hold twenty-one people each, leaving one hundred and four people. So what should we do? Which twenty-one people can get out in the lifeboats?"
Charles's words silenced everyone. In such a dangerous place, who wouldn't want to get out first? Even if they got out in a lifeboat, the chances of survival were still slim. Lifeboats rely entirely on manpower to row, and how far can manpower row in the vast ocean? Moreover, even if the lifeboats were motorized, such small boats wouldn't last long on gasoline. The only reliable means of transportation was satellite phones.
But they all thought that the satellite phone might be out of service. Since all the instruments on the ship were now useless, they couldn't be sure if the satellite phone would still work. If the satellite phone was ineffective and unusable, they would just drift on the sea and wait to die, or wait for a chance to encounter a passing ship, but that chance was as slim as finding a needle in a haystack.
But at this moment, everyone was terrified by the monster and no one wanted to stay there, even if they might die of thirst or starvation at sea, or be swallowed by the waves and fed to the fish.
One of the bodyguard leaders said, "Mr. Bob, I think we should do this: Mr. Bob, Mr. Charles, Mr. Wei, Mr. Zhou, plus the five of us security captains—after removing the nine of us, there are twelve people left. Everyone on the ship will draw lots. Whoever draws can go, and whoever draws can stay. Mr. Bob, is that alright?"
Pao Bo pondered for a moment. He certainly thought the suggestion made by the bodyguard was feasible. If they wanted to escape, they should let the bosses go first. This was a matter of course.
However, Zhou Xuan immediately rejected the idea, saying calmly, "I don't think it's feasible. First, you haven't even considered how terrifying this energy shield is. I think its ability is that we can't possibly pass through it. No matter what you do, you can't get out of this sea area. Don't even mention paddling by hand; even a fast-moving yacht can't get out. Second, once you're in this dangerous environment, there's no distinction between noble and lowly. Everyone is equal, everyone is the same, there's no distinction between high and low. Nobody wants to die. So, I think we shouldn't bother with any lottery system. It will only create chaos and demoralize people. As usual, we should send some people to test the waters and see if we can break through the energy shield's range."
Zhou Xuan's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads, and they immediately fell silent. Thinking about it, it made sense. If someone else had said it, they might have objected, but since it was Zhou Xuan, they naturally believed it without a doubt.
Right now, no one dares to offend Zhou Xuan. He's the only one who can barely handle the monster. Everyone else would just be throwing their lives away in front of it. Only by following Zhou Xuan can they possibly save their lives. So if Zhou Xuan says what he wants, everyone will probably follow him.