Xiaofeng's eyes gleamed with a maniacal smile, then she slowly shook her head: "I want to use it, but I feel so dirty already, it doesn't matter whether I wash it or not..." Suddenly, tears streamed down her face. Looking at me, she cried, "I was wrong! I was so wrong!"
She struggled and said, "I've done so many wrong things... Even just now, I was thinking of not telling you, dragging you down with me to die... I'm a bitch! A bitch!!" Suddenly she opened her mouth, forcefully shoved her hand inside, and started biting.
I quickly pried her hands open, but Xiaofeng was already only exhaling and not inhaling... Her lips were still trembling, and her eyes had lost their light, as if she was still muttering something before she died...
I immediately leaned down and pressed my ear close to her lips: "What did you say? What else do you want to say?"
“XXXXXXXXX…” She seemed to be reciting a long string of numbers. I could tell that it was two sets of numbers! She repeated it over and over again. Although her breath was already very weak, she seemed to be stubbornly refusing to die, reciting the two sets of numbers again and again.
I finally understood what she meant, and quickly said loudly, "I remember! I remember! Don't worry, I remember!"
Xiao Feng finally heard my call and a relieved smile appeared on her face: "...bank account number...password...money...good people...shouldn't have died."
I have no feelings for Xiaofeng. But watching this woman struggle in her death throes, I felt a pang of sorrow, a wave of bitterness washing over me. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and, with all her remaining strength, shouted, "In my next life, I don't want to be a woman!!"
The shout was hoarse and desperate. After shouting, Xiao Feng's head tilted to the side, and she breathed her last.
I stood there, and after half a minute, I shook her a few times, but Xiaofeng didn't move at all. I checked her pulse, heartbeat, and breathing... and they had all stopped.
I'm sure she's really dead.
This woman, with whom I had no personal grudges or friendship, died right before my eyes. She wasn't a good person; in fact, you could say her misdeeds harmed countless people... But seeing someone I knew die in front of me still left me feeling lost and empty inside.
I sat down blankly, leaned against the side to catch my breath for a while, and after a long time, I squeezed the bottle in my hand. The hard feel of it immediately made me feel refreshed.
I could feel my hands trembling, trembling violently! I struggled to unscrew the mineral water bottle, and almost with a reverent feeling, I brought the bottle to my lips...
The cool liquid entered my mouth, immediately moisturizing my parched mouth, and then a cool sensation slid down my esophagus, as if extinguishing the fire in my throat!
If there really is a God in this world... then I dare say that at this moment, I saw God smiling at me from the sky!
Because the water in this bottle isn't fresh water! But it's more useful than fresh water!
It's a little sweet, and a little salty...
I immediately recognized it...it's oral glucose solution!!!
A strange feeling of emotion welled up inside me—it was the primal human instinct for survival! At that moment, tears streamed down my face…
Part One: In the Martial World, Unable to Control One's Own Fate, Chapter 132: Fate Was Not His Turn
I sat silently beside Xiaofeng's body for a long time, looking at this dead woman, and a strange thought kept welling up in my mind, as if I really hoped that she could turn over and come back to life. But as time passed, I finally sighed.
I didn't drink too much water, just a few small sips to quench my thirst. After resting for a while, I felt like I had regained some strength. I sat down next to Xiaofeng, looking at her, knowing she couldn't hear me anymore, but I still couldn't help but whisper to her, "Thank you!"
Then I picked her up, pushed her forcefully to the side of the boat, and let go...
Xiao Feng's body fell into the sea and slowly sank, disappearing little by little... I couldn't help but immerse my head in the seawater, open my eyes in the water, and watch her sink deeper and deeper underwater... Her body was stiff, her arms slowly opened, and her hair was rolled up by the seawater and scattered.
I didn't pull back until I couldn't hold my breath any longer and my eyes stung from the seawater. I lay back on the boat, panting.
I told myself, Chen Yang, you have no other choice but to do this.
I must dump Xiaofeng's body into the sea and put it on the boat. It will rot in the sun and wind within two days.
This extreme woman, at least she had some conscience before she died... May she rest in peace.
I had completely given up hope, thinking I was going to die, but then I suddenly received this bottle of glucose water… When a person is in despair and suddenly sees a glimmer of hope, even if it's just the slightest bit, they will instinctively try their best to grasp it!
Me too!
I don't know if this bottle of water will last me until I survive this ordeal. But at least I see a glimmer of hope! At least I won't die for now! I won't die now!
I couldn't bear to finish it all at once, so I only allowed myself to take a tiny sip when I couldn't hold on any longer!
I've started working hard to survive!
Using the sun's position to determine my direction, I grabbed my paddle and started paddling, heading east. Based on my judgment, I could at least see the gunboat chasing the smuggling boat; it had the Canadian flag, so I figured I was somewhere not far from the west coast of Canada…
This was purely a blind judgment made in despair, but I still tried my best to encourage myself.
I started rowing, resting when I got tired, even though I knew that after rowing for half a day, it would be easy to veer off course when I encountered ocean currents... but at least it's much better than lying there waiting to die doing nothing!
Glucose water not only quenches my thirst, but also replenishes my energy!
With the help of this bottle of water, I managed to last for two more days... After two days, although I was still alive, I was barely clinging to life.
My body felt as limp as cotton, I had no strength at all, and I was so hungry that I couldn't even feel anything... At first, my stomach cramped and hurt, but later I couldn't feel anything in my stomach anymore. I just felt empty inside. Looking at the banknotes in that bag, I really wanted to eat them!
But I know that if it were blank paper, I might actually eat it... But banknotes are printed with ink, so eating them would be tantamount to suicide.
The turning point finally arrived on the third day!
The mineral water bottle is empty... not a single drop can be poured out.
I licked the inside of the bottle with my dry tongue, but couldn't get a single drop of water. Yet, I greedily savored the sensation on my tongue, as if I could feel a trace of touch, a faint, lingering sweetness on the bottle's surface...
The wind changed! I looked up at the sky in surprise and found that the sun that had been scorching me for so long had finally disappeared, the clouds on the horizon were beginning to gather and thicken, and the waves on the sea were starting to surge...
If I'm not mistaken, a storm is brewing!
I was indeed very thirsty and hungry. But I was also terribly cold, my whole body numb with cold. At that moment, I struggled to get up, grabbed the bags on the raft, and tied three bags together, hoping to add some weight and improve stability. Then I pulled on the rope from the raft, carefully tied myself up twice, and sat quietly on the raft, holding the oar tightly, securing it to my hand as well, waiting patiently for the storm to come!
The waves on the sea grew larger and larger, causing the ship to bob up and down. Finally, a thunderclap boomed from the horizon…
I felt a jolt, as if the entire sea had suddenly become violent! A wave tossed my rubber raft into the air, starting the storm!
I couldn't open my eyes anymore. The raindrops started falling almost without warning, pelting down on me. I tried to steady myself while paddling, and the rubber boat was tossed up and down like a roller coaster. Several times I was afraid I would be thrown off, but thankfully there was a rope under my feet. I opened my mouth, but although the rain was heavy, not much of it got into my mouth.
I felt my rubber raft being tossed up and down countless times, and each time I thought I was really going to die! But each time, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself still alive!
The ship was tossed about by the waves, and could capsize at any moment! I should feel lucky, because although the storm came fiercely and quickly, it also disappeared just as quickly!
Just as suddenly as it began, as if after a huge wave, I suddenly felt the speed decrease, the boat was in the middle of a wave, and gradually calmed down... The clouds in the sky instantly dispersed, and the sunlight shone through again. I could even feel that the light was colorful!
Then I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was already a lot of water in the rubber raft! I almost shouted with joy, took out a bottle, carefully filled it up, then plopped down on the raft and drank my fill. Finally, I thought for a while...
Without hesitation, I took out a canvas bag full of money, emptied it out, and then carefully used the bag to scoop up the water.
I think I'm at least not dying of thirst for now!
For the first time in my life, I suddenly felt that drinking water was such a luxury, such a blissful thing!
The following day, I was filled with hope! I was exhausted, but suddenly I felt like I had some strength again! The feeling of hunger was still tormenting me, but I picked up the oars again and started rowing!
As evening fell, I finally saw a sail appear in the distance!
A ship was sailing towards me. The ship was old, and I could even see the rust on it, as well as the sails on the mast and the long netting devices hanging on both sides...
I immediately recognized it as a fishing boat!
I immediately stood up from the raft, raised my arms and waved them vigorously, shouting at the top of my lungs with all my might!
The ship spotted me, and a sharp whistle rang out. I breathed a sigh of relief!
The tension that had been building up inside me for days finally eased! I felt like an athlete who had just finished a 10,000-meter race, and the moment I crossed the finish line, all my strength left me. My legs went weak, and my head started spinning…
The boat started to sway in my vision… no, it wasn't the boat swaying, it was me swaying! I tried to open my eyes, but the image of the boat became increasingly blurry…
Damn it, it's getting closer and closer, but why is it getting blurry...
I instinctively raised my hand to rub my eyes, but then my body went limp... thud!
I fell into the sea!
The icy seawater engulfed my head and poured into my mouth. I lost all feeling; all I could feel was darkness... complete darkness...
A ray of bright light shone into my eyes. I felt a pain in my eyes and my head was spinning. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids wouldn't obey me...
Not only my eyeballs, but I couldn't even feel my own body; it was as if my body had completely separated from my consciousness. I could only vaguely see that I was in what seemed to be a room, with a flashlight waving in front of me, its light shining into my eyeballs.
Instinctively, my eyes darted around a few times, and I immediately heard a few murmured conversations. I regained some consciousness and finally understood why I couldn't control my eyelids…
My eyelids were pried open by a hand...
Then the person let go of my hand, and my eyelids slowly closed. My last glimmer of consciousness was seeing what looked like a sign on the wall... It was in English, which I couldn't understand. But I still felt a little joy inside.
I'm certain of one thing...
I'm alive!
Having confirmed this, I fell asleep again...
“！@#$$%%$”
I woke up, and the words I heard left me bewildered. I couldn't understand a single word. I struggled to open my eyes and looked at the person next to me.
A robust-looking man stood in front of me, wearing baggy trousers with suspenders. He was fairly clean, but had a lot of facial hair, a high nose, and was very strong and tall.
I tried to open my mouth: "I don't understand what you're saying."
He saw me open my eyes and speak, a look of surprise on his face, then he rattled off a long string of words, followed by shouting something...
While he was shouting, I looked around. It was clearly a cabin on a ship, a small space filled with the smell of fish. The bed was hard, but thankfully it was warm, and I had a blanket covering me.
A man walked in, wearing a thick, somewhat dirty coat. What caught my attention was his hat, which looked like a captain's hat. He was very tall but thin. He was carrying a cup.
This person came in, said a few words to the burly man, then the burly man left, and this person sat down next to me and handed me the cup first.
I hesitated for a moment before taking it. It was a cup of hot coffee. I took two sips and felt much better.
This person looked strange. After a closer look, I realized he wasn't white. But he also didn't seem to be purely Asian... he was probably mixed race. I figured it out from his skin color, the height of his nose, and the contours of his facial features.
Then he spoke to me in English.
This time I understood because he spoke very briefly, just one word.
"A Korean?"
"Korean?"
I just shook my head.
He continued, "Japanese?"
"No!" I denied loudly.
"Chinese?"
"Yes." I nodded.
He grinned, his teeth were a little yellow, but his smile was friendly. Then he stammered and spoke to me, this time actually in Chinese! Although it wasn't very standard, and it was obviously a bit stiff and awkward, and he couldn't quite make out what I meant, at least I could understand him.
"Hello! Welcome... aboard. I am Captain Wick!"