Chapter 232: Shark Attack
Xu Sa truly believed that even if one day they parted ways, he would overlook everything for the sake of the past.
Lu Weiyi raised an eyebrow and looked at him, noticing Xu Sa’s cautious expression, as if he were treating Lin Rui like a precious treasure.
Perhaps his gaze was too obvious because Xu Sa snapped back to reality with a self-mocking laugh and called out, “Little Stutterer, slow down, you’re making my butt hurt with all the shaking.”
Liu Rui’s ears turned red. After stopping the motorboat, he came over looking like he wanted to personally take care of him.
Lu Weiyi was still a bit dazed as he resumed driving. Xu Sa mentioned…
He turned his head in disbelief and saw Liu Rui kneeling like a little puppy, looking up eagerly, one hand holding onto the motorboat, the other massaging Xu Sa’s waist…
Massaging his waist…
In Lu Weiyi’s memory, Xu Sa was still that guy in school who could one-on-one basketball challenge an entire grade and who beat people up while calling them “Dad”…
Time really is a butcher’s knife!
Lu Weiyi sighed and faintly noticed something swimming toward them in the distance. He spread his spiritual energy, instantly alert, and said seriously, “There’s a shark coming.”
Xu Sa and Liu Rui immediately became alert.
Attacking on the sea surface, Liu Rui’s fire abilities were useless; Xu Sa’s lightning abilities were dispersed by the water, leaving very little power. According to Zhuang Mingxu’s plan, they were originally supposed to travel by land, but Lu Weiyi chose the water route. Seeing that the most suitable water-type ability user, Ning Yuan, was busy, they didn’t switch personnel.
During this time, the group traveled along the coastline with no danger, and the information Lu Weiyi had checked showed large predators like this rarely appeared in this area—the environment was unsuitable for sharks to grow—so they let their guard down, not expecting any accidents.
While Lu Weiyi was still thinking, the shark had already gotten close to them.
At least five meters long, swimming under the motorboat, big enough to swallow it whole. Its dorsal fin moved as if it was about to flip the boat.
It was obviously coming for them.
The simple motorboat couldn’t withstand a collision. Lu Weiyi’s mind raced as he quickly opened a still area in his space.
Before the shark could hit, he instantly pulled the entire shark into the space.
The seawater and shark seemed frozen in time inside the space. The open mouth revealed sharp teeth.
“It…?” Xu Sa’s forehead was sweaty as he looked around, finally locking eyes on Lu Weiyi, “Is it dealt with?”
Lu Weiyi nodded. The three of them collapsed on the motorboat, all exhaling in relief.
“I saw it, saw it,” Liu Rui gestured with his hands to show a very long size, “Huge.”
“Six meters,” Lu Weiyi said, looking at the shark in the space, then used his spiritual energy to cut off its head. “Next time be careful…”
“Lu Xiaoyi, that—” Xu Sa stammered, voice trembling, “That…”
Lu Weiyi followed his gaze and saw groups of shadows rapidly swimming over, dorsal fins rising and falling, thick as a forest.
“A shark swarm…” Lu Weiyi muttered, immediately covering the entire motorboat with spiritual energy. After quietly probing, he counted at least a hundred.
Lu Weiyi had never felt so unlucky.
As time passed and their abilities gradually wore out, the shark swarm continued circling them, even occasionally probing and ramming. Lu Weiyi had to tightly grip the rail to avoid being thrown off.
Next to him, Liu Rui wrapped Xu Sa in his arms, gripping the rail with both hands to form a sealed circle, protecting Xu Sa without any gaps.
After half an hour, the sharks still showed no sign of leaving. Lu Weiyi began to suspect something was wrong. With a spiritual barrier active, they shouldn’t be detectable by the sharks, yet the sharks clearly circled the boat.
Something must be attracting them.
Besides Xu Sa and Liu Rui’s backpacks, the boat had nothing else. Lu Weiyi standardized the packs—two bottles of water, some compressed biscuits, rope, life jackets, and some miscellaneous items. Nothing else.
Could it be…
Lu Weiyi sent out “Little Green Branch” to scout around. Finally, it found dripping blood where Liu Rui was gripping the railing.
Two bite wounds on the middle and index fingers had broken open at some unknown time, with blood dripping onto the boat’s outer wall and forming a blood line dripping into the water.
No one knew how long it had been.
Lu Weiyi was furious.
Little Green Branch lashed out at the two of them, and Xu Sa was stunned. Then he saw Liu Rui’s hand, bound by the lash, pushed right in front of him.
He was taken aback, got up, quickly took off his jacket, soaked it, wiped the blood off the boat’s surface, and then threw the jacket far away.
Liu Rui, confused, didn’t know what was happening, and when Xu Sa told him softly to bandage it, he foolishly laughed, saying it was just a small wound and didn’t hurt.
Xu Sa slapped him on the forehead, hitting a swollen bloody mark on his face, and quietly cursed, “Damn it, you attracted the sharks. Hurry up!”
Liu Rui pulled his T-shirt with his teeth, tore a strip, and tied up the two fingers.
Meanwhile, Lu Weiyi unpredictably swung his spiritual blades, inflicting various wounds on the sharks. Soon, a strong smell of blood filled the surrounding waters.
The hundred sharks began attacking each other. Lu Weiyi sped the boat away with all his might. A few sharks chased closely behind but were also wounded by him, causing them to turn on each other and bite each other.
Only after completely shaking them off did they find themselves drifting in the vast ocean, with no land in sight.
*
In the rush, no one had noticed the direction they were heading. Now they were completely lost.
The sea breeze was gentle, the water clear, and various unknown fish swam lazily in the water, enjoying the peaceful time.
Liu Rui panicked for a moment, looking around in confusion, repeatedly apologizing. Faced with a completely unfamiliar situation, he was at a loss. Xu Sa gently patted his back, offering silent comfort.
A few hours ago, his son was still babbling, saying he’d wait for him to come back. Now, he couldn’t even find the way back.
Thinking of the people waiting for him at home, Lu Weiyi forced himself to focus.
On a cloudy day with no sun, they could only rely on tools. Xu Sa asked, “Do we have a compass?”
Lu Weiyi shook his head. He hadn’t expected to be so far from the coast, and most of their space had been cleared out while searching for supplies.
“Dragging you into this again,” Xu Sa forced a smile, feeling guilty but sharing the burden with Liu Rui. “Little Stutterer hasn’t experienced this before, doesn’t know these things.”
Lu Weiyi waved off the comment, not bothered—besides, it wouldn’t help to argue.
With this weather, if it had been clear, they could have used the stars and moon to navigate. Now, it was pure guesswork.
“It’s okay, don’t panic, don’t panic,” Xu Sa knew Lu Weiyi only appeared calm on the surface. He spoke slowly, took a deep breath, then after a moment of calm, looked up at Lu Weiyi. “Let’s prepare for a long stay first.”
“Gasoline, spare motorboat, food, clothes—do we have enough?”
Lu Weiyi scanned their space and nodded.
“Okay, then it’s fine.” Xu Sa optimistically patted Liu Rui’s shoulder. “Let me show you the world of top students—making a homemade compass.”
Liu Rui’s eyes reddened as he looked over. Lu Weiyi wasn’t surprised—Xu Sa had always been a stellar student.
“Grab a few more bowls or basins, fill them with water. Then get some sewing needles or paperclips, something small that can float,” Xu Sa said decisively, sitting down on the motorboat and giving instructions.
Lu Weiyi searched for a while and finally gathered some plastic bubble wrap.
Xu Sa handed out a needle to each of them, instructing, “One each. Rub one side on your hair. Be careful not to poke your head.”
Lu Weiyi thought it was kind of silly and didn’t want to move, but Liu Rui didn’t hesitate and immediately got to work. Xu Sa encouraged Lu Weiyi while rubbing his own needle.
After a while, they placed the needles on finger-length pieces of plastic bubble wrap, then put these floats into two bowls of water.
Both floats slowly and finally pointed in the same direction. Xu Sa grinned and waved his hand, “South!”
Having a direction brought some relief, but after the earthquake, no one could be sure where the land was.
Lu Weiyi and Xu Sa discussed a possible direction, then carefully steered the motorboat that way.
Two hours later, it was still the endless sea. The two looked at each other simultaneously.
“Let’s go another hour. If no luck, change direction,” Xu Sa said, sweaty-palmed but trying to stay calm.
The three traveled for another hour. The surroundings remained endless. Lu Weiyi accepted the situation and was sitting aside, drawing a map to mark their speed and approximate direction.
“Let’s eat.” Seeing Xu Sa stop, he took out the prepared food and handed some to the others, filling up the gas tank. “We only have fuel for one vehicle, maybe less than two tons. Hopefully, we find land before it runs out.”
“In the afternoon, we’ll try another direction.” Without a precise map, no one could be sure if the old maps still worked. They had to proceed step by step.
Noticing Xu Sa’s mood was low, Lu Weiyi comforted him, “If we don’t return, Zhuang Mingxu will send people to look for us.”
“That makes me feel better. I don’t want to wander the world forever,” Xu Sa said, exaggeratingly patting his chest.
The base’s yacht had no fuel, only piles of them stacked up to build roads. How could they get out?
Besides, there was no reliable map.
Xu Sa was clear on this but accepted Lu Weiyi’s comfort outwardly.
Lu Weiyi, understanding his meaning, said calmly, “There’s a helicopter at home, with fuel.”
“Really?” They’d been drifting in the motorboat all day at sea, just a few hours slower than a helicopter. If they were in the sky, it would be easy to find them.
Lu Weiyi nodded. “We were planning to fly out and explore the surrounding waters, but never got the chance. If I don’t return, Zhuang Mingxu will definitely use the helicopter first.”
Feeling reassured, the three continued toward the mainland that afternoon. After several hours, they finally saw the shadow of land.
“Lu Xiaoyi, Lu Xiaoyi, see it? See it?” Xu Sa excitedly jumped on the motorboat, pointing at the nearby land with joy.
Even the troublemaker Liu Rui was happy, constantly scanning ahead.
“You’re excited too soon. That’s an island,” Lu Weiyi said, taking down his binoculars and handing them to Xu Sa. After a moment’s thought, “Let’s go check it out.”
