Chapter 234: The Return Trip
“Well, you might be disappointed, miss. We’re still kids,” Xu Sa said, grabbing a compressed biscuit from his backpack. “Only this—want some? Consider it our food allowance.”
“Yes!” Qin Yu was straightforward, showing how much she disliked seafood.
As she reached out, the backpack tipped, and a sharp dagger about the size of a palm fell out.
Qin Yu twisted her hand to catch it and asked, “Where did this dagger come from?”
Xu Sa picked it up and checked—it was from Lu Weiyi’s backpack.
All three backpacks were black and similar in style with similar contents. Lu Weiyi’s was a high-end custom one with his name engraved.
Qin Yu looked at Lu Weiyi. He glanced back calmly and said, “Picked it up.”
It was Li Zhuang’s dagger—sharp and smooth enough to cut through iron like mud. Lu Weiyi had used it a few times outdoors to slice meat. He planned to return it but ended up tossing it into his own bag. Given the owner’s unknown background, Lu Weiyi didn’t want to say more.
“Where did you pick it up?” Dong Hongyuan asked briefly.
“Forgot,” Lu Weiyi replied lightly, unable to stand the fishy smell any longer. He took a pack of compressed biscuits, broke it in half, and asked Qin Yu, “Still want it?”
“Yes!” Qin Yu set the dagger beside him, took a big bite, and mumbled, “Peanut flavor. I used to hate this, but now I could eat a pound of it.”
*
Moon Half Bay.
With the evening breeze blowing, Zhuang Ai Yi waited early on the beach, expecting his beloved “little daddy” to bring back all sorts of strange and interesting things.
The soft sand was occasionally blown with small shells or tiny crabs by the waves, which Zhuang Ai Yi collected in a small bucket. Once half full, he could wait for his little daddy to return.
This was his frequent pastime. Sometimes he’d even catch palm-sized crabs, scooping them into the bucket with sand using a shovel to bring home as extra food.
As night fell, still no one had returned.
The busy family members started coming back, each asking, until finally Zhuang Mingxu appeared pushing a wheelchair.
“Big daddy, when will little daddy be back? Ai Yi’s hungry,” Zhuang Ai Yi said, sitting on the overturned bucket and asking eagerly.
“If you’re hungry, go back and eat first. When you’re full, little daddy will be back,” Zhuang Mingxu said patiently, though feeling anxious.
“Okay.” Zhuang Ai Yi got up, picked up the bucket. “Big daddy, aren’t you coming?”
“Big daddy will wait a bit longer. You go first,” Zhuang Mingxu patted his son’s head and looked into the distance where the sea met the sky—no sign of anyone returning.
“Okay.” Zhuang Ai Yi happily hopped toward the villa, greeting people as he passed.
Zhuang Mingxu sat alone on the beach. As dusk deepened, still no sign of anyone.
This kind of waiting hadn’t happened for a long time in the past year and still felt unfamiliar.
Zhuang Mingxu forced a slight smile, struggled to turn his wheelchair, when footsteps approached—the group who had eaten earlier came looking for him.
Ning Yuan took a few steps forward, spun the wheelchair around, and comforted him, “He must have been delayed on the way. Maybe he’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t overthink it.”
“I’m not overthinking it,” Zhuang Mingxu said, feeling more confident now than before.
Lu Weiyi’s space could hold people, and they had two backup motorboats. The chance of dying was very low—it was probably just getting lost. “I’ll check the basement, you guys inspect the helicopter.”
“Okay,” Wu Yue, seeing his fighting spirit, patted his shoulder and responded. He didn’t seem to need any comfort.
Inside the courtyard, Zhuang Mingxu pushed his wheelchair steadily forward, sitting upright and speaking calmly.
“If they’re not back by tomorrow, we’ll go find them.”
*
After a big group had dinner, the three were placed in a single room on the second floor.
Eric deliberately asked about their plans, but Xu Sa answered vaguely that they needed to think seriously.
Used to the bright lights of the base, it felt strange to have complete darkness at night here. Xu Sa looked at the bare wooden bed and gained a new understanding of how tough things were here.
Lu Weiyi took out paper, pen, and a map from his space and tossed a tube of medicine to Xu Sa.
“I was angry.” Although he controlled his strength, one strike left a red mark on Liu Rui’s arm and Xu Sa’s face, growing more visible by the day.
“I wanted to hit him too,” Xu Sa waved it off and didn’t mind. He opened the ointment and applied some, then turned to press on Liu Rui’s wound.
Lu Weiyi compared their current position with their pre-apocalypse location on the paper.
“We can’t calculate like this, right?” Xu Sa whispered. “We don’t know the island’s current location.”
“I know where Moon Half Bay was,” Lu Weiyi said.
Though it might not be exact, having a reference point would help find patterns.
Lu Weiyi drew a shape and marked everything clearly, then handed it to Xu Sa, motioning for him to do the calculation.
“Isn’t it you who’s supposed to calculate?”
“Who gave you the illusion I can?” Lu Weiyi said confidently. Considering direction, distance, and other factors, this didn’t look like something a weak student would do.
Xu Sa didn’t argue with his confidence.
Liu Rui kept the small light on and scribbled constantly, while asking Lu Weiyi what he thought about the place.
“Why do I feel like these people aren’t really so equal and harmonious?”
“There are only three hundred people. They call themselves emperors?” Lu Weiyi leaned back on the bed, absorbing crystal cores, replying.
“If there were many, maybe they’d be tyrants, but with so little food and so few people, it’s kind of self-degrading. Also, where do you see harmony? All the women depend on men and it looks chaotic. Many are unwilling. That’s harmony?”
“Speaking of that He Mei…?” Xu Sa wanted to ask, but the three of them felt safer together.
“Dong Hongyuan took a fancy to her. They used He Mei to curry favor with him.” After the disaster, the oil extraction unit survivors were the largest group. Everyone knew each other and were mostly ordinary.
When the obviously threatening Dong Hongyuan appeared, everyone’s first reaction was to flatter him.
He Mei became a sacrifice to gain favor. Over time, with no rescue, human cruelty surfaced. The women here all became lambs to the wolves.
Whether that’s lucky or unlucky is uncertain.
To get that information, Lu Weiyi had even used mental control once. He pinched his brow and absorbed crystal cores faster.
“Do you think they have special powers? I haven’t heard anyone mention it or seen anyone use any,” Xu Sa found this strange.
“Eric is a mental type. Others don’t know,” Lu Weiyi said. He sensed it when Eric used it, but his level was very low—clearly a natural upgrade with no crystal cores absorbed.
Mental powers are hard to upgrade without external aid, so he’s still at the beginner level.
This is why Lu Weiyi wasn’t too alert. Without crystal cores to supplement, even if there are abilities, the level won’t be high.
Because there is a mental user, Lu Weiyi didn’t let the other two keep watch, but stayed up alone.
At midnight, sensing mental probing, Lu Weiyi immediately pretended to sleep. Shortly after the probe, he noticed people sneaking outside toward the motorboat by the shore.
They didn’t damage the boat but checked the fuel. Unfortunately, since Lu Weiyi had drained some beforehand, they cursed and returned.
At dawn the next day, the three woke and said goodbye.
“You’re leaving?” Everyone was surprised. Eric was sure their fuel wouldn’t be enough to sail out of the area.
But since he had powers, he didn’t doubt the others might have hidden abilities too.
No one tried to stop them rashly or said much to those who mocked or blocked them.
“Do you have a direction?” Qin Yu didn’t ask in detail either.
“We roughly estimated it. Maybe we can get back?” Xu Sa smiled foolishly.
They all knew secrets but tacitly avoided exposing them.
“Can I come along? I know a lot of things,” Qin Yu blinked eagerly and spoke first.
“It’d be an honor to have a beautiful lady accompany us. If we were sure, we’d take you. But we’re not even sure about our own safety. How could we risk bringing you along?” Xu Sa politely made an excuse.
Qin Yu was just saying it—if they really left, she was scared they’d toss her into the sea. Living here badly was better than feeding the fish.
“Alright, our environment now can’t support you all staying,” Eric escorted them to the shore and launched the motorboat. “I have a brother named Davis Antonio. If you ever meet him, please tell him his dear brother is trapped here.”
When that name came out, Xu Sa’s eyes trembled but he nodded calmly, “If there’s a chance, we’ll pass it on. If we find the way back, we’ll send people from the mainland to pick you up.”
“Then I’ll wait for your good news. When that time comes, the entire island will be yours,” Eric said very gentlemanly, making a polite gesture of invitation, adding a wager.
Qin Yu didn’t say a word but kept signaling with her eyes at Dong Hongyuan beside her, who was like a wooden block. When the three got on the boat, he even gave it a push.
Just as the motorboat started and was about to leave, Dong Hongyuan threw something onto the boat. Lu Weiyi activated his ability, and the object fell directly into the sea. Lu Weiyi only caught a glimpse of something like a dart.
“Stop showing off, did your brain melt from chasing women?” Qin Yu shouted angrily, making Xu Sa laugh out loud. Then she yelled toward the boat, “Hey, the guy with the dagger, tell him that his little sister Yu needs help! Hurry up and come save her!”
Lu Weiyi raised his eyebrows but didn’t say yes or no. Xu Sa immediately sped up, the motorboat cutting through the waves and quickly sailing far away.
*
The motorboat kept heading in the direction they calculated. None of the three spoke; they were determined to see it through. By nearly noon, land appeared in sight.
“Lu Xiaoyi, success! Success! I really am a top student! Top student—!” Xu Sa shouted loudly after confirming through the binoculars.
