Kate opened the curtains, and blurry, continuous shadows stretched outside the porthole.
Lu Li moved the passenger who had knocked unconscious in front of the door and opened the cabin door. The cold, silent and uneasy sloping corridor outside the boiler room was enveloped in darkness.
Taking off the oil lamp that gradually stopped shaking, Lu Li walked toward the stern of the ship. The light stretched into the darkness. There were footsteps behind him. Lu Li tilted his head slightly. Kate followed him out barefoot, holding the flintlock which was more of a psychological comfort.
gun,
Lu Li and Kate's departure led some survivors to follow them. More people stayed behind, hiding in the boiler room, waiting for rescue and dawn.
The mist-filled corridor was silent, but as they reached a fork in the road, a burst of noise came from an indistinguishable direction.
"What sound...?"
The noisy repetitive frequencies gradually became clearer, like the sound of a distorted radio or the echo of a tidal wave.
"The cabin is flooded."
Lu Li lowered his head and looked at his feet. The sea water had not yet reached him.
Lu Li asked the people following him to tell the survivors who were still in the boiler room what they found, and Lu Li continued to move forward.
The leaky part of the hull was on their way, and the echoing sound of the tide gradually became clearer. At a certain moment, Kate, who was barefoot, stepped on a water-soaked blanket that looked like moss.
The coldness made her breathe harder.
The damp blanket soon became soaked by the cold sea water, and the sound of the tide became clearer. Before long, a half-closed cabin appeared in front of me, with sea water gushing out.
Lu Li walked to the rushing door with ankle-deep water and closed it. The noise and water flow were blocked behind the door - but the sound of a new tide emerged in the distance.
There is more than one damaged place.
When Lu Li came to the elevator, the remaining power from the boiler room kept it running, but the faint sound of chewing coming from inside and the crimson seeping out of the grate mixed with sea water reminded him that it was best not to go there.
"Is there any other way to the deck than here?"
Lu Li asked the dozen or so figures following behind.
After a brief silence, one of the boiler workers said: "I know..."
"lead the way."
When returning to the forked road, Lu Li asked the young man to follow behind him to guide him.
The good news is that the leakage point is at the stern of the boat, and the bow of the stranded boat will not be submerged by the sea water.
The bad news is that the stairs are also at the stern.
As they flowed down the knee-deep corridor, the noisy sound of water became louder and louder, and a fast current like a river lay in front of them.
While the survivors hesitated, Lu Li had already raised his oil lamp and stepped into the water. The splashing water suddenly submerged his thighs. The impact made Lu Li shake slightly, and then he reached the other shore like a rock.
Kate followed closely behind, pulling up her cluttered skirt and moving forward slowly against the current, but when she was about to pass, the speed increased and she lost her balance.
Before she fell into the water, Lu Li reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her back.
"Thanks……"
Panting, Kate sat in the cold water and panted.
Lu Li looked towards the "other shore". Kate's danger made them hesitate to cross.
The sea water is rising, from the calves to the knees.
"Come here quickly, or go back."
Lu Li looked at them.
There is still a long but short window between the crash of the Immortal Titan and the arrival of the Black Ring. Although it will get worse and worse, it will be enough for rescue to arrive.
So some survivors retreated and returned one after another with nearly half of the people.
The remaining people began to make their way through the fast current.
But they delayed for too long, and more and more seawater poured into the cabin, reaching the point where Lu Li had to be careful to stand still. Even though they were holding hands, the last woman was knocked down by the roaring current.
Lu Li wanted to pull her back but it was too late. The spraying sea water swept the woman towards unknown depths.
"I...won't we save her?" The noise of water flow made it difficult to hear who was speaking.
Lu Li climbed out of the water, raised the oil lamp and drained the seawater.
"It's too late."
The existence of dark disaster makes it impossible for human beings to survive in lightless places.
"Keep going."
It's not just the sea water that prevents them from returning to the deck, but also danger.
A middle-aged man stopped to rest for a while and gradually fell behind the team. Then he fell as if he lost his strength. When the survivors who heard the noise looked back, they only saw ripples, and the other person had disappeared.
"Don't stay in deep water for too long."
Lu Li raised the oil lamp and looked around before returning to the front of the team.
Passing by a first-class cabin, the flickering oil lamp revealed a "corpse" lying on the bedside table - the porthole was broken, and a middle-aged man's leg was stuck in the porthole. Something outside was dragging the leg, causing him to snore.
The middle-aged man's body trembled.
Lu Li stepped into the cabin, grabbed the fat man's collar and threw him into the water, then quickly exited the cabin and closed the door.
Only then did they notice the fat man's left leg, which had been bitten off along with the leg bone.
And he was actually still sleeping.
The pungent smell of low-quality wine penetrated into her nose, and Kate frowned: "Wine can really make people happy?"
"have no idea."
The door was banged and screams were heard. Lu Li asked someone to carry the fat man on his back, who was not sure whether he would survive, and continued forward.
The closer to the stern of the ship that was buried in the shoal, the deeper the water became. When the survivors had to stand on tiptoes to prevent the water from flooding their gasping chests, the stairs leading to the upper deck finally appeared.
Stepping onto the stairs, with the pattering water dripping along the steps, they climbed out of the cabin and stood on the deck.
The dawn is breaking in the distance.
Lu Li asked them to stay here to rescue the survivors and wait for rescue.
"Where are you going?" Kate asked Lu Li, who was walking towards the side of the ship.
"Nearby towns."
Kate was stunned: "Aren't you here to save us?"
"no."
"Are you here to save the farmland?"
"It's too late."
"What do you mean it's too late?"
Lu Li did not answer. Looking to the south, there was no black ring in the sky. At this moment, the change had not yet come.
After righting the lifeboat lying on the ship's side corridor and tying the cable, Lu Li remembered that he needed a local guide as he knew nothing about this place.
"Are there any locals from Guangdiyuan here?"
The survivors looked at each other blankly, and Kate pointed at the drunkard: "He is a local."
"How do you know?"
"This is a short linen shirt from the farmland. Only lumberjacks would wear it."
But it would take at least several hours for this drunkard who didn't wake up even after a broken leg to wake up.
Lu Li dragged him to the lifeboat, then stepped on it and asked the survivors to help lower the lifeboat.
Kate also jumped off at this time, and fell into the sea water as the lifeboat rocked and landed against the hull.
Lu Li grabbed the oar and soon ran aground on the shoal.
Some wooden boards were pushed onto the beach by the waves. Lu Li saw a wooden boat on the beach. There should be a village nearby.
After simply bandaging the drunk man's thigh, Lu Li carried him on his back. If he couldn't find the village, at least there would be a local to ask.
Kate followed silently.
Claire's teasing was verified again.
Every time he goes on an adventure, a woman will appear next to Lu Li——
