“Sirs and madams, when we arrive at the island, please don’t wander around. After I’ve done a headcount, I’ll bring everyone to the programs we have on the island.
“There are many programs on the island. There are all kinds of fun and food. One day is definitely not enough, so don’t be anxious…”
The tour guide held the microphone and was explaining seriously.
But at that moment, the ferry—which had been moving steadily forward—suddenly shook and made a loud noise, as if it had hit something.
The sudden collision caused many people to fall to the ground. Some even hit their heads.
For a moment, screams resounded from inside the ferry.
The tour guide instructed everyone in the tour group to fasten their seat belts before the ferry sailed, so none were hurt.
They were old people. If they were to fall or get injured, it would be troublesome.
Therefore, when they boarded the ferry, the tour guide had checked them one by one.
However, even though the elderly in the tour group were fine, the tour guide was miserable.
She spoke while standing up, and there were no protective measures on her body. She was flung to the side once the ferry swayed. Many parts of her body were injured, and her forehead was even bleeding quite badly.
However, she was very professional. When she encountered this emergency, the first thing she thought of was not herself but the old folks in the tour group.
“Sirs, madams, is everyone alright?” The tour guide stood up unsteadily and tried to stabilize her body.
Although the elderly were not injured, they were still frightened.
At this moment, the ferry shook once more, and another loud bang sounded.
Dong——
The people on the ship screamed while the children wailed.
The tour guide grabbed the handle on the seat hard to keep from being flung away.
But the ferry was shaking too badly. A young girl like her had no strength.
Just then, a strong hand supported her.
It was Zhong Gufei.
“Young lady, take it easy.” Zhong Gufei helped the tour guide to her seat and put on her seatbelt for her.
“Thank… thank you!” The tour guide lowered her head and blushed.
She felt ashamed when she thought of her attitude this morning.
After helping the tour guide through her difficulties, Zhong Gufei walked out of the cabin with his hammer in hand.
The tour guide immediately shouted, “Sir, don’t go out. It’s dangerous outside.”
Zhong Gufei didn’t pay her any attention. Even though the ferry was shaking, for him, it was like walking on flat ground.
Outside of the cabin, a lot of seawater had gushed onto the deck.
Generally speaking, there were no sailors on such ferries.
Therefore, the crew had no idea how to deal with such an unexpected situation. They could only send out a distress signal and wait for the rescue team to arrive.
Zhong Gufei used to be a seaman and had worked at sea for over 30 years.
He had some experience with such situations.
Zhong Gufei stepped onto the deck and came to the guardrail. He looked down.
There was a huge shadow under the ferry. It was moving. It was not a reef.
When he saw this, he instinctively thought they had hit a whale.
When he worked at sea, he often encountered such situations.
However, the ship he had worked on was a freighter, so it wasn’t much of a problem if they hit a whale.
But the ferry was different. It wasn’t even as big as a whale.
A collision would be awful, but their current situation was still salvageable.
He went to the cockpit of the ferry.
There were two people in the cockpit. One was the captain, and the other was the co-captain.
They had always been sailing along this route. There were occasional storms, but nothing like this.
They were extremely flustered, and their faces were ashen with fear. They had no idea what to do.
At this moment, Zhong Gufei pushed the doors open.
When he saw the two of them, he asked, “Who’s the captain?”
“Me!” The older man pointed at himself.
Zhong Gufei took out his yellowing seaman certificate and said solemnly, “I used to be a seaman. I went to take a look just now. Based on my experience, I think we have hit a whale.”
“A whale?” The two people were startled.
The captain asked, “Then what should we do?”
Zhong Gufei said calmly, “Make an announcement to inform the passengers of the situation and tell them not to panic.”
“And after that?”
“Check the life-saving facilities on the passengers and wait for help to arrive.”
With that said, Zhong Gufei left the cockpit and returned to the deck, closely watching the huge black shadow below the ship.
…
At the same time.
In the capital of Xia country, a certain department of the National Security Council.
“Sir, we just received a wave of energy. We think it’s a monster,” a young female officer said solemnly.
“Show me the location of the energy waves!”
“Yes, Sir!”
A red circle flashing outwards appeared on the screen.
The satellite image continued to expand, and the area displayed was the Valley Sea.
The center of the red circle was the ferry that Zhong Gufei was on. At the same time, there was also a huge shadow under the ferry.
“Sir, according to its size, we believe it’s a level-one monster,” said the female officer.
“A level-one monster is also intimidating.” The senior officer’s expression turned serious.
“Send a message over to Valley Sea, a naval vessel is to be sent to protect this ferry,” the senior officer ordered solemnly.
“What should we do with this monster?” asked the female officer.
The senior officer let out a heavy sigh. “I hope it only barged in by accident. Otherwise, it will be troublesome.”
“Sir, in the past two months, the monsters’ activity has become more and more frequent. Is the apocalypse really coming?” the female officer asked softly.
The senior officer just smiled. He looked pretty helpless.
Then, he patted the female officer on the shoulder. “Xiao Hu, you have to remember that even if the sky falls, you have the country behind you to hold it up.
“Just focus on your work and keep an eye on the monsters in the country at all times. Report to me immediately if anything happens. Don’t think about anything else.”
“Yes, Sir!”
…
On the ferry.
Seven or eight minutes had passed since the ferry rocked.
There had been several violent shakes in between, but it seemed to have stabilized now.
Zhong Gufei stayed on the deck all this while, paying close attention to the movements of the black shadow below.
At this moment, the co-captain in the cockpit came down and asked Zhong Gufei, “Sir, the captain wanted to know if we can accelerate and charge out now?”
Zhong Gufei shook his head with a solemn expression. “It’s best not to do that. If we scare the whale below, the consequences will be dire.”
The co-captain panicked. “But it just won’t leave. Are we supposed to keep waiting?”
“Is the rescue team here?” Zhong Gufei asked, rubbing his chin.
“They were on their way here, but for some reason, they turned back.”
“Turned back?” Zhong Gufei was shocked.
The weather is clear, and the winds aren’t strong. There is no reason to go back!
“Did you ask why?” Zhong Gufei asked.
“The captain asked. The rescue team replied that their ship was out of fuel.”
“No fuel?” Zhong Gufei was surprised again. “The rescue team can’t possibly only have one ship!”
The co-captain shook his head. “I’m not sure. Anyway, the captain thinks we should move and see what happens.”
The two of them were talking when the captain suddenly ran out of the cockpit.
He looked flustered and said in a low voice, “Bad news. The communication signal on the ferry suddenly disappeared. I can’t receive any signal on my phone either.”
The co-captain immediately took out his phone. But, unfortunately, there was indeed no signal at all.
“Sir, the signal is gone and we can’t contact anyone. Why don’t we take a gamble and move?” the co-captain said desperately.
Zhong Gufei said with a calm expression, “Don’t be anxious. Go calm the passengers down first.
“I’ll go down and see what’s going on. Then, I’ll make a decision when I have information.”
“Alright, we’ll do as you say.”
