Morning.
The sun is up, and the reef stone is scorching hot.
The heat awakens dong Xuebing. He sat up, hoping to see the search party but was disappointed. It’s freezing at night and hot during the day on the rock, and he wonders how long he can last in such an environment.
One day?
Two days?
Dong Xuebing doesn’t know as he is almost at his limits now.
People can survive without food and water for two to three days, but that is in a normal environment. Dong Xuebing had experienced death several times yesterday and was drifting in the sea for hours. He is exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated.
Dong Xuebing needs to conserve his energy and laid on the reef rock motionlessly. The clothes he took off yesterday are dried, and he wore them to protect himself from the sun.
Dong Xuebing knows he will die if this carries on.
One hour….
Three hours….
Five hours….
Hold on! I must hold on!
Dong Xuebing got disappointed as he waited until noon.
It’s almost 24 hours after the air crash. Based on previous air crashes, most countries would have reported this crash by now, and the search efforts should have begun. But until now, Dong Xuebing did not see any search party and knew he must have drifted far away from the crash site. If not, he would have seen the search party by now. He had worked in the Public Security Bureau and knows about sea search and rescue procedures. The search party will narrow down to the crash site and expand the search from there. If he were swept too far from the site, they would never find him.
The search party will not be coming for him.
Will I ever be rescued?
It’s hard for someone to hold on if they don’t have anything to look forward to. Also, Dong Xuebing is too hungry and thirsty.
Drink seawater?
No. I will die faster if I do that.
Use the evaporation method to harvest drinking water from seawater?! But there’s no fire, wood, or container!
Dong Xuebing checked his pockets. Other than a bunch of keys, and two name cards, all his belongings were swept away last night.
Eat the name cards?!
That will not solve my hunger!
Dong Xuebing is dying from his hunger, and he felt he might not last until nightfall if this carries on. He knows he is close to dying from his cold sweat and lethargies. His throat is parched, and he sighed. He hopes Aunt Xuan, Sister Xie, and Sister Yu will find a good partner in the future, and Old Yang will treat his mother well…
Suddenly, there is a rumble of thunder, and dark clouds are coming towards Dong Xuebing!
Is it going to rain?
Rain is common in the seas, and this is what Dong Xuebing has been waiting for. He gathered all his strength and stood up to wear his lifejacket. The waves got stronger and came crashing onto the reef rock. He will not be spared from the waves even when standing two meters high. He lowered his center of gravity and held on to the shape edges of the rock.
About ten minutes later, the rain came!
Rumble! Thunder, flashes of lightning, and rain came pouring down!
Dong Xuebing quickly looks up and opens his mouth to drink as much rain as possible. The reef rock has lots of cracks and could not hold any water. He used both hands to try to collect as much rainwater as possible. He could only get less than a few dozen droplets into his mouth after half a minute. This is equivalent to taking a sip from a bottle of mineral water. He is still thirsty.
The dark clouds started moving further away from Dong Xuebing. Finally, the rain is going to stop!
Damn! Why can’t you rain a while more?!
Dong Xuebing is frustrated as this little water is not enough for him. Suddenly, he has an idea. He shouted … STOP!
The seagulls stopped squealing!
The waves froze, and the wind stopped!
Dong Xuebing still has four to five minutes left and cannot afford to waste time. So he looked at the countless droplets in the air and started eating them with his mouth. Five droplets… ten droplets… twenty droplets… fifty droplets… after he finished ‘eating’ all the rain droplets above and around the reef rock, he resumed time. Time resumed, and all the droplets in his mouth merged, and he drank it in one gulp!
It feels good!
Pitter-patter… the raindrops continue to fall, and it’s about to stop anytime soon.
Dong Xuebing shouted STOP again.
Time stopped again, and Dong Xuebing continued to use his hands and mouth to stuff raindrops into his mouth. It’s heavy rain, and he can collect five to six droplets easily in one palm. After collecting enough raindrops, he resumed time and drank it.
One time…
Three times…
Five times…
After a while, Dong Xuebing laid down on the reef rock with his stomach filled with water. It feels so good.
Dong Xuebing had temporarily quenched his thirst, but food…
Dong Xuebing got another idea. He looks at the sea around the rock. It is beautiful from where he is standing. Although the waves are not high in this rain, the sea will not calm down. But he does not have the mood to admire the sea. He stared at the water for a few minutes and suddenly brightened up!
Fishes!
Of course, there are fishes in the sea.
But it is impossible to catch fish here. Even an experienced fisherman will not catch any fishes without fishing rods, nets, bait, etc. Catching fishes barehandedly in the rivers might be possible, but not in the open seas. So how is Dong Xuebing going to catch fish now?
Dong Xuebing has an idea.
He took off his lifejacket and jumped into the sea!
Splash! Dong Xuebing opened his eyes and held his breath underwater while swimming around the reef rock. Then, he looks around and resurfaces for air after 30 seconds before diving down again. Although he had drunk some water earlier, he is still exhausted.
Ten minutes passed.
Suddenly, Dong Xuebing saw a fish with some stripes. It is not bright underwater, and he cannot tell its color. But it should be greyish and about the size of a grown carp. This fish is swimming two to three meters with his back towards him.
That’s the fish!
Dong Xuebing can never be faster than a fish underwater. The moment he reached towards the fish, it changed direction and swam away.
Escape?!
STOP!
The sea froze as time stopped!
During the time stop, all physical objects will be “frozen” in place. For example, a mobile phone dropping onto the ground will be floating in midair, and Dong Xuebing will need to use some strength to move it. It is the same for the sea. Dong Xuebing can walk on the sea, but he needs to use more strength to move in the “frozen” sea.
Ten centimeters….
Twenty centimeters….
Half a meter….
When Dong Xuebing could not hold his breath any longer, his hand finally reached the stationary fish, and he grabbed it tightly!
STOP!
…….
…….
Time resumed!
The fish is struggling and trying to escape from Dong Xuebing’s hand. But he will never let go. He tightened his grip until his fingernails pierced through the fish’s scales and swam towards the surface. He climbed onto the reef rock and panted.
He had finally caught a fish!
Dong Xuebing threw the fish hard onto the rocky surface and started to gut it. He removed the internal organs and some bones before washing them with seawater. He felt slightly disgusted to eat raw fish but still stuff the meat into his mouth.
Yucks… it’s salty and fishy.
Dong Xuebing cannot be picky now. Raw fish is better than eating name cards. Furthermore, Sashimi is very popular in Japan.
Just eat it!
Dong Xuebing is starving and couldn’t care about the taste. He devoured the fish in a few bites and burped. He had just eaten almost 1 kg of raw fish and is finally full. Suddenly, he had a bad stomachache. Maybe there are parasites in that unknown fish. But having stomachaches is better than starving to death. If it is another person stranded on the reef rock, he might not even touch a fish. Let alone eat it.
Dong Xuebing looks at the sun setting as he lays on the rock.
Is he going to live on this rock for the rest of his life if the search party did not come for him?
Also, Dong Xuebing’s food and water issues are only solved temporarily. What if it does not rain for more than three days, or he cannot catch any fishes? He will still die.
What should he do?
How is he going to get back?
This is the first time Dong Xuebing felt so helpless. There’s no way he can win against nature.
