Chapter 236: Shipwreck |
Tao Fu felt a bit dizzy. His shipyard had suddenly undergone a massive transformation, and then a group of... ghostly shipwrights had appeared.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed something was off.
The keel ship he was building clearly still had the final small section of work left before completion.
Yet, it seemed like these steps had already been finished?
Tao Fu carefully confirmed, checking thoroughly, and finally determined that not only had all the remaining work on the keel ship he was building been completed, but steps like waterproofing were also fully done.
The only slightly strange thing was that the surface color of the ship was a bit darker.
Tao Fu muttered to himself, "How was this done..."
As his words fell, a faint blue, translucent figure materialized beside him.
It scared Tao Fu so much he jolted, almost turning to run away.
The translucent figure held an equally ethereal wooden bucket in its hands, scooped a ladle from the black pool below, lifted a full bucket of water, and poured it over the surface of the keel ship.
The black water flowed down the hull, and the ship's color deepened further.
After completing this action, the blue translucent figure even deliberately turned its head to look at him, then vanished on the spot.
Tao Fu was stunned... Did it... was it... teaching me just now?
It was teaching me, right!?
Having been a shipwright for so many years, it had been a long time since he had been "taught" by someone like this.
Tao Fu lowered his head, his gaze involuntarily falling on the black water beneath the keel ship.
He now understood what these black pool waters were used for.
So they could act as waterproof paint; you just needed to pour and smear it on the hull.
"Since I have employees now, let's get started." Tao Fu took a deep breath. His Master needed ships now. With these ghostly shipwrights, he would speed things up and build more large ships!
Although many parts of this ghost shipyard looked dilapidated and broken, it had everything it should have. He checked around and confirmed that while these things looked shabby, they were surprisingly and unexpectedly durable.
On the rolling, surging sea, a wooden boat drifted on the waves.
The sky was dim, the sea a sheet of blackness.
He Biao sat in the boat, accompanied by three members of the Alliance's second team.
During the Giant Hyaenodon pack attacks, due to poor performance and severe team member casualties, He Biao was stripped of his position as captain of the first team and became captain of the third team.
But later in the previous map, many members of the Alliance's hunting teams defected to the Qin Alliance, causing a reduction in internal member numbers. After consolidation, his third team was promoted to the second team.
He Biao knew that his ability to hold his current position was mainly due to Zou Jianghe's support.
So when Zou Jianghe made certain requests, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Waves slapped against the hull, oars cut through the water, and the boat slowly advanced toward the island ahead.
"Brother Biao, it's a bit cold," one of them said, teeth chattering. Although he had worn extra layers before setting out, the cold wind blew on his hands gripping the oars, freezing his knuckles white.
"Endure it. We're already halfway there," He Biao said.
"Mmm..."
"Brother Biao, do you know about that 'borrow a card, return a card' activity the Qin Alliance is running? I heard they loaned out thirty or forty cards at once. They're really rich enough."
He Biao smiled but didn't respond.
In truth, as a hunting team captain within the Alliance, he could perceive the changes between the two sides more clearly.
But no matter what others said, Zou Jianghe had truly treated him well.
Moreover, when he had helped Zou Jianghe with tasks before, he had more or less offended some people. Some of those people had joined the Qin Alliance.
Plus, the Qin Alliance hadn't offered him conditions tempting enough. So he had no reason to abandon his current status and go mingle with the Qin Alliance. At least within the Alliance, following Zou Jianghe, he still had a chance to get a few more cards. Going to the Qin Alliance probably wouldn't offer such good opportunities.
"Brother Biao, something's wrong. Something's wrong, really wrong," one of the men rowing the oars said, his voice changing. "The oars suddenly feel heavier, it's so hard to row."
"Me too. The water flow just now felt abnormal."
"Don't talk nonsense. How could..." He Biao was about to interrupt them when suddenly, a surge of water swelled up beside the small boat, causing it to rock sideways for a short distance.
He Biao's arm trembled, his heartbeat quickening.
Actually, there was a secret he had never told anyone. When he was nine, he went swimming in a reservoir once and was bullied by some older kids from the neighboring village. They held his head underwater. Although he eventually got back to shore...
He thought he had long forgotten that trauma.
But in that instant just now, what flashed in his mind was the memory from when he was nine. Especially the feeling of emptiness under his feet, struggling in the water.
He Biao closed his mouth, regulating his emotions.
The men on the boat very tacitly stopped talking.
The moonlight was shattered by the ripples on the sea surface, leaving only the heavy breathing of the few men on the boat.
They tacitly increased the speed of their rowing.
Wanting to reach shore as quickly as possible.
One of them suddenly said, "With us rowing like this, won't we make too much noise?"
"Our boat's been rowing on the sea for so long. If it was going to notice us, it would have long ago."
"Splash~"
The sea surface ahead suddenly bulged upward, a large area of water rising in a convex shape.
But it quickly disappeared.
The four men on the boat felt their hands and feet turn icy cold.
In that instant, they saw a long, narrow, giant creature.
Somewhat like a shark, yet also somewhat like a whale.
The glimpse was too brief, and the environment was too dark, so they couldn't see clearly at all.
"Oorooroo~"
From beneath the sea surface came a low yet high-pitched sound.
Two complex, contradictory adjectives perfectly matched this sound in this moment.
Their heartbeats seemed to resonate with this sound.
The next second, the bottom of the boat jolted violently.
The boat shook fiercely. One man lost his grip on his oar, and with a plop, he fell into the sea.
Immediately after, the bow of the boat was lifted upward.
Something underneath the boat was pushing up hard.
"Ah!!!!!"
Someone on the boat could no longer control his emotions, screaming in terror.
"I shouldn't have come here!"
The bow rose high into the air, then slammed back down heavily.
Splashing up large amounts of water.
"Thank goodness the boat's structure is still holding up."
The men on the boat had just breathed a sigh of relief when the thing beneath the sea gave a fierce shove from the side.
The boat was lifted upward. The men on board fell into the water one after another, like dumplings dropping into a pot.
He Biao was instantly submerged by the icy, cold current. In the suffocating seawater, he opened his eyes.
Faintly, hazily, he saw a pair of enormous, dark green eyes.
Early the next morning.
A thin layer of fog floated on the sea surface.
The wreckage of the broken boat, carried by the tide, washed ashore on the mudflats.
A large crowd gathered on the shore.
The family members had long cried themselves hoarse, their throats dry and voices ragged.
Standing in the center of the encircling crowd, Zou Jianghe gazed at the wreckage of this wooden ship with a grim, dark expression.