ebookland Chapter 1161
Chapter 1161
The waves surged up again, pushing them higher into the sky before crashing them down.
The sky remained a suffocating brownish-black, with salt fog permeating the air, relentless winds, and towering waves.
Zhou Shuwan and her family huddled together, rising and falling in the raging waves, like a small boat on the sea.
Qi Mingyu was tossed about in the waves. The buoyancy of his air-conditioned clothes prevented him from being completely swallowed by the giant waves, but each rise and fall felt like being violently thrown up and then slammed down by an invisible hand.
The salt frost on the mask was as thick as frosted glass, and only a narrow gap allowed one to barely discern directions. The reddish-brown waves twisted and rolled in my vision, and all I could hear was the howling of the wind and the roar of the waves.
"Wanwan! Dad! Mom! Mumu!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, but his voice was torn apart by the gale and could not be heard even a meter away.
Just as he was being spun around by a swirling current, he caught a glimpse of two figures struggling to regain their balance in the distance.
Qi Mingyu's heart skipped a beat, and he paddled hard toward that direction until he was less than two meters away before he recognized Zhipeng and Yuxuan.
Yuxuan was frail and unable to move easily. She curled up in the seawater, unable to exert any strength.
Zhipeng shielded her from most of the impact with his body, his left hand gripping her wrist tightly.
They had no other companions with them, clearly indicating that they had been separated from Xue Dong and Xue Tao during the evacuation.
"Zhipeng! Yuxuan!" Qi Mingyu shouted, using the momentum of a wave to rush to their side. Before they could react, he reached out and firmly supported Yuxuan's back: "I'll help you!"
When Zhipeng saw it was him, a hint of relief appeared on his tense face, but he was still breathing heavily: "...Thank you..."
"Hold on tight!" Qi Mingyu said in a deep voice, placing Yu Xuan's arm on his shoulder, and then taking a spare restraint belt from his waist, quickly wrapping it around their waists to tie them firmly together: "This will reduce the impact, you hold on!"
Yu Xuan gritted her teeth and nodded, cold sweat mixed with seawater sliding down her cheeks and soaking her collar: "Thank you... brother-in-law..."
After securing Yuxuan, Qi Mingyu immediately turned to Zhipeng and asked loudly, "Did you see Shuwan and the others when you evacuated? And also Mom, Dad, and Mumu!"
Zhipeng shook his head: "No... I didn't see it... It was too chaotic during the evacuation... We were separated by the air currents..."
He shuddered as he spoke, as if he were enduring some kind of pain.
Qi Mingyu's heart sank. Just as he was about to ask again, his gaze inadvertently swept over Zhipeng's left arm.
There was a gruesome tear at the elbow of his air-conditioned suit, a gaping hole two fingers wide, torn open by alloy fragments, through which seawater was continuously pouring in.
The seawater, at over 50 degrees Celsius, was scorching hot, and the moment it touched the skin, it caused a sharp pain. No wonder Zhipeng was in such a bad state.
"Your clothes are torn! We need to get ashore as soon as possible!" Qi Mingyu warned sternly.
But at this point, the small island was the eye of the storm and was extremely dangerous.
Zhipeng shook his head: "It's tolerable!"
Just then, a piece of alloy floated by, and they grabbed it together, barely managing to steady themselves.
Looking out, the sea was filled with floating figures, as densely packed as dumplings being dropped into a pot.
Most people gathered in small circles, pulling each other to resist the waves.
Exhaustion and fear were written on everyone's face. The salt frost on their masks made it impossible to see each other's faces. They could only recognize each other by familiar voices.
Occasionally, one could hear desperate cries, the last pleas for help from those caught in the whirlpool, but these were quickly drowned out by the roar of the waves and disappeared beneath the reddish-brown surface of the sea.
Time passed by in agony, each second feeling like an eternity.
Qi Mingyu protected Zhipeng and Yuxuan, struggling to stay afloat amidst the waves. His eyes never gave up searching, hoping to catch a glimpse of Zhou Shuwan, even if there was only the slightest possibility.
After an unknown amount of time, the howling of the wind gradually subsided, and the power of the waves began to diminish.
The towering waves, which had been as large as mountains, gradually subsided, the swirling air currents disappeared, and the whirlpools on the sea surface receded one by one, leaving only the undulating aftershocks.
Qi Mingyu was overjoyed and subconsciously looked up, only to find that the sky was still dark.
Thick, dark brown clouds, like a giant curtain, completely blocked out the sun. Salt fog still filled the air, and visibility remained poor, with only objects within three meters clearly visible.
"The eye of the storm...is over?" Yu Xuan asked weakly, her voice filled with disbelief and relief.
Zhipeng took a deep breath, and the burning pain in his chest seemed to lessen a bit. He nodded: "It should be..."
Just then, a series of urgent shouts came from not far away. Captain Chen, tightly protected by several soldiers, with half of his body above the water, shouted towards the direction of the aerial fortress: "Is the fortress alright? Can anyone see the situation of the fortress?"
His voice echoed across the empty sea, but received no response.
Everyone strained to open their eyes wide, trying to see through the thick salt fog and clouds to make out the view in the sky.
But all that could be seen was a blurry outline, making it impossible to determine whether the fortress was intact.
Many people looked anxious. The fortress built with boiling point alloy was their last hope. If the fortress was destroyed, they would lose their home forever.
Only Zhou Shuwan and Xiao Sheng in the crowd clearly knew the situation of the fortress at this time.
Just now, when the eye of the storm was at its most intense, Zhou Shuwan vaguely saw the fortress's V-shaped deflector deflect countless fragments. Although the double-layered alloy wall was dented, it never broke.
But neither of them said a word.
The current poor visibility is due to the clouds, fog, and waves. Once these conditions pass, everyone will find that the fortress is basically undamaged!
The clouds gradually began to move, and the salt mist slowly dissipated with the airflow, gradually increasing visibility over the sea.
At Captain Chen's command, everyone began to swim towards the shore.
After being battered by the eye of the storm, many people's air-conditioned clothing and winter coats were damaged.
Seawater at over 50 degrees Celsius poured in through the breach, causing waves of burning pain. Combined with the corrosiveness of the salt spray, everyone grimaced, yet no one dared to slow down.
Zhou Shuwan helped Zhong Tiyun, and Mu Mu pulled Zhou Jianghai. The four of them supported each other as they struggled to move towards the shore in the seawater.
The temperature control system of the air-conditioned clothing had completely failed, and the temperature of the seawater seeped through the clothes, making my skin slightly red from the heat.
But they all gritted their teeth and persevered, moving closer to that familiar shallow beach.
Finally, her feet touched the soft sand. Zhou Shuwan felt a sense of relief and could no longer hold on. She lay down on the beach with her family, her limbs outstretched, not wanting to move at all.