Chapter 314 - 313: Erin Whittaker Died

Chapter 314: Chapter 313: Erin Whittaker Died

The seawater slowly poured in. The time spent waiting in the water always felt agonizingly long. Surprisingly, my lung capacity allowed me to hold my breath underwater for two minutes. It was evident that Silvia Lynch’s previous physical fitness had been quite excellent. But due to the crashing waves, the hull rocked violently, slowing the influx of water. Meanwhile, the water pressure wedged the bed down even tighter.

I swam upward desperately, gasping for fresh air in the narrow gap, then dove back down to pass the air to Asher. It was a matter of life and death. I was just giving him artificial respiration, yet he actually had the mood to raise his hand, hold the back of my head, and kiss me... This guy really didn’t know when to stop taking advantage of me. I looked at him helplessly. What else could I do? I couldn’t exactly beat him up right now.

Surfacing again, I gasped for air and dove back down. Asher seemed to be soaking calmly in the water, as if nothing was wrong. It had already been three minutes. A normal person’s lung capacity shouldn’t have been able to sustain holding their breath for that long. But I had probably forgotten—he wasn’t a normal person.

"Cece!"

"Asher!"

Above the cruise ship, amidst the fierce storm and crashing waves, their shouts echoed continuously. Knowing everyone was still alive gave us the motivation to keep holding on. Adrian and Stella were still up there. Asher...

Underwater, I hugged Asher tightly. I urged him to hold on. He hugged me back, waiting for the right moment.

BAM! With a violent collision, the cabin tilted almost ninety degrees. The heavy object pinning Asher’s legs finally shifted due to the combined forces of buoyancy and the rocking motion. Asher took the opportunity to pull his legs free. He pressed the back of my head and kissed me for a long time. I felt like I was going to suffocate underwater. Only then did he carry me up to the surface. We gasped greedily for air in the narrow air pocket. I looked at him with helplessness and reproach. Perhaps it was the joy of surviving a disaster; I couldn’t bring myself to truly blame him.

He held me in his arms and whispered, "Cece... we’re not going to die."

"Huh?" He seemed absolutely certain that we wouldn’t die.

"Listen..."

Amidst the crashing waves, the faint wail of a rescue boat’s siren could be heard. The rescue boats were here. It was likely a rescue operation coordinated by the Meridia police and the peacekeeping forces deployed in neighboring countries.

I breathed a sigh of relief as a sense of pleasant surprise spread through my body. I looked at Asher excitedly, tears welling up in my eyes. "I was nearly scared to death just now," I choked out.

"You were fooled by him. His maximum breath-holding time underwater is sixteen minutes, and that’s without much professional training," Felix Foster called from above, tossing down a lifebuoy tied to a rope.

I looked at Asher in shock. The Guinness World Record for holding breath underwater was twenty minutes. And Asher could hold his for sixteen minutes... No wonder he’d had the mood to take advantage of me underwater just now.

"Explain," I snapped, angrily shoving the lifebuoy over his head.

Asher immediately started playing the victim. "Cece, my legs hurt so much."

My heart ached for him. I felt along his body and dove under the water, wanting to check on his legs. Who knew he would wickedly trap me in his arms and even complain that I was harassing him.

"Cece... you’re taking advantage of the situation to grope me."

I was both annoyed and amused as I hugged him tightly. Finally, I understood what it felt like to weep tears of joy. I burst into tears, crying out loud. My sobs were drowned out by the roaring waves. In that fleeting moment, Asher and I felt like we had become eternal, our souls tightly embracing each other.

...

Climbing onto the deck, we waited anxiously to be rescued. Seeing that the rescue boats had arrived, The Genetics Organization’s ship didn’t sail away; instead, it drew even closer.

"We’re here to save you! Hurry up!" Their men disguised themselves as humanitarian aid workers and began "rescuing" the survivors on the cruise ship.

On the adjacent deck, I saw a familiar figure: Julian’s mother, Mrs. Fletcher. Draped in a raincoat, she stood on the deck with her hair whipping in the sea breeze. She looked so foreign and terrifying. She just stood there, her eyes filled with complex emotions as she watched Julian, who was still helping with the rescue efforts. Perhaps she hadn’t expected her own son to be so weak, unworthy of a lifetime of her plans and efforts.

"Julian! Julian, save me!"

Erin Whittaker’s cries rang out from the crashing waves. She had been hiding in her room all along, wearing a life jacket and clinging desperately to the balcony railing, which actually ended up saving her life. The human instinct to survive in the face of danger was always infinitely powerful. Looking at Erin soaking in the seawater, I knew she wasn’t fated to die today.

But it was a pity... She knew too much. Even if Julian and I wanted to save her, The Genetics Organization wouldn’t let her live.

BANG! A gunshot rang out.

Right before the eyes of Asher, Julian, and myself, we watched helplessly as Mrs. Fletcher... shot Erin.

Bright crimson blood bloomed in the water. Her life jacket deflated as she looked down in sheer shock and terror at the blood slowly spreading around her. "Julian..."

In her final moments of terror, she called out Julian’s name.

"Erin!" Julian reached out, trying to grab her hand.

Erin also reached out desperately, trying to catch Julian’s. But Julian had wounds on his hands. If he touched Erin, he would inevitably be infected with HIV. Out at sea, under these harsh conditions, there was no chance of finding emergency preventative medication. Within the crucial seventy-two hours, it would be impossible for them to safely reach the shore and find the preventative treatments. I subconsciously raised my hand to stop Julian, but eventually lowered it. No one could change another person’s fate.

Erin raised her hand, crying as she tried to grasp Julian’s hand. Someone as selfish as her definitely wouldn’t care if Julian lived or died. She just wanted to cling to a final sense of security before her death. Yet, this incredibly selfish person ultimately chose to pull her hand back. Blood had already entered her lungs. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and stared at Julian with a deathly pale face. "Julian... don’t... come over."

Don’t get near her blood. Everyone had suffered varying degrees of injuries, and her blood was a source of infection. Her final gaze landed on me—filled with unwillingness, jealousy, and desolation. I didn’t know if she felt any remorse before she died. Probably not. Because things like conscience are innate. You either have it, or you don’t; it doesn’t magically generate later in life. She slowly let go, allowing her body to sink into the deep sea.

Julian knelt on the deck, his bloodshot eyes glaring at his mother in absolute fury. Mrs. Fletcher looked at him indifferently, not offering a single word of explanation.

"Everyone, get on! If you want to live, hurry up and board the ship!" The men from The Genetics Organization were still coaxing people onto their vessel.

Meanwhile, the real rescue boats had finally arrived, and the rescue teams were coming to save us. I looked at Mrs. Fletcher, and our gazes locked for a long time. Finally, she spoke first.

"Cece, I’m starting to believe that you really are Cece..."

I stared at her coldly, my hands clenched into tight fists. Why? But as to why she did it, I could no longer bring myself to ask. Why did she have to do this...