Chapter 393 - 324: A Stormy, Precarious Night

The sky quickly darkened. The wind howled, and the rain pattered down.

The boat, capable of carrying several dozen people, was by no means small. Yet, as it drifted on the sea, rising and falling with the waves, it felt like rootless duckweed, leaving everyone feeling terribly insecure.

They had just finished dinner, and with all the rocking, the sound of people vomiting echoed from all over the boat. Listening to it, Ni Bingyan felt her own stomach churn. She decided to just put in her earplugs, which made her feel a little better.

Most things on the boat were bolted down, but the pots, pans, bowls, and ladles in the kitchen, not yet washed, were banging against each other with a CLANG and a CRASH, the sound enough to make one’s heart pound.

Someone experiencing this for the first time was so frightened they burst into tears.

Ni Bingyan gripped Duanmu Li’s hand, obediently hiding in the cabin. She appeared calm, but she was actually thinking, ’What do I do if we’re in real danger?’

’Out here, stranded in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing but seawater. If I’m lucky, I might wash up on an island and get a shot at some castaway survival. But what if I’m just stuck floating in the water...’

At that thought, she couldn’t sit still any longer.

’No matter the situation, survival has to be the number one priority.’

’Being scared is useless!’

Holding onto the metal bed frame, she pulled the life jacket out from under the bed and put it on. She checked it over and saw that its self-inflating ring, locator light, reflective strips, and whistle were all in perfect condition. Only then did she feel slightly relieved.

Then she thought, ’If I end up in the sea, the most important thing will be to get enough calories to last until help arrives.’

She then found a handful of wrapped candies in her bag and stuffed them one by one into a small pocket, ensuring they wouldn’t fall out with any large movements. She let out a long sigh, feeling a little more secure.

"Don’t worry, everyone! It’s just a small squall. It’ll be over in a bit!"

The captain paced the corridor, constantly reassuring the agitated passengers. When he saw Pei Jin still filming by the window with a camera on his shoulder, he rushed over and quietly told him to stop.

Never mind who’d be at fault if the camera broke; if someone got hurt, he couldn’t bear that responsibility.

The doors and windows were all shut, so from inside the cabin, they couldn’t see what was going on outside, only hear it.

Seeing Ni Bingyan finally settle down, Duanmu Li was a bit speechless.

’It’s just a common squall at sea,’ she thought. ’The captain is perfectly calm. After reassuring the passengers, he went back out to direct the crew on deck. It’s not that scary.’

’But then again, being cautious isn’t a bad trait. If an accident did happen, it would definitely be the survivalist types like her who’d make it out alive.’

Duanmu Li followed her lead and quickly put on her own life jacket.

However, in addition to the candy, she also hung a water bottle around her neck.

The water bottle was made of polycarbonate, had a lid, was very light, and held 500ml.

"You can’t drink seawater. Soaking in it for too long will also dehydrate you. In a situation like that, water is even more important than candy."

Seeing Ni Bingyan take out her earplugs and look at her, Duanmu Li explained.

"Also, if rescue takes a long time to arrive, you can use this to figure out a way to collect fresh water."

"How exactly?"

Duanmu Li had been a soldier and had received systematic training in this area; she knew far more than an amateur like Ni Bingyan.

Since they had nothing else to do, and seeing how nervous Ni Bingyan looked, Duanmu Li started explaining various survival tips to her in detail.

Ni Bingyan showed that she was learning, immediately hanging her own water bottle around her neck. She then found a plastic bag and tied it tightly to the bottle’s strap.

Professional or not, effective or not, at least it made her feel much better.

Time trickled by. The rain didn’t stop soon as the captain had promised; on the contrary, it only grew heavier.

"Look on the bright side. We’re out at sea. No matter how hard it rains, we don’t have to worry about flooding."

Ni Bingyan was adept at making the best of a bad situation. As the rain continued to pour and the waves showed no sign of abating, her anxiety miraculously subsided.

She was even able to tell a dry joke.

Worried the top bunk wasn’t safe, both of them were currently squeezed onto the bottom bunk.

Duanmu Li was leaning against a pillow listening to music, not saying a word.

Just as Ni Bingyan was feeling bored, she heard the captain shouting, "Ali! Drain number two is blocked! Get it cleared! Don’t let the boat flood!"

Duanmu Li snorted with laughter. "I guess flooding isn’t impossible even when you’re at sea."

The sea itself couldn’t flood, but that didn’t mean the boat was safe.

Seeing Duanmu Li deliberately misinterpret her words, Ni Bingyan was unimpressed and decided to just pull the blanket over herself and try to sleep.

She thought she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but surprisingly, she drifted off just a few moments after closing her eyes.

The two of them were crammed onto the single bed. Even though they were both slim, it was still a tight squeeze.

After more than half an hour, the wind had subsided, though it was still raining. Duanmu Li climbed up to the top bunk to lie down.

Worried she might fall, she used a belt to rig up a safety strap for herself.

When they woke up, it was still drizzling outside, but the wind had long since stopped.

Gentle waves rippled, and their soft lapping only made the night feel more silent. They pulled back the curtain to see a bright moon hanging high in the sky, with pale gray clouds scattered about like torn pieces of old cotton batting.

They checked the time by the moonlight and saw it was already 12:30. Both feeling hungry, they made their way to the galley and found the dining area bustling with activity.

After a brief chat with a few people they knew, they realized the others had already eaten and were now just chatting and letting their food settle.

"Are we still going fishing tonight?"

Duanmu Li was eating two fish fillets with ketchup, while on Ni Bingyan’s plate were two palm-sized pieces of pan-fried mackerel.

Finding an empty place to sit, Duanmu Li spoke first.

It would determine whether she had to work overtime tonight, so of course she had to ask.

"Why wouldn’t we? Before the rain, the atmospheric pressure is low and there’s less oxygen in the water, so the fish aren’t biting. But after the rain, the water brings in oxygen and food, and the fish will gobble up any bait they see. I’ve got to seize this chance and make a big haul!"

The moment she said it, Ni Bingyan remembered they were recording a show. She coughed dryly twice and quickly added:

"We probably don’t have enough footage. What’s going to happen to the show if we just sleep in our cabin? You can head back to the room and get some sleep later. There won’t be much going on."

"I just slept for a few hours. I’m not sleepy."

Someone nearby overheard Ni Bingyan say they were still fishing tonight and chimed in to agree:

"Yeah, if we don’t fish some more, we’re heading back tomorrow. We came all this way; we can’t go back for nothing."

Their haul hadn’t been very big, and they’d already used part of it for everyone to eat. No one was satisfied and they all wanted to try their luck tonight.

The production team was giving them a stipend for the sea voyage, but who would ever complain about earning too much money?

After finishing their meal and gearing up, Ni Bingyan went back to her usual fishing spot.

The camera was in position. Brother Hao and Xiao He were already busy at work.

Brother Hao, still obsessed with catching a big fish, was using a shrimp trap to chum the water. Xiao He, on the other hand, just wanted to make more money, so he focused on catching economically valuable fish.

For an experienced angler, the probability of catching certain fish can be controlled to some extent.

For example, by selecting bait that specific fish prefer and using it to target them.

Another method is to adjust the hook’s depth. Fish in the ocean are stratified, with each species preferring a certain water layer, so this also increases the chances of catching a specific type of fish.

After the storm, everything was back to normal. The deck was still a little damp, but otherwise, things looked no different.

After chumming the water and baiting her hook, Ni Bingyan had the bad luck of catching a ray, just as she heard the captain shout:

"Reel in your lines, reel ’em in! No more fishing today! I’ll refund you for the spots later. Right now, I have to go on a rescue mission. A fishing boat has lost contact, and we’re the closest vessel!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the boat started moving.

Seeing this, everyone scrambled to reel in their lines.

They abandoned any fish that weren’t already reeled in.

Who would even think about fishing in a situation like this?

There were many reasons a fishing boat could lose contact, but what if the worst had happened?

What if the boat had capsized and people were drifting in the ocean? Arriving too late would be a fatal mistake!

Compared to a human life, everything else was worthless.