Chapter 93: An Unfamiliar Island
Right now, what Wu Xie hoped for most was that when he returned, Third Uncle would already be fine at home. Otherwise, the remaining possibility would probably be the truth.
If Wu Sansheng had really gone missing, then the one who might have killed the crew and the expedition team was really him. This was also the most likely reason why this boat was left behind—he had to leave a way out for his nephew.
With the coastline of Yongxing Island right in front of them, Wu Xie didn’t want to think about it anymore. However, for some reason, he always felt that this coastline was off, as if it wasn’t the same as the one they had seen before.
Fatty next to him also noticed something wrong. He hurriedly ran to the cockpit to call Zhang Qiling, pointing at the blurry coastline outside the glass and saying to him: “Hey Xiaoge, something’s not right. Did you drive to the wrong place? This island doesn’t seem to be Yongxing Island! Look, the coastline is completely different!” Fatty had stayed on Yongxing Island for a few hours back then and had wandered around everywhere, so his words naturally carried extremely high credibility.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiling’s expression changed. Before, he had been focused on driving and only observed for dark reefs from the cockpit glass. Now, looking in the direction Fatty was pointing, it really wasn’t the familiar outline of Yongxing Island! Although there was only a thin line of white on the horizon and the stars were still visible, the light was sufficient. After confirming they had gone to the wrong island, he immediately stopped the boat and called Fatty to drop anchor.
After dropping anchor, Zhang Qiling started fiddling with the instruments in the cockpit. Wu Xie and Lin Yan were clueless, so they could only stand outside. Fatty went in to confirm with him. Wu Xie didn’t expect that Fatty actually knew this: “Fatty, you know how to drive a boat too?”
Fatty turned back with a hey-hey grin: “Of course! When I was sent down to the countryside back then, I was also the production team leader for the fishing team! This thing is a bit more advanced than what we had then, but the basic principles are the same. Just look a bit and you’ll get it.” After watching Fatty and Zhang Qiling fiddle around in a daze, their expressions both darkened at the same time.
Seeing the situation was bad, Wu Xie had an ominous premonition lingering in his heart and quickly asked: “What’s wrong? What happened?” Fatty and Zhang Qiling exchanged a glance, and Fatty said with a grim face: “The GPS and compass on the boat are both malfunctioning. Our current navigation direction is off by about thirty degrees, deviated by dozens of nautical miles from the original Yongxing Island!”
Hearing this, Wu Xie thought it wasn’t a big deal. Just dozens of nautical miles? Turning back wouldn’t be hard. “Then can’t we just correct the direction and turn around now?”
Zhang Qiling shook his head. Seeing the rope at the bow mast swaying more and more, he went out to test the wind: “Too late. Wind is picking up.”
Hearing that the wind was picking up, Wu Xie and Lin Yan, who had experienced the storm, both shuddered—they were truly scared remembering the misery when the last storm hit! So Fatty and Zhang Qiling heard them say in unison: “Then shall we go ashore first?”
Fatty thought about it, and this seemed feasible! The fish caught on the boat were still there, and taking some to the island to eat was no problem. But first, they needed to find a sheltered place. So this job
He looked at Zhang Qiling, and somehow they communicated. In less than a second, Zhang Qiling nodded: “I’ll go ashore first and leave markers along the way. You guys bring the stuff and follow.”
He turned and called Fatty to weigh anchor first—they had to move the boat to a sheltered port, or else after the storm passed, they’d really be stuck on this island!
It was only when the boat sailed around the coastline that they discovered, though it looked similar from afar, up close this island was much smaller than Yongxing Island. After sailing halfway around the island, they finally saw a natural sheltered harbor.
It was a natural beach indented inward, perfect for parking the boat inside.
To prevent the boat from being blown away, after dropping anchor, they tied the tow ropes to at least two trees each as thick as two arm spans before stopping. By the time they got off the boat, the wind was already strong. The originally clear view was obscured by the black clouds rapidly sweeping in from the horizon, so they had to bring a few extra flashlights, fearing they wouldn’t be able to see the surroundings later.
On this kind of primitive island, the ecosystem hasn’t been destroyed, so there are usually some small things—like snakes, pythons, big spiders, little scorpions, and such. When Fatty told Lin Yan and them this, Lin Yan and Wu Xie, who had been a bit eager to experience the primitive ecosystem for the first time, immediately deflated: “Fatty, you’d be better off not saying anything! I was actually looking forward to the primitive ecosystem, but now after you say that… I’m afraid I’ll get eaten by a python if I’m not careful.”
Wu Xie nodded in deep agreement beside him: “Yeah, Fatty. I originally thought we were just finding a cave for a wilderness cookout. After hearing you say that… there won’t be blind bears coming to trouble us, right?”
At that moment, Zhang Qiling had already taken the lead with the equipment and flashlight. Fatty was packing the fish, cookware, seasonings, and such to bring. Hearing this, he turned back with a strange smile: “Not necessarily… Primitive forests are magical places with all sorts of things, especially on an isolated island in the sea. Who knows, maybe we’ll even see some extinct creatures!”
Speaking of extinct things, Wu Xie suddenly thought of the Forbidden Woman and hurried over to check. Seeing that black clump with orange-red exposed still hanging on the rope, he relaxed. Seeing how nervous Wu Xie was about the Forbidden Woman, Lin Yan teased: “Why don’t you bring her along too?” But when he saw Wu Xie seriously considering it, Lin Yan panicked: “I was joking! Aren’t you afraid of getting entangled again if you bring her? What if I accidentally use too much strength and kill her?”
Hearing this, Wu Xie started seriously considering if it was too late to pull up the Forbidden Woman now and cremate her…
Luckily, at this moment Fatty finished packing and called them to leave, or else Wu Xie might really have done it.
Only after going ashore did they realize that Fatty and Zhang Qiling weren’t exaggerating about the terror of the primitive forest. The beach looked similar to man-made developed ones from afar, but stepping on it revealed gravel everywhere that hurt the feet, with very little actual sand. The edge between the beach and forest was full of gravel and shrub plants uncommon in cities; a slight carelessness would scratch the legs and feet.
After just a few steps, Wu Xie and Lin Yan’s legs had been scratched several times, some scratches even seeping bloodstains. Wu Xie nearly twisted his ankle on a stone; if Lin Yan hadn’t steadied him from behind, he would have face-planted right back onto the beach. And this was while following the path Zhang Qiling had roughly cleared with his knife.
After that heart-stopping moment, not even entering the forest yet, Wu Xie was already drained and even wanted to say they should just stay on the boat. But seeing the surging sea behind them and the fishing boat starting to pitch up and down, he turned to look at the forest rustling in the wind, gritted his teeth, and followed Fatty in.
Lin Yan watched Wu Xie and Fatty enter the forest one after another, watching their flashlight beams being swallowed bit by bit by the darkness. He inexplicably shivered. He had a bad premonition, feeling like something would happen if they went in, but going alone if he didn’t follow wasn’t worth it—better to go in, so if something really happened, they could at least look out for each other.
