Chapter 179: Adrift

“Are you saying that this boat can’t move?” a student exclaimed.

Lei Yin calmly replied, “Yes. The engine of this boat starts by using an electronic ignition system, but the rain has soaked the control panel in the captain’s cabin. This not only prevents the engine from starting, but it has also shorted the radio. In other words, we’re stuck here, and we can’t call for help.”

His words caused a heavy silence to fall over everyone in the cabin.

“Isn’t there any other way?” another student asked anxiously.

“There is. I’ve heard that these engines can be manually started by bypassing the circuits. But I don’t know how to do it. If none of you know either, we’ll have to wait for the captain to regain consciousness and figure something out.” Lei Yin’s knowledge of electronics was outdated, rooted in decades-old technology, and the original owner of his current body was an electronics novice who only knew how to play video games.

Everyone instinctively glanced at the unconscious middle-aged captain lying on the bench.

“It doesn’t matter if the boat can’t move,” a male student said, trying to sound optimistic. “As long as we wait, someone will come to rescue us eventually.”

Hearing this, the others felt a flicker of hope and began to relax slightly.

“What you said isn’t wrong,” Lei Yin said. “But that assumes we have enough food and water to survive until help arrives. It also assumes we won’t encounter another storm like the one we just faced.” His words made everyone tense up again as memories of the terrifying storm resurfaced.

The same male student, unwilling to give in so easily, retorted, “That’s just your speculation. A helicopter might come to rescue us any minute now.”

Lei Yin glanced at him before replying, “What if it doesn’t? I checked the cabin earlier and didn’t find any food. We have no idea where the storm has taken this boat or how far we’ve been blown off course. If no one comes to rescue us in two or three days, we’ll all starve to death here. Can you guarantee that someone will come to save us within two days?”

The student was left speechless.

“Do you have a better idea?” another male student asked.

“Just a short while ago, I saw some seabirds flying overhead. That means there might be land nearby. My suggestion is to split into two groups, each rowing on one side of the boat until we find land.”

“You want us to row to find land? Do you think this is the Age of Columbus?” a student sneered.

Lei Yin looked at him coldly and said after a moment, “Do you think that’s funny? Frankly, sitting here waiting for death isn’t my style. If none of you agree with this plan, that’s fine. Even if I’m the only one, I’ll take a lifeboat and do it myself. If a helicopter happens to rescue you while I’m gone, please let the pilot know where I am.”

The student who had initially asked Lei Yin the question spoke up, “I think the plan is feasible. Instead of passively waiting for rescue, it’s better to try to save ourselves while we wait.”

After considering it carefully, most of the others agreed that Lei Yin’s plan was better than sitting idly.

Since Lei Yin had proposed the plan, the students decided he should oversee its execution. He didn’t decline and arranged the group into two mixed-gender teams to balance their strength. As there weren’t enough oars, he instructed them to dismantle cabinets and benches to use as makeshift paddles.

Although some were reluctant to row, peer pressure eventually forced them to join in. Fortunately, the boat was a mid-sized passenger vessel with little heavy cargo, making it relatively easy to row. However, most of the students had no experience handling a large boat. Their uneven effort and lack of coordination caused the boat to spin in circles.

Seeing this, Lei Yin had to step in and teach them the correct posture and rhythm. Only after his repeated instructions, to the point of exhaustion, did the students finally manage to row the boat forward rather than continue spinning aimlessly.

After nearly four hours of rowing, the forty-plus people on the boat were growing weary and overheated. The students, who had never experienced such labor, began voicing increasing complaints.

“I’ve had enough! Why are we working so hard when we could just wait for rescue?” exclaimed the same male student who had initially opposed the plan, throwing his oar aside.

Encouraged by his outburst, several others followed suit.

“I don’t want to row anymore. Let’s just wait for rescue.”

“Yeah, this is too exhausting.”

“I’m sure a helicopter will come for us soon. Let’s just stay here.”

“I’m so thirsty. I need water.”

“Didn’t you just drink some earlier? There’s only one barrel of water left, so hold out a bit longer.”

Although the cabin had drinking water provided for passengers, the heat and large number of people meant the supply was being consumed rapidly.

Seeing more and more students stop rowing and complain, the student who had supported Lei Yin’s plan asked, “Gennai-kun, what should we do now?”

Glancing at the grumbling students, Lei Yin sneered and replied, “There’s a saying: They won’t cry until they see the coffin. Just wait. When they start feeling fear, they’ll naturally pick up the oars again.”

“Are you sure this will work?”

“Maybe. Let’s hope they still have enough strength to row when the time comes,” Lei Yin said coolly.

He had considered taking Amy and setting off in a lifeboat to search for land on his own. However, he wanted to avoid that as a last resort. The open sea was not a lake; the lifeboat was far too small, and even a modest wave could easily capsize it. For now, he didn’t have much faith in the others. If the situation remained unchanged by the following afternoon, he would take the risk and go.

Walking into the cabin, Lei Yin saw Amy sitting with the elderly American couple, who were chatting with her.

Among all the people on board, only the unconscious captain, the young Amy, and the elderly couple were excused from rowing.

Hearing familiar footsteps, the little girl turned toward the cabin door and immediately saw Lei Yin entering.

“Lei!” Amy exclaimed, jumping off her chair and running toward him excitedly.

Strangely, seeing her happy smile lightened Lei Yin’s mood significantly.

He bent down and picked her up. “Did the captain wake up?”

The little girl shook her head.

Not wanting to worry her, Lei Yin looked at her and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll make it back safely. I promise.”

Amy nodded earnestly and wrapped her arms around his neck. “As long as Lei is with me, I’m not afraid of anything.”

Since everyone had left the ship after only eating breakfast that morning, by nighttime, their young, ravenous stomachs began tormenting them.

“Hey, does anyone have anything to eat? Even a bread crust would do!”

“Yeah, if anyone has food, don’t keep it to yourself. We’re all classmates.”

Most people remained silent, unwilling to waste energy on such pointless chatter. After a while, the few who were complaining grew embarrassed and stopped talking.

Because the deck couldn’t accommodate everyone lying down, many moved to the lower deck to sleep and endure the hunger.

By around 9 PM, the cabin fell silent.

The following morning, the sleeping students were awoken by the sound of arguing.

“Damn it, what did you do?”

“Why are you shouting? We were just using the water to clean ourselves.”

“Why didn’t you use seawater? Why waste the drinking water? Don’t you know this is all we have left to drink?”

“Are you crazy? The seawater is filthy! How could we use that? Besides, we only used a little. Why are you so worked up? I didn’t expect you to be so stingy.”

“A little? You used a third of it!”

The awakened students opened their eyes to find a male student angrily yelling at two girls.

The argument was simple: a few girls had used the drinking water to clean their mouths and faces. Under normal circumstances, no one would have cared. But on this stranded vessel, that single barrel of water was all they had left. Seeing that it was now less than half full, not only did the angry boy lash out at the girls, but other male students also began scolding them loudly.

The two girls burst into tears after being scolded, saying, “We’re not the only ones who used it. Others did too—they just left after they were done.”

By afternoon, a male student, unable to endure the overwhelming hunger, kicked a nearby chair in frustration.

“When the hell are they coming? If this keeps up, we’re all going to die here!”

The other students, their eyes vacant, watched his futile outburst. For the first time, they truly understood how terrifying hunger could be.

At that moment, the student who had supported the self-rescue plan stood up and shouted, “Are you all still stubbornly staying here waiting for rescue? What if no one comes today, tomorrow, or even the day after? What do you think will happen to us then?”

His words sent a chill through everyone’s hearts. After barely enduring one day, none of them dared to imagine the suffering they’d face if this dragged on for several more days.

“Shut up! How can you say something so unlucky at a time like this?” snapped the male student who had been the first to oppose the self-rescue plan, glaring at him.

Hearing the commotion in the cabin, Lei Yin stepped inside. “Let me ask you again—do you still insist on staying here and waiting to die?”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” the opposing student shouted angrily.

“You’re the one who should shut up. If you dare say another word, I’ll throw you into the sea right now,” Lei Yin said, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Faced with Lei Yin’s terrifying gaze, the student instantly recalled the man’s intimidating presence and fell silent, not daring to argue further.

Lei Yin then turned to the rest of the students and said loudly, “You have no other choice. If you don’t want to die, you’ll do exactly as I say. Now, pick up your oars and get to the deck.”

The students, thoroughly worn down by hunger and completely devoid of their own resolve, stood up instinctively.

Watching their weak, sluggish movements as they rowed, Lei Yin couldn’t help but think he might need a whip, like an old-time slave master, to get them moving.

As he watched the waves rolling endlessly, a sudden realization struck him. Swearing at himself for overlooking such a simple solution, Lei Yin quickly returned to the cabin. He tore down all the curtains from the windows, gathered a roll of rope from the storage area below deck, and climbed to the top of the cabin with the materials.

His actions drew the attention of the others, who stared at him in confusion.

“What’s he doing?”

“I have no idea.”

Soon, they began to understand. Lei Yin was crafting a makeshift sail by threading several curtains together with fine wire and securing one edge to the ship’s flagpole.

After a few minutes, he had erected the rough sail and tied it firmly with ropes. He pointed to a few male students and said, “You, come up here.”

Exchanging uncertain glances, the students climbed up the cabin ladder.

“I’ll teach you how to adjust the angle of the sail to match the wind direction. From now on, we’ll take shifts to manage this,” Lei Yin said. Without waiting for their agreement, he began demonstrating the process to them step by step.

The students were surprised to discover that such a simple sail, when angled correctly, could significantly increase the ship’s speed. Compared to the monotonous task of rowing, managing the sail felt much more engaging and far less tiring. Before long, they were fully engrossed in learning.

As night fell once again, an even more intense hunger gnawed at everyone. Most were too weak to stand, slumping limply onto their chairs.

On the cabin roof, little Amy sat on Lei Yin’s lap, holding out a piece of bread to him. “Lei, please eat some, okay?”

The bread was part of a small stash Lei Yin had found in the captain’s cabin—likely leftovers from the captain’s breakfast the day before. He had hidden it away, intending to save it for Amy.

Smiling, Lei Yin patted her cheek. “No, you eat it.”

Tears welled up in Amy’s eyes. “But you haven’t eaten anything these past two days. Please, just have a little, okay?”

“I’m really not hungry,” Lei Yin said gently.

“You’re not eating? Then I won’t eat either.”

“If you don’t behave, I’ll have to spank you. Be good and eat it now.”

Seeing his slightly displeased expression, the little girl reluctantly obeyed and began eating the piece of bread, tears streaming down her face as she did.

Watching her cry like that, Lei Yin felt a pang of guilt. He gently stroked her hair. “I’m sorry, little one.”

The little girl looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, then buried her head in his chest and began sobbing.

After a while, between sobs, she stammered, “I’m so scared something will happen to you, Lei.”

“Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me. I promise I’ll get you home safe and sound,” Lei Yin said with a smile, wiping away her tears with his sleeve.

The little girl stared blankly at his reassuring smile.

※※※

By the third day at noon, gazing out at the vast, unending ocean, many of the students began to look utterly despondent.

Most of them were so starved that they could barely stand, let alone row. With the sail providing propulsion, it hardly mattered whether they rowed or not, so Lei Yin didn’t bother urging them. Since the previous afternoon, he had been keeping a close eye on the debris floating in the water.

His hunch was correct. Ahead of their current course, there had to be an island. The increasing amount of plant debris floating on the waves suggested that they were getting closer to land.

Around 10 PM, the sleeping passengers were jolted awake by a violent impact, with some even falling from their seats.

Moments later, those sleeping on the deck heard panicked screams coming from below, and students began rushing up from the lower deck.

“Wake up! The lower deck is taking on water!”

“What? Taking on water? How could this happen?”

“Oh no, it really is flooding! What should we do now?”

“Quick, think of a way to seal the breach!”

“The hole’s too big! We can’t block it!”

At this moment, Lei Yin came running down from the upper deck and shouted, “The ship probably hit a reef. Everyone put on your life jackets immediately. We’re abandoning ship. There’s an island ahead where we can land.”

“What? An island ahead? Are you serious?” a male student exclaimed, his voice filled with hope.

“Less talking, more moving! Put on your life jackets!” Lei Yin barked. He picked up a life jacket and helped Amy put it on before donning one himself.

Since the ship only had two lifeboats, Lei Yin allowed only the unconscious captain, an elderly foreign couple, and a few female students to board. Some male students tried to force their way onto the boats but were driven back by Lei Yin.

The two lifeboats were too small to accommodate everyone. In the end, three female students had to stay behind with the other males, wearing life jackets and clinging to the edges of the boats to stay afloat in the water.

Lei Yin was the last to leave the ship. After swimming two or three meters, he suddenly turned around and headed back toward the sinking vessel.

A short while later, he returned, carrying a round object.

Swimming up to the lifeboats, he shouted, “Little one, where are you?”

Soon, he heard Amy calling out to him. He immediately swam toward the boat she was on.

Seeing that Amy was indeed safe aboard the lifeboat, Lei Yin let out a sigh of relief.

At that moment, everyone—whether on the lifeboats or floating in the water—could see, under the faint starlight, a massive shadow ahead.

“It really is an island! We’re saved!” many of them cheered excitedly.

But while the students were overjoyed, Lei Yin remained reserved. His sharp eyes caught the island’s pitch-black silhouette—there wasn’t a single light visible. This likely meant it was an uninhabited and deserted island.

Still, it was far better than aimlessly drifting at sea. Lei Yin consoled himself with this thought.