Chapter 301 Appearing before Sang Zhitao after the natural disaster...
What appeared before Sang Zhitao were countless pieces of wood, as well as some clothes, miscellaneous items, and other things floating on the sea.
Looking at the patterns on some of the wooden blocks, she knew that the wreckage came from a third-class ship.
Sang Zhitao stared blankly at the wreckage that stretched for miles across the sea.
She couldn't count exactly how many third-class ships the timber came from, but she could tell it was from no fewer than a hundred.
Her boat slowly moved forward, breaking through the wooden blocks.
Sang Zhitao discovered that several of the pieces of wood floating on the sea surface bore the markings of ordinary ships.
She closed her eyes, turned around, folded up the cover, and then continued to look at the sea.
"No bodies?" Sang Zhitao frowned and murmured softly.
A thought flashed through her mind: perhaps the people on the ship were still alive?
But the next second, some severed limbs and remains appeared on the sea surface.
However, these severed limbs and remains were charred and small, clearly indicating that they had been burned by lightning for a long time.
Sang Zhitao closed her eyes and silently watched the ship pass through the severed limbs and wreckage.
The sea breeze stirred the surface of the sea, creating gentle ripples. The pieces of wood and broken limbs, carried by the current, gently bumped against Sang Zhitao's boat, producing dull thuds.
Sang Zhitao sighed silently, intending to turn around and go back into the cabin, wanting to avoid seeing the horrific scene before her.
Before she could even open the door, she heard a very faint sobbing sound coming from afar.
She stood there, stunned, and subconsciously turned her head to look, but the sea surface was still as normal as before.
Sang Zhitao shook her head, thinking it was her imagination, but when she opened the door again, she heard that sobbing sound again.
She frowned, her fingertips lingering on the doorknob for a long time, before finally deciding to go and check it out first.
With that in mind, she didn't delay and turned around to go into the control room.
The boat headed toward the source of the sound, and after about three minutes, another sobbing sound came from there.
Sang Zhitao walked onto the deck and carefully examined the corpses on the sea.
This place was a bit better than where she had just seen the severed limbs and remains; the bodies here were mostly intact, but that only added to the horror.
Sang Zhitao subconsciously reached out and covered her chest, where her heartbeat was steady and rhythmic.
She frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled as to why she felt no fear at all upon seeing such a scene, after all, she was just an ordinary girl whose life had not been particularly turbulent.
Her inner turmoil ended with yet another, clearer sob, and she quickly looked toward the source of the sound.
There were the corpses of a man and a woman there.
Their postures were somewhat strange, with their backs slightly arched. The male corpse had his arms outstretched, tightly protecting the female corpse, while the female corpse had her head lowered and was curled up in the male corpse's arms, but her back was clearly arched.
Sang Zhitao frowned, looked down at the corpses on the sea, thought for a moment, and then went back into the cabin to steer the boat in that direction.
She had originally planned to step over the corpses, but she couldn't get past her own conscience.
They were not far apart, but the boats could only approach each other cautiously at a very slow speed. After all, the size of an ordinary boat is already very large for humans, and such a short distance could easily cause them to miss their destination and perhaps separate the couple.
Sang Zhitao didn't want to separate this loving couple after their deaths.
Thinking this, she arrived in front of the two corpses in no time.
Sang Zhitao threw down the rope ladder and carefully approached the corpse, whereupon the whimpering sound rang out again.
She was certain the sound she heard came from between the two corpses.
Sang Zhitao already had a guess in her mind. She carefully extended the pole she had prepared and used it to lift the two of them.
Unexpectedly, yet also expectedly, she did not separate the two corpses.
With a sigh, Sang Zhitao descended a few more steps and used a little force to try and separate the couple.
The couple embraced each other extremely tightly, especially the male corpse, as if he feared that if he loosened his grip even slightly, he would be unable to protect his wife.
Sang Zhitao didn't want to disturb their bodies, but she couldn't separate them for the time being.
After thinking for a moment, Sang Zhitao apologized, stepped on the male corpse's leg, and then looked between the two.
There she saw a child looking at her weakly.
Sang Zhitao was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly retreated back onto the rope ladder, adding a few more steps.
After failing again, Sang Zhitao looked at the two corpses and said softly, "I want to save your child, please ease up."
After saying that, she used even more force to pry open the male corpse's arm.
Whether it was her sudden burst of strength or her words that made the dead hear her, this time, the male corpse was successfully separated from his wife.
They were holding a child who was only two or three years old. In addition to the black clothes they were wearing, the child was also wearing a small red jacket.
The red color was so distinct that it could be seen even in the sea several miles away.
Sang Zhitao took a deep breath, her fingertips trembling slightly as she lifted the child from the arms of the two corpses.
She carefully placed the child back in the room, then returned to the sea to carry the couple's bodies back onto the deck one by one.
In a world of natural disasters, there are no continents; everyone's final destination is the sea.
Therefore, according to the local custom, after people die, their relatives will hang an iron plaque engraved with their life story on their bodies, and then send them into the sea after the farewell ceremony, hoping that their bodies can become nourishment for all things in the sea.
There is only one exception: those who die in natural disasters. No one will put iron plaques on them or hold any ceremonies. They will be swallowed up by the sea in silence and stillness, leaving no trace in this world.
Sang Zhitao could have ignored the couple like everyone else, but she still wanted to put up an iron plaque for the nameless couple to tell future generations that their child was still alive.
Sang Zhitao found two iron plates that had been stored in the warehouse for a long time.
According to Zhifeng, these two iron plaques were prepared by her parents when they were still alive, but they never expected that instead of having descendants, they would face their own death first.
Sang Zhitao looked down at the iron plaque, silently took out her engraving tools, and carved a few words on it: "Born of the unknown, died in a level four thunderstorm disaster, with one daughter surviving, the couple protected and loved their daughter their whole lives..."
She stopped using her carving tools, silently looked at the few words on the iron plaque, and finally carved the words "female infant" in the blank space.
Carefully hanging the two iron plates on their wrists, Sang Zhitao opened a gap in the railing and gently pushed forward, causing the two corpses to fall into the sea, creating a huge splash.
Sang Zhitao watched the sea slowly return to calm, then turned and went back to her room.
The child who took the medicine is now asleep.
Sang Zhitao frowned as she looked at the new clothes the girl was wearing.
She was a single girl on a boat, and there weren't many clothes that a child could wear.
Although Zhifeng had said that Sang Zhitao's parents liked to collect some of her things, Sang Zhitao searched the warehouse for a long time but couldn't find any children's clothes, so she could only temporarily wrap the child in one of her own shirts.
Thinking of this, Sang Zhitao couldn't help but frown and tap her fingertips on the table.
"Why aren't the things Zhifeng mentioned in the warehouse...?"
After murmuring softly, Sang Zhitao bit her lip, turned around, and quickly walked into the warehouse.
She stood at the warehouse entrance, looking at the neatly arranged items inside; at first glance, there was nothing particularly special about them.
After thinking for a moment, she went into the warehouse.
Sang Zhitao searched the warehouse carefully for a long time, but found nothing related to children, or even anything connected to the past; there were only simple supplies.
"Is Zhifeng lying to me?" Sang Zhitao wiped her hands, frowning as she looked at the newly tidied warehouse.
"No way, what reason could she possibly have for lying to me?" She let out a soft sigh, completely baffled as to what had gone wrong.
After all, as Zhifeng said, Sang Zhitao's parents loved to collect interesting things from the past as keepsakes. Initially, they were proof of their love, and later they were memories of Sang Zhitao's growth. Zhifeng had even shown them off to others many times.
But... Sang Zhitao has found nothing yet.
"Forget it, I'll ask Zhifeng's parents when I run into them later." Hearing the child crying, Sang Zhitao was too tired to search anymore, so she closed the warehouse door and turned back to her room.
The girl looked to be only two or three years old. Her small body lay on the big bed, and she looked around in panic.
"You're awake? I saved you," Sang Zhitao said frankly.
The little child didn't understand what Sang Zhitao meant, but the crying subsided considerably.
She looked up timidly at Sang Zhitao and sobbed, "Dad... Mom..."
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Sang Zhitao couldn't remember ever encountering such a small child before.
But she really has no experience interacting with children that big.
Sang Zhitao sighed. She had learned from a book she had read that children this age are more animalistic than human, and everything is more driven by instinct. So, let alone any other thoughts, it would be a problem if they could even understand what she was saying.
Sure enough, just as she thought, a child that big couldn't understand anything and could only cry out in fear of strangers and unfamiliar surroundings.
Sang Zhitao retreated to the doorway with no other option, looked up at the sky, and waited helplessly for the child's crying to end.
It wasn't that she didn't want to go over and comfort her, but every time she got close to the girl, she cried even harder, so she could only wait outside.
This wait lasted for more than ten minutes.
The girl finally went from sobbing softly to choking back sobs from time to time.
"Can you listen to me now?" Sang Zhitao looked at the girl and exhaled heavily. "Your parents have passed away. You are on my ship now, and you will live with me from now on, barring any unforeseen circumstances."
The girl looked at her silently for a long time before looking up and glancing around, then nodded cautiously.
"Okay, as long as you can understand a little, that's fine. Now let's eat." She stepped forward and tentatively picked up the girl. After finding that she was no longer resisting, she carried her to the dining table.
A simple bowl of oatmeal porridge was placed on the table. Sang Zhitao first tested the temperature before feeding the girl little by little with a small spoon.
Soon the child finished eating and fell asleep again. Sang Zhitao also yawned, set the autopilot to work, and went back to the bedroom to sleep for a while.
The ship continued to sail quietly forward on the sea.
Unbeknownst to Sang Zhitao, beneath the girl's clothes, a faint light was flickering, mirroring the green light emanating from her body, as if they were breathing in sync.
When she woke up, it was already broad daylight.
Looking at the girl who was still asleep, Sang Zhitao couldn't help but scratch her head.
She didn't like oatmeal or porridge, so there wasn't much rice or anything like that on the ship. And she didn't know how long it would be before they encountered another merchant ship. She was really worried that the girl wouldn't have anything suitable to eat later on.
"A child this big can eat steamed buns and noodles, right?" She looked at the rice in the cupboard and couldn't help but turn her head towards the bedroom.
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