Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Small Fishing Boat
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"Closer."
"A little bit more to the right, OKOK!"
The heavy snow was drifting down, and the air seemed to be frozen by an invisible chill. The clear water surface was calm and without waves, and the sailing boat occasionally splashed water, making a "rustling" sound.
With one person directing and the other operating, the exquisite and warm diesel boat sailed slowly and steadily towards the right front, and soon stopped next to the tattered fishing boat.
The anti-collision tires pressed against the hull with a dull sound. Gu Mengran rubbed his hands excitedly, immediately opened the window, and bent over to get out of the window.
As soon as he stuck his head out of the cabin, a hand suddenly wrapped around his waist, pulling him back irresistibly. With his back against the man's warm and strong chest, Gu Mengran chuckled helplessly, "What are you doing? You have to go in front when there's danger?"
"Yeah." Liang Zhao hugged his waist and kissed Gu Mengran's neck softly and unscrupulously, "I'm your boyfriend."
It felt like a feather brushing against his neck, making him feel itchy. Gu Mengran shrank his neck and said seriously, "I find that you are a bit chauvinistic, Liang Zhao. You are my boyfriend, so I am not your boyfriend?"
"After all, I am an adult man. Don't treat me like a weak child. It's not right for me to take care of everything for you. Besides, I have space in my hands and I have the ability to protect myself and you. Sometimes it is safer and more reliable for me to lead the charge than for you to lead the charge."
Gu Mengran analyzed seriously, and seemed to want to make a point, but Liang Zhao just responded with a perfunctory “Hmm, oh”: “Got it, I’ll definitely do it next time.”
Given the difference in height and size, Liang Zhao tightened his arms, hugged the person and lifted him up. Gu Mengran, who was not short, was like a chick and was easily lifted aside by him.
Liang Zhao was particularly persistent in this regard. Gu Mengran knew that he could not win, so he stood silently by the side and waited for Liang Zhao to climb over the window and walk out of the cabin before he followed him out.
Fishing boats are several times larger than diesel boats and much taller.
Climbing up from the bottom was extremely difficult. The two could only climb onto the awning of the boat on the anti-collision tires, and then move sideways along the awning little by little, risking falling into the water and climbing onto the deck of the fishing boat.
Both of them left to prevent their small boat from being pushed away by the wind and waves. After successfully boarding the fishing boat, Liang Zhao immediately tied the rope that tied the small boat to the railing of the fishing boat, and then he and Gu Mengran felt at ease to observe the surroundings.
The fishing boat was badly damaged. Its rusty hull and messy deck showed that the boat had encountered a strong storm and lost power, drifting in the water for some time.
Without hoping to search for supplies on the ship, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao took a quick walk, walked along the edge of the deck to the bow, and pushed open the unlocked door of the cabin.
The cab was also in a mess, with the windshields on both sides shattered, and glass fragments and dirt from nowhere scattered on the table. There was a thick layer of mud on the ground, and Liang Zhao didn't pay attention to his feet and almost stepped into it. Fortunately, Gu Mengran pulled him in time.
One of them changed into a pair of rain boots, and the other two hurried into the cabin, checked the equipment on the bridge, and tried to restart the ship.
The result is predictable. The boat couldn't start at all. But Gu Mengran held out a glimmer of hope. After confirming the fuel used by the fishing boat, he decisively went to the deck to find the oil tank and very luxuriously added half a bucket of fuel into it.
Returning to the cab, Gu Mengran rubbed his frozen hands, looked at Liang Zhao fiddling with the instruments in front of the console, and subconsciously held his breath.
Success or failure depends on this one move, so it won’t be a waste if we hit it.
Fuel supply, air intake, ignition——
“Boom boom boom…”
The ship swayed slightly, and a piercing roar echoed. Gu Mengran's lips curled up behind his ears, and he grabbed Liang Zhao's arm and shook it left and right, "It's done! Liang Zhao, you are so capable! You can even do this!"
No matter how well a diesel boat is modified, it cannot compare to a fishing boat that belongs to the ocean. Even if a fishing boat is tattered, its ability to withstand wind and waves is several times better than that of a small river boat.
The small boat should be driven first, and then the fishing boat should be put in the hold. If there are strong winds and waves, the fishing boat will be used to sail, so as to reduce the risk of navigation as much as possible.
This is also the reason why Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao insisted on boarding the fishing boat to take a look.
Liang Zhao didn't rush to open champagne with Gu Mengran at halftime. He tried to turn the propeller and other equipment. Seeing that everything was normal, he turned around with relief and smiled at Gu Mengran, "It's OK. There's nothing wrong with this boat. It can still be driven."
The afterglow of excitement had not yet faded, and Gu Mengran praised him generously: "My Xiao Liang is awesome! He can even handle a sea vessel."
"Don't flatter me. This is a small boat, similar to a river boat." Liang Zhao wanted to rub his head, but when he raised his hand, he found that there was a lot of mud on the control panel, so he waved his hand at him and said, "Let's go and take a look in the cabin."
After saying that, Liang Zhao turned off the engine of the ship and quickly walked out of the cab.
Gu Mengran chased after him and asked in confusion, "Why are we going to the cabin? We're just using it to resist the wind and waves and make the transition. As long as it can be driven, the cabin's condition is not important."
Liang Zhao disagreed with this and shook his head, "What if there is someone?"
"How is that possible!" Gu Mengran retorted, "We made such a big noise that someone would have come out to stop us long ago. It's almost like a ghost."
Liang Zhao chuckled and teased him deliberately, "The ship on the sea... it's hard to say."
After hearing just a few words, Gu Mengran shuddered for no reason, and dense goose bumps instantly covered his arms.
In the deserted waters, fishing boats drifting with the current, mottled hulls, dilapidated decks, messy cabs, and strange cabins...
hiss--
"What are you thinking about?"
A slightly hoarse voice interrupted his thoughts. Gu Mengran subconsciously raised his head and his forehead hit Liang Zhao's shoulder.
The cabin entrance was reached, and the guide had already stopped. Gu Mengran rubbed his forehead and forced a dry smile, "No, nothing."
Liang Zhao looked at him suspiciously, without asking any more questions, and said "Watch your step" before walking up the stairs towards the dark cabin.
The cabin of the fishing boat is in the belly of the boat. The dark and damp stairs go down diagonally, like an abyss with no bottom in sight.
Gu Mengran swallowed and followed Liang Zhao's steps. The suffocating silence was unbearable. After walking a few steps, Gu Mengran took the initiative to bring up the topic: "You said you wanted to be a sailor before, so have you heard of some...ocean legends?"
"For example?" Liang Zhao asked him back.
"Ahem," Gu Mengran cleared his throat, "Sea monsters, ghost ships, and the like."
After he finished speaking, the man standing on the stairs suddenly stopped moving, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Gu Meng felt an inexplicable chill on his back, and hurriedly took a half step forward and grabbed Liang Zhao's arm, "What are you doing——"
Before he could finish his words, Liang Zhao burst out laughing. Gu Mengran then realized that he had been fooled. He was so angry that he twisted his arm hard.
The kitten's scratches didn't hurt, so Liang Zhao held Gu Mengran's hand, hiding the smile in his eyes, and gently comforted him: "Don't be afraid, ocean legends are all fake. Even if there is a ghost ship, it is in the deep sea. We just entered the sea, how can we encounter it."
"Who's scared? I, I was just saying it casually." Gu Mengran's face turned red. She wanted to shake off Liang Zhao's hand but she couldn't match his strength, so she could only let him hold her hand.
However, Liang Zhao's comfort obviously eased Gu Mengran's nervousness. They were just near the sea. They had just entered the sea. Where did the ghost ship come from? They were just scaring themselves.
The tense nerves gradually relaxed, Gu Mengran held Liang Zhao's hand and followed his steps to move slowly. When he walked down the last step and was about to take a closer look at the cabin, a slightly cold hand suddenly covered Gu Mengran's eyes.
"Don't look, turn around and leave Meng Ran."
Gu Mengran's curiosity was immediately piqued when Liang Zhao covered his eyes without him seeing anything. He didn't rush to push Liang Zhao's hand away, nor did he rush to leave. He lowered his voice and asked carefully, "What? I don't want to see it. Tell me."
Liang Zhao was silent for nearly two minutes before he slowly said, "The body."
"Ah? That's it? It's not like I haven't seen it before."
"Meng Ran!"
Ignoring Liang Zhao's obstruction, Gu Mengran decisively pried his hands apart.
Although he was mentally prepared, Gu Mengran was still stunned when his eyes, which had adapted to the darkness, touched the corpse.
In the corner on the left side, a skinny young woman was curled up on the ground, wrapped in a quilt, holding a little boy of about five or six years old tightly in her arms. She lowered her head slightly, her expression was extremely calm, and her sunken eyes were closed.
The child's small body was wrapped in an ill-fitting cotton jacket, his face was pale, his eyes were closed, as if he was asleep. The woman's stiff hand rested on his head, her dark blue lips slightly parted, as if she was singing a nursery rhyme to lull the child to sleep.
"Is it really a corpse? Why do I feel..."
The voice stopped abruptly. Gu Mengran squinted his eyes and took a closer look, and saw purple-red corpse spots on the back of the woman's hand.
Not scary, not eerie, just sad.
A hand covered his shoulder, and Liang Zhao's gentle voice sounded in his ear: "Don't look anymore, the person is dead. The time of death should not exceed two weeks. They just stayed here like this. I don't know if they died of freezing or starvation."
The person is already gone, it doesn't matter how he died.
The important thing is... Gu Mengran frowned and looked back at Liang Zhao in confusion, "Then, then do we still take this ship? What should we do with them?"
"Take it." Liang Zhao patted Gu Mengran's shoulder and said seriously, "They won't be used anymore. In the end times, the living are the most important."
In the end times, the living are the most important thing. Although they hesitated, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao finally chose to pack up the fishing boat and take it away.
If you take away someone's home, you must give it back to them.
The fishing boat disappeared out of thin air, and an orange raft appeared on the calm water. The "sleeping" mother and child lay down on it peacefully. Carrying a thick quilt and the child's favorite yogurt and jelly, they continued to sail with the current.
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