Forty-nine hours later, the rain of fire ended and the world became dark.
Judging from the time, it is indeed night.
"What should we do next?" Liu Zhen asked.
Song Sanhe looked at Shao Shengan, then at Qiao Qingqing.
They have been cooperating very happily since they met. In the past two days, they have received a lot of help from Shao Shengan's family.
During these 49 hours, no one could sleep. How long could they hold their breath? They needed to frequently go in and out of the water, get oxygen, and then hide in the water again, which consumed a lot of physical energy.
Aunt Qiao and Aunt Xia were the weakest and wore diving equipment most of the time. Shao Shengan and his team later gave their oxygen cylinders to them, but Song Sanhe could see that Shao Shengan and his wife, Uncle Shao, and Feifei were all in very good physical condition. They had never been exhausted and sank into the water. Song Sanhe and Liu Zhen were in good physical condition, but their teammates were much worse. The two of them were busy taking care of their teammates and were unable to do anything else. Several times, their teammates were so tired that they sank to the bottom of the water. It was Shao Shengan and his team who rushed down to pull them back, and pressed their breathing masks on their companions' faces to save them.
Song Sanhe will always remember this assistance and this friendship.
This family is worth associating with. Song Sanhe confirmed this again, so he was willing to listen to their opinions and everyone continued to act together.
"Let's turn the wooden boat over first and check if it can still be used. If it can, we will take a rest and wait until daybreak." Qiao Qingqing said.
The boats flipped over, and all three were damaged to varying degrees, with the bottoms of the boats burnt to ashes. The only good thing was that the boats were not so badly damaged that water would enter, and they could continue to be used after the water was dumped out. Qiao Qingqing and the others boarded the boats one by one, and after they sat down, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone was exhausted.
More people climbed out from the water. The ships in the distance had not yet burned out and were still smoking. There was smoke and smoky fire everywhere, and white smoke was billowing. Many people couldn't help coughing.
The silent sea and a group of exhausted humans.
Everyone lay down to rest. Qiao Qingqing leaned against Shao Shengan, quietly looking at the cruise ship in the distance. The entire cruise ship was burning, and finally it was burned out. The remains sank to the bottom of the water and fell into complete silence.
I don’t know how much time had passed, but all the wrecked ships sank and there was no light left in the sea.
Qiao Qingqing took out a candle from her backpack: "The candle is in a sealed bag and it hasn't gotten wet, so it must still be usable."
Snap——
The lighter in Shao Shengan's hand lit the wick of the candle. The faint light lit up and then began to grow, illuminating this small world, making people want to cry.
Someone shook off the water and brought a small wooden board over. Qiao Qingqing tilted the candle as she did before, poured the wax on it, and then pressed the bottom of the candle onto the wax to secure it.
"That's great." Liu Zhen said softly.
They involuntarily gathered around the candle, the candlelight reflected in everyone's eyes, in the billowing white smoke that had not yet dissipated, like believers on a devout pilgrimage.
The water rippled slightly, and the wooden board swayed with the waves. There was a pool of wax on it, and the last section of the core solidified in the wax.
It was already bright, and the chaos on the water surface was more obvious. Qiao Qingqing and her family were still there, and they had finally recovered some strength after a night of rest. They had no shortage of food for the time being, so they did not go fishing.
"These fish are enough for us to eat for a few days!" Father Shao heard the lid of the bamboo basket shaking slightly, and touched it with a smile, checking that the lid was still tightly sealed and not damaged.
"I'm afraid of eating raw fish. I really want to eat cooked fish," said Zeng Guangyu.
"Let's talk about it after we find land. Now that it's daybreak, let's leave. This area is too dangerous. Although there have been no shark attacks in the past two days, but..." Qiao Qingqing shook her head.
She felt that she couldn't stay in this place any longer.
"Let's go, then. Let's go now."
Everyone rowed their wooden boats without wings to leave the water.
Some people started to leave after resting and recovering their strength like them, while others started to salvage supplies and look for relatives and friends. The sea became lively.
"Aren't we robbing? They are all robbing."
"Yes, a lot of the fleet's supplies are in the water, and they are stealing them."
Liu Zhaoyun was about to leave, and the two remaining companions asked in confusion.
Liu Zhaoyun looked at the backs of Qiao Qingqing and the others and shook his head: "Let's leave here first. We can find supplies later. How can we starve to death when there are fish everywhere in the water? If you don't leave, I will leave by myself." How many families can still be well-organized these days? Qingqing's family... is quite capable. They left as soon as the sun rose. They must have their reasons. Liu Zhaoyun decided to follow them.
"No, Sister Liu, I'll go with you."
"I'm leaving too, Sister Liu, I'm leaving with you too!"
After daybreak, the tragic scene on the water became even more obvious.
There were burnt debris and human corpses everywhere. Many corpses were swollen and floating on the water, with no clothes on the exposed parts. They must have floated up after death and were burned by the rain of fire. Some of them had their clothes burned off, and some of them had their bodies burned black.
There were really a lot of corpses. Not everyone could swim these days. Even if they could, the forty-nine-hour rain of fire would have pinned people underwater. If they didn't have the strength to hold on, they would have drowned.
Qiao Songzhi's hands were shaking.
If there were no diving equipment and no oxygen tanks...these corpses before her eyes would be the fate of her and Axia.
Qiao Qingqing held her cold hand, looked at her and comforted her. She told her mother with her firm eyes that even if there was no diving equipment, even if all the oxygen cylinders were used up, she would help her mother get oxygen. Even if she had to tie her mother to her back, she would not let her mother drown and sink into the deep sea.
Qiao Songzhi's eyes were also bloodshot. She sighed, looked away, and patted Qiao Qingqing's hand. She knew in her heart that if that moment came, she would not drag her daughter down.
Everyone was very tired, and a few hours of rest was not enough to restore all their strength, but everyone was rowing hard.
They passed through the bodies, pushed aside the debris, and finally got away from the water where the crowd had gathered. Qiao Qingqing's hands were shaking so much that she couldn't hold the oars.
"Take a break. I'll check if the portable stove is still usable. If it is, I can boil some hot water." Shao Shengan said.
After repairing the portable stove, Shao Shengan opened the plastic water bottle, poured the filtered clean water into the washed iron pot, and began to boil hot water. Qiao Qingqing had a sore throat and didn't say much. She took out the anti-inflammatory medicine from her backpack, crushed it and added it to the water, and everyone got half a cup.
The water is bitter, and even after filtering it still has the astringent taste of sea water. In addition, the anti-inflammatory drugs have dissolved into the water, making the water taste even worse.
But Song Sanhe and his friends drank it very carefully. Perhaps it was a psychological effect, but after drinking it, the pains in their throats, stomachs, muscles, etc. seemed to be relieved.
Qiao Qingqing couldn't help laughing, her voice hoarse: "How could it be so effective!"
After soaking for two whole days, everyone's eyes became red, their voices became like broken gongs, their skin became pale and wrinkled, and they no longer looked like human beings, but like water ghosts.
After drinking the hot anti-inflammatory water, Qiao Qingqing felt a little better.
The sunlight is weak and there are dark clouds in the sky. It looks like it is going to rain.
"Why is there no wind at all? The wind was so strong before that we didn't even dare to open the sails." Father Shao was tidying up the sunshade again. The sunshade was burned and torn to pieces, and he was trying hard to repair it.
There was really no wind, not even a little bit.
"There are so many fish!" Shao Shengfei leaned over the edge of the boat and shouted loudly.
Qiao Qingqing also took a look when she heard it.
Large schools of fish swam under the boat, like large black pieces of cloth, so long that their tails could not be seen. Qiao Qingqing pursed her lips, thinking of the night when it rained fire, when she felt the threat from heaven and earth.
The sea of fire came and then stopped, so will the sea become angry next?
"Let's set off after we finish eating and try to find land." Qiao Qingqing said softly. She knew that it was almost impossible to find land, but it was still a hope.
On this sunny to cloudy, windless afternoon, Qiao Qingqing's family ate a pot of thick fish soup and shared some with Zeng Guangyu and Song Sanhe. Before departure, Liu Zhaoyun's boat approached. Qiao Qingqing knew she was behind them, and the two kept a distance. Seeing her approach, Qiao Qingqing sat up and asked her, "What's wrong?"
Why do you look so unhappy?
"Qingqing, look at this." Liu Zhaoyun handed her a bunch of withered water grass.
"What's wrong?" This is just a bunch of ordinary water plants, which probably have a little anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. Qiao Qingqing has picked up a lot of them recently. When Shao Shengan and his brother went fishing before, they would bring them home to her when they saw them.
There was still shock in Liu Zhaoyun's eyes. "But ten minutes ago, it was still very fresh. I fished some and ate part of it. I was planning to keep the rest for the time being. Then it suddenly withered in front of my eyes and became like what you have in your hand - it looked like it had been in the sun for three days."
Qiao Qingqing's face changed slightly, and she looked at the water grass in her hand again and again. She knew Liu Zhaoyun's character and he would not make up stories. Since he said that this grass was fresh ten minutes ago, it must be fresh.
She thought of the mysterious poplar forest.
Shao Shengan also remembered: "Let's observe whether other plants have the same changes." He looked at Shao's father, "Dad, where is your basket of seedlings?"
Shao's father said distressedly, "They were all drowned. I freed up the bamboo baskets to put the fish in."
"The growth cycle of the vegetables grown at home is normal..." Qiao Qingqing murmured, returning the grass to Liu Zhaoyun, "I will pay attention to other plants in the future, but this is not something that can be controlled or stopped by human power."
"I know." Liu Zhaoyun just wanted to find a reason to get closer. Even though they had worked together before, Liu Zhaoyun was not the type to just approach and say she wanted to go with you. She had to find a topic. After she finished talking about the topic, she asked, "Can we go with you?"
"Can you? Are your two companions reliable?" Qiao Qingqing asked.
Liu Zhaoyun smiled and said, "All the unreliable ones are dead."
As soon as she said this, the expressions of her two companions beside her changed, as if they were a little afraid of her. Qiao Qingqing realized that during these 49 hours, some bloody and cruel stories had happened to them. She nodded and said, "Let's go."
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