Gou Fugui had to admit that Xie Tianlang was a man whose prowess defied all logic.
Despite being made of mere flesh and blood, without any golden finger bestowed by Mother Earth to transform, he could still forcefully rescue people on this storm-ridden sea surface.
He was even faster at saving people than Gou Fugui the sea otter, saved more individuals, and... seemed to breathe less heavily while doing it.
It was as if the power within him was boundless; as long as he didn't fall, nothing could defeat him.
If Xie Tianlang's breathing hadn't finally grown rapid towards the end and his face hadn't turned visibly pale, Gou Fugui would have suspected this guy wasn't human but some kind of bio-engineered or robotic being.
With such a formidable man taking action, the results were remarkably impressive—in the half hour after saving that little boy, Xie Tianlang alone pulled forty to fifty people from the sea.
However, although he pulled them up and gathered them together, these people had no barrier to cling to, and their bodies were extremely weak from shock, water inhalation, and injuries. Almost as soon as they were rescued, they were on the verge of being swept back under by the waves.
Even when Qin Feng and the other two arrived, gathering the survivors and securing them with ropes, those who were weak or injured still couldn't hold on.
As the situation grew increasingly dire, just as Xie Tianlang was staring at the sinking giant cruise ship, contemplating whether to push himself to the limit and tear off a steel plate, the clever, brave, and adorable Sea Otter Fugui suddenly surfaced with a lifeboat!
Then, everyone drifting in the sea saw the small, round sea otter clinging to the side of the lifeboat, raising its little neck high while making "ah-ah" cries and vigorously hitting the boat with a large seashell it had fished up from who-knows-where.
This furry, round little creature cried out and banged on the boat towards Xie Tianlang's direction. While everyone else was stunned, an extraordinary gleam lit up Xie Tianlang's sharp, knife-like eyes. He then laughed heartily and dragged the string of survivors over to the newly surfaced lifeboat.
"Truly worthy of being my otter. Well done, Yuanyuan!"
Sea Otter Fugui immediately rolled his eyes at the self-proclaimed owner, Xie the Wolf-man, stuffed the large seashell he had retrieved into his little pouch, and turned back towards the cruise ship that was almost completely submerged.
The reason this cruise ship didn't have enough lifeboats was that the giant waves and fierce winds had caused it to suddenly capsize and list, preventing it from lowering the lifeboats secured by chains in time.
In the rush, the maritime crew could only throw overboard many inflatable life rafts that could deploy immediately on the water's surface. However, due to the rafts' limited capacity, many people in the water were still left without a place.
Later, even when the crew pressed the button to release the lifeboats, those on the sinking side were stuck because pressure jammed the locks, preventing them from fully detaching and floating to the surface. At this point, if someone could dive into the water and use external force to push those jammed, not-fully-released lifeboats, there was still a chance to push the submerged boats back to the surface.
Of course, if luck was on their side, a few of the cruise ship's fully enclosed lifeboats, which had been unlocked, might float up after the ship completely sank.
But now, it clearly required action from an exceptionally skilled diver. Yet, given the current weather, sea conditions, and the massive volume of the rapidly sinking ship, even a top-tier diver would face near-certain death.
For Sea Otter Fugui, however, this was merely a bit more difficult. It just required exerting... every ounce of strength he had.
After all, he was currently just a sea otter who liked rubbing his face and basking in the sun, completely lacking the immense power of a fierce beast.
So, in the following half hour, the survivors of this maritime disaster experienced something they would find miraculous, heartwarming, and unforgettable for the rest of their lives—
They watched as that little sea otter kept diving into the sea, helping them find or push up one vessel of hope after another, witnessing its perseverance and fearless determination.
Later, when the little cutie had no strength left, its handsome owner thought of a way to save its effort. The little cutie would carry a hook and line, find the pinned lifeboats underwater, hook them, and then everyone would work together to pull the rope, hauling the trapped lifeboats up.
In the end, it was like a dreamlike miracle—out of the twenty fully enclosed lifeboats on the Brilliant Crystal, besides the four initially deployed, seven more were found by this little sea otter and pulled up by everyone!
And besides the fully enclosed lifeboats, this little fellow also found sixteen uninflated inflatable life rafts!
When the lifeboats were filled with people and all the life rafts were inflated, the survivors looked around in utter disbelief:
"...Is everyone on a lifeboat now?"
"It seems so. It seems some soldier brothers and sisters skilled in diving and swimming helped with the rescue. More lifeboats and rafts were found. Everyone floating on the sea who could be saved has been saved!"
"Heavens... this is truly a miracle... I thought I was done for earlier..."
"Statistically speaking, this is indeed a miracle. After all, once a giant cruise ship is in distress, the survival rate for those on board is generally less than thirty percent. That sea otter... played a huge role." The speaker was a bespectacled young man who looked quite knowledgeable, his eyes now shining as he looked at Sea Otter Fugui beside him.
"That sea otter and the big brother who keeps it are amazing! It's my first time knowing sea otters can be so smart and capable! It completely changed my perspective."
"Mommy! Did the otter save us? But the otter looks so tired!"
The woman held her little daughter amidst the wind and waves. Looking at the small creature not far away, lying exhausted on an inflatable raft, panting and holding its little belly, a faint smile couldn't help but appear on her pale, weary face. "So let's keep our voices down and not disturb it with our crying or noise."
So the little girl and the other younger children on the lifeboats nodded seriously. They had been very frightened too, but when they saw that small figure diligently searching for lifeboats in the storm, shaking its head and diving again even after being harshly slapped by waves, they suddenly found the courage to face the dark ocean and the tempest.
Even a little sea otter isn't afraid and doesn't cry; they must be strong too.
Gou Fugui lay sprawled on his back on the inflatable life raft, belly up, feeling like only his last breath of otter life remained. Even though he had transformed into Sea Otter Fugui, who could drift freely at sea, this round of diving, searching, and hooking had drained a tremendous amount of his energy.
Right now, he wanted to do nothing but devour food!! The annoying part was he didn't even have the strength left to dive and find a meal; he could only play dead.
Sea Otter Fugui didn't regret diving to find the lifeboat, after all, it was also about saving people. But he was truly starving. If someone could feed him right now, then he would...
Suddenly, the scent of meat wafted to his nose.
Sea Otter Fugui twitched his large, diamond-shaped black nose and instantly opened his dark, grape-like eyes.
A piece of glistening canned luncheon meat was right by his mouth. Without a second thought, Sea Otter Fugui opened his mouth and took a big bite!
"Oww oww!" What incredible deliciousness! So touching!
Sea Otter Fugui couldn't help but happily rub his face with his two little paws. Indeed, a big meal after work was the best way to reward the body!
Thus, being too hungry and too engrossed in eating, Sea Otter Fugui completely overlooked that the person feeding him was none other than Xie Tianlang, whom he had just been mentally calling "son." It wasn't until he had gobbled down three cans of luncheon meat and four small dried fish that he shockingly realized he was somehow already being held in Xie Tianlang's arms, and even all his fur had been thoroughly petted!
"Fck, oww?!"
Xie Tianlang, who was in the middle of petting the otter, paused his movements, looking suspiciously at the fluffy, round ball in his arms: "Did you just... yell 'fck'?"
Sea Otter Fugui's body stiffened slightly, then he started screaming "fck" frantically in his heart.
Wouldn't you yell fck if someone petted you from head to tail?! But not a hint of this showed on his furry sea otter face. Instead, he became even more unreasonable, yowling at Xie Tianlang:
"Ah oww oww oww fck! Oww oww oww ah fck fck!" If Dad could speak human language right now without exposing his identity, Dad could curse your ancestors eighteen generations in creative ways, believe it or not?
But after he yowled like this, Xie Tianlang no longer found it strange. After all, humans haven't even heard all the sounds cats and dogs can make. The cries of a sea otter from an apocalyptic world... might just include yelling "fck."
Xie Tianlang then flicked Sea Otter Fugui's diamond-shaped black nose: "Stop yowling, save your energy. The storm isn't over yet... Sanchuan just barely managed to determine our location. We're still at least six days away from the Dongzhou coast."
"And this wave of sea storm isn't over. It's highly likely that in two days, we'll face an even bigger wave of sea storm."
Gou Fugui couldn't help but think of the towering wall-like sea wave he saw from afar when he first fell from the sky. That giant wave probably wasn't heading in their direction, otherwise, no one here would have survived.
But could such a huge wave elsewhere at sea not affect this place?
Maybe the massive storm that capsized the cruise ship came from that.
So, we really need to get ashore quickly, ahhh!
Sea Otter Fugui started subconsciously rubbing his face and grooming his fur anxiously. It really doesn't let an otter have a moment's peace.
However, getting ashore isn't that easy. Even with the lifeboat running at full speed, given the current stormy weather, it would still take six days. And the lifeboat doesn't have enough fuel stored for a six-day journey.
The survivors began connecting all the lifeboats and life rafts with ropes. The surviving cruise ship's first mate, a very capable-looking, robust man in his forties, started speaking:
"I apologize that the 'Brilliant Crystal' failed to bring everyone home safely this time. But the sudden major storm at sea was something none of us anticipated. The previous marine weather forecast didn't detect this either, which is a point I must get to the bottom of upon our return."
"Perhaps this major sea storm is related to the sudden increase in global rainfall over the past few months. There was a city that experienced continuous rain for a month, causing severe flooding, but we didn't expect the rainfall to so strongly affect the ocean."
"Nevertheless, although we've suffered a shipwreck, everyone here is very fortunate. Perhaps we have received the pity of sea spirits, which is why more than half of us survived this storm."
"But we can't relax yet. The tech-savvy young man beside me has detected that we are still not out of the storm zone, and in the next two days, we might face an even more terrifying major storm."
"So, in the coming two days, we must work together with one heart to overcome this challenge!"
"Now, let me assign tasks. First, while the wind and waves have subsided a bit, those who are injured should bandage their wounds quickly, and those feeling dizzy or exhausted should rest immediately."
"Those who still have energy will take turns using tools from the lifeboats and life rafts to salvage floating debris around us. These items might become life-saving resources in the days to come."
"Then, each lifeboat and life raft should assign two to three people to organize the supplies on board. In the coming days, we must distribute food evenly and reasonably to ensure our minimum survival needs."
"Finally, let's take a roll call of everyone on all the lifeboats and life rafts. If anyone has words they wish to say, they can also be recorded in the logbook... Although I hope we all make it ashore safely, no one can guarantee anything, right?"
As the first mate said this, seeing the people around him becoming tense and despondent, he quickly pointed at Sea Otter Fugui, who was still lying on Xie Tianlang's lap, perking up his ears and listening intently. He said in a light, cheerful tone, "Everyone, don't be too disheartened. We already have the help of the lucky sea otter. I believe we can all make it back alive together in the end!"
Then, almost everyone turned their gaze towards the little sea otter who was intermittently rubbing his face. Strangely, everyone's mood actually relaxed a bit.
That's right, we have the lucky otter, Yuan Yuan, with us. We will definitely overcome this danger!!
The face-rubbing Sea Otter Fugui: "...Huh?" Wait, what's with those suddenly reassured looks? I'm just a sea otter, not Paul the Octopus, okay!
Regardless, everyone began to act in an orderly manner.
And Sea Otter Fugui, skilled at diving, naturally became a member of the salvage team. By now, he finally had time to catch some food for himself and gather some equipment for when they go ashore in a few days.
