The endurance had been sailing for nearly twenty days. Although there had been periods of continuous drizzle during this time, overall, the journey had been fairly stable.
Before long, the ship would enter the Dragons Triangle. That area was prone to violent storms, and nearby vessels often went missing.
With an experienced helmsman like Grim, Captain Roth wasn't particularly worried. These two old men were old acquaintances of Lara's father; the three of them had completed many expeditions together and were brothers-in-arms who would die for each other.
However, Lara's father had long since passed away, so the two of them became father figures to her. Roth, in particular, had always served as Lara's mentor in exploration, teaching her various survival skills and telling her stories of her long-deceased parents... Inside the cabin, Xia Yu was picking out essential survival items, such as magnesium fire starters, medical kits, high-energy food, and so on.
He stuffed as many of these items as possible into a large waterproof backpack so that he could better survive if they ended up stranded on a deserted island.
He knew the plot of tomb raider 9. Although he couldn't remember the exact details, he could still recall the general progression of the story.
Once the ship entered the Dragons Triangle, if nothing went wrong, then something would definitely go wrong. Even more predictably, everyone on board except for the key expedition members would meet with an accident.
But even if the expedition members survived the initial accident, they would face more mishaps on the island until, by the end of it all, only four people would remain alive.
Xia Yu wasn't sure if he could save everyone; he could only try his best to save those he cared about. Besides Lara, there were also Roth and Grim, who would meet with accidents. These two old men had been quite good to him, and he wanted to change their fate of sacrifice.
But for now, he would just wait quietly for the storm that would change everything.
Time passed, and a few days later arrived. Although Xia Yu knew the ship would encounter a hull-tearing storm, he had forgotten the exact time, only remembering that it happened at night.
Therefore, after packing his backpack, Xia Yu returned to his cabin early every night, waiting for the storm that could strike at any moment.
Dragons Triangle, south of Japan, endurance Expedition — Day 22, 23:00.
Xia Yu wasn't asleep yet. As a youth of the new century, he had his own standards: it wasn't considered staying up late until it was past 1 AM.
Thinking about it, it seemed that since he started university, he had never gone to bed before midnight. Tsk, he'd die of exhaustion sooner or later.
Just as Xia Yu was scrolling through jokes on his phone and casually liking them, the ship suddenly began to pitch and roll. The swaying was so violent that it sent the books on his desk tumbling to the floor.
Before he could even sit up, the hull shuddered violently, throwing him off the bed. He slammed hard against a protruding corner.
"Hiss..."
Slumped on the floor, Xia Yu braced himself against the desk and stood up, clutching his side. That impact really hurt; if he were an ordinary person, he would definitely have internal bleeding in his abdomen or even a bone fracture.
After the pain subsided slightly, Xia Yu quickly changed his clothes, grabbed the large backpack he had prepared, steadied himself, opened the cabin door, and rushed out.
He had to find Lara. He wanted to avoid the scene from the beginning of the game. A game wasn't reality; no one could survive on a deserted island after being impaled through the side by a rusty rebar.
Whether it was wound infection or excessive blood loss, either would take a person's life on a deserted island, especially in a filthy, damp cave like that.
On the other side, in Lara's room.
A few minutes ago, Lara was still reclining on her bed, listening to music with headphones on, but a jolt of the cabin caught her attention.
She had just taken off her headphones and looked out the window when the ship tilted sharply again. As a result, she couldn't maintain her balance and was thrown onto the floor.
With a cry of pain, Lara endured the ache and pushed herself up. Before she could figure out what was happening, the ship began to sway violently once more.
It was as if an invisible giant hand were tearing at the ship, seemingly unwilling to stop until the hull was ripped in two.
Her head still throbbing, Lara didn't dare hesitate. Clutching her head, she opened the cabin door, but just as she stepped out, seawater suddenly poured into the cabin through a breach!
The violent surge swept her directly into the seawater flooding the cabin. This area was already submerged, with almost no way to escape.
Lara held her breath and swam to the surface, but the porthole leading to the upper deckhouse wouldn't open. The water from below was rising rapidly, about to submerge this final pocket of air.
Pounding on the porthole for help, Lara couldn't help but feel despair. The seawater had already covered her head, and her life's experiences began to flash before her eyes.
Once the area was completely flooded, Lara even gave up entirely, letting herself slowly sink.
But in the next moment—
A figure suddenly opened the porthole from above, reaching into the water to pull her out.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Breathing in fresh air, Lara coughed violently, hacking up the seawater she had swallowed. The newcomer patted her back, helping her clear her throat.
Once she recovered, Lara saw clearly who it was—it was Xia Yu, who had come looking for her.
"Wuu... I knew you would come to save me." Lara's eyes reddened as she hugged Xia Yu tremblingly, sobbing softly.
"There, there, don't be afraid. I'm here," Xia Yu comforted her while patting her back. "This part of the hull is about to sink. We need to get over to Roth's side quickly."
Hearing this, Lara looked around. The entire ship had been torn in two by the storm, as if snapped apart by brute force. The hull at the break was jagged, and debris flew everywhere in the raging storm.
Their section of the broken hull was heavier and would surely sink first. If they didn't get to Roth's half of the ship immediately, they would go down with this one.
If they were unfortunate enough to fall into the sea, the vortex created by the sinking hull, combined with the wind and waves of the storm, would make it impossible to escape, no matter how good a swimmer one was.
Seeing this, Lara felt terrified, but the thought of Xia Yu being by her side gave her a sense of security.
Just then, she saw Roth on the other side of the broken hull, waving to them, seemingly signaling for them to come over.
Taking a deep breath of cold air, Lara leaned on Xia Yu to stand up, then nodded to him and dashed toward the edge of the break. She was going to jump.
After a running start, Lara leaped from the edge. On the other side, Roth reached out, ready to catch her.
Her figure soared through the air and began to fall with the momentum. Just as she was about to drop into the sea, Roth's hand reached out.
Clap!
Their hands gripped each other tightly, but before Roth could pull Lara up, the downward momentum caused their grip to slip.
In the next instant, the rain caused their hands to slide apart completely. Lara's figure plummeted. She saw Roth shouting, but her ears could no longer hear any sound.
She reached out helplessly, but there was no one left to catch her. In that moment, Lara was in utter despair.
But a second later, another figure appeared before her eyes. It was Xia Yu; he had jumped down as well.
Falling, Lara's eyes widened. Her vision was filled with Xia Yu's anxious face. Time seemed to stand still until he grabbed her hand.
Then, they both fell into the sea together.
Having successfully caught Lara, Xia Yu immediately pulled her toward the surface after they both plunged into the ocean.
Reality wasn't a game; there was no "try again" after death. Even if Lara was a superhuman in the game, right now she was just a young girl.
His Level 4 Swimming skill was enough to keep him alive in these stormy waves. Catching a glimpse of the deserted island nearby, Xia Yu quickly held Lara and swam toward the beach.
If nothing went wrong, the other members of the expedition should survive, so there was no need to worry about them for now.