While others seek survival, I engage in flirtation Chapter 30: The Unmanned Sailboat

Even though we didn't hook up, for some weird reason, we got way closer after that night.

She'd often offer to give me massages after work, and sometimes the other girls would take turns helping me chill out.

Honestly, I started thinking this life wasn't so bad.

After a few days of this routine, it hit me that we'd been on this island for almost twenty days.

I headed to the beach again, planning to gather some oysters and collect seawater to make salt.

Lately, Lilian and I had been going out together, while the other three girls stayed at the camp to prep supplies and take care of Charlie. Each day's outing meant a long walk to get to our spot, something they couldn't really handle. But Lilian, being a rock climber with killer physical fitness, was more than up for the challenge.

We got to the beach and were about to fill up some big bottles with seawater when I heard Lilian shout.

"Carl! Look at that!" She was super excited, grabbing my arm and pointing out to sea.

I followed her finger and squinted for a while before finally spotting what she was trying to show me.

It was a large, old-fashioned sailboat, not a modern cruise ship.

The sails were down, and it was just drifting with the wind and waves.

In this empty sea... a boat was actually heading towards our island?

Could it be a rescue?

Thinking that, I jumped up and waved my arms like crazy... but then I noticed something was off.

There didn't seem to be anyone on the boat, and the hull looked kinda beat up.

As the boat got closer, my unease grew. Something felt off about this boat, but I couldn't figure out what.

Still, this boat was a surprise, and we had no idea what we'd find on it.

"Let's go check out the boat... maybe there's something useful." I pointed to the boat and jumped into the sea, with Lilian right behind me.

I never thought I'd be such a good swimmer. When I hit the water, I almost felt like I was part of the ocean, moving freely underwater without even needing to breathe for a bit.

If it weren't for the urgent situation, I'd totally want to enjoy being underwater.

But now wasn't the time. I quickly swam to the boat and grabbed the side. The hull was shaky, but I managed to steady myself and looked around.

Lilian swam fast too, but she was a bit behind me. By the time she got to the boat, I had already scoped it out.

I reached out and pulled her up from the water.

She was lighter than the other girls but strong and quick. As soon as she grabbed my hand, she realized I had enough strength to pull her up.

She immediately clasped my wrist with both hands, curled her body into a ball, and used my arm to pull herself out of the water.

"Thanks." She landed lightly on the boat, patting the water off her body and thanking me.

"No problem." Seeing her soaking wet, I didn't stick around and headed straight into the cabin behind me.

The sailboat wasn't huge, and the hull was all wooden planks. The cabin was packed with all sorts of random stuff.

We found a bunch of big boxes inside, along with a lot of rusty iron pieces that had been soaked in water for ages.

Some of the boxes were empty, but others were packed full and locked.

I sorted through the heavy boxes and stuffed any useful items from the boat into an empty one.

Judging by the layout from the deck to the cargo hold, this seemed like a cargo boat, and the deck probably used to hold a lot of stuff. There were still a bunch of ropes for tying down cargo.

But those ropes had been snapped by the waves and were useless now. The original cargo on this boat was probably swept into the sea by the waves too.

Lilian and I searched the boat for a long time and, after making sure there was nothing else to take, moved the boxes to the deck.

"Let's take these things back together. This boat doesn't seem very stable, and I'm not sure when it might sink... The cockpit is completely sealed off, so there's no way to get in," Lilian said, looking at the seven or eight big boxes on the boat with a sigh.

To be honest, her suggestion had crossed my mind from the start. I was also well aware of the boat's condition.

The sides of the boat were badly damaged, and the whole thing was on the verge of collapsing. We had to hurry and get these supplies off.

But if we both left the boat and something happened to it, these supplies would sink to the bottom of the sea.

With my current abilities, I wouldn't be able to retrieve them.

"You stay on the boat and wait for me. I'll be faster." Without waiting for Lilian to respond, I jumped into the sea. "Keep an eye on the boxes."

I carried several big boxes to the shore, put them down, and then swam back.

After several trips back and forth, just as I was about to take the last box and return to the shore with Lilian, a huge wave suddenly hit, flipping everything in front of me.

Under the impact of the waves, my whole body felt heavy, and I started sinking into the whirlpool of seawater. The pressure of the water squeezed my body, and the light in front of me grew dimmer.

This felt exactly like when I was washed onto the island. I struggled in fear for a long time before I could barely see the light.

I followed the light to the surface, but the boat had already been shattered by the waves and disappeared.

There was no sign of Lilian on the surface either.

"Lilian! Where are you?" I shouted her name loudly, but there was no response.

The waves were so big just now; could she have been swept into the sea?

Hearing no response, I immediately dived into the water to search.

I circled the area where the boat had just been shattered several times before I found the unconscious Lilian among the debris.

I dragged her to the shore, but no matter how much I patted or pressed her, she didn't respond.

I had no choice but to prepare to give her CPR.

I pressed on her chest, pinched her nose, and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After several attempts, she suddenly frowned and started coughing violently.

Only then did I stop what I was doing.