Chapter 1 Dry Mouth and Tongue

Jia Wenjun's mouth was parched, and her lips had turned purple. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day, and as the sunlight grew stronger, she was finally able to slowly stand up, holding onto the nearby railing after resting on the boat for a good while.

She stumbled towards the barbecue area where they had eaten dinner last night. The further she walked, the more she felt something was off about the boat, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The more she walked forward, the tighter her brow furrowed. At one point, she suddenly stopped, finally realizing what was wrong: the boat was tilting!

She was at the stern of the boat, while the bow was high in the air. So, when she walked towards the bow, it felt like walking on a slightly sloped surface.

The tilting of the deck meant that the hull had run aground and was perched on a reef. She couldn't think of any other reason why such a large yacht would be in this state.

Realizing this, she turned and struggled towards the railing in the middle of the boat.

When she looked over the edge, Jia Wenjun was nearly scared to death. The hull had indeed run aground. Probably due to the receding tide, most of the bottom of the bow was exposed, while the stern was still submerged in the seawater. That's why she hadn't noticed anything unusual when she first woke up at the stern.

Jia Wenjun looked at the expanse of sea reefs that were faintly visible beneath the hull after the tide had gone out. She estimated that the reef area was several times larger than the boat itself. With such a large reef, it would be impossible for the yacht to free itself.

At this moment, the wind had shifted to a northerly direction, much more biting than when they had set out. The wind carried waves that crashed against the hull, and the boat constantly collided with the sharp reefs, making an ear-splitting "creak, creak" sound.

So, that regular scraping sound she had heard earlier was this.

Jia Wenjun broke out in a cold sweat. She hadn't realized so much had happened overnight. She had passed out last night and had no memory of when the boat had run aground. She needed to find Anna quickly and have her contact the coast guard in nearby waters for rescue. Otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the more dangerous it would be for everyone on board.

Thinking this, she staggered towards the cabin. As she passed the outdoor dining table, she finally saw the other members.

Lu Maowang was lying back on the sofa in a strange posture, without making a sound. Wenjun remembered that when she had walked towards the stern last night, Lu Maowang, Bai Ma Shan, and Hu Sixiang were still drinking at the table.

Jia Wenjun was shivering with cold. She quickly walked to Lu Maowang's side and saw that his eyes were open, but he was completely still.

"Ah!" Jia Wenjun was startled, thinking he was dead. She was scared, but she forced herself to calm down quickly.

Steadying her mind, she trembled as she reached out to feel for his breath.

When she got closer, she saw Lu Maowang's chest rising and falling, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But the way his eyes were wide open, staring straight ahead, was still frightening, so she quickly took a big step back.

"Wake up, Boss Lu! Boss Lu, wake up!" Jia Wenjun raised her voice and shook Lu Maowang's clothes back and forth.

Perhaps she was too anxious and used too much force. Lu Maowang's body tilted and rolled off the side of the sofa onto the deck like a sack of flour.

Even so, Lu Maowang didn't wake up. His eyes were wide open, staring at the sky, and his arms hung limply at his sides.

Jia Wenjun didn't know how much he had drunk last night. Even if she woke up a drunkard, she probably wouldn't be able to get any information. She had to find the others quickly.

Jia Wenjun, whose face was pale with cold, was about to lift her foot to move forward when she heard a "clatter" sound from under the table.

Startled, she looked down and saw Hu Sixiang lying under the table.

Hu Sixiang's body and clothes, even his bald head, were covered in vomit. He didn't look much better than Lu Maowang.

Jia Wenjun's voice had been too loud and had woken him up. The cold and wet filth all over his body made him shiver uncontrollably.

"Brother Hu! Are you okay?" Jia Wenjun quickly lifted the tablecloth, not caring about the dirt on him, and pulled him, trying to drag him out from under the table.

Hu Sixiang was still half-asleep. When Jia Wenjun pulled him, he instinctively pushed her away, twisting his body a few times, his eyes closed and a look of pain on his face.

He had made this movement suddenly, and Jia Wenjun was caught off guard. She lost her balance and landed with a thud on the "meat cushion" Lu Maowang, who was still lying on the ground behind her.

"Oof." Jia Wenjun's weight on his stomach caused Lu Maowang to vomit a lot of alcohol from his mouth. Once the yellow-green "fountain" stopped, Lu Maowang finally woke up a bit.

Jia Wenjun didn't care about the foul smell of the vomit. She quickly moved her butt and asked, "Boss Lu, how late did you guys drink last night? Do you know what happened on the boat?"

Lu Maowang wiped the vomit from his mouth, propped himself up slowly, and leaned against the side of the sofa, gasping for breath. "Hap... happened? Nothing happened."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Hu Sixiang lying motionless under the table and suddenly laughed. "That bald head can't hold his liquor. He barely drank anything before crawling under the table."

Then Lu Maowang kicked Hu Sixiang's butt. "Old Hu, get up and drink!"

The kick was quite heavy and completely woke up the half-asleep Hu Sixiang.

He wiped the filth from his face, crawled out from under the table, and sat on the deck with a painful expression. "Oh my god, I'm covered in dirt. How did I end up sleeping on the deck last night!"

Seeing that the two of them were still thinking about drinking, Jia Wenjun was furious. "Stop talking about drinking. Our boat has run aground. We need to split up and find the others quickly, or everyone on board will be in danger."

Lu Maowang and Hu Sixiang were stunned for a few seconds. Then Hu Sixiang grinned. "What did she say? The boat ran aground? Hahaha, Little Jia, how much did you drink last night? You're even more out of it than I am?"

Seeing that the two drunkards were fine, Jia Wenjun didn't want to waste any more time. She stood up to go find Anna when she suddenly heard Lu Maowang pointing at Bai Ma Shan, who was lying horizontally on the deck not far away.

"Why is Dean Bai lying over there!"

Jia Wenjun followed his direction and saw Bai Ma Shan lying face down on the ground, disheveled and completely different from his usual self.

Lu Maowang shouted at Bai Ma Shan, his voice was very loud, but Bai Ma Shan didn't respond at all.

The clouds in the sky were blown away by the wind, and the sunlight shone directly on Bai Ma Shan's body, reflecting his pale face.

Jia Wenjun and Lu Maowang finally realized that something was wrong. They quickly went to Bai Ma Shan's side. Jia Wenjun grabbed Bai Ma Shan's hand and found that it was already ice-cold.

Bai Ma Shan was soaking wet from head to toe, as if he had been submerged in water. No matter how much Lu Maowang slapped his face, Bai Ma Shan still didn't react.