Chapter 284 - 214: King of the Sea, Land, and Air

Chapter 284: Chapter 214: King of the Sea, Land, and Air

Zhao Wendong kept his head down, continuing to gather things feverishly. Suddenly, something ahead reflected the beam of his flashlight, dazzling him for a moment. He paused, then hurried over. When he saw the object on the ground, a strange expression appeared on his face. It was a glass bottle, half-buried in the sand. Crucially, the mouth was sealed tight. It looked just like a message in a bottle from a later era.

Zhao Wendong pulled the glass bottle from the sand and shone his flashlight inside. His heart jumped. There was something inside, something that looked like it was made of hide. The two words "treasure map" immediately flashed in Zhao Wendong’s mind. He instinctively glanced around, wiped the bottle, and shoved it into his pocket before resuming his collection of seafood.

He’d lost count of the trips he’d made back and forth. The pile of goods on the shore had grown so large it almost buried the two little ones. Zhao Wendong’s back ached with exhaustion. He stood there, panting heavily, and pulled out his pocket watch. It was already past eleven at night. Based on his experience, the tide would start rising any minute now.

The sea breeze tonight was exceptionally gentle, as if heaven itself was granting them favor. It didn’t cut at their faces like a knife as usual, but felt more like a soft caress. With little time left, Zhao Wendong caught his breath, grabbed his basket, and ran back toward the farthest reaches of the tidal flats.

He had long since taken off his shoes, and his pant legs were cold and damp. The only way to stay warm was to keep running and moving to generate body heat. Even Zhao Wendong, who had been eating well recently, was this exhausted; one could only imagine the hardship of the other villagers. Yet as far as the eye could see, a line of torchlight stretched out over the tidal flats, following the water’s edge. Everyone was in a race against time.

Zhao Wendong returned with another full basket. On his way back out, he casually stuck a stick into the sand as a marker. By the time he turned back to look, the stick had already been washed away by the seawater. A chill ran through him. ’The tide is rising!’

"The tide’s rising! Work your way back to shore!"

Zhao Wendong shouted to his family members. When he saw they had heard him and were starting to head back, he paused. He decided not to gather any more. ’What’s another basket or two?’ he thought. ’It’s not worth it.’ He felt uneasy and wanted to make sure everyone was called back. Just then, he saw another flashlight beam light up not far away. Zhao Wendong knew it must be Zhao Weiguo and immediately sprinted over.

"Uncle Weiguo, you head up the line, I’ll head down. Let’s get everyone back. The tide’s rising! We have flashlights, so we can see clearly."

Zhao Weiguo had just switched on his flashlight, intending to check the water level himself. Hearing Wendong announce that the tide was rising, his expression turned grim and he nodded immediately.

"Right!"

With that, the two men split up, one heading up the shoreline and the other down, shouting for everyone to retreat. They had to prevent anyone from being caught unawares by the rising tide and swept away. That would turn a boon into a disaster, an outcome that neither Zhao Wendong nor the village committee wanted to see.

"Hurry up! The tide’s rising! Head back!"

Zhao Wendong ran along the water’s edge, shouting warnings to everyone he came across. For those who had ventured out too far, he would shine his flashlight on them and urge them to hurry back. The villagers all greeted him cheerfully when they saw it was him, calling out their thanks. Even those who were reluctant to leave the ocean’s bounty obeyed when they heard the sternness in Zhao Wendong’s voice and started heading back, at most picking up a few last things on their way.

Running on sand was exhausting, but Zhao Wendong didn’t dare move higher up the beach. The rocky shore was hard on the feet, and more importantly, he was afraid he might miss someone. The sea wind began to howl, as if it knew its reprieve from heaven had ended, and it started lashing their faces like a razor. The air Zhao Wendong breathed out condensed into puffs of white mist.

"Captain!"

Zhao Wendong turned toward the voice and saw Zhao Lao Nian’s family of four. They had two sacks filled to the brim and were sitting down to rest. In the light of their torch, they looked at Zhao Wendong with faces full of grateful smiles.

"Old Nian, the tide’s coming in. Stay safe!"

"Yeah, we know, Captain!"

"Is anyone else still out this way?"

"I don’t think so. We were just focused on gathering with our heads down, so we didn’t notice."

Zhao Wendong nodded and took a few more steps forward. The shoreline ahead was pitch-black and seemed empty. Just as he was about to turn back, his flashlight beam caught a dark figure still at the water’s edge, bent over and gathering something.

"Get back here, now! It’s dangerous! The tide’s rising!"

Hearing Zhao Wendong’s shout and seeing the flashlight beam land on them, the person started to panic. But they hadn’t realized that from staying in the cold water for so long, their leg had cramped. They lost their balance and stumbled, falling into the sea just as the next set of waves from the rising tide rolled in.

"Fuck!"

"Old Nian, get over here! We need to save someone!"

Zhao Wendong cursed loudly, then turned and shouted back toward Zhao Lao Nian. ’If someone’s right there, of course I’m going to call them for help. I have no intention of playing the lone hero.’ Although Lin Zhiyin had praised his high level of awareness, that was all based on the foundation of his own safety. He would never be capable of sacrificing himself to save another in this life. Heaven had allowed him to be reborn so he could take care of his family and make up for over sixty years of regrets from his past life.

Hearing Zhao Wendong’s shout, Zhao Lao Nian told his two children to stay put, and he and his wife sprinted over. They followed Zhao Wendong as he charged into the surf. Zhao Wendong kept his flashlight beam locked on the person struggling to stand up in the water, afraid he would lose them if he looked away for a second. When he got closer, he could see it was a woman, drenched from head to toe and flailing. In this cold, she would have been dead in ten minutes if Zhao Wendong hadn’t been there.