Free Web NovelChapter 95: Chapter 93: Leave Together
Jack was stunned for a moment, then said quickly, "Are you trapped here? We can get you out, really. Please, don’t worry. We can help each other. The icebreaker is from our country, and while I’d love to agree to your request..."
He keenly sensed that something was terribly wrong. They had appeared here, yet their cruise ship had remained silent for a very long time.
Jiang Si rejected him coolly. "Then you can go on your own." freewebnovёl.ƈom
Jack’s heart skipped a beat. "No, no, no, I really can’t make the final decision for this ship myself. At the very least, I need the agreement of the entire crew."
Jiang Si didn’t waste any more words on them and turned to leave.
Not wanting anything to happen to his wife, Jack gritted his teeth and said, "Then what should we do? Can we leave this place with you?"
Jiang Si pointed at their cruise ship. "Go on up there, then decide if you still want to leave. If you do, we’ll take you with us."
Jiang Si wasn’t completely heartless. These people probably wanted to get back alive to find their families.
An icebreaker could be used for rescue. As long as a ship followed closely, it could be towed back.
After hearing what Jiang Si said, Jack’s unease grew even stronger.
They had already entered the Northern Country Sea Area, yet there was still no signal at all. The bizarre weather was truly terrifying.
They looked at the massive cruise ship, and every step they took toward it was filled with a heavy sense of dread, as if they might encounter some kind of monster once they boarded.
Jack stepped onto the deck of the cruise ship. The thick snow and the howling, frigid wind made the deserted vessel seem exceptionally eerie.
When he entered the main lobby on the first deck and saw the densely packed bodies crushed together, for a moment, his heart stopped in terror.
He had never seen anything so tragic and horrifying. His other teammates were so scared their legs gave out, and they knelt in the snow, crying, "Oh my god! My God!"
Jack and his team didn’t dare venture any further onto the cruise ship. They scrambled back to Jiang Si’s boat and asked frantically, "Why is it like this? What happened here?"
Jiang Si said impassively, "It’s just as you see. The apocalypse has happened. We’re all survivors, and right now, we’re in a period of extreme cold."
"Compared to us, you’re far luckier. You haven’t even had to experience the earthquakes, meteor showers, extreme heat, torrential hurricanes, and mutated creatures."
Jack was dumbfounded. "How could this...?"
’We just went on a research expedition to Antarctica, and the world suddenly ended?’
But the thousands upon thousands of bodies on the cruise ship told him in no uncertain terms that Jiang Si was speaking the truth.
’The apocalypse had truly arrived.’
Otherwise, the surface of this sea area couldn’t have frozen over, and the temperature couldn’t have dropped to fifty-five degrees below zero.
And it would be even more impossible for so many people to have died on a cruise ship like this without any rescue teams arriving to deal with it.
Suppressing the fear and grief in his heart, Jack asked Jiang Si, "What exactly is the situation now? Is everywhere covered by this extreme cold? Is no one left alive on the continents?"
Jiang Si waved her hand dismissively. "We’re from Asia, so we don’t know the situation here. But you’ve seen the bodies on the cruise ship. They were obviously trying to escape but didn’t survive this disaster. Now, I’m giving you a choice. The supplies on the cruise ship are plentiful, enough for you to survive for a long, long time. You can wait until spring comes and the world is at peace again, then return to the continent."
"Of course, you could also do what we’re doing: load up enough supplies for now and attempt a landing. If you choose to stay here, however, the icebreaker must be ours."
After hearing Jiang Si’s proposal, Jack chose the latter without a moment’s hesitation. "We’ll go with you. My parents and children are waiting for me."
’If they stayed and Jiang Si took the icebreaker, who knew when they would ever be able to return to the mainland. More to the point, they wouldn’t know which would come first: an accident or tomorrow.’
He’d just heard Jiang Si mention they had experienced natural disasters like meteor showers, earthquakes, and extreme heat.
’If they were to encounter those kinds of disasters again while stuck on an immobile cruise ship, they would have absolutely no chance of survival.’
Since Jack had made his choice, the others naturally made the same one.
The thought of being left alone with so many corpses was enough to cause psychological trauma.
Besides, on land, even if there were no crops to eat, they could still scavenge for supplies. Anything was better than wasting away at sea.
Jiang Si nodded. "Alright. We’ll head over there with you."
Jiang Si learned from Jack that their Antarctica research team consisted of fifty people, plus another forty crew members. They were now running out of food, fuel, and medicine, and half of them had already collapsed.
The first priority was to save their lives.
Jiang Si found several carts that could be pulled over the snow and started unloading the most urgently needed supplies from their boat.
Racing against time, everyone worked without stopping, but it still took them over an hour to reach the icebreaker.
Seeing them return with supplies, the people on the icebreaker waved excitedly and immediately came down to help move everything.
Without needing any direction from Jiang Si, they took the antifreeze and diesel, immediately poured them into the fuel tank, and started the icebreaker’s engine.
Thankfully, it lived up to its name as the Northern Country’s most advanced icebreaker. It hadn’t frozen solid even after several hours. With a FLICK, the ship’s lights came on.
Those on board who were still conscious let out a thrilled roar.
Jack distributed the food and medicine, while Qin Shen and Jiang Si immediately went into rescue mode.
Although it was just the two of them, their presence was like that of a thousand soldiers.
With Qin Shen there, Jiang Si felt at ease even without a gun in her hand.
Thanks to Jiang Si and Qin Shen’s rescue efforts, most of the crew regained consciousness. A small number were in serious condition and would need medicine and time to recuperate slowly.
Shire, the most senior scientist on the Antarctica research expedition, asked Jack about the situation on the cruise ship. Jack’s face fell as he described the scene he had witnessed.
In an instant, the entire icebreaker fell deathly silent.
Someone laughed. "Jack, are you just so homesick that you’re starting to hallucinate?"
Jack shook his head, his expression grim. "It’s the end of the world. Hasn’t anyone else noticed? Do you really think I’d be joking?"
Everyone fell silent once more.
In truth, everyone had felt a vague sense of unease, but they had never imagined something as dramatic as the end of the world.
Shire was silent for a long time. He looked at Jack, who was wringing his hands with a grief-stricken expression, and asked, "Then what should we do? Are there enough supplies on the cruise ship for us to get back to the continent?"
Everyone turned to look at him, their faces full of expectation.
Jack turned his gaze to Jiang Si, who was finally able to catch her breath after all the frantic activity. "The supplies are sufficient. But in order to save everyone’s lives, I’ve already promised to give them the icebreaker. In return, they will honor their promise to take us with them, away from here and back to our beloved homeland."
Hearing this, all eyes snapped to Jiang Si and Qin Shen, their expressions filled with opposition. "What right do you have to speak for us and agree to hand over the icebreaker!"
