Chapter 207 - Collapse (2/2)

There were various kinds of corals on the seabed reef. Some of them looked like red antlers, some looked like pink flowers, and others looked like purple cactuses… there were all kinds of colors and shapes that one would’ve never imagined. The sight of the coral dazzled Xiaocao’s eyes.

All kinds of small fishes shuttled around Xiaocao. Some of the fishes were covered in multicolored stripes, some were wearing a red hat, some looked like military flags in Beijing operas, and some looked like a round hedgehog… they all surrounded her, refusing to leave.

With the help of the little dolphin, she became a guest of the sea. As she enjoyed the scenery around the seafloor, she had picked up many high-quality abalones and now had a large harvest.

Xiaocao was playing happily with the dolphin and she forgot the time. After Xiaolian dug a lot of goose barnacles and was prepared to head home for lunch, she looked at the sea. Besides Zhou Shanhu occasionally floating to the surface of the sea, there was no movement from her younger sister for a long time.

The wicker basket in Xiaolian’s hand fell onto the ground and she threw herself into the sea without wearing a diving suit; she crazily swam in the sea. Xiaolian’s swimming skills were pretty good, so in a short time, she reached Zhou Shanhu. When Zhou Shanhu revealed herself from the water, she was caught by Xiaolian.

“Did you see my younger sister? When was the last time you saw her?” Xiaolian’s voice was trembling as she urgently asked.

Zhou Shanhu was alarmed; she looked around and saw that the sea was calm. She thought about it and said, “I think the last time I saw her was about half an hour ago. When I surfaced from the water, I thought that we had just missed each other, so I didn’t pay much attention…”

Xiaolian’s complexion was deathly white and said in a sobbing tone, “I looked around for a quarter of an hour and I didn’t see my younger sister surface from the water. She… something must’ve happened to her! I deserve to die; I shouldn’t have been digging for goose barnacles. This is the first time that my younger sister went into the sea, I should’ve been watching attentively over her the entire time so that if anything went wrong, I could immediately search for her in the sea. What should I do now? I don’t even know when the accident happened… no, I have to look for her…”

Zhou Shanhu also lost her head. The sea was so big, and they didn’t know where and when the accident happened, how could they find her? Each year, it was not known how many people had been swallowed up by the sea.

“Xiaolian, don’t be too anxious. Maybe Xiaocao had just swum to someplace further… look! There is a shadow that looks like a person, let’s go see if it’s Xiaocao!” Zhou Shanhu was pleasantly surprised when she found a small head popping up from the water in the distance. After a moment, it dived into the water again.

A spark of hope was ignited in Xiaolian’s heart. She tried to calm herself down; she couldn’t panic because her younger sister was still waiting for her to find her!

The two worked hard and swam in the direction of the place where the shadow had surfaced.

“Huh? Aren’t you the little girl from Dongshan Village that sells braised food? Why didn’t you wear a diving suit before you entered the sea?” Xiaolian was disappointed to find that it was a teenager with dark skin and a handsome appearance.

Xiaolian burst into tears, “Younger Sister! Something must’ve happened to my younger sister. If something happened to her, then I don’t want to live either! Wah…”

The youth looked at Xiaolian as he was at a loss as to what to do. Could it be that he said something wrong and made this little girl cry?

“You… don’t cry! Do you need me to help with anything?” The young man asked with concern while frowning.

Zhou Shanhu was sobbing beside her, “Her younger sister had been diving with me, but she has yet to surface from the water for a long time. Have you seen a little girl that looks a lot like her?”

The suntanned youth’s expression became solemn. He slowly shook his head and said, “This place is relatively remote, so there are only a few people who come here. I didn’t see anyone else besides the two of you. But… don’t cry, I’ll help you look for her. Maybe she had swam to someplace further away!”

“My younger sister… this is her first time diving. She had never learned how to swim before… I deserve to die. Why didn’t I stay beside her and watch over her? Wu wu…” Xiaolian gasped for breath as she cried.

The suntanned youth’s heart sank even further. If it was her first time diving, then she definitely wouldn’t have swum too far. It wasn’t a good sign if she hadn’t surfaced from the water for a while. But seeing the two crying little girls in front of him, the young man still comforted them, “Don’t cry anymore. I’ll look around nearby, maybe I’ll find something. You… can just wait here…”

The little girl had cried until her eyes were swollen. If she dove into the water like this, it was hard to guarantee that an accident wouldn’t happen. Only after he let the other little girl watch over her did he begin swimming into the distance. He dove again and again into the water, looking for the little girl.

It was already half an hour later when Yu Xiaocao realized that she had stayed underwater for too long. The little dolphin seemed to have perceived her intentions, using its back to help her float to the surface. It let out an “ahh——” sound, it seemed as if it was urging her to stay.