Chapter 496 – Fishing! (1/2)
Morning.
The sun is up, and the reef stone is scorching hot.
The heat awakens dong Xuebing. He sat up, hoping to see the search party but was disappointed. It’s freezing at night and hot during the day on the rock, and he wonders how long he can last in such an environment.
One day?
Two days?
Dong Xuebing doesn’t know as he is almost at his limits now.
People can survive without food and water for two to three days, but that is in a normal environment. Dong Xuebing had experienced death several times yesterday and was drifting in the sea for hours. He is exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated.
Dong Xuebing needs to conserve his energy and laid on the reef rock motionlessly. The clothes he took off yesterday are dried, and he wore them to protect himself from the sun.
Dong Xuebing knows he will die if this carries on.
One hour….
Three hours….
Five hours….
Hold on! I must hold on!
Dong Xuebing got disappointed as he waited until noon.
It’s almost 24 hours after the air crash. Based on previous air crashes, most countries would have reported this crash by now, and the search efforts should have begun. But until now, Dong Xuebing did not see any search party and knew he must have drifted far away from the crash site. If not, he would have seen the search party by now. He had worked in the Public Security Bureau and knows about sea search and rescue procedures. The search party will narrow down to the crash site and expand the search from there. If he were swept too far from the site, they would never find him.
The search party will not be coming for him.
Will I ever be rescued?
It’s hard for someone to hold on if they don’t have anything to look forward to. Also, Dong Xuebing is too hungry and thirsty.
Drink seawater?
No. I will die faster if I do that.
Use the evaporation method to harvest drinking water from seawater?! But there’s no fire, wood, or container!
Dong Xuebing checked his pockets. Other than a bunch of keys, and two name cards, all his belongings were swept away last night.
Eat the name cards?!
That will not solve my hunger!
Dong Xuebing is dying from his hunger, and he felt he might not last until nightfall if this carries on. He knows he is close to dying from his cold sweat and lethargies. His throat is parched, and he sighed. He hopes Aunt Xuan, Sister Xie, and Sister Yu will find a good partner in the future, and Old Yang will treat his mother well…
Suddenly, there is a rumble of thunder, and dark clouds are coming towards Dong Xuebing!
Is it going to rain?
Rain is common in the seas, and this is what Dong Xuebing has been waiting for. He gathered all his strength and stood up to wear his lifejacket. The waves got stronger and came crashing onto the reef rock. He will not be spared from the waves even when standing two meters high. He lowered his center of gravity and held on to the shape edges of the rock.
About ten minutes later, the rain came!
Rumble! Thunder, flashes of lightning, and rain came pouring down!
Dong Xuebing quickly looks up and opens his mouth to drink as much rain as possible. The reef rock has lots of cracks and could not hold any water. He used both hands to try to collect as much rainwater as possible. He could only get less than a few dozen droplets into his mouth after half a minute. This is equivalent to taking a sip from a bottle of mineral water. He is still thirsty.
The dark clouds started moving further away from Dong Xuebing. Finally, the rain is going to stop!
Damn! Why can’t you rain a while more?!
Dong Xuebing is frustrated as this little water is not enough for him. Suddenly, he has an idea. He shouted … STOP!
The seagulls stopped squealing!
The waves froze, and the wind stopped!
Dong Xuebing still has four to five minutes left and cannot afford to waste time. So he looked at the countless droplets in the air and started eating them with his mouth. Five droplets… ten droplets… twenty droplets… fifty droplets… after he finished ‘eating’ all the rain droplets above and around the reef rock, he resumed time. Time resumed, and all the droplets in his mouth merged, and he drank it in one gulp!
It feels good!
Pitter-patter… the raindrops continue to fall, and it’s about to stop anytime soon.
Dong Xuebing shouted STOP again.
Time stopped again, and Dong Xuebing continued to use his hands and mouth to stuff raindrops into his mouth. It’s heavy rain, and he can collect five to six droplets easily in one palm. After collecting enough raindrops, he resumed time and drank it.