Chapter 104 The Raging Storm

An ancient wooden box? The first thing that came to Chen Fan's mind was a treasure box full of jewelry and antiques. However, this 60-centimeter diameter wooden box made Chen Fan very confused. Judging from the workmanship and the slight decay, despite being soaked in seawater for years, the box itself was definitely worth a mint, not to mention the things inside.

There were no signs of shipwrecks nearby, so there was only one possibility. The box was thrown into the sea by someone. Throwing a valuable box into the sea for no reason? Chen Fan felt that it was a little absurd and that it was probably lost by someone unintentionally.

As the box had been sealed tightly and the distance was too far away, the electric currents were unable to penetrate through the box to see what was inside.

Oh well, I'll just have to wait for another 10 days for the eel's pressure resistance to reach 2,000 meters to salvage it. Although Chen Fan was feeling very anxious, he could only stare at the box since the electric eel could not dive to that location. After more than 10 seconds, Chen Fan had to control the eel to the water's surface before swimming toward its hideout among the reefs.

Lightning flashed across the gloomy sky and thunder rumbled, blinding one's eyes and deafening one's ears. The rain got heavier, connecting the sky and the sea into one, accompanying the roaring gigantic waves. The endless sea looked as if it was being stirred continuously by an invisible big hand with a rod.

Are you out to kill? Swimming 60 to 70 meters deep in the sea, Chen Fan could also feel the strong vibration of the rumbling thunder. The electric eel which was traveling in the ocean seemed so weak and small under the majesty of nature.

Another bolt of lightning flashed across the dark clouds, illuminating the entire sea to the color of white. There was actually a 15-meter-long white double deck yacht struggling in this part of the sea which seemed capable of devouring all forms of life. The white yacht went up and down in accordance to the raging waves as it struggled amongst them.

If someone had witnessed this scene, his heart would have probably popped out. The yacht, which looked like it could overturn anytime, was like a sharp knife stroking on one's heart.

"Hello, is this the marine rescue team?" A pretty young lady in a blue and white floral bikini grabbed the maritime satellite phone at the side and shouted anxiously. "I'm at 32.56°N and 122.04°E. My yacht is in the storm zone. I need help…"

"Hello, can you hear me?" The young lady's porcelain-like forehead started to sweat and her messy hair stuck onto her snow-white ears, making one associate her with ambivalent words like "sweet-smelling", "delicate" and "tight"!

"Hello? Hello?" Xia Qingqing felt that she was worse than Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty who was held captive by the Jin soldiers and later died of illness in prison. Oil was extracted from his body and used in oil lamps.

Her parents went to France to discuss a contract the day before, and she secretly drove her dad's yacht out to the sea, wanting to go to Mawei Island for an island vacation. Unexpectedly, she met with lightning and thunder on her way back, with a storm and fierce winds following soon after. By the time she realized that things were not looking good, the satellite phone had already been affected and she was unable to call through.

Now she could only pray for heaven to be kind enough to not let her die so early. However, heaven seemed to be working against her. Right after she prayed, a shiny bolt of golden thunder flashed across the sky and the yacht started shaking more wildly.

"Sh*t!" The usually refined Xia Qingqing couldn't help but curse. The torrential rain outside had already prevented her from seeing what was outside the portholes. All her senses were filled with sounds of the rumbling thunder and rain water hitting on the yacht.

Turning the wipers to the maximum, Xia Qingqing ran to the hatch to check if the bolt was tightly fastened. Thump! A three-meter tall wave swept past the yacht. The violent tremor made Xia Qingqing slip in the cabin. "Ah!" Xia Qingqing gritted her teeth and let out a kitten-like scream, not knowing whether it was due to pain or anger.

After getting up, Xia Qingqing bore the pain on her butt as she quickly checked for crevices on the skylight and portholes. Thereafter, she ran to the driver's seat again and turned the engine to the maximum. Without even looking at the navigator, she held the controller tightly and went straight ahead, hoping to get the yacht out of the storm zone with its own speed.

The 600-horsepower engine let out a series of continuous piston sounds, pushing the yacht to cut through an approaching wave and travel at a speed of 40 knots in the storm. Under the huge crisis, the amateurish Xia Qingqing seemed to be possessed by a yacht racer, displaying a series of eye-dazzling control techniques, making an S-turn with the yacht and cutting through the huge waves one after another.

"Dear gods and deities, please protect me and help me weather this crisis!" Xia Qingqing mumbled to herself as she held her breath while controlling the rudder with the seat belt fastened.

However, luck was not on Xia Qingqing's side. Less than five seconds after fighting against a huge wave, another five-meter tall wave approached the helpless lamb like an Indonesian tsunami. Bang! Both heaven and earth seemed to be shaking. The over 10-meter-long yacht started sinking after getting hit. Thereafter, a huge wave surged past, forming an arc stream and threw the yacht up into the sky.

The yacht hit the water again after being thrown up, producing deafening sounds of thunder. Xia Qingqing who was tied to the seat belt was so shaken by the great impact that her internal organs shifted positions. Being stranded by the seat belt, she was unable to balance herself to lessen the impact.

"I don't believe there's an end to this storm!" The shaken Xia Qingqing, with faint green veins showing on her fair skin, stared at the porthole with her pretty eyes as she got ready to take on another wave. As soon as she said this, the entire yacht got lifted up by an approaching wave, moved back five meters and fell into the water.

Before she was able to recover from the violent tremor, Xia Qingqing suddenly heard the engine give out a series of noise before gasping for five seconds and then died out. No words could describe the pain Xia Qingqing felt at that moment. After pressing the engine switch fiercely for more than 10 times and hearing no sound come from it, her heart fell to the floor.

Boohoo! Xia Qingqing covered her face and wanted to cry out. She felt like she was hanging on a cliff and was going to pull a rope to climb to the side, but a wicked scoundrel appeared out of the blue and cut the life-saving rope! Feeling helpless, she started to fantasize about some men appearing who would help her repair the engine, and then she would even marry them.

However, the real world was harsh. After the yacht was lifted up twice by the waves, she gave up all hope and came out of her fantasy. She pressed the button beside the bearing, which released the anchor from the reel, and then prayed for the storm to quickly disperse. The yacht, which had lost its support from the engine, was like a lamb that had its legs tied and was trembling among wolves.

The rumbling sound of thunder got louder, shaking the entire ocean. One after another, the tall waves trampled on Xia Qingqing and the yacht under her feet. Although there was no need to worry that the damage-resistant yacht made of fiberglass would be smashed by a wave, it was possible that it might, at anytime, be swallowed by the ocean, judging from the way it had been shaken sideways.

Xia Qingqing had given up hope. The yacht was not a submarine. If it really overturned, it would be impossible for it to rise to the surface again. Although there was an airbag cushion to absorb the impact, Xia Qingqing still felt pain all over from the yacht jolting her more than two meters up and down.

Ah!! Suddenly, Xia Qingqing let out a tragic and desperate scream. The white yacht was lifted up to an angle of 30 degrees by a slightly smaller wave and before it could come down, a five-meter tall wave came from the side and turned it upside down.

Feeling as though the sky and the earth were spinning, Xia Qingqing was still unable to think of anything when she smashed into the water like a cannonball, splashing up a two-story tall white water curtain. Xia Qingqing, whose head was facing down, had just unfastened her seat belt when the huge impact smashed the fiberglass of sea-facing side of the yacht into pieces.

At that moment, the smell of seawater shot up Xia Qingqing's nose! Am I dying?

Xia Qingqing fell onto the side of the cabin. The stabbing pain made her weak all over, and she could only curl up at the corner and stare lifelessly at the hatch.

Under such circumstances, it would be useless even if Phelps came in a life jacket. The seawater could hit a person unconscious, so there was no hope of survival even if one managed to escape.

The merciless seawater injected fiercely into the cabin. Xia Qingqing could only make use of the seawater's buoyancy to keep her body afloat, trying her best to take in another breath of air in the cabin. The over 10-meter-long yacht only struggled in vain for less than a minute on the surface before sinking into the raging waves.

"Farewell, my family!" Xia Qingqing mumbled as bitter saltiness gushed into her mouth.

Poseidon appeared? The deep sea dragon was born? The East Sea Dragon Prince showed his power?

Just as Xia Qingqing sank into the bitter seawater and could not hold her breath any longer, the yacht suddenly shook. After that, it rose quickly to the water's surface as if it was being held by a big, invisible hand, totally defying Newton's First Law.

Braving the wind and the waves and overcoming all obstacles, the yacht seemed to be possessed by a nuclear-powered steam engine as it cut through the angry waves one after another. At a speed of 50 knots, it started sailing toward the coastline of Zhongyun!