Ryan, Bill, and the others quickly ran to the edge of the land.
The moment Echo’s eyes landed on the ship, she couldn’t hide her excitement-it was their warship, battered and barely holding together, yet somehow it had gotten stuck on the rocks and hadn’t been blown away by the storm. Was this a sign they could make it back?
Bill and the others shared the same excitement, rushing toward the ship with their team. Echo, unable to swim, stayed behind on the beach, watching.
Ryan scanned the beach, which had more rocks than sand. It didn’t seem dangerous, so he tightened his grip on Echo and effortlessly lifted her onto a large rock. “Get some sleep,” he said in a low voice.
Not sleeping for a night wasn’t a big deal for them, but for Echo, who was injured and had been drenched in rain all night, it could be dangerous. If she got a fever or something went wrong, it would be a disaster.
Echo didn’t feel tired at first, but as soon as Ryan said that, she suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. Her body ached all over, and sleepiness overwhelmed her. She looked up at Ryan for a moment, didn’t say anything, and nodded. She was someone who loved to sleep, and after such a tense day, she couldn’t resist any longer. Grabbing Ryan’s shirt, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
The sun was shining on the beach, warm but not too hot.
Ryan glanced at Echo, who was still holding onto him while asleep. He leaned in and gently brushed her hair. He’d never experienced anything like this-the storm, the danger. Having Echo go through it all with him felt almost too much.
As he watched the sunlight play on Echo’s face, giving her a soft golden glow, a faint smile crossed Ryan’s face.
She was his. No matter what happened-whether the heavens or the earth moved-she must follow him. And right now, that sense of “must” felt like it had changed somehow. He didn’t fully understand the shift, but he liked it. He liked it a lot.
“Boss,” Ryan was still stroking Echo’s hair when he noticed Bill, returning with a troubled look on his face. Bill’s frown told Ryan something wasn’t right, and his expression darkened slightly.
Bill came over first and, looking at Ryan, said, “The ship’s been damaged. There’s serious water leakage along both sides. It’s impossible to sail, and there’s no way to make temporary repairs.”
“Do we still have a communication signal?” Ryan asked, his voice low.
Right now, whether the ship could sail or not was secondary. What mattered was communication.
Bill shook his head, his face grim. “All the equipment on the ship’s been completely destroyed. The communication system is wrecked. I tried fixing it, but no luck. Not only can’t we get a signal, we can’t even power it up.”
That meant they couldn’t leave and couldn’t make contact with anyone.
Were they stuck on this island?
A flash of cold determination crossed Ryan’s face as he glanced at the Dark family members who were starting to return to shore.
Bill, seeing the look in Ryan’s eyes, continued, “The ship still has some weapons and food that are usable. I’ve already had them bring everything they could carry down. The ship’s heavily flooded, though. I don’t know how long it’ll stay afloat, but for now, we’ll need those supplies to survive.”
Ryan nodded in agreement. Bill’s plan was solid. He turned to him and said, “Go find Michael’s people and get them to work.”
“I’m here,” Just as his words finished, Michael’s voice echoed from a distance.
Bill looked up and saw Michael coming over with Brook, Frank, and the rest of the research and survey team. These people no longer showed signs of weakness or fear. All that was left was calmness and strength, born from having been through tough experiences.
Michael quickly assessed the situation, then reached out to take the supplies from the Dark family member who had swum over. “I’m not the type to slack off,” he said flatly. “If there’s something we can do, just let me know.” With that, he walked off, carrying the items.
The team he brought also got to work without a word. No complaints, no fear. They worked seamlessly with the Dark family members, even in silence, as if they had been doing this for years.
“Set up here,” Ryan said, his gaze sweeping over the calm beach.
Michael and his group, who had originally been preparing to leave, stopped in their tracks. Michael looked around, nodded, and said, “It doesn’t look like much, but it’s safe.” He turned and headed towards the back of the beach, away from where they had stayed the night before.
The work began.
There was a lot to unload from the warship. The larger equipment, like the surveying gear, was no longer needed, but many smaller supplies were still useful. Bill’s Dark family members and Michael’s team worked tirelessly for a while to unload everything they could from the ship.
“Mr. Michael, take a look at this,” a Brown family researcher suddenly shouted as he was moving supplies. His voice was a mix of surprise, excitement, confusion, and maybe even a bit of frustration.
Michael rushed over. After the chaos of the night before, he hadn’t had time to really observe anything. Now, under the sunlight, he saw what the researcher was pointing at-a patch of green algae floating near the shoreline. It wasn’t much, just a few small clusters, tangled up with the surrounding rocks.
“This is the algae we were looking for,” the researcher said, clearly familiar with it, though his expression was a mix of confusion and disbelief. He pointed at the algae in the water, which looked unremarkable but was incredibly valuable.
Michael gave a half-hearted laugh, a mix of frustration and irony. They had risked their lives trying to find this, and now, after nearly losing everything, it was here, right under their noses, with no effort at all.
But what good was that? The real question was whether they could leave or not. That was the problem. Who cared if it could be used for oil, or if it was worthless?
“Do what we need to do. Just leave this here for now,” Michael said, shaking his head. “This stuff won’t run away, we can deal with it later. Right now, we’ve got bigger things to focus on.”
Ryan, sitting on a rock, glanced at Nick, who was holding a nautical chart that Bill’s team had brought over from the warship. Fortunately, they had two copies-one digital and one physical. Nick, who knew the sea routes well, was scanning the map.
Ryan looked at him coolly. “What island is this?” he asked.
Nick walked over when Ryan asked the question. He gave Ryan a respectful nod. Ever since he’d witnessed Ryan’s skills, the fear he had for him had slowly shifted to something more like respect. It wasn’t fear born from ignorance anymore, but respect born from understanding.
In the world of men, strength and ability were the ultimate measures of a person, and Ryan had both.
Nick didn’t say much. He simply took the nautical chart from Ryan, studied it carefully, and then pointed to a small island in the Pacific. “The island I mentioned yesterday, it’s this one. It’s the closest island to the Hawaiian archipelago in the South Pacific.”
Ryan, Michael, and Bill all leaned in to take a look, The island had no markings around it.
Michael raised an eyebrow. “No island markings?”
Nick’s face was puzzled too. He looked up at the sun, paused for a moment, and shook his head. “I’m not sure. Yesterday, we were heading southwest, but I can’t calculate how far the storm pushed us off course. As far as I know, there aren’t any other islands within a few hundred miles of this one. We shouldn’t have drifted that far. So, I really can’t figure it out. The chart doesn’t show anything.”
Bill spoke up. “So, you’re saying there’s no sign of an island here?”
Nick nodded. “Most islands in the Pacific are shown on the maritime routes, except for the tiny ones or those that haven’t been visited by anyone. If there’s no sign of it here, it means it’s not a part of any maritime route. No one comes through here, so it won’t show up on the chart.”
Ryan’s expression turned cold. “Get to the point.”
Nick took a deep breath, then said gravely, “What I’m saying is this island hasn’t been passed through before. It’s uncharted. If we can’t make contact with the outside, there’s no way to get back.”