Global Film Emperor

Chapter 458 Exile (Part 2)

This is a deep sea that even seagulls have never touched. The waves crash against the rocks, making a deafening sound. The clear sky and blue sea should have been a beautiful picture, but for a long time, no one appreciated this beautiful scene until the waves brought an uninvited guest here.

He lay on the beach, the fine sand posed no harm to him, and tiny crabs the size of bottle caps left their marks horizontally, but he was stumped by this "mountain".

The professional outdoor pants had a 40-centimeter-long safety rope attached to them, which was tied to the orange lifeboat. Fortunately, the lifeboat had broken, which was the main reason he did not drown.

Suddenly, he twitched his fingers and gently dug at the sand, causing the little crab some trouble again. Seawater surged up, flowing over his cheeks and into his nostrils.

"Uh...cough cough! cough cough!"

He woke up and slowly opened his eyes in a very undignified posture. What he saw was a white, soft sandy beach. If he were on vacation, this would definitely be the perfect place to play beach volleyball.

But this is not a trip...

His stomach was aching terribly, and he was extremely thirsty. At that moment, he made a very simple deduction: he must have drunk a lot of seawater, but he was still alive and breathing. That was the most wonderful answer in the world. As long as he was alive, everything else could be solved.

He rolled over, his belly facing the sun, gazing at the azure sky, and let out a long sigh, filled with immense sorrow and the overwhelming negativity that his body could not resist after exhaustion. He stared directly at the sun, not caring whether it would hurt his eyes, until tears streamed down his face. He closed his eyes, still able to see a ring of green light.

He cried, for his comrades who died at sea, and for himself who had survived the ordeal. It wasn't a heart-wrenching cry, just soft sobs, until he choked on his snot, which triggered the discomfort from the seawater he had swallowed, and he began to vomit.

But he soon realized that he was severely dehydrated and forced himself to hold back his tears, trying to conserve some precious fluids. His first priority was to drink fresh water.

He still had some energy left and could walk a bit without any problem. However, after being on the boat for a long time and his body being swollen from being in the seawater, his limbs were a little unresponsive. He slowly got up to give his body some time to adjust. In addition, he was also testing whether there was water in his lungs. If there was water in his lungs, getting up too quickly could easily cause secondary damage to his lungs.

The fact that no water got into the ears greatly reduced the risk of otitis media, and the fact that no water got into the lungs naturally prevented lung infection. This is the greatest blessing for people who have been shipwrecked, since if they get sick, being stranded on a desert island will only mean surviving for a few more days before dying.

"Is anyone there?! Help! Is anyone there?! The crew of the Field! Is anyone there?!"

There was no response, only the waves constantly reminding Leo that he was the only one there. He staggered along the small beach. There were coconut trees on the island, which was good news; at least he wouldn't die of dehydration for the time being.

"Is anyone there?! I need help! Paul! Donnie! John! Damn it!"

Gazing at the horizon, a white dot suddenly appeared in his vision—the uniform of a crew member from the Fidel. He was face down, rising and falling with the waves. Seeing this, Leo disregarded whether his physical condition allowed him to do so and jumped into the sea, swimming towards the crew member. However, this hundred-meter distance was no less than an insurmountable chasm for Leo at this moment. After swimming only a few meters, his limbs became weak and he was carried back to the beach by the waves. He could only watch helplessly as the crew member got further and further away from him.

This feeling of loneliness was suffocating, so he wanted to save the crew member, even if the crew member was probably still alive, even if he was probably soaked until his skin turned white, his body swollen, and his face was grotesque and terrifying.

Because of this, he could still prepare a grave for the crew member, and then, in his solitude, chat with the crew member who had been dead for who knows how long. He needed a pillar of support, even if that pillar was a corpse.

"I can't save you... I'm sorry, I can't save you."

He felt a pang of sadness and wanted to cry again, but he held back. He could only watch the crew disappear into the vast sea. He stood there for a long time before turning around and quietly watching from under the tree.

The fallen coconuts were rotten and there were very few of them. It is likely that some of them were carried away by the sea when the tide came in, and the remaining ones were not under the coconut trees, but scattered on the shore.

He picked up a broken coconut and smelled it. It had a pungent sour smell, and there was no coconut juice left. Of course, even if there was, he didn't dare to drink it. After all, fresh water in his body was very precious, and he couldn't bear to have diarrhea and cause it to be expelled from his body.

But that doesn't mean the rotten coconut is completely useless. Find a rock, crush the coconut meat, and then spread it evenly on your body. This is a natural sunscreen that can block ultraviolet rays and prevent sunburn. This is also the most important thing for island survival. Otherwise, even on a resource-rich beach, you will not be able to get food from the ocean.

Leo could only be thankful that he possessed enough knowledge in the marine field to survive; for someone in another industry, survival would have been an enormous challenge.

While those desert island movies we watched in the past were classics, they were hard to justify on a professional level. In the real world, most shipwrecked people stranded on desert islands would die from dysentery, poisoning, or parasites within a short period of time.

Because it is really difficult for them to distinguish which types of fish and shellfish may harbor which parasites, which fish and shellfish may contain toxins, and even to infer what kind of creatures may exist on an island based on the division of marine areas, which are precisely the essential conditions for survival on a deserted island.

After a difficult survey of the surroundings, it became clear that the island's beach area was actually quite small, only about one kilometer in diameter. On both sides and behind, there were towering cliffs, which had become extremely fragile due to years of erosion by the sea. You could easily break off a thin stone by holding it in your hand.

This made him realize that his situation was still quite dangerous. At high tide, the seawater would submerge the beach until it reached about a meter above the cliff behind him, as could be seen from the salt stains on the rock surface.

Secondly, the fragile rock structure makes it difficult for him to climb upwards. If he slips and falls, he doesn't need a fatal injury or fracture; a narrow, long wound is enough to kill him. This is because in such a humid and warm environment, wounds are very easy to get infected and difficult to heal, and in most cases, they will become a rotten and foul-smelling wound.

This is something he must always remember: on a deserted island, he must be careful at all times, or he could easily capsize in a ditch and become a meal for marine life.

After vomiting, he experienced extreme hunger and needed to find food to regain his strength. Fortunately, in the vast treasure trove of the ocean, this was not a difficult task for a marine biologist.

Some oysters were attached to the rocks. Even though their shells were black and covered with seaweed, it was a blessing for Leo, as they were among the few shellfish that could be eaten raw.

After carefully cleaning the seaweed off the shell, he easily identified the oyster's species: Anselm oysters, grown in the Normandy region of France, deep-sea oysters. Putting aside the taste—after all, oysters that haven't been processed can't compare to the freshness of those served on a table—he was certain of one thing.

Based on the sun's position, he could roughly deduce the time and direction. He quickly recalled the navigation map in his mind and finally determined that the distress signal should be placed in the southeast direction, which was the only route for merchant ships!
Looking southeast, he saw no ships passing by and had to give up. He then focused his attention back on the oysters in his hands, cleaning the oyster meat, innards, and sand. He rinsed them gently in the seawater, and then, as if making a decision, quickly put the oyster meat into his mouth.

"vomit……"

The taste was even worse than he had imagined. He had eaten farmed Anselle oysters before, which, after simple processing, had a refreshing taste with a rich seawater flavor and mineral notes. They were quite delicious and had many admirers in France.

But the taste of wild oysters... is like amplifying all the flavors of farmed oysters tenfold, making them extremely fishy and salty, and carrying a heavy metal taste that is unbearable for ordinary people.

He didn't chew, thus avoiding the taste exploding on his tongue, but it still made him nauseous. He bent over, convulsing and making gagging noises. It took him a while to recover before he could deal with the second one, this unpalatable "French delicacy."

He had no right to choose what to eat; he could only follow nature and eat whatever God gave him. Fortunately, his taste buds gradually became numb, and eating was not as painful as he had imagined.

After consuming enough energy, his limbs gradually regained their strength, and he began to dig a pit in the sand. In the center of the pit, he placed a coconut bowl, covered the pit with the leaky kayak, and used stones to press the edges down firmly. Finally, he placed a small stone in the very center of the kayak, aligned with the coconut bowl, and a simple distiller was completed.

Under high temperature conditions, several hours of distillation will produce a considerable amount of fresh water, which may not be enough for a day's needs, but it can quench his thirst temporarily.

He didn't want to waste the remaining time. Even though waiting in the shade could reduce fluid loss, the first three days after a shipwreck are crucial for survivors. He needed to save himself, not wait here to die.

Having determined a fairly sturdy climbing route, he tied his shoelaces and began to climb steadily upwards. The rocks, sculpted into stepped shapes by the waves, were not too difficult to climb, and he soon reached the lowest hill in the southeast direction. Following the coastline, he gazed at the predicted flight path.

There were still no ships in sight.

"Where have I ended up...?"

He murmured to himself, when he suddenly heard a crashing sound below. To his lower left, there were three metal boxes connected together, being battered by the waves and constantly hitting the rocks. The Field's markings were also printed on them.

"God……"

He thought he wouldn't be as lucky as the movie protagonist, with odds of goods falling into his lap, and that he would have to rely on his wits to solve everything. But perhaps it really is true that every cloud has a silver lining, and every silver lining is a misfortune. After another stroke of bad luck, his fortune improved somewhat, and his good luck came.

Going downhill was extremely dangerous because he couldn't see the thickness of the rocks. What he thought would be enough to support his weight turned out to be only as thin as a sheet of paper. This made him hesitate for a moment, wondering if he should go down. But in the end, his desire for the goods overcame his caution, and he chose to take the risk.

He climbed down at the slowest possible pace, risking stepping on loose stones at any moment. Sweat trickled down his forehead, rolling into his eyes with a slight stinging sensation and blurring his vision, but he eventually reached the location of the goods.

He tried to lift the straps, but couldn't. He didn't know what was inside; it was very heavy. He used all his strength to barely lift the goods and carry them on his back. He returned the way he came, his body already bearing purplish-blue marks from the straps.

He threw the three boxes onto the beach, utterly exhausted, and lay on the ground panting heavily, yet his heart was filled with joy, like opening a box in a game, anticipating what good things might be inside.

After relieving the soreness, he got up and opened the first box, which contained books and various documents. He was momentarily dazed, but managed to calm himself down and opened the other two boxes. Then, a chill ran through him.

Dry books might be able to start a fire, but what can these wet books do? They can't be dried; in such humid conditions, they will remain damp.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

He couldn't accept that he had taken such a huge risk, only to retrieve three boxes of books and pens, which was far from the food, fresh water, instruments, and other tools he had initially imagined.

From the moment he woke up, his mind had been on edge. At this moment, the pressure finally snapped that taut nerve. He picked up the still dripping books and threw them into the sea, only to be swept back by the tide. Then, like a madman, he ran on the beach, kicking and stomping on these spiritual nourishments that could not save his body.

Only when he was exhausted and his mind calmed down did he let out a long breath, sit blankly on the beach, staring at the sun, which seemed to have been swallowed by the sea, turning the seawater into a golden soup.

He was hungry again.

He regretted it, blaming himself for going to sea. His wife's pleas to stay didn't stop him, and his infant daughter didn't stop his thirst for money. So what? Had they already received the news?
Are they crying?

Am I... already a "dead person"?

It's not hard to imagine that his family is holding a funeral for him. From now on, only he himself knows that he is still alive, while Leo as a person has died on a social level.

This is unacceptable, at least not by Leo.

"Calm down... calm down... you can go home, you can go home..."

He washed his face with seawater, constantly encouraging himself, even slapping himself. He opened the kayak; the coconut bowl was already a third full of fresh water. He touched it with his tongue, and the sweet taste made him feel happy. He drank the water, not wasting a drop. Then he rolled up the kayak and tied it with the straps on the box. The tide might come in soon, and such precious supplies absolutely could not be swept away by the sea.

Holding the coconut bowl, he walked to the rocks where there were still many oysters attached, ate a few casually, and he could already tolerate the nauseating taste.

Meanwhile, he tore the book apart, ripped off the pages, wet them with seawater, put them in a bowl and mashed them into a paste. Then he added oysters, mashed them again, and made them sticky. He climbed up the rocks to the southeast and spread the paste on the relatively flat rocks, writing a huge distress sign.

He has done all he can do. Now he can only wait and pray that he will be found and taken home.

The seawater began to surge up, submerging the spot where he had dug the pit. He no longer needed to climb up; he simply lay the dinghy on the ground, used books as a pillow, looked at the stars in the sky, and pondered how to start a fire. Gradually, he lost control of his body.

He didn't sleep well that night. The roar of the waves woke him up several times, and the soreness in his body made it difficult for him to even get out of bed. Looking at the beach, the tide had receded, and the white sand was revealed again. The traces left yesterday had been smoothed over by the sea, as if he had never landed on this island.

They dug a new pit to store water and started looking for dry branches, but found none. Luckily, they found a large Coke bottle near the rocks, which they could use to store water.

In addition, he needs to find a place to stay that can shelter him from the wind and rain, otherwise the sea breeze at night will soon catch him a cold, and without medicine, he will really not be far from death.

Secondly, he made a few fishing rods. The fishing line was made from the stitching of a disassembled kayak, which was very strong. The hooks were made from the locks that he had taken from a cargo box he had found the day before. He didn't know if this would work, but he figured it was worth a try.

After everything was settled, he began to look for a place to stay, and he had to be extremely careful in everything he did, whether it was climbing rocks or carefully surveying the environment. After all, although there were no carnivores such as lions and tigers here, deadly killers such as sea snakes could easily hide in the crevices of the rocks.

After climbing over about three small slopes, the scene before him filled him with joy. A cave appeared in front of him. This was not a cave formed by water erosion; there were obvious gaps in the top and sides.

Based on the inference, this place was probably a crevice a long time ago. The stone at the top of the crevice cracked due to weathering and rain erosion, and fell right onto the top of the crevice, becoming the "roof". Because of this, the cave is not dark and gloomy. On the contrary, because of the existence of the crevice, sunlight can shine directly in, and the dappled light allows Leo to see the thick moss on the walls.

He picked up a branch and rummaged through the rubble inside. There were no living creatures there. He then carefully checked the condition of the boulder above his head to make sure it was safe and wouldn't collapse while Leo was sleeping. He moved his belongings there and placed the books at the deepest part of the cave. It was a quiet time, and he seemed to hear... the sound of water droplets falling on the surface of the water.

He stiffened and slowly approached the sound of dripping water. In the deepest corner of the cave, there was a large puddle of water, with upside-down spiked rocks above it. Leo stared intently as it slowly condensed into a drop of water, which then fell into the puddle with a soft, pleasant sound.

He trembled as he reached out a finger, touched the puddle, and put it in his mouth. It tasted salty, but not from the water; the saltiness came from his finger, which had just touched seawater.

He pounced on the puddle like a madman, gulping down the already meager amount of fresh water. The puddle was formed on a rock, meaning the water had been dripping for countless years. He didn't need to worry about it being a one-off deal; once he finished drinking the water, the dripping water would refill it.

He cheered for the small puddle and was overjoyed at the fresh water that he could drink in just a few sips. That's how wonderful pleasure is; it mostly comes from small moments in your environment.

Later that evening, he caught a small fish, only the size of his palm, which he swallowed in a few bites. It didn't taste good, but strangely enough, he suddenly felt confident. A series of good luck made him believe that he could go back.

However, after some time had passed at night, a torrential rainstorm struck.

"boom……"

The loud noise startled him awake. Looking at the distant thunderclouds, he suddenly felt a sense of panic, perhaps from the instinctive fear of a solitary human being, or perhaps from the silent, rainy night on the Field.

The wind rushed into the cave entrance, and the tiny cracks sounded like a flute playing a chilling melody. He wasn't sure what the iron content of the rock at the cave entrance was, or whether it was conductive. Lost in thought, he couldn't fall asleep again. He could only sit at the cave entrance, hugging his knees, quietly watching the clouds and rain in the distance, feeling both terrified and resigned to his fate.

"Woo..."

He was certain he had heard it, amidst the thunder and rain, that mournful cry.

Not far from the island, on the coastline in front of the beach, lightning ripped through the night sky like a giant camera flash, suddenly illuminating everything in front of Leo's eyes.

It leaped out of the sea, its huge, scarred forehead standing upright, letting out a roar, sending water splashing upwards, rivaling the raindrops from the sky, before crashing back into the sea, creating huge waves that surged toward the beach, with some even splashing onto Leo's face.

It always seemed to be active when the rain was coming, a scene that even Leo, who hated it, had to admit was breathtakingly beautiful and captivating.

Water began to seep into the cave, and raindrops fell, but they did not splash onto his "bed." He waited anxiously until the rain stopped, the sky cleared, and the sun, no longer shy, peeked out from behind the clouds, bringing him some warmth and drowsiness. He lay down on his bedding and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

……

He carved more than forty vertical lines and watched the sunrise on the island for more than forty days. Every day was the same as usual. Time became the cheapest thing here. He gradually got used to the sea breeze and this monotonous life. Even though the lack of communication drove him crazy, he gradually began to find the joy he should have every day in books.

He still did not choose to climb upwards, avoiding all risky actions. He had tried all methods of starting a fire, but to no avail, until he found a piece of uncoated iron floating in the sea.

Overjoyed, he placed the driftwood he had found on the iron plate. After three sunny days, the surface finally lost its damp, gloomy color and began to turn white, which was a good sign. However, the inside of the wood was still damp, so he could only wait. If it rained, he would protect the wood until the weather cleared up before taking it out again.

Finally, after drawing the fifty-third vertical line, he threw the wood on the ground. The sound was crisp and no longer dull, which made Parker smile with delight. He took off his shoelaces and made them into the shape of a bow and arrow. He wrapped the bowstring around the wood and, like playing an erhu, spun it rapidly on the wooden board.

The drill bit and the hole had been polished smooth, and the intense friction made a very unpleasant sound, like scratching a blackboard, but it was indeed a good head drill.

"Hurry...come quickly, start it up..."

Gradually, the sawdust turned black, emitting wisps of white smoke. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He dared not stop, only wiping it haphazardly on his shoulder. Finally, a few red dots appeared on the sawdust.

He quickly placed it on the dried paper scraps and gently blew on it. After more than fifty days, he finally saw a flame, which then turned into a raging fire.

He was excited and sang loudly around the fire, even though his singing was not very good. His dance was also very strange, much like some kind of sacrificial ritual in an ancient tribe. On this day, he finally ate cooked food, which meant that his long-term diarrhea was about to end.

……

"My dearest Tina and Lucy, I wonder how you are doing now. It's been about a year and three months. Lucy should be able to run by now, right? It's so sad that I still haven't heard Lucy call me 'Dad'. But I believe that one day we will be reunited. Then I will never leave again and will focus on teaching and family life. I'm sorry that this diary will never see you again, but I will remember everything I said and did and keep my promise. Wait for me to come home. Your loving husband and father, Leo."

The camera pulls away from the fingers and the book, revealing a thin, bronze-skinned man sitting naked on a rock, covered only by a piece of fabric tied around his waist. His body fat percentage is astonishingly low, his skin taut with muscles, and with the slightest movement, the muscles appear fibrous. He is disheveled, his beard and hair unkempt and matted together, like ruminated food pulled from the mouth of a cow or sheep.

He closed the diary and looked towards the southeast corner. In the far distance, a tiny boat, no bigger than a grain of rice, was sailing on the sea. He felt no excitement, because at such a distance, the boat would not be able to detect his presence at all.

He is now on the edge of uncharted waters, close to the sea lanes, not because of the expansion of the shipping routes, but because of the island itself.

Judging from the ships, the sun, the gradually appearing birds, and the various marine creatures, this island... is moving; in other words, it is a very rare drifting island.

Leo wasn't sure of the drifting speed, but in just one year, he could already see ships, so the speed must not be slow. He also couldn't determine the direction of travel, because the ships weren't always visible. Sometimes he could see the ships themselves by looking southeast, sometimes he could only see the lights they were shining, and sometimes he couldn't see anything at all.

This is also one of the reasons why he believes he can return to human society. Perhaps one day, when he opens his eyes, passing ships will be nearby.

What he needed to do was prepare a raft. If the ship got too close but didn't spot him on the island, he would take a gamble, go into the sea, and run towards the ship.

It was impractical to build a raft by collecting driftwood from the beach, so not long ago he finally decided to take the risk and climb the cliff to search around both sides of the island. He was lucky enough to find a safe way to climb the cliff, and the top of the cliff gave him a great surprise: a vast bamboo forest.

He used a strong fire to burn the bottom of the bamboo, and then he could cut it with an axe made of stone. It took about three to five days to cut one bamboo. Today, he had just brought a newly cut bamboo down the mountain, ate some smoked fish and meat, and regained some strength. He trimmed the bamboo and tied it together with the previous bamboo. The rope was woven from bamboo strips and was very strong.

After finishing his work and securing the bamboo raft to a sturdy stone pillar, he climbed back to the mountaintop to search for suitable bamboo. This time, he ventured a little deeper, lit a fire, and roasted the bottom of the bamboo until it turned black.

Suddenly, the wind changed direction, and the white smoke from the burning wood stretched out into the forest, whistling as it entered something, sounding somewhat like human panting. This quickly attracted Leo, who extinguished the fire, and thick smoke billowed out. He followed the smoke deeper into the bamboo forest.

He had already explored the entire mountaintop, but had never heard such a sound before. If he hadn't been certain that there were no living creatures there, he wouldn't have dared to investigate. After walking about a hundred meters, he came into view a hole in the ground, not deep, only about two meters high. No plants were growing in the soil inside the hole, indicating that it had collapsed not long ago.

To Leo's astonishment, there were words on the east side of the pit wall! They were carved on a green stone wall, the material of which Leo did not know. Only three short lines of text were visible, which must have been washed away by rainwater. Logically speaking, there should be more text under the soil covering it.

The writing was not one of any languages ​​that Leo could understand, nor had he ever even seen it before. For a moment, the scholar's curiosity surged. The pit was only that big and that deep, and he wasn't worried about any danger. But just to be on the safe side, he found a few large rocks and smashed them into the bottom of the pit to make sure the collapse was complete. He didn't want to jump in only to find that the pit was much deeper than he thought. Also, stacking the rocks would make it easier for him to climb out.

Several muffled thuds echoed, confirming that the ground inside the pit was solid, before he jumped down and landed steadily inside.

The fact that there are written records on an uninhabited island is enough to arouse the curiosity of all scholars. After all, there are no traces of human habitation on this island. If they were left by humans, then the matter is worth investigating.

Gently wiping away the dirt from the green stone wall, he discovered that the stone wall was larger than he had imagined, with nearly two-thirds of its size still covered by dirt. The writing on it was still illegible, but he could tell by touching it that there were traces of chiseling.

The stone wall is not polished, somewhat similar to low-end full-green jadeite, but it has more stone-like texture and is not as oily as jadeite.

After thoroughly cleaning up the soil and confirming that there were twelve lines and three hundred and seventy-two characters, he prepared to return to his residence to retrieve his notebook and make rubbings of the text for later study. However, the moment he stood up, a severe wave of dizziness washed over him, accompanied by a strong urge to vomit. This immediately pulled him from his intense research mindset, and he subconsciously made a judgment.

"It emits radiation!"

Not daring to linger, I immediately crawled out of the cave entrance, intending to get away from this place. But after only a few steps, my vision went completely black. I waved my hand in front of my eyes, but it was still pitch black.

This was followed by weakness, dizziness, and a rapid heartbeat. After a few steps, he clutched his knees, panting heavily, and finally collapsed to the ground...

……

When I woke up again, it was already the next day.

His eyelids trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes. He still clearly remembered what happened yesterday, but now his vision had returned to its previous state.

There was a puddle of vomit on the ground, which had smeared all over him, even his hair. He was still weak, feverish, and extremely thirsty, his lips were already cracked. He struggled to get up, glanced at the pit behind him as if he had seen some kind of monster, and staggered down the mountain.

Upon arriving at his lodgings, he drank all the stored water, which relieved his condition somewhat. He was panting, having some difficulty breathing, as if there was phlegm stuck in his throat, and his exhalations made a hissing sound.

Hungry and burning up, he needed a shower, so he ran towards the sea, plunged into the water, and after cooling down completely, lay motionless on the sand, closing his eyes to rest.

He couldn't remember how much time had passed when he sat up and looked at the sea, where his face was reflected. There was no decay, no pustules, and no change whatsoever, which calmed him down a little.

After washing his hair and beard, he wanted to wash some oysters to eat. He picked the oysters off the rocks, squatted down by the sea to wash them, and suddenly, he seemed to sense... someone was watching him.

Suddenly looking up, there was nothing there. The vast sea could not hide a spy. After carefully looking around, there was only one fish swimming around.

He continued cleaning the oysters with his head down, but the feeling of being spied on did not disappear; instead, it became more and more obvious, as if a voyeur was approaching him step by step.

"who!"

He shouted, but no one answered. If it weren't for the sunny weather, he would have thought he had seen a ghost. He quickly swallowed the oysters and wanted to leave this eerie place as soon as possible. But as soon as he turned to run away, he suddenly heard a crackling sound.

Turning my head, I saw a fish leap out of the water and crash onto the beach, its tail thrashing about. The moment I saw the fish, the feeling of being spied on disappeared, replaced by a suffocating sense of empathy for the fish.

"What... is going on..."

It was staring at him. Although the fish's gaze was indistinguishable, he could sense that it was pleading for help. He went over, picked up the fish, and with a strange tenderness, released it back into the sea.

The fish didn't leave immediately; it remained where it was. He walked into the water, and it wasn't startled. Instead, it swam around Leo's feet.

It was filled with joy, and somehow, Leo could sense it. It was as if it had found a playmate or a relative, and it didn't flinch even when Leo's fingers touched it.

"Damn it... what's wrong with me?"

This is definitely some kind of superpower, a power that science cannot explain. It objectively exists, and this fish is the best proof. With just a thought, a single idea in his mind, the fish can obediently swim into his palm.

At this moment, he stood there stunned in the sea, staring at the fish that seemed to understand human nature, unable to accept for a long time that such a fantastical thing had happened to him.

But when this most ordinary sea bass became as obedient as a pet, a warm current seemed to flow into his lonely heart. The dog owner and his beloved dog—this was a reflection of Leo's emotions.

"Come here."

He went ashore and walked about twenty meters away. He silently called out to the fish in his heart, and it quickly swam over and burrowed into Leo's palm.

"Good boy."

He tore off a piece of oyster meat and fed it to the little guy, who trusted it completely and swallowed it whole. Afterward, it became even more active in response to Leo's commands.

"Let me think of a good name for you. How about Paul? It's the name of my good friend. You're my good friend too. Go! Catch me a shrimp."

This wasn't a communication through thought, as he wasn't used to that. Instead, he spoke, though he hadn't spoken in a long time. Although chewing and swallowing still maintained his oral motor skills, his speech had started to sound strange. However, because he hadn't communicated with anyone for so long, he hadn't noticed that his accent had gone astray.

It understood human speech and quickly swam towards the deep sea. Before long, Leo began to worry, fearing that his newly made friend Paul would never return.

He craned his neck to look into the distance, and after about a minute, he saw it swim back. He breathed a sigh of relief, tore off some oyster meat, and decided to reward it regardless of whether it brought back a shrimp or not. And it really did bring back a shrimp for Leo.

This must be related to the radioactive stone wall, but he no longer thought about what side effects the stone wall might bring. In more than a year, his first friend had made him so happy that he forgot himself.

Tired from playing, he lay down on the beach, not saying a word, just quietly watching the bass. Seeing it swimming around him, he smiled happily. But its next move made Leo panic.

"NONONO! Don't bite the hook!"

It opened its mouth toward the fishing rod that Leo had made, which startled Leo so much that he immediately got up and kicked the fishing rod far away. He had given up on using this thing that could accidentally hurt Paul and had not yet considered how he would find food in the future if he lost the occasional fish that the fishing rod provided.

It wasn't until dusk, when the sea was rising, that he said goodbye to Paul. He had already forgotten his job of building rafts, and even when it was time for them to go home, they were still reluctant to part.

"Stay here! I'll get you some food. Don't go into the deep water, or you'll get eaten, understand? See you tomorrow, wait for me here."

After saying goodbye, he turned and left. Suddenly, it jumped out of the water and lay on the beach again, calling for Leo's help. It was reluctant to leave. Leo understood. After repeated instruction, it finally understood the meaning behind his words.

Fish are fish, they're not very smart.

Leo barely slept that night, staring at his palm and recalling the feeling of Paul swimming in his hand. It really felt like a dream; he had friends and pets on a deserted island, but in the end, he was just a fish.

……

Over the next few days, Paul spent nearly half his time interacting with Paul and testing whether there was a better way to use his strange ability. But after several tests, he determined that this ability only worked on those he cared about or the marine life that cared about him.

Problems arose as well. He was running out of food. Relying solely on oysters and other shellfish was not enough to sustain his body's needs, and he was already tired of eating shellfish all the time. His fishing rod, one of the few ways he could get food, had been abandoned because of Paul's presence. In the past few days, he had almost fainted from hunger.

until a certain day.

"Paul, you can invite your friends to come and play together..."

……

As the sun set, dozens of bass gathered in the shallow waters of the beach, frolicking in the water. With a flick of their tails, they splashed water, sporadic slaps hitting Leo's face as he bent down to give Paul instructions.

He smiled and told Paul to wait there for a while. The silly fish watched him quietly, its joyful expression seemingly telling Leo that it was waiting for him to come back and play together.

After giving him a few instructions, he faced Paul and slowly backed away onto the beach, his hands behind his back tightly gripping a still wriggling bass...

What kind of scene is this...?

The fish swam in groups, drawing circles in the shallow water, waiting for their human friend to return and join them in their play.

Behind the rocks not far from the beach, he sat on the ground, leaning against the rocks, holding a bass that he had been playing with happily, eating it with his face covered in blood...

He became the wolf in sheep's clothing.

……

A full stomach doesn't just breed lust; other emotions also arise. When he saw Paul again, the blood on his hands and face hadn't been wiped clean, because even the silly fish couldn't tell the difference. He was truly uneasy about what he'd done, and found it hard to smile at Paul again. After playing for a short while, he announced the end of the game, hurriedly returned to his lodgings, covered his head with the kayak, and closed his eyes without a word. He suffered from insomnia that night.

But insomnia and anxiety would never be the reason he stopped; hunger was a physiological reaction. Hunting was an animal instinct. Only a lingering sense of guilt continued to torment his mind and body each night.

As time passed, the bamboo raft became more and more perfect, more and more bass gathered, and the fish carcasses piled up higher and higher. He became the leader of the school of fish. The advantage was that they would often catch some small shrimp and give them to Leo, so that he could change his taste after he got tired of eating bass, although it was not enough to have a full meal.

And so, time flew by, and there was no more room to draw vertical lines in the cave.

……

He didn't know how much time had passed, but this time, he was the closest he had ever come to the flight path, about the size of his little fingernail. He could bet that he would get even closer next time, but no one dared to bet again, and neither did he.

He longed to go home. The blank spaces in his books were filled with his diary entries. This urgent feeling was becoming unbearable. So he decided to try to deduce, based on the color of the sky, the temperature, and the humidity, that there would be no heavy rain in the next few days and that there would be a southeasterly wind today.

They pushed the bamboo raft into the sea, laid the kayak, which had been worn smooth from years of sleeping on it, on top, and filled several large bottles with fresh water, all of which they had found along the coastline. Paul was still swimming near the beach when he heard the commotion and quickly came over.

He planned to take Paul with him. Sea bass have a lifespan of about twenty-five years, and based on that, Paul still had a long life ahead of him. This time, he wanted to take Paul home so he could take care of him in his old age.

The woven bamboo basket wasn't pretty, but it was practical enough. Seeing the bird obediently swim into the basket, he finally mustered his courage, pushed the bamboo raft into the sea, opened the tin sail, and headed southeast without needing to row.

When at sea, it is essential to prevent sunburn. Apply coconut meat regularly and occasionally get off the boat to soak in the sea to cool down.

The voyage went very smoothly. He turned to look at the island, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He had lived on the island for several years, and the island he had hated so much back then, now felt strangely hard to let go of.

When the bamboo basket was opened, Paul jumped out and fell onto the raft. Leo was so frightened that he quickly picked him up and put him back in the basket, repeatedly warning him to be careful.

They've reached the sharks' territory.

Imagine yourself lying on a bamboo raft, with sharks swimming below, their fins cutting a wound on the water's surface that would be instantly healed. No one can resist that fear, and Leo found himself in that situation.

Sharks wouldn't be interested in attacking a bamboo raft, but Paul was different. He didn't want his good friend to be eaten by a shark just half an hour after he tried to take it home.

At night, the fish became more active. Although the waves were smaller, he was still terrified and would open the bamboo basket from time to time to check if Paul was safe.

The next day, the wind and waves grew stronger, which was not a good sign. Although the sky was still blue, Leo, who had lived on the deserted island for so long, knew that a storm was coming.

On the fourth day of the rafting trip, a storm was imminent, with waves reaching tens of meters high. Faced with such massive waves, he found it difficult to have enough confidence in his bamboo raft.

Time and again, the seawater crashed violently against his body. The bamboo raft began to disintegrate from the outermost part. The first bamboo stalk broke off and drifted far away. This made him nervous. He gripped the rope woven from the bamboo bark with both hands. Soon, his hands began to bleed. The extremely high salt content in the seawater seeped into the wounds, causing intense pain.

He began to roar loudly, like a wounded beast, howling madly, but it was all in vain. The second bamboo broke and scattered in the distance, covered by the sea.

The smell of blood attracted sharks, which swam around the bamboo raft, their white fins occasionally peeking above the surface. He could sense how hungry these creatures were.

"Get away! Get away!"

He roared at the sharks, but to no avail. These starving creatures paid no heed to the shouts of prey about to become their meal, until he took the bamboo paddle, flipped it over, and used the barbed wooden handle to stab the shark's skin underneath.

"Go away!"

This time, his actions worked. The sharks didn't go berserk or capsize the raft. Their intelligence isn't that high; they don't consider how to get their prey into the sea. Even when these animals eat other creatures, it's only out of hunger and a need to eat, like a hungry person seeing a dish, rather than with the malice of wanting to kill someone.

He was armed and kept communicating with the sharks, and his method worked; they swam a few more times and then turned away.

But this was merely an interlude in a massive crisis, not the crisis itself. The rain lashed against their bodies, blurred their vision, and even breathing became difficult. The third bamboo stalk snapped and fell away.

As he turned away from the wind to catch his breath, he opened his eyes. The fourth bamboo stalk was about to split, but just then, he suddenly saw light not far away, at most a nautical mile away.

He saw the cargo ship standing upright on the sea, much larger than a little fingernail. Its enormous size exuded a strong sense of oppression, remaining motionless even in the midst of a violent storm, its sturdiness astonishing.

"Help! Help! Ugh, spit! Help!"

He shouted, his blood vessels dilating with excitement, and his free left hand swung wildly. Seawater poured into his mouth, but he could no longer taste any bitterness. He rowed furiously with the bamboo paddle, but could hardly move an inch in the storm.

Even more dangerous was the oncoming giant wave, so high it was impossible to measure. The giant ship could withstand this level of impact, but the bamboo raft could not, and with a bang, it completely disintegrated.

He fell into the water and swallowed a mouthful of seawater. Ignoring the pain in his hand, he swam toward the ship, but the pull of the seawater was too strong. Even when he was exhausted, he had only swum less than a hundred meters.

The icy seawater soaked him, and soon his legs began to cramp. He was completely exhausted and sank to the bottom. Looking down at the still bottomless, completely dark deep sea, his last will to survive began to erupt. He pushed Paul, who was beside him and had no idea what was happening.

"Help me! Paul! Help me! Someone please help me!"

This was the strongest survival instinct he had ever felt. Then, he suddenly saw a riot erupting in the seabed, with tens of thousands, or even more, schools of fish of various species rushing toward him, pushing his body directly out of the water.

"call……"

Then came more! More! More schools of fish gathered, including rare and precious species, carrying Leo and swimming quickly toward the giant ship until he could touch the red paint on the ship's waterline.

"Help! Friends on the ship! Help!"

His voice was too faint in the storm; shouting and clapping were not enough to attract the crew's attention until a bigeye tuna leaped out of the water and slammed onto the deck with a thud, spraying blood everywhere.

More and more fish began to launch suicide attacks on the boat deck, creating a continuous barrage like firecrackers, and the fish were getting bigger and bigger.

He suddenly felt a sense of kindness, an extreme closeness and trust, and with unwavering faith, even in the pouring rain, its scales still shimmered with silver light as it leaped out of the water. Leo could even see its constantly wagging tail.

"NO! Paul! NO!"

He had seen many fish and made friends with many of them, but the one he truly cherished was the first ordinary sea bass he met and who he truly regarded as family.

With a bang, it crashed into the iron plate, becoming part of the dense spray of blood. And that was it; at least, Leo no longer sensed its emotions.

……

"Sailing complete. Wait, First Mate! There are men at sea!"

"What? What nonsense are you talking about! Soliko, come back now!"

“There really is someone! I swear on my father’s name! Damn it! He’s sitting on a fish!”

"Stop joking! Danger! Come back now!"

The first mate, wearing a green raincoat, grabbed the cabin handrail and yelled at the young black man standing on the deck, but Soliko didn't listen to him. He lowered himself down, walked to the side of the ship, looked down for a few seconds, and then quickly threw the rope ladder down.

"Hold on tight! I'll pull you up, friend!"

He pulled the rope ladder, and the man in the sea was lighter than he had expected. Although it was a bit difficult for him to pull, it wasn't a problem. At this moment, the first mate also came to help. Then the first mate really saw a disheveled man being slowly pulled up by the two of them.

“Geez…how could he…”

Human curiosity prompted the first mate to look out into the sea, but the surface was now empty, and the fish's blood was hidden by the equally bright red paint.

Lying on the deck, the long-lost slippery feeling was much more comfortable than lying on the rocks. He was saved, but he couldn't be happy. Fortunately, he could cry out loud this time.

"Asian? Chinese? Japanese? Korean? Vietnamese? Can you understand English? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you're safe, buddy. You can go home safely."

This was the comfort he heard from Soliko as he wept.

……

"Judging from your appearance, it must have been quite a few years since you were shipwrecked."

"How old is it now?"

"2019."

"I set sail in May 2013."

The storm subsided, and Leo stood on the deck wrapped in a blanket, with starlight overhead and a vast blue sea before him. His first meal back in civilized society was oyster and cream soup. Sure enough, he was near the Normandy coast.

The sea breeze was still strong, blowing his beard and long hair. Beside him, Solik glanced at him with a curious look, and after getting the answer, he clapped his hands.

"The survivors of that research vessel?"

"you know?"

"Of course, out of more than a hundred crew members, only six survived. Oh no, count as seven. It was the only major maritime disaster that year. You were really lucky, brother."

Neither of them spoke English very well. Leo hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time, and his accent had become severely distorted, while Solik had a strong French accent; he was French.

Luck? He remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"How did you get on the fish? I mean... that's so cool, it's unbelievable."

"I don't know either. My bamboo raft capsized, and I saw lots of fish..."

"Woo..."

With a long cry, as if sinking into the deep sea, it carried a strange charm in its solitude. The sea surface was suddenly no longer quiet. It reappeared, leaping from the surface and merging with the moonlight, as if the moon had been swallowed by it. Under the starlight, even the splashing seawater was assimilated and became part of the starlight.

The water jet shot several meters high, even hitting the two men in the face, before falling back into the sea, creating waves that left Soliko speechless.

"What did I go through that night? WTF! It's unbelievable, but I think... I've figured out why you can sit on a school of fish. You're really lucky."

He imagined himself covering up for Leo's lie, clutching his head and screaming, describing it to the other crew members, while Leo drank the soup in one gulp.

……

"Hello, I'm Tina."

Tina glanced at Lucy, who was sitting on the sofa drinking a beverage and watching Tom and Jerry intently, and replied to the other end of the phone with a gentle smile.

Then, the phone fell to the ground and cracked. She held her forehead, knelt on the ground, and almost fainted.

"What's wrong, Mommy?"

"It's okay, Mommy's okay."

She slowly got up from the ground and ran towards her bedroom, closing the door behind her. A loud wail followed, puzzling Lucy. She turned her head, looked at her golden retriever, and patted its head.

……

Six years later, a lucky survivor who had been confirmed as a victim of the disaster returned to human society with an extremely tenacious spirit. Instantly, Leo became a darling of the news, and countless photos of him were taken along the way.

After taking care of his appearance, he seemed to have changed little from six years ago, except that he had become thinner and had a few more faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. No one believed that a person could live at sea for six years without dying and then return to the mainland, but reality was unfolding in such an absurd way.

"Sir, your identity document has been reactivated, and other files will be reopened gradually. You will need to go to the bank to reissue your bank card and other documents. Well then... welcome home."

The sheriff extended his hand, and the reporters below, who were constantly taking pictures of Leo, shook hands with him. The reporters present began to cheer and applaud in congratulation.

……

"Leo, you need to retake your driver's test. In the future, if you want to go somewhere, you can take a ride on Uber instead of hailing a taxi on the street. It's very convenient. Just open your phone like this and add your personal information. Um... sorry, I forgot that your bank card is still frozen."

He sat in the police car, and the officers beside him were teaching him how to use a smartphone like they were teaching a child. The money to buy the phone was given to him by National Geographic. Although the compensation had already been paid to Tina, they gave Leo another sympathy payment because he was alive, but the amount was not much.

The police officer driving the vehicle laughed loudly, and the two officers kept arguing with each other. Leo looked out the window at the completely unfamiliar scenery, feeling a mix of emotions. He felt no different from being in prison, even more out of touch than if he had served six years in jail. This feeling of being disconnected from society was not pleasant at all.

Suddenly, a call came in, and the officer next to him went silent. He answered the phone; it was Tina, but neither of them spoke.

He knew Tina was married, and it didn't surprise him. No one waits for a dead person; she had to work hard for herself and her daughter's life, so Leo understood.

This time, the police led him to Tina's current residence. He needed to retrieve the insurance payout that was supposed to be claimed. Insurance companies aren't as humane as National Geographic; if someone dies, they're dead, and if they're alive, they're alive. If it weren't for the world-renowned maritime disaster that Leo encountered, the insurance company would have had legitimate grounds to suspect Leo of insurance fraud.

"Hello?"

He asked cautiously, but there was no answer on the other end of the phone. There was only the faint sound of her blowing her nose; she was crying, he could tell. But Leo didn't know how to comfort her.

"beep……"

About ten seconds later, the call was disconnected; she probably felt the same way as Leo.

The two officers also quieted down, and the atmosphere inside the car was no longer playful. The officers were focused and doing their jobs, only explaining to Leo when they passed large landmarks when they saw when the buildings were constructed.

The vehicles weaved through the streets, and finally they arrived at a middle-class community. The detached wooden villas had remained unchanged for a century. There were no thugs causing trouble at the community entrance all day long, nor were there graffiti covering the walls. Leo breathed a sigh of relief at the pleasant community environment, which at least proved that Tina and her family's current income level was quite good.

"Number 18, that's the building over there... um... good luck, Leo."

The officers shook hands with Leo and got out of the car with him, but did not leave immediately. Instead, they stood quietly by and watched from a distance. They were worried that Leo would get into a fight with Tina's current husband. For a rescuer who had survived on a deserted island for many years, it was questionable how much legal awareness he still had. On the contrary, no one doubted that Leo's wild instincts had been awakened.

The officers, with their backs to the police car and hands folded over their stomachs, offered Leo a well-intentioned blessing, but their eyes also betrayed a hint of wariness as they watched him walk quietly toward house number 18. They didn't want Leo, hailed as a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, to be imprisoned for murder so soon after returning to human society; otherwise, it would be the biggest scandal in the city in recent years.

When he arrived at the villa's entrance, there were hyacinths growing on the spider plant beside the door. These were Tina's favorite plants. He didn't knock directly. He touched the flower buds a few times with his fingers, and with some hesitation, he gently tapped the door panel with his finger bones.

The door opened quickly, as if someone had been waiting in the entryway for a long time. In just a few seconds, the door opened, but it wasn't Tina; it was Tina's current husband.

He was probably Germanic, with green eyes, brown hair, and a slightly shorter stature than Leo. He had deep-set eyes, a high nose, and a somewhat fierce appearance, but at this moment his expression was one of speechless embarrassment. Upon seeing Leo, the two remained silent for a while before he extended his hand to Leo first.

“You can call me Joseph. I’m glad you’re back safely, Leo.”

"Thanks……"

“Tina… The community doctor said she’s overwhelmed with grief, so it’s not convenient for her to see you right now. I’m worried that she’ll become emotional if she sees you, and I don’t want her to get hurt. I think you feel the same way.”

"Um……"

The man took out a bank card from his pocket and placed it in front of Leo with one hand, not holding it between two fingers, showing some respect for Leo. He patted Leo's shoulder with his other hand, hoping he would accept it.

"She didn't spend the money; she kept it, thinking that if Lucy grew up and got married, she would give it to her as a dowry. But... fate is cruel, though it can also be considered a kind of luck."

He remained silent, put away his bank card, and peered into the room expressionlessly. Upon seeing this, Joseph subtly closed the door behind his back with one hand, obscuring most of what was happening inside.

"Can I see Lucy?"

"Actually... I don't recommend you do this. After all, Lucy is still young, and we should give her some time to adjust. Otherwise, it will be too much of a shock for her..."

"So you never told Lucy about my existence?"

“Um…yes, Tina didn’t want to tell Lucy that her father…is dead, so…she hasn’t told her yet because she’s too young, only six years old…maybe it would be better if we told her when she realizes she’s mixed-race, what do you think?”

"Dad? Are you calling me?"

"No, just watch TV, baby."

Inside the room, there were children's cries. At that moment, Leo opened his mouth, but the words were stuck in his throat. His heart suddenly felt a pain, as if it had shattered.

He pointed into the room, twirled his outstretched finger, and stared at Joseph's face, saying, "She should know who her biological father is! If you're her father, then what about me?"

"Please keep your voice down. I don't want Lucy to hear our conversation, buddy. Before I get angry, please turn your voice down or leave."

“This is my child.”

"But you don't have custody of her, do you?"

"That's because everyone thought I was dead! But now I'm alive, and I want to see her."

He pushed away the hand pressed against his chest and tried to go inside, but was pulled back by a force and pressed against the supporting pillar of the awning. A pair of large hands grabbed his collar, and Joseph's fierce and menacing face was completely exposed.

“Listen up, buddy, if you dare break into my house, I won’t hesitate to beat you up! Legally and without question! Do you understand? I’ve said it before, Lucy is too young; she can’t handle this kind of thing!”

"Heh... Whether you accept it or not is your decision, not hers. Besides... you can't beat me, but I can kill you."

"Then you can try! Come on, like you were killing fish on that damn island, do you dare? You shouldn't have come back, you should have died at sea! People can't accept their lives being disrupted, they can't bear the unexpected in life, and you are that unexpected. Look at the pain you've brought to Tina! Do you want this kind of pain to happen to Lucy?"

Inside the house, the golden retriever seemed to sense something. With a sense of vigilance, it quickly got up and ran outside, standing beside Joseph and barking wildly at Leo. Joseph couldn't sense a pure malice, but it could. Out of a desire to protect its owner, it confronted Leo, but its hind legs were trembling and its tail was tucked between its legs.

"Gentlemen, stop. I don't want anyone to bleed under my nose. This is the first warning. If this warning is ineffective, I will spray pepper spray. If you don't want to wash your eyes or suffer any aftereffects, you'd better behave yourselves."

Two police officers, each armed with a weapon—pepper spray and a stun gun—were positioned with pepper spray aimed at Joseph and the stun gun at Leo. It was clear that they valued Leo far more than Joseph.

The two officers had no choice but to stop. Leo glanced at the golden retriever and saw that it had been frightened and retreated back into the house. Only then did he straighten his clothes, obey the two officers, temporarily abandon his idea of ​​visiting Lucy, and get back into the police car.

"Leo, no matter what kind of person Joseph is, he's right about one thing: the fact that you're Lucy's biological father needs to be revealed to Lucy by Tina and Joseph slowly. If you appear directly in front of Lucy, it's indeed... Never mind, where else do you want to go? I'll take you. Go and clear your head."

"So you guys also think it's better for me to just be dead?"

"That's not what I meant, buddy. I just think... life really should be lived step by step. Once it's disrupted, it's hard to get back on track. Anyway, no matter what, Lucy will definitely find out the truth eventually. Maybe we shouldn't rush things. Let's go, let's go clear our heads. Where to?"

"I want to go to the beach..."

……

This time, the police officer finally left. He was at the dock, where there were many people, and it was a little crowded. Many people were fishing. The weather was good, and they had prepared their fishing spots well, resulting in a good catch. One by one, the fish were being caught. Leo could feel their pain, but he did not stop them. People eat fish; this is the rule of nature.

As human beings, we need to have humanity, but this humanity does not refer to kindness, loyalty, compassion, or many other good qualities. Rather, it means always maintaining the awareness of being human. You should stand on the side of humanity, not on the side of animals. Otherwise... are you a human being or just an animal that can speak human language?

Killing without malice, purely for the need to eat, should not be stopped. It is killing with malice or greed that should be prohibited.

……

On the beach, in this season perfect for swimming, he sat on the sand as men and women in swimsuits walked past him with surfboards. No one recognized him, saving him a lot of trouble. In this age of information overload, the face of a shipwreck survivor would naturally not be remembered. They would only have a slight impression of Leo's ordeal, treating it merely as a topic of conversation in their spare time.

Just like the couples around him, they were talking about his story, but they had no recollection of the person sitting next to him.

"Wang Wang Wang."

A dog was barking beside Leo; it was a German Shepherd, crouching next to him, reminding him of his hunger and the need for food. German Shepherds are highly intelligent, so they can distinguish one person from many others.

After surveying the area, Leo didn't spot the owner staring at it. He checked its neck and found it wasn't wearing a collar or dog tag. Combined with its thin and somewhat dirty appearance, Leo was certain that it was a stray dog.

"You are hungry?"

It barked a few more times, tugged at its tail, circled around a few times, then squatted down, looking at Leo with bright, sparkling eyes.

"Ok."

He got up and walked toward the hot dog stand, and the dog obediently followed behind him until half a hot dog was stuffed into its mouth. As for the other half... well, Leo was hungry too.

They weren't full, but that was fine. The man and the dog returned to the beach and saw a dog owner playing frisbee with his dog. Suddenly, the frisbee went astray and flew towards Leo. The German Shepherd suddenly jumped up, caught the frisbee, and started circling around Leo.

"Hey buddy! Your dog's not bad!"

Having received the praise out of the blue, he didn't know what to say. He simply thanked them, forcibly snatched the frisbee from the German Shepherd's mouth, and threw it back. There it was again, a pair of bright, big eyes staring at him. Man and dog stared at each other in silence…

"Boss, how much is the frisbee?"

It still got its way. With the frisbee in its mouth and a victorious smile, it found an open space, lay down on the beach, and that was the end of it. Leo picked up the frisbee and threw it, but at this moment, the black dog lost interest in chasing the frisbee.

"I just bought it, why isn't it playing anymore? Go, pick it up!"

Fortunately, he was able to communicate with the dog and urge it to retrieve the frisbee. Only then did the dog get up, slowly walk over, and settle down where the frisbee had fallen.

"You're good at catching frisbees, aren't you? Wasn't this the one you wanted to buy, buddy? Go get it!"

He threw the frisbee again, but the black-backed dog still didn't move. Helpless, he could only demonstrate for the dog himself. He pointed to the frisbee, tossed it up, ran wildly, caught the frisbee, and pointed to his mouth at the black-backed dog.

After several repetitions, it finally regained its interest, and when Leo threw it again, it chased after the frisbee and caught it in its mouth with ease.

"Good boy! That's it! Let's do it again!"

Gradually, the dog and the dog got into the game, chasing each other around the frisbee. When they got excited, Leo would even kneel down and crawl on the ground to try and snatch the frisbee from Leo.

The camera gradually zooms out, capturing the entire scene: under the setting sun, a person and a dog are running wildly, chasing a frisbee. The sunlight casts shadows of the two, intertwined on the beach, making it difficult to distinguish which is the person and which is the dog.

As the sun set, the beach gradually emptied of people. Leo and Blackback rested on the deserted pier, sharing fried chicken and hot dogs. Out of a sense of camaraderie, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Do you want to come with me? I don't have a home anymore anyway. If you come with me, you'll have company. Don't worry, you won't have to worry about food and drink. I'll take good care of you."

He thought it wouldn't refuse when he said it, but the next moment, he felt its resistance.

Are you waiting for someone here?

It actually nodded in a human-like manner.

Even if he never comes back?

After a while, he got the answer. He was a little disappointed, but there was nothing to regret. He patted his backside and parted ways with the black dog, which did not try to stop him.

"Okay then, I'll come back to see you as long as you're here. I'm leaving now, bye-bye."

He tossed the last chicken leg to it and walked away nonchalantly. The dog didn't look back; it just lowered its head and tore into the fragrant chicken leg, lying on the deserted dock, gazing at the cruise ships with their lights on in the distance.

……

There's a discrepancy between the words and the ideas. This is the first time I've written this book, and it's quite contradictory. I'll start with 18,000 words. The rest of the content still needs further thought. It's a slow burn, and the climax of the plot will come later. I still need to think about it. Any extra chapters will still count. I apologize to all my dear readers.

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(End of this chapter)