After AFK for five years, I returned to be number one in the entire server.

The water in the bathroom has been turned off.

Lin wrung out the washed towel until it was half dry, turned around, and met Su Nian's slightly dazed gaze.

He walked to the bedside and handed her a towel.

Su Nian propped herself up and sat up, the blanket falling to her waist.

The hangover left her head feeling heavy and her throat extremely dry.

She took the towel, and the cool touch relieved the bloating and swelling sensation slightly.

She whispered, "Thank you."

Looking at her weak appearance, Lin asked, "Why were you drinking?"

Su Nian has always been an excellent student with high grades and great self-discipline. She is not the kind of person who forces herself to socialize in unfamiliar environments just for the sake of socializing.

Su Nian held the half-dry towel, lowered her eyes, and looked at the fine checkered pattern on the quilt, without continuing the conversation.

She avoided Lin Ye's gaze and said softly that she wanted to wash up. Seeing this, Lin Ye didn't ask any further questions, turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her.

The morning sea breeze dispelled the damp chill of the night and brought with it a touch of sunshine warmth.

In the nine-story open-air restaurant, several huge white parasols, like blooming mushrooms, are set up on the wooden deck.

A few early risers sat under umbrellas, sipping coffee and chatting quietly.

Su Nian changed into clean clothes and sat down opposite Lin Ye at a round table.

On the table were simple toast, fried eggs, and two cups of hot milk.

She held a small spoon in her hand, slowly stirring the milk in the cup, her gaze fixed on the rising steam from the cup.

"Does your girlfriend know we're out?" Su Nian looked up, as if casually bringing up an unimportant everyday topic.

She paused for a moment, then added, "If I had known you had a girlfriend, I wouldn't have asked you to come with me to this event."

Whether viewed from the perspective of ordinary friends or cousins, a guy with a girlfriend spending a day and two nights at sea with another girl, eating and living on the same boat, is bound to attract criticism.

Su Nian is someone who is very strict about boundaries. She doesn't like this kind of ambiguous relationship and doesn't want to cause trouble for other people's feelings.

Lin swallowed a bite of toast and replied, "I already said that."

Su Nian looked away and quietly ate her breakfast.

When she had almost finished eating, she stood up and walked to the white railing at the edge of the deck.

The sea breeze blew her long hair back, and she squinted slightly, gazing into the distance at the rising sun.

According to the original daily schedule, the Jinlan should have changed course last night, and by this time, they should have already entered the waterway near Ningchuan.

At this ship's speed, the coastline or the towering cranes of the port should be visible at the horizon.

But all that met the eye at that moment was the deep blue sea, nothing but seawater.

It stretched as far as the eye could see, with no land in sight, not even a passing fishing boat or cargo ship.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the monotonous sound of the cruise ship cutting through the waves.

Su Nian frowned slightly. She took out her phone from her trench coat pocket, intending to ask about the current situation of the Queen Mother of the West.

The screen lights up, and there's a cross in the signal bar at the top right, indicating no network connection. The connection status for west Wangmu is displayed as offline.

The Queen Mother of the West could connect with satellites, and even at sea, there should not be a complete lack of signal.

Meanwhile, an unread text message was sitting in the notification center, sent from the captain's cabin of the Jinlan.

"Dear passengers, due to a sudden abnormal ocean current and localized marine magnetic field, the Jinlan is currently experiencing a brief course deviation, and external communication signals are temporarily unavailable due to interference. Please do not panic. The ship's power and safety systems are functioning normally, and the technical team is working to correct the route. The return journey is expected to be slightly delayed. Please rest and enjoy your meals on board. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

Su Nian returned to the round table and sat down, placing her phone in front of Lin Ye: "The captain's cabin sent a group message saying that we encountered abnormal ocean currents and magnetic field interference, our course has deviated, and we've lost contact with Xi Wangmu. We don't know when we'll be able to get back."

Lin put down her milk glass, glanced at the reassuring message on the screen, and said, "It has nothing to do with ocean currents or magnetic fields."

Su Nian looked at him, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. She knew that Lin Ye was very capable and his perception of the surrounding environment was definitely far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Do you know what happened? What's the problem?"

Lin shook his head and said, "I don't know. If you want to know the specific reason, you have to ask the captain."

As the sun rose higher, more and more people appeared on the deck and in the restaurant.

Most modern people, who are used to being constantly covered by the Queen Mother of the West, can barely remain calm during the first hour without the internet and smart assistants, treating it as a temporary system malfunction.

As noon approached and all that remained in sight was the boundless, deep blue sea, a sense of unease began to spread rapidly throughout the Jinlan, like ink dripping into water.

The service counter on the sixth floor was surrounded by people, and the cacophony of questions made it quite noisy.

"When will we finally get a signal? I have a very important video conference this afternoon!"

"Even if the flight path deviates, there should be a general direction, right? Is the radar also broken?"

"We want to see the captain!"

Two crew members in white uniforms stood behind the service counter, their faces bearing professional smiles, repeating reassuring words over and over again.

"Please remain calm. The technical team is working hard to repair the communication equipment, and the backup navigation system has been activated. However, the sea conditions are somewhat complex, so for safety reasons, we are maintaining the most conservative speed. Please return to your rooms or the restaurant to rest. We will notify you as soon as communication is restored."

This ambiguous answer barely quelled the first wave of commotion.

Lin Ye and Su Nian didn't squeeze into the crowd; instead, they had lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

Throughout the process, Su Nian remained quiet, her gaze occasionally drifting to the unchanging horizon outside the window.

The passage of time becomes particularly agonizing in this enclosed space.

As darkness fell, a magnificent sunset burned at the horizon, turning the seawater a deep red.

Evening fell.

The Jinlan, which should have docked long ago, still floats on the vast sea like a lone leaf, without even a seagull in sight.

Panic erupted, with a large number of passengers rushing to the passageways on the eighth and ninth floors leading to the cockpit. Even some scholars and professors who were originally aloof could no longer sit still.

The crowd crowded at the entrance of the passageway, their emotions running high. Some people began to pound on the tightly closed isolation door, demanding that the captain come out immediately and give them the exact location and return time.