King of the Wilderness

Chapter 795: Chapter 360: Squall Line! (Part 2)

”Balance...” Riven chewed on the word, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

”Sometimes I feel like my life is off balance. I desperately try to hold onto the sea, because it’s the only thing I can be certain of.”

”But the more I do, the more I feel like... a lone ship in the ocean.”

This was the first time, in front of Lin Yu’an, that she showed vulnerability aside from strength and freedom.

Lin Yu’an was silent for a moment. ”Riven, an albatross doesn’t need roots. The sky and the ocean are its home. You’re not a lone ship, you’re an albatross.”

The metaphor of the albatross, like a warm ocean current, instantly enveloped Riven’s somewhat cold and confused heart.

She turned her head and looked deeply at Lin Yu’an, her blue eyes rippling with something she hadn’t even noticed, under the starlight.

Just as the atmosphere became subtly charged, a sudden, urgent and piercing alarm rang out in the cockpit!

”Beep, beep, beep! Beep, beep, beep!”

It was the radar collision warning!

”What’s going on?!” Riven snapped out of her emotional state, as if pulled taut like a bowstring, immediately entering combat mode.

Lin Yu’an also jumped to the multifunction display screen.

On the radar screen, a fast-moving unidentified blip was rapidly approaching from their rear-right in a bizarre ”S” pattern!

”CPA (Closest Point of Approach) less than 0.1 nautical miles! TCPA (Time to Closest Point of Approach) under two minutes!”

Riven quickly reported the data, her voice tense with urgency, ”Is this guy crazy? There’s no information on the AIS (Automatic Identification System), it’s a ghost ship!”

”Mike!” Lin Yu’an didn’t hesitate, pressing the intercom button to the main cabin, ”Emergency on deck! Get here fast!”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Captain Mike, wearing only shorts, rushed onto the deck, clearly awoken by the alarm.

”What’s happening?!” He glanced at the radar screen, his expression instantly turning grave. ”Damn, is it a ’Go-fast boat’ (high-speed smuggling boat)?”

At this time of night, a boat moving at such irregular high speed without the AIS on is most likely involved in illegal activities.

And their sailboat happened to be in the path of its ”night route.”

”They’ve noticed us, slowing down,” Lin Yu’an observed the screen intently, analyzing calmly, ”but the course hasn’t changed, seems they aren’t planning to avoid us.”

The three of them stared intently at the dark ocean, hearts in their throats. The air was thick with tension.

”Listen!” Riven suddenly pointed toward the stern, lowering her voice, ”There’s a sound!”

The three held their breath, indeed, a deep, rhythmic ”whoosh” sound came from afar, mixed with the sound of splashing water.

In this high-tension atmosphere, the sound was eerily similar to the suppressed sound of an engine!

Under the confirmation of this sound, a vague, sea-level, black silhouette slowly appeared under the starlight.

It stopped about two hundred meters from the Polaris, like a shark lurking in the dark, eyeing them.

The other boat didn’t have any navigation lights on, and no one could be seen on board, only that silent silhouette emitting an ominous vibe in the night.

”Don’t use the spotlight!” Mike immediately halted Riven’s attempt to illuminate the other vessel.

”Don’t provoke them! We pretend not to see, maintain course and speed, let them leave on their own!”

This was the wisdom of an old sailor. When encountering such ”night travelers” on the high seas, the best approach is to play dumb, indicating no intention to interfere, allowing them to leave on their own.

Time ticked by, with the black silhouette just floating there, maintaining a parallel distance.

Each second felt like an eternity to the trio on deck.

Lin Yu’an’s hand subtly moved, ready to grab the backpack under the pilot seat at the slightest sign of movement from the other side.

With the backpack as cover, a Staccato P could be in his hand within two seconds.

During this tense standoff, a nimble figure suddenly sped out from that silhouette, not rushing towards them, but leaping out of the water!

It traced a beautiful arc in the air before diving back into the water, creating a splash of sparkling phosphorescence.

”It’s a dolphin!” Riven was the first to cry out, her voice filled with the joy of a near-escape.

What they thought was a speedboat was actually a large group of dolphins playing and feeding! The rhythmic ”whoosh” sound was their surfacing for air in turns!

”Oh, damn...” Captain Mike sat down heavily on the bench, exhaling a breath, laughing and cursing in mixed relief, ”Those little brats nearly gave me a heart attack.”

The tension vanished in an instant, and the three couldn’t help but laugh.

”These little guys love to cause a ruckus at night, because that’s when lots of fish and squid are active.”

”Chasing moving things is their nature, whether it’s prey... or something else.”

”Alright, it’s fine, just a false alarm.” Mike waved his hand, confirming there was no danger, and yawned as he headed back to the cabin.

On deck, only Lin Yu’an and Riven remained again. After going through that small crisis, the atmosphere between them carried a newfound closeness from having weathered it together.