flstandardbreds Chapter 1076
Chapter 1076
When Zhou Shuwan and her family carried their luggage onto the deck, they could see Zhipeng, Tao Zheng, and Zhang Jia standing in the crowd from afar, each carrying a heavy bag.
Zhipeng and Tao Zheng weren't too surprised by their sudden departure.
They all knew about the mothership sending out a fleet to find suitable islands.
So when Zhou Shuwan returned, they guessed that she must be assigned a new task.
Sure enough.
A number of crew members had already gathered on the deck, and eight exploration ships were moored side by side on the sea, their hulls gilded by the sunlight.
"Wanwan, these are some dehydrated vegetables and dried whale meat. Soak them and stir-fry them. They're more fragrant than smoked dried fish."
Zhipeng handed over the bag, deliberately raising the corners of his mouth and pretending to be relaxed: "You have a fleet and navigation capabilities, so you'll definitely be faster than the previous fleets. Maybe you'll be back with good news in a month. I'll treat you to rice then."
Tao Zheng stepped forward and handed over a bag of food, saying simply, "Eat it on the way."
Zhang Jia didn't say anything, but stepped forward and gave Zhou Shuwan a gentle hug.
Her voice was low and choked with emotion: "Wanwan, you must come back safe and sound."
Zhou Shuwan nodded vigorously, looking at the familiar faces in front of her. She wanted to say something to express her gratitude, but found that her throat was tight and she couldn't say a word.
Captain Chen escorted them across the ferry.
He didn't say a word the whole way, his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.
However, from Zhou Shuwan's perspective, the once strong and upright soldier was now slightly hunched over.
The ship's horn sounded a long blast, causing the sea surface to tremble slightly.
Once aboard the cruise ship, Captain Chen turned to look at the Zhou family. His lips moved, but in the end he only uttered a few words, simple yet weighty: "Come back soon!"
Zhou Shuwan took a deep breath, nodded, and turned to follow her family onto the main ship.
Standing on the deck, she watched as Captain Chen, Zhipeng, Tao Zheng, and the others' waving arms gradually shrank until they became blurry black dots, before slowly turning around to look at the fleet behind her.
The eight ships, like eight silver fish, lined up in a neat formation on the sea and headed south.
Zhou Shuwan was heading in a completely opposite direction to what she had been going before.
They had already explored that direction and knew there were no islands in the surrounding waters, so they could only continue south.
The south before the apocalypse is the direction closest to the equator.
However, the equator and the North and South Poles no longer exist.
Zhou Shuwan held her mother's hand, then looked at Zhou Jianghai and Qi Mingyu beside her, and gradually felt calmer.
She knew that this journey was destined to be fraught with danger.
They had never set foot in the southern seas before, and no one knew whether they would encounter tsunamis, ice storms, or other strange celestial phenomena.
But as long as family is by their side, and as long as the crew members of the fleet work together, there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome.
Suddenly, a warning siren sounded behind me.
Zhou Shuwan was stunned.
The captain had already shouted, "That's the mothership's horn! Stop! Turn around immediately! We have to go back!"
The exploration fleet, which had just set sail, began its return journey.
The atmosphere on the ship suddenly became tense.
As the sound of the horn pierced the calm of the sea, Zhou Shuwan was leaning on the deck railing, gazing southward.
The urgent sound was unlike any ordinary signal; it carried an undeniable sense of recall.
Her heart sank suddenly, and she instinctively gripped Zhong Tiyun's hand tightly.
"What happened?" Zhong Tiyun's voice trembled, her gaze fixed on the direction of the mothership. "They called us back right after we left... could it be..."
The second half of the sentence was left unsaid, but the fear in his eyes was already palpable.
Nine times out of ten, unexpected events in the apocalypse are disasters.
Zhou Jianghai's eyes remained calm: "Don't panic, let's assess the situation first."
His gaze swept across the fleet's formation; the eight ships had already begun to turn in an orderly fashion, without the slightest chaos: "If there were real danger, the mothership wouldn't just sound its horn without firing signal flares."