Chapter 312: An Unlucky Vacation (11)
The pier was about a kilometer from Everly’s villa.
Taking the normal route, she would first leave the villa, then follow the beach north for a little over eight hundred meters.
After two days of relentless rain, the beach outside had become a landscape of uneven pits and puddles.
Pools of varying depths covered the sand, and every so often, flesh-eating monster fish with yellowish-brown bodies could be seen lurking in the water.
Anyone with experience knows just how difficult it is to walk across an uneven, waterlogged beach.
Now that the beach was also crawling with monster fish, crossing it had become exponentially more dangerous.
After weighing her options, Everly decided to abandon the land route and travel by sea instead.
Lake Chaohu was a freshwater lake, and the monster fish living at its bottom were true freshwater species. After being swept into the ocean, they would desperately thrash their tails in an attempt to swim back toward land. Some of the weaker or injured fish lacked the strength to make the return journey. If they remained in seawater for too long, they would simply float to the surface belly-up and die.
It was clear that they couldn’t survive in seawater for long.
Not wanting her grandfather, Misha, and the others to worry, Everly didn’t tell them the whole truth.
She only said that Gary was about to come after her, that the SAI had people waiting offshore to meet her, and that she needed to head out for a while. She promised she’d be back within an hour.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” Old John frowned, immediately sensing that something wasn’t quite right.
Misha also jumped up from the sofa.
“Let me come with you! Grandpa John and Orff can stay here and watch the house. I’ll help you!”
Everly was deeply touched by the concern of her family and friends.
But this journey was fraught with danger. Gary had already grown into something far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person to handle. Even if her companions accompanied her, they wouldn’t be able to help. On the contrary, they would only be putting themselves in grave danger.
So she did her best to appear calm, casually waving a hand at the two of them.
“It’s fine. The SAI investigators will be doing the fighting. I’m just acting as bait. They’ll make sure I’m safe.”
Old John wasn’t so easily fooled by Everly’s lie.
He rose from the sofa and looked steadily at his granddaughter.
“If that’s true, then why aren’t the SAI coming here to pick you up? Why are they making you risk traveling to them alone?”
Everly had already prepared an answer.
“Because their ship is too large. If it comes too close to shore, it’ll run aground. Besides, they’re still some distance away. If I go to meet them instead, it’ll save time and let me reach their protection sooner.”
“Where is their ship?” Old John continued.
“About eight hundred meters from here.”
“How many investigators are on board?”
“Twelve.”
“Will you come back safely?”
“…”
Everly parted her lips, then slowly lifted her eyes to meet her grandfather’s gaze.
In the old man’s deep blue eyes, she saw concern, affection, guilt, acceptance…
…and profound worry.
At that moment, a sharp ache surged into her chest, and Everly suddenly understood.
Her grandfather had seen through everything.
He knew she was lying.
And through their brief exchange, he had also sensed the resolve in her heart.
So no matter how worried or reluctant he was, the elderly man chose to let go and trust her—simply because he refused to become a burden to her.
Her grandfather had once been the kind of man who could shoulder a rifle and charge into a campsite with her.
Yet in just a few short years, age had visibly caught up with him. Not long ago, he had even fallen ill after exhausting himself helping Everly deal with the inheritance.
I have to come back alive.
I haven’t even brought back the Fountain of Youth yet!
Clenching both fists tightly, Everly took a deep breath and stared at the silver strands scattered through her grandfather’s hair.
Holding back her tears, she nodded firmly.
“I will.”
Of course she would come back.
No matter how difficult it became…
She would return.
How could she possibly allow herself to die here?
…
With the help of her three companions, Everly finished preparing in just five minutes.
She slung a waterproof backpack over her shoulders, layered a waterproof rubber jacket beneath a raincoat, and pulled open the glass door leading to the second-floor balcony.
Looking down from the balcony, she saw that the slope in front of the villa had completely transformed into a raging waterfall.
The once-green lawn resembled soft river weeds at the bottom of a stream, flattened under the relentless current and the ravaging monster fish, swaying limply back and forth with the rushing water.
The monster fish’s hearing truly was astonishingly sharp.
The sound of the balcony door opening had been so faint, yet they heard it even from below. Looking down through the railing, they could see more than a dozen monster fish vigorously swishing their long tails as they converged from every direction toward the area directly beneath the balcony.
The four of them had anticipated this.
Following the plan they had discussed beforehand, Everly stepped to the edge of the balcony and tossed a mesh bag toward a seaside pine growing halfway down the slope.
Inside the mesh bag was a plastic bag containing a portable Bluetooth speaker.
Once the speaker caught on the pine’s branches and hung securely in midair, Orff, waiting inside the villa, immediately pressed play on his phone.
The speaker blasted a heavy metal rock song on loop at maximum volume, its pounding drums echoing through the storm.
“Clang! Clang! Boom-boom-boom!”
The deafening music instantly drew the monster fish beneath the balcony. Flicking their tails, they all swam toward the seaside pine.
Meanwhile, Misha had already prepared a stack of raw beef still streaked with blood.
It had come from the freezer. After the power outage, the meat had gradually thawed. There was still charcoal left over from their barbecue, and the four of them had originally planned to grill it for dinner that evening.
Instead, it found a different use first.
Chunk after chunk of raw beef was thrown beneath the pine by Misha and Old John.
The rich scent of fresh blood and meat, the noisy voices of the people, and the vibrations traveling down from above were like a blazing beacon in the darkness, irresistibly drawing every flesh-eating monster fish in the vicinity and keeping them gathered beneath the tree.
Once most of the fish beneath the balcony had left, Old John waved to Everly.
“Everly, go. Safe travels.”
“Mm. I’m off.”
Everly stepped forward and embraced her three companions.
Then, planting one hand on the railing, she vaulted over it with practiced ease. Crouching on the narrow edge of the balcony, she gripped the underside of the railing with both hands, lowered her center of gravity, let her legs dangle freely, and slowly eased herself downward.
Splash!
With a dull splash, Everly landed safely, her boots sinking ankle-deep into the rushing rainwater.
The splash was louder than she’d hoped. A few monster fish that hadn’t managed to snatch any of the beef were startled by the noise. They turned around, seemingly preparing to swim toward her.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Waiting for them was the combined sniper fire of Misha and Old John.
The balcony was only five or six meters above the pine tree. At that distance, they didn’t even need their scopes. With their marksmanship, either of them could effortlessly blast any threatening monster fish into mincemeat.
The flesh-eating monster fish had grown up in a brutal environment and had long since developed the habit of cannibalism. When they saw one of their own killed nearby, their first reaction wasn’t fear—it was excitement. Thrashing their tails, they eagerly plunged into the bloody remains, greedily devouring the hard-won feast.
Meanwhile, Orff swung his arms tirelessly, taking over for Misha and Old John by continuously hurling chunks of raw beef beneath the pine tree.
The water around the tree became a frenzy.
Monster fish rolled and thrashed over one another as they fought for the meat. Blood mixed with muddy water, while the constant splish-splash of whipping tails filled the air.
The greater the commotion, the more fish it attracted.
The rich scent of blood and flesh lured away the vast majority of the monster fish. For a brief moment, the rest of the slope was almost deserted, with only a handful of well-fed fish lazily cruising in the distance.
Seizing the opportunity, Everly sprinted toward the beach.
She was wearing a waterproof rubber jacket that did a good job of masking her scent. Whenever she encountered monster fish approaching from elsewhere, she’d fling a piece of the raw beef she carried into the distance, drawing them away from her path. And on the rare occasion that one slipped through, Misha’s and Old John’s bullets were there to cover her.
Running while constantly on alert, Everly spent nearly a minute crossing the most dangerous stretch.
At last, she reached the sea.
The monster fish loathed seawater. Once she was in the ocean, she no longer had to worry about being attacked by them.
Standing in seawater that reached her chest, Everly quickly stripped off the cumbersome raincoat and waterproof rubber jacket. Then she leaned forward, kicked off, and plunged her entire body into the warm ocean.
Clear currents gathered around her legs of their own accord, shaping themselves into a beautiful fish tail.
Imagining herself as a fish gliding through the sea, Everly swept her arms forward and flicked her joined legs with all her strength.
The water ahead parted smoothly to either side of her body, while the water behind seemed to transform into countless invisible hands, propelling her forward with tremendous force.
In the blink of an eye, she had covered six or seven meters.
At that speed, she could have competed in the Olympics.
Unfortunately, this method of swimming consumed mental energy. Its endurance was poor, making it impossible to sustain for long periods. Otherwise, Everly would have simply swum away without bothering with a boat.
After swimming for a little over two minutes, the deep-sea fishing pier came into view.
The speedboat she had been aiming for was still moored alongside the dock, its white hull rocking incessantly on the storm-tossed waves.
The moment she saw it was still there, Everly let out a long sigh of relief.
She wasn’t afraid of danger.
What she feared was going through all that effort only to find the boat gone.
Picking up speed, she swam to the speedboat, reached up to grab the gunwale, and with a powerful pull vaulted aboard.
Though the speedboat was small, it was fully equipped.
It even had a built-in drainage system. Despite two days of torrential rain, only a thin layer of water remained on the deck.
Everly walked to the stern and hauled up the anchor before turning toward the helm.
The helm was enclosed in a small cabin.
Its entrance was protected by a sturdy metal door with a complicated lock that wouldn’t be easy to pick in a short amount of time. However, large windows lined the front and both sides of the cabin, and the panes were made of nothing more than ordinary tempered glass.
Everly took an emergency window-breaking hammer from her backpack and struck each of the four corners of the side window.
The tempered glass shattered with ease.
She climbed through the broken window and slipped into the cramped helm cabin.
Fortunately, this was a fairly basic civilian speedboat. It didn’t require an ignition key at all—pressing the power button was enough to start it.
Even better, the boat’s owner seemed to be a beginner. A printed operating guide, complete with diagrams, had been taped beside the control console. Everly didn’t even have to fumble around. She simply followed the instructions, pulled the manual starter cord shown in the diagram, let the engine idle for a moment to warm up, and then pushed the throttle forward.
A powerful surge pressed her back into the seat.
With a roar, the moored speedboat shot forward like an arrow released from its bow.
Emerald Lake Camp lay southeast of Gilosha, so Gary’s helicopter would undoubtedly be approaching from that direction.
If Everly wanted to escape, she had to head northwest.
After adjusting her course, she showed no concern for conserving fuel. She shoved the throttle all the way forward and accelerated at full speed.
The speedboat’s top speed was 75 kilometers per hour—about three-fifths the speed of Gary’s helicopter.
At the moment, Gary was roughly ten minutes from the villa, or about twenty kilometers away. Assuming both of them maintained their current speeds, he would catch up to her approximately twenty-seven minutes after she set off.
At this rate of fuel consumption, the diesel already in the tank would keep the speedboat running for about an hour.
Fuel wasn’t the problem.
The real challenge was what she would do once Gary caught up.
How was she supposed to get hold of the restraining item he had stolen?
Everly couldn’t snatch objects from a distance. To take anything from Gary, she would have to get within arm’s reach.
And in a face-to-face confrontation…
Could she really stand against the Gary he had become?
The hand gripping the throttle began to tremble uncontrollably.
Realizing it, Everly wiped the sweat from her forehead with one swift motion. The uncertainty flickering in her eyes gradually gave way to unwavering resolve.
Whether she could or couldn’t wasn’t the point.
She had promised her grandfather that she would return home safely.
And she intended to keep that promise.