"But, the people at Divine Dragon Fortress... are we really going to ignore them?" Zhou Chaoyang asked.
The captain paused, letting out a long sigh: "Do you think we don’t want to save them? We’re powerless. If we keep getting closer, not only will we be unable to save them, but we will die too. You haven’t seen the horrors of those strange men. We can only watch helplessly as our compatriots are massacred. That’s the reality, a harsh reality."
Zhou Chaoyang stayed silent.
This feeling of helplessness was truly unbearable.
Just then, a flash of fire passed by outside. Zhou Chaoyang keenly noticed a cluster of fire floating on the black sea not far away. After rolling several times, the fire disappeared; it seemed like a capsule-style escape pod. This type of escape pod is very rare, as there aren’t many left worldwide. There was actually one in Divine Dragon Fortress. And the fortress allowed someone to escape using this pod — is this person the leader of Divine Dragon Fortress?
The distress signal light outside the escape pod kept flashing red, waiting for rescue alone and small on this boundless sea.
"Captain, there’s an escape pod over there! Can we lend a hand?" Zhou Chaoyang pointed outside the window; the sea waves had gradually calmed by now. "We can’t save more people, but can we rescue that escape pod?"
The captain took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling a smoke ring: "Sure, no problem. I’ll have Xiao Wei give it a try." The captain picked up the intercom and instructed Xiao Wei.
Zhou Chaoyang beamed with a bright smile: "I knew the captain was the best. I’ll go take a look." She said and immediately opened the cabin door, walked out, and joined Xiao Wei on the deck, where they fastened ropes secured on the safety fence tightly around their waists to prevent being swept away by oncoming waves.
Xiao Wei secured the grappling gun on the mount and aimed at the capsule escape pod still floating. Zhou Chaoyang helped pull the rope, raised her hand to test the wind strength: "Level three wind, fortunately, it’s feasible to try."
Xiao Wei acknowledged, then raised the mount. After aiming again, he pressed the launch button, and the grappling gun, with strong suction power, shot through the wind accurately landing on the capsule escape pod. Zhou Chaoyang and Xiao Wei exchanged a glance and gave each other a thumbs up.
Feeling the tension on the line, Xiao Wei started to reel in the rope little by little with the joystick until the salvage tool could clamp and lift the escape pod onto the deck.
Upon opening the escape pod, inside lay a very handsome man, eyes tightly shut. He reached out, still breathing, with normal vital signs; it seemed he merely fainted when the escape pod hit the sea.
Xiao Wei called another companion to carry him into the cabin. As Zhou Chaoyang prepared to move the capsule escape pod with machinery, she found another box inside — resembling a first aid kit, exceptionally heavy, and equipped with an electronic password lock. This must be something very important to that person, right? With both hands, she pulled out the box, stowed the capsule escape pod in the ship’s belly, and followed into the cabin.
Just after entering the cabin, the man awoke.
However, he was extremely agitated, standing up and attempting to rush outside.
"Where are you going?" Xiao Wei quickly stopped him.
"I’m going back to save my family. My mother, my sister, they’re still at Divine Dragon Fortress." The man struggled desperately to shove Xiao Wei aside, dashing out.
"You can’t go." Zhou Chaoyang hurriedly chased after him, "You can’t rescue Divine Dragon Fortress. We want to save them too, but it’s simply impossible. If you go now, you’ll only throw your life away."