Yelena’s predictions came true. They were out of fuel before they were out of food and water. The view before them was the boundless sea that seemed to stretch on forever with no hint of an end. The end of the thirty-hour continuous journey was coincidentally in the dead of night. Everyone’s multifunctional wristwatch was not working as intended, showing them that the current time was twelve noon and that they were near Tunisia territory. But here was the thing. The speedboat had been heading into the east for hours on end and they had been cruising with the sun as their reference. There was no way that the crystal skull could interfere with the sun. But despite that, they did not know their exact location. All they could reckon was that they were headed into Turkish territory instead.
Without fuel, the paddles on board came into handy. Anjum Khan and Sa’im were assigned the job.
“Should’ve brought more fuel than water.” Anjum Khan regretted his choices of opting to ensure sufficient water and food as he rowed their boat.
Sa’im grumbled, “Kyoko, Yelena, come help us out. You’ve sat for long, you should roll your tendons.”
Yelena snapped, “You have the audacity to demand us women to help you with that?”
Sa’im was effectively silenced.
“Here, let me help you,” offered Qian Jun.
“Sure, sure.” Sa’im swiftly moved away and pressed the paddle into Qian Jun’s palms.
This was Qian Jun’s attempt at socializing with the team.
Xia Lei offered too, “Anjum Khan, go take some rest. I’ll take over for now.”
“It’s alright, I can go on.” Anjum Khan beamed. “You’re my Ganesha for crying out loud. This isn’t a task befitting of your position”
Ganesha was the deva of intellect and wisdom of Hinduism. It was the removal of obstacles and bringer of wealth. It was equivalent to Guan Eyre with a higher IQ score in the Chinese culture.
Xia Lei pried the paddle away from his grip and forced his way over.
“Boss, let me do it,” said Tsukino Kyoko.
Xia Lei smiled at her. “Yelena is right, we men can handle this. Please help us with the water issue instead. From tomorrow onwards, you both would need to sacrifice your clothing for water.”
Tsukino Kyoko and Yelena couldn’t help but lock gazes, sheepish expressions blossoming across their features.
Anjum Khan laughed. “Boss, just say it. It’s just retrieving water using bras! But would the water smell like boobs if we use that method?”
A palm smacked the back of his head as soon as his sentence fell. Yelena was once again his assailant. This was a temperament that no regular men could stomach, but Anjum Khan seemed to be an obvious exception.
Without the worry of a chase, the atmosphere was relaxed. Everyone was chattering lightheartedly.
Rowing a speedboat offered a speed no faster than walking. Qian Jun and Xia Lei had rowed close to three hours without stopping and the speedboat was only propelled forward by an approximate thirty kilometres. At this rate, they could expect themselves to reach Turkey within a month of rowing. However, even if they fished to replenish their food supply and harvested condensation for water, a majority of them wouldn’t last till Turkey with such an extended period of time. The human body required a variety of nutrients. Seafood was not sufficient and lacked nutrients like potassium that could affect their heartbeats along with trace elements necessary for the human body. Deprivation for a few days would not pose a threat but one month of such would result in a decline of bodily functions. When that time comes, illness would be the mildest outcome. Ultimately, it would result in death.
Xia Lei was painfully aware of that but he couldn’t bear to sunken the atmosphere. He was the leader of the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team. Even when the problem was severe, he would not bring it up at this time.
“Boss, I really…” At some point, Anjum Khan’s expression was scrunched weirdly.
Xia Lei faced him. “Speak your mind. What’s stopping you?”
Anjum Khan exclaimed with exasperation. “I really can’t hold it in anymore! I need the toilet!”
This was also another issue. A speedboat was far from a yacht. The scarce space could not offer a toilet. It would be easy if everyone onboard were male. All they needed to do was to head over to the edge, unzip their pants and do their business. However, they had two women among their party. Tsukino Kyoko and Yelena. They couldn’t just ease themselves in their faces like that, right? Plus, the two women wouldn’t be able to do the same in the face of the men.
“I don’t care. I need to get it out of my system!” Anjum Khan turned around and unzipped his pants loudly.
Truthfully, Anjum Khan wasn’t the only one. Everyone needed it too, Xia Lei included.
But before Anjum Khan could even dig out his penis, Yelena delivered a stomp onto his ass and sent him into the waters below.
“You…” Anjum Khan glared at her furiously.
Yelena scoffed, “Do it in the sea, yeah?” Then, she too plunged into the water.
Anjum Khan was pissed at first but seeing that Yelena was joining him in the waters, the anger was gone. He tried to train his eyes on Yelena’s sea-soaked lower half, trying his darndest to see something interesting. Sadly, all he could see was water.
“What the fuck are you looking at? Keep this up and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out.” Yelena barked a threat.
Anjum Khan steeled his face and mustered a wobbly smile. “Can’t you try to be a little gentler?”
Yelena looked at him. “You like gentle types?”
Anjum Khan replied, “No, I like women like you. But it’d be great if you can be a tad bit softer.”
Abruptly, Yelena began paddling over to Anjum Khan.
Anjum Khan stared at her approaching figure with widened eyes. He could not help but feel awkward. The situation they were in was akin to him being in the male toilet while Yelena being in the female toilet. The closing of their distance on her part was equivalent to her barging into his cubicle.
But as Anjum Khan froze at the display, Yelena extended an arm over and hooked Anjum Khan’s neck and seized his lips. Caught off guard, he was as nervous as a child. He kissed back stiffly.
“What is this?” Sa’im peered over with a mischievous smirk. “Do we need to spare you both some privacy? Are you guys gonna start fucking out of a sudden?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Their harsh screams were directed at Sa’im in unison.
Sa’im shrugged nonchalantly, an evil smirk in plain sight.
On the speedboat, Tsukino Kyoko cast a glance onto Xia Lei, eyes filled with anticipation and excitement. Yelena and Anjum Khan had gotten together. Shouldn’t her and Xia Lei do something in a similar fashion to celebrate the occasion?
Xia Lei avoided her gaze to peer ahead. Two seconds later, his exclamation rang out. “There’s an island ahead!”
“Where?” Sa’im quickly came over but saw nothing in that direction.
Qian Jun utilized the scope of his sniper but could not see anything clearly.
Xia Lei explained, “It seems like an island. We should be able to see it better once we get closer.”
Yelena and Anjum Khan hastily made their way aboard. The latter reached out for Xia Lei’s paddle while Sa’im resumed his position after getting his paddle from Qian Jun. The two men continued to paddle forward.
Everyone could finally see the island about ten minutes later. It wasn’t large. Its coastline was only about ten kilometres long and its body was in the shape of a gourd. The main body of the island was two mountains and a forest on the top. There was no light and no dock, seemingly a deserted island.
The speedboat entered its pelagic waters. Anjum Khan anchored the boat deep into the substrate and parked the boat. Everyone else brought down their supplies and trekked toward the sandy beach.
Anjum Khan and Yelena handed out rations while Qian Jun and Sa’im chopped branches and ratans to cover the speedboat. This was the only way for them to hide from the watchful American spy satellite.
Xia Lei observed the island on the beach, using both his normal and special vision. Every area that his eye could see was carefully studied. In the end, it provided enough evidence to conclude that this island was indeed a deserted one.
This deduction troubled him. Xia Lei had hoped that there would be a village. They would be able to purchase fuel and other necessities. Perhaps they would even be able to purchase a larger and faster boat that could bring them to Turkey, where they’d depart from Istanbul to Russia and then finally back to China. This was their safest route. It would be faster to take a direct plane but the risk was too high.
“Boss, you should eat something.” Tsukino Kyoko brought him a bottle of water, a loaf of bread and a sausage.
Xia Lei plopped down onto the sand and enjoyed silence alongside Tsukino Kyoko. From the corner of his eyes, Xia Lei noticed Yelena and Anjum Khan heading into the woods. He could not suppress the smirk at the edge of his lips. To what the couple was up to in the woods, every adult knew.
Xia Lei placed his attention on Sa’im and Qian Jun this time. The two men seemed to be
conversing about something on the beach. The sight filled him with joy. Qian Jun was doing his best to get along with the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team. Xia Lei appreciated his efforts.
“Uh, Anjum Khan and Yelena…” Tsukino Kyoko stopped herself.
Xia Lei chuckled. “Anjum Khan and Yelena are adults now. This is normal, there’s no need to mind them.”
“No, I meant to say that the forest is littered with mosquitoes. Their asses are going to be filled with itchy bumps when they get out,” said Tsukino Kyoko.
“Hahaha!” Xia Lei broke out into laughter.
“What about us?” Tsukino Kyoko stared into his eyes straight.
Xia Lei was surprised but quickly clambered up from his position. “I’d like to check the other side of the island. Perhaps things might be different on the other side.”
“This is a deserted island, what is there to see?” Tsukino Kyoko was slightly disappointed.
Xia Lei answered, “If we’re lucky, there might be inhabitants on the other side of this island. If there is someone, we’ll be able to get fuel and even a new boat. Go get some rest. This island is small, I can get there by trekking along the beach. Perhaps I can reach the opposite side within half an hour.”
“No way. I can’t let you go alone.” Tsukino Kyoko clambered up too, insisting on following him.
All Xia Lei could do was to muster up a wry smile. “Alright then, let us go together.”
Tsukino Kyoko took her place beside him as they walked. The urge to weave her fingers between his was strong but alas, she had lacked the courage.
Sa’im’s voice came booming from behind. “Boss, remember to use protection or you’ll be getting a fifth child soon!”
Weirdly, Tsukino Kyoko did not reprimand him this time.