Count on Me
Wang Tong heaved a sigh after knowing that none of them had prepared for this kind of situation.
"Here, I have five bentos and ten bottles of water. Take them and eat a little at a time."
Everyone regarded Wang Tong as if he was their savior.
"Gosh, do you always carry this much food while you are out?"
After Norton, Wang Tong always carried a few days of ration with him whenever he was on a long trip. However, he miscalculated and didn't bring enough this time.
Wang Tong should be able to sustain his own life in the sea for a dozen days with ease. However, he would not give up on his friends.
Every student got a bottle of water and a half box of bento. It was the cheapest lunch bento sold near the school, but by then, it had become more precious than gold.
"Captain, you are a not only a genius but handy to have around in any situation."
With water and food, the students seemed to have found hope once again.
"Ok, everybody, please watch how much you eat. We will rest for three minutes and set out again." Wang Tong knew that the longer they stayed here, the direr the situation would become.
To conserve their water and food was easier said than done. Only Wang Ben and Hu Yangxuan who had undergone self-discipline training were able to stop after only one sip of water. The rest students chuck the whole bottle down their throat to quench their thirst.
Wang Tong also took a sip and put his water bottle away; he knew that survival was more important than a few brief seconds of satisfaction.
After a brief respite, the students set out toward the island again. No one spoke a word; instead, they focused on conserving their energy, as well as their GN force.
They had swum for another hour, and to their dismay, the dark spec still looked the same size. It was either that they were not moving at all, or the island was moving away from them at the same speed.
Wang Tong had to stop again and let everyone to take a rest.
The thirst was more unbearable than the hunger. As Tita and Carl were about to chuck the remaining bottles of water, Wang Tong bawl out at them: "Stop! Only two bottles are left, what are we gonna do after that?"
Everyone stopped what they were doing, and suddenly the situation seemed to have taken a more dire turn.
Carl and Tita looked at the bottle of water, took a small sip to wet their parched lips. The other students followed their example, despite how unsatisfying that was.
"Wang Tong, something’s not right. Where the hell is Paradise Island?"
"Did Principal mess up? Should we send a distress call?" Kyaero asked, hoping that they could get some assistance.
"It's no use, there's no reception here," Zhou Sisi replied helplessly.
"Xiaoru, do you have the coordinates of the island?" Wang Tong asked. His question made everyone look at Ma Xiaoru with anticipation for good news.
Ma Xiao shook her head wearily and said, "If I knew, I would have been there already."
As the group's last hope had shattered, they started to believe that Samantha had messed up the coordinates. The situation was so dire and real that it didn't seem to be a test.
"Everybody listen up! We have no choice but to move forward. But first, we need to conserve our fresh water. I will keep all the water close to Ma Xiaoru. We will take a break and drink some water every half hour from now on. When we do, girls should drink the water first, and then us," after finishing announcing his decision, Wang Tong gave his water bottle to Ma Xiaoru, and then everyone followed him. Ma Xiaoru noticed that only Wang Tong's bottle was still full while most of the bottles were already half empty.
Ma Xiaoru placed the bottles into her crystal one after another, she knew that she was in charge of the life source of the entire team.
They decide
d not to talk about their situation anymore as they knew that any talks would only affect the already low morale.
Five minutes later, they set out again.
The sun above baked them relentlessly with scorching heat. Around them the seawater looked alluring, tempting them with its fresh blueness.
Rumi had passed out again due to exhaustion; therefore, her friends carried her in turns. Despite her small frame and lightweight, fatigue had made the task extremely challenging.
As they slowed down, their break time started to drag out. Ma Xiaoru took out a half empty bottle and handed it over to Rumi. Everyone watched Rumi taking a sip of water and eagerly waited their turn. Rumi handed the bottle back to Ma Xiaoru who took a small sip and gave it to Zhou Sisi, who then passed around the boys. When the water bottle was finally in Wang Tong's hand, he only licked the bottle's opening and gave it back to Ma Xiaoru right away.
Suddenly, Wang Tong noticed that Rumi seemed to be hallucinating and was about to drink the sea water. Wang Tong caught her cheek right before she was able to do so.
"Don't do it!"
"Thirsty..." Rumi muttered. "Just... one sip?"
"Shut up! No means no! Sea water will only make you even more thirsty," Wang Tong bawl out at Rumi.
"Wang Tong is right! We can do it guys. We are the best of Ayrlarng!" Carl announced excitingly, although his voice had become husky and dry.
"Let her take just one sip, Rumi is not as strong as you. I am afraid she won't be able to make it." Ma Xiaoru pleaded as she regarded Rumi sympathetically.
Wang Tong finally nodded.
Tita and the others were afraid that they would lose their self-control and follow Rumi to drink the salty water, so they looked the other way while Rumi took a gulp of the water. Ma Xiaoru swallowed hard, closed the bottle cap and put it back to the space crystal.
Wang Tong gestured everyone to move on; the break was over. Ten black dots then filed toward the dark spec, Paradise Island, on the other side of the horizon.
It was noon eight hours later, the hottest part of the day. Water would evaporate at an increased rate even without much exertion, let alone the group of struggling students in the middle of an endless sea. The dark spec didn't get any larger, but thanks to this dot in the far distance, the students haven't yet given up the mission.
Ma Xiaoru opened her crystal and took out their last bottle of water, it was Wang Tong's, and it was still full.
Even Wang Tong had felt a slight fatigue, and his endurance was slowly slipping away.
It was worse to get stuck without water in the sea than in the desert, since, there was nothing more tempting than the dangerous seawater around.
A few times, some of Wang Tong's team members attempted to steal the water from Ma Xiaoru, and both Hu Yangxuan and Wang Ben had become so tired that they didn't even notice, but luckily, Wang Tong had remained vigilant and stopped them right away.
The sun had reached the zenith, hanging in the sky like an enormous eye that looked down on this groups of helpless students.
Under everyone's anticipating gaze, Ma Xiaoru finally cracked open the last bottle and moved next to the mouth of Rumi.
"Here you go, Rumi."
Rumi's kept his mouth closed and shook her head.
"It's fine Rumi, the rest of us are still fine. You need it."
"You guys go ahead, I don't move much so I don't need that much water."
Ma Xiaoru looked around and said, "I am still fine anyone?"
Zhou Sisi also shook her head.
"It's not the time to be a hero. You two, if you want to live, drink! Now!" Wang Tong announced. He knew that no one would drink that bottle of water if Rumi and Zhou Sisi had refused to drink it, and without drinking, they couldn't move any further.
"Wang Tong, you need to lead us, you should have some," Wang Ben said to him.
"I'm all right, you guys can go ahead," Wang Tong replied. Truth be told, Wang Tong felt that his throat was on fire, but he also knew that his classmates would need the water much more than he did.
"Captain, just drink it! We know that you didn't really have much water earlier," Kyaero said. He had noticed that every time it was Wang Tong's turn to take the water, he only wet his lips by slightly touching the bottle.
"Wang Tong, it's you who are trying to be a hero. These bottles of water are yours anyway," Hu Yangxuan said it with an ugly grin on his face.
"Wang Tong, go ahead... drink it... And just leave me here... I don't want to slow everyone down anymore..." Rumi struggled to let out a few words. She knew that she had been a burden to the team so far.
"Don't even think about it! We came here together, and I am not going to leave with anyone left behind. Now just drink, the more you talk, the more thirsty you will get."
"Wang Tong, you are the man! If we ever make it back alive, I will follow your orders," Carl said with a husky voice. He didn't realize how big of an "if" it was.
"We can never make it at this speed. I propose that Wang Tong takes this bottle of water and move ahead of us to find the island. Once he succeeds, he can then return with help," Zhou Sisi said.
Some students looked at each other not sure what to make of this proposal. "I agree, that seems like the only option we got." Wang Ben nodded in agreement.
"Let's vote!" Ma Xiaoru announced.
Zhou Sisi's motion was passed as everyone agreed to her proposal. Hu Yangxuan patted on the shoulder of Wang Tong and said, "I will be counting on you now. If you get me out of here, I can hook you up with any girl you want."
Wang Tong had finally conceded that this was the only option for his group. He accepted the bottle, gulp down a mouthful of water and then he returned the still mostly-full bottle to Ma Xiaoru.
"Wang Ben, Xiaoru, Hu Yangxuan, look after everyone! I will be back!"
Without saying any more words, Wang Tong cranked up his GN force and darted toward the dark spec in the distance.