Chapter 674: Chapter 674: I Need Water
It was calm and no Fish Monster appeared.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
After entering the maze, they followed this order for entering the caverns: middle, first, third. Therefore, if they retreated once more, they would return to the entrance.
The fishing boat continued reversing.
Back and back they continued—
No matter how much they retreated, it was like there was no end. Once they emerged from a cave, they still saw the same seven identical caverns again!
Besides those seven caverns, they truly had nowhere else to go.
Although the time they had spent in the maze wasn’t long, the dark and damp environment was uncomfortable, the darkness was oppressive, and the appearance of the Fish Monster added even more psychological strain—everyone on the boat seemed to be under a pall of gloom.
Anxiety and unease infected everyone.
Aqing’s water bottle was empty. He clutched the empty bottle and paced back and forth on the deck, the plastic bottle creaking in his grip.
Asarina and Bai Youwei were discussing what to do next.
The noise Aqing was making was disturbing her, so she irritably said: “Aqing! Can you stay inside the cabin?!”
Aqing snapped back to reality, scratched his head in agreement, then walked into the cabin.
Along stood guard at the wooden hatch leading to the lower deck, constantly on the lookout for any signs of movements from the two Mermaid Monsters below.
Meanwhile Asarina and Bai Youwei were having a quiet conversation:
“The entrance we chose when we came in was the middle, the fourth one, and we did not encounter the Fish Monster … does this mean that the fourth entrance is the correct one? If we continue from the fourth entrance this time, would we pass safely?”
“What do you think are the odds we guessed right on our first go? One in seven… We’ve already been through entrances one, three, and four. I think we can try another entrance.”
Asarina didn’t seem assured: “But if we choose wrong, according to your speculation, we will encounter three Fish Monsters.”
Bai Youwei slowly shook her head: “There isn’t much difference, there is no way to avoid risk. Even if we go through the fourth cave now, we may still meet the Fish Monster, since we don’t yet completely understand the pattern behind these seven caves…”
Not far away, Along looked at Asarina, then glanced towards Aqing in the cabin, and after some hesitation, he yelled: “Boss, something seems to be wrong with Aqing.”
Hearing this, Asarina turned her head to look at the cabin.
Aqing was turning their backpacks inside out, which held their everyday items such as knives, lighters, moisture-proof mats, compressed biscuits, and water.
He was flipping through them hastily, as though he couldn’t find something, and the contents of the backpacks were in disarray.
“Aqing!” Asarina called him out.
Aqing was startled and looked up at her.
“What are you doing?” asked Asarina, her brows furrowed.
Aqing touched his sore throat, appearing uncomfortable, and said, “I… I’m looking for water…”
“Water?” Asarina was visibly perplexed, and she walked towards him, “Isn’t the water in the pack? What’s wrong with your throat? Your voice is so hoarse…”
She had just approached the cabin’s entrance when she saw several empty bottles on the floor. She stopped abruptly.
It wasn’t that Aqing could not find water but that he had consumed all the water he could find!
“Aqing…” Asarina looked shocked, “What’s happening? You drank all that water?”
“I’m thirsty…” Aqing’s voice was unnaturally throaty. He rubbed his neck non-stop, his breathing seemingly difficult, “Boss, I’m too thirsty…”
Asarina’s face turned particularly dreadful.
Four whole bottles of water! Enough for the three of them to last two days, and Aqing had drunk them all in a matter of minutes! This was obviously not normal!
Aqing kept frantically rummaging through the packs, muttering deliriously, “Water… water… I need water…”