Chapter 11 Chapter Nine Ni Ximei

Another week passed and still no land. The fresh water was about to run out, Lao Yang and Joseph were guiding the direction, and there was another person on duty in the engine room.The others were all dehydrated and kept their activities to a minimum, sitting in their own cabins. The pain of thirst is unimaginable to ordinary people.Everyone's lips are chapped, and the white skin is chapped to the corners of the mouth.Everyone looked at the sky, hoping that there would be a storm at sea, the bigger the better.In this way, there is life-saving fresh water falling from the sky. Sister Zhou was the first to collapse.She discovered the urine that Lao Song secretly accumulated, and at this time, she didn't care about being dirty, so she asked Lao Song for it.Lao Song rejected Sister Zhou's request, and Sister Zhou's spirit suddenly sank, and then she remained motionless.Half a day later, Sister Zhou became unconscious, and the signs of life gradually disappeared from her body.

Others couldn't see it, so Alan and Karin put two drops of the last water in their water glasses on Sister Zhou's lips.Cao Cang and Ximei did the same, and Sister Zhou barely opened her eyes after she got some water to nourish her. Cao Cang went to the rear deck of the ship, and Ximei followed, and they sat together. "How long can you support?" Ximei asked Cao Cang. Cao Cang replied weakly: "I don't know, I have never been in a water-scarce environment." "I can last for two more days." Ximei said slowly, "Our family has been living at sea, so we can adapt better than ordinary people." After finishing speaking, Ximei stared at Cao Cang.

Cao Cang suddenly thought that he had said that the Cao family also lived on the sea for generations, so should they be more thirsty than ordinary people? Ximei seems to be able to see through Cao Cang's mind. "You're lying." Ximei said, "Your family is not a ship merchant doing business in Nanyang at all." Cao Cang didn't make up any more reasons to lie.Since Ximei can say that, of course she is very confident. Ximei continued: "Do you know why I participated in this experiment?" Before Cao Cang could answer, Ximei asked again, "Also, why do I know about your family?"

Cao Cang said: "On that day, you suddenly disappeared for a while...why?" "I can't tell you this right now." Ximei smiled wryly, "If we are really going to die of thirst on the boat, I will consider telling you about my disappearance." Cao Cang said: "You are still hoping, can we support it? We must die." "At sea," Ximei said, "never say the word 'sure'." Cao Cang waited for Ximei to continue. "The reason why I know that your family is not a ship merchant traveling to and from Southeast Asia is because our family has lived on the sea for generations—really living on the sea."

"Are you Danmin?" Cao Cang finally understood Ximei's origin until now. "It should be from the Dan tribe." Ximei replied, "We are not of the same nationality as you." Cao Cang did not argue with Xi Mei.The knowledge in this area is a blank for him, and it is impossible for him to learn all the history and humanities knowledge at the base. "My surname is Ni." Ximei was very proud when she said it, "My grandma and my father are both leaders of the Dan clan... now it's me." "How is it possible?" Cao Cang said, "After the founding of New China, it is impossible to recognize your unofficial leader."

Xi Mei looked at Cao Cang with contempt, "I've already said that we are not Han people, we don't live in the same area as you, and our Ni family can't go ashore for the rest of our lives." "But you went ashore." Cao Cang said, "Before you came to America, you were on a plane in Beijing." "That's because..." Ximei said, "The situation is special. The high officials in Beijing promised our family something." "What is it?" Cao Cang asked, "You participated in this experiment, so it was a transaction?" "Our request is very simple," Ximei said. "No more forcing our people to live ashore, and no longer crowding us out. Restore our ethnic identity. We are Dan, not Han."

This reason is very plain, but the more plain the reason, the more real it is.Cao Cang believed Ximei. "Then what ability do you have to let the government arrange you to participate in this experiment?" "Then let me tell you from the beginning." Ximei said calmly. "I think you should be brief." Cao Cang said, "If it's too long, maybe you won't finish half of it, and I'll die of thirst." "We won't die of thirst." Ximei is determined to win, "I can smell the fresh water, maybe a storm is coming soon. From the moment the boat leaves the vortex, I can smell the fresh water, but I can't smell it at first. But now it's becoming more and more obvious, and I'm sure, there's going to be plenty of fresh water. When the storms that carry fresh water catch up to us, we'll have water to drink. It's very close, very close."

Cao Cang is skeptical of Ximei's words.Like the others, he collected morning dew from every place on the deck every morning, but with little success.And for so many days, the sea has been clear, there is no sign of a storm coming, and there are not even clouds in the sky. "The reason why we can participate in this experiment," Ximei said, "is because we have a family chart." "The oceans in this world have been explored by navigators a hundred years ago." Cao Cang interrupted Ximei, "Why does the country care about your charts?" "Our charts are not used on ordinary oceans." Ximei said, "This chart has always been preserved by my family, but this chart has never been used, because the ocean chart drawn on it The orientation is different from all the charts in the world."

"Your charts are for the oceans that humans haven't explored yet?" Cao Cang remembered the pocket watch on his body. "Yes." Ximei said, "The sea chart kept by our family is a sea area that humans have never discovered, a wide sea area. However, our ancestors visited that sea area a long time ago and recorded it. The bearings there, draw this chart." "Why did your ancestors find that sea area? The ships of your ancestors may not be able to sail for a long time." "I've said it all, don't be so absolute at sea. When life and death are at stake, what people can do is often beyond their expectations."

Cao Cang asked: "Your ancestors were driven to sea?" "Yes." Ximei stared at Cao Cang, "It's you who want to drive us all to extinction. My ancestors can only escape at sea forever. After living at sea for hundreds of years, this chart was drawn .When the emperor of your Han nationality knew that we had this chart, he threatened us time and time again, forcing us to hand over the chart..." "You didn't hand it over, so you will live at sea forever." Cao Cang asked, "What kind of chart is it?" Ximei said, ""Waterway Book". Have you heard of it?"

"No." Cao Cang said, "Do you have it with you now?" "Of course not, I keep it in my heart. If we hand over the "Water Route Book", I can be sure that not only will I not have the opportunity to participate in this experiment, but our nation will also face extinction." "It seems that there is no shielding of electromagnetic force at all." Cao Cang said, "Lao Luo's speculation is wrong. It is not a Philadelphia experiment at all. We are now in a sea area that humans have never set foot in!" "You haven't been here, it doesn't mean my ancestors didn't come." Ximei said, "Now I believe that this sea area really exists, because it is right beside us." Cao Cang slowly raised his body, put his hand on the railing of the deck, and carefully looked at this sea, a strange sea. It turns out that Ximei participated in this experiment as a pilot.But Ximei didn't guide Lao Yang in the direction of the boat, so what was she waiting for? "Now, it's time to talk about your identity to participate in this experiment." Ximei said, "You are different from me. You are the candidate designated by the Americans. What special secret does your family have?" Cao Cang can now clearly perceive the pocket watch on his chest, very clearly.The Americans designated the descendants of the Cao family to participate in this experiment, of course after a very detailed investigation.It was for this reason that the brothers of the Xia family had been lurking in the country for many years before they found Cao Cang.But the secret of this pocket watch, like the country, is completely ignorant.Maybe the Americans don't know either. Cao Cang was thinking about how to give a reasonable explanation. "I'm thinking of a possibility." Ximei said, "Perhaps a long time ago, your Cao family had a deep connection with our nation." Cao Cang said: "In our family, our ancestors have been waiting for generations, but until today, we don't even know what we are waiting for. I have heard people say that I am an American Chinese, and that my ancestors have also been to Uncharted waters at sea... but I don't have any charts..." "It seems that you and I have similar identities..." Before Xi Mei finished speaking, there was another exclamation from the boat.What else can make a person on the verge of dying of thirst panic so much? Cao Cang pulled Ximei up and ran towards the direction where the exclamation sound came from. Alan, Carlin, Joey, and Lao Song were standing on the side of the boat, looking under the sea. Cao Cang and Ximei also watched, and saw that Lao Luo was struggling in the sea water, but he did not call for help in panic, he was laughing wildly, pouring mouthfuls of sea water into Lao Luo's mouth. "Don't panic, stay still." Joey brought the ladder down. But Alan and Carlin didn't even have the strength to climb over the railing. Cao Cang climbed onto the soft ladder and climbed down step by step.When he climbed to the bottom of the ladder and was less than one meter away from Lao Luo, Cao Cang stretched out his hand to Lao Luo: "Grab me." There was no panic in Lao Luo's eyes, he could swim.His expression was delighted.While treading the water, he gulped down the sea water, and it was he who took the initiative to drink the sea water. Cao Cang understood that it must be that Lao Luo couldn't restrain his impulse when he was unbearably thirsty, and jumped into the sea, ignoring the common sense that sea water is not drinkable, and swallowed sea water in order to make himself die faster. The salt in seawater exceeds the salt in human tissues. When people drink seawater, they need more fresh water to neutralize the salt in seawater.Therefore, if people who lack water in their bodies drink seawater, there can only be one consequence—speeding up the speed of death. "I can drink it, I can drink it." Lao Luo laughed wildly and shouted to Cao Cang, "This water is drinkable." Cao Cang knew that Lao Luo's spirit was out of order, so he shouted to Lao Luo: "Grab my hand quickly." Lao Luo handed Cao Cang his hand, and Cao Cang was going to pull Lao Luo up. When Cao Cang pulled Lao Luo up from the sea, he saw something under the sea.The sloshing sea made it impossible for Cao Cang to see what was under the surface of the sea, but Cao Cang saw something shining, and the sea could not cover up the light. "Come up quickly." Cao Cang shouted, he was now sure that the shiny thing was teeth. Lao Luo was really screaming at this time, he was calling for help, and the more he shouted, the more miserable he became. Cao Cang raised Lao Luo violently.But Lao Luo's body, there was nothing below the abdomen, it was a bloody blur, and the blood stained the sea water red. Cao Cang held back his vomiting and looked carefully, only to see two or three sea fish about one meter in length, not sharks, definitely not in the shape of sharks, but freshwater fish, catfish with sharp teeth, pulling Lao Luo's abdominal cavity. There are no dislodged intestines and viscera.Lao Luo could no longer feel the pain.Cao Cang vaguely saw a catfish in the depths of the sea, biting Lao Luo's lower body, and the catfish frantically swallowed two human legs into its mouth. "At least it's better than dying of thirst." Lao Luo said the last sentence, looking at Cao Cang with despair on his face. Cao Cang gave up, let go of Lao Luo's hand, turned around and climbed up.A catfish suddenly jumped up from the sea, Cao Cang blinked, the catfish bit Cao Cang's pants, tore a piece of fabric and fell into the water.When the catfish jumped up again, Cao Cang saw it and kicked the catfish hard on the head. Allen and Carlin on the ship's side pulled the ladder with all their might.Cao Cang adjusted his posture and climbed onto the side of the boat.Everyone was speechless, looking at the ferocious fish under the sea, tearing Lao Luo's body. The sea finally calmed down.I can't see anything, only a little red is floating on the sea. After a long time, Cao Cang said, "He said, this water is drinkable." "It turns out that the water in this ocean is fresh water." Ximei said. The American asked Cao Cang, "What did you say?" "He said," Lao Yang also came to the side of the boat and said to Karin, "This water is drinkable." Cao Cang couldn't see everyone's surprise at all, only shock. The bloodstains on the sea surface disappeared in a blink of an eye. The people on board couldn't care about Lao Luo's sudden death for the time being.Carlin used buckets to fetch water from the sea.After the bucket was lifted onto the deck, he took up the rope, dipped his finger in a little bit, and slowly brought it to his mouth to taste it. Everyone looked at Karin's face expectantly.After Kalin tasted it, he picked up the bucket, brought it close to his mouth, and drank it in big gulps. "It's really fresh water!" The others cheered. The buckets were passed from hand to hand, and one bucket was not enough, so another bucket was brought up.After a while, everyone regained their spirits. Although they were not full of energy for the time being, they were much better than the dying state a few days ago. Lao Yang called the other four Chinese to stand on the side of the boat, stared for a while at the place where Lao Luo died just now, then raised his hand and saluted a military salute, and the other Chinese followed suit.The Americans also stood together and stared blankly for a while. The people have not been together for a long time. Objectively speaking, there is no friendship.It's just that in the past few days, everyone has faced the dangerous environment together. Now that two people have died one after another, maybe it will be their turn next, and everyone feels very heavy. Cao Cang wondered if the US, which led the experiment, already knew some information about Yihai. They knew that the seawater in this sea area was drinkable freshwater, so the scientific research ship was not equipped with any seawater desalination device. In fact, Cao Cang himself finds this conclusion unconvincing. He thinks that the more likely reason may be that the Americans think that the experiment will not last very long, and the fresh water stored on the scientific research ship is enough for the experimenters to drink. The experiment is over.Thinking of this, Cao Cang had another chilling thought in his heart. Would the Americans who led this experiment use fresh water as a means to control the personnel on the scientific research ship?If the scientific research ship completes the experiment but is unwilling to return to the starting point of the experiment or cannot complete the experiment and cannot go back, does it mean that the peripheral personnel of the experiment have given up on everyone on the scientific research ship? Cao Cang shuddered at the thought. Everyone stood together tacitly, and it was time to discuss where the scientific research ship should go. "Why is there fresh water in the ocean?" Joseph asked initially. "It is possible that our current sea area is at the mouth of a big river," Lao Yang said, "The Amazon River can desalinate thousands of square kilometers of seawater at the mouth." "Yang," Joey asked, "There is a problem with our current direction. We should have sailed to the coast of Brazil in South America, but why didn't we see any land and islands?" Lao Yang couldn't answer, he was quite sure that there was something wrong with the ship's course.But if he thinks that the scientific research ship has arrived in South America, Lao Yang himself finds it unacceptable.Judging from the rising and setting of the sun and the included angle of the ecliptic, the scientific research ship should still be in the northern hemisphere. "Is it possible," Cao Cang said, "we are actually in a freshwater lake, a very large lake." "This is the ocean," Ximei said, "not a lake." How could there be such a large freshwater lake in the world?Everyone was silent and each had their own concerns. After a while, Joshua said, "What shall we do now?" "Go ahead." Lao Yang said, "Keep the current course." Everyone agreed with Lao Yang's proposal.As long as the course is not changed, the scientific research ship will always dock one day. The ship continued to sail, and Alan and Karin extracted seawater every day, and then used the equipment on the ship to detect the salinity of the seawater. Ten days later, Karin said to the crowd: "We have come a long way, but the sea is still fresh water." Lao Yang told the Chinese about this result, everyone was relieved, it seems that there is no need to worry about drinking water. "Sea water is not completely fresh water," Allen added. "It is also salty, but the content is very low. If we taste it carefully, we can detect it." Everyone didn't pay attention to this detail.After listening to Allen's words, when everyone drank the water again, they really found that the sea water did have a slightly salty taste.But it is very subtle and does not affect drinking at all. Time passed day by day, and the communication among the people on board changed.The people who communicate with each other are basically of different nationalities.After all, people are curious about different cultures, and getting to know each other is the best way to pass the time. After a long period of communication, Americans are gradually able to greet Chinese people in some simple Chinese.The Chinese are also beginning to work hard to communicate with Americans in English. Food on board began to run short.The old way, use rationing.Chinese people are used to it, but Americans can't stand it. Allen and Karin were discussing something together, and Cao Cang walked over, but they still didn't stop. Cao Cang understood that Allen was encouraging Karin to go fishing in the sea to improve everyone's food structure. Karin kept refusing.Allen was in a hurry, and Karin finally agreed hesitantly. Allen couldn't restrain his excitement, rubbing his hands together. When Cao Cang saw what Karin brought out from the cabin, he realized why Allen was so excited. Karin took out a mechanical tool similar to a crossbow.Allen greeted Cao Cang, and Karin moved the heavy thing to the bow, fixed the tool bracket on the deck, and then Karin took out a javelin-like thing with a long thick nylon rope coiled at the back. This is a long tail specially used for whaling. Cao Cang guessed Karin's identity. He must have been a researcher of marine animals in the past. This long man should be the tool he used to catch animals when he was doing research work in the ocean. This new thing aroused the curiosity of others.Everyone gathered around and looked at Chang Li. Karin stood behind Chang Li and began to operate skillfully.Carlin looked at the water ahead and said to Allen, "What we have to do now is to lure the fish in the sea up." Everyone has no opinion on this matter. In such a depressing environment, finding something to do is a good way to divert bad emotions.Lao Yang didn't stop it. But Karin is not a fisherman, he has no good way to let the fish on the bottom of the sea emerge from the front of the boat, and occasionally one or two fish jump out of the sea from the bow of the boat and disappear immediately.It looked like his idea was going to fail. Allen and Carlin waited a few days, ready to give up. Ximei gestured to Alan and said, "There is no such fisherman, you have to find the right place." Allen and Ximei gestured for a long time before they understood Ximei's intentions.They immediately told others, and when Lao Yang heard about it, he also found Ximei and asked, "Do you know the environment here?" Ximei didn't answer directly, but said: "I can only be sure that if we follow the current direction, we will meet the fishing ground in at most three days." Cao Cang didn't care about Ximei's explanation, he already knew the general identity of Ximei. Karin kept questioning Ximei, and Ximei told everyone through Lao Yang that she came from a nation that never went ashore and was a real fisherman. Ximei told Karin that she judged it from the color of the sea water.Carlin thinks that Ximei’s statement is reasonable. A large number of fish schools will collectively swim to the sea area with plankton at special times.Since Ximei is a fisherman, it makes sense to judge the location of the fishing ground through the ability that ordinary people do not have. Cao Cang's thinking is different from that of Karin. Cao Cang thinks that Ximei must know the direction of this sea area by relying on the "Water Road Book" she memorized.Everyone on the boat is blind, except Ximei.But Ximei still refuses to tell Lao Yang that she has the "Water Road Book", so she must have her own reasons. Ximei is not an ordinary person, and she also knows that Cao Cang will not reveal her secrets to others. Before the third day, everyone knew that Ximei's words were not just nonsense.There are large fishes appearing everywhere on the sea surface. These large fishes don't care about the scientific research ship, and their attention is below the sea surface.Obviously, there are dense schools of fish in the sea, attracting these big fish to look for food. What puzzled the people on the scientific research boat was that although the species of these large fish that haunted them could barely be recognized, they were all incredibly huge in size.More sea fish have never been seen at all, and even a biological scientist like Karin can't name them. "Maybe we went back tens of millions of years ago..." Karin said to others, "I found that many creatures in this sea do not belong to fish at all in terms of structure." Everyone didn't understand what Karin was going to say. "These animals are more like reptiles in prehistoric times, like dinosaurs living in the ocean." Carlin said, "I saw a fish with a long neck. I think it is a very ancient animal—— Long beaked dragon." The others couldn't laugh after hearing Karin's ridiculous statement. Judging from Karin's serious expression, he wasn't joking. "My colleague specializes in the study of paleontological fossils." Carlin worried that everyone would doubt his words, and continued to explain, "He restored the image of this animal based on the fossil. I can still remember the appearance of this creature, and what we see now very close." There are more and more giant animals on the sea.None of these animals are real animals that exist in the world.Judging from the size and appearance, maybe they are really dinosaurs living in the ocean. Chinese people don't know much about dinosaurs.Americans are different. They are all guessing which kind of dinosaurs the animals that can be seen on the sea may be. Cao Cang found Lao Yang.Lao Yang said: "There is no need to doubt anymore, this sea area does not belong to our world." "This is a different sea." Cao Cang agreed. Lao Yang said to Cao Cang, "Then what do you think this strange sea is?" Cao Cang said: "It's better to call everyone together and tell what each knows..." "You may be right." Lao Yang said, "Then tell me first why the Americans appointed you to participate in this experiment?" "As I said, the ancestors of my family went to Nanyang with the eunuch Sanbao." Lao Yang gave a "hmm" and said, "Then I'll discuss it with them." A day passed, and Lao Yang did not call the Chinese and Americans together to discuss the matter of Yihai.Cao Cang vaguely felt that Lao Yang knew that he had lied and was afraid of him, so he disagreed with his proposal. The next morning, when Cao Cang came out of the cabin, he saw the fishing ground that Ximei had mentioned. Compared with the waters of the previous day, the sea area where the scientific research ship is now is the real fishing ground.Cao Cang took a sudden look, thinking that the surrounding sea had become land, but when he looked carefully, he found that the land-like areas were all fish, and the fish floating on the sea covered the sea tightly, and no sea water could be seen. , all fish. The fish that are close together vary in size, the largest being one meter in size.These billions of fish rest on the surface as far as the eye can see, in every direction. The fishy smell on the sea surface was very strong, and the smell rushed into the nostrils, making everyone want to vomit.