Chapter 124: Tsunami [Please Subscribe]

Zhou Yi walked to the seaside. The beach here was extremely small, roughly the size of a basketball court. Looking closely, it was composed of tiny fragments—shattered volcanic rock and crushed crustacean shells. With the rhythmic lapping of the waves, sand was constantly washed up and pulled back, and one could see that the water became unfathomably deep just two steps from the shore.

Fatty approached, having finally suppressed his nausea. "Boss, where should we set up camp?"

Cheng Zhi joined them as well. Zhou Yi looked toward the edge of the cliff, where a fissure appeared at the junction with the beach. From this distance, it looked over a meter high, and Zhou Yi immediately felt a spark of interest.

"Let’s go take a look. If that spot is spacious enough, we’ll use it as a temporary camp to block the sea breeze."

Upon reaching it, the gap proved to be quite substantial, though it lacked sufficient width and the upper section showed signs of weathering. Zhou Yi looked at Fatty.

"Clear it out; it just needs to hold the four of us. Cheng Zhi, go gather firewood. Sophia, keep some fresh water and the pot; we need to eat even if it’s hot. Sophia and I will head up to get a sense of the island’s topography. Most importantly, we need to observe if there are any signs of human activity. If there are, we must determine if they are friend or foe, and figure out exactly where we are."

Fatty had no objections and waved at Zhou Yi. "Go ahead. Cheng Zhi and I will handle the camp and dinner, and I’ll prepare some defensive measures. Even if someone comes, we won’t be caught completely off guard."

Zhou Yi nodded. Fatty’s strong sense of crisis was his greatest asset, and Zhou Yi felt no concern.

He called Sophia, and the two of them leaped up the soft ladder they had used earlier to reach the rim of the valley. Finding a high vantage point, Zhou Yi began his observations.

The island was an irregular caldera, clearly a volcanic island. At the very center, thin wisps of white smoke could still be seen, along with stretches of yellow, barren land. Sophia paused.

"Could that be sulfur? Is this volcano still active?"

Zhou Yi stared at it. There were several such spots, and his brow furrowed. "Looking at the periphery, this should be a long-dormant volcano, but the center seems active of late. Could there be earthquakes or major geological activity in the vicinity?"

Sophia’s expression of concern was genuine; she blamed herself for choosing this location. Zhou Yi understood it wasn't intentional and patted her arm.

"Don't worry. Let's survey the perimeter first to see if there’s anyone else. Visibility is low, so we can't see far, but we can check the water temperature and currents. You have a compass, right? Let’s use it to get our bearings. Since we were given a date, at least we aren't in a recordless era like the Gobi Desert of the Five Elements Tomb. I suspect we are somewhere around the equator. As for the specific location, it must relate to the places you remember."

Hearing this, the panicked Sophia seemed to settle down slightly. She opened her storage box, took out paper and a pen, and began to sketch a map.

Zhou Yi watched, stunned. She truly was a human printer; the memory of a semi-cyborg was beyond reach. To think she could draw a map purely from memory—it was terrifying.

Sophia worked quickly, sketching the terrain and boundaries. Within twenty minutes, she had finished the map, marking the islands she had mentioned earlier in blue.

Zhou Yi studied it, first crossing off Phuket. He hovered his pen over Mauritius for a long moment before drawing an 'X' through it as well.

"Phuket isn't a volcanic island; its beaches are white. While Mauritius is volcanic, it looks nothing like this, and even the surrounding area wouldn't match. Standing this high, we can't see any other islands, so the distance is wrong. That leaves these three options. I think Vanuatu is the most likely; there are nameless islets in the distance, some so small they don't appear on maps. The islands around Fiji and the Solomon Islands are too close to one another to fit our situation."

Sophia looked up at Zhou Yi. While she could draw the map, she lacked this analytical depth. Seeing Zhou Yi’s reasoning, her eyes brightened.

"As long as we have a general idea of the location, shall we check the perimeter?"

Seeing Sophia recover, Zhou Yi was pleased. They conducted a quick inspection. Because of the fog, they had to observe the center of the valley from close range. Stepping onto the sulfurous deposits, Zhou Yi felt the heat beneath his feet.

It wasn't just ordinary warmth; standing there for a few seconds made his feet ache. Sophia jumped back, staring at the ground. There were many such sulfur vents, and some places were constantly emitting heat.

"Let’s get out of here; it’s too hot. Why does it feel like the ground beneath us is soft?"

Zhou Yi grabbed Sophia’s wrist and pulled her away with several leaps, landing back on the beach. They washed their faces by the sea, and Fatty brought over some fresh water.

They wiped themselves off and returned to the cliffside. The sun was slanting westward, and the temperature had dropped.

"Three sides are reefs; only where we stand is a beach formed by sedimentation. This is a volcanic island. Visibility is poor, so we can't tell if there are other islands nearby. There are no signs of human activity, but we found a freshwater pool. We’ll fill all our barrels shortly. My analysis suggests we are on an isolated island near Vanuatu. We’ll rest today, and tomorrow we start building a boat. We cannot stay here for long."

Fatty and Cheng Zhi had no objections. Fatty had already prepared a meal: boiled corn and grilled fish. The fish was fresh, though the heads and bodies were bruised. Zhou Yi looked at Fatty.

"These fish you caught, why are they all battered?"

Fatty curled his lip. "Cheng Zhi was busy with camp, and I don't know any other way, so I smashed them with rocks. Naturally, they ended up bruised—some even turned to fish paste. Don't worry, nothing went to waste; I'll make porridge for you tomorrow morning."

Zhou Yi suppressed a laugh, finished his meal, and they set a watch schedule before resting.

At daybreak, Zhou Yi was awakened by a crunching sound. Cheng Zhi and Fatty had already started working; there were many boards, both curved and straight, scattered on the ground—it actually looked like they were building a boat.

However, looking up at the sky, it was perfectly clear, yet the wind had suddenly died down. It was that kind of stillness where the air seemed to have solidified.

He instinctively looked at the beach and the sea. The beach, which had only been the size of a basketball court the night before, had grown significantly. He ran to the edge and saw the seawater receding as if it were a low tide.

But this was no ordinary low tide. Every hair on Zhou Yi’s body stood on end, and he shouted behind him:

"Drop what you’re doing! Everyone out! Where is Sophia?"

Fatty and Cheng Zhi were confused, but they dropped their boards and saws and ran toward Zhou Yi. Sophia also emerged from behind a reef, having evidently stepped away for a moment.

"What’s wrong?"

Zhou Yi was frantic, waving at Sophia. "Quickly, pack everything up! We’re heading to the high ground. I think a tsunami is coming. It’s not right—no time for explanations, move!"

Zhou Yi had almost never been this urgent. Fatty was terrified. Seeing him reach for the food, Zhou Yi stepped in, grabbing only the fresh water, the newly fashioned boards, and their tools, ignoring the camping gear entirely.

He grabbed Fatty by the belt, and as Sophia caught up, he stopped her from reaching for the pot.

"Grab on! Leave everything, there’s no time!"

With that, he hoisted Fatty and leaped over a dozen times, sprinting to the rim of the caldera. He didn't stop there, but continued running to the opposite side of the crater, finding the most solid edge before dropping Fatty.

This was the same high point he and Sophia had visited earlier, reinforced by the dense, intertwined trees that made the edge secure.

Sophia caught up, looking at Zhou Yi with a mixture of confusion and irritation. She frowned, demanding, "Are you crazy? Why are you shouting about a tsunami? How could you possibly know one is coming?"