As Li Xue stores away her final item, Qing Yue approaches, and asks—
"Vice-captain, did something happen?"
"Ye Chen and Long-laoban seems to think that a hightide is approaching."
Widening her eyes, Qing Yue runs off to pack her items. While doing so, she sends a message to the Moon Guards through a communications device.
At this point, practically everyone has realized that there is something off. As for those who haven't, they can only be considered dimwitted.
"…"
Dressed in a black winter coat, Long Hua leans his back against the wall inside of the cavernous round chamber.
"Long-laoban, aren't you hot in that?"
Towards Yu Ji's question, Long Hua answers—
"It's necessary for later."
"Hm?"
"…"
Sitting down as well, Tian Cheng maintains an expressionless look on her face.
...…
Outside of the cave—
"What the hell? How come it's so cold all of a sudden?"
As the wind picks up, the waters begin to flow backwards by a larger margin—prior to being pushed forth with greater force, allowing them to reach further in-land.
Beneath the vast seas, the black crocodilian weapon spirit is stirring the ocean with its vast body, and amidst the process, its maw emits an icy breath—causing shards of ice to form around it.
If someone is able to measure this creature's body temperature at this time, they would notice that it is dropping at a drastic rate.
...…
*Pah!!!* as a tide comes closer in-land, it forcefully pries a tent out of the earth, and drags it away into the bottomless abyss.
By this point, mostly everyone is headed towards the cave that is on the opposite side of the main camp site. However—
"Dammit, get out of my way!"
"Piss off! I was here first!"
The size of the cave's entrance limits the number of people that can go in at once; and with the amount of people who are in need of accommodations, there will inevitably be a few fights breaking out here and there.
"Five at a time! There's still time before the larger tides arrives!"
"Screw you! Just get out of the way!"
There may still be time before greater tides arrive, but the space inside of the cave wasn't limitless. And with that being the case, not a single person is willing to comply with suggestions of this nature.
"Who the hell died and made you the boss?"
"Quit blocking the way!"
Stepping forward, Dan Hong shouts—
"This isn't going to get anywhere with all of you wanting to be first!"
"I don't care if you're an admiral! My life right now is much more important!"
"Exactly!"
...…
Out at sea—
"H-Hey, are we going to be safe…?"
With how rocky the ship is, Xia Ri'er can't help but raise her concern to Lin Yu Heng, who is staring down into the raging waters.
Standing beside Lin Yu Heng, Qing Ming Yang says—
"Surnamed Lin, I say, we head to the island. At this point, I feel like the ship will tip over."
"…Un."
Faced with Xia Ri'er and Qing Ming Yang's concerns, Lin Yu Heng nods.
Just as the three are about to leap up to the masts to release the sails—
*Boom!!!* hit by a strong wave, the ship nearly tips over, causing the three to widen their eyes in alarm, as they turn their heads around.
"…Shit."
Seeing a colossal wall of waters approaching them from the distance, Lin Yu Heng's expression darkens.
Looking closely at the tidal wall, one can see a few blocks of ice mixed into it. If any of the bigger chunks hits the ship, it's almost guaranteed to smash through its wooden body depending on their speed.
Turning to Qing Ming Yang, Lin Yu Heng asks—
"You got any spirit stones?"
"Ah? …Uh, seriously?"
Upon realizing Lin Yu Heng's intention, Qing Ming Yang grits his teeth, and takes out ten spirit stones.
Similarly, Lin Yu Heng does the same, and together, they press these spirit stones onto the ship's deck.
As the spirit stones shrink in size, the ship's movement hastens.
"…Dammit."
Gritting her teeth, Xia Ri'er takes out 15 spirit stones from her storage pouch, causing Qing Ming Yang to widen his eyes, as he remarks—
"Surnamed Xia, you-?"
"Shut it! Although I've lied about my pouch not working, I'm not one to stand around and not contribute!"
As Xia Ri'er presses her savings onto the ship's deck, a phrase suddenly comes to Qing Ming Yang and Lin Yu Heng's mind—
(When a woman fights for real, they're fiercer than any men. This Xia Ri'er-)
(This Xia Ri'er is definitely a vicious woman…)
As the ship's movement speed increases greatly, the tidal wall continues to approach, to which, Lin Yu Heng suggests—
"Cabin?"
...…
Back in the cave—
"…What happened to cause the weather to turn this bad?"
"…Goddammit."
Pretty much everyone who has managed to make it into the cave thus far has started to get themselves dressed, or is already dressed appropriately for the biting cold.
Dressed in a white winter coat, Ye Chen rubs his arms, and remarks—
"Damn, surnamed Long, you were right about winter's advent…"
"…"
Glancing over at Yu Ji, who is wearing a similar colored coat, Long Hua says—
"Surnamed Yu, don't fall asleep now."
"I know…"
"If it helps, I can slap you a few times to keep your cheeks warm."
"Piss off!"
Watching the two's interaction, Li Xue, who is wearing a black winter coat, remarks—
"Long-laoban seems to care greatly for Yu Ji."
Towards Li Xue's remark, Long Hua replies—
"This lass is my bargaining chip for a certain someone."
"Lass?"
"Ah…"
Realizing that she hasn't told the others her true gender, Yu Ji feels like now would be a good time to come clean.
"Ai, where do I even start?"