Chapter 125: The Giant Wave [Please Subscribe]

Zhou Yi shook his head. Below them were jagged rocks, and there was no sign of the sea receding.

"The wind suddenly died down, and the sea retreated. I am certain there must be an underwater earthquake nearby. These are all classic precursors to a tsunami. Otherwise, in a sea like this, how could the tide go out so abruptly?"

Sophia was stunned. Earthquakes and tsunamis were things she usually only saw on the news; having traveled to so many worlds, she had never encountered such violent weather.

"Earthquake, tsunami... are we safe here?"

Zhou Yi shook his head. "To be precise, I don't know if we are safe. The highest tsunami wave ever recorded reached 524 meters—that was the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, a 9.2 magnitude event that claimed 220,000 lives. We cannot leave this island; the control panel is broken, and the teleporter is unusable. For now, this is the highest point on the island, and the trees provide some protection. Cheng Zhi is behind us preparing a vine net to reinforce our position. As for the rest, we can only pray that the waves aren't too high and don't last too long. After all, we are only forty or fifty meters above sea level."

Zhou Yi left the rest unsaid. It would depend on whether the four of them were lucky enough to survive. Under such monstrous waves, no one could expect to endure, and even the most profound arts would be powerless against the forces of nature.

Cheng Zhi moved quickly; they were racing against time. The Fatty didn't waste words, clearing away every piece of loose rock he could find. Sophia picked up a compass and held it out to Zhou Yi; the needle was trembling violently, as if it had malfunctioned. They were facing southwest, where the sky had already turned gloomy, and a thunderous roar echoed from the thick fog and dark clouds.

Sophia seemed frightened, pressing tightly against Zhou Yi’s side. Zhou Yi paused for a moment before reaching out to put an arm around her shoulder.

"It means there is an earthquake ahead. Earthquakes disrupt magnetic fields, which is why the compass is malfunctioning. Don't be afraid; we will make it through. You two, come over here as well."

The Fatty and Cheng Zhi approached. The Fatty glanced at Sophia and poked Cheng Zhi in the waist with his elbow—since he was short, he couldn't reach their chests.

"Hurry up and use some vines to tie the four of us together, like a pea pod. That way, if we get swept away, we won't be separated. If we get scattered, we have nothing on us; if the waves don't kill us, we'll starve to death. Honestly, I'd rather have it be quick!"

The Fatty still had the heart to joke at a time like this; his mindset was truly remarkable. Zhou Yi glanced at him and nodded. "Well said. What I mentioned earlier was the extreme scenario; perhaps my judgment was off. But we must make the necessary preparations anyway."

By the time he finished speaking, Cheng Zhi had already finished with the vines. He was truly a devoted fan of the Fatty; he had indeed fashioned them into a "pea pod" configuration, and he even used thinner vines to anchor the structure deep into the ground, connecting them to the roots of the large trees. Zhou Yi knew that Cheng Zhi hoped to secure the trees more deeply into the earth. There was no better method, so he let him be.

Sophia’s grip on Zhou Yi’s arm tightened. "Look, the wave is coming! It really is a giant wave!"

At her cry, all four looked to the southwest. A wall of water, stretching for dozens of miles, was rolling toward them. Its speed was incredible; just a moment ago it was a thin white line, but now the rumbling sound was already audible. Zhou Yi’s heart sank. It seemed his premonition was right—why was the wave so high?

The Fatty bit his lip. He wasn't panicking; instead, he had become remarkably calm. He was clutching Cheng Zhi’s clothes so hard his knuckles were white. Cheng Zhi glanced at him. "Fatty, let go! If the tsunami doesn't kill me, you’re going to crush me to death!"

The Fatty grunted and quickly loosened his grip. Sophia had already closed her eyes, and Zhou Yi pressed her head against his shoulder. At this point, they had to face it head-on.

The roar of the giant wave was deafening. Like a wall of water with no end in sight, it drew closer and closer. The first area to be swallowed was the beach by the caldera; the wave was two or three meters higher than the peak on that side. Without pausing, it surged directly toward their position. As it crashed down, Zhou Yi closed his eyes. Struggling was meaningless now; if they weren't swept away, they might have a sliver of hope.

Boom.

Water engulfed them, and all sound was cut off. Zhou Yi wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't; the water was filled with debris that stung his face. With one hand, he gripped Sophia’s head tightly, and with the other, he held onto the Fatty. Just as he was on the verge of suffocation, the wave receded—or rather, it fell below their feet, as the entire caldera had disappeared from sight.

Then, the massive wall of water passed, but it was immediately followed by another, though this one was not as powerful as the first. The third wave, the fourth... by the twenty-second wave, Zhou Yi had let go of Sophia, as the subsequent waves no longer posed a threat to the caldera. However, the center of the caldera was now half-filled with seawater.

As the water receded, Zhou Yi looked down. The vine "pea pod" was shredded in many places, and the net-like protective cover was littered with large rocks. It was chilling to think that if one had hit their heads, it would have been fatal.

Unraveling the vines, the Fatty sat on the ground, wiped the water from his face, and looked at Zhou Yi. "Is the tsunami over?"

Zhou Yi shook his head. Earthquakes don't happen just once, and neither do tsunamis. They are like ripples—they may have intervals, but they don't just stop. "Fatty, clear the stones. We need to build a wall in front of us, thick enough to block the waves. Cheng Zhi, reinforce the vine net. Move now."

Zhou Yi’s earlier judgment had helped them survive the first strike, so everyone immediately followed his orders. Sophia also broke free from the vines to join the cleanup. Zhou Yi jumped onto one of the remaining trees and peered into the distance. The fog had cleared significantly, increasing visibility, and he could see several islands in the distance.

More waves were coming, though they seemed less intense. Zhou Yi squinted. At this distance, he could see the faint outlines of islands—large ones. To the south, at least, there appeared to be an archipelago. Based on his previous analysis, they were likely in the northern part of the Vanuatu archipelago, and the tsunami had been triggered by an earthquake there.

He recalled Sophia mentioning that the world had only provided a temporal clue: April 2010. Searching his memory, he recalled an event from the world of 2020: in early April 2010, an earthquake near the western Solomon Islands had triggered a massive tsunami. Their current location was quite far from the epicenter, yet they had still been hit this hard; this was truly a terrifying disaster.

Seeing another wave approaching, Zhou Yi jumped down. "Get ready, another wave is coming. I believe we are in the northern Vanuatu archipelago. Once the waves subside, we must head southwest; that will lead us to the Solomon Islands."

These words gave the others hope. Being stranded on an island during a tsunami with no future in sight was bleak, so this goal was the greatest encouragement they could receive. The four of them braced themselves. The oncoming wave was not as destructive as the first, and its height was much lower; it did not submerge them, merely crashing past their sides.

Wave after wave hit, and while they lasted longer, they were not as intense as the initial ones. When the crashing paused, Cheng Zhi and Fatty continued clearing debris and broken vines, and Zhou Yi climbed back up the tree.

The islands in the distance were clearer now. Seeing no signs of further massive waves forming, Zhou Yi climbed down. Cheng Zhi and the Fatty were pale; the prolonged use of their arts had clearly taken a toll. Sophia, however, had lost the panic she felt earlier.

Zhou Yi quickly handed them spirit stones. "While the waves are quiet, try to rest as much as you can. Absorb as much energy as you are able."