However—in Shen Zhiyi’s memory, the two of them seemed to have survived longer than he did. At the very least, among the eight of them, only this pair of brothers remained after him.
The first to die was Lü Ci, who was killed by an intruder with an axe while he was in a daze, unable to find seasickness medication.
On their way back to the room, He Yu sighed, “This cruise ship is really big… If I hadn’t entered the entertainment industry to participate in this variety show, I probably would never have come to a place like this in my lifetime.”
He Yu came from an average family; both of his parents were ordinary workers from the countryside. He had a younger brother, and their father had previously suffered a serious illness that nearly emptied their family savings. If it weren’t for his striking looks that caught the attention of a talent scout, he would likely have dropped out of high school to work instead.
Lin Ya also expressed, “The cruise ship is indeed very large…” There were many hiding places, but the chances of being discovered were also quite high.
Most of the rooms had similar furnishings; aside from the wardrobe and bathroom, there weren’t many places to hide, making it relatively easy to find people.
Moreover…
When Shi Hua, who was walking in front of them, opened the door to his room, Lin Ya glanced over and noticed that the blueprints on the table had been stuck in the decor.
With that object present, the entire ship’s position was laid bare.
The premise was that someone had to notice this point before it was taken away.
After washing up, the whole room fell into darkness.
The two days passed quickly.
On the third day, He Yu opened the door, ready to go to the restaurant, only to find that the cameramen who usually waited outside were mysteriously absent.
“That’s strange… Why haven’t Li Ge and the others come yet?” There were two cameramen following them, but neither was there today, and they had gotten up later than usual.
“Who knows? Let’s see if anyone is in the next room. If they’re still inside, we can call them to join us for breakfast,” Lin Ya said as he changed into clean clothes, packed the rest of his belongings, and smiled while pulling He Yu out the door.
He Yu knocked on a few doors, only to bump into Bai Yuxi and Shi Hua, who both seemed somewhat off.
“Let’s wait until everyone is gathered to discuss…” Bai Yuxi said, looking a bit pale and shaking her head at He Yu’s inquiry.
Thus, the four of them knocked on the doors of the others.
When they reached the dining area, Bai Yuxi shared the news that the director and others were missing. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, and they soon realized it wasn’t just the camera crew—neither the director nor any other staff could be found.
“I just checked the director’s room, and there was no one inside. Their belongings are still there, but all the phones and electronic devices are gone,” Bai Yuxi said, feeling unsettled. After checking the director’s room, she had looked into others’ rooms and confirmed that there was indeed no one.
“How could this happen? Is it possible they went to another floor? In this vast ocean, how could they suddenly disappear?” Wen Wen Xu said hesitantly. They had been on the cruise for nearly three days without docking, so it seemed impossible for so many people to just vanish.
“Exactly…” Lü Ci echoed.
Luo Chu and Luo Yuan exchanged glances; the more refined-looking older brother, Luo Chu, suddenly said, “Why don’t we look for them after breakfast? It’s almost 9 o’clock, and everyone should be hungry. No matter how urgent it is, we have to fill our stomachs first.”
Lin Ya glanced at the dining room clock, confirming it was indeed time for breakfast.
“This will be the last meal provided on the ship,” he noted.
“Yes, let’s eat first and then look for them. If we still can’t find anyone, we could ask others and borrow a phone to see if we can make a call,” Luo Yuan also suggested they eat before searching.
Although the others were worried, their stomachs were indeed rumbling, so they no longer opposed the idea.
Lü Ci had felt a lot better with his seasickness and was ready to eat.
Thus, they had a relatively filling breakfast together.
After the meal, they paired off and scattered to search.
Lin Ya knew that the director and crew had already taken a speedboat to leave the previous night, so he decided to take it easy and borrowed a phone from a few Chinese compatriots in the neighboring rooms along with He Yu.
The result—
“When we woke up today, we suddenly had no signal, and we couldn’t make calls. We had wanted to check in with our families,” the young man said, looking frustrated as he showed them his phone. He had intended to call his parents with his girlfriend, but unexpectedly, there was no signal. Just yesterday, he had had a conversation with a friend without issues.
“And it’s not just us; everyone else’s phones have no signal. One guy even brought a satellite phone, but he couldn’t get through either…” His girlfriend stood beside him, equally worried. They were in a foreign country, and if something went wrong, rescue wouldn’t be as swift as back home.
Moreover, they were in the vast ocean.
“Generally speaking, even a regular signal jammer can only block ordinary mobile phones; satellite phones typically cannot be jammed. If we cannot contact even with a satellite phone, it indicates that there could be unusual interference on this ship,” Lin Ya said calmly, ignoring the sudden change in the expressions of those around him. “This ship may not be locatable by satellite, which means—”
“If something happens, others might not be able to find this ship’s position, and waiting for rescue would be a matter of luck. It could be ten days or even half a month before they might find us.”
“Shen, Shen Ge… don’t scare me…” He Yu thought of the mysteriously missing director and the bizarre variety show recording, and his heart sank.
“No way…” The couple’s expressions turned pale instantly. They often watched mysteries and loved horror films about maritime disasters; upon hearing Lin Ya’s words, goosebumps covered their skin.
“How did you get on the ship? Did you buy tickets yourself?” Lin Ya asked them.
“We won a lottery when we were in the restaurant and won a two-person cruise for ten days. We came after seeing various introductions in the promotional brochure…” The girl nervously clutched her boyfriend. Only now did she realize something was amiss. She thought she had been lucky, and until they got on the ship, they had been enjoying themselves and even met other compatriots, making her feel at ease.