Chapter 212: Chapter 204: Sinking (Part 2)

An urgent and tense distress call crackled over the radio.

"River Beach, this is the Hollywood! Our ship is about to sink! Requesting rescue, requesting rescue!"

The Hollywood was in trouble.

Although he felt a strange sense of satisfaction hearing the news, his mood grew complicated when he thought of the innocent crew on board.

Alvin’s face was conflicted as he began to weigh the pros and cons.

On one hand, rescuing the Hollywood could bring trouble for the River Beach and even endanger him and his crew.

On the other hand, he couldn’t bear to see those innocent crewmen wait for death in the cold and despair.

According to the unwritten rules of the sea, if you encountered a vessel in need of rescue and your own conditions permitted, you were obligated to lend a hand.

"First Mate, go get the boss."

A few minutes later, Feng Shan entered the wheelhouse, steam rising from his body.

"What’s happened?"

Alvin didn’t waste words, directly telling him about the Hollywood’s distress call.

Feng Shan’s brow furrowed slightly.

Carrying out a rescue during a cold front and storm was extremely dangerous.

Moreover, the River Beach was in the middle of crabbing operations. With a large number of Crab Traps still in the water, every minute of delay meant tens of thousands of US Dollars in losses.

But they couldn’t just stand by and watch them die. After all, every life was worthy of respect.

"You’re the captain. What do you think?" Feng Shan tossed the question to Alvin.

"We have to make a decision quickly." Alvin’s brow was tightly knit. "If we don’t mount a rescue in time, the crew of the Hollywood will be in mortal danger."

Feng Shan was silent for a moment, then said decisively, "Stop deploying and retrieving the Crab Traps. Prepare to rescue the Hollywood. Notify the entire crew to brace for danger and get the rescue equipment ready."

"Give me the handset. Turn on the ship-wide broadcast. I’ll explain things to the crew."

The First Mate immediately switched on the ship-wide broadcast.

Feng Shan took the handset. "Testing, testing. Men, I’m sorry to have to inform you that we’re stopping all crabbing operations immediately."

"Something very urgent has come up."

"Right here in these waters, the Hollywood is about to sink. Captain Hughes has sent a distress call to the River Beach. I intend to go rescue them. Crabbing operations are suspended for now, and I know this will affect everyone’s pay."

There was a hint of apology in Feng Shan’s tone, but his eyes were incredibly resolute.

"I promise you all right now: when we return to Saint Paul Island, on top of your regular pay for this trip, I’ll pay out an additional 20,000 US Dollars to compensate for the lost income."

After finishing his announcement, Feng Shan suddenly raised his voice, his tone filled with passion and determination as he sounded a call to action to every crew member. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Now, let’s go rescue the Hollywood!"

After a moment of silence, the passion of the River Beach’s crew was instantly ignited, and shouts rose up one after another.

"Rescue! Rescue!"

"Boss, I’d go even without the bonus!"

"The Hollywood... that idiot Xize is on that boat! If he doesn’t buy me a drink after this, I’m tossing him right back into the sea!"

"Hurry up! Pull in the Crab Traps and the crane! We’re going to save them!"

An atmosphere of tension mixed with hope filled the entire River Beach.

The crew moved quickly, making full preparations for the impending rescue operation.

They checked the rescue equipment and organized the ropes and lifebuoys, ensuring everything would be ready to perform when the critical moment came.

Everyone was doing their utmost, fighting to save the lives on board the Hollywood.

Alvin picked up the radio handset, switched to the public channel, and said in a firm voice,

"Hollywood, Hollywood, this is the River Beach. We have received your distress signal. Our vessel is proceeding to your coordinates. Please remain calm. Jesus Christ will watch over you."

「On board the Hollywood.」

Hearing the River Beach’s response over the radio was like hearing the voice of an Angel to Old Hughes. Tears of emotion filled his eyes, and the tension gripping him finally eased a little.

"Thank God! Thank you, River Beach!"

"You’d better thank Jesus Christ," Alvin joked as he turned the River Beach’s rudder and set a course for the Hollywood’s coordinates.

When the crew learned that the River Beach was coming, smiles of salvation spread across their faces.

「Meanwhile.」

The Saint Paul Island Coast Guard received the Hollywood’s distress call.

The Coast Guard command center instantly burst into a flurry of activity as alarms blared.

Personnel moved quickly, gathering information on the Hollywood’s position and current sea conditions.

Rescue teams assembled rapidly. The deafening roar of helicopter rotors filled the air as one lifted off into the gloomy sky.

Unfortunately,

the Hollywood couldn’t hold on until the River Beach arrived. The ship’s list had reached its limit. With a heavy heart, Old Hughes gave the order to abandon ship. He led the crew into the lifeboats and onto the sea.

The lifeboats were mercilessly battered by the raging waves. The crew could only use all their strength to grip the handholds, their faces filled with terror.

Even a Crabbing Boat of several hundred tons couldn’t withstand the violent wind and waves, let alone a flimsy rubber lifeboat.

Waves several meters high easily lifted a lifeboat, only to slam it back down into the sea.

The immense impact made the lifeboat shake violently, as if it could fall apart at any moment.

The crew screamed in terror, clinging tightly to anything they could hold onto.

Seawater poured into the lifeboat from all sides. The freezing water made their bodies instantly stiffen.

Old Hughes and his crew tried desperately to bail, attempting to keep the lifeboat afloat, but in the face of these tempestuous waves, their efforts seemed utterly insignificant.

Every wave that crashed over them filled their hearts with despair.

They didn’t know how much longer they could hold on, or if they could even survive this raging sea.

...

The two seas in the world widely recognized for having the harshest climates are the Caribbean Sea and the Bering Sea.

The Caribbean Sea is world-famous for its storms, frequently battered by hurricanes each year that sweep away everything in their path.

The Bering Sea, on the other hand, is known for its frigid waves. Here, the waves can reach heights of several meters, or even over ten meters, relentlessly pounding the coast.

Under the assault of the cold front and the storm, waves over ten meters high came one after another. The sea surface looked as if it were being twisted, with a staggering difference in elevation between trough and crest.

The River Beach sailed through these violent waters like a small boat struggling through a tempest.

The hull pitched and rolled violently with the waves, letting out creaks and groans as if it could be torn apart by the surging tide at any moment.

Very unfortunately, just ten minutes ago, the crabbing boat Hollywood had vanished from the radar.

Everyone knew what it meant for a vessel to vanish from the radar in these violent seas.

There was only one conclusion: the Hollywood had sunk.

This cruel reality struck every crew member on the River Beach like a heavy hammer. Their faces were etched with shock and grief, unable to believe it had happened.

Even though they weren’t on the same boat, they were all fellow Crab Fishermen. They all lived on Saint Paul Island, and there was no bad blood between them. They saw each other all the time and would sometimes even share a drink together at the bar.

And now, just like that, they were gone. Who could stomach that?

The Bering Sea in November was a sea cursed by the Demon, a place of extreme cold and ceaseless waves.

In such a harsh environment, the hope for survival was despairingly slim.

Hampered by the heavy rain, the range of the River Beach’s lights became extremely limited.

The dense raindrops fell like a heavy curtain, continuously weakening the light’s ability to penetrate the darkness.

Lights that could normally illuminate a considerable distance now struggled against the curtain of rain, managing only to light up a small area around the hull.

Rainwater flowed across the deck, mixing with the sea spray, and quickly froze into a layer of ice.

Off-duty crew members, dressed in waterproof gear and secured by safety lines held by their shipmates, rushed onto the deck to break up the ice with tools, trying to lighten the River Beach’s load.

Alvin held the rudder, his eyes glued to the dark, churning waves beyond the windshield. The thought of turning back began to form in his mind, and he immediately made a suggestion to Feng Shan.

"Boss, should we still try to rescue them? At this point, a rescue is meaningless. The critical window for rescue is only fifteen minutes. At our current speed, it will take at least thirty minutes to reach the coordinates where the Hollywood disappeared."

"The wind and waves are getting stronger, and they pose a huge threat to the River Beach as well. Maybe we should... leave these waters."

The First Mate and the boatswain simultaneously turned their gaze to Feng Shan.

...