Diving beneath the sea, Sules extracted all the water surrounding her body, creating a one-cubic-meter waterless space—a sort of underwater bubble, only occupied by a person.
The bubble was sucked into the whirlpool as it twisted and spun rapidly.
Sules felt like she was inside a washing machine, nearly about to vomit.
She quickly realized this wouldn’t do.
Who knew when this damn whirlpool would stop?
If she stayed like this, even if she didn’t get hurt, she would eventually get dizzy.
Once dizzy, she wouldn’t be able to use her abilities.
Without the bubble’s protection, she would be torn apart by the whirlpool.
How could she stop a whirlpool?
Sules frowned, deep in thought.
She could only control the sea water within one cubic meter around herself, and being inside the whirlpool, she had no control over her own position.
Logically, her bubble entering the whirlpool should have been like a fault line.
If it were large enough, it could disrupt the whirlpool’s flow.
But the problem was, she was in the upper-middle part of the whirlpool.
The bubble’s size was just a slightly bigger bubble in that area, not nearly enough to break the whirlpool.
In other words, Su Lesi had to change her form to have a chance to stop the whirlpool.
She stared at the water rapidly flowing in one direction outside the bubble, pondering for a moment, then suddenly brightened with a good idea.
Since the whirlpool was created by the water flowing rapidly in one direction, what if she made the water around her flow in the opposite direction?
Wouldn’t that break the balance?
Without hesitation, Sules immediately controlled the water flow on the bubble’s surface to rotate in the opposite direction, turning it into a small spherical vortex.
To the great whirlpool, this change was like a spinning top suddenly colliding with a small stone.
The two sides rubbed against each other fiercely, sparks flying.
Because the small vortex controlled by Sules wasn’t naturally formed, it was especially sturdy.
After a while, just as Sules hoped, the great whirlpool gradually disappeared.
***
Back on the deck, everyone was confused to see Sules suddenly dive underwater.
But in their hearts, Sules—who couldn’t even reach the rope—was already considered dead.
Taylor was the first to shout toward the main ship, “Brother-in-law! Hurry and come get me! Without the captain, this ship can’t be steered anymore!”
What he said wasn’t wrong, but Sules had just gotten into trouble, and for him to immediately call someone to handle the aftermath was simply distasteful.
The second mate, Od, who had been getting along well with Sules these past few days, heard Taylor’s words and clenched his anger to say, “First mate, Captain Su just had an accident. There’s no need to act so impatient.”
Taylor wore a careless expression: “Dead is dead. Why should I care about her feelings? Even if I didn’t say it, brother-in-law would come get me sooner or later.”
Listening to their argument, Cardi angrily said, “Captain Su might not be dead yet. She was just pulled in, and no body has surfaced. How can you be so sure?”
Od fell silent at this, but Taylor sneered and mocked, “Typical newbie, not even knowing that. Ask anyone else—what chance is there of surviving being pulled into a whirlpool? The body? She was probably torn to pieces long ago. You used to flatter Su, now it’s all for nothing, huh?”
Cardi’s anger didn’t subside: “That’s a human life! How can you judge her death so easily?”
Taylor, no longer bothering with this stubborn guy, sneered and turned to leave.
Od stepped forward, sighing, “Cardi, we’re speaking from experience. Once you’re caught in a whirlpool, there’s really no chance of survival.”
Cardi, a young chef just new to the sea, had never seen a dead person, let alone witnessed someone die in front of him.
He stubbornly shook his head, “No. I won’t believe it until I see the body.”
Od looked at him puzzled, “Captain Su was indeed a good captain, but did you have any connection before? Why do you care so much for her?”
Cardi blinked in confusion, “I don’t have any?”
Od said, “I saw you giving Su a hangover soup late at night, and just now, you were the first to get the rope to save her. I don’t believe you don’t care for her.”
Cardi grew even more confused, “But… aren’t those things I’m supposed to do? Su is the captain. If she’s hungover, the next day’s voyage will be affected. It’s normal for me as a cook to give her hangover soup. I gave it to the sailors too, but they were all out cold and didn’t drink it.”
“As for trying to save her just now…”
Cardi fell silent for a moment, then looked at Od with a genuine puzzled gaze, as if he really couldn’t understand, “As a person, isn’t it normal to save someone in mortal danger? What does caring for her have to do with it? If it was anyone else, I’d have grabbed the rope to save them without hesitation.”
Now Od was silent.
He hadn’t expected this answer from Cardi.
Indeed, upon reflection, everything Cardi did was reasonable.
He had also been dedicated to himself and the others, but had been overlooked due to his low presence.
Suddenly, Od felt a bit guilty—for ignoring him before and for his current misunderstanding.
Cardi wasn’t the sycophant he thought he was.
Otherwise, he would have tried to curry favor with Taylor earlier.
He just hadn’t expected Cardi to be such a pure person.
Od suddenly felt nostalgic.
When he first set out on his seafaring journey, was he also this sincere?
Being kind to others simply out of his heart, not for the benefits they could bring.
It seemed in this endless sea voyage, he had long objectified everyone, always considering the benefits first.
Saving someone was supposed to be something anyone would do, yet he immediately assumed Cardi did it to curry favor with the captain.
What a ridiculous thought—and how sad.
Before Od could reflect much longer, Cardi’s excited voice suddenly came: “Od! The whirlpool! It seems to be disappearing!”
“What the hell?”
Od laughed helplessly, just about to tell Cardi that whirlpools last a long time and wouldn’t vanish so quickly.
But the fact was just that.
Before long, the whirlpool really did vanish, leaving only a calm sea.
When Od looked up, he was shocked to see the whirlpool had noticeably shrunk and was slowly dissolving.
He rubbed his eyes, not daring to believe what he saw.
Cardi excitedly said, “The whirlpool’s gone! Does that mean the captain can come back?”
“Not necessarily.”
Od quickly calmed down and analyzed, “Even if the whirlpool disappeared, it doesn’t change the fact that Su has been pulled in for some time. During that period, she might have been torn to pieces…”
Before he finished, Cardi screamed again, “Ah! Captain! I see you! Are you okay? Are you alright?”
Od froze mid-sentence.
Squinting, he indeed saw a head of golden hair.
The head turned around—who else but Sules?
She really had survived!
Sules treaded water, waving at them, “I’m fine. I’ll tell you everything once I’m ashore!” Then she quickly swam to the ship’s side and climbed aboard in one breath.
Taylor, having heard the noise, returned with a face full of disbelief, “How did you make the whirlpool disappear?”
Sules sat on the deck, gasping for breath before answering, “I don’t know either. The whirlpool suddenly just vanished. I guess it had been there for a while, and I was just lucky enough to catch the moment it disappeared.”
That was certainly possible, but the odds were slim.
Though skeptical, Taylor could only admit that Sules was lucky.
He thought for a moment and asked again, “Then how did you survive inside the whirlpool? Weren’t you torn apart?”
Sules had already prepared her explanation: “It’s my captain’s ability. I can create a one-square-meter bubble in the sea to enclose myself. Though it bursts if poked, against a sea whirlpool like this, it protected me quite well.”
After hearing her explanation, Taylor’s surprise turned into disdain: “All just luck, as expected. You got lucky this time. Hurry up and report to brother-in-law. Don’t waste our time.”
Od said from the side, “Captain, I’ll get you a towel…”
Before he could finish, Cardi’s voice interrupted, “Captain! I got your towel! Hurry and wipe off! Don’t catch a cold!”
Although he now understood Cardi was acting purely out of sincerity and not to flatter anyone, honestly,
Cardi was a little too enthusiastic.
Od couldn’t help but worry that this might cause misunderstandings.
Cardi handed Sules the towel, grinning foolishly.
To him, nothing was more joyful than a life being saved.
That she survived was truly wonderful—this was his most genuine feeling.
***
Sules’s expression softened as she took the towel and thanked Cardi.
Though she was in the sea just moments ago, she saw the situation on shore clearly.
Naturally, she knew Cardi was the only one who genuinely wanted to save her and took action.
She had indeed doubted Cardi’s intentions before, suspecting his excessive enthusiasm was a hidden motive.
But when she realized Cardi was enthusiastic toward almost everyone, she dispelled those doubts.
Unlike Od, Sules wasn’t someone to overlook anyone’s character.
From their time together, she had already confirmed that Cardi was simply a naïve, pure-hearted person.
Yes, naïve and sweet.
It felt odd to describe a boy that way, but Cardi was truly that kind of person.
Sules didn’t have much faith in this kind of personality—this world of seafaring was full of traps, and honestly, she was curious how he had survived.
This time, Cardi tried to grab the rope to save her.
Though he failed, Sules was somewhat moved.
To be honest, even in her previous peaceful world, she rarely saw such selfless courage.
Let alone in such a dangerous world.
If possible, Sules intended to help him out.
Putting that aside for now, she returned to the cockpit and reported the situation to Captain James.
Though James was surprised that Sules had survived, it worked to his advantage, so he didn’t press further.
Just as he was about to rest, Sules suddenly felt a surge in her captain’s gift, as if breaking through some barrier and leveling up.