Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 958 - 959: Vitality and Crisis

Chapter 958: Chapter 959: Vitality and Crisis

"You can’t monopolize this lifeboat!" Wu Xiaoya’s face flushed with anger, turning pale green.

Cao Heyang burst into laughter and said, "Monopolize? You’re exactly right. We are monopolizing it. We’re not dying with you people. Didn’t you want this airplane wing? Well, now it’s yours."

Then he turned to Li Fangding and the others still on the wing, saying, "Mayor Li, hurry, get on the lifeboat."

Li Fangding immediately jumped off the wing and started climbing onto the lifeboat.

"Mayor, you can’t just leave us!"

"Mayor, take us with you!"

"You’re the mayor! How can you only think of saving yourself and leave everyone else behind?"

The crowd shouted as they grabbed Li Fangding, who had just jumped into the water. Instantly enraged, Li Fangding shouted, "You know I’m the mayor, so let go of me at once!"

"Mayor Li, you must take us with you. Otherwise, I won’t let go."

Furious, Li Fangding swung his arm hard and kicked a few times, mercilessly shaking off the people clinging to him. While his physical strength was still decent, the others were too weak, and within moments he managed to free himself.

After climbing onto the lifeboat, Li Fangding immediately said, "Go, go, let’s leave now. I don’t want to see this lot anymore."

Cao Heyang chuckled and said, "Mayor Li, what’s the rush? This lifeboat can hold ten people. We’re only seven. There are three more spots. How about we let a few women on to keep us entertained?"

The rest of the group cheered in agreement. Li Fangding grinned and, surprisingly, instead of opposing the suggestion, pointed at Miao Xuanxuan, Miao Qingqing, and Wu Xiaoya, the flight attendant, saying, "I think those three are pretty good."

Cao Heyang roared with laughter and said, "Mayor Li, you’ve got great taste. They’re exactly who I had in mind. Hey, you all heard that, right? We’re giving you three a chance to live. You can come aboard the lifeboat."

Miao Qingqing and Miao Xuanxuan immediately exploded with rage, yelling, "Get lost!"

Wu Xiaoya gritted her teeth and said, "If you’re taking people, take everyone. Otherwise, I won’t be going with you."

Cao Heyang sneered, "Think it over. If you don’t agree, I’ll pick someone else."

"In your dreams!" Miao Xuanxuan growled furiously.

"Alright then, if you don’t want to live, I’ll choose someone else. You, you, and you... how about it? Want to come aboard the lifeboat?" Cao Heyang pointed to three other women, who were also somewhat attractive.

The three hesitated briefly but quickly agreed, lacking the same resolve as Miao Xuanxuan and the others.

"Haha, you stay here and drift around. Hope someone rescues you soon."

To the sound of their laughter, the lifeboat slowly glided away, abandoning the rest of the people entirely.

The remaining group cursed angrily, but it was all in vain.

At this point, Song Xiaodong said, "They’re gone. Maybe that’s not entirely a bad thing. At least they left us the airplane wing. Let’s hurry and climb on."

Finally snapping out of their daze, those who still had some strength left, like Miao Xuanxuan and Miao Qingqing, climbed onto the wing first. They then helped pull up the weaker individuals one by one.

Among the remaining survivors, only three were men, while the rest were women and children. Despite their group being fourteen people in total, the airplane wing was stable enough for them to sit on.

"Miss Flight Attendant, what do we do now?" a young girl timidly asked Wu Xiaoya.

Wu Xiaoya sighed and said, "We can only wait for rescue now. Let’s hope they find us soon."

"That damn mayor is such a scumbag. If I make it out of this alive, I’ll definitely report him."

"Exactly! What kind of mayor behaves like that? Not only ignoring others but also kicking people when they’re down. He’s worse than a piece of trash. Even more disgusting than those other guys."

Frustrated, everyone vented their anger, cursing Li Fangding and the others.

Perhaps it was sheer luck or a rare favor from God, but soon after, they spotted another lifeboat.

The odds of this were astronomically low, and yet it happened, surprising everyone with overwhelming joy.

The group immediately moved to the lifeboat, their faces lighting up with hope.

"I’m thirsty; I want some water," a child muttered.

That’s when everyone realized a grave problem—they had no provisions left. The little water they had, along with some clothes and other belongings, had all been taken away by Cao Heyang and Li Fangding’s group.

Song Xiaodong spoke up, "Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to get us some water. For now, everyone look around. See if you can find any empty bottles or plastic bags."

At this moment of desperation, the group, lacking a reliable leader, finally found some solace in Song Xiaodong’s reassuring tone. Despite Wu Xiaoya being a flight attendant, her presence didn’t inspire as much confidence. Following Song Xiaodong’s instructions, everyone started scanning the surface of the sea.

Normally, people would condemn those who littered the ocean, but now, they silently thanked such individuals. Before long, they managed to find several mineral water bottles and even a large piece of plastic sheeting.

In truth, these were likely items that had scattered from the plane after the crash.

Song Xiaodong heaved a sigh of relief, then unfolded the plastic sheet, holding it above everyone’s heads. Someone stood in the middle to support it, making it resemble a small makeshift greenhouse.

It functioned like a rudimentary hothouse—water vapor condensed on the underside of the sheet, formed into droplets, and eventually trickled down into the bottles they had prepared beneath.

Though the method yielded water slowly, after about two hours, they could gather half a bottle. It wasn’t much, but each person could at least take a small sip to temporarily quench their thirst.

This small success lifted everyone’s spirits. They praised Song Xiaodong profusely, even making Miao Qingqing and Miao Xuanxuan puff up with pride on his behalf.

However, Song Xiaodong’s expression suddenly darkened as he said, "It’s going to rain soon. At least water won’t be an issue. Let’s just hope there’s no wind."

Everyone’s faces fell instantly. Though the lifeboat was safer than the airplane wing, it was no match for strong winds and waves. The tiny vessel would struggle to keep everyone safe.

Fortunately, they had gathered some additional items from the sea earlier, such as clothing. They quickly twisted the clothes into ropes to tie themselves to the lifeboat’s handholds.

By the time they finished preparing, the wind arrived, followed by the rain and large waves. The lifeboat rocked violently, rising and falling, as though ready to toss its passengers into the sea at any moment.