After stumbling out of the water and onto the shore, the three of them took a few more steps and found a giant rock on the shore that was shielded from the wind to lean against and rest for a bit.
Of course, it was mainly the injured Xia Chuan and the half-dead Dennis who needed to catch their breath. As for Shen Lan, who had done the real work, he was fine, leaning against the rock with his arms crossed. His eyes glinted with a hint of light in the darkness, staring intently at the woods ahead, as if pondering something.
That half-torn shirt was still tied around Shen Lan's waist. Who knows how he tied the knot, but even after swimming through the waves for so long, it hadn't loosened. However, because it was soaked with seawater, the fabric clung tightly to his body.
Fortunately, it was the middle of the night and there was a storm, so it was very gloomy with little light. Otherwise, whether the shirt was wrapped around him or not probably wouldn't make much difference.
Of course, Xia Chuan's attention was not on the shirt. During the break, he glanced at Shen Lan's legs a few times.
With such a tall stature, Shen Lan's legs were naturally long and straight, with beautiful, symmetrical, and sturdy muscle lines, full of strength. His bare feet had distinct tendons and bones, with protruding ankles and a clear depression behind them, looking very lean, but a size larger than Xia Chuan's and Dennis'.
Such legs and feet were indeed suitable for swimming, so it was understandable that he could swim fast.
But... no matter how fast, it couldn't be as fast as having a motor installed, right?
Xia Chuan turned his head and looked towards the sea. In his line of sight, the white waves were howling, and he couldn't see the reef where they had been before, let alone calculate the distance.
Dennis was half-collapsed like a dead dog, sitting against the ground. From time to time, he would pinch his nose and cough up some water. Seeing Xia Chuan's action, he couldn't help but peek out from the edge of the boulder and look back, then clicked his tongue and said, "We must have swam several hundred meters just now. The splashing water hitting the face was no different from bullets, making it numb."
Shen Lan, who was standing beside them with his arms crossed, glanced at him from under his eyelids, neither refuting nor agreeing, and continued to stare at his woods.
But Xia Chuan did some calculations in his mind - when he freedived on weekdays, he could hold his breath for a little over three minutes after taking a deep breath before going down and coming up. This time, when they reached the shore, he was just starting to feel a bit anxious.
According to Dennis, they swam several hundred meters. Taking the middle value and assuming five hundred meters, completing it in three minutes was a bit too exaggerated, not to mention the wind and waves on the sea, and Shen Lan was dragging two men who were over 1.8 meters tall.
Moreover, judging from the force of the splashing water hitting their faces along the way and the sensation of the water flowing past their bodies... Based on his past experience, Xia Chuan determined that Shen Lan's speed should be even faster than what he had just calculated.
Is this something an ordinary person can achieve?
Xia Chuan couldn't help but glance at Shen Lan - this man was full of mysteries from head to toe.
Shen Lan, who was running around naked with a body full of mysteries, finally ran out of patience. He straightened his body and looked down at Dennis. He moved his right foot, probably wanting to kick him a couple of times to indicate that he could get up and move his muscles and bones, but then he thought about it and was too lazy to touch him.
So he took a long step, straddled over Dennis' legs, walked to Xia Chuan's side, patted his shoulder, then raised his hand and pointed to the woods, saying, "Go in."
His stiff pronunciation and the habit of spitting out one word at a time made it clear that he hadn't spoken for a long time.
Xia Chuan didn't find it strange or ridiculous, as long as he could understand. But Shen Lan himself seemed to mind a bit. Basically, if he could express it with body movements, he would resolutely not open his mouth, appearing extremely sparing with his words.
However, being taciturn did not affect the weight of his words.
He was strong, skillful, and seemed to have lived in this strange place for a long time, having some experience and no obvious hostility. So Xia Chuan had not opposed his previous suggestions and actions.
But this time, Xia Chuan did not move towards the woods as he said.
Dennis, hugging his distress backpack, leaned against the boulder and stood up. Not paying attention to his footing, he stumbled a couple of steps towards the woods after being tripped by a protruding rock. But as soon as he steadied himself, he swallowed his saliva and retreated.
Shen Lan turned his head and looked at Xia Chuan in confusion, pointing to the woods again, obviously not understanding why the two of them weren't moving.
"This... this is the woods we saw during the day, right?" Dennis slowly raised his head, looking at the trees in the woods, his voice seeming to be squeezed out of his throat.
Although he spoke vaguely, Xia Chuan knew what he was referring to - during the day when they woke up on the reef and saw the Mosasaurus in disbelief, they had heard the sound of dinosaurs from the woods not far from the shore, a mixture of elephant trumpeting and lion roaring. They also saw a dinosaur head poking out from the woods...
Xia Chuan "hmmed" and paused for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Maybe not."
In this weather, with no stars or moon, it was very difficult to determine the direction. Who knows if it was the same woods where dinosaurs appeared during the day.
But even if it wasn't the same one, it didn't mean anything. He had never heard of an area where one patch of woods was full of dinosaurs while another was full of game suitable for settling down.
Xia Chuan didn't think it was a wise move to rashly rush into an unknown primeval forest at night with limited visibility. The possibility of delivering a late-night snack to the dinosaurs was greater.
So he shook his head at Shen Lan and flatly refused, "It's too risky to go in at night."
Dennis silently retreated a couple of steps behind Xia Chuan, taking a stand, "This forest looks too scary. Who knows what we'll encounter if we go in. Let's wait until daylight to talk about it."
The two of them sat back down against the reef rock that shielded them from the wind, looking very much like they were going to tough it out for the night here first.
Shen Lan blinked and looked at them, then at the woods, his gaze going back and forth several times. Finally, he couldn't help but say in his stiff accent, "It's cold here."
Xia Chuan didn't know where this place was geographically, whether it was south or north, or in which zone. But the temperature during the day was indeed a bit lower than in Bermuda, and it was also quite cold at night. It was fine in the cave with a fire before, but now that they had come to the shore, relying only on a boulder to block the wind was not enough.
They had just swam all the way here from the sea, soaking wet. Now, the cold and sticky clothes clinging to their skin felt very uncomfortable.
But being cold was always better than losing your life.
Shen Lan pointed at the woods and said, "What are you afraid of?"
Dennis couldn't help but say, "Dinosaurs. You don't know, when we woke up on the reef during the day, we couldn't believe we had arrived at such a ghostly place. As a result, we turned our heads and saw a Mosasaurus floating on the water, less than five meters away from us! There was also a head that looked a bit like a Tyrannosaurus, right in the forest by the shore!"
He seemed to be afraid that Shen Lan wouldn't understand the sense of crisis, so he emphasized, "The Tyrannosaurus is a killer-level creature on land! There's nothing in its living area that can contend with it! And the Mosasaurus... Mosasaurus! The Mosasaurus is at the top of the food chain among sea beasts. Basically, if you enter its eyes, you're on its menu. It dares to eat anything! I was so scared I almost peed myself..."
Shen Lan: "..."
Xia Chuan wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that Shen Lan's expression was a bit hard to describe, as if he had a toothache for a moment.
However, it only lasted a few seconds before Shen Lan's expression returned to normal. Then he moved his lips and rarely said a long sentence, "It's just a Tyrannosaurus. There seems to be one, but most are something else. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Dennis: "..."
Xia Chuan: "..." Very good, now it was their turn to have a toothache.
I'm Windwalker, your friendly neighborhood translator who loves nothing more than getting lost in a good book. When I'm not translating, you might find me hiking through nature or curled up with my cat. I hope my translations bring as much joy to you as they do to me!
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