Before the crew could recover, William Scott had already taken a deep breath and said to him, “Now you should believe me a little, right? Please notify the captain that we are about to encounter a maritime disaster. Ask him to sound the alarm immediately and make all necessary preparations. I don’t know what kind of disaster it will be, but it’s better to be safe than sorry—prepare as much as possible.”

After saying this, he ignored the crew member’s stunned expression and turned to Grace Johnson: “There are life jackets in our rooms. Come with me to get them, and then notify everyone else to get theirs too.”

Grace Johnson’s mind was in chaos, and for a moment she didn’t know what to ask, so she instinctively said, “Then… what if they don’t believe us?”

William Scott glanced at David Bolton and Brian Foster beside him. After hearing the static on the walkie-talkie, the two had fallen into a state of shock and disbelief. “Then we’re just doing our last duty as classmates, that’s all.”

Everything had to be fast!

……

There are five main types of ocean disasters, and four of them could threaten this ship: hazardous waves, sea ice, tsunamis, and storm surges. In addition, there are typhoons related to the atmosphere.

William Scott recalled his knowledge of ocean disasters while making preparations as quickly as possible.

What disappointed him, though it was within his expectations, was that the alarm never sounded, and everything on the ship continued as usual. He didn’t waste time looking for the captain himself—first, because he would likely be stopped, and second, because he simply couldn’t afford to waste any more time…

So far, every disaster he had foreseen was bound to happen. If he spent all his time trying to prevent it, the result would likely be despair. Rather than trying to persuade others, William Scott preferred to create as much initiative for himself as possible, instead of placing all his hopes on the fleet, which was fundamentally uncontrollable.

Most of his classmates reacted as he expected. Some burst out laughing before he even finished speaking, while others shook their heads silently, as if they couldn’t understand why William Scott had suddenly started acting crazy, and even managed to get a popular girl at school to go along with him.

There were also some who, half-believing, chose to trust William Scott. Henry Clark, who had gotten along with him fairly well these past few days, was one of them.

“Lifeng, why do you think this way?” Henry Clark was an outgoing person who liked to play music and was well-liked. He followed William Scott not so much because he truly believed him, but because he found it interesting.

“By the way, how do you put on this life jacket? I remember they taught us when we first boarded, but who remembers that… Oh right, Lifeng, if nothing happens, you’ll be in big trouble. I just heard David Bolton say that spreading panic could get you reported to the crew and detained. Maybe I should put in a good word for you and ask them to let you off…”

Henry Clark fiddled with the life jacket as he muttered, and most of the others were chatting idly as well. After getting their life jackets, they followed William Scott’s instructions and gathered in a lounge with fewer people, close to the deck. This room also had large floor-to-ceiling windows, through which they could clearly see the calm sea outside. In this situation, many began to think that William Scott was just daydreaming after all…

Only Grace Johnson stayed by William Scott’s side, one looking bewildered and nervous, the other extremely grave.

He had just seen Henry Clark covered in blood… Many of those present would die!

But still, he couldn’t see the surrounding light, unable to judge the time from the scene…

“Well, I’ll go to the restaurant and buy some biscuits. Does anyone want water?”

“I’ll get out the playing cards?”

“Actually, sitting together like this is kind of fun. I once saw something similar called ‘Death Countdown.’ Everyone pretends they’re about to die and says their last words…”

“What a stupid game. If you ask me, my last words would be: you’re such a clown.”

“Oh, so that’s how you wear it…” Henry Clark said happily.

But at that moment, the ship suddenly, without warning, shook violently!

It’s here!

William Scott grabbed the railing beside him and then pulled Grace Johnson close!

Chapter 003: The Mist

“Bang!”

The cruise ship, which had been sailing smoothly, suddenly shook violently as if it had hit something.

A chorus of screams erupted on the ship, and in the lounge, apart from the quick-reacting William Scott and the Grace Johnson he pulled, everyone else lost their balance and fell to the floor.

But there were plenty of things in the lounge to hold onto, so they quickly followed their instincts and grabbed whatever they could.

“What happened? Did we hit a reef?” someone shouted in panic.

Grace Johnson clung tightly to William Scott’s arm, her face full of fear as she muttered instinctively, “No way, this route is fixed. The cruise ship has sailed here at least a thousand times—how could it hit a reef…” But she couldn’t explain why this had suddenly happened.