d not to talk about their situation anymore as they knew that any talks would only affect the already low morale.

Five minutes later, they set out again.

The sun above baked them relentlessly with scorching heat. Around them the seawater looked alluring, tempting them with its fresh blueness.

Rumi had pa.s.sed out again due to exhaustion; therefore, her friends carried her in turns. Despite her small frame and lightweight, fatigue had made the task extremely challenging.

As they slowed down, their break time started to drag out. Ma Xiaoru took out a half empty bottle and handed it over to Rumi. Everyone watched Rumi taking a sip of water and eagerly waited their turn. Rumi handed the bottle back to Ma Xiaoru who took a small sip and gave it to Zhou Sisi, who then pa.s.sed around the boys. When the water bottle was finally in w.a.n.g Tong's hand, he only licked the bottle's opening and gave it back to Ma Xiaoru right away.

Suddenly, w.a.n.g Tong noticed that Rumi seemed to be hallucinating and was about to drink the sea water. w.a.n.g Tong caught her cheek right before she was able to do so.

"Don't do it!"

"Thirsty..." Rumi muttered. "Just... one sip?"

"Shut up! No means no! Sea water will only make you even more thirsty," w.a.n.g Tong bawl out at Rumi.

"w.a.n.g Tong is right! We can do it guys. We are the best of Ayrlarng!" Carl announced excitingly, although his voice had become husky and dry.

"Let her take just one sip, Rumi is not as strong as you. I am afraid she won't be able to make it." Ma Xiaoru pleaded as she regarded Rumi sympathetically.

w.a.n.g Tong finally nodded.

t.i.ta and the others were afraid that they would lose their self-control and follow Rumi to drink the salty water, so they looked the other way while Rumi took a gulp of the water. Ma Xiaoru swallowed hard, closed the bottle cap and put it back to the s.p.a.ce crystal.

w.a.n.g Tong gestured everyone to move on; the break was over. Ten black dots then filed toward the dark spec, Paradise Island, on the other side of the horizon.

It was noon eight hours later, the hottest part of the day. Water would evaporate at an increased rate even without much exertion, let alone the group of struggling students in the middle of an endless sea. The dark spec didn't get any larger, but thanks to this dot in the far distance, the students haven't yet given up the mission.

Ma Xiaoru opened her crystal and took out their last bottle of water, it was w.a.n.g Tong's, and it was still full.

Even w.a.n.g Tong had felt a slight fatigue, and his endurance was slowly slipping away.

It was worse to get stuck without water in the sea than in the desert, since, there was nothing more tempting than the dangerous seawater around.

A few times, some of w.a.n.g Tong's team members attempted to steal the water from Ma Xiaoru, and both Hu Yangxuan and w.a.n.g Ben had become so tired that they didn't even notice, but luckily, w.a.n.g Tong had remained vigilant and stopped them right away.

The sun had reached the zenith, hanging in the sky like an enormous eye that looked down on this groups of helpless students.

Under everyone's antic.i.p.ating gaze, Ma Xiaoru finally cracked open the last bottle and moved next to the mouth of Rumi.

"Here you go, Rumi."

Rumi's kept his mouth closed and shook her head.

"It's fine Rumi, the rest of us are still fine. You need it."

"You guys go ahead, I don't move much so I don't need that much water."

Ma Xiaoru looked around and said, "I am still fine anyone?"

Zhou Sisi also shook her head.

"It's not the time to be a hero. You two, if you want to live, drink! Now!" w.a.n.g Tong announced. He knew that no one would drink that bottle of water if Rumi and Zhou Sisi had refused to drink it, and without drinking, they couldn't move any further.

"w.a.n.g Tong, you need to lead us, you should have some," w.a.n.g Ben said to him.

"I'm all right, you guys can go ahead," w.a.n.g Tong replied. Truth be told, w.a.n.g Tong felt that his throat was on fire, but he also knew that his cla.s.smates would need the water much more than he did.

"Captain, just drink it! We know that you didn't really have much water earlier," Kyaero said. He had noticed that every time it was w.a.n.g Tong's turn to take the water, he only wet his lips by slightly touching the bottle.

"w.a.n.g Tong, it's you who are trying to be a hero. These bottles of water are yours anyway," Hu Yangxuan said it with an ugly grin on his face.

"w.a.n.g Tong, go ahead... drink it... And just leave me here... I don't want to slow everyone down anymore..." Rumi struggled to let out a few words. She knew that she had been a burden to the team so far.

"Don't even think about it! We came here together, and I am not going to leave with anyone left behind. Now just drink, the more you talk, the more thirsty you will get."

"w.a.n.g Tong, you are the man! If we ever make it back alive, I will follow your orders," Carl said with a husky voice. He didn't realize how big of an "if" it was.

"We can never make it at this speed. I propose that w.a.n.g Tong takes this bottle of water and move ahead of us to find the island. Once he succeeds, he can then return with help," Zhou Sisi said.

Some students looked at each other not sure what to make of this proposal. "I agree, that seems like the only option we got." w.a.n.g Ben nodded in agreement.

"Let's vote!" Ma Xiaoru announced.

Zhou Sisi's motion was pa.s.sed as everyone agreed to her proposal. Hu Yangxuan patted on the shoulder of w.a.n.g Tong and said, "I will be counting on you now. If you get me out of here, I can hook you up with any girl you want."

w.a.n.g Tong had finally conceded that this was the only option for his group. He accepted the bottle, gulp down a mouthful of water and then he returned the still mostly-full bottle to Ma Xiaoru.

"w.a.n.g Ben, Xiaoru, Hu Yangxuan, look after everyone! I will be back!"

Without saying any more words, w.a.n.g Tong cranked up his GN force and darted toward the dark spec in the distance.