There are two possibilities when a ship strikes a reef, either a soft pile-up or a hard pile up may take place.

  In the former, the seabed may be soft clay, and in the latter, the ship may have run into a sharp reef with hard edges.

  The edges of such reefs were often as sharp as knives. When a ship collides with such a reef in its course, it would be like being ripped by a knife. The body of the ship is often easily sliced open.

  The fact that the waves were so turbulent meant that it was likely a huge reef.

  The ship was traveling at a considerably high speed. A collision at this speed was extremely risky. When Little Yichen saw the ship come to a stop, he knew that the bottom must have been cut.

  Once the hull was cut open, the impacted structures within could be torn apart, allowing water to enter.

  If the hull became submerged in water, to a certain extent, it would cause the ship to capsize and sink…


  Little Yichen looked at his brother nervously and said, “I’m not sure how serious the situation is, either, but I’m pretty sure that if the collision had resulted in water entering, the water will affect the electrical circuit. This means there may now be a big cut in the bottom of the ship. We have to find Mommy as soon as possible, then we have to locate the lifeboat and take Mommy away from this ship.”


  “You mean this cruise ship will sink at any time?”


  “Not anytime soon. It can’t sink right away, but…” Little Yichen continued solemnly and meaningfully, “we don’t have much time left!”


  Youyou nodded and grew nervous as well. He ran towards the cockpit.

  Along the way, the hull kept shaking.

  The banquet hall, which was brightly-lit before, was now in darkness. The band members stood up curiously. The music had come to a stop, and the sudden silence made everyone even more nervous.

  The unexpected circuit malfunction had caused everyone to panic!

  “Help!”


  “Heavens, what is going on!? Did something happen?!”


  In the banquet hall, the guests were screaming nervously. The scene was chaotic, with people screaming loudly till they were hoarse. This was accompanied by the sound of cutlery falling and dining ware shattering. Many people were rushing towards the door!

  In moments of crisis, the selfish side of human nature is exposed.

  People were clamoring over each other. They could not see anything clearly in the dark. The banquet hall was completely sealed off, so there was no light. They could not even see their own fingers.

  People followed their instincts and swarmed towards the door like a bunch of frightened, headless flies.

  In the squeeze, some women tripped and fell to the ground. They wondered if they had lost their balance because of the impact to the ship, but no one was willing to help them. Instead, they stepped on them and ran towards the door!

  At this critical juncture, with their own lives on the line, people could hardly ensure their own safety, much less care about the lives of others!

  Many women who were not strong enough to stand up to the stampede were trampled to death!

  The people broke through the doors of the banquet hall and dashed towards the deck!

  The crowd surged onto the deck.

  Little Yichen and Youyou happened to pass by the banquet hall. When they saw people running towards the deck, Little Yichen immediately put his arm protectively around Youyou and called out, “Be careful!”


  Youyou was drawn into his embrace. Immediately after, they saw a dense crowd of people running out of the banquet hall. At this point, the ship shook again and started to lean sideways.

  The people who were at first running towards the deck suddenly felt the tilting. There was nothing to support them, so they lost their balance and stumbled towards the side.

  Some of them were lucky. Despite their nervousness, they managed to grab hold of the railing in time to keep their balance.