Chapter 1

"What's going on?" The water glass on Xiao Mingli's desk suddenly tipped over, and the Yunseng No. 1 passenger-cargo ship, which had been sailing normally, seemed to have been tripped by something, causing it to jolt suddenly. "Where did the shaking come from? Did we run aground? Did we collide with another ship?"

"I don't know! It's too dark outside to see clearly." Liu Dafa, who had been looking out the window, was a bit surprised, but soon his face was filled with panic. "What's happening? Why is it getting brighter?!"

Xiao Mingli also felt the cabin suddenly brighten, with blinding white light filling the entire room. This was definitely not the effect of the dim lights in the cabin. Xiao Mingli instinctively closed his eyes, and the sound of chaos filled his ears. The ship felt slightly tilted.

Soon, feeling the cabin return to normal, Xiao Mingli opened his eyes and rushed to the deck. It was still dark outside, and the ship had stopped. The side tilt seemed to have stopped as well. Voices could be heard from the left front, but the wind on the waterway was strong, making it hard to hear clearly.

More and more people gathered on the deck, discussing in a cacophony of voices, occasionally mixed with the cries of children.

"Please don't panic. Our ship has run aground unexpectedly. We are currently contacting the maritime department for assistance. Please return to the cabin in an orderly manner..." The ship's loudspeaker came on, repeating the message over and over.

"What's the situation?" Captain Xiao Bailang asked anxiously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"The cabin is not taking on water, and the ship's structure is intact." Chief Engineer Han Dezhi, who had just finished checking the ship and its equipment, hurriedly reported.

"Is anyone injured? Go check all the cabins. If anyone is injured, provide first aid immediately." Xiao Bailang waved his hand, signaling the ship's doctor to take action. "Is the navigation equipment still not working?"

"Yes, and not only that, the maritime satellite phone can't connect either. And..." Chief Officer Wang Tiedui took out his phone, which also had no signal.

Xiao Bailang was speechless. After a long pause, he asked, "What about the barge? Did it run aground too? This is strange. We've been sailing this waterway for years, and it's currently the high-water season. How could we run aground?"

No one could answer. The strange phenomenon in the sky had everyone vaguely suspecting something ominous.

The ship's attendants entered each cabin, asking about the passengers' conditions and what help they needed. Thanks to their efforts, the passengers temporarily calmed down, and the noisy voices gradually subsided.

"That's the sea breeze!" Wang Qianian, smelling the salty, damp air, said decisively. "I spent three years in the Zhoushan Islands; I wouldn't be wrong about this."

"Sea breeze? No way. We're sailing on the Yangtze River." A county party office director, Ma Qianzu, handed a cigarette to Wang Qianian, puzzled.

"That's why I'm confused. And didn't you notice?" Wang Qianian turned on his high-intensity flashlight and shone it into the distance. "The river we're stranded in is only about thirty meters wide, with a depth of at most three or four meters. Our current position should be near the river's mouth, or at least not far from it."

"Don't think too much about it." Ma Qianzu threw the cigarette butt into the river and walked toward the cabin. "We'll know the situation when it gets light."

The attendants distributed many cookies to the passengers and brought hot water to each person. The passengers' dissatisfaction subsided, and most quietly waited for the rescue team to arrive. Some even went back to their bunks to sleep.

***

Shao Shude grumbled a few times and got out of bed. The sun had already risen, and the deck was very noisy, with many people arguing emotionally and some crying.

"What's going on?" Shao Shude gently patted the shoulder of a young man in front of him, a fellow townsman he had met on the ship. They had chatted quite well yesterday.

"Brother Shao! Something big happened!" The young man, Qian Hao, waved his arms wildly, excitedly. "We've traveled through time! This isn't the Yangtze River! We've traveled through time!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Shao Shude almost blurted out, but thinking of the strange events last night, he held back.

"Brother Shao, look at the sky!" Qian Hao looked up at the sun with excitement.

"Damn!" Shao Shude was also stunned. It was about 8:30 AM, and the sun was already high. But that wasn't the point. The point was that the sun was hanging in the northern sky! This meant they were in the Southern Hemisphere!

"Hasn't the maritime department come to rescue us yet?" Shao Shude realized he had said the wrong thing as soon as it came out. What the hell, they were in the Southern Hemisphere, so who would come to rescue them?

"All the ship's communication equipment has failed. We haven't been able to contact anyone since last night! The satellite navigation has no signal!" Qian Hao said, pointing to the captain's cabin. "Look, a crowd is blocking the entrance to the captain's cabin, all demanding answers."

Shao Shude looked up and indeed saw a crowd gathered at the entrance to the captain's cabin, but the noise was too loud to hear what they were saying.

"Passengers... " Xiao Bailang's forehead was covered in sweat, his collar askew, and his voice hoarse. "We are verifying the situation! Please rest assured, we have sent people ashore for help!"

The passengers were clearly unsatisfied with this statement and began to protest loudly. Some hot-tempered people even started pushing, and the security guards quickly stepped in to separate the crowd.

"Hey! They're back! Wang Tiedui and the others are back!" Security Captain Lin Youde suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

"It looks like them!"

"No! There are people chasing them!"

"What the hell! Who are those people? Their faces are painted like ghosts!"

"Ah! Indians! Is this a movie?"

Xiao Bailang pushed through the crowd, leaned over the railing, and looked forward. Indeed, it was his chief officer, Wang Tiedui!

In the morning, Wang Tiedui had taken two security guards in a lifeboat to shore for help. It had only been a little over two hours, so how could they be back already? And chased back? Who were those people? They were wearing animal skins, had feathers in their hair, and were shouting incomprehensibly.

Wang Tiedui and the two security guards scrambled onto the lifeboat and quickly started the engine, heading back to the center of the river. Fortunately, the pursuers were still some distance away and had no long-range weapons, allowing them to escape safely.

"My God, we're finally back!" Wang Tiedui collapsed on the deck, panting heavily.

"Did you find anyone? What happened? Who was chasing you?" Xiao Bailang bombarded Wang Tiedui with questions, his tone rapid and urgent.

"We... we searched for a long time but didn't find anyone." Wang Tiedui caught his breath. "This place is like a wilderness, with no signs of human activity. But then we encountered these Indians. Damn, they saw us from far away and charged at us with spears, shouting like they had a personal vendetta."

Xiao Bailang turned to the other two security guards, who nodded in agreement, confirming Wang Tiedui's account.

"Boom!" The crowd erupted, and the news Wang Tiedui brought back spread rapidly. People reacted in various ways—some were happy, some sad, some bewildered, and some agitated.

"More Indians are coming!" Someone suddenly shouted.

Sure enough, the "Indians" who had chased Wang Tiedui were now at the shore, brandishing spears in a threatening manner. In the forest behind them, more people in similar attire were rushing toward the riverbank.

"What are they doing? Ah, I've been hit by an arrow!" A unlucky person suddenly screamed. The crowd scattered like a herd of startled deer. The ship's doctor rushed over with a first aid kit and found that the person hadn't actually been hit; his sleeve had just been pierced by an arrow. Soon, a few more arrows landed on the deck. The stranded barges and tugboats also came under attack from the arrows, and the few people who had been peering out quickly retreated into the cabins.

"They're bone arrows! The craftsmanship is very rough." Wang Qianian crouched down and picked up an arrow. "Judging by the force of the arrows, their bows aren't very strong, or at least not well-maintained."

"We need to drive them away." A black-faced man in his late twenties crouched down and approached. "There are many high-precision hunting crossbows in the cargo hold, much better than their primitive bows. If we take down a few of them, the savages will likely scatter."

"Is... is that legal?" Ma Qianzu was uncertain.

"Bullshit!" Xiao Bailang spat out angrily. "They're shooting arrows at us, so why can't we shoot back? Little Lin, take a few people to the cargo hold and bring up some hunting crossbows."

Security Captain Lin Youde quickly responded and led a few security guards to the cargo hold.

The "Indians" on the opposite shore were still shouting, and a few wooden spears flew toward the barges and Yunseng No. 1, but fortunately, no one was injured.

"Captain, the hunting crossbows are here." Lin Youde and four security guards each carried a cardboard box and rushed over.

The black-faced man silently assembled a hunting crossbow, loaded an arrow, drew the string, and aimed.

"Whoosh!" An 8mm bolt shot out, and one of the "Indians" on the shore staggered and fell. "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" The black-faced man fired two more arrows in quick succession, hitting both targets without breaking a sweat.

The "Indians" and the passengers on the ship were both stunned. The "Indians" hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran into the forest. The passengers on the ship looked at the black-faced man in awe.

"High-precision hunting crossbow with an optical sight. 8mm bolt, initial velocity 150 meters per second, effective range 125 meters, deviation within 20 millimeters at 60 meters. This is less than 20 meters, so missing would be a miracle. Yeah, don't look at me; I often use this for hunting." The black-faced man blushed slightly.

"Are those Indians dead? This... this is self-defense, but it's also excessive, right?" Doctor Wang Liao found it hard to accept what had happened.

"Ha! Old Wang, do you see Indians like that in modern society? Besides, with all that's happened since last night, haven't you figured it out yet? I think we've definitely traveled through time! We just don't know where or when we are." Lin Youde mocked Doctor Wang Liao, and his expression even showed a hint of longing, as if he had been hoping for this.

Xiao Bailang slowly stood up, sighed, and said with a complex expression, "It seems we need to hold a general meeting."