Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 514: Falling into the Water, the Brave Buta
As the deck's tilt angle continued to increase, not only the passengers fell into the water, but also a large number of their belongings.

The deck was littered with tumbling objects: pots and pans, clothes and shoes, and even cooking knives.

The luggage carried by these passengers mixed with the crowd and fell into the water with a splash.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The sound of splashing water continued to ring out.

With so much debris falling, it is bound to hit some passengers who have already fallen into the water.

"Bang!"

There was a loud bang and an iron pot hit the shoulder of a male passenger who fell into the water.

"Ah!" He immediately let out a scream.

This passenger was not a good swimmer to begin with, and he was struggling to stay afloat by splashing around in the water.

Now that his shoulder was injured, it was even more difficult to exert force, which was simply adding insult to injury.

He immediately choked on the water several times and was about to collapse.

But he was not the most unlucky one. Another passenger was stabbed in the temple by a falling sharp fish knife.

The unfortunate passenger didn't even have time to let out a scream before he silently stopped treading water and sank to the bottom of the river.

For a moment, the river was filled with chaos and screams of panic. Looking down from Lin Yuan's perspective, the water was full of desperate people who had fallen into the water.

"Ah! Damn it! My head is smashed!"

"Help! I can't swim! Puff~Puff~Puff~"

"Let me go, don't hold me, you'll drag me down with you!"

Passengers who fell into the water could only struggle desperately, splashing around in the water, driven by their instinct to survive.

Compared to the passengers who fell into the water and struggled, Lin Yuan and the other two were better off for the time being.

Although the deck boat's roll angle had reached 50 degrees at this time, they had not yet fallen into the water.

Not only did they not fall into the water, but the families next to him, Buta and Gary, had not fallen into the water either.

This was due to their position against the port side of the ship, which was listing to starboard.

They are on the far left and don't have to worry about objects falling from high places and hitting them, which is quite lucky.

At this time, the passengers who had not yet slipped into the water were lying on the deck, holding on tightly to the tents fixed on the deck.

Fortunately, the tent was firmly tied to the rivets on the deck with ropes, providing them with a relatively reliable support.

But Lin Yuan knew that this situation would not last long. If it continued to evolve, there would only be two results:
The first result is that the large flat-bed boat continues to tilt, and after the angle reaches 90 degrees, it begins to sink sideways.

Another result is that the large flatbed boat will turn upside down and then sink.

Regardless of the outcome, the large deck ship will inevitably sink, the only difference is how it sinks.

For Lin Yuan, the first result is naturally better.

Because in this case, there will not be a particularly large splash, and the sinking of the ship will be relatively quiet, which is conducive to the survival of more passengers.

If you encounter the second situation, then the problem will be serious.

The large deck ship that turns sideways will crash heavily into the water. At that time, many passengers who fall into the water and cannot dodge in time will be directly hit by the steel hull. Needless to say, the consequences are obvious.

Even if they were not hit, the huge splashes caused by the large deck ship turning over would violently stir up the water flow, making those who were not good at swimming lose the ability to protect themselves.

Although Lin Yuan hopes for the first scenario, the reality is often contrary to one's wishes, and the worst scenario always happens.

Lin Yuan looked at the watch on his wrist:

Almost three hours had passed since he made the call, which meant the rescue boat might take another half an hour to arrive.

In the current situation, can we really hold on until rescue arrives?
At this point, at least 200 people were in the water.

Most of the passengers who fell into the water swam desperately to the side of the large flatbed boat, holding on tightly to the ropes, rivets and other protrusions on the boat with their hands to ensure that they would not be carried away by the river.

However, not all the passengers who fell into the water could swim. Lin Yuan estimated that about 4 to 50 people had been washed away or swallowed by the river.

This is just the beginning, and the more serious situation is yet to come.

Although Lin Yuan didn't know which of the two situations would happen in the future, he couldn't wait any longer.

He had to act first, otherwise if the worst case scenario happened, they would have no time to escape.

So Lin Yuan said to Gakki and Saragama, "To prevent the boat from completely capsizing and throwing us into the water, we must jump into the water now."

"Mr. Lin, your concerns are correct. We must consider the worst-case scenario." Saragama nodded in agreement.

"What should I do after entering the water?" GAKKI asked nervously.

"Can you tread water?" Lin Yuan asked.

Treading water, also known as "standing swimming", is a very practical swimming posture that uses the legs to push downward to make the body float in the water.

When pedaling, both legs can move at the same time or alternately, while both hands do a horizontal "touching the water" action in front of the chest. It is often used for carrying objects across rivers, armed swimming, and rescuing drowning people.

"I've practiced in the swimming pool, but I don't know if it will be effective in the Congo River." GAKKI replied.

"Don't worry, there will be no problem. If you want to swim to another place, I will take you with me. When you are in a safe area, try to tread water by yourself to stay afloat." Lin Yuan replied.

"Okay! We are getting ready to go into the water. Should we notify Buta and Gary?" After resolving her own concerns, GAKKI began to think about her two neighbors.

Lin Yuan nodded and shouted loudly to both sides: "Buta, Gary! Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you, Mr. Lin." This was Gary's voice.

"Don't say I heard you, I can still see you." Buta tore off a piece of tarpaulin that was no longer supporting the two of them and said with a smile.

"You look pretty good, just a little bit worse than me." Buta continued.

Lin Yuan really admired his nerves. He could still laugh in such a situation.

"I'm worried that if the boat continues to tilt, it might capsize. So it's time to jump off the boat. Can you swim?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I learned my swimming skills in a swimming pool, but if I don't get swept away by the river, I should be able to protect myself." Gary answered first.

"I grew up in the Congo River. You may be better than me in dancing, but I am definitely better at swimming. If you drown later, I will definitely come to save you," Buta said shamelessly.

As for the mysterious confidence of the black brother, Lin Yuan could only say that it was comparable to that of the third brother. He rolled his eyes and ignored Buta.

"Then let's prepare to slide into the water. Remember to swim towards the stern after entering the water. The distance there is shorter, and we can avoid possible capsizing directions." Lin Yuan said.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Gary has already begun to show an attitude of obedience towards Lin Yuan, his future employer.

"We are getting ready to slide down, you have to hold me tight." Gary said to his daughter in his arms.

"Wish us good luck, but don't worry even if we don't. I will take care of you." Buta said while hugging his son.

After saying that, Buta didn't wait for Lin Yuan. He took the lead in flipping open the hands that were holding the tent rope and slid down along the deck.

"Let's go too. Remember to ask for help if you encounter any danger." Lin Yuan reminded Gary again.

"I understand, Mr. Lin," Gary replied.

So the two of them let go of each other's hands and slid down the deck.

The inclination angle of more than 50 degrees is not too steep, but it is definitely not flat. The normal slide angle is generally between 30 and 50 degrees.

As the three people were sliding down, their speed was getting faster and faster under the influence of gravity, and the sound of wind whistling could be heard in their ears.

"Pay attention to maintaining your center of gravity." Lin Yuan reminded while reaching out to hold down GAKKI-chan.

In order to prevent themselves from rolling over during the descent, Lin Yuan, GAKKI-chan and Saragama all tried their best to lean back and move their center of gravity backward.

At the same time, they also carefully relied on the friction of their buttocks to reduce the speed of sliding.

Finally, the three of them rowed across the deck and into the water.

"Pfft!"

Lin Yuan felt uncomfortable the moment he entered the water.

The Congo River flows into many populous countries. Even though it has a large flow rate and strong purification capacity, its water quality is still not good.

The river water, mixed with a complex smell, does not make people feel comfortable.

This section of the Congo River is located in a densely populated area not far upstream of Kinshasa. Various industrial wastewater and domestic sewage are dumped into the river, causing the water quality to be highly eutrophic.

The strange smell probably comes from the large amount of algae growing in the water, and of course there are also many indescribable substances.

Lin Yuan thought that after having experienced the baptism of the muddy Yellow River water, any river should be a small problem for him.

But unexpectedly, the Congo River taught him a lesson, making him realize the importance of awe.

He had previously boasted that after taking the health potion, there would be no problem even if he drank several bottles of Ganges water every meal.

Now it seems that it was too hasty. Even if I don’t get sick, I will probably vomit out of nausea.

Fortunately, the water temperature of the Congo River is not low, even though it is already November.

Not to mention the frigid regions, even the rivers in the temperate regions would be quite cold.

The Congo River is located in a tropical region, so the water temperature should be over 23 degrees Celsius. It will not cause cramps due to rapid muscle and blood vessel contraction in people who suddenly enter the water. This makes Lin Yuan feel much more at ease.

Lin Yuan felt GAKKI-chan in his arms holding him tighter.

So he patted Gakki-chan's back gently and said, "Relax, we need to swim to a safe area first."

After saying that, he swam towards the stern of the ship with GAKKI-chan.

Behind him was Saragama, following silently.

As expected, having grown up by the Sri Lankan sea, Saragama is an even better swimmer than he says.

He is no longer just a swimmer. Looking at his familiar look, you can tell that he may have received training in diving, wave swimming, etc.

This is definitely not a swimming skill that a child can develop simply by playing at the beach. It must be the result of some kind of professional training.

I heard that some special forces elites would undergo frogman training, and it seemed that Saragama had received similar training.

Lin Yuan couldn't help but sigh that the guide Anthony introduced to him was unexpectedly helpful.

At this moment, a figure swam past him quickly: it was Buta.

He held his son in one arm while paddling with his other hand and legs. His movements were smooth and graceful, as if they were natural. Lin Yuan was surprised that Buta was not exaggerating. He was a very good swimmer, even better than Saragama.

Is this still the black guy he remembered?
As we all know, black people have advantages in explosive sports such as track and field, but swimming is their absolute weakness.

Buta's performance did not break Lin Yuan's prejudice. He might be the one whose swimming level was second only to Lin Yuan's among all the people Lin Yuan had ever met.

Lin Yuan didn't care when he saw Buta's smug expression as he swam past him.

As he moved forward, Lin Yuan simply picked up some wooden items or plastic boards floating on the water and gave them to the passengers who fell into the water and were obviously not good at swimming.

This was the only thing he could do, and the rest was to hope that the rescue ship would arrive soon.

But this half an hour is really too long, and probably more than half of the people will not survive until the rescue boat arrives.

What made Lin Yuan even more angry was that the large flatbed boat's balance completely collapsed because it was trying to avoid another small cruise ship coming towards it. Otherwise, the problem might have been avoided by the rescue boat arriving.

Someone on the small cruise ship must have seen the accident on the large flatbed boat, but they had no intention of coming to rescue. Instead, they quickly drove away.

Lin Yuan could understand that a small cruise ship had limited power and certainly could not save hundreds of people here, but human lives were at stake, so even if only a few could be saved, they should do their best.

The passengers who fell into the water at this time were truly in a desperate situation with no help. They watched the small cruise ship carrying their only hope sail away, and there was no sign of any other ships within the visible range.

To make matters worse, just as the passengers who fell into the water were struggling to hold on, the large flatboat made a strange creaking noise.

"Oh no, the worst has happened. Let's get away from here quickly." Lin Yuan immediately took GAKKI-chan and swam away.

This strange creaking sound was caused by the steel twisting inside the large flatbed ship.

This means that water is entering the cabin and further undermining the stability of the center of gravity.

I'm afraid that it won't be as Lin Yuan expected, that the large flatbed boat will just lie on its side silently, but will really turn upside down.

Lin Yuan's guess was immediately verified.

The hull tilted over 70 degrees with a creaking sound, but it did not stop. Instead, the tilt angle accelerated.

75 degrees…

80 degrees…

85 degrees…

90 degrees…

95 degrees!
When the angle exceeds 90 degrees, the balance is broken in an instant.

At this moment, the passengers who were not good at swimming and could only cling to the side of the large deck ship immediately felt that something was wrong:
"Look, the boat is tilting so fast. Is it dangerous?"

"It's completely sideways, exactly 90 degrees. No! It's still tilting towards us."

"Run! This isn't tilting at all, it's about to fall!"

The passengers on the side of the boat shouted warnings, notifying everyone to escape quickly.

So a large group of people immediately scattered and swam away, trying desperately to escape from the large deck ship that they had just regarded as their lifeline.

But it's too late, collapse often happens in an instant.

The entire hull quickly crashed to the right, as if it was an overwhelmed steel giant whose leg bones had been pulled out and fell down instantly.

"Ah! Help..."

The screams were interrupted in an instant before they could even be uttered.

I saw a large steel-made deck ship suddenly crashing down.

Lin Yuan saw with his own eyes that many passengers who fell into the water and did not have time to escape were hit hard on the head by the steel deck.

In an instant they were devoured, and no trace of them was seen again.

At this point, there was no time to care about the passengers who were hit by the water, because even the passengers who were not hit directly had to face this violent shock.

"Snapped!"

The capsizing of the large deck ship was like a giant's palm slamming on the water, or like a high-yield mine exploding underwater.

I saw a lot of huge water splashing high up, and then it was like a rainstorm, and large drops of water fell densely from the head of the forest in the distance.

Along with the "rain" came huge waves.

Although he was some distance away from the large flat boat, Lin Yuan still felt himself shaking violently up and down due to the waves.

This rapid up and down feeling is enough to make many people who are not good at swimming gulp down several mouthfuls of water.

If you panic and act in a flustered manner, big problems may arise.

Lin Yuan discovered with his naked eyes that at least one-fifth of the passengers originally floating on the water had decreased.

That's a hundred people, plus the passengers who were swept away in the first wave of people falling into the water. I'm afraid more than one hundred and fifty people are missing. It's really tragic.

But the worst is yet to come. If they don’t get rescued in time, the remaining hundreds of people will probably be in great danger.

Most people cannot swim across the 600-meter-distance from the shore.

Such a long distance consumes a lot of physical energy.

In addition, the hydrological conditions in the Congo River are very complicated. If you encounter any undercurrents or eddies, you can only leave it to fate.

So everyone could only tread water in the river to keep themselves afloat.

At this moment, someone suddenly pointed at the overturned large deck boat and said, "Look, the large deck boat is still floating on the water after it turned over!"

The large deck ship turned over and did not sink to the bottom of the water. Instead, a section of the bottom was exposed and it was half suspended in the water.

The rusty bottom of the large deck ship, covered with various shells and algae, was exposed in front of the passengers.

Faced with this scene, the surviving passengers became excited:
"Is it safe now? Can we go down to the bottom of the boat to save some energy?"

"Are you stupid? The boat is definitely taking on water. If everyone climbs on board, it will probably sink immediately."

"That's right! We can't climb up, or the boat will sink completely. But we can swim over and lean against the side of the boat to save some energy."

"That's a good idea. This way we can hold out a little longer. If a passing ship is willing to help us, we'll be saved."

Thinking of this, all the passengers who fell into the water, regardless of their swimming ability, swam hard towards the large deck boat.

“Shall we go too?” asked Saragama.

Lin Yuan nodded: "Let's save some energy. I don't know how long it will take Kane and the others to arrive."

Although Lin Yuan’s ability is enough to carry GAKKI across the 600-meter river to the shore.

But he knew that if he did so, Kane would most likely not prioritize rescuing the passengers who fell into the water, but would prioritize looking for his own traces. Only after confirming his own safety would he consider rescuing the passengers who fell into the water.

This is understandable. After all, for him, Lin Yuan’s safety is the most important thing. It is related to his career prospects, his salary, and even determines his personal safety.

The lives of Africans, no matter how many, were not that important to him.

Lin Yuan couldn't be so indifferent to human lives. There was no danger in the river anyway, so he might as well stay with these passengers.

In this way, once the cargo ship arrives, he can immediately order Kane and others to rescue people.

As I said, even if we can save one more life, it will be good.

So Lin Yuan took GAKKI-chan and swam towards the bottom of the boat with Saragama.

At this time, more and more people gathered near the bottom of the boat, and it became crowded.

Among this group of people, Lin Yuan was very happy to see that Buta and his son and Gary and his mother and son were safe and sound.

They were the last to go into the water, which prevented them from being hit by falling objects and saved them more energy.

After entering the water, they immediately moved away from the large deck ship to avoid the danger of being directly thrown into the water by the deck.

It can be said that every choice they made was the most correct, and it was no luck that they survived.

What surprised Lin Yuan even more was that he also saw the black guys who had held the barbecue party together last night, and they were all safe and sound.

These are all Lin Yuan’s new friends. Although their friendship is not very deep, Lin Yuan is still very happy to see that they are fine.

Just when Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, he was surprised to see:

Buta put her son into the arms of a friend and swam quickly towards a man who was swept away by the river 50 meters away.

"Who is that person? Buta's friend?" Lin Yuan asked.

The black man who was helping Buta's son tread water replied, "I don't know him. I've never seen him before. He's probably not a friend."

Buta approached the man from behind and put her arms around his neck tightly, saying, "Relax, I'll take you to a safe place."

With his comfort, the black man relaxed and swam back along with Buta's instructions.

After the man was sent back to a safe place at the bottom of the boat, Buta swam towards a black woman 40 meters away without saying a word.

"Buta, what are you doing?" Buta's black friend shouted.

"Can't you see? Save them! You're not good at swimming, so just protect yourselves. I'll go and see if I can save a few more people."

"Buta, are you crazy? The current in that body of water is very fast!"

"It's okay. I'm a Congo River snakehead fish. A little rapid can't do anything to me."

Amid the shouts, Buta quickly approached the woman.

Seeing this scene, Lin Yuan couldn't help but look at Buta with admiration.

When they first met, he was angry at the unruly Sap, who dressed himself well but let his son wear tattered clothes and walk barefoot.

But after last night's barbecue party, his impression of Buta has improved a lot.

Today, in the face of this shipwreck, he truly showed kindness and courage beyond ordinary people.

Lin Yuan recognized Sap from the bottom of his heart.

He also wanted to save more people like Buta, but he was unable to do so.

For Lin Yuan, ensuring GAKKI-chan's safety is the top priority.

There is a difference between close and distant relatives. Although saving more people is important, Lin Yuan couldn't imagine what would happen if something unexpected happened to GAKKI-chan when he left her aside to save others.
Even if it is handed over to Saragama, it is not 100% guaranteed.

Only by keeping GAKKI-chan by his side at all times can Lin Yuan feel truly at ease.

Of course, GAKKI could see what Lin Yuan was thinking.

She smiled and said, "You go and save the people. Don't worry about me. I can swim too. And with Saragama by my side, nothing will happen."

(End of this chapter)