Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 515: Dangers surround us, rescue arrives

When Buta dragged another person back to the bottom of the boat, he didn't know how many people he had saved.

The fifteenth?

Or the sixteenth?

Buta didn't calculate carefully. Compared with the passengers who were still struggling in the water, the number of people he could save was just a drop in the bucket.

"Where is Mr. Lin?" Buta was a little surprised to find that Lin Yuan was not there.

GAKKI replied: "He saw that you couldn't save so many people by yourself, so he mobilized some people who were good at swimming to help rescue them."

Following GAKKI's gaze, Buta discovered that under Lin Yuan's call, more than a dozen passengers who were good at swimming were working together to save people.

"Mr. Lin is smarter. If I rely on myself like this, I will be exhausted and can't save many people." Buta sighed.

"Mr. Buta, you underestimate the role you set as a role model. In fact, it is because your performance inspired everyone that so many people stood up and selflessly helped other passengers." said GAKKI.

In such a dangerous environment, saving people is not an instinct.

It is instinctive to conserve more energy to increase your chances of survival.

Before Buta started to rescue people, those who were also good at swimming did not go to rescue them, but it was not their fault.

It can be said that it was with Buta's encouragement that more and more people put aside their selfishness and joined the ranks of saving lives.

Seeing this, Buta said with satisfaction: "Now I can go and rescue the passengers who are swept away by the river."

Buta's eyes fell on the place more than a hundred meters away, where there were also many passengers who fell into the water.

But the water there seemed to be even more turbulent, making it impossible for the passengers to reach the bottom of the boat no matter how hard they struggled.

Hearing Buta's words, the friend who was helping him watch over his son frowned and said, "Buta, there may be a rip current there. I am worried that you will be in danger if you try to rescue people in that area.

It is already amazing that you saved people when it was safe, so why would you put yourself in danger to save others?
Didn't you see those crew members who should have been saving lives, but chose to hide aside to conserve their energy?"

Buta followed his friend's gaze and discovered that the crew members towing the cruise ship in front had gathered at the bottom of the ship at some point.

One of them, judging by his attire and age, seemed to be the captain of a towing cruise ship.

Just now, when the large deck ship capsized, the towing cruise ship was also flipped over by the huge force under the pull of the binding iron chains and sank into the water.

The passengers and crew on the towing cruise ship were also unable to escape unscathed and had to jump into the water and come to the bottom of the ship to wait for rescue.

But these crew members, who theoretically should be good swimmers, were just treading water on their own, using low-energy methods to save themselves, with no intention of saving anyone.

"It's their business if they don't save people. I can't just stand by and watch them die. If I do, I will remember those helpless eyes every night, and I won't be able to sing and dance in peace anymore." Buta shook his head.

"Wait for me to come back and I'll save a few more people." After saying that, Buta swam more than a hundred meters away.

Watching Buta swim quickly away, his friend could only shout, "Buta, be careful! If you can't hold on any longer, don't try to be brave."

Buta did not respond to his friend's call. He just estimated his own physical strength and continued to swim towards the boy of about eleven or twelve years old in front of him.

In previous rescues, Buta adhered to the following principles:
Rescue those who are close first, then those who are farther away.

In the same amount of time, giving priority to rescuing those who are closer can allow more people to be rescued.

There is nothing wrong with doing this. Although it is said that human life is equally precious, when it comes to actual implementation, Buta had to choose the option that could save more people, and could only say sorry in his heart to the passengers who were farther away.

But now that many of the passengers who were closer were being rescued, Buta began to think about the passengers who were farther away and in the more dangerous rapids.

His principle this time was to rescue the passengers who looked like they could no longer hold on.

The young man was obviously exhausted, and his movements in the water began to become flustered and weak.

Buta knew that if he didn't hurry over, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

When Buta approached the young man more than 30 meters away, he clearly felt that the water was flowing faster and the waves were bigger.

In such a situation, people who are not good at swimming will not be able to protect themselves at all and will be swept away by the water.

Fortunately, Buta grew up by the Congo River, so swimming and fishing were just everyday activities for him.

Before becoming a sapu, Buta also worked in shipwreck salvage.

For their group, those ships that sank in shallow waters were huge treasure chests.

You never know what treasures you might find in there, and that's how Buta earned the money he needed to become a Sapp.

He is the best swimmer among his peers and can dive to a depth of 25 meters without protective gear!
It is difficult for ordinary people to dive to a depth of 10 meters, and 15 to 17 meters is a depth that only professional divers can dive to with their bare hands.

Buta can dive to a depth of 23 meters, which makes many ships that others cannot salvage become his personal property.

Buta has made a lot of money from shipwrecks over the years, but he also knows that he is making money from the dead, and he can only earn enough returns from the suffering of others.

Therefore, Buta has always felt guilty in his heart. If he could save more people today, he would feel more at ease.

At this time, the boy's condition became even more critical.

His physical strength seemed to be exhausted, and he could only instinctively wave his arms, slapping the water surface, making dull sounds.

The waves hit his cheeks, making each breath more difficult for him, and river water kept pouring into his mouth.

Lack of oxygen and choking on water made the already physically weak teenager even more unable to resist the turbulent water flow.

The boy's body began to rise and fall involuntarily with the water flow, and he could not even ensure that his head remained above the water.

This is the last step when drowning is about to happen. If no one lends him a hand, he will be completely swallowed by the river in less than a minute.

At this critical moment, Buta finally swam to the boy's side.

He hugged the boy from behind and pulled him out of the water by pedaling hard.

After briefly calming the boy down, Buta began to swim back with him.

It has to be said that swimming with a person in such a rapid would consume several times more energy.

Buta had to use all his strength to finally bring the boy back to the bottom of the boat.

When Buta returned, everyone could clearly see that his breathing was getting heavier and he looked visibly exhausted.

But seeing Buta's safe return, his friend was still happy and said, "Buta, you are really amazing. The water was so fast there that no one dared to go there to rescue people."

Buta smiled and said, "Of course! I'm the best swimmer in Congo! I can't just stand by and watch someone in distress die just because they're in danger!"

Sap men will never give up showing off in a high-profile manner, and pride is their underlying color.

At this time, the frightened boy finally came to his senses. With red eyes, he said, "Thank you uncle for saving me. Without you, I would have died."

"It's just a small favor. I'm glad to see you're safe!" said Buta.

"Uncle...can you save my mother?" the boy said with some difficulty.

In his sight, Buta saw a black woman in red clothes struggling hard in the rapids area a hundred meters away.

"Buta! You are very tired. You should take a rest, otherwise you will be in danger." The friend immediately dissuaded her.

Looking at the boy's expectant eyes that seemed to want to say something but couldn't, Buta felt as if something was biting hard into his heart.

He lost his mother when he was young, and he knew how much hardship a child without a mother would have to endure while growing up.

His son also has no mother, and letting his son grow up in an environment without maternal love is also a concern for Buta.

Now he didn't want the young man in front of him to lose his mother like he and his father did.

So Buta estimated his own physical strength and nodded: "Wait, I'll go get your mother."

"Buta! Don't be impulsive!" a friend hurriedly advised.

"I'm not impulsive. I've calculated carefully. I should have enough strength to save her mother. Believe me, I was raised by the Congo River!" As he spoke, Buta was already swimming hard out.

Entering the rapids again, Buta clearly felt more tired than before.

Maybe it was because of his declining physical strength, or maybe it was because the water flow rate had changed again, but the result was that Buta felt something was not right.

He hesitated: Should I go back?
Looking at the struggling woman twenty meters ahead, Buta gritted his teeth and said, "Let's fight!" He had taken risks before.

In the past, I was willing to risk my life for money. Now that I can save a life and a family, should I back off?

So Buta plucked up his courage and continued to swim towards the woman.

As usual, he walked around behind the woman, put his hands under her arms, hugged her, and said while treading water: "Madam, please relax. I'm here to save you. You are safe. Don't struggle. I will take you to a safe place."

After hearing Buta's words, the panicked woman suddenly relaxed: someone finally came to save her.

However, unlike the woman who felt relieved as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw, Buta fell into even greater anxiety.

As soon as he put his arms around the woman's body, he immediately realized something was wrong.

This bucket-like waist is three times thicker than that of an ordinary woman!

Don’t think that fat people float more easily. That is only true if they are good at swimming. Otherwise, all long-distance swimmers would be fat.

For Buta, the current difficulty is that swimming back with such a heavy woman who is larger and has greater water resistance will inevitably consume more physical strength.

In this case, he might no longer have the physical strength he thought was barely enough.

But now the arrow was on the string and had to be shot, so he could only hold on to the woman and swim back.

Buta paddled with all his might, bending his legs and kicking hard.

After finishing one breaststroke, he found that he had only moved forward less than 60 centimeters.

This result left Buta speechless.

Under normal circumstances, the distance that a breaststroke can travel is usually around 1.5 to 2 meters, and swimming athletes like Buta can further increase this distance through training.

Buta knew that he could advance 2 meters with one movement in the past. Even when he was carrying the boy just now, he could advance 5 meters.

Now he found that the distance he traveled with each movement was suddenly shortened to less than half.

This meant that to return to the bottom of the boat, he would need to expend at least twice as much energy as before, and it was obvious that he did not have that much energy.

Then Buta's face began to become solemn. This thick-skinned guy who usually remained optimistic even if the sky fell, finally couldn't laugh anymore.

There was no way out at this point, and Buta could only paddle hard. He could only hope that when he got close to the bottom of the boat, his friends would see that his condition was not good and come to help him.

Or perhaps it's the hope that when people are in desperate situations, they will burst out with some extraordinary physical strength.

But no matter what, Buta had to fight hard.

Buta paddled hard, overcoming the obstacles of the rapids and swimming towards the bottom of the boat.

But obviously, this time it was not going well.

He could no longer maintain his previous route and was carried downstream by the current.

This was simply adding insult to injury for Buta. The cheaper route meant the journey would be longer, which would require more physical strength.

He was already short of strength, and now he was almost despairing.

But Buta couldn't care less now. He had to swim out of the rapids first so that his friends could help him.

Otherwise, if you are in such a dangerous area, your friends will be helpless to help you.

So Buta swam forward with all his might, kicking his legs with all his might. This was the first time he had tried so hard since he learned to swim. But soon Buta found something wrong. He found that not only did he not move forward, but his body began to reverse and fall downward.

It seemed as if there was an invisible giant hand under the water, pulling him down.

It's a whirlpool!
This horrifying conclusion came to Buta's mind.

Strictly speaking, this was not a vortex with strong suction, but for Buta, who was already exhausted, it was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

After struggling hard for a few times without success, the woman in his arms realized that something was wrong.

The woman, who had been relatively calm, began to struggle to get up and hugged Buta tightly: "What should I do? Save me! Puff~Puff~Puff~"

The violent struggle caused him to choke on water.

The choking on water made the woman even more nervous. She had completely lost her mind and wrapped herself tightly around Buta like a huge octopus, making it difficult for him to move.

This was a nightmare for Buta. He was hugged by a strong woman and could not break free at all.

So the two of them kept spinning in the whirlpool and were sucked to the bottom of the water.

As he sank deeper into the water, countless thoughts flashed through Buta's mind:
"Is this the end? Am I drowning? Is this what it feels like to have water in your lungs? It's so uncomfortable!"

"They always say that those who drown are good swimmers. I didn't believe it before, but today I can't help but believe it."

"They say the bodies of people who drowned look very ugly. I hope they don't find mine. We in Sap must always look bright and beautiful."

"I don't know what my son will do after I'm gone. I hope he can survive. I was younger than him back then, but I grew up on my own, didn't I?"

Buta didn't know why these messy thoughts flashed through his mind uncontrollably before he died.

"Am I hallucinating? Why do I see a man swimming towards me?"

"How could there be someone here? We're in the middle of a whirlpool."

But the figure swam faster and faster, and kept getting closer to him.

"Is this still a human? He's so fast, just like a fish!"

As the man got closer, Buta gradually saw his face clearly.

Is that Mr. Lin?

Is he here to save me?

Buta felt a surge of ecstasy in his heart, but soon felt a little depressed.

Damn! Is he so good at swimming?

Is this still justified?

It’s good that he danced so well last night, but I didn’t expect that he can swim better than me, who grew up in the Congo River?

Lin Yuan swam quickly behind the two of them and pushed them hard.

Buta immediately felt a strong force coming from behind, as if a train was pushing him from behind.

Soon, they were pushed out of the vortex's suction range and stopped spinning in circles.

Then Lin Yuan pushed them from below, moving towards the water surface.

The speed of rising was very fast. In just five or six seconds, Lin Yuan pushed them back to the surface.

Back to the surface, Buta and the woman coughed violently while greedily breathing in the fresh air.

Lin Yuan did not give them a chance to rest, but pulled the two of them and swam forward quickly.

Buta, who was being pulled by Lin Yuan, began to doubt her life: Is there an engine installed in Mr. Lin's body?

I was carrying this black lady, and we were almost unable to swim anymore. We could only move forward 60 centimeters with each kick.

You are now carrying two people with you, and you can swim faster than I did before?
Even if Buta didn't want to admit defeat, he had to admit that Lin Yuan's water ability was indeed better than his.

He was exhausted and could only relax and lie down, allowing Lin Yuan to pull him forward.

When the three returned to the flatbed boat, everyone immediately burst into cheers:

"That's great! Mr. Buta is finally okay! My heart almost stopped when I saw you being swept away by the whirlpool just now."

"Mr. Lin's appearance was so timely. I can't believe that someone could have rescued Mr. Buta and the woman under such circumstances."

"Mr. Lin is awesome! Mr. Buta is awesome too!"

Everyone was in the water, treading water constantly to keep themselves from sinking. If they were on the shore now, there would definitely be thunderous applause.

At this time, Buta's son was staring at his father with red eyes. He bit his lips tightly and said nothing.

Buta said with some guilt, "Son, I'm sorry. I overestimated myself and almost got into an accident, causing you to become an orphan."

Tears finally flowed down his son's face, and he said forcefully: "I'm not blaming you, I'm blaming myself.

You risked your life to save people, what's wrong with that?
You are a hero and I am proud of you.

I blame myself for being too weak and not being able to help you, and for not being able to save you when you got into an accident."

Hearing his son's words, Buta's eyes turned red. He didn't shed tears when he was facing life-threatening danger just now, but now he almost couldn't hold back his tears.

"Son, you're great, but you're still young. When you grow up, you'll definitely be even better than your dad.

"I'm really lucky today, and Mr. Lin is here. I'll definitely thank him after I'm safely out of danger," said Buta.

"Are you okay?" Lin Yuan swam over and asked.

"Very good, it feels good to have survived a disaster. If you hadn't saved me, I would have gone to heaven now. I wonder how gorgeous the clothes there must be." After being safe, Buta returned to his calm and composed appearance.

"We are not safe yet. The bottom of the boat cannot support so many of us. It will probably sink completely soon." Lin Yuan said.

Lin Yuan was telling the truth. Although no one climbed onto the bottom of the boat to exert more pressure, they just leaned against the bottom of the boat to provide a little buoyancy support.

But after all, there were hundreds of people surrounding the bottom of the boat, making it impossible to get through.

Many people couldn't even get to the side and had to take turns resting on the bottom of the boat to replenish their energy.

The large deck ship had originally capsized due to water ingress, and even after turning upside down, it was still slowly taking in water.

So the hull was still sinking slowly, and everyone felt that the bottom of the ship had sunk a lot more than at the beginning.

This scene was like a huge dark cloud, hanging over everyone's heart.

Once the bottom of the ship has completely sunk, what will everyone do?

"Can't you tell me some good news?" Buta said helplessly.

Hearing Buta's words, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "There is good news too. Our rescuers should be arriving soon."

"There's help? Where did you find help?" Buta shouted happily.

Hearing Buta's words, the passengers around him also became excited:

"Is there really a rescue? Mr. Lin!"

"When will the rescue arrive? Who will rescue us?"

"But there are so many of us. Can they really save us?"

Lin Yuan said loudly: "Everyone, please hold on a little longer. I already felt something was wrong before the ship sank, and I contacted the rescue ship in advance. Everyone, please believe me, help is coming soon!"

"Long live Mr. Lin!"

"Everyone please hold on, we are almost rescued!"

"Don't just think about ourselves. For those who still have the strength, find a way to save a few more people!"

"Yes, Mr. Buta is so exhausted, but he is still trying his best to save people. It would be unreasonable for us to just watch like this, right?"

At this moment, many people took the initiative to swim out, trying to find ways to rescue the passengers who were still struggling in the water in the distance.

The cruise ship crew who had been standing by and watching finally began to take action.

For a moment, the water was full of passengers rescuing each other.

Seeing this scene, Lin Yuan and Buta finally felt relieved. They no longer had to worry that relying on the strength of just a few people would be a drop in the bucket for the rescue.

Buta smiled and asked Lin Yuan, "How long will it take for the rescue boat to arrive?"

"It should be here soon. It's almost time." Lin Yuan replied.

"Can't we just confirm where they are?" Buta complained.

"How to confirm it? The phone is soaked in water." Lin Yuan asked helplessly.

This was 2004, and cell phones weren't waterproof.

If a mobile phone is directly immersed in the Congo River water like this and you dare to turn it on directly to make a call, the motherboard circuit will be burned instantly and it will turn into a piece of waste brick.

Many people know that after a mobile phone is soaked in water, you can only wipe the surface dry first, then put it in a ventilated place, and wait until all the internal moisture has dried before turning it on.

If you can put the phone in a rice jar, it will dry faster, but in any case, you won’t be able to turn it on again in a few days.

Buta also knew that Lin Yuan was telling the truth, he could only sigh:
"I didn't expect that I would still have to rely on you in the end, whether it was because you saved my life or because you found a rescue ship. Compared to you, I am really useless."

Lin Yuan consoled her, "You're also amazing. You saved 19 people today! Think about it, people escaped a disaster because of you. Isn't that something to be proud of?"

Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Buta immediately smiled happily.

But he quickly asked, "How many people did you save?"

"Me? Uh... 18."

"Hahaha! Although you dance better than me and swim a little better than me, I'm still better at saving people." Buta immediately became energetic.

"I told you, you are pretty good too!" Lin Yuan continued to encourage.

After talking with Buta for a few more words, Lin Yuan returned to GAKKI-chan's side.

Saragama, who had been guarding Gakki-chan, suddenly asked, "Mr. Lin, why did you lie to him? You clearly saved 41 people today."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I hope he'll be happier."

Saragama said no more, his eyes were complicated and no one knew what he was thinking in his heart.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~"

At this moment, there was a sudden roar from upstream, and everyone's eyes immediately looked in that direction.

They saw two white speedboats cutting through the water, splashing countless white waves, and rushing towards them.

Although these two speedboats were not big, it was impossible for them to accommodate so many people.

But as the speedboat approached, everyone became more excited.

"There really is help! We're going to be saved!"

The passengers in the water shouted in ecstasy.

(End of this chapter)