Bone-piercingly cold.The briny seawater stabbed into his nostrils like countless steel needles, ruthlessly flooding his lungs. An invisible, colossal force twisted and ripped at his body, dragging him down into a lightless abyss. His consciousness flailed amidst the agony of suffocation, the last remaining image being the startled face of the teaching assistant, Wu Feng, rapidly blurring and shattering before a colossal wave..."Gah—!"Ao Yu jolted upright in bed, his heart hammering against his ribs like a wild drum. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his thin T-shirt, clinging clammily to his skin. He gasped, greedily gulping down the slightly musty air of his dorm room, each breath trembling with post-survival shock.A dream.The fatal cold, the lungs full of saltwater, the despair-inducing force… It had felt terrifyingly real. But what was even more terrifying—His eyes darted around the room.The cheap metal bed frame digging into his back, the faint sound of ocean waves from outside the window, and… the cheap digital clock on his bedside table, its faint red glow displaying: 3:47AM.No. Itwasn'ta dream!The numbers were identical—to the very second—to the time he had jolted awakeinthe "dream"!A chill shot up his spine, exploding at the top of his skull. That wasn't a dream! It was… a premonition? Or something far more sinister?The shadow of death coiled around his neck. Ao Yu touched the back of his neck, then threw off the thin blanket, his bare feet hitting the icy concrete floor. He couldn't stay here. He had to leave. Now. Immediately!He scrambled into his clothes and burst out of his dorm room. The predawn "White Shark's Prophetic Dream" training base was deathly still, only the eerie green glow of the emergency exit sign at the end of the corridor flickering like a beast's eye. His target was clear—the dock, where the reserve speedboat was moored!
A sea breeze, heavy with the scents of rust and salt, hit his face, tangling his hair. The wooden planks of the dock groaned under his feet with every step. The dark sea in the distance seemed to harbor a leviathan waiting to devour everything.There!In a few hours, that azure "wall" would rise from there and crush it all!The reserve speedboat sat quietly in its simple berth. The key… the key from his dream was in that small, waterproof metal box beside it!His fingers trembled slightly with tension and fear as they brushed against the cold edge of the metal box.The key is really here.Ao Yu muttered to himself,It's really... not a dream...He tried to comfort himself, the thought a desperate mantra:Get the key, start the engine, get out! Just get away from this island…"Halt!"A woman's voice, cold and leaving no room for doubt, pierced the night's silence like an icicle, nailing Ao Yu squarely in the back.He froze, then slowly turned around.The moonlight outlined Wu Feng's figure. She wore simple athletic clothes, her hair disheveled by the sea wind, her brows furrowed. Her gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, locked firmly on Ao Yu and the key in his hand."Ao Yu?" Her voice held a trace of confusion, but mostly professional alertness. "What are you doing at this hour? During the training period, unauthorized island departure is strictly prohibited. And using public vessels is absolutely forbidden!""Assistant Wu Feng!"Ao Yu's voice was hoarse with desperation, laced with an unconscious tremor."Listen to me! We must go! Get away from here! A tsunami! A tsunami is coming! The entire island will be swamped! Everyone will die!"His words tumbled out in a frantic rush, an attempt to transfer the overwhelming terror consuming him.Wu Feng's brows furrowed deeper. She took a step forward, her eyes scanning his deathly pale face and sweat-beaded forehead."A tsunami? Ao Yu, you look terrible. Did you have a nightmare? Or are you feeling ill?"Her tone softened slightly, carrying a thread of concern, but the bedrock of her duty held her firm."The island has a perfect comprehensive tsunami early-warning system. If there was any danger, we would have been notified immediately and an evacuation would be underway. Now, return to your dorm. Stealing the keys is a serious violation of rules!""That's useless! It won't work!"Ao Yu nearly shouted, the countdown to death ticking audibly in his mind."Believe me! I saw it! I... I was dead! Just now! Drowned by the tsunami! Right here at this dock! You were also—""It seems you were badly shaken by the diving session this afternoon,"Wu Feng interjected,
attempting a soothing tone."I'll take you to the infirmary at first light. For now, go back and sleep.""It's really not that simple,"Ao Yu pleaded, his body trembling."Look, if this turns out to be a mistake, I'll take full responsibility. But we must leave now...""Enough!"Wu Feng's voice sharpened abruptly, cutting through his near-delirious ramble with stern authority."Ao Yu! Get a grip! Your current state is highly unstable! I don't know what hallucinations you're experiencing, but they are not an excuse to steal a boat and abandon the island! Return to your dorm. Now! Or I will have no choice but to report this incident!"Her gaze was icy and unyielding, an impenetrable wall standing firmly between Ao Yu and his only perceived path to survival.Despair, like an icy tide, instantly drowned Ao Yu. Communication was futile! Time... was almost up!And then—A vibration, incredibly subtle yet soul-shattering, traveled up from the soles of his feet.Hum...It was followed by a distant, dull roar, like rolling thunder.Rumble...The sound grew closer, louder, more urgent, carrying an aura of absolute annihilation as it crushed the night's silence!Wu Feng whipped her head around toward the sea, the sternness on her face replaced by stunned disbelief.Ao Yu also froze, his blood seeming to freeze solid. Slowly, with a despair that felt fated, he turned his gaze toward the dark expanse of ocean that had devoured him in his "dream."It was here.Not a dream.An indescribably massive wall of blue-black rose silently from the horizon in the dim light of dawn. It towered into the clouds, blotting out the newly pale skyline, advancing with an earth-shattering, crushing momentum toward tiny White Sand Island, toward this fragile dock!"What... what is that?!" Wu Feng's voice lost its composure for the first time, filled with utter horror. She instinctively took a step back, her pupils dilated with fear."Tsunami..." Ao Yu murmured, his voice as light as a sigh yet cuttingly cold. "I told you..."Before the wave itself arrived, a furious gale tore through the air, making it hard to stand. Wu Feng's long hair whipped wildly in the wind as she tried to grab the dock's railing, but the wall of destruction was already upon them!"No—!" Wu Feng let out a short, sharp cry as her body was lifted by the violent airflow.
Ao Yu's final sight was of Wu Feng's face, twisted by shock, confusion, and the primal fear that instantly surfaced in the face of such immense natural power. That face perfectly overlapped with the image seared into his soul just before sinking in his "dream"!And then—The cold, heavy, boundless darkness and saltiness consumed him once more.The loop had begun.