The azure blue sky was clear without a trace of dust, and a plane heading towards America appeared similar to a silver flying fish in the sky.
Beneath was the boundless Pacific Ocean, where clouds could be seen from a distance, and the sea and sky was of the same color. Ripples emerged in the vicinity where the white clouds floated by. Everything seemed so quiet and dream-like.
It was Xue Yue's first time taking a plane and by right, it ought to be novel and exciting for him. However, his mood was unusually heavy. Even though the outside scenery was picturesque with fog and mist shrouding the mountains, it did not enter his view.
Seagulls chirped past one by one as they traversed through the sandbanks and island before disappearing into the vast sky.
"Dad, hang on!"
Xue Yue's eyes were listless as he felt confused. When he recalled the bits and pieces of his days with his father, tears gradually clouded his eyes.
"Dad, do I have a mother? Where is she? Why did she abandon us…"
Xue Yue came from a single-parented family and he was raised by his father from a young age. Never had he seen his mother since he became sensible. He had frequently questioned his father about his mother, but he would only get a one-sentence response every single time!
"I've done something wrong towards your mother… but you can look for her yourself when you grow up!"
This simple sentence had accompanied Xue Yue throughout his ignorant childhood days as he grew up to become a young boy. However, ever since he reached the age of ten, he had rarely mentioned his mother.
As time passed by, Xue Yue graduated from highschool!
Ten days ago, the college entrance examination was released. Xue Yue was admitted into the Mechanical Engineering program at Hua Qing University with a high score of 699.
Just as Xue Yue was immersed in the joy of passing his examinations, his father who suddenly received a special mission in March had returned all of a sudden. However, he returned only to see Xue Yue for the last time!
His father, Xue Hanglin was terminally ill!
Xue Yue could not accept this fact. His father was still healthy before his departure, so how did he end up with such a condition within the three months they had been apart?
Before Xue Yue could immerse himself in sadness, Xue Hanglin brought up the request of wanting to meet his mother for the last time. As a result, Xue Yue restrained his sorrow and embarked on a trip to America to fulfill his father's last wishes.
"Hey lad, this stone of yours is pretty interesting!" just as Xue Yue was immersed in grief, a gray-haired old man seated right beside him had suddenly said in a surprised tone.
Xue Yue had taken off his outerwear due to stuffiness, revealing the T-shirt he wore along with the stone hung on his chest.
"Grandpa, are you referring to this?" The stone was only the size of a glass marble and it was dark and unremarkable. Xue Yue held it in his hands and forced a smile.
"What a strange stone it is. I've never seen it before…" The old man leaned over and sized up the stone. The more he looked at it, the more surprised he was. He had dealt with stones his entire life and yet, he had never seen such a stone before.
"Haha!" Xue Yue smiled without speaking. His father brought this stone back from the moon and to be exact, it was a stone from the moon.
Before his departure this morning, his father had revealed some secrets to him. His disappearance for the past three months was because he had gone to complete a secret mission. And as for the nature of this secret mission, it was to travel up the moon!
Xue Yue was surprised at the secret. He knew his father was an astronaut, but he never expected his father's disappearance for the past three months was because he was going up to the moon.
With China's current technology, were they able to reach the moon?
Moreover, there was no news of China successfully reaching the moon.
His father had not elaborated on the details and merely gifted him the stone, telling him, "It is the highest honor for an astronaut to represent the country and land on the moon. I am content with my life and now that I'm nearing my deathbed, I shall give you this stone I brought back from the moon as a memento. Having this by your side is similar to me staying by your side…"
His father's words were still echoing in his ears and Xue Yue took back the stone from the old man before tightly gripping it in his hands. Immediately after, tears started to overflow once again!
"Young man, you…"
Just then, the plane suddenly shook violently and the whole aircraft started to shake. The sudden change alerted Xue Yue and the other passengers on the plane.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?"
The plane was currently flying at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters high, where they touched neither the sky nor the ground. If an accident were to happen at this altitude, it would be a catastrophic crash. Therefore, any possibility of an accident would cause their faces to turn ashen.
All the passengers suddenly panicked and screams echoed throughout the cabins!
Just then, several beautiful flight attendants rushed over from the staff lounge and started to comfort the frightened passengers.
"Dear passengers, please do not panic. The plane merely encountered an airstream, and it will pass very soon. There will be no danger…"
This broadcast also sounded at an appropriate time, "Dear passengers, please fasten your seatbelts and refrain from walking around!"
However, the appeasement from the flight attendants and the broadcast did not improve the passenger's frightened state of mind. The reason being, the aircraft's wings started to tremble even more violently and there were huge movements within the aircraft itself. It would tilt to the left for a moment, then tilt to the right soon after. Moreover, the huge clouds had covered the wings and it was completely hazy outside the windows.
"Oh my god, this is my first time flying on an airplane and I'm encountering such a situation?" The Malaysia Airlines incident was still vivid in his mind, just like it had happened yesterday. Xue Yue's complexion paled in fright and his hands gripped tightly on the seat to the extent his knuckles turned white!
"Dear passengers…"
Even at that conjuncture, several flight attendants were still comforting the passengers. However, the next moment, the plane suddenly rolled and those flight attendants flew out like a derailed train.
The situation turned for the worse and ear-piercing screams sounded throughout the cabin.
"Nothing will happen. Everything will be fine…"
The violent rolling caused Xue Yue discomfort. His stomach seemed to be like an overturning sea and he nearly vomited the lunch he ate earlier on the plane. His brain had already short-circuited and only his mouth was still subconsciously muttering some words.
Bang!
All of a sudden, the plane seemed to have crashed into something and a loud noise could be heard. Xue Yue saw black before his eyes and his head appeared to have fiercely collided against a speeding train. A severe pain took over and he lost consciousness soon after.
"Where is this…?"
When Xue Yue regained consciousness once again, it was due to the burning pain. He opened his eyes in a daze and felt that his whole body was aching and burning, making him feel uncomfortable.
"I'm… I'm not dead?"
The severe pain had invaded his nerves and his consciousness was completely cleared up. He then realized that since he could feel pain, it meant that… he should still be alive.
Alive!
What could be more exciting than that?
The surprise he felt was indescribable. Xue Yue tolerated the severe pain and tried to stand up with the support of his two arms. Who knew he would crash on the ground as he could not muster a single ounce of strength.
Even though he's alive, his condition was very bad!
But even so, Xue Yue was still glad. He struggled to flip over and started to check his surroundings. He was then greeted by soft sand all around.
It was currently the afternoon and the white sandy beach appeared very dazzling under the sunlight.
"Sand… a shore?"
Xue Yue slightly narrowed his eyes.. What he saw was green plants, rolling mountains, a long and narrow coastland, and…. an endless sea.
"Is this… an island?"
The sight before his eyes had spoken for itself.
"I have survived by luck after the plane crash and drifted to this island?" After a brief moment of daze, Xue Yue tried his best to recover a calm state of mind and his brain also started to work quickly.
However, after he had ascertained the current situation, Xue Yue did not know if he should laugh or cry. It was certainly worth celebrating since he managed to survive from the plane crash. But the problem was, he was left behind on a deserted small island and who knew if he would end up as a real life example of Robinson Crusoe and remain alone on a desolate and uninhabited island for the remaining span of his life!
Moreover, his father was still waiting for him. How could he possibly continue drifting on a deserted island?
As he thought of his father, Xue Yue hastily looked at his chest. The stone was missing!
"Ahh!!"
Xue Yue was overcome by sorrow. He was stranded on a deserted island and it was unknown if he could still manage to meet his father for the last time. What's more, he had lost the stone given to him!
Xue Yue felt a twisting pain. How did things end up like this?
It was unknown how much time had passed before Xue Yue finally calmed down. He silently told himself that no matter what happened next, he would stay alive. Since he had managed to escape death, then he should live tenaciously.
After nearly an hour's worth of rest, his physical strength had more or less recovered. Xue Yue struggled to stand up and started to check his injuries. However, he found it strange that despite feeling burning pain and weakness in the body, he did not have a single wound or even a scratch.
"The plane crashed and fell from a height of tens of thousands of meters and yet, I'm not injured in the slightest. This…" Xue Yue found it inconceivable.
Despite the shocking discovery, Xue Yue realized that if he did not act now, he would have to spend the night on the beach when he saw that the sun was about to set.
Xue Yue discovered that the island was bigger than usual when he surveyed his surroundings. Based on his sight, there was a rolling and towering mountain range, with various tropical vegetation growing atop. Also, the island's surroundings seemed to be encircled by high cliffs. It was only right in front of his eyes where there was a seven to eight meter wide opening, similar to a low valley that slanted towards the mountains.
On the edge of the beach, he could see some 'trash' pushed closer to the shore, undulating along with the waves. There were bottles and cans, rag cartons, and also express packages. Xue Yue's eyes brightened and started to look through the pieces of trash one by one.
Bear, from the television series "Man vs. Wild" once said that any item can play a huge role for surviving in the wild. Therefore, trash from society can be considered very valuable!
After he individually examined the trash, Xue Yue found several plastic bottles and cans. Other than that, there was only some plastic foam and this caused him to feel somewhat depressed. What he wished for the most on this deserted island was a knife.
"What a pity…"
Ultimately, he picked up the several plastic bottles and buried them halfway under the sand near a coconut tree that was further away from the shore. It was to prevent these bottles from being blown away by the sea breeze. Soon after, he walked up the lush mountains through the gap.
The island was filled with tropical plants, with glistening coconuts, bananas and several other unnameable tropical trees. In particular, after he saw a few banana trees filled with bananas, his nervous heart finally relaxed. At the very least, he did not have to worry about starving for a short period of time with these bananas here.