The skies were turning darker by the hour. In the midst of ruthless winds, rainfall and core-shaking thunders, the world stomached nature’s wrath wordlessly. Their wavering raft inched forward above the turbulent waves. They could capsize at any given moment.

Tsukino Kyoko was curled up against Xia Lei’s chest. The man radiated a warmth that eased her shudders.

Xia Lei was blessed with a stronger immune system. Courtesy of the AE capsules, his body was able to get used to extreme environments. He wouldn’t face any bodily malfunction risks in lower or higher temperature. During his time on the Dawang snow mountain, he had offered all clothes on his back to Tang Yuyan in the merciless cold. Yet, he was able to maintain his combat abilities. The chilly air brought by the storm was just a piece of cake to Xia Lei.

While Tsukino Kyoko had the luxury of his warmth, E’er Demutu was not so lucky. The pitter-patter of fat rain droplets against his body had stripped him of warmth. He was reduced into a pile of trembling limbs in a corner. Arms around across his chest tightly, E’er Demutu tried his best to conserve heat. But despite his efforts, it was barely sufficient. His condition was deteriorating by the second. His skin was turning purple due to his slowing blood circulation. At this rate, he wasn’t going to last till Dagua Island.

Xia Lei nudged Tsukino Kyoko. “Hey, can you move a little?”

“Why?” Despite her question, the female ninja had already pried herself away from his chest.

Xia Lei quickly stripped off his top and bottom, pushing the pile of fabric against E’er Demutu’s front. “Put these on!”

“But boss…What… about… you? I can’t… take that…” E’er Demutu muttered with clattering teeth. In his perception, Xia Lei was as cold as he was. How could he take Xia Lei’s last line of defence?

“Quit bullshitting and put them on!” Xia Lei’s tone was stern, not about to accept otherwise.

“But…” E’er Demutu wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“Trust me, I’m not cold at all. One more clothing or one more clothing less makes no difference to me but it can save your life. Put it on and rest against my back!” instructed Xia Lei.

It was only then that E’er Demutu reluctantly put them on and inched closer to Xia Lei’s body. The contact immediately flooded him with comforting warmth. Xia Lei was so warm. E’er Demutu was warm, not only physically but also in his heart. There were water tracks all over his face but no one could tell.

Tsukino Kyoko returned herself to his front. While she noted that Xia Lei had given all his clothes to E’er Demutu, he was still radiating as much heat as before. It was almost as if he was a rechargeable electric blanket. At this point, Xia Lei was only left with a triangular brief that reserved him some modesty. Laid flat against his front, Tsukino Kyoko’s nose and lips hovered above his sensitive groin. Her periodical huffs of warm breath were directed to the area between his thighs. His masculinity seemed to expand with the hot puffs of warmth, offering Tsukino Kyoko a show of its subtle changes over time.

Xia Lei willed to scoot backwards but E’er Demutu was pliant against his back. There was no room to move.

Tsukino Kyoko seemed to have picked up on his intentions, a teasing smirk forming on her lips.

That immediately struck a nerve. Xia Lei tossed her a sharp glare, a stern warning to not try anything else.

“Boss.” E’er Demutu suddenly spoke up.

Xia Lei inexplicably flinched at it. “Yes?”

“Are you nervous?” E’er Demutu’s tone was full of curiosity.

Xia Lei tried to calm his nerves. “Is that so? Perhaps. This weather is crazy…”

“I am very nervous too. It’s normal.” E’er Demutu failed to notice anything wrong with the situation. He lifted his chin to look at the dark skies above and sighed. “Boss, if I survive this ordeal… I’ll return home and get married, build a family with two children. I’ll train them well and have them serve you as well.”

“Please don’t say things like this. You’ll survive this, we’ll survive this. We still have a lot of things to do, please hang in there…”

“Boss, is your body feeling alright?” questioned E’er Demutu once again.

“Uh… No. Actually, my stomach kinda hurts now,” replied Xia Lei and then he reached over and twisted Tsukino Kyoko’s ears.

The motion lifted Tsukino Kyoko’s skull, allowing E’er Demutu to meet her eyes in the nick of time as he coincidentally spared a glance back.

“Kyoko, you should help rub his tummy. If I was a chick, I would’ve done it already,” huffed E’er Demutu indignantly.

“Mm, sure. Where are you hurting, boss?” Tsukino Kyoko put on a straight face.

“No need, no need. I’m feeling alright already.” Xia Lei had the sudden urge to throw E’er Demutu and then Tsukino Kyoko back into the water.

“Boss, what do you plan to do when we reach Dagua Island?” asked E’er Demutu.

“I’m going to fuck them over, of course!” Xia Lei gnawed his lip. “That young soldier died because of us, we need to avenge him! Ah- “

“Boss, are you hurting again?” E’er Demutu called over his shoulder, “Kyoko, do your part better!”

“Alright!” Came Tsukino Kyoko’s reply.

Xia Lei had nothing better to say.

As the raft continued to swim forward and braved the storm, stories above it seemed to accumulate endlessly.

There was the trademark Japanese courtesy and gentleness in Tsukino Kyoko’s voice as she asked, “Boss, how do you feel? Is my rubbing alright? Does your stomach still hurt?”

Tsukino Kyoko darted a tongue to wet her lips. “If it still hurts, I can go on.”

“No, no, no. I’m feeling much better.” Xia Lei could feel his head start to spin.

Tsukino Kyoko giggled and snuggled closer to his chest. But this time, she was quiet.

The rescue raft seemed to have calmed down, all three of its passengers deep in their own trances. E’er Demutu imagined what his future spouse would look like. Tsukino Kyoko was busy making up filthy scenarios in her mind. Xia Lei, on the other hand, was thinking about nothing. His empty head bore no thoughts, a canvas of blankness after their earlier stress-filled ordeal.

Not long after, a ray of light began to manifest on the eastern horizon. The morning had arrived and the rain had stopped. The sea breeze chased the suffocating clouds away and a large span of blue emerged from behind. The sky was so blue that no one dared to blink. The bright glowing sun finally rose from the east, casting the calmer waves in shimmering gold. The clouds were too dusted with a layer of glitter, an ethereal sight to behold.

Xia Lei checked his multifunctional wristwatch. After a night of drifting, the plastic board had miraculously stayed on the path. The distance between their current position and Dagua Island soothed his anxiety. They were merely fifty kilometres away from the man-made island!

Peering into the distance, Xia Lei abruptly stood up. “There’s a ship over there! There’s a ship coming to our direction!”

Tsukino Kyoko and E’er Demutu clambered up from their positions, craned their necks and followed the direction where Xia Lei was pointing into. There was a missile escort ship headed their way. Illuminated by the golden sunlight, a familiar red flag soared with the wind. It was beautiful. Blue skies, white clouds, a silver warship and a waving red flag.

“Ah-ha! That’s part of our fleet! We’re saved!” E’er Demutu screeched and leapt. He then roared, “We’re over here! We’re...”

Splash! Just as E’er Demutu’s foot fell back onto the board, the entire plastic board tipped over and lost its balance. It sent them plunging into the water once again.

“Fuck you, E’er Demutu!” Tsukino Kyoko cursed.

Xia Lei brought out the Viper pistol against the waistband of his briefs and shot the air.

Bang bang bang!

On the escort ship, a navy officer turned his optical telescope to the direction where the gunshots rang. It took no time for him to notice the plastic board floating atop the sea surface. Stunned briefly by his finding, he quickly turned around and dashed for the bridge. “Report! I found them! I found them!”

Cheers all across the ship!

The captain quickly picked up the communicator and took a deep breath. “Reporting to Chief Yu, we found them!”

Yu Zhenhai’s reply came in urgently. “Rescue them immediately! If you lose him again, you’re bound to toilet cleaning duties!”

“Got it!” The captain straightened his posture.

A few moments later, an armed patrol boat went zooming towards the plastic board.

With a soldier’s assistance, Xia Lei and his team made it up the speedboat. The soldier quickly layered a blanket over his shoulders, prompting Xia Lei to nod as thanks. “Thank you, comrade. Did you come from Dagua Island?”

“Yes, Mister Xia. We were dispatched from Dagua Island.” The soldier continued “We were operating under Chief Yu’s orders. It’s a relief to be able to locate you.”

“Has my items arrived on the island yet?”

“What items are you talking about?” The soldier was perplexed.

“Oh, nothing. Please bring us to Dagua Island,” said Xia Lei. A regular soldier would hold no rights to learn of such confidential information.

The soldier skillfully drove the speedboat back to the escort ship. Xia Lei looked into the direction of the Philippines coldly.

Before the patrol boat had docked near the ship, Xia Lei brought out his satellite phone. “Yelena, look into the American Philippine military base database for me.”

“What do I look for?” Yelena’s voice came ringing through the device.

“Dispatch details,” answered Xia Lei.

“Got it.” And with that, Yelena hung up.