The End of Purgatory

"A large-scale strike broke out in Charlie City, the Birens Federation yesterday. More than 6,000 demonstrators took to the streets..."

"This world is really hopeless. It's said that this is the era of artificial intelligence robots, but this kind of thing still happens every day. Can't we be more peaceful?"

The middle-aged man sighed lightly, put the steamed dumplings into his mouth, and chewed them carefully. The news on the screen was still playing, but what was shown in a few minutes were all riots, demonstrations, gun battles, poverty and hunger in various countries around the world. This made the man's eyebrows lock tighter.

Seeing him like this, the middle-aged woman on the opposite side could only shake her head helplessly and said softly: "Okay, no matter how the world changes, as long as our family is fine, don't worry about so much."

"Mother, that's not what you say. The world situation is also closely related to us." The man sighed: "Since Yu Zheng built a military base in Das, Yang Sang has also strengthened control over the surrounding area. Now both sides have to conduct military exercises here every now and then, and they have been blocking it, making it almost impossible to get out of the sea."

"What can I do? What should we do? Those are all decided by the big guys, and there is nothing we can do. "The woman smiled bitterly and shook her head: "We can only catch more fish while these few days are relatively peaceful."

"This is an important fishing season. If you miss it, you can only go to a farther place. In this situation, who dares to run away?" The man shook his head and suddenly said: "By the way, I have to meet a big client this morning and go to Xibin Island. You two should come with me."

"Yeah."

The boy just nodded perfunctorily and continued to eat. The woman looked at him lovingly, raised her head, and shouted loudly:

"Yunlu! Are you coming to eat? It's getting cold!"

"Really? Didn't you say you don't need to worry about me?" Chen Yunlu rubbed his eyes and walked down the stairs slowly, yawning: "I stayed up too late yesterday to get the information. Let me take a break."

"You, really, arrange your time. You are about to graduate, and you still have such an irregular life. Will you be able to do it in the future?" The mother smiled and shook her head: "We are going to Xibin Island this morning. You should go to school early."

"Xibin Island? That's great. I also... I want to go." Chen Yunlu rushed to the table immediately after hearing this: "Our classmates said that there are many interesting things there. If you go, take two photos for me."

"Things like photos, search on the Internet, they are everywhere." Father finally finished his meal and looked at Chen Yunlu: "Did you buy a new lens?"

"Well, this is a macro lens that I have been eyeing for a long time." Chen Yunlu smiled: "Finally, it has been reduced in price."

"How many lenses have you bought this year? If you continue like this, our family will go bankrupt." Mother shook her head helplessly.

"'If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools.'" Chen Yunlu stretched lazily: "If we take advantage of this time to win an award, the process after graduation will be smoother."

"Winning an award doesn't depend on this kind of thing." Father shook his head: "And now mobile phone photography has come a long way, there's no need..."

"Okay, okay." Chen Yunlu interrupted his father and looked at his brother beside him: "Is Yunhe going to Xibin Island too?"

"Yeah." Chen Yunhe nodded listlessly.

"It's great, a vacation for high school students." Chen Yunlu swung his legs enviously: "It's obviously the last year of college, but it's still so busy, it's really unfair."

"Okay, okay, stop complaining." Mother patted her head: "Always complaining, your luck will slip away."

"Tsk..."

After breakfast, the family packed up and came out of the room. It was drizzling outside, and when they arrived at the dock, a group of fishermen were busy. Seeing them coming, the leaders ran over enthusiastically.

"Old Chen, we caught a lot last night."

"Wow, the squid boat caught so many."

When the father saw the boat, his eyes lit up. He ran over and told the people about the precautions for processing. Chen Yunlu was not very interested in the fish she caught. She took out her camera, ran to the side, and pressed the shutter button continuously at the busy fishermen.

"Hey, the eldest lady is here too." Noticing the sound of the flash, the fishermen turned around and waved to Chen Yunlu.

"Well, I have to go to school today." Chen Yunlu smiled and replied, "Come on, take a few more pictures."

Seeing her raise the camera again, the few people also looked around. Some people picked up the big fish they had just caught, some picked up the fishing gear, and some pretended to start the boat. Seeing that everyone was ready, Chen Yunlu whispered:

"One, two, three, come!"

"Click!"

After flipping through the photos, Chen Yunlu nodded with satisfaction. Her father also noticed this and whispered, "Don't disturb others' work. Can't you just take a snapshot?"

"I didn't disturb them." Chen Yunlu made a face and shouted to the fishermen, "I'll send you the photos after they are developed."

"Great!"

After leaving the dock, Chen Yunlu went straight to school. This is her fourth year of college life. Because she did not choose to continue her studies, Chen Yunlu will leave school and go to society after this year. Although she is only an undergraduate student of journalism and communication, Chen Yunlu is undoubtedly a versatile media person, so her teachers and classmates are very optimistic about her future.

Chen Yunlu was born in the Republic of Sotaphon. Sotaphon is located in the tropics, with an area of ​​about 300,000 square kilometers and a population of over 90 million. This size is undoubtedly among the best in the Baozhu Peninsula. Except for the more powerful Hulun Kingdom, no other country can compete with it. However, this is only a comparison among the more than 30 countries in the Baozhu Peninsula. In the north of Sotafeng, there is the Yuzheng Republic with a population of nearly 2 billion; in the east, there is the Yangsang Empire, which almost dominates the west side of the ocean; in the west, there is also the huge Jialuo Republic, which is eyeing it covetously; and across the Great Strait to the south, there are also several countries of similar size to Sotafeng. These countries are either on the sea or on land bordering Sotafeng, which has brought great pressure to it. From a global perspective, Sotafeng's national strength is at most around 30, which is really not a big country. However, since the reforms in the past few years, thanks to its superior geographical location and convenient navigation, Sotafeng has also caught up with the tail of global trade and is moving forward steadily.

And Hongye University, where Chen Yunlu attends, is undoubtedly the number one university in Sotafeng, and the newly established School of Media has a new ace major. Having spent four years here, Chen Yunlu has accumulated a lot of talents and achievements. Chen Yunlu is also full of confidence in her future development. This is not only because of her excellent grades, but also because of the support of her stable and open-minded family. The Chen family runs a fishing company in Ducheng City, which is involved in fishing, processing and sales. There are dozens of fishing boats of all sizes, a factory, and nearly a thousand employees. Not only does it have a considerable share in Ducheng City, but it also sells products all over Sotafon and even to neighboring countries. Recently, the company has also begun to contact more distant merchants, preparing to do business all over the world.

With such support, Chen Yunlu is naturally worry-free. She has received a good education since childhood, and her choice of major is also based on her hobbies. Of course, the Chen family is also very strict with their children, otherwise she would not have achieved today's results. So in this last year, although Chen Yunlu did not feel too much pressure, she was also trying to cheer up and make plans after graduation. After all, the major she studied had nothing to do with her family's business. She couldn't rely on her family for help, so she had to make a name for herself.

Thinking of this, Chen Yunlu couldn't help but sigh and let go of the mouse in her hand.

"What's wrong, Yunlu? Are you worried about something?" Her roommate lay across the table and looked at her with a smile.

"No. I just got stuck on my thesis." Chen Yunlu rubbed his eyes: "Qingqiu, you have already decided to go to the national TV station after graduation, right?"

"In theory, yes, after all, my mother works there." Ruan Qingqiu curled his lips: "But there is some new news recently, I am considering whether to develop in the pure network direction."

"It is true that self-media is very popular now, and capital is also optimistic. It is an option." Chen Yunlu nodded, and then smiled bitterly: "Speaking of which, only a few people in the class chose not to pursue further studies and go directly to work. It is a bit difficult to ask for advice."

"Otherwise, let's go together." Ruan Qingqiu smiled: "This way, no matter where we go, we will have someone to take care of us."

"Haha, that's true." Chen Yunlu closed the laptop: "Although we haven't decided where to go, it is also a good choice for the two of us to go together."

"Yeah, yeah." Ruan Qingqiu shook his finger proudly.

While the two were chatting, Chen Yunlu's phone suddenly rang. Seeing that it was an unfamiliar number, she frowned, picked up her phone and went outside to answer the call.

"Hello, is this Miss Chen Yunlu?" A man's voice suddenly came out: "We are from the Coast Guard Bureau, and we want to confirm something with you."

"Uh, yes, I am. What's the matter, please?" Chen Yunlu's heart skipped a beat when she heard the word Coast Guard Bureau. Although she didn't have much contact with her family's industry, as the daughter of a fishing family, Chen Yunlu still had some understanding of the Coast Guard, and even had a few acquaintances because of years of dealing with them. But this was the first time that such a call came directly to her. This gave her an ominous premonition, was her father and his people in trouble again?

"It's like this, the ship your family is on is suspected to have had an accident in the waters of Xibin Island, please come as soon as possible." The man said slowly: "We have arranged a vehicle to pick you up at Hongye University, please keep in touch and wait for our arrangements."

"Eh? Accident?" Chen Yunlu froze for a moment, she swallowed and whispered: "Yes... OK."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yunlu stood there for half a minute, then trembled and returned to the dormitory. Ruan Qingqiu saw that her face was not right, and hurried over to ask: "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's the coast guard." Chen Yunlu whispered, "They said my family's boat had an accident, and they'll take me there later."

"Maritime police?" City people had no idea what the term was, but when they understood that something happened to their family, Ruan Qingqiu immediately became anxious. She sat next to Chen Yunlu and continued to ask, "Did they say what it was specifically about?"

"No..."

"Where's the police number?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask..."

Seeing her absent-minded look, Ruan Qingqiu became even more anxious. She hugged Chen Yunlu, who was still trembling, and whispered, "It's okay, calm down, it's definitely not a big deal."

Seeing that she didn't respond, Ruan Qingqiu pondered for a moment, and then said, "I don't know if it's a lie. Just in case, I'll go with you when the police come."

"Well, okay, thank you. Thank you for your trouble." Chen Yunlu also knew that she was a little unconscious now, and did not refuse Ruan Qingqiu's kindness.

Soon, the local public security vehicle arrived at Hongye University, and the school confirmed and released it. The two got in the police car and rushed to the beach. When they arrived at the beach, the police and the coast guard handed over, and then took the two people down. The person standing on the beach directing was Uncle Wu, who was very familiar to Chen Yunlu. Uncle Wu saw her coming, sighed lightly, walked forward a few steps, led her to the beach, and whispered:

"Yunlu, come and take a look."

To be honest, during the waiting and time in the car, Chen Yunlu had regained her sanity and slowly calmed down. She repeatedly tried to comfort herself: it might just be a small accident like a capsize or a stranded ship. Her parents and brother were not in serious trouble, but it was inconvenient to communicate. Of course, she also made the worst plan: coming here and seeing the swollen bodies of three close relatives who had been soaked in sea water. Although she was mentally prepared, the scene in front of her was far beyond her expectations.

Several pieces of burnt black hulls were scattered on the beach. Half of the spray paint was burned, and the metal was twisted and deformed. With Chen Yunlu's experience, it was difficult to identify which part it was. Only a familiar intact side panel barely showed that this was most likely her own ship. There was nothing else, whether it was the crew or the objects.

"Indeed, the ship was badly damaged." As if knowing what she was thinking, Uncle Wu sighed: "It was completely caught in the horrible explosion. If it weren't for the video footage from Xibin Island, I'm afraid there would be no way to identify it. Even so, it took several hours to make a general confirmation."

"How could it be..." Chen Yunlu shook her head blankly: "What happened..."

"Based on my experience, it shouldn't be the explosion of the hull itself." Old Wu suddenly whispered: "It is very likely that it hit some explosive."

"Explosive?" Chen Yunlu widened his eyes.

"Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused such a big damage." Old Wu suddenly realized that what he said was a little inappropriate, and quickly added: "But it's probably because of this reason that the crew members were thrown out, and there is still no clue. We will continue to search and rescue. There are still 65 hours in the golden 72 hours. If there is any news, I will inform you as soon as possible."

"Well, thank you Uncle Wu." Chen Yunlu forced a polite smile.

The salvage work is still going on, but at night, only a few pieces of wreckage have been salvaged ashore. Old Wu looked at the two people standing there with some concern, walked over and whispered: "Yunlu, it's not a good thing for you to stay here all the time. If you get tired, I can't explain to your elders at home. Go and rest first, we are here to support you."

"Okay." Chen Yunlu glanced at Ruan Qingqiu who was already trembling, and nodded gently: "Then we will go to rest first."

Seeing that she didn't insist, Uncle Wu also breathed a sigh of relief. He shouted to the young man next to him: "Take these two to rest. This is my brother's girl, a college student of Hongye University, don't neglect her!"

"Okay."

In this way, the two were taken to the accommodation nearby. Although he was not used to it, Ruan Qingqiu couldn't resist the fatigue and fell asleep. Chen Yunlu, however, had no sleepiness at all, staring at the ceiling, his eyes full of confusion.

Listening to the noisy noise outside, Chen Yunlu's right hand tightly grasped the clothes on her chest. After encountering such a disaster, she should have wailed and cried, but now she couldn't even squeeze out a tear. If you want to know why, it's because all this is too unreal. The family who was still happy in the morning encountered a sudden disaster in the blink of an eye, leaving only herself. The search and rescue is not over yet, but now only a few pieces of charred hull fragments have been found, and Chen Yunlu can't connect them with her family. Looking at the sleeping Ruan Qingqiu, Chen Yunlu sighed softly, got up, put on clothes and walked outside.

The beach is still crowded. Although it is not a large-scale event with dozens or hundreds of people, after all, it is Lao Wu's buddy who has an accident, and everyone is very motivated. What's more, any police officer with a little experience can see that this is definitely not a simple shipwreck. The problems t