Ancient people long held a belief in judging people by their appearance, a thought directly manifested in the saying: "Ugly people cannot hold office!"
Ancient times were abundant with handsome men and beautiful women, leading to the concept of the Four Great Beauties. When describing someone's good looks, people would use phrases like "face like Song Yu, appearance like Pan An." As for those who were ugly, like Zhong Kui, even if they passed the imperial examinations, no one would employ them, leading him to commit suicide by throwing himself against the steps.
Shen Feng had previously considered the idea of judging by appearance to be nothing but ancient dross. However, upon seeing Yue Hengyi suddenly become incredibly ugly, Shen Feng burst into laughter. It seemed the ancient saying about a lack of fortune being reflected in one's appearance held some truth. With no fat left on his face, what else could this be but a sign of ill fortune?
When a person's facial fat is nearly depleted, they tend to appear gaunt and sallow. While not everyone is like this, it is generally the case. And a gaunt and sallow appearance is quite off-putting.
Seeing the smile on Shen Feng's face, Yue Hengyi couldn't help but curse, "What are you laughing at? Aren't you just like me? Are you laughing at yourself?"
Shen Feng reached up and touched his cheeks. They were indeed sunken. He figured he must have also turned into an ugly old man with a face full of wrinkles. It seemed this was fate!
Both Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were extremely weak at this moment, only able to move their bodies slightly. They could do little else. At this point, if even a single ability user, or even an ordinary person, were to appear, both of them would perish on the spot.
However, with the typhoon truly upon them, anyone who could appear here amidst such a storm would undoubtedly be no ordinary individual.
As Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi weakly sheltered in the cabin, the wind and waves outside grew increasingly fierce. Great waves crashed against the boat, causing the small vessel to creak and groan, making one worry if the wooden boat would shatter in the typhoon.
Suddenly, a large wave struck the boat. The small boat managed to withstand this powerful assault, but its mast snapped in half. A portion of the furled sail attached to it fell, directly smashing onto the cabin roof, creating a large hole. Rain and seawater began to pour into the boat.
"Splash!" A wave surged into the cabin. Shen Feng's left arm, burned the previous day, was now soaked by the seawater. A sharp pain shot through his mind: "Hiss!" Shen Feng gasped, realizing the true meaning of salt in a wound. It hurt like hell!
Yue Hengyi was not faring any better. During one of the boat's violent lurches caused by the waves, Yue Hengyi was thrown through the large hole in the cabin roof and out into the open. Fortunately, he was tied with a rope; otherwise, he would have fallen into the sea and surely perished.
The boat's mast had broken, and the sail could no longer be raised. Yet, even without a sail, the boat was uncontrollably being swept along by the typhoon. As for the ultimate fate of the small vessel, no one knew.
The group of ability users on the cargo ship finally managed to stand up. The gravity field had vanished, and the pressure on them had disappeared. However, two of them would never stand again. Someone pulled out a lighter to see. Some had purplish faces, having died of suffocation. Others had no visible injuries, but pressing on their abdomens revealed ruptured spleens, rendering them beyond recovery.
The Demon King also removed his mask at this moment, revealing a handsome face beneath. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Perhaps, this is fate. They only needed to hold on for a few more minutes, and victory would have been entirely ours. Yet, they couldn't last. A few minutes, two lives!"
Everyone lowered their heads, their spirits deeply dampened. The moment the gravity field disappeared, they were relieved to have survived. But now, they had to face the deaths of their comrades. Counting them, only ten people remained alive.
"Right, what's the situation outside now? Should we open the shield to take a look?" someone suggested.
The Demon King immediately objected, "Judging by the degree of the boat's rocking, the typhoon has arrived. With such strong winds and waves, opening the shield would be suicidal. If you want to see the situation, go into the cabin and open a window! That's the safest approach!"
Hearing their leader's reminder, everyone nodded quickly and prepared to enter the cabin.
However, one person remained behind. He pointed at the two corpses on the ground and said, "I'll make arrangements for them first. We can't just leave them on the ship like this. You all go down first!"
Everyone looked at the two bodies on the ground. Even in death, their eyes were open, clearly having died with grievances. Then, they nodded and walked towards the cabin entrance, leaving one person to handle the bodies. After all, they were comrades, and the bodies of fallen comrades should be handled with due respect.
Unexpectedly, at that very moment, a large wave crashed over, tilting the deck. The steel shield that had been covering the deck slid off. Everyone quickly turned back to shout, "Old Nine, hurry up and come over!"
But Old Nine, who was handling the bodies, was destined not to answer. Under the force of the twelfth-level gale, everything on the deck was swept away. Even a living person was instantly blown into the sky. Without the protection of the shield, no one could resist the typhoon.
"Quick, close the cabin door! Old Nine is dead, don't drag us all down!" the Demon King urgently commanded. Someone next to him quickly closed the cabin door. With a "clang," the heavy cabin door closed, seemingly sealing them off from the outside.
"Another one gone! Four of our brothers are dead now. This loss is truly too heavy!" Someone lost all their strength and sat down against the wall. Recalling the past, they had been excited about the mission to hunt down Shen Feng, thinking it would be a simple task. But now, after experiencing the actual combat, the losses were devastating. Their good brothers from before were now gone.
Hearing this, everyone on the ship fell silent. A stifling atmosphere spread in this environment. Clearly, no one had expected the outcome to be like this.
Seeing his subordinates in such a dejected state, their leader quickly said, "Let's go to the window and look at the situation outside. We can't move freely in the typhoon now. Shen Feng and the others are on a small boat; they're even less likely to survive!"
Hearing their leader say this, everyone could only walk to the window, preparing to observe the situation outside.
When they reached the window, they first witnessed a tremendous natural disaster. The fierce wind scattered the torrential rain, greatly reducing visibility. Beyond ten meters, everything was completely obscured. If one stepped outside, their clothes would be soaked in less than a second. Moreover, the waves at sea grew stronger with each passing moment, with giant waves of over ten meters already appearing.
A small black dot was bobbing up and down on the sea, but it was not clearly visible. It was most likely Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi's sailboat. And under such extremely harsh conditions, trying to survive relying on this tiny sailboat was simply wishful thinking.
Upon seeing this scene, a smile appeared on the leader's face. He then said, "Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi are surely dead. Our mission this time is successful! Although the sacrifices were immense, and the losses exceeded a quarter, we have completed the mission!"
"Mmm." Despite hearing their leader's encouragement, the group did not feel invigorated. The losses were simply too great, far beyond what they could accept.
Ability users were already rare, with perhaps not even one in ten thousand people possessing such abilities. Those who could actually fight were even fewer. Many people's abilities were inherently unsuited for combat, making them inferior to powerful evolved individuals. To cultivate ability users to the fourth tier and above required a significant allocation of resources!
It could be said that every fourth-tier combat-capable ability user was a treasure, with countless resources poured into their development. Yet, now, four had died at once. This level of loss had exceeded their capacity to bear.
"Don't all be so downcast. Lift your spirits. When we return home, we will have a brighter future. I will lead you to achieve great things in this chaotic era. We will always remember our fallen comrades; they are immortal in our hearts!" the leader said earnestly at this moment.
...
"Today, a typhoon in the Pacific is sweeping across Southeast Asia and the island chains of East Asia. Millions of people are expected to be affected. Survivors in China's southeastern coastal areas are also advised to be aware of the storm and avoid going out unless necessary!"
The weather forecast came from the radio. Chang Jianyi sat on the sofa holding her child, with Chu Chaoyan sitting beside her.
"There's a typhoon sweeping through Southeast Asia. I hope Shen Feng and the others will be alright!" Chang Jianyi said with great concern.
After learning of Shen Feng's whereabouts, Chang Jianyi deduced that Shen Feng was on his way home. Based on her understanding of Shen Feng, she guessed that his planned route home was via land. For the shortest distance, Shen Feng likely departed from Cape York in Australia, passed through New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Philippines, eventually reaching Taiwan, and then crossed the strait to enter Fujian. This route was safe and relatively short.
However, with a typhoon currently passing through Southeast Asia, Chang Jianyi couldn't help but worry about Shen Feng's safety.
Upon hearing Chang Jianyi's worries, Chu Chaoyan smiled and said, "Sister, you worry too much. Shen Feng isn't an idiot. Upon hearing the news of the typhoon, he would surely wait for it to pass before setting off. He'll be fine."
"I hope so!" Chang Jianyi felt a vague sense of unease.
Chu Chaoyan glanced at the time. It was getting late. She quickly said, "I'm going to work. You rest for a while, don't get too tired. When Shen Feng returns, hand all the matters over to him, and see if he still plays hide-and-seek!"
With that, Chu Chaoyan went out to work. It was already past eight o'clock, and there was a pile of affairs in the City Lord's mansion that couldn't be ignored!
However, on the third day, fishermen in the southeastern coastal areas discovered a body at sea, which greatly resembled the legendary God of Wind.
Ten kilometers away, another fisherman accidentally discovered another body. Upon turning it over, it turned out to be "Universal Gravitation" Yue Hengyi!
No wounds were found on either of them. In the current situation, there was only one explanation: they had encountered a typhoon at sea and ultimately drowned. Their bodies were then carried by the currents to the shore!
Upon hearing this news, Chu Chaoyan and Chang Jianyi's first reaction was disbelief! Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were both ability users; how could they possibly drown at sea so easily? Chang Jianyi even stated directly, "Shen Feng can 'walk on water,' making the sea as solid as land. How could he possibly be killed by a typhoon? This is absolutely impossible!"
Chu Chaoyan also didn't believe it. But news came from the southeastern base that they had properly preserved the bodies of the two great heroes. Heroes must not be desecrated. However, keeping the bodies in the southeast was not a proper arrangement, so they sent a telegram, hoping that Yuzhou would send someone to claim them as soon as possible.
"Nonsense, these two bodies must be fake, they must be trying to trick us!" Chu Chaoyan exclaimed hysterically, completely disbelieving the news from the southeastern coast.