Basic Operations of a Master

Splash!

As soon as the three of them surfaced, Su Yang immediately shouted at the unconscious Zhuang Mengli, “Mengli! Wake up!”

Pan Ning was also calling out frantically beside him, her face full of anxiety.

Before this incident, their relationship hadn’t exactly been great, but the moment Zhuang Mengli had ignored her own safety to let Pan Ning reach the sea surface first, Pan Ning’s impression of her did a complete one-eighty.

—System, what’s her condition?

[No need to worry, host. She’s just briefly unconscious. No serious physical issues.]

Su Yang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the system’s reply.

Just then, Jieyi swam over to the three of them from not far away.

Before she could say a word, Zhuang Mengli coughed sharply in Su Yang’s arms.

“Cough! Cough!” A bit of seawater followed as she spat it out.

Zhuang Mengli slowly opened her eyes. Su Yang and Pan Ning immediately asked, “Mengli? How are you feeling?”

Zhuang Mengli shook her head, glanced at the two of them one by one, and asked with a puzzled expression, “Who are you?”

Hearing that, Su Yang and Pan Ning exchanged a look, utterly dumbfounded.

“Wait… did you hit your head or something?”

“Who are you people? And why are you holding me?” Zhuang Mengli said, pushing Su Yang away and swimming off to the side.

After putting some distance between them, she stared cautiously at the two like they were some kind of freak show.

Su Yang scratched his head, a bit thrown off by this.

“Could she… have hit her head?” Pan Ning stared at Zhuang Mengli with concern.

“Probably not.”

Su Yang’s eyes darted as he looked into Zhuang Mengli’s eyes, studied them for a couple of seconds, then grinned. “Stop pretending!”

“Pretending? Pretending what?” Zhuang Mengli shot back.

“Your reaction just doesn’t add up. It’s not convincing at all. If you really didn’t know us, then why haven’t you asked why you’re floating in the sea all this time?”

“And just now, after you pushed me away, you instinctively swam to the side. If you just woke up confused and lost your memory, how would you even know you’re in the water?”

Hearing this, Zhuang Mengli looked like she wanted to argue further, but she couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

“Haha, pretty sharp observation skills, kid!”

Realizing the situation, Pan Ning understood that Zhuang Mengli had been putting on an act. She let out a resigned laugh.

“I’m speechless with you. Who on earth wakes up and thinks of faking amnesia first thing?”

“That’s how they do it on TV.” Zhuang Mengli giggled as she swam back in front of Su Yang.

Su Yang gave her a look. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! I just blacked out for a moment when I hit the surface. A little dirt on the hem of my clothes, no big deal~”

“You’ve really got a great attitude. After something like this, you’re still cracking jokes.” Su Yang turned to Pan Ning. “Pan Pan, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. And this time, I have to thank Mengli. If it weren’t for her, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to take such a hard hit.”

Zhuang Mengli waved her hand with a smile. “Oh, don’t mention it. It’s nothing. Just basic pro moves. But I never thought something as unlikely as the hot air balloon catching fire would happen to us. I was totally stunned at first.”

“Tell me about it. A fire that high up would rattle anyone. Good thing we were lucky enough to land in the sea. If it had been concrete, we’d probably be getting remade by now,” Su Yang joked.

Just then, Jieyi looked at the three with an apologetic expression. “What happened today was totally unexpected. I’m so sorry about this.”

Su Yang turned to her. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, it’s not like you messed up the controls. No one could have predicted a fuel canister explosion, so don’t beat yourself up,” Zhuang Mengli added.

“I think it might have been a gas leak that caused the explosion. Still, I should have checked things before takeoff.”

“Are you the person responsible for inspections?” Pan Ning asked.

“No. Every balloon gets checked by a dedicated staff member before its first flight of the day.”

“Then there you go.”

“But as the pilot, I should have been more aware beforehand, so I do bear some responsibility.”

“Oh, come on. Stop blaming yourself. It’s not your fault. If anyone asks later, we won’t say it was because of you. We’re all fine, and that’s what matters,” Zhuang Mengli said, pulling Jieyi’s arm with a smile.

…

At that moment, they were about six or seven hundred meters from the shore. Two small speedboats were racing toward them in the distance.

This was likely the rescue team sent by the base.

The speedboats reached them in no time. A staff member in a suit on one of the boats sighed in relief when he saw the four uninjured people. He was probably the base manager.

Since no one was hurt in this accident, the worst the base would face was a temporary shutdown and some fines. If anyone had been injured or died, it wouldn’t have been just fines and a shutdown.

The man in the suit first asked if any of them were hurt, then apologized profusely. “I’m so sorry, all of you, for putting you through such a dangerous situation. Our base will take full responsibility for this accident.”

Su Yang waved his hand. “First, get us back to shore.”

“Of course, of course.” The other staff on the speedboats helped the four aboard, then sped off toward the shore.

On the speedboat, the suit-clad man pulled Jieyi aside to quietly ask her what had happened.

It was no longer possible to tell if it was due to her error in operation, and since the balloon had burned up completely, the base would have to shoulder all the responsibility in the end.

The two speedboats quickly returned to the beach. Lu Yun and the others were standing anxiously on the sand, waiting.

The five who hadn’t gone up in a balloon on the ground had witnessed the entire incident. When they saw the balloon catch fire, Lu Yun and Su Qingci immediately broke down crying.

Now, seeing Su Yang and the others step off the speedboat unharmed, the two of them rushed forward, the other three following closely.

“Su Yang! Are you okay?” Lu Yun ran fastest, calling out loudly with worry before she even reached him.

“Brother Su Yang, are you okay?” Su Qingci asked at the same time.

Su Yang spread his arms and smiled at them. “I’m fine. With me around, what could happen? Don’t worry. We’re all okay. Didn’t lose a single hair.”

Pan Ning stepped forward, took their hands, and added, “Relax, we’re fine. Here we are, safe and sound.”

“Yeah! Why are you two crying? With both me and Su Yang around, what big trouble could’ve happened? Don’t worry!” Zhuang Mengli said cheerfully, carefree as ever.

Up in the sky, Meng Wenzhou and Liu Bo were still drifting at altitude. The balloon’s descent wasn’t fast.

As they dropped lower, though, they had seen Su Yang and the others make it safely ashore from above.

Everyone’s anxious hearts finally settled down.

Su Yang and the others followed the staff into the main building, where several medics gave them a quick checkup.

Then, the staff brought out four sets of clean clothes for them to change into.

Not long after, the police arrived at the scene. The man in the suit, who was also the person in charge of the base, didn't dodge responsibility at all. He cooperated fully throughout, and finally took all the blame upon himself.

The final conclusion reached for this incident was that the accident occurred due to negligence on the part of the staff and the entire base. The base manager compensated Su Yang and the others with a sum of mental anguish damages, and then the entire base was sealed off by the police and ordered to suspend operations for rectification.

At half past four in the afternoon, the group walked out of the base. Su Yang took out a cigarette and lit up.

Because of what had just happened, everyone was still feeling a bit shaken. They all looked listless and didn't speak a word.

Su Yang, Pan Ning, and Zhuang Mengli, who had just brushed with death, seemed unfazed, almost like it was nothing. Especially Zhuang Mengli, to whom it felt like nothing more than a high-dive into water.

Seeing that everyone was in low spirits, she tried to cheer them up instead.

"What's up with you guys? We're all perfectly fine here, right? Smile, will you? Cheer up!" Zhuang Mengli said, putting her two index fingers on her cheeks to make everyone laugh.

But those few were in no mood to respond at all, unable to utter a single word.

"Hey, you guys really need to work on your mindset."

Su Yang rolled his eyes at her. "Stop messing around. Let them take a moment to breathe. We should head back to Zhahuang first."

"Alright."

The group walked toward where they had parked earlier. After getting into the car, the driver started the engine and headed back to Zhahuang.

Forty minutes later, the three vehicles arrived back in Zhahuang city center.

It was five thirty in the afternoon, and the city was starting to come alive.

Everyone got out of the cars, and Zhuang Mengli smiled at them again. "Have you guys snapped out of it yet? Don't keep thinking about it, okay?"

"Shouldn't you all be happy that we didn't get hurt? Come on, let's go eat to celebrate. Su Yang's treat."

Liu Bo stepped forward and said, "Celebrate? Seriously?"

"Why not? The three of us survived something so dangerous. A narrow escape from death means good fortune awaits, you know? So why shouldn't we celebrate?"

"Uh... when you put it that way, I guess it makes sense."

......