The anguished scream had barely sounded when the whirlpool's pull suddenly intensified!
Xia Lun felt a violent shove from behind. A wave swung the boat sideways, its bow rearing high. Everyone aboard toppled over as the entire vessel was dragged toward the depths of the whirlpool!
"Row!" Manhunter shouted. "Stop staring! Row if you want to live!"
Xia Lun gripped his oar, planted a foot on the slippery deck, and stood. He hauled the oar backward, abruptly checking the boat's slide. With another stroke, he pushed it several feet from the whirlpool's center!
He hadn't used his full strength when he first started rowing. Now he had activated Limit Break, the special skill granted by his Transcendent Power!
With a little Bioelectricity added, the iron blade of his oar spun at tremendous speed. The thin blade struck the waves like a monster's lashing tentacle, throwing white spray half a meter high behind the boat!
Boom!
A sonic boom erupted behind them. Only then did the others snap out of it.
"We have a chance. Don't give up," Roman urged. "Attendant, protect the others!"
"I don't want to die!" The Oceanographer's eyes widened as he rowed for all he was worth.
For a moment, the boat, already caught by the great whirlpool, shot away from it like a hare breaking free of a net!
Then a tremendous noise came from beneath the sea, as though some enormous beast had rolled over.
The sound was piercing and grating, almost like fingernails scraping across a blackboard. The Oceanographer screamed, dropped his oar, and sprawled on the deck.
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
The moment the Oceanographer abandoned his oar, the boat's forward speed faltered!
"Hahahaha! We're all going to die! The deep sea will swallow every one of