"Follow me!" Sam arched backward into the water with the grace of a mermaid, her body cutting a perfect arc, barely disturbing the surface.
Alex followed closely, the warm seawater instantly enveloping him, as if countless gentle hands were softly lifting him.
The moment he entered the water, Alex felt as though he had plunged into an entirely new universe.
Through the clear water, he saw Sam in front of him making an "OK" gesture, sunlight weaving a dreamlike net of light underwater, outlining her figure like a mermaid, her deep blue form stretching in the clear blue water, like a dynamic watercolor painting.
The seawater was breathtakingly clear, sunlight penetrating the surface and casting swaying pillars of light on the seabed, like countless golden ribbons dancing in the water.
Tiny bubbles slowly rose from his regulator, refracting colorful glints in the light.
All he could hear was the flow of water and his own breathing; the world became quiet and profound.
Before him was a vibrant underwater forest.
Colorful coral reefs layered upon each other, some branching like deer antlers, some rounded like mushrooms, and others spreading out like fans.
Orange-red fire coral, indigo-blue sea whips, and emerald-green soft corals intertwined, swaying gently with the current, as if performing a silent dance.
Schools of fish of various shapes darted through them—yellow and black butterflyfish glided elegantly, blue-green parrotfish gnawed on coral with their hard beaks, and shimmering silver snapper swam in schools, like a flowing sheet of metallic foil.
An aged sea turtle slowly swam past them, its shell covered in mottled algae, like the marks of time.
It lazily paddled its flippers, its shadow moving slowly across the sandy bottom, soon to be surrounded by a group of curious small fish.
Sam led the way like a graceful dolphin.
Her athletic swimsuit shimmered in the water, her slender legs gently swaying, creating a string of crystal-clear bubbles that looked like scattered diamonds in the sunlight.
Her movements were fluid and precise, each kick perfectly executed, barely stirring any excess water.
She suddenly turned and made a "follow me" gesture to Alex, then skillfully darted into a cluster of staghorn coral.
The coral branches intertwined, forming a natural archway, through the gaps of which several timid damselfish could be seen peeking out.
Alex followed closely, passing through the coral tunnel.
The scene here was even more dreamlike—purple soft corals resembled underwater wisteria, expanding and contracting with the current; a group of clownfish played among the corals, their orange and white bodies deftly weaving through the tentacle-like sea anemones, showing no fear of these two uninvited guests.
Sam stopped beside a giant brain coral, its surface crisscrossed with grooves, like the fossil of some ancient creature.
She gently touched its surface, and the coral polyps immediately retracted, leaving only the grayish-white skeleton.
She winked at Alex and gestured for him to "touch it."
When Alex's fingers touched the coral, a rough sensation came from his fingertips, along with the slight coolness of the seawater and the pulse of life.
Sam suddenly swam closer, their masks almost touching.
Through the clear water, Alex could clearly see the smile in her eyes, her amber pupils shining like underwater treasures in the sunlight.
She pointed to her ear, then upward—a school of silver sardines was passing over their heads, thousands of fish forming a flowing silver screen, sometimes dispersing, sometimes gathering, reflecting ever-changing light and shadow in the sunlight.
The vortex formed by the fish enveloped them, as if they were in a silent ocean storm.
Just then, Sam's movements suddenly froze.
Her gracefully swimming figure from the previous second abruptly became still, like a movie scene paused.
Her eyes widened, her pupils rapidly contracting behind her mask, her body trembled violently, and her fingers unconsciously clutched towards her calf.
Alex's heart tightened, and he quickly swam towards her.
Through the clear water, he saw a black and white banded sea snake swimming away from Sam's calf, its slender body twisting as it disappeared into the coral crevices.
On her exposed calf, two tiny tooth marks were oozing dark red blood, spreading a faint red mist in the clear blue seawater.
Almost instinctively, Alex's spiritual energy erupted instantly.
An invisible force field expanded from him, pushing away the surrounding seawater to form a temporary bubble of space.
He wrapped his arm around Sam's waist, feeling her entire body convulsing uncontrollably.
Through her mask, Alex saw the terror in her pupils rapidly spreading, and her hurried breathing condensed into a white mist on the mirror—the snake venom was rapidly invading her nervous system.
Without a moment's hesitation, Alex tightened his arm, holding Sam firmly in his embrace, spiritual energy coursing through her body like an electric current.
He kicked his legs violently, the force of this kick far exceeding human limits, brutally tearing through the seawater, and the two of them shot forward like torpedoes.
Ten seconds later, they burst out of the water like cannonballs, landing heavily on the beach with enormous inertia, stirring up a golden wave of sand.
Alex quickly laid Sam flat on the sand.
Her lips had already begun to turn blue, and her breathing became weak and erratic.
He tore off the strap of her diving gear and tied it tightly around her calf above her knee to prevent the venom from spreading.
When he saw the unhealthy dark red blood oozing from the wound, he unhesitatingly bent down and began to suck out the venom with his mouth.
Each time he spat out the poisoned blood, it left shocking marks on the sand, until the blood he finally sucked out returned to a fresh red.
At this point, Sam had completely fallen into a coma, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows on her pale face.
Alex looked around; this deserted beach was at least five kilometers from the nearest tourist area.
A distant speedboat bobbed in the waves, like a tiny white dot.
He took a deep breath, picked up Sam in his arms, and with his spiritual energy lifting them off the ground, they glided over the sea at an astonishing speed.
When they landed on the speedboat, the deck barely even swayed.
Alex didn't waste time starting the engine; instead, he directly used his spiritual energy to pull up the anchor, then enveloped the boat with his spiritual energy to propel it.
The bow cut through the waves, rushing towards the shore at a speed far exceeding its design limit; if he hadn't enveloped it with spiritual energy, the boat would most likely have fallen apart.
At the same time, he used a satellite phone to precisely describe Sam's symptoms and their location.
When the speedboat docked, an ambulance was already waiting at the pier with its blue lights flashing, and medical personnel quickly lifted Sam onto a stretcher.
Watching Sam being carried into the ambulance, Alex finally let out a sigh of relief, also realizing that his hands were still trembling uncontrollably, and his wetsuit was soaked with cold sweat.
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