The Billionaire’s Regret
Chapter 84 –

The South Pole?!

Ivy's heart sank with a thud.

It was uncertain whether or not his explorer friend would survive, let alone come and save them.

That was just wishful thinking!

So, after everything was said and done, there was still no hope?

Ivy's face turned pale.

Vince went off on his own and took a lighter from his bag before starting to boil water.

"Then, can you make contact with the outside world?"

Vince gave her a genuine look that dashed all of her hopes.

"No."

"Have you considered how you're going to leave this place?"

"Yes, I have. I thought a fool would come here so that they could bring me along with them when someone came to rescue her. In any case, I'm almost finished with the information I'm looking for." Ivy was rendered speechless.

'Does he think I'm a fool?!' This realization utterly shattered her joy.

What a catastrophe!

Vince expertly distilled the seawater, then filtered the already-distilled seawater.

After several repetitions of this distillation process, he finally lowered his bead to taste it. He took a sip before passing the rest to Ivy.

"Drink a lot! You haven't had any water in a few days, haven't you?"

Ivy accepted it. "I haven't had anything to drink since I arrived."

She still remembered the flight attendant handing her a glass of rose as the last thing she drank before arriving here.

Ivy drank the distilled water in a few gulps and looked shyly at Vince.

"There's no more," Vince said

"Next time," she sighed sheepishly.

It was because she only brought a small amount of seawater back! After distillation, there wasn't much left!

"Have you had enough?" Ivy could tell he didn't drink much.

Vince smiled as he raised his eyebrows at her. "Even in the absence of freshwater and tools, explorers like us can survive." Urine, in extreme cases, could be a lifesaver.

However, based on Ivy's delicate appearance, it appeared that she would rather die than rely on that to sustain her life. "Have you been posing as an indigenous person the entire time you've been here?"

Ivy couldn't help but inquire. She couldn't understand why those indigenous people wanted to roast her but not Vince.

Vince nodded as he saw through her thoughts. "You can only be one of them if you don't want to be their enemy. They're not particularly bright, so they can't tell the difference."

Ivy nodded. 'If only I'd met him sooner. She was deeply disappointed that they had met so late!

The lingering fear in Ivy's chest rose again when she remembered the scene of her being roasted alive. She didn't dare to imagine what would have happened if the rainstorm hadn't come at the right time. She may have turned into a pile of ashes by this point. Ivy's expression was perplexed and perplexed. "Do you understand why they wanted to roast me?"

"It's most likely a sacrifice. In a journal published jointly by anthropologists from Europe and Africa, I read that certain primitive tribes would usually offer strange and unfamiliar things to the heavens. They will receive blessings if they send you to heaven in this manner. The ritual makes use of fire as a guide.

They'll then serve you their best food. When you eat the food, it means you'll bless them with more food in the future. However, if it fails halfway through, it must immediately stop. That's why I took you and ran when it started raining."

Ivy pressed her lips together. It sounded similar to what Simba had said. 'Ignore it. I shouldn't think about such depressing things!'

This terrifying experience had been one too many in her life! Her initially gloomy disposition improved slightly. This was probably the most at ease she'd felt in a long time.

She smiled and realized she had forgotten something important. "Is this island on the maps?" she inquired, slightly baffled.

If something were to happen to her, her family would not stay put.

If they couldn't replace her in the sea where the plane crashed, they would undoubtedly broaden their search.

However, it had been days, and there had been no sign of anyone coming to her aid.

It was as if the entire world had forgotten about her.

Ivy couldn't help but wonder if this place was real.

As he sighed, Vince's face became solemn.

"Yes, but..."

"But?"

"But this location is designated as an internationally prohibited zone. This is because the surrounding seas, hundreds of nautical miles from the island, are frequently infested with pirates. It would cause international disputes and massive losses regardless of which country the ships passed through. The pirates even used special instruments to block this location from being visible on the satellite map."

Ivy was rendered speechless. It turned out that her situation could deteriorate further. She felt as if a massive boulder had landed on her heart. It was so heavy that she couldn't breathe. Every time she thought she had a chance of survival, reality smacked her in the face.

"In other words, we can't leave this place and must stay here?"

Rescue helicopters and ships would not come here, and they couldn't expect a band of pirates to go to their aid. They might as well have been sacrificed earlier by those indigenous people.

Vince noticed that the mood was becoming a little gloomy.

He smiled at her with ease. "Don't worry. You're not alone."

Ivy's eyes were achy. "They must think I'm dead... My father and brothers must be so sad right now..."

Vince came to a halt and looked up at her. He felt a pang of sadness when he saw her expression of despair.

"We still need a glimmer of hope."

"What hope is there?"

Ivy looked up at him, her eyes gleaming as if reflecting a sea of stars.

"Throughout history, there have been accounts of people crossing the seas by swimming," Vince said as he froze. "Will you please stop talking?!" Ivy stated.

"Okay."

Ivy dozed off on a pile of leaves, unaware that she had fallen into a deep sleep.

When Simba realized they were no longer in danger, it poked its head out of Ivy's pocket and explored the cave. Vince snatched Simba with quick movements and examined it.

"She has a pet with her?"

The four legs of Simba flailed in the air. "Let it go! I'm a tiger, not a pet!"

Vince's eyes sparkled.

"It's a talking dummy tiger!"

Simba's whiskers were trembling with rage. This was a slap in the face to his tiger self-esteem!

"I'm a true tiger!"

Vince chuckled and spun Simba in circles by its tail as if he were a cat chasing a mouse.

Simba yelled angrily, "Mama, save me! I'm going to get killed!"

Vince sighed in relief as he quickly covered Simba's mouth and cast a guilty glance at Ivy, who was still fast asleep.

"No more yelling!"

He let go of Simba, who jumped to the ground and proudly held its head high. Unfortunately, Simba was dirty. So, no one could see its previous clean and lovely appearance.

Simba cocked its head and smiled at Vince. "I recognize you! Vince Reed is an established social media influencer. Your adventure documentary has won five international awards in a row, and you have fans from all over the world! You're also the great-grandson of Reed Corporation's Chairman. You come from a wealthy family."

Vince was initially taken aback, but his eyes darkened slightly when he heard the final sentence. "You know a lot, don't you?"

When Vince first became famous, his close friends discovered his true identity, but the news quickly faded.

"Of course! My database contains data from all over the world. I'll be aware of anything that appears on the internet even if it only appears once!"

Vince smiled as he picked up Simba and placed it on his palm.

"You can't tell Ivy that Wyatt is my uncle, or else... I'm curious if those indigenous people eat tigers."

Simba's pupils dilated, and he spun around. "Would you dare to threaten a tiger?"

"Uh-huh," Vince remarked.

Simba's stamina had significantly dwindled.

"Mama despises the Reeds the most! You're afraid she'll abandon you if someone comes to her aid, aren't you?"

Vince furrowed his brow.

'Did this phony tiger read my mind? Isn't it quite capable?'

Ivy finally got a good night's sleep without fear of being roasted by the indigenous people.

The crashing waves washed over the rocks, and the howling wind jolted her awake.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Simba squatting next to her. It looked at her with wide, round eyes, ditsy and adorable.

Simba jumped into Ivy's hand and nuzzled her chin as soon as she reached out.

"Vince went to get some seawater. "I love you, Mama."

Ivy stretched her back and smiled. "I love you too."

When Vince returned, he began distilling fresh water from seawater. He didn't have a choice. He could handle anything, but Ivy, the melodramatic woman, couldn't.

Ivy paused. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing. She gathered relatively reflective stones from the beach and arranged the SOS symbol on the massive boulders. Just in case a helicopter happened to fly by and notice it.

With its adorable and tiny tiger legs, Simba reluctantly assisted Ivy in pushing the stones.

"Mr. Reed-"

"Just call me Vince," Vince said as he sipped from a cup of precious freshwater. He smiled and winked at her, and he was very friendly. His approachable personality made Ivy feel very at ease around him.

Ivy took a breather. 'Sure, sure. As long as he's cool with it.'

"Do you have any wishes, Vince? When we return, I'll help you in achieving them."

Vince took a breather and gave her a serious look. "I'm short on cash."

Ivy had a feeling Vince didn't have much money.

After all, why would he do such a risky job if he didn't need money? She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. I don't have anything but money. If we ever go out, you'll never have to worry about running out of money as long as I'm around!"

Vince became visibly moved and looked at her with hot tears in his eyes.

"Ivy, I'll entrust the rest of my life to you."

"There's no problem!" Ivy readily agreed.