ebookland Chapter 1268
Chapter 1268
This made Lin Wei breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Half an hour later, the two returned to the cockpit.
Captain Ma immediately went to greet him, his eyes filled with urgency: "Team Leader Lin, how's the inspection going? Has the hull and coating been affected?"
The others also looked over, their eyes filled with worry.
Lin Wei met everyone's gazes without a trace of emotion on her face: "It went unexpectedly smoothly. There was no obvious damage to the hull, and the coating's performance is very stable, fully capable of supporting the rest of the voyage. Everyone, don't worry, our safety is well guaranteed."
Captain Ma breathed a sigh of relief, a slight smile finally appearing on his tense face: "That's good, that's good. I'm relieved to hear you say that."
The people around them also felt relieved.
Only Xiaoxue glanced at Lin Wei but remained silent.
Zhou Shuwan stood not far away, taking in all of this.
The entire ship was under her perception, and she had already discovered the damaged section of the hull.
She remained silent, just like Lin Wei.
In the apocalypse, some truths are not something everyone can bear.
She withdrew her gaze and looked in the direction the ship was traveling, her eyes deep and thoughtful.
Because of the increased power, an hour and a half later, the white vapor gradually thinned out, and a strange scene faintly appeared on the distant sea.
It was completely different from the boiling sea I had seen before.
The seawater there was no longer a murky yellowish-brown, but instead had taken on an eerie dark blue color, as if it had been dyed with ink.
Instead of rolling heat waves, a thin layer of white mist rose from the sea, interspersed with multicolored lights that were so dazzling that they made one dizzy at first glance.
As the ship gradually approached that area of water, Captain Ma frowned slightly as he looked at the scene before him.
This sea looks rather eerie.
Zhou Shuwan's gaze fell on the dark blue sea, knowing that she had arrived at her destination.
"Captain Ma," Zhou Shuwan turned around, "prepare to stop the ship. We've arrived."
Captain Ma snapped out of his daze and immediately gave the order: "Slow down! Drop anchor!"
The roar of the engine gradually subsided, and the ship slowly came to a stop.
The people on the ship curiously gathered around the gunwale and deck, looking at the peculiar sea before them and discussing it animatedly.
Captain Ma walked up to Zhou Shuwan and asked, "Dr. Zhou, what's next? Are we going to go to sea in a submarine?"
Zhou Shuwan nodded: "The next task will be completed by Xiaoyu and me."
"Sister!" Mu Mu immediately frowned, stepped forward, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Zhou Shuwan smiled helplessly and looked at Captain Ma.
"Okay, let's add Mu Mu to the list!"
Mu Mu was finally satisfied.
Ma Jian knew this mission would be anything but simple, but it was too risky for Zhou Shuwan to take only two people into the sea.
He couldn't help but speak up, saying, "Dr. Zhou, the seabed is too dangerous. Why don't I pick a few more skilled soldiers to go down with you? That way, we can look out for each other."
Zhou Shuwan shook her head, her tone firm: "No need. More people will only get in the way of this mission."
Captain Ma wanted to say something more, but seeing Zhou Shuwan's determined eyes, he ultimately swallowed his words.
“Then you must be careful,” he could only repeatedly remind you, “Bring your emergency flares with you, and fire them immediately if you encounter any danger. We will be on standby on the ship at any time and will find a way to get you out of danger as soon as possible!”
"Don't worry." Zhou Shuwan nodded solemnly.
Next came the preparations for going into business.
The soldiers carefully moved the specially made insulated boxes over and carried them into the submarine.
Lin Wei stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the soldiers' busy figures, the insulated boxes being carefully moved, and the tacit understanding between Zhou Shuwan, Qi Mingyu, and Mu Mu. Suddenly, a guess flashed through her mind.
This guess came unexpectedly, yet it made her feel that everything made perfect sense.
Her gaze fell on the dark blue sea, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.
What secrets lie hidden deep within the boiling sea, beneath its inky blue waters?
The moment the hatch closed, it shut out the noise of the sea, leaving only the deep hum of the engine.
The submarine slowly pulled away from the mother ship, like a silent black fish, and quietly disappeared into the dark blue sea.
The moment the submarine's hull came into contact with the seawater, a fine layer of white steam rose up, as if draping this iron-shelled behemoth in a hazy veil.
Qi Mingyu sat in the driver's seat, his fingertips skillfully manipulating the control lever.
The water depth value on the screen kept changing.
From ten meters, to fifty meters, and then to one hundred meters.
On the temperature monitoring screen inside the cabin, the numbers remained steadily at the edge of the critical value. Even through the thick cabin walls, the three of them could vaguely feel the scorching temperature of the seawater.
Zhou Shuwan sat beside him, her gaze fixed on the sonar screen, her brows furrowed slightly: "The mineral concentration in the seawater is very high, which reduces the sonar detection range by half. Moreover, the water temperature has exceeded 100 degrees Celsius, making it a standard boiling water area, which puts considerable pressure on the submarine's coating."
Mu Mu leaned against the porthole, looking outside.
This was the first time they had entered 100-degree Celsius water in a submarine since the sea boiled.
The deeper you go, the dimmer the light becomes, but the water temperature continues to rise.
The multicolored halo on the sea surface transforms into hazy spots of light underwater, like stars scattered in boiling water, swaying gently with the movement of the submarine.
Boiling water has a much greater buoyancy than seawater at room temperature. It's as if the submarine is being supported by an invisible hand, and the resistance to its movement increases dramatically.
The seawater outside the porthole was no longer a calm, deep blue, but was faintly bubbly with tiny bubbles.
Those bubbles were water vapor generated by the high temperature, densely clustered around the submarine, like countless tiny pearls rolling around.
Occasionally, charred remains of seaweed, baked black by the high temperature, drift by.
The wreckage had long since lost its original form in the boiling water, sloshing around limply. As soon as it touched the submarine's hull, it was scorched by the residual heat of the high-temperature coating, making a slight "sizzling" sound, and then turned into a wisp of black smoke, dissipating into the dark blue boiling water.
"Look!" Mu Mu suddenly pointed out the porthole.
Zhou Shuwan and Qi Mingyu looked in the direction he pointed.
In the dark, boiling water, thin, transparent films floated.
Those thin films, like crystals melted by high temperatures, slowly unfurled in the water. Tiny, shimmering silver particles were attached to the films; these were crystals formed by the condensation of minerals from the seawater under high temperatures.
These crystals, carried by boiling water, slowly drift in the seawater, intertwining with the hazy spots of light to form a shimmering net that envelops this deep-sea boiling area.
Qi Mingyu maneuvered the submarine, slowly avoiding the floating membranes.
Zhou Shuwan explained, "These should be mineral resin from the seabed rock layers, which floated to the surface after being melted by the high temperature of the hot springs. They are very sticky, and if they get on the submarine's hull, they will affect the heat dissipation of the coating."