ebookland Chapter 1256
Chapter 1256
The hot water spewed from the white chimney is at a moderate temperature and rich in sulfides and various minerals, providing essential nutrients for the survival of hot spring fish.
Before the apocalypse, these white chimneys were always surrounded by all sorts of deep-sea creatures, bustling like a market.
But it's different now.
After the sea froze, almost all life was wiped out.
The area around the newly formed white chimney was eerily quiet.
There are no competitors, no natural enemies.
At that moment, Zhou Shuwan's heart stirred slightly.
Perhaps, this is the way out.
Releasing hydrothermal vent fish back to their original habitat and allowing them to grow in their natural environment is far more reliable than letting them languish in artificial breeding facilities.
“A few days ago, that hot spring was not very stable.” Zhou Shuwan pulled herself out of her thoughts, looked at Captain Chen, and said seriously, “The surrounding rock strata would collapse from time to time, and the water flow would be strong and weak. Releasing fish fry rashly would only result in losses. But these past few days are different. I think it should have reached the optimal value for hot spring fish.”
Captain Chen was stunned.
He looked at Zhou Shuwan with a complicated expression.
This woman always manages to bring him unexpected surprises.
She always seems to know things that others don't, and can see hope that others can't see.
But after the initial excitement came real challenges.
He frowned and raised the most crucial question: "Dr. Zhou, it's forty nautical miles away. The sea temperature is frighteningly high right now; our ships can't navigate it at all, let alone use submarines to dive to the seabed. Without transportation, how are we going to get the fish fry there?"
Zhou Shuwan was silent.
This was a problem she had thought about long ago.
Her space is still too small to hold any living creature.
Those fresh fish fry, once placed in the space, will turn into stiff corpses within a few seconds.
Therefore, she had no way of teleporting the fish fry to that location via spatial means.
She looked up, her gaze fixed intently on Captain Chen: "Captain Chen, when will the high-temperature coating developed by Team Leader Lin Wei and her team be ready?"
Captain Chen then suddenly realized!
No wonder Zhou Shu suddenly asked about the high-temperature coating at the party a few days ago; it turns out she already had this idea back then!
He looked at Zhou Shuwan with admiration in his eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Zhou, tell me honestly, did you know at that time that a new hydrothermal vent had been formed nearby?"
Zhou Shuwan shook her head.
She didn't lie.
At that time, she only had a vague feeling.
Only in the last few days, when the hot spring had completely stabilized, did she dare to be sure that she had found a way to survive.
She looked at Captain Chen and said sincerely, "Captain Chen, this is our only chance right now. The fish fry in the aquaculture facility can only maintain the status quo at best, and there's no way to expand the scale."
"Open-air farming has also consistently failed because it cannot reach the ideal temperature for the survival of hot spring fish."
"If we release half of the fish fry into the underwater hydrothermal vents and succeed, we'll have a continuous supply of food."
"Even if we fail, we still have the remaining half in the greenhouse, so it's not a complete wipeout."
Captain Chen stood there, speechless for a long time.
He looked out at the gray sky, then at Zhou Shuwan's determined gaze.
He knew that this was extremely risky.
But he also knew that in the apocalypse, if you didn't take risks, you could only wait to die.
Captain Chen took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind.
He looked at Zhou Shuwan and slowly said, "Dr. Zhou, I need to discuss this matter with Captain Qin."
Zhou Shuwan nodded.
She understands.
This is no small matter; it concerns the survival of the entire base.
She looked at Captain Chen, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I await your news. However, I only told you what I was saying because I trust you. I don't want a third person to know."
What happened that she could "see" so far into the ocean?
Captain Chen nodded firmly: "Don't worry! I know what to do."
Forty nautical miles, in the pre-apocalyptic world, was just a distance that would take a ship several hours to cover at full speed.
But now, in this turbulent sea, these four words stand like an insurmountable chasm, blocking everyone's path to survival.
Not to mention, the sea temperature is now so high that it can cook an egg. Ordinary ship hull materials will be corroded and riddled with holes in less than half an hour once they come into contact with seawater.
In the minds of the base survivors, they had long since become a group of prisoners trapped on a deserted island, without even a ship.
Captain Chen knew that Zhou Shuwan's secret must not be revealed in the slightest.
She can "see" the fractures in the seabed rock and the gushing of hot springs from 40 nautical miles away.
If word got out about this unusual situation, it would be enough to cause a huge uproar in the already anxious base.
It could very well push her into the spotlight and make her a target for some people.
Therefore, he didn't disturb anyone, only telling Captain Qin about Zhou Shuwan's idea.
Captain Qin breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that it was Zhou Shuwan who had put away those ships: "As expected, it was her who put away those ships."
It's much better to keep it safe than to have it actually swept away by the tsunami!
"We two can decide on the fish fry issue; taking half out shouldn't be a problem," Captain Qin said calmly. "The key is the high-temperature coating. Without a ship that can withstand boiling water and high pressure, all plans are in vain."
“Yes.” Captain Chen nodded. “Dr. Zhou said she doesn’t need a ship that can sail for a long time, just one that can reach that hot spring and release the fish fry. So, Elder Qin, I came to ask you about the progress of Lin Wei’s high-temperature coating project!”
Captain Qin said, "Lin Wei's research group is currently stuck on the composite process of boiling point alloys and high-temperature coatings."
"I'll go and urge them first thing tomorrow morning to put all their energy into this. Put everything else aside and get this coating done first."
Captain Chen breathed a sigh of relief and nodded emphatically: "Okay, then I'll leave it to you."
"Everything for the base!" Captain Qin waved his hand.
The next morning, Captain Qin went straight to the research institute.
Lin Wei was puzzled, but she put aside the hot spring fish farming project for the time being and devoted herself to the research and development of high-temperature coatings with her team.
The people at the research institute were also somewhat puzzled.
Since they have no ships left, even if they develop a high-temperature coating, can they conjure up a ship out of thin air to test it or something?
"Could it be that the base's technology is now advanced enough to build ships?"
Xiaoxue was also a core member of Lin Wei's team. While she was busy working non-stop, she was also making guesses in her mind.
In fact, they had already developed the first generation of high-temperature coating, but the material had major problems, so it needed to be repainted after a short time at sea, which was very troublesome.
The first-generation high-temperature coating could only withstand water temperatures below 70 degrees Celsius.