ebookland Chapter 1159
Chapter 1159
If you're not careful, you could be swept into the sea by a powerful and swift gale.
But no one cared about their own safety.
Everyone is doing their best to make the fortress even stronger before the eye of the storm arrives.
The gale, like countless enraged beasts, raged against the outer walls of the aerial fortress, producing a muffled, thunderous roar.
The tremors inside the fortress grew more and more intense, and a solemn expression was written on the faces of everyone in the corridor.
In the command room, Zhou Shuwan stared intently at the increasingly dark sky outside the window. The brown salt fog, like thick ink, dyed the sky a suffocating hue.
She was focused on sensing every movement in the eye of the storm. Her heart was racing, but her expression remained calm. No one could see her anxiety at that moment.
hurry up!
Faster!
Brother Yu, you guys need to hurry up!
Meanwhile, the survivors who had been hiding in the rooms inside the fortress were alerted by the noise coming from outside.
A series of synchronized chants pierced through the howling wind, faintly carrying: "One, two! Go! One, two! Hold on!"
Tao Zheng had an idea and got up to walk to the window.
The visibility outside was extremely poor, with brown salt fog permeating the air and visibility less than five meters, but he could still vaguely make out a few busy figures.
Several soldiers were braving the strong winds to lift a heavy boiling point alloy plate to the corner of the wall, attempting to fix it into a V-shaped flow guide.
The strong winds repeatedly knocked them off balance, but they gritted their teeth and braced themselves against the boards, while another person struggled to operate a rivet gun amidst the violent shaking.
"They're...fortifying the fortress?" Zhang Jia also came over, his voice trembling with disbelief.
Through the crack in the door, she saw more soldiers running in the corridor. Some were carrying steel cables, some were carrying welding buckets, and others were struggling to push scattered equipment into a corner and secure it.
Through the air-conditioned clothing, she couldn't see their expressions, but she could only see the solemnity and determination on their faces, which were covered with salt frost!
Tao Zheng suddenly turned around: "Jiajia, keep an eye on Xiaosheng, I'm going to help!"
“You…” Zhang Jia was stunned: “It’s too dangerous! The wind is so strong outside, and there’s salt spray…”
"It's precisely because it's dangerous that we need help!" Tao Zheng's voice was unusually firm: "They're risking their lives up front, we can't just sit here and wait to die! I may not know the technology, but I'm strong enough to help them lift the planks and secure the ropes!"
Looking into his resolute eyes, Zhang Jia knew he had made up his mind. She could only nod with tears in her eyes and hold Xiao Sheng's hand tightly: "You must be careful! You must come back alive!"
"Don't worry!" Tao Zheng patted her shoulder, then turned and rushed towards the door.
The moment he opened the door, a wave of heat mixed with salt mist hit him, almost knocking him over.
He instinctively bent down and ran against the strong wind.
In the corridor, a soldier was trying to drag an alloy plate by himself, staggering and about to be swept away by the strong wind.
Tao Zheng immediately rushed forward and grabbed the other end of the steel cable: "Brother, let me help you!"
The soldier paused for a moment, then smiled gratefully: "Thank you! Quick, pull it this way!"
The two men chanted slogans as they struggled to move forward in the howling wind.
"I'm coming too!"
"And us!"
Not far away, Zhipeng, Xuetao, and Xuedong also rushed out.
More and more survivors spontaneously stepped forward.
They don't understand complex reinforcement techniques, but they contribute in their own way.
Some people helped hand over tools, some used their bodies to brace against the swaying planks, and some secured ropes to themselves and the soldiers to keep them steady while they welded.
The three-story fortress corridor was bustling with people, some carrying planks, some carrying welding buckets, and some running with tools.
The howling wind, the clanging of metal, and the shouts of people intertwined to form a tragic yet stirring symphony.
Captain Ma is currently installing the double-layered armor here.
The roar of the rivet gun was deafening. Each rivet pierced through two layers of alloy plates and was firmly locked to the load-bearing column, making a loud "bang" sound.
Several soldiers are applying high-temperature molten boiling-point alloy solder along the weld. The orange-red solder flows along the weld and, after cooling, forms a smooth metal film that tightly bonds the weld to the body.
"Hurry! The weld here isn't finished yet!" an old welder shouted.
A survivor immediately handed him a solder can, helping him stabilize the can so he could apply the solder more precisely.
More and more survivors came to help.
Captain Ma looked at the busy crowd, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes.
He originally thought that these survivors would just panic and hide, but he didn't expect them to take the initiative to help.
At this moment, soldiers and civilians, without distinction, were all doing their utmost to protect the fortress and each other's lives.
"Attention everyone! Speed up! The eye of the storm is getting closer!" Captain Chen shouted into the loudspeaker, his voice hoarse from shouting for so long.
Time ticked by, and the original twenty-five minutes quickly dwindled to just ten.
The fortress trembled more and more violently, and the howling wind outside the window sounded like the wailing of ghosts and wolves, sending chills down one's spine.
In the command center, Zhou Shuwan's expression grew increasingly grave as the destructive power of the eye of the storm rapidly approached.
"Captain Chen, the eye of the storm will arrive in ten minutes!"
Captain Chen clenched his fists and said in a deep voice, "We have already organized the evacuation of non-combat personnel to take refuge in the sea, and the evacuation is almost complete!"
This order was given just five minutes ago!
Captain Chen felt that in order to save as many lives as possible, they could not stay in the air fortress and wait for the Force 12 gale to arrive.
Hiding in the ocean is a good option!
Staying in the fortress meant great danger, while jumping into the sea also posed the threat of high temperatures and salt spray, but offered a greater chance of survival.
"Dr. Zhou, I'll have them escort you away!" Captain Chen looked at Zhou Shuwan solemnly: "Your safety absolutely cannot be compromised in any way!"
"And what about you?" Zhou Shuwan asked.
Captain Chen smiled: "Don't worry, we all need to evacuate! Saving lives is the most important thing now, whether you're my soldiers or an ordinary survivor!"
He gave the order to evacuate completely through the loudspeaker!
"Withdraw!" Captain Ma ordered, and all the soldiers immediately stopped what they were doing and began to evacuate to the emergency exits.
Qi Mingyu did a final check on the reinforcement of the core module, and only after confirming that there were no problems did he turn around and follow the main force to evacuate.
He was worried about Zhou Shuwan, wondering if she had been safely evacuated.
But he knew that Captain Chen would make sure she was safe. What he needed to do now was to evacuate as soon as possible so that she wouldn't worry.