ebookland Chapter 1158
Chapter 1158
Inside the command center, Captain Chen was frowning as he stared out the window at the increasingly violent gale.
The adjutant, along with several captains and researchers, stood around, their faces grave, discussing possible solutions.
Everyone was stunned when they heard the knock on the door.
In such extreme weather, who would risk their life to come to the command center?
When the door opened, two people covered in brown salt mist struggled to walk in.
As soon as the door opened, a gust of wind carrying salt mist rushed in, causing everyone in the command room to instinctively take a step back.
Zhou Shuwan and Qi Mingyu supported each other and staggered into the command room.
Lieutenant Yun immediately stepped forward and helped close the door, blocking out the strong winds and salt spray.
They went to see the two men who had come in.
Looking at the two people covered in salt frost and in a disheveled state, his face was full of shock and confusion.
They simply couldn't imagine how these two men had made it to the command center in such weather.
Upon seeing the somewhat thin figure, Lieutenant Yun tentatively called out, "Dr. Zhou?"
Zhou Shuwan nodded, not bothering to deal with the salt spray on her body or to rest. She spoke rapidly to Captain Chen, "Captain Chen, we have important news to report. An eye of the storm is forming on the sea, and it's moving very fast. Its target is our aerial fortress!"
Captain Chen's expression instantly turned serious: "We were indeed discussing the formation of the storm, but we haven't reached a conclusion yet about where the eye of the storm is!"
He paused, then asked urgently, "How much longer? How long will it take for the eye of the storm to reach us?"
Zhou Shuwan said bluntly, "At most, there's still half an hour left!"
"what?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire command room fell into complete silence.
Everyone was stunned by the news, their faces showing disbelief.
Half an hour!
They only have half an hour to deal with the approaching Category 12 storm eye.
Can this aerial fortress, built with boiling-point alloy, withstand the destructive power of the eye of the storm?
Captain Ma clenched his fist tightly: "The destructive power of a Category 12 storm eye is enough to tear apart alloy welds. We don't even have enough time to reinforce them!"
The command room was deathly silent; the howling wind outside seemed to be right next to their ears, carrying a terrifying aura that seemed to devour everything.
The veteran researcher's eyes instantly turned calm: "Now that things have come to this, there's no other way but to rely on the framework of this fortress to withstand the onslaught! Boiling-point alloys are resistant to high temperatures, have several times the strength of ordinary alloys, and also possess excellent ductility. The key is to break down the concentrated impact of the eye of the storm into a dispersed 'soft load'!"
Captain Chen suddenly looked at him: "How exactly do we dismantle it? There are only twenty-five minutes left!"
"Four steps, and every step requires seizing the time!" The veteran researcher said clearly: "First, create an 'empty cabin buffer zone'!"
All tables, chairs, and equipment in non-core areas were pushed into corners and secured, and all internal partitions and ventilation grilles were opened.
Because after the eye of the storm penetrates the outer layer, the airflow will swirl and consume energy in the empty room, just like punching cotton. By the time it reaches the core area, the power has been halved!
The boiling point alloy provides sufficient airtightness to prevent a storm from tearing open the core compartment!
Captain Ma immediately frowned: "If the alloy plates of the outer compartments can't withstand a Force 12 gale, the torn fragments will damage the internal structure! There won't be any way to salvage it then."
"Use the spare alloy plates as 'buffer baffles'!" Qi Mingyu already understood what the old researcher was going to do, and immediately added: "We should still have quite a few boiling point alloy plates left. Fix them diagonally to the door frames and corners of the walls in non-core areas to form 'V-shaped flow guides'."
When debris hits the baffle, it will bounce off and the airflow will be guided by the angle, reducing the impact and preventing secondary damage!
The young research assistant nodded in agreement: "Yes, put a double layer of armor on the core area."
All the remaining boiling point alloy plates were then densely secured to the load-bearing columns and walls surrounding the core area using high-strength rivets, forming a crisscrossing grid.
Captain Ma's eyes immediately lit up: "That's it! The load-bearing capacity of a double-layer mesh is twice that of a single-layer boiling point alloy, and it can also disperse the rotational torque of the eye of the storm!"
“Also,” Zhou Shuwan suddenly remembered something and said quickly, “If we bring a bucket of high-temperature molten boiling point alloy solder, we can apply it along the weld seams of the core area and the load-bearing columns.”
Salt spray corrodes the weld, weakening its strength. However, as the molten solder cools, it forms a new protective layer, fusing the weld with the weld body, thus adding an extra layer of protection!
Captain Chen made a decisive decision: "Lieutenant Yun, within five minutes organize people to carry welding barrels and seal the welds around the core area along the way."
Captain Ma led a team to assist Xiao Qi in moving alloy plates and installing buffer baffles and double-layer armor of the core compartment.
"Dr. Zhou, you stay in the command center and keep us updated on the eye of the storm!"
"Yes!"
In her haste, Zhou Shuwan only had time to glance at Qi Mingyu.
The latter had already followed the main group to the warehouse to move boiling point alloy plates.
She clenched her fists, stood in front of the command room window, and stared intently at the eye of the storm in the distance!
We will definitely not lose!
She thought to herself!
Footsteps, the clanging of metal, and the howling wind outside the window mingled together.
Qi Mingyu led his men and rushed into the ground floor warehouse with difficulty, where boiling point alloy plates were neatly stacked.
These boards are very heavy; one person cannot move them by their own strength.
They worked in groups of several, chanting as they dragged and moved the salt spray onto the scorching hot alloy plates, which instantly evaporated into white mist.
"Hurry up! One more minute!" Qi Mingyu's gloves were burning hot from being rubbed by the steel cable, but he held on tightly.
The crew members behind him had flushed faces and staggered in the violently shaking corridor, but dared not stop.
Elsewhere, soldiers swiftly secured equipment and erected V-shaped flow deflectors.
A loose alloy plate rattled loudly in the gale-force winds. A young navy officer rushed over and held it down, shouting through the storm, "Quick, get the rivet gun! It'll be blown away if we're any later!"
The person next to him immediately handed him tools, and the "bang bang bang" of the hammering was particularly jarring in the storm.
In just ten minutes, the entire exterior of the second floor was covered with crisscrossing airflow guides.
Located in the core area of the mid-air fortress, both inside and outside the building, Captain Ma directed his men to install alloy plates on the walls.
The roar of the rivet gun was deafening. Each rivet pierced through two layers of alloy and was firmly locked to the load-bearing column.
These people were wearing well-sealed air-conditioned or cold-weather clothing. Although they could not feel the high temperature outside, they could deeply feel the terrifying wind speed and force.