dognovel Chapter 1267
Chapter 1267
The ship cleaved through wave after wave of surging heat in the boiling sea.
The roar of the engine was torn apart by the howling sea wind.
The sudden tremor was far more intense than I had imagined.
The aftershocks of the tsunami were like a lurking beast, slamming its dull force through the seawater onto the hull of the ship.
The ship sank suddenly, then was lifted high by a recoil force.
The wind and waves were rougher than before, and the salty, hot waves, carrying tiny particles of volcanic ash, pelted the hull and portholes.
The white steam rising from the sea grew thicker and thicker, reducing visibility to less than ten meters. The world outside the ship's side was nothing but a chaotic white, and even directions were hard to discern.
Panic spread like wildfire through the crowd.
Fortunately, everyone was well-trained and tried their best to remain calm despite the panic.
Only Zhou Shuwan and Captain Ma remained the most composed.
Once the aftershocks subsided, Captain Ma turned to look at Zhou Shuwan.
"Dr. Zhou! Will there be another tsunami?"
Zhou Shuwan's gaze pierced through the layers of white steam, looking into the distance.
Even in such poor visibility, she could clearly "see" a very thin black line spreading rapidly across the distant sea.
That wasn't a wave, but a wall of water created by a tsunami, its sharpness obscured by the moisture.
Above the boiling sea, the most terrifying thing is not the high temperature and corrosive gases, but the sudden tsunami.
In Zhou Shuwan's perception, the movement of tectonic plates on the seabed became more and more frequent, and underwater volcanic eruptions were commonplace. Almost every eruption was accompanied by a devastating tsunami.
It depends on which tsunamis are heading towards the islands.
She didn't panic about the impending second tsunami, but calmly said, "Even if a second tsunami comes, our current position should be outside the impact range of the tsunami. Everyone, don't panic."
Her words were quite convincing.
The crowd quickly regained their composure.
"But we still need to get away from here as soon as possible to avoid being affected by the aftershocks of the tsunami!"
"Yes!" Captain Ma immediately gave the order, "Everyone, listen up! Turn the engines to maximum! Full speed ahead! Get out of this area as quickly as possible!"
"Yes!" The driver pushed down the control lever.
The roar of the engine suddenly rose, the hull jolted violently, and the speed instantly increased, breaking through the heat wave with even greater force.
Just as Zhou Shuwan had predicted, when the next tsunami arrived, they were only swept away by the aftershocks.
In a short while, the overwhelming force, accompanied by giant waves, swept in, and the ship shook violently like a leaf in a storm.
Caught off guard, some people cried out in alarm and fell uncontrollably toward the side of the ship.
Zhou Shuwan was prepared, gripping the emergency handle in front of her tightly with both hands.
But the tremor was so intense that her body was thrown off the ground, and she instantly lost her balance.
Just as she was about to crash hard onto the cold steel plate, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and firmly gripped her wrist.
The force was steady, yet it also had a soft touch.
Zhou Shuwan subconsciously looked up and met Lin Wei's calm eyes.
Lin Wei was also holding onto the handle with her other hand. In order to pull her up, her body suddenly lurched to the side, her foot slipped, and she fell heavily onto the deck.
"Team Leader Lin!" Zhou Shuwan's heart tightened, and she rushed to help her.
Captain Ma and a soldier beside him rushed over and helped Lin Wei up, one on each side.
Lin Wei waved her hand, nodded slightly to Captain Ma and the soldiers, and said in a steady voice, "Thank you."
Then, she looked at Zhou Shuwan, a slight ripple in her eyes: "How is the situation now? Has the tsunami passed?"
Zhou Shuwan looked at the scratches on her air-conditioned suit and mask, a pang of guilt crossed her heart, and she nodded, saying, "It's over, we're safe now."
Captain Ma looked in the direction the ship was traveling and saw that the rolling wall of water had gradually receded into the distance, leaving only an even more turbulent sea.
He let out a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders finally relaxing a little, but then his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"Dr. Zhou, we're already too slow. According to the original plan, we should only be an hour away from our destination now."
But now, they are delayed by a full two hours.
Zhou Shuwan was well aware of the consequences of the delay.
In order to avoid the tsunami, the ship took a long detour and was hit by the aftershocks of the tsunami twice.
Now, they are two hours behind.
After arriving at their destination, they will need at least half a day to complete the task.
Based on this calculation, by the time they return, it will inevitably exceed the scheduled twelve hours.
Sailing on the Boiling Sea, every extra minute you stay increases the unknown risks.
"Turn 15 degrees to the left," Zhou Shuwan decided decisively. "We must accelerate to full speed ahead!"
Captain Ma nodded and immediately gave the orders.
The driver didn't dare to delay and immediately adjusted the course.
The ship made a graceful turn and headed towards deeper waters.
Lin Wei looked at the boiling water churning outside the ship's side, remained silent for a moment, then turned to Xiao Xue beside her: "Come on, let's go check the hull. That jolt was too violent; the ship might be damaged."
Xiaoxue nodded.
The two of them went outside together.
When Lin Wei reached the bow of the ship, she suddenly stopped.
Her gaze fell on the left side of the bow, and her pupils contracted slightly.
There was a section of the coating there, about one square meter in size, that had completely peeled off.
The dark gray steel plate underneath was exposed, with some dark brown stains on it, showing signs of being burned by high temperature.
Clearly, this was caused by the ship hitting floating rocks or similar objects during the aftershocks of the tsunami.
Xiaoxue saw it too, her face instantly turning pale. She lowered her voice and said, "Sister Lin, what... what do we do? The coating is peeling off, and the steel plate will corrode if it stays in the boiling sea for too long!"
Lin Wei frowned deeply, squatted down, and carefully examined the peeling area.
This area is not large, and it is quite a distance from the key power system and the sealed compartment.
It can be said to be the least important area on the entire ship.
It certainly won't affect navigation in the short term.
But she knew in her heart that this was the first time the ship had sailed into the boiling sea, and the damaged coating was undoubtedly a hidden danger.
But what can we do now?
They didn't have enough time to fix it.
There's no way they could be allowed to repair things in this boiling sea!
Lin Wei was silent for a moment, then stood up. Her voice was soft, but filled with determination: "Don't make a fuss yet. Let's continue checking other areas to see if there's any other damage."
Xiaoxue nodded, but her heart felt heavy.
The two continued their inspection along the ship's side. Apart from the area that had peeled off at the bow, the rest of the ship was intact and even more sturdy than they had expected.