bestfiction Chapter 1278
Chapter 1278
Qi Mingyu immediately rejected the idea: "No, it's too dangerous. Let's maintain the status quo for now and wait until we find a relatively safe anchorage."
"But we don't know what kind of place this sea area is. What if there is more complicated terrain ahead, and the thrusters don't work properly, and we encounter danger again?"
Mu Mu said objectively and truthfully.
Qi Mingyu pondered, "We know nothing about this area. The salt dome collapse may only be the beginning; there may be unstable geological structures or even other unknown hazards beneath. If we encounter an emergency during the outboard maintenance, we won't even have a chance for rescue."
Zhou Shuwan leaned back in her seat, catching her breath, and softly agreed: "Yes. The underwater environment here is complex. Nobody knows if the pressure suits can withstand the special water pressure here, let alone the possible undercurrents or unknown creatures."
Mu Mu had no objection: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly after that.
It wasn't until the morning of the third day, after Zhou Shuwan and Qi Mingyu took over their shifts, that Zhou Shuwan began operating the submarine while keeping an eye on the data displayed on the instruments.
Qi Mingyu went to the rest cabin to rest.
Mu Mu sat in the passenger seat to assist.
After traveling for more than an hour, Zhou Shuwan suddenly noticed that the seawater temperature display had risen from 34 degrees to 38 degrees.
"The temperature has risen." She immediately reminded Mu Mu, her tone tinged with a hint of vigilance. "It has risen from thirty-four degrees to thirty-eight degrees. Although the increase is not large, it is a dangerous sign."
Mu Mu immediately brought up the temperature monitoring panel and looked at the numbers jumping up and down: "How could the temperature suddenly rise? We are still within the sea cliff area, the influence of the cold spring should still be there."
Zhou Shuwan's gaze fell into the darkness outside the porthole: "Perhaps we are approaching the edge of the sea cliff, or... the cold springs in this basin are not evenly distributed, and the activity of cold springs in the area ahead has weakened."
"In either case, we must be careful."
"Once the temperature exceeds 50 degrees Celsius, it means we may soon be out of the protection of the sea cliff. Outside is boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius. The submarine's high-temperature coating can only withstand it for a maximum of 48 hours. We don't have much time to waste."
Mu Mu asked nervously, "Should we turn around? Or slow down?"
“We can’t turn around,” Zhou Shuwan immediately objected. “Turning around means we’ll waste more time, and the way back might not be safe either. Let’s keep going forward, follow the original plan, and keep a close eye on the temperature changes.”
Mu Mu nodded, agreeing with her decision.
The submarine continued to move forward, and the temperature did indeed continue to rise at an extremely slow rate.
Every two or three hours, the temperature would rise by one or two degrees, and by the fourth day, the seawater temperature had risen to forty-four degrees.
Although the temperature was still far below boiling point, the continuous rise in temperature felt like a sword hanging over our heads, making the atmosphere inside the cabin increasingly oppressive.
As the temperature rose, the view outside the porthole finally began to change subtly.
The dead corals gradually increased in number, no longer just a few scattered clusters, but were distributed in large patches on the rock bed, and their shapes became more diverse.
Some coral branches are covered with a thin layer of pale green mucus, resembling some kind of slowly growing microorganism.
Qi Mingyu approached the submarine for observation and found that the viscous substance quickly slid off the submarine's hull without causing any corrosion.
"Could this slime be some kind of microorganism?" Qi Mingyu speculated.
Zhou Shuwan nodded: "That's possible. The terrain here is unique, and it's not currently affected by ocean boiling. When the sea froze, it's very likely that it wasn't completely frozen. Besides, some microorganisms are not afraid of extreme heat or cold!"
She thought for a moment and then said, "Brother Yu, drive slowly, I want to take some back with me."
The hot spring fish they brought back years ago became the base's last hope.
The metals beneath the oil field and the minerals from the hydrothermal vents on the seabed were eventually forged into boiling point alloys.
Therefore, if given the opportunity, she would like to bring back more materials and organisms to bring more hope to the base.
"it is good!"
Qi Mingyu maneuvered the submarine to slowly approach the rocky bed.
The dead coral reefs outside the porthole resembled a silent forest, their pale green slime appearing and disappearing in the dark seawater.
Zhou Shuwan didn't know if taking them into her space would cause their deaths.
Therefore, we first used the most cumbersome method: collecting samples with a mechanical sampling arm.
"Be gentle."
She held her breath and focused intently as the suction cup of the sampling arm gently adhered to the surface of the coral. The mucus flowed slowly into the collection container like melting jade, instantly covering the container wall with a warm, green film, without any signs of corrosion.
Although Zhou Shuwan didn't know what it was, she was certain in her heart that it must be some kind of special creature.
It will definitely help them survive in the end times.
As she manually assisted in retracting the sampling arm, the green membrane on the coral branch where the mucus had been collected began to shrink rapidly, revealing fine, honeycomb-like holes underneath.
"What's that?" Mu Mu's eyes widened as she turned on the high-definition camera and pointed it at Coral.
When the image was zoomed in, the three could clearly see that there were countless tiny creatures, no bigger than pinheads, wriggling inside the hole.
They are completely transparent, with a faint blue fluorescent trail at their tails. When covered in mucus, they are completely invisible, but now that the mucus is no longer protecting them, they shimmer like fragments of a galaxy.
"They really are marine microorganisms!" Zhou Shuwan exclaimed. "They're so beautiful!"
Mu Mu nodded in agreement: "Sister, should we collect some of these too?"
The mucus must be secreted by these microorganisms, so naturally we should take some back for research.
However, how to take it with them is a problem.
"Why not use the boxes used to hold hydrothermal vent fish? The temperature can be adjusted in real time on those boxes."
Zhou Shuwan's eyes lit up, and she praised Mu Mu, "Not bad! Good lad!"
Although, when they carried out the last box of hot spring fish, the box and the fish were burned to ashes by the hot spring vent.
However, the previous nine boxes were all returned intact.
Zhou Shuwan and Mu Mu then went together to find all the hot spring fish boxes.
First, adjust the temperature settings.
Then try using a robotic arm to take over the remaining work.
Qi Mingyu is not as good at controlling the space as Zhou Shuwan, who has the advantage of space and can achieve the most precise control.
So Zhou Shuwan sat there, adjusted the angle of the sampling arm, and brought the collection box close to the coral hole.
Those tiny fluorescent microorganisms seemed to have sensed the movement from the outside world; the blue light at their tails flickered more rapidly, and their wriggling speed increased.
But they scattered too slowly.
Zhou Shuwan successfully collected one of the dead coral branches, along with the microorganisms, into the collection box.