bestfiction Chapter 1262
Chapter 1262
The ship cut through the waves and sailed into the depths of the boiling sea.
The low hum of the engine was swallowed up by the roar of the surging waves, and the wind on the deck, carrying a scorching heat wave and a pungent smell of salt and sulfur, rushed towards us.
If it weren't for the heavy air-conditioned clothing, anyone standing on the deck would have been steamed to a crisp by the heat.
The air conditioner's vents hissed out cold air, but it still couldn't ward off the scorching heat rising from the sea.
No one dared to take off their mask.
A few crew members stood scattered on the deck, leaning on the railing, gazing wistfully into the distance.
This was the first time they had truly been close to the sea since they had been trapped in the mid-air fortress for months.
But this sea is no longer the clear blue expanse I remember.
As far as the eye could see, there was only an endless expanse of white.
The seawater was no longer blue, nor was it the usual gray; instead, it was a murky milky white, like boiling rice porridge, churning and bubbling.
Countless tiny bubbles gurgled up from the deep sea, bursting at the surface and splashing up tiny droplets of water.
As soon as the water droplets left the surface, they were vaporized by the high temperature into wisps of white steam that floated upwards and merged with the clouds in the sky.
The boundary between the sky and the sea has long been blurred.
The gray clouds hung low over the sea, like a tattered piece of cotton soaked in water, heavy and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
Boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius surged ceaselessly under the apocalyptic sun.
Occasionally, towering waves rise from the distant sea, their crests churning with murky foam, crashing down with a deafening roar, like the howling of a giant beast.
After the waves subside, some charred remains will briefly appear on the surface of the sea. They will float in the boiling water for a moment before being swallowed up by the new waves, leaving no trace.
“The sea wasn’t like this before,” a young sailor murmured, his voice trembling slightly. “I went to the beach when I was a child. The sand was soft, the water was cool, and it felt so good to walk in. At night, you could see the stars and hear the waves crashing on the shore…”
No one answered.
The people on deck remained silent, their gazes passing over the boiling milky white expanse and looking into the distant void.
They were all thinking the same thing—
Those former mainland areas, those bustling cities, those villages with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys—they are all gone now!
Now, the only land they've seen are these few lonely islands.
There is no greenery on the island, only bare rocks, washed away by the sea so that nothing grows.
Lin Wei and Xiao Xue moved between the deck and the cabin, each holding a testing device. They would stop from time to time to look down at the data flashing on the screen.
"The hull temperature is stable at 42 degrees Celsius, and there are no signs of cracking or corrosion in the coating," Xiaoxue said in a low voice while recording the data.
Lin Wei nodded, wiped the sweat from inside her helmet, and glanced at the outside of the ship's side: "Go check the situation over there."
The two turned and walked hurriedly toward the stern of the boat.
The deck at the stern was narrower than at the bow, and the wind was stronger, making their air-conditioned clothes flutter loudly.
Just as they rounded a corner where lifesaving equipment was piled up, a tall figure suddenly walked over from the opposite direction. The two of them couldn't dodge in time and almost bumped into each other.
"Watch out!" Lin Wei reacted quickly, grabbing Xiaoxue's arm and barely managing to steady herself.
Xiaoxue stumbled slightly as she was pulled, almost dropping the testing device from her hand. She quickly hugged the device tightly, lowered her head, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
The person opposite is Mu Mu.
He was wearing the patrol team's white air-conditioned uniform, his posture was upright, his face was expressionless, and his eyes were dark and deep.
Seeing the two who almost collided, he simply stopped and glanced at Lin Wei and Xiao Xue indifferently.
Then he nodded slightly as a greeting, stepped aside to walk past them, and walked steadily toward the bow of the ship.
Only after Mu Mu's figure disappeared around the corner did Xiao Xue slowly raise her head, her gaze following that direction with a complicated expression.
Lin Wei witnessed all of this.
She raised an eyebrow, slowed her pace, and turned her head to look at the person beside her.
Lin Wei has always been aloof in the research institute, focusing all her energy on experiments and data. Everyone says she is a beauty who doesn't seem to care about worldly affairs.
She had heard some things about Mu Mu and Xiao Xue.
She never pries into other people's private affairs.
But today I'm unusually interested in asking.
"What's going on between you two?"
Xiaoxue stiffened for a moment, then quickly shook her head: "It's nothing, Sister Lin, we're just... ordinary friends."
She kept her head down, avoiding Lin Wei's gaze, but her mind was in complete turmoil.
Actually, she didn't absolutely have to come on this voyage.
Lin Wei has several assistants, all of whom are more qualified and experienced than her.
But when she heard that Lin Wei was going to lead a team out to sea, a strong sense of unease suddenly welled up in her heart.
She had a feeling that something bad would happen on this voyage.
So she took the initiative to find Lin Wei and patted her chest, saying that she definitely had to come.
Before setting off, she made a special trip back to her residence to entrust her father to the neighbor next door, repeatedly reminding him before finally boarding the ship with the group.
It wasn't until she boarded the ship and saw Mu Mu that Xiao Xue understood the source of her unease.
This vast, desolate sea, with white waves all around, is the perfect place to kill someone and cover it up.
Xiaoxue knows Mumu too well.
They hadn't known each other for very long, and had only met a handful of times, but for some reason, she could always easily see through his thoughts from his eyes and expressions.
He certainly wouldn't let this rare opportunity slip by easily.
Lin Wei wanted to study Zhou Shuwan's genetic map.
Her initial intention was pure; she simply wanted to find the code to combat the extreme environment of the apocalypse from Zhou Shuwan's genes and find a way to survive for the survivors in the base.
Although Xiaoxue did not agree with this, she understood Lin Wei's good intentions.
But Mu Mu didn't think so.
In Mu Mu's eyes, Lin Wei's research was a threat to Zhou Shuwan.
Now that the second-generation high-temperature coating has been successfully developed, has Lin Wei lost her value?
Is this the time for him to make his move?
Xiaoxue's heart felt heavy, as if a huge rock was pressing down on it.
She owes Lin Wei too much.
Back then, she fled to a warship with her father. They were at the very bottom of the fleet, and apart from the daily relief rations that barely filled their stomachs, they had no food left at all.
However, my father's asthma requires a lot of resources to exchange for medication.
They had a very difficult time back then.
Lin Wei, seeing that she had studied abroad and knew some scientific research knowledge, overcame all objections and recruited her into the research institute.