bookrebus Chapter 1284
Chapter 1284
Zhou Shuwan nodded to the two of them, took a deep breath, bent down and crawled into the inner half-person-high storage box.
The box wasn't very spacious, but it was enough for her to curl up and lie there without feeling too cramped.
She adjusted her posture and then waved to the outside.
Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu exchanged a glance and slowly closed the door of the inner storage box.
The cabin fell silent instantly, with only a slight hum and the faint sound of flowing seawater remaining.
Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu stood guard by the side, their eyes fixed on the monitoring equipment and storage box, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
Zhou Shuwan closed her eyes inside the box, concentrating on sensing her surroundings.
At first, she only felt the heaviness and slight pressure of the protective suit. The temperature inside the box was about 25 or 26 degrees Celsius, which was almost the same as the temperature inside the cabin.
But as time went on, a subtle change began to quietly occur.
She could clearly hear the gurgling sound of seawater flowing between the two tanks.
Even more remarkably, she could also hear an extremely faint "rustling" sound, which was the sound of microorganisms wriggling and secreting mucus on the coral branches.
The sound was so faint that she would not have been able to detect it if her perception had not been far beyond that of ordinary people.
It was a primal and mysterious rhythm that momentarily captivated her.
She could even picture those tiny microorganisms busily working in the seawater.
"It's been twenty minutes." Qi Mingyu checked the time, then tapped on the storage box's side panel. "Wanwan, how are you? Has the temperature inside changed?"
Zhou Shuwan snapped out of her daze, opened her eyes, and looked at the internal temperature monitor.
Compared to when we first came in, the temperature has risen significantly, now to around 28 or 29 degrees Celsius.
"It's alright," she replied.
Her voice, muffled by the mask and the enclosure, was clearly audible.
"The temperature inside has risen to 28 or 29 degrees Celsius and is very stable without any fluctuations. If it goes on for a while longer, it should rise a little more, but for now, this temperature range is safe."
About ten minutes later, Zhou Shuwan saw that the temperature had indeed risen another degree.
By this time, she had been inside the box for more than half an hour.
Apart from the increased temperature and stuffiness, I did not feel any other abnormalities.
It appears that the mucus secreted by this coral polyp is not toxic.
Humans living in this environment would not be in any danger.
She opened the box and crawled out.
Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu worked together to pull her out of the large storage box.
Her protective suit was a little wet because seawater had seeped in.
As Zhou Shuwan was taking off her hazmat suit, she suddenly became very alert, stopped what she was doing, and whispered "Shh" to Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu.
The two reacted quickly and immediately stopped moving.
Zhou Shuwan listened to the sounds outside and whispered, "Turn off the lights."
Qi Mingyu immediately reached out and pressed the light switch inside the cabin, plunging the entire submarine into darkness.
They had already completely covered the portholes from the inside with black seals, so no light could be seen from the outside.
This is done simply to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Zhou Shuwan quickly took off her protective suit and quietly moved to the porthole with the other two.
Qi Mingyu carefully lifted a small corner of the black seal, revealing a narrow gap.
The three of them took turns leaning over, squinting as they observed the outside.
Outside was the pitch-black deep sea, with only a faint red light peeking out from the direction of the semi-submersible base in the distance, like a giant beast lurking in the darkness.
The seawater was a deep, unfathomable dark blue, and the surroundings were eerily silent.
They waited quietly.
About ten minutes later, two blinding white beams of light suddenly shot out from a distance.
The beam of light drew closer, illuminating the surrounding sea and the hull of their submarine, which was disguised as a reef.
Zhou Shuwan and the other two instinctively closed their eyes to avoid the dazzling light.
He didn't open his eyes again until the beam of light swept past the submarine, and continued to observe through the crack in the porthole.
Two small military submarines were seen slowly approaching.
They were slightly smaller than the submarine that Zhou Shuwan and the other two were traveling in.
The submarine's hull is dark gray, making it immediately recognizable as a military vessel used for reconnaissance.
They slowly patrolled around the reefs, their white searchlight beams sweeping methodically over every rock and every stretch of sea, clearly conducting a routine patrol.
Zhou Shuwan had already spotted the figures inside the boat. There were four people in total, all of them foreigners with high noses and deep-set eyes.
They stared at the dashboard, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones in English, speaking rapidly with a wary tone.
“Four foreigners.” Zhou Shuwan lowered her voice. “They should be a routine patrol team from the semi-submersible base. They didn’t spot us.”
Qi Mingyu nodded, his gaze fixed on the two patrol submarines, his voice as soft as a whisper.
"It's about four or five kilometers from here to the semi-submersible base. It seems this area is within their patrol range. We need to remember their patrol times and routes so that our subsequent operations will be safer."
Mu Mu watched as the two patrol submarines gradually disappeared into the distance.
The white beam of light grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared into the dark depths of the sea.
He breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Luckily we disguised ourselves well, otherwise it would have been troublesome if they had found out."
The three of them held their breath and waited in the darkness for a full half hour.
Only after confirming that no other patrol submarines were following and that the surrounding area had completely returned to calm did they dare to relax a little.
Qi Mingyu affixed the black seal back to the porthole and turned the cabin lights back on. A hint of relief appeared on the faces of all three.
More than an hour has passed since the test started.
Zhou Shuwan walked to the large storage box and looked inside.
Surprisingly, the pale blue fluorescence at the coral polyp's tail continued to flash steadily, and the mucus remained moist, showing no abnormalities.
Data from the monitoring instruments showed that seawater temperature, salinity, and mucus composition were all normal, and the activity of coral polyps remained at a stable level.
"Great, they're still alive!" Mu Mu said happily.
A relieved smile appeared on Zhou Shuwan's face: "It seems that this double-layered box design is feasible."
"The temperature has now stabilized at around 30 degrees Celsius, which is very suitable for human survival. As long as we build a similar water environment on the hull of the submarine, we can withstand the boiling water temperature outside."
Of course, this is just theoretical speculation.
No one can guarantee what will happen next.
Zhou Shuwan and the others are not researchers; they are only able to conduct the tests in such an orderly manner by relying on their past experience.
If Lin Wei and the others were here, they would surely be able to test the environmental adaptation of these coral polyps much faster.