bookrebus Chapter 1160
Chapter 1160
Mom, Dad, and Mumu had already evacuated.
In the corridor, soldiers helped each other as they struggled to move forward in the violently shaking fortress.
A strong wind rushed in, blowing them about unsteadily. Salt mist covered their entire bodies, and their masks were covered with a thick layer of salt frost, obscuring their vision.
"Watch your step!"
"Hurry! Hurry up!"
The soldiers reminded each other and stumbled toward the emergency exit.
The moment they finally broke out of the fortress and jumped into the sea, a wave of scorching heat instantly enveloped them.
The seawater temperature was over fifty degrees Celsius, but they were all wearing air-conditioned suits, so apart from feeling the heat, they didn't feel any burning sensation.
Qi Mingyu jumped into the water and was immediately lifted up by the enormous buoyancy.
He looked up at the fortress in mid-air, where the massive structure built of boiling-point alloy was swaying violently in the gale, as if it would be torn apart at any moment.
The brown salt fog, like a giant curtain, enveloped the fortress, making its outline barely visible.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened, and the howling of the wind reached its peak.
A destructive force swept in from afar, like an invisible giant hand, slamming down on the fortress in mid-air.
"Boom——!"
With a deafening roar, the eye of the 12-level storm finally crashed into the fortress.
The outer alloy plate of the fortress was instantly torn apart, and the fragments flew around in the gale, but were deflected by the V-shaped air deflector, without causing fatal damage to the core compartment.
The double-layered alloy wall in the very center was pressed inward by the strong wind, and the supporting column bent slightly, but thanks to the excellent strength and ductility of the boiling point alloy, it withstood the impact.
The protective layer on the weld seam played its role, and no matter how much the rotational torque of the eye of the typhoon tore at it, it did not crack, thus binding the entire fortress together as a whole.
People in the sea clung tightly to whatever was floating around them, rising and falling in the giant waves.
They looked up at the fortress suspended in mid-air, their hearts filled with trepidation and prayer.
The power of the eye of the storm was not limited to mid-air. When the Force 12 gale swept across the sea with a destructive aura, the calm seawater was instantly awakened into a raging behemoth.
The seawater, already scorching hot at over 50 degrees Celsius, was now being whipped up by the gale-force winds, creating waves several meters high.
The crests of the waves, tinged with an eerie brownish-red hue from the refraction of salt mist, resembled congealed blood foam, crashing down on the people floating in the sea.
Zhou Shuwan, her parents, and Mu Mu held hands and formed a small circle, like an isolated island holding on amidst raging waves.
When I first jumped into the sea, the temperature control system of the air-conditioned suit could barely withstand the high temperature.
But as the giant waves repeatedly crashed against the mask, the salt frost on it grew thicker and thicker, compressing the view into a narrow slit, allowing only a vague glimpse of the people floating around and the surging waves.
"Hold on tight! Don't let go!" Zhou Shuwan's voice was swallowed up by the wind and the sound of the waves.
Zhou Jianghai's arm was wrapped around her like an iron clamp, while Zhong Tiyun held Mu Mu's other hand tightly, her lips pressed into a straight line, her eyes full of determination.
Their bodies rose and fell violently with the giant waves, sometimes being thrown high into the air with the vast sea beneath their feet, and sometimes being slammed back onto the surface.
A suffocating pressure came from my chest, as if my internal organs were about to be displaced.
The eye of the storm brings not only giant waves, but also terrifying swirling air currents.
The seawater began to form huge whirlpools, like giant black mouths, moving back and forth on the surface, trying to swallow all the floating objects.
Zhou Shuwan could clearly feel a powerful torque pulling her body, causing their small circles to spin continuously. In the midst of the dizzying rotation, the boundary between the sky and the sea became completely blurred.
The already dark sky was now completely covered by brownish-black clouds. The salt mist, like fine sand, lashed against the mask, making a crackling sound, and even breathing became difficult.
She subconsciously looked around, her eyes urgently searching for Qi Mingyu among the densely packed floating figures.
The evacuation was too rushed; she evacuated with the people in the command center.
However, the order to evacuate had already been given, and by this time, he should have already hidden himself in the sea.
A dense wave of worry washed over her, but she quickly forced herself to calm down.
Qi Mingyu was wearing an air-conditioned suit, and he was always calm and quick-witted, so he would definitely be able to protect himself.
She can't afford to panic now; she has to protect her parents and Mu Mu—that's her most important responsibility right now.
"Watch out for the whirlpool! Move closer!" Zhou Jianghai suddenly shouted, forcefully pulling Zhou Shuwan and Zhong Tiyun toward him.
Not far away, a whirlpool several meters in diameter was rapidly forming. The seawater swirled and sank downwards, forming a dark funnel shape. Several survivors who had not been able to grab onto any floating objects were being dragged by an invisible force and slid towards the center of the whirlpool, letting out desperate cries.
Zhou Shuwan watched helplessly as they were swallowed by the vortex, her heart aching, yet she was powerless to do anything about it.
Another giant wave crashed down, like a moving mountain, with the force of a thunderbolt.
At the moment of impact, Zhou Shuwan heard Zhong Tiyun groan, presumably because her back had hit something hard. But she didn't let go; instead, she gripped it even tighter.
The salt frost on the mask was partially washed away by the giant waves, only to be immediately covered by new salt mist. Everything in sight became distorted and blurred. All that could be seen were a few pieces of fortress floating around, colliding and tumbling in the waves, making a piercing metallic scraping sound.
"Wanwan, are you alright? How is Mumu?" Zhong Tiyun's breathless voice rang in Zhou Shuwan's ears.
"I'm fine, and Mu Mu is alright too!" Zhou Shuwan nodded vigorously.
Zhou Jianghai said in a deep voice, "Don't speak, save your energy! Hold on to whatever is floating nearby, go with the waves, and don't resist!"
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed a floating fragment of boiling-point alloy, a remnant of the fortress's outer layer that had been torn apart, its edges sharp yet sturdy enough.
He firmly secured the fragment in the middle of the four people, giving the small circle a temporary support point.
The core area of the storm's eye is moving rapidly, the sea surface is shaking more and more violently, and even the air seems to be trembling.
Zhou Shuwan could feel the seawater temperature rising continuously. The temperature control system of the air-conditioning suit had issued a low battery warning, and fine water droplets began to condense on the inside of the mask, mixed with salt frost, making breathing even more difficult.
Her gaze once again searched uncontrollably through the crowd, but she still couldn't find Qi Mingyu.
"Hang in there a little longer, the eye of the storm will be over soon!" she shouted to her family, as if encouraging herself.
She remembered the old researcher saying that the eye of the storm wouldn't last too long, and as long as she could survive the most intense phase, her chances of survival would greatly increase.