Abyss Express

"Ishikawa is a Ruby-class nuclear attack submarine."

"Its predecessor was a French Daphne-class submarine. Due to the restrictions of the Crown Convention, its torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and mine-laying cabins were all remodeled and turned into storage warehouses and living quarters."

"Its submerged displacement is 2,600 tons, and its submerged depth is more than 300 meters. It is reasonable to say that it is fully capable of exploration operations near volcanic hot springs."

"When the Ishikawa lost contact, there were seventy-three crew members on board."

When we came to the beach, there was an engineering ship parked beside the pier of the scientific research station in Fangfeng Village. Uncle Hanzhi talked about these things with the gunsmith and asked the engineering team to help the gunsmith put on the diving helmet.

"It has three entrances and exits, but only two ways of entry."

"One is a dedicated mission cabin, which provides an entrance and exit for the special operations units of the frogmen."

"One is the isolation compartment. After the personnel enter, the outer hatch is closed at the same time, and then the water is drained, and the inner hatch is opened to put you in."

"With the addition of the last torpedo compartment, you can use this escape route. This is a compulsory course for every sailor before boarding the ship, but for the Ishikawa, it may be a bit painful."

"Because French submarines are accustomed to pneumatic piston-rod ejection systems, this romantic country likes to use high-pressure gas to push the pistons. After the weapons are ejected from the hull, they activate their launchers."

"If you want to leave the Ishikawa from the torpedo cabin, you must pay attention to this point. The torpedo launch procedure is to inject water first, and then activate the piston to push you out of the boat. This process may kill you."

Jiang Xueming nodded, but did not speak. He looked at the cave very far away, but couldn't tell where was the sea level and where was the boundary line of the cave. The king of salary has left, and the sun-loving fish have gradually calmed down. It's time to set off.

Diving helmets and special anti-pressure suits are put on his body, as if wearing a pair of heavy ceramic armor and iron helmets. These equipments must withstand the water pressure of more than 200 meters under the sea, and the volcanic hot springs are close to 100 degrees Celsius. high temperature.

The engineering ship gradually left the dock, and within a few minutes, it arrived at the mission location.

Two thick steel cables became Jiang Xueming's lifeline. This special wire can provide oxygen and signals for diving equipment. During deep diving operations, if the gunsmith loses consciousness, these two lifelines can pull him back immediately.

Under the pitch-black sea level, the waves beat out layers of foam, and in the deeper place, there are golden light sources that flicker one after another, which are the lava spewed out of the craters, and they slowly squirm on the seabed Then, the moment the high-temperature sulfide comes into contact with seawater, it turns into boiling black smoke, which is repeatedly washed away by the lava of hot springs. The pressure difference between cold and hot makes the seawater form a strong circulation, making the seabed water environment become More sinister and complicated.

"Can you hear me?" Uncle Han raised the radio.

The line of sight became narrow, and only a small window could provide a pitiful field of vision. Uncle Hanzhi's voice came from the sound units on both sides of the head. Jiang Xueming raised his hand and responded, "I can hear it."

Uncle Hanzhi: "Let's go."

Xue Ming nodded involuntarily, but this diving equipment did not have a neck at all. With the help of the engineering team, he stepped onto the cage and fell into the dark ocean with the cage.

The moment he entered the sea, a strange inspiration surrounded him.

Warm water flows from all directions, and they are like palms, gently pressing on the diving equipment, just like a curious child who sees a new toy and always wants to touch it.

The four harnesses are connected to the hanging cage, and Xueming is lowered further. Cool and fresh air blows from the back waist, which is the oxygen concentrator of the engineering ship starts to work, and the oxygen is transported through the lifeline of the steel cable.

"The concentration can be lower." Xue Ming said so, and he couldn't help but grasp the wire harness of the hanging cage: "In two minutes, I will have symptoms of drunken oxygen."

"It will gradually decrease." Uncle Hanzhi replied: "The dive is very fast. You must ensure your blood oxygen index. Is your brain still awake?"

"I started to hallucinate." Jiang Xueming replied truthfully: "Looking down, there are too many light spots. The dark places are too dark, and the bright places are too bright, giving me a feeling of dizziness."

There were strange noises from all over the diving equipment. It was the light sound of friction between the thermal insulation ceramic layer and the pressure suit.

The world outside the small window is difficult to describe in words, just as Xue Ming said——

——All kinds of dark color blocks are slowly squirming, the darkness makes his naked eyes have some hallucinations, and the dark color blocks leave some remnants on the retina, and the brain will involuntarily recognize these color blocks It is difficult to express this feeling clearly in a few words.

It's like when we walk at night, when we encounter the environment where the moon is dark and the wind is high and we can't see our fingers, our eyes will have spots of floaters, which will turn into tables, chairs, TVs, and sesame watermelons for a while. This is related to the brain It is related to the associative ability of the human body, which is very magical.

In the pitch-black sea, except for the volcanic light source in the extreme distance, Xue Ming had lost his sense of distance. He couldn't raise his head to observe the engineering ship. He surrounded.

Uncle Hanzhi: "It's very close, can you see Fujima?"

Jiang Xueming responded immediately: "There seems to be a dark outline, and it gradually becomes clear."

The hot spring circulation on the bottom of the sea affected the wire harness of the hanging cage. When it was more than 170 meters underwater, Xue Ming could feel the shaking of the hanging cage, and the steel cable also began to vibrate.

"I see clearly." Xueming saw the complicated seabed, and could hear the sound of fine particles in the seawater hitting the diving helmet. It was all kinds of sulfur compounds carried in the circulation, hitting the diving equipment like raindrops. "Its light is broken, there is no light source."

With a soft bang, the hanging cage landed on the solid bedrock of the seabed. At this moment Xueming came to the bottom of the sea.

The heavy diving equipment firmly locked him on the ground, and through the fluorescent marks on the outside of his legs, he could see that there were glistening sandstones and crystals in the rocks on the seabed—most of them were obsidian volcanic rocks.

There is no mud here, and the circulation activity will take away the smoke and dust in the hot spring.

The terrain is very strange. The polymetallic sulfides ejected from the crater are pulled by the circulation and turned into an invisible file. They repeatedly polish the seabed, making it smooth and smooth. A path run over by a giant snake. Except for the cracks left by geological activity, Xueming can even skate on this road.

Uncle Hanzhi: "Turn on your searchlight."

Xueming followed the instructions. The moment he turned on the light, the strong light illuminated a colorful road. The natural hair colors of various minerals turned the seabed into a big disco stage. It only took a few seconds , The shoulder lamp without the protective cover immediately went on strike, and the fine sand and stones in the circulation knocked out a crack in the pressure-resistant plate outside the bulb.

"My shoulder light is broken, and the headlight should be broken too." Jiang Xueming immediately said to the working group: "The environment on the seabed is very complicated. Can this diving equipment handle it?"

"We tested the heavy metals and minerals in the water." Hanzhi patiently explained: "The main components are iron, zinc, manganese, and copper in basalt and obsidian—they can't crack your steel helmet."

Xue Ming settled down and began to move with difficulty. He slowly touched the vicinity of the Fujima. The hull of the boat had already tilted, as if it was pulled sideways by some huge force, and it fell headfirst on the seabed.

He came to the side of the hull and talked about it with the working group.

"I have arrived on the Fujima, its power supply has been paralyzed, and the diesel engine has also stopped. I can't feel the engine surge in the power department, and it is very quiet."

Hanzhi: "Are there any survivors?"

"It looks like" Jiang Xueming was about to answer, but immediately changed his words, "Wait a minute."

He bent down silently, the bulky diving helmet made it difficult for him to see things below his knees, so he could only lean down to fish.

He took out two fluorescent sticks from the tool bag and looked at the impact part between the hull and the seabed, and then saw an arm, which should be a member of the search and rescue team.

"There is a victim who should have died." Jiang Xueming tilted his body, and the details of this arm could not be seen clearly through the observation window.

It has lost pressure and swelled, the cells have swelled and ruptured from the inside out, it has become pale under the immersion in seawater, the nails have softened and the knuckles are thick. The temperature of the water near the hot spring is close to more than 60 degrees, just when the eggs start to deteriorate, and the same is true for human tissues. This temperature can slowly cook people.

Hanzhi: "Is there a steel nameplate or other identification marks?"

"I have to get closer." Xue Ming held up the fluorescent stick in one hand, and drilled into the shell of the boat with the other hand.

When he approached this swollen arm, he could clearly feel a strong wave of spiritual energy, and when he realized it, he was already a step behind—this diving helmet was too heavy.

He first felt his arm being grabbed by something, and then instinctively flinched away.

When he completely left the hull and returned to the open area, he saw a little minced meat on his arm.

The wreckage buried under the Fujima seems to have moved just now?

"It looks like it grabbed me?"

Xueming didn't understand. When he said these words, Hanzhi couldn't understand the true meaning at all, because the diving equipment could no longer hold the camera and photographic equipment, and the engineering team couldn't see anything.

With the protection of the anti-pressure helmet, Xue Ming didn't suffer any injuries, but the tremor from his arm made him suspicious.

The circulation quickly swept away the bit of minced meat, and after a few seconds, his pupils shrank, and he quickly locked on the arm outside the hull——

——It seemed to be pulled up by Xue Ming's rude movements, and it was torn apart.

It was suspended on the bottom of the sea, rolling rapidly along with the turbulent current. There was no blood flowing from the severed arm, and it was completely boiled white. The exposed bones were first crushed by Fujima, and then bitten by the flexible texture. As for the part that becomes the circulating dust.

This arm seemed to really grab me just now.

Its owner is still alive? is it possible?

The Fujima has entered the water, and no Homo sapiens can survive in this environment.

"This thing seems to be alive."

Hanzhi immediately became nervous: "Do you want to end the mission early? We can bring you back at any time."

"Let's go to the Ishikawa to have a look." Jiang Xueming immediately said, "I can't make this trip in vain. Do I want to bring this arm back?"

Hanzhi: "If possible, it would be best."

Before he finished speaking, the severed arm ran away with the circulation.

Under Xueming's eyes, it turned tens of centimeters away, and was immediately pulled by a stronger force. It was bit by bit beaten into a meat paste by an invisible file on the seabed, and it floated to a mountain depression dozens of meters away, turning into a part of the circulation.

"It's late, I'm sorry, it's gone in just the blink of an eye." Jiang Xueming said, breaking off the light stick, and the green tracer floated forward, immediately turning into a ribbon on the bottom of the sea.

The luminous oil rushes along with the fine sand and rolls upwards, and the liquid which is less dense than seawater cannot escape to the surface of the water, which is locked by the strong water flow.

Xue Ming carefully avoided these invisible "files". Such turbulent currents can be seen everywhere on the seabed. Without the guidance of tracers, the direction and speed of the flow can be discerned just by looking at the gullies on the seabed.

"If there are other search and rescue teams and fishing teams going into the water, ask them to bring more tracers down, it's too dangerous down here." Xue Ming said as he approached the Ishikawa: "I can't back down here, Han Zhi Uncle—it's the same for other psykers, they will lose their lives at any time, let alone ordinary people without inspiration."

"Then you should move faster." Hanzhi reminded: "The two steel cables of the diving equipment can withstand the water pressure and can withstand the grinding of these circulating sand and gravel, but metal will always get tired, and steel will also Creep deformation occurs, and after a long time, its function of transporting oxygen is likely to be affected."

"I'll try my best to make a quick decision." Xue Ming touched the side of the Ishikawa's hull, and followed the regular entrance and exit positions of the submarine in his memory.

It is some distance from the seabed, at a relatively high position—

——Since the Ishikawa is sitting firmly on the rocks, it is really difficult to reach the entrance and exit hatches.

"SD!" Jiang Xueming shouted Hunwei's real name loudly.

The big steel cat jumped out of its body, as if it still didn't understand what happened. The sea water squeezed the head of the fragrant dream, and it blew out bubbles one by one. Can't make any sound. I had to pout my mouth "gurgling" and paddled helplessly to keep my balance.

"Take me up." Jiang Xueming shouted from the air.

But Fenfang Huanmeng couldn't hear what Xueming was saying at all——

——It was stunned for a long time, and finally leaned forward.

Jiang Xueming was taken aback, a big gleaming cat face suddenly appeared through the observation window, Fragrant Dream without any physical support directly stuffed his head into the diving helmet, almost kissing the main body.

"What are you doing!" Cat Knight was confused: "Why did you suddenly come to the bottom of the sea?!"

"Executing an exploration mission." Xue Ming only felt tired. His soul power has self-awareness. The disadvantage is that he has to explain everything to the spirit body again, "Send me to the entrance and exit!"

"Oh! You should have said it earlier!" The big cat suddenly realized, then immediately pouted and winked: "Oh oh oh! I forgot! I can't hear you!"

I saw this almighty robot cat leave the diving helmet, and its legs twisted and deformed, turning into six propeller blades, hugging Xue Ming's torso, lifting the body up all the way up.

When he came to the door of the isolation chamber, Xue Ming discovered that all the mechanical switches and electric control switches of the Ishikawa had failed, and the submarine had become a veritable iron coffin—it had been lying on the seabed for several years.

He tapped lightly on the hull of the boat, gestured, and asked Fragrant Huanmeng to open the door.

Such a small matter can't help the steel cat at all. It swims back and forth between the hydraulic device and the connecting rod group of the gate, looks carefully up and down, and when the gate is opened, removes the rock salt calcification and redness on the joints of the gate. Clamshell, send Xueming in.

"I'm in the submarine, and if I want to go to the living quarters, I have to disconnect the lifeline."

Hanzhi asked nervously, "What's in the isolation warehouse?"

Jiang Xueming held up the light stick and counted the objects in the cabin one by one.

"The plate is intact, no deformation, the structure of the rib is complete, and there is no rust."

"I can see some polyps that look like dandelions, and there are some red clams at the door, hiding in the cracks to survive."

"There are still some broken limbs of sea crabs in the cabin, there are dead starfish and sea anemones, and a layer of sand is deposited on the bottom."

Hanzhi went on to explain: "This is all normal. If you want to disconnect the lifeline, the oxygen reserve in the diving suit will allow you to move freely for 20 minutes."

"My Hunwei is checking the water injection and discharge system of the isolation chamber, if everything is normal." Xue Ming hadn't finished speaking. Fenfang Huanmeng lay beside the mechanical table, making an "OK" gesture with the main body.

"It should be fine, Uncle Hanzhi, everything is going well."

Xue Ming breathed a sigh of relief, and said to every companion in the working group.

"I'm going in. The voice is going to be offline. If there is no movement after 20 minutes, you can send someone down again."

Hanzhi didn't answer right away, he was still thinking about it. Others in the engineering team and scientific research team were silently watching Jiang Xueming's every move. They hoped that this trip would be rewarding, but they hoped that the gunsmith would come back safe and sound.

After a few minutes, Hanzhi finally finished discussing with the team members.

"Wait a minute, gunsmith."

Jiang Xueming leaned on the isolation warehouse and waited near the entrance and exit of the living area. When he heard the voice message from the working group, he immediately responded, "Say it."

Hanzhi immediately said: "We will put down other steel cables as a backup escape route. There are eight diesel engines on the construction ship as tractors, and their winches can bring you up. If anything goes wrong, you should quickly call the Soul Power Gang You violently break a way out, and if you see any steel cable outside, you can follow it back."

"As for whether the water pressure will damage the internal facilities of the Ishikawa, there is no need to consider these. Preserving your life is the priority."

Jiang Xueming: "Understood."

Fragrant Huanmeng slowly removed the two steel cables from Xueming's torso, and the moment the oxygen pipe valve closed, he could feel the air slowly becoming turbid.

The lifeline told Hunwei to throw it outside the door of the submarine's cabin, and then closed the heavy door to ensure the pressure inside the boat.

With the whistling of the pipe valve, the water level gradually dropped, everything became clear and clear, and the heavy gravity pulled Xue Ming back to the familiar environment again. It was almost impossible to see anything in the dim isolation compartment. After he took off his diving equipment, he and the big steel cat opened the isolation door leading to the interior of the submarine.

Many by-products of the nuclear industry are used as safety lights. These tritium tubes are pasted next to the cabinet door of the anti-pressure diving equipment, near the calf in the corridor of the living area, and provide basic lighting for the emergency power-off corridor.

When Xue Ming entered this narrow corridor, he immediately saw two security guards slowly "walking" over from the further dormitory area.

They were dressed in gray and white clothes, with blood stains on their bodies, swollen faces, and no pupils. The hair falls out and half hangs on the face. The flesh seems to have begun to dissolve, walking very slowly, the posture is distorted and weird, the security officer on the right has all the cards, the knee is not working well, the body seems to be drawn by some inexplicable force, and Like a string puppet, it was trembling and wriggling non-stop, and every time it took a step, there was a splashing sound of water.

Jiang Xueming finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he saw these two monsters, it was like seeing his relatives.

"Oh! I thought it wasn't there! It turns out there really is!"