Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 123: Subspecies (8)

Dragon Raja 3

“Their expertise is in atomic bombs! If the nuclear power chamber explodes, it would be equivalent to a nuclear bomb in the tens of megatons range, potentially causing an underwater earthquake or tsunami. In the worst case, it could sink Japan.”

“We’re at a depth of 6,400 meters; we still have two kilometers to the bottom of the Abyss. The rolling has stopped, and the submersible is regaining its upright position!” Chu Zihang firmly gripped the control sticks for the rudder and stabilizers. “If we have power, we can glide underwater.”

“What does underwater gliding mean?” Lu Mingfei couldn’t understand what they were talking about; every term seemed arcane, yet those arcane terms were all related to his life.

“The equipment department installed stabilizers on this submersible, similar to airplane wings, which can allow it to cruise underwater at a speed of 12 knots with the support of powerful energy. The stabilizers provide lift, so in simple terms, it’s like a plane flying in the sea.”

“Isn’t that a bit too advanced? But if it can save lives, then it’s worth it! After all, falling into the trench is a dead end; I might as well trust the equipment department and gamble that the nuclear power chamber won’t explode!”

Caesar tightly gripped the yellow wrench, slightly trembling. There were two possibilities after pulling this wrench: either the Trieste ship would gain power and glide through the deep sea like a light bird, or there would be a nuclear explosion, and the three of them would be doomed, possibly triggering a tsunami and earthquake that could strike Japan. If the wrench were in Lu Mingfei’s hands, he would have pulled it already; at this point, it was the only way forward. Whether Japan sank or not was no longer his concern. He was anxious and restless, but embarrassed to persuade Caesar to do such a heartless act, so he could only stare blankly at Caesar. Caesar’s gaze was sharp, and his lips were tightly pressed; the lives of hundreds of millions rested in his hands. At this critical moment, Caesar seemed to be struggling internally, revealing his respect for innocent lives; he didn’t want to drag hundreds of millions of Japanese people into this. Lu Mingfei felt a bit ashamed; the education of blue-blooded aristocrats was indeed different.

He remembered reading a post online about “what it means to be aristocratic,” saying that during World War I, a young British lord served as the first officer on a warship, which was hit by the broadside of a German ship. As his ship was about to sink, the young earl raised a white flag to request assistance for the drowning officers. The German captain, also an aristocrat, disregarded the fact that his own ship was still engaged in battle and ordered the lifeboats to be lowered to rescue the British sailors. After all the sailors were rescued, the British lord expressed his gratitude to the German captain but did not walk over the gangplank, adhering to the aristocratic family motto of going down with his ship. The level of ideological nobility was something Lu Mingfei couldn’t even aspire to.

Unable to hold back any longer, Lu Mingfei said, “Boss, if you can’t make a hard decision, let me handle the bad stuff!”

“What does making a hard decision have to do with this?” Caesar was taken aback.

“Aren’t you worried about the nuclear power chamber exploding and causing an underwater earthquake?” Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

“No, I just forgot the activation code I set,” Caesar said, typing on the keyboard. “No matter how I enter it, it’s all wrong!”

Mai was face down, secured to the surface of the submersible. Her perception of the depth changes was much more pronounced than that of the three people inside the submersible. The greater the depth, the higher the water pressure; ultimately, the pressure increased geometrically, and her body was slightly pressed into the metal shell of the submersible! The bloodline enhancement had given her a brand-new Yanling ability. Without this new Yanling, she would be violently crushed by the high pressure. First, the air in her lungs would be compressed to the point of bursting, and then her blood would penetrate through her skin, merging her bones and flesh into an indistinguishable mass of organic matter. During a previous dive into the Mariana Trench, due to the high pressure, the Trieste ship had shrunk by 5 centimeters.

Before her, there was nothing but darkness. The sensation of falling into endless blackness was terrifying; if it weren’t for the drug enhancing her bloodline, she might have cried out in fear. This feeling reminded her of her first ninja training, when her teacher brought her to the edge of a cliff and said, “Jump down, and I’ll teach you what you want to learn.” But the teacher hadn’t provided her with a safety rope or parachute, and the mist below obscured her view. She thought she must have misheard, staring blankly at her teacher. The teacher repeated, “Jump down, and I’ll teach you what you want to learn. If you have the determination to become a ninja, it’s because you hold a great desire. If that desire isn’t strong enough to make you willing to give your life for it, then you might as well not learn this ancient technique.”

Mai jumped down, resolutely. The safety net hidden in the mist caught her, and she lay on it, staring blankly at the sky and laughing. The teacher asked, “Why are you laughing?” Ten out of ten people who wanted to learn ninjutsu would only have one brave enough to jump down. That person, after discovering that they survived the trial, would often burst into tears from fear. Mai replied, “I wasn’t thinking of anything; I just laughed because it’s comfortable lying here, with the clouds and mist flowing above and below me as I gaze up at the sky.” The teacher fell silent for a moment before saying, “It seems your desire is greater than I thought; you will become an excellent ninja… but one day, I fear you will die because of that great desire.”

Because of such a great desire, she was fearless, even willing to die for it.

At that moment, a light suddenly appeared before her.

A screeching sound of metal bending came from above the cockpit, and the sensation of weightlessness abruptly disappeared, replaced by the feeling of extreme weight. Lu Mingfei was pressed hard against his seat, barely able to breathe. The sensations of weightlessness and weight alternated as the Trieste ship slowly braked.

The depth gauge stopped at 7,900 meters, and the Trieste ship struggled to float in the deep sea, tilting slightly. The various lights on the control panel flickered for a moment before suddenly going out, plunging the cockpit into darkness. Lu Mingfei was filled with the sound of a “whoo” from the whistle, the high-speed airflow and hydraulic oil flowing through the pipes. The Trieste ship felt like an old man; the dense pipes were its veins. This old man had just finished a marathon, with blood pressure almost ready to burst its veins, but it still managed to hold on.

The three of them slumped in their seats, overwhelmed with the joy of having narrowly escaped death. Although they didn’t fully understand what had happened, it was clear that some emergency plan had taken effect.

Caesar grabbed a flashlight to check the control panel. “The circuits and pipes are still normal; air chamber number four is still functioning. It really is a prototype.”

“Your prototype nearly killed us,” Lu Mingfei panted. “Speaking of which, how did we stop?”

“It was the safety hook that worked,” Chisei’s voice came through the earpiece. “I remotely activated the safety hook to slow down gradually, pulling you in. Is the equipment still operational?”

“The circuits and pipes are fine, but we’ve lost power,” Caesar replied.

“This is a power outage protection. You need to check all systems; if there’s no problem, you can manually restore power.”

“There’s a bit of an issue; the oxygen supply is down to 44%,” Caesar said. “Damn, the air chamber is leaking! Why has the oxygen supply dropped so drastically?”