"Escort One, lower the altitude, slow down, follow me, don't rush in!"

"Guard two, change the formation, spread out in a column, and so on on in the back, open the spacing, don't stick too tight!"

"There is a strong undercurrent gushing out of the cave on the right, everyone should pay attention to adjust the power and try to avoid hitting the wall!"

……

In the short-distance communication system and headphones, Meng Lei's cold command voice was constantly heard.

In the dark and narrow tunnel of deep-sea rock formations, five submarines lined up in a line, slowly moving forward under the command of Meng Lei.

From the third day after his departure, Meng Lei found that

I was too optimistic about the difficulty of this trip to the wasteland.

In addition to the alien sea monsters lurking in the dark, the complex sea environment is also one of the biggest obstacles that makes it difficult for the fleet to move forward!

Unlike the last passage to the Molten Outpost,

The closest passage to the hydrothermal wasteland area, after about 500 kilometers away from the city of Sill, suddenly began to become rough and complicated.

The smooth and smooth bare rock formations around it have inexplicably turned into sharp rock thorns hanging upside down.

And in the dense huge holes in the surrounding rock walls, there are also continuous undercurrents gushing out.

It's like a sudden passing wind, and if you don't pay attention to it, the submarine will sway from side to side, and it is difficult to maintain stability and balance.

Not to mention Zhang Chao and Lin Ming, who are novice captains, even Meng Lei, who has thousands of kilometers of driving experience, inevitably suffered a few dark losses.

On the third day of going to sea, the Sea Locust, which had just finished maintenance and maintenance, was already scarred on the surface of its shell, and there were a lot of scratches caused by the collision.

Fortunately, the specially reinforced shell structure,

It is not enough to be seriously damaged under this level of collision, and the overall structure is still intact.

It's just that the potholed surface looks a little embarrassed.

However, Meng Lei still did not dare to take it lightly and strictly controlled the overall speed of the fleet.

And always rush to the front of the queue to open the way, warning everyone in advance to avoid being harassed by potential hidden dangers.

As a result, the speed of the voyage has undoubtedly dropped considerably.

Under normal circumstances, it can reach a speed of thirteen or fourteen kilometers per hour, but in this sea area, it is impossible to reach even a speed of five kilometers per hour.

A whole day passed, and the fleet had only advanced less than sixty kilometers in total.

And the captains who were responsible for driving the submarine were also mentally exhausted and in extremely poor condition.

This feeling can be more tiring than driving on land for more than ten hours in a row, first of all, because of the visual fatigue caused by insufficient light.

Secondly, in order to avoid hitting the wall, we must always be on guard against sudden undercurrents under the sea.

The spirit is always in a state of high tension, and even the iron man will inevitably feel tired.

In the Sea Locust, Meng Lei sat on the leather seat in the command room, his eyes solemn, constantly flashing back and forth between the sonar display and the projection in front of him.

The automatic navigation system and the automatic driving system of the submarine cannot play any role in such a complex and changeable sea environment.

If you want to sail safely, you must take manual driving.

Since waking up in the morning, he has been driving for eleven hours straight.

Except for a proper rest during lunchtime, he was stuffed in the cockpit the whole time, and even rarely went to the toilet.

The coffee on the table continued cup after cup,

The water in the body was discharged from the body in a cold sweat in a thrilling situation again and again.

The scene in front of me, except for the darkness that stretches as far as the eye can see, and there is no end in sight,

There are only occasional bubbles of bubbles that rise and fall, and white flocculent fragments of organic matter floating slowly.

The whole world seemed extremely lonely and desolate, as if it was driving on the edge of the universe, without the slightest vitality.

It was also the first time for Meng Lei to encounter such a complex sea environment, and he felt unprecedented pressure.

The reason why he didn't rest for so long was because he wanted to get through this area as soon as possible.

But this road seems to have no end, and no matter how hard he tries, there is no hope at all.

"How long will it take to go on like this? If all of them were in this environment before arriving at the hydrothermal wasteland, they wouldn't be able to run to the Barona colony for half a month, let alone half a month! ”

Pick up the coffee cup on the table and take a deep sip.

The rich bitterness frantically hits the taste buds, and the intense sensory stimulation slightly dispels some mental exhaustion.

Meng Lei sighed silently in his heart, really a little helpless.

As for the map of the hydrothermal wasteland area, he did not lack it, and even more than one.

In addition to the paper map that Ning Wen bought from the store, when he was about to leave, Roger also sent him an updated electronic file map, which recorded the sea environment of the hydrothermal wasteland in detail.

However, there was no clear map of the nearly 1,000 kilometers of passage before reaching the hydrothermal wasteland to point him in the right direction.

This journey can only rely on the submarine's own navigation and positioning, and the signals provided by the sonar beacon stations along the way as a guide through the dark underground ocean.

Therefore, no one knows how long the road will be except those who have sailed in this area.

In addition, the signal provided by sonar beacon stations is not completely stable.

If the beacon station fails, resulting in a loss of signal, it is very likely that an inexperienced person will be completely lost in this underground cavity crack structure.

This is also one of the potential hazards that can be encountered during deep-sea sailing.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the fleet passed through a huge seabed fissure.

It was like a god-like existence, and he used the sharp blade in his hand to cut off a rock formation, cracking a gap in the earth's crust.

After passing through the crack, the scene in front of me finally became clear.

The searchlights on the outside of the submarine no longer get any feedback, and everything becomes hazy.

That feeling made Meng Lei feel as if he had returned to the boundless void where his spawn point was when he had just crossed over.

The only difference was that at that time, sonar detection systems were unable to detect high-altitude conditions due to their limited range.

At the end of the sound wave transmission is a completely empty nothingness, more empty and dead than the universe and space.

But now, as far as the eye can see, it is similar to the original scene.

However, the sonar display can clearly reflect that at a height of about six or seven hundred meters above the head of the fleet, it is completely shrouded in a rocky dome.

"This star really wants to retire"

This also shows that although the fleet has stepped out of the narrow tunnel structure, it is still in a cavity deep in the earth's crust.

However, it is possible to get out of the narrow channel where the undercurrents are agitated and the strange rocks are raised.

Overall, it is relatively gratifying news.

At the very least, the oppressive feeling is no longer shrouded in my heart, and it makes people breathe a lot easier.

However, it didn't take long for everyone to be happy.

When the fleet was guided by the sonar beacon, it was on an upward trend and floated for some distance.

The passage around them became narrow and congested again, and they entered another tunnel into the rock formation.

"I'll go, it's over, how long will it take to get out of the ground?"

Meng Lei sighed helplessly, and his head was big for a while.

At last, he couldn't bear the depression in his heart, called Hans over, and asked:

"Hans, how far do we have to go from a cave structure like this? Isn't it possible that this is the way to go the whole way before you reach the hydrothermal wasteland? ”

Hans shook his head and sighed helplessly:

"Captain, I don't know much about this path, because very few people will go directly from Sil City to the hydrothermal wasteland sea, and most of the time, we will follow the channel where the outpost is located, doing tasks while replenishing supplies at the outpost, and slowly exploring the past."

After a pause, Hans added in a deep voice:

"The route you choose should be a cargo route, and only the supply carriers of long-distance freight stations will choose to take this route in order to save time on detours and for energy consumption reasons.

So, I don't know the specific situation here. ”

Hearing this, Meng Lei was speechless.

This is the loss of inexperience.

Originally, he only wanted to reach the sea area of the hydrothermal wasteland as soon as possible, so he chose the closest route when he set off.

But I didn't think about it, and I actually ran into the freight channel?!

This is similar to the difference between the highway and the national highway, which sometimes detours for a certain distance and is farther than the national highway and provincial highway below.

However, the highway is easy to walk!

Even though the national highway is relatively close, it is rugged and bumpy.

If you have the kung fu to slow down and slow down, you might as well run a little longer and go straight to the high speed.

The point is that the highway is comfortable to drive and the mood is good.

Meng Lei wanted to cry without tears, this was really inexplicably finding guilt for himself, to put it bluntly, the preliminary planning work was not in place!

At this time, seeing that Meng Lei's face was a little ugly, Hans knew what he was thinking, so he added:

"Don't be angry, Captain,

Although the environment of the cargo channel is complex and relatively difficult to walk, other waterways are not necessarily much easier than here.

I haven't been to the hydrothermal wastelands much, but the waterways I've traveled before are not less, and the environment is much the same.

Because it is a very common phenomenon that the deeper you go, the more complex the waterway increases. ”

At this point, Hans paused, and then added:

"In addition, the hydrothermal wasteland area is already a volcanic belt, and geological movements are frequent.

It is normal that the nearby cave environment is correspondingly more complex and varied than in other places.

But since the alliance has chosen to designate this shipping lane as a cargo shipping lane,

In order to ensure the safety of the supplies, it will not be too difficult to walk in front of me, and it should be possible to pass by holding on for two more days. ”

Hearing this, Meng Lei could only nod helplessly.

At this point, it is impossible to choose another path to return home, so you can only go on so hard.

I just hope that as Hans said, it is best to pass through this complex sea as soon as possible.

No matter how bad it is, you can only boil it slowly.

However, even though Meng Lei's mentality adjusted quickly, he slowly calmed down and continued to move forward with the fleet.

But heaven does not grant people's wishes,

The voyage seemed destined to be full of twists and turns, and it wouldn't be so easy.

It was past eleven o'clock in the evening.

Meng Lei had just made a cup of coffee, and he was ready to hold on for a while.

But at this time, the navigation system was suddenly interrupted.

The connection signal to the next beacon site is inexplicably lost, and it cannot be reconnected by any means.

As happened last time on the outskirts of the Molten Outpost, it seems that the beacon station is malfunctioning.

This sudden change suddenly shocked Meng Lei.

The fleet was immediately halted and stationed in its place.

Hans and Karl hurried in, and even the two newly recruited A-class mechanical engineers rushed over from other ships in diving suits to repeatedly check the signal receivers.

In the end, it was determined that the problem was not with the Sea Locust, but with the beacon station ahead.

"Captain, it's getting late, I suggest you rest here for the night for a while, and wait until you wake up tomorrow morning to see what happens."

One of the two A-class mechanical engineers was a middle-aged man named Byron, who made a suggestion.

"Normally, the coalition's troubleshooting would be four hours after the beacon station failed.

This is due to the fact that most beacon stations are located near outposts.

Generally, the failure will be maintained by the nearby outpost first, and if the outpost cannot handle it, the alliance will issue a bounty mission and send a professional bounty hunter to deal with it.

But we are now in the cargo lane, and there are no outposts and gathering places nearby.

Once the signal is lost, the alliance will issue a bounty within an hour.

If we're lucky, by the time we wake up tomorrow, the beacon station in front of us should be repaired.

If we're unlucky, we can take a break and wait for tomorrow when we're back in shape, and then we'll check it out for ourselves.

After all, no one knows exactly what happened to that beacon station.

It's best to always explore at full capacity and not approach too much. ”

Hearing this, Meng Lei nodded approvingly, and immediately accepted Byron's suggestion.

At twelve o'clock in the evening, the fleet stopped in the dark and cold deep-sea rock formations, and did not continue to advance.

Five submarines turned off external light sources and kept sonar silent, with only passive sonar continuing to work.

After arranging the night watch, everyone returned to the crew room one after another and fell asleep.

That night, everyone slept badly.

Including Meng Lei.

In my sleep, there seemed to be something mixed in the torrent outside the boat, which kept gently rubbing against the hull of the boat, making a terrifying scraping sound.

Also, there seems to be something moving on top of the cabin.

Every now and then, there would be a clanging sound, as if someone was playing a prank, holding a hammer and gently hitting the hull hull.

Deep in the underground rock formations of more than 3,000 meters deep in the sea, in the darkness of death.

Such a sound is undoubtedly full of reverie and makes the scalp tingle.

It was a very difficult night......