Read Novel Full Chapter 557: Jiang Ning Feels Guilty For Eating Alone
Chapter 557: Jiang Ning Feels Guilty For Eating Alone
After surviving years of natural disasters, everyone had plenty of experience when it came to survival.
Jiang Ning regained her strength and carefully examined the seaweed, confirming that it showed no signs of abnormal growth.
Zhang Li suggested, “Why don’t we give it a try?”
No one objected. In fact, they were eager to test it out.
They picked the best-looking one, thoroughly washed and cut it into sections, then boiled it for ten minutes before simmering it with salt for a full hour.
An hour should be enough to kill any virus.
But when the dish was finally served, everyone hesitated to take the first bite.
Huang Mao slammed the table and declared, “I’ll do it.”
With a resolute expression, he picked up a large portion with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed.
Everyone watched him anxiously. “How does it taste? Do you feel anything?”
Jiang Ning couldn’t help but smile. “Even if there was a virus, it would be dead by now. The worst that could happen is some stomach discomfort. I have medicine, so don’t worry too much.”
Zhang Li let out a breath of relief. “Right, Anning is a doctor.”
They waited for half an hour. Huang Mao felt fine, so he took another big bite.
Another half hour passed, and he ate another portion.
After two full hours with no signs of discomfort, he went ahead and finished a whole bowl.
Jiang Ning finally stopped him. “That’s enough. Eat in moderation, or you might really upset your stomach.”
By the time they went to sleep that night, Huang Mao showed no adverse reactions. The group agreed to have seaweed soup for breakfast the next morning.
The next day, Jiang Ning had seaweed soup as planned.
Meanwhile, the Fire Seed Container had been retrieved. Xu Kaitai suggested collecting more seaweed as a food supplement.
Most seaweed grew in shallow waters, where large and dangerous marine creatures were rare, making it relatively safe to harvest.
Retrieving the Fire Seed Container hadn’t taken much time, and heading back too early didn’t seem necessary.
Huo Yishen didn’t object. “Alright, let’s spend some time collecting seaweed to stock up for our journey.”
Since retrieving the Fire Seed Container hadn’t been physically demanding, everyone eagerly volunteered to gather seaweed.
All eleven team members dove into the water, while three stayed on the submarine to receive the harvested seaweed and lay it out to dry on deck.
They spent two full days collecting, gathering over 4,000 pounds in total.
Once dried, a pound of fresh seaweed shrank to about four ounces. After two days of work, they ended up with roughly 1,000 pounds of dried seaweed.
Even though they quickly got tired of eating it, the seaweed helped improve their diet and provided essential nutrients, so the group remained in good spirits.
With the seaweed dried and stored, they set off for their second target location, over 400 nautical miles away.
Since they were all around the same age, they quickly grew close.
But as twelve single people, watching their captain show affection with his partner felt like a brutal display of romance.
It was enough to make them groan in agony.
Even in the middle of a disaster, those two were so sweet together that it made others want to get married on the spot.
After observing the group for several days, no one displayed any suspicious behavior. Xu Kaitai even went out of his way to help cover for them.
During casual conversations, Zhang Li and a few others started wondering if the Fire Seed Containers they were collecting would help with base development.
“There are a total of 3,000 Fire Seed Containers, but we’ve only got coordinates for about a hundred. I wonder how many the Huacheng Base has managed to recover?”
“Captain, we need to retrieve not just the ones at known locations but also those that haven’t been discovered yet.”
Huo Yishen nodded. “Good point. The submarine’s sonar can help us detect them.”
By the next morning, they reached the target coordinates. The seabed depth wasn’t too bad, but the sonar readings showed that the Fire Seed Container were buried deep in the sediment.
Jiang Ning wasn’t entirely confident, but after coming all this way, they had to at least try.
The three-member diving team suited up and swam toward the ocean floor, coordinating with each other.
Jiang Ning reached the side of one of the boxes and tried to retrieve it—but it wouldn’t budge.
The suction of the seabed mud was too strong.
After several attempts, they finally managed to retrieve it.
The excessive energy loss made her lose control, and she started sinking toward the rushing seawater.
Huo Yishen reacted quickly and caught her.
Xu Kaitai hurried over to help, pulling the rope with all his strength.
The team members on the submarine received the signal and worked together to pull them up.
Underwater, the two of them supported Jiang Ning, avoiding various sea creatures as they swam upward.
As the pressure decreased, Jiang Ning’s energy gradually recovered. She clutched her oxygen mask and took deep breaths.
Back on the submarine, Huo Yishen had her lie down to rest and handed her a few pieces of chocolate to replenish her energy.
Jiang Ning slept for an entire day and night. When she woke up, she realized they had just left the third coordinate.
She was surprised. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“The Fire Seed Container fell more than 3,000 meters deep. Even the best diving suits can’t reach it.”
Huo Yishen looked at her with concern. “Are you feeling better?”
Jiang Ning had recovered, but going a whole day and night without food left her feeling lightheaded.
She quickly entered her space and treated herself to a feast.
When she opened the door, she was met with the worried gazes of the team.
They gathered around her, expressing their concern. “Anning, are you okay?”
After so many days, the team had already accepted the existence of supernatural abilities, though they weren’t sure which of the three possessed them.
But regardless of who it was, they were all making sacrifices for the base, and the team genuinely admired them.
Jiang Ning’s exhaustion revealed the truth, and the team unanimously decided to give up on retrieving the third Fire Seed Container.
It had fallen too deep—even with supernatural abilities, there was no way to recover it.
“I’m fine.” Jiang Ning felt a little guilty for eating alone and subconsciously wiped the corner of her mouth, worried there might be traces of oil.
After traveling for another day, the submarine was forced to stop.
They had discovered a new land.
It was still 300 kilometers away from the fourth Fire Seed Container.
The submarine couldn’t dock and had to remain in deep waters, while the area ahead was a shallow sea.
Jiang Ning decisively switched to the 2688, and the team continued forward.
When the 2688 could no longer advance, they switched to an assault boat to land.
After some discussion, Jiang Ning, Huo Yishen, Xu Kaitai, and Huang Mao went ashore while the others stayed behind to guard the submarine.
There was no other choice—the base’s helicopter could only carry four people, and the shallow waters were full of edible seaweed. Those staying behind could gather and dry them.
Upon landing, they scouted the surroundings to ensure there was no danger.
After confirming no signs of human activity, Jiang Ning took out the helicopter, with Huang Mao as the pilot.
The four of them ascended a thousand meters into the sky and headed toward the coordinates.
Huang Mao piloted the aircraft while Jiang Ning and the others observed the ground below.
They traveled over 300 kilometers in just over an hour before landing.
All around them was barren wasteland, stretching endlessly into the horizon.
Standing on a high slope, they used binoculars to scan the surroundings but saw no sign of the Fire Seed Container.
Xu Kaitai frowned. “Could it be buried underground?”
No one had an answer, so they continued searching.
They split into pairs and searched the area near the coordinates, hoping it wasn’t buried too deep.
Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen searched for over two hours before finally spotting a faintly protruding edge in the distance through the binoculars.
They ran over to check and, sure enough, it was the Fire Seed Container. However, two-thirds of it were buried, with a thick layer of mud covering it. At first glance, it looked like just another mound of earth.
There was no way to retrieve it easily. With no other choice, they took out shovels and hoes.
Upon receiving the news, Xu Kaitai and Huang Mao rushed over and began digging as fast as they could…