Read Novel Full Chapter 561: Trapped in a Snake’s Nest
Chapter 561: Trapped in a Snake’s Nest
Jiang Ning took out the medicine from the hospital, cleaned and disinfected the wounds, and then bandaged them. One of them needed two stitches.
Then, the group worked together to quickly tidy up the submarine.
With the sea now calm, Jiang Ning took the initiative to prepare a meal—steamed buns.
Flour, dried beans, and cured meat.
After over a decade of life-and-death experiences, especially for special forces soldiers, they had long become indifferent to the idea of life and death.
While making the steamed buns, the others complimented the captain and his wife on their abundant supplies and praised Xu Kaitai’s submarine skills, which were world-class.
The atmosphere was harmonious.
Jiang Ning felt a bit dazed, thinking about the 18th floor, the villa district, and drinking Maotai with Qin Chuan and Rong Sanshao while eating hot pot.
Even in an apocalypse shrouded in darkness, there were still moments of happiness.
After experiencing two major disasters in one day, the following journey was smooth, and they safely reached the fifth coordinate.
This time, it was underwater, only about a hundred meters deep.
From the sonar, the container didn’t appear to be damaged or buried.
Jiang Ning was confident—this task seemed like the easiest one. All she had to do was go down, reach out, and put it into the space.
That’s exactly what she thought, and that’s exactly what she did.
Gu Tinglin’s pneumonia hadn’t completely cleared up, so he still needed to rest carefully. Plus, this was technically Doudou’s first time being independent, which made her worry a little.
Counting the days, Bai Xue had already given birth, and Coke was about to become a father again.
It was only after leaving that she realized how strong the feeling of having a home was—it made her want to rush back as soon as possible.
Jiang Ning put on her diving suit and happily swam toward the Fire Seed Container.
Just as she was about to touch the container, something seemed to suddenly light up.
There was something on the container.
And not just one thing—there were a lot of them!
When she saw what it was, Jiang Ning’s mouth trembled in shock, and seawater almost rushed in.
Escape. Escape immediately.
Run as far as you can!
She hurriedly turned around and fled, no longer looking as cool and composed as she had earlier.
Xu Kaitai was shocked. Was he seeing things, or had she been possessed?
Huo Yishen, with his sharp eyes, pushed him and urged, “Hurry up!”
The underwater light was dim, and the container was covered in mud, but it was only then that they realized it was surrounded by a mass of sea snakes.
Belcher’s sea snakes—the most venomous sea snakes in the world.
They lived in dark reefs, and before the disaster, they could grow up to three meters long. While they weren’t aggressive, their venom was far more potent than any land snake’s. Even when exposed to 100°C heat for five minutes, it remained deadly. It was also highly stable in both acidic and alkaline environments.
And now, after the disaster, they had mutated. Their bodies had changed, and their eyes—those grotesque, indescribable eyes—made it clear that they were anything but normal.
Sensing an intruder, several Belcher snakes chased after them with pinpoint accuracy.
Nine out of ten women are afraid of snakes, and Jiang Ning ran faster than anyone.
Hah, that scared her to death!
Huo Yishen and Xu Kaitai chased after her but couldn’t catch up.
What seemed like the easiest task turned out to be the hardest.
Just thinking about the swarms of Belcher’s sea snakes covering the container made Jiang Ning’s skin crawl.
No way.
She couldn’t stand seeing snakes, let alone snatching the Fire Seed Container from them.
God knows why the snakes had made the Fire Seed Container their nest.
There must have been hundreds of them, and just a glance triggered her fear of clustered things.
Zhang Li, clueless about what had just happened, asked, “Anning, why are you guys back so fast?”
Everyone was thrilled—they were finally going home.
Everyone had their own fears. Xu Kaitai didn’t want to force Jiang Ning to face hers, but the Fire Seed Container was crucial for the base’s future. And with their current equipment, there was no way to retrieve it.
Not knowing how to approach the situation, he instinctively looked at Huo Yishen.
Everyone understood the situation, but overcoming a psychological fear wasn’t that simple—especially when it came to the Belcher’s Sea snakes, which were truly dangerous.
It was then that the truth came to light.
Once they learned the truth, no one wanted to give up so easily after coming all this way. So they started brainstorming.
“We could use sonar to drive them away.”
“The submarine has spearguns. We could shoot one over there.”
“What about water mines? The Fire Seed Container won’t break from an explosion anyway.”
“Our submarine is designed to withstand tsunami impacts. We could just ram into the container and shake them off.”
Huo Yishen didn’t join the discussion. Instead, he sat beside Jiang Ning and whispered, “If you can’t overcome it, it’s fine. The space can make up for it.”
Jiang Ning thought deeply, “Since we’ve come this far, we have to find a way to retrieve it.”
Once she decided to take this path, there was no turning back.
Earlier, fear had overpowered her rationality. It was just a few hundred snakes; after all, she had faced life-threatening situations before.
Besides, she had a full-body diving suit to protect herself.
Even if she did get bitten, the snakes would be biting her suit.
But when she thought about their disgusting patterns and their slippery, cold bodies… Ugh!
Jiang Ning took a deep breath and calmed herself. She was a mature adult now.
In the end, she decided to go back.
Huo Yishen checked her diving suit. “I’ll go with you.”
Having shared a bed for ten years, he could guess her next move. He turned to Xu Kaitai and said, “I’m going with Jiang Ning. You all need to be on guard and watch out for the sea snakes.”
Thinking about the snake-infested seabed, Xu Kaitai was uneasy. But knowing what she was capable of, he held back his concerns. “If it’s possible to recover it, do so, but don’t push it if it’s too dangerous.”
Jiang Ning took a deep breath, then suddenly dove into the sea, quickly swimming towards the snake nest.
What was there to fear from snakes? She had survived the apocalypse and natural disasters.
Huo Yishen held her hand, accompanying her to face the danger together.
As they descended further, the light grew dimmer, and the mass of snakes became clearer.
Jiang Ning saw them clearly now. Countless snakes slithered upward, striking toward them at lightning speed.
She didn’t avoid them. In fact, she could clearly feel the countless snakes coiling around her diving suit, constricting her arms…
Before she knew it, Jiang Ning had placed the Fire Seed Container into the space and tossed it into the black soil garden.
She and Huo Yishen then entered the villa’s main hall.
The diving suit was thick, so the pressure from the snakes was slightly delayed. But the snakes were long and surprisingly strong, with a particularly aggressive nature, and their venom splattered against the suit.
At the same time, several snakes shot towards the diving mask.
Jiang Ning swung her knife, killing a few, then pulled out a mixture of realgar and alcohol and splashed it on Huo Yishen.
The strong smell made the Belcher’s Sea snakes retreat, slithering away from Huo Yishen and quickly disappearing into the villa.
Seeing that it worked, Jiang Ning quickly grabbed another container and dumped it over herself.
The several snakes that were wrapped around her fell off and fled in panic.
Meanwhile, with the Fire Seed Container landing in the black soil garden, a swarm of snakes slithered through the space, flicking their tongues and aggressively claiming their new territory.
The two of them had no time to deal with them. They hurried into the escape pod and left the space.
As soon as Jiang Ning disappeared, all the snakes were kicked out. Not one remained inside.
Some were vicious and tried to chase them, but their swimming speed was no match for the buoyancy of the escape pod.
As they neared the surface, Jiang Ning and Huo Yishen re-entered the space and exited the escape pod.
When the two of them broke through the water, the team hurriedly pulled them aboard, sealing the submarine hatch behind them.
“Captain, Anning! Are you two, okay?”
“The container’s been secured.”
Thinking about the experience, Jiang Ning felt nauseous and dry-heaved for a while before rushing to her room to take a hot shower in the space.
She cleaned her diving suit carefully and checked it over.
Thankfully, it was top quality and hadn’t been corroded by the venom.
After eating some fruit, smelling the flowers, and listening to a few relaxing songs. Only then did the psychological discomfort fade.
Apart from the one that fell into the deep sea, all the Fire Seed Containers from Route 1 were successfully recovered.
When Jiang Ning came out, Huo Yishen and Xu Kaitai had already planned the return route. With favorable winds, they would arrive in about five days.
The next day, as they passed through a shallow-sea area, they noticed the water was relatively clear, and the seaweed was thriving. The team eagerly dived in to gather as much as they could.
The seaweed quality was excellent, and since none grew near Fengcheng, everyone wanted to bring some back.
No one had slacked off, but they soon realized one problem: where could they dry it?
Since all the Fire Seed Containers had been collected, Jiang Ning didn’t want to be partial, so she stuffed it all into the space.
After picking for half a day, something unexpected happened.
Zhang Li had been bitten by a sea snake!