Read Novel Full Chapter 571: Encounter at Sea
Chapter 571: Encounter at Sea
A few of them swam over to the nearest tank, cleaned off the mud attached to it, and then had Jiang Ning come over to collect it.
The tank disappeared right on the spot. The sudden suction was so strong it nearly yanked them off their feet—they almost saw stars from the impact.
A 10,000-cubic-meter oil tank takes up a lot of space.
With plenty of experience scavenging for supplies, Jiang Ning could tell that this one was filled with liquid based on how much energy it drained.
That was just one tank outside the ruins. There were plenty more, both in and around the underwater wreckage. Everyone moved cautiously, trying to avoid the more dangerous spots.
Shadows flickered beneath the sea—there weren’t just oil tanks, but also collapsed, massive refining equipment. It must’ve been a refinery before the natural disaster.
After they cleared away the bricks and debris piled on top of one tank, the team hid at a safe distance. Jiang Ning tied a rope to the tank and moved from a short distance away, then proceeded to collect it.
Whenever they got tired, they’d head to the shore to rest.
Jiang Ning brought out the transport ship. On deck, five oil tanks sat neatly in place. Despite being exhausted, the team scrambled up to take a peek inside.
The tank openings were wide, and it took some time and effort to clean and pry them open.
The moment the lid came off, a strong, pungent smell hit them right in the face.
Instead of covering their noses, everyone looked like they were high.
“It’s oil!”
The team cheered, “Captain Huo, Captain Xu, it’s oil!”
Huang Mao shouted excitedly, “Sister Ning, you’re amazing!”
They scooped out some of the black liquid. They weren’t experts, but based on the look and smell, it seemed like refined fuel.
Oh my god—10,000 cubic meters of fuel!
The team went wild with joy and rushed to open the second tank, which was also filled with intact oil.
Six oil tanks—60,000 cubic meters of oil!
It felt like a dream. People were punching each other in the arm, pinching shoulders—yep, it hurt. This was real.
Besides food and medicine, oil was the most desperately needed resource.
With female members around, the men didn’t dare take their shirts off to celebrate, so they just ran around the transport ship like maniacs. “Hahaha, there’s a lot more underwater!”
Thankfully, these tanks were specially made, with incredible thickness and density. Otherwise, they might’ve leaked or floated away during the earthquake and collapse.
Worried something might go wrong if they waited too long, the team got back in the water after resting. “Sister Ning, save your strength, we’ll call you when we’re done.”
The tanks took up a lot of space. By the time they’d cleared 17 of them, the transport ship was already full.
Even a professional oil transport ship couldn’t risk overloading—it might trigger problems out of nowhere.
But since coming out was no easy task, the team stacked the dismantled steel beams neatly in one place, then had Jiang Ning collect and store them.
This trip took over a month. Even though they only found one Fire Seed Container, they gained 170,000 cubic meters of oil, which is totally worth it!
After finishing up, they headed back.
The transport ship was stored again in space, and both submarines cruised along happily.
On the third day of their return journey, they suddenly detected another group nearby.
Carrying such a valuable supply, both submarines immediately went on alert, everyone taking their positions.
The other side noticed them too and also got defensive. First came sonar probing, then coded light signals.
As they got closer, their identities became clear.
No way—it was their fellow crew from 2688’s sister ships: 0901, 1208, and 2503.
Once the signal exchange was done, both sides slowly surfaced and, as if by instinct, stepped out from their submarines.
They were all East Asian faces, but no one seemed to recognize anyone else.
There were 12 people on the other side. Noticing the unfamiliar numbers on Zhang Li and the others, they frowned and asked, “You’re not the planners assigned to these submarines. How come you have one?”
Just as they finished, they saw Xu Kaitai emerge from the nuclear submarine, and all of them instinctively straightened and saluted. “Chief Instructor Xu!”
Anyone from the southern military submarine unit—even if they weren’t personally trained by Xu Kaitai—would still recognize him without question.
At the Huacheng base, Xu Kaitai had always been a key figure in the submarine team—especially since most of the team originally came from the southern military.
But he’d been missing since his last mission, and everyone assumed he had died. The team had grieved for him for a long time.
Now, here he was, alive and standing right in front of them.
Three of them were even his former students. Tears instantly welled up in their eyes.
“Sir!”
When the military ship evacuated from the Arctic returned, news spread in Huacheng that the southern military team had been found, and they had already established the Fengcheng base on land.
This news had not been officially released; it was mostly discussed privately.
Most of the discussions came from those who had been at the southern military base.
Even if the news was true, starting a base from scratch couldn’t have been easy.
Everyone had mixed feelings. More than anything, they hoped they’d be able to reunite with old comrades someday.
The nuclear submarine was large, and Xu Kaitai called his students over to gather. “You’re on a mission?”
They nodded.
“Yes, Sir. We’re out here looking for survivors.”
Xu Kaitai asked with concern,
“How’s Huacheng doing these days?”
“Not bad! They managed to reclaim land from the sea and build an island. There are over 50,000 people living there now. A big portion has already been relocated to land over 300 nautical miles away. There’s enough fish cakes and maggots to go around, but because of the bad weather, farming is tough. The food supply still isn’t fully self-sufficient.”
“Fish cakes and… maggots?”
Huang Mao and the others nearly gagged.
It’s easy to go from hardship to luxury but going the other way… that’s rough.
Back in the day, even maggots were out of reach. But as mission personnel, they had decent treatment—plenty of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and with Sister Ning’s help, sometimes even dumplings, buns, or rice.
They had kept a few dozen pieces of cloth, so they wouldn’t have to worry about clothes for the rest of their lives.
Fengcheng started with nothing, but life improved quickly.
Huacheng had a good foundation, but it seemed to be developing more slowly.
From what they said, Huacheng now has an island, with the nearest land over 300 nautical miles away.
Huang Mao couldn’t help but feel emotional.
One person had changed an entire city.
There were no words to describe that kind of impact.
He was a thoughtful guy. He called Zhang Li over to help cook a pot of seaweed soup and fry a couple of savory pancakes with pickled vegetables.
“Come on, come try some!”
Huacheng grew wheat, but with so many mouths to feed, even submarine team members barely got to eat it once every two months—and they were considered the lucky ones.
The smell of fresh pancakes made everyone’s mouth water, but no one dared to move their chopsticks.
This food was a real luxury.
Xu Kaitai’s expression was a little complicated.
“Go ahead, try it. Things will get better from here.”
Only then did the students pick up their chopsticks. They didn’t wolf it down though—they chewed slowly, savoring every bite.
Jiang Ning asked,
“How’s the base hospital doing?”
“Not bad. There’s an herbal garden, medical equipment, and a program to train and select doctors.”
Jiang Ning pretended to be surprised, “Which doctor is so skilled that he can take apprentices?”
“I think it’s a Professor Ma, from Guangdong Province in the south. I saw him once when I went for treatment. He’s a very kind old man.”
Ma Guangnian is still alive?
Jiang Ning quietly let out a breath of relief. With him around, she was sure they’d soon have a team of skilled doctors.
Once everyone warmed up to each other, conversation flowed more naturally. Huang Mao asked,
“Besides Chief Gu, have all the other regional military leaders arrived too?”
“Except for one who passed away, the others have all arrived.”
With all the core members back, Huacheng had thrown itself into development and rebuilding. Zhang Li and the others were both excited and curious.
“How are the people from our old southern base doing over there?”
The other group looked a little conflicted for a second but quickly put on a smile.
“They’re doing fine.”