Chen Hao pressed the start button, and the lifting platform slowly rose. The overhead lights dimmed one by one, the pressure gauge began to tick, and the submersible detached from the seabed, entering its return trajectory.
The atmosphere inside the cabin relaxed.
“Mission accomplished.” Karl leaned back in his seat and pushed his helmet back. “Finally, I don’t have to keep staring at those flashing fish anymore.”
"Do you think they'll hold a grudge?" Chen Hao chuckled as he checked the navigation route. "We took a family photo of them and then ran away."
Susan was organizing the memory cards when she heard this and almost burst out laughing. "You call that a family portrait? That's a record of the behavioral patterns of thirty-seven different species."
“They all look the same to me anyway.” Carl opened his music playlist. “Let’s listen to a song to celebrate.”
A light, cheerful melody began, its rhythm just enough to drown out the engine's low hum. Chen Hao didn't stop him; instead, he hummed along a couple of times. He turned to look at Nana, who stood in front of the control panel, her blue eyes steadily scanning the various data points.
“The system is functioning normally,” she said. “Oxygen levels are at 87%, energy reserves are at 91%, and communication links are stable.”
“Perfect.” Chen Hao leaned back, hands behind his head. “When we get back to base, I’m going to sleep for two days straight. No showers, no getting out of bed, no one can wake me.”
“Then you have to let us know in advance,” Carl said. “Otherwise, Susan will poke your forehead with a thermometer and think you have hypothermia.”
Susan rolled her eyes at him: "I'm a doctor, not a nanny."
“But you do more meticulous work than a nanny,” Carl muttered. “You even reminded me when my shoelaces came undone last time.”
“Because you could trip yourself up and fall into the trench.” Susan put away the recorder. “And you actually tried it.”
Several people laughed. Chen Hao felt that the air was much lighter than when they were diving. There were no alarms, no abnormal signals, and even the sound of the thrusters was like a lullaby.
Nana suddenly raised her hand and pressed the pause button on the music.
The sound stopped abruptly.
Her pupils narrowed to slits as she stared at the main screen.
“Deep tremors were detected,” she said. “The epicenter was at a depth of 8.6 kilometers, and the energy index continued to rise.”
Chen Hao sat up straight. "How strong?"
“The warning threshold has not been reached yet, but the frequency of fluctuations does not conform to known geological activity models.” She pulled up the waveform graph, where the red curve fluctuated wildly, “increasing by four hundred times in the past ten minutes.”
Carl leaned closer for a look. "Is this thing going to explode?"
“The possibility exists,” Nana said. “I recommend an immediate assessment of the navigation risks.”
Chen Hao grabbed the communicator to confirm the location. "Forty minutes' journey to the safe channel. Are there any markers ahead?"
"It was just updated ten seconds ago." Nana pointed to the map. "This area has been designated as an unstable zone. We recommend taking a detour."
"Then let's go around," Chen Hao said. "Turn off the music, collect the loose items, and everyone back to your positions."
Carl immediately shut down the entertainment system and turned to check the power output. Susan locked all the storage devices in the waterproof case and fastened her seatbelt. Nana reloaded the flight simulator, and three alternative routes appeared on the screen.
“The first route goes northwest, avoiding the epicenter, but it involves crossing the strong current zone,” she said. “The second route deviates southward, with less thermal interference, but the distance increases by 32 percent. The third route… is basically a direct confrontation.”
“We’re excluding the third option,” Chen Hao said. “We’re not relying on luck.”
“What about the risks of strong currents?” Susan asked.
“The thruster load will increase.” Carl looked at the parameters. “Up to 70%, we can handle it. The problem is that if we encounter turbulence, the attitude control may not be able to keep up.”
“Then let’s take the second route,” Chen Hao decided. “It’s better to go slower than to get ourselves into trouble.”
"Adjust course to 217," Nana entered the command. "Full speed ahead, maintain current depth."
The submersible slowly turned, and the engine noise suddenly deepened. The hull vibrated slightly, as if it had stepped onto an unseen ramp.
Susan stared at the thermal image on the screen. "There's a slight heat spread in the southeast direction, and the area is expanding."
“Signs of volcanic eruption are emerging.” Nana analyzed simultaneously, “Combined with rock stress data, the probability of eruption has risen to 73%.”
"That's high enough." Chen Hao fastened the shoulder straps. "Everyone, get securely strapped in and turn off any unnecessary systems."
Carl turned off the external lighting, leaving only the emergency light source inside the cabin. Susan unplugged the camera unit and held the recorder close to her chest. Nana entered monitoring priority mode, her eyes flashing blue light, constantly updating the environmental feedback.
"A Level I geological disaster warning has been issued." She read out the system notification. "It is recommended that all units evacuate the core area immediately."
On the map, a reddish patch appeared on the originally dark seabed, spreading at a visible speed.
“I’m familiar with this place,” Carl said in a low voice.
"It's not boiling yet." Chen Hao stared at the video feed behind him. "As long as there are no bubbles, we have time."
Nana suddenly turned to the side. "Crack expansion detected, at an accelerated rate. Escape window expected to shrink to twenty-five minutes."
"Speed up," Chen Hao said. "Run as fast as you can."
The command was given, and the thrusters were at full power. The submersible lurched forward, as if it had been kicked from behind. Carl reached out to steady himself on the control panel, while Susan shrank back into her seat.
"Stay steady," Chen Hao said. "Don't let the jolting disrupt your rhythm."
“The navigation system is still working,” Nana said. “The flight path deviation is less than 0.1 degrees.”
“That’s good.” Carl breathed a sigh of relief. “I was worried that if it got nervous, it would take us on a world tour.”
“If it really turns, I’ll say you touched a button you shouldn’t have,” Chen Hao said.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been blamed.” Karl grinned. “In Chapter 653, the leak was clearly caused by you loosening the screws.”
“That time it was an accident,” Chen Hao said. “If something happens this time, it will be premeditated murder.”
Susan couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly stopped herself. She watched the changing terrain on the screen, her brows slowly furrowing.
“Look at this.” She pointed to a blurry area. “The vibration pattern here… is different from the rest.”
Nana immediately zoomed in on the image. "You're right. This part of the shockwave exhibits periodic pulses, occurring every 3.2 seconds."
"Artificial?" Carl asked.
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Nana analyzed. “It’s more like some kind of structural resonance.”
"Who cares if it looks similar or not?" Chen Hao said. "It's always better to stay away."
None of them asked the question—why do deep-sea earthquakes follow a pattern?
Now is not the time for discussion.
The submersible continued forward, and a dark red glow appeared in the seawater behind it, like light seeping from the earth. At first, it was very faint, almost invisible, but after a few seconds, the red glow became clearer.
"The temperature has risen by 0.6 degrees," Nana reported.
“This is just a warm-up,” Carl said. “Once it’s really boiling, we’ll have to rename it a seafood platter.”
“You’re the main dish,” Chen Hao said. “Susan and I are the side dishes, and Nana is the rice cooker.”
"Thank you," Nana said expressionlessly. "I'll remember this category."
Susan looked down at her hands. "Actually, what I'm most worried about right now is... I still have to write a report when I get back."
"Don't even think about it," Carl said. "Once we get ashore alive, I'll treat you to hot pot."
"You're treating?" Chen Hao laughed. "Last time you treated me to a bowl of hot and sour noodles, saying it was your 'masterpiece of simple meals'."
“That still cost eighteen dollars,” Carl retorted. “My wallet is thinner now.”
“Your wallet is fatter than mine,” Chen Hao patted his belly. “At least it can still hold things.”
There was a brief silence in the cabin. The sound of the engine filled the gaps.
Then Nana spoke up: "The latest data shows that the eruption countdown is about nineteen minutes."
“It’s shorter than before,” Susan said.
“We’re already running.” Chen Hao stared ahead. “We can only hope that this road is straight enough.”
“It’s straight enough,” Carl said, looking at the navigation system. “I just don’t know if the end is hell.”
"I have to go to hell, even if it means going to hell," Chen Hao said. "I've already paid for the tickets."
Nana's gaze swept over the four people. "Vital signs are normal, and psychological stress is within a controllable range."
"I'm pretty energetic," Carl said, stretching his neck. "It's just that my butt is a little numb."
"Bear with it," Chen Hao said. "Stretch when we get to the surface."
Neither of them mentioned going back.
Nobody wanted to see that ever-brighter red light.
The submersible sped through the darkness like a man-made meteor that refused to stop. Ahead lay an unknown safe zone, behind lay a subterranean behemoth awakening.
The only sounds inside the cabin were the hum of machinery and the occasional conversation.
"Do you think the base knows about this?" Susan asked.
"I don't know," Chen Hao said. "We're the nearest unit."
“Then let’s not keep them waiting too long,” Carl said. “I don’t want them to think we’ve all disappeared and start playing funeral music.”
“If you really die, the clips shown will definitely be comedy clips,” Chen Hao said. “The title will be ‘A Fool Who Always Tells Lame Jokes’.”
“Then you can’t escape either,” Carl retorted. “The tragic hero who was so fat he got stuck in the escape pod.”
Susan sighed softly. "Could you all be quiet for a moment?"
"No," they both said in unison.
Nana blinked. "Increased heat flow velocity detected behind, approximately 3.2 kilometers from the closest point on the current flight path."
"Is it chasing us?" Susan asked.
“It’s not chasing,” Nana corrected, “it’s that the directions of diffusion just happen to overlap.”
“It doesn’t sound much better,” Chen Hao said. “Tell everyone to hurry.”
Everyone placed their hands on the armrests. Carl checked the seatbelt buckles three times. Susan closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again.
Nana's blue light flickered steadily in the darkness.
The waters ahead remained dark, but the green light of the navigation point was getting closer.
“Twelve minutes left,” she said.
"That's enough," Chen Hao said. "As long as the power doesn't go out right now."
The main light flickered as soon as he finished speaking.
Everyone was stunned.
Carl was the first to react. "Don't scare me!"
“Voltage fluctuations.” Nana quickly investigated. “External electromagnetic interference has increased, but it has not affected the core power supply.”
"Thank God," Susan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Couldn't you have waited until I finished saying good luck before saying bad luck?" Chen Hao glared. "I was just trying to bring good fortune!"
“The system doesn’t talk about auspiciousness,” Nana said. “It only tells the facts.”
“The truth is we’re being chased like dogs right now,” Carl said, staring at the rearview camera. “And that dog is about to set us on fire.”
In the image, the red light on the seabed has merged into one, as if the earth has cracked open.
"Speed up," Chen Hao said. "Don't let it taste our food."
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