Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Arrived as expected
*
"Whew, wow—bang!"
Thick turbid fog filled the space between the sky and the earth. The river was surging. The water seemed to be stirred by an invisible force. The waves condensed into a thick wall of water, violently hitting the hull of the boat.
The waves were more ferocious than the last, like a cunning and stubborn beast, lifting the Wind Wing high up and then bringing it down heavily, demonstrating its terrifying power to tear everything apart and mocking the insignificance and powerlessness of mankind.
The situation was worse than expected, and the cab was in chaos.
The huge waves lifted up the stern of the ship, and the three people hiding under the driving platform were suddenly thrown toward the inner baffle, which truly explained what it meant to be hit against the wall and unable to get off.
Without any buffer, the next second, huge, irregular waves suddenly lifted the bow of the ship, the ground tilted severely, and the U-shaped driving platform firmly embedded in the ground suddenly turned into an inverted water cup.
There are no handles or support points. Once they are thrown out of the driving seat, they will face free fall and roll from one end of the cab to the other in just a moment.
Fortunately, Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao were tall, and they sandwiched Meng Gaoyang in the middle, straightened their legs and stretched their arms, and stuck themselves firmly between the driving platforms.
But the downside of doing this is that in an instant, waves hit from the side and rear, and the three of them fell heavily to the ground, tumbling into a mess.
Time was stretched infinitely. It was only a minute or two, but it felt like a century to Gu Mengran. Over and over again, ups and downs, the giant pendulum made him dizzy and his internal organs almost dislocated.
If the situation on the river is like this, the situation on the ground... will only be more serious.
"boom!"
The wave came again, carrying a huge humming sound, and hit the Wind Wing with a force as strong as thunder. The impact was stronger than any previous wave, and it seemed that it was about to overturn the Wind Wing.
The ship shook violently, and even though it was anchored, the Wind Wing was still thrown four or five meters away by the huge waves. The entire ship tilted 45 degrees to the east, causing half of the stern to be submerged in the river water in an instant.
"Warning, warning, the ship is seriously tilted! The ship is seriously tilted!"
"Warning, warning, the deck is flooded! The deck is flooded!"
For a moment, the cab was like a busy city, with red alarm lights flashing and warnings sounding deafeningly.
"No, no, we have to steer the ship. If we keep going like this, the Wind Wing will sink!"
The ship was shaking constantly and even tilting towards the sky. Gu Mengran managed to hold back his dizziness and steady himself just as his grandfather, half of his body supported, passed him and tried to get out of the cockpit.
"Grandpa!" Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao reached out and grabbed Meng Gaoyang almost at the same time.
The boat tilted 45 degrees, and it was difficult to stand, let alone steer. If another wave hit, the consequences would be disastrous. But the Fengyi could not sink. It was the hard work of Gu Mengran and his grandfather, and it was also their future home. It could not sink.
Gu Mengran gritted his teeth and was about to go out to steer the boat himself when he looked up and met Liang Zhao's gaze.
Without saying a word, the two smiled at each other and nodded at the same time in tacit understanding.
Military coats, helmets, bungee cords for loading…
Gu Mengran took out a lot of things from the space and gave them to his grandfather and Liang Zhao one after another.
Although clothes and hats cannot prevent falls, they are still very effective in preventing collisions.
After settling the old man down and getting him dressed neatly, Gu Mengran tied one end of the elastic rope around his own waist and the other end around Liang Zhao's waist, so that even if one of them was thrown out, the force of the other could serve as a buffer.
It was time to test their arm strength. The Wind Wing was severely tilted, and it was obviously not realistic to walk to the control panel normally. Fortunately, they were right below the control panel, so they just had to lean out their upper bodies and slowly stand up with the strength of their upper limbs.
Without further ado, Gu Mengran exchanged glances with Liang Zhao, and immediately leaned half of his body out of the cockpit, attacking the surface with his hands and feet.
Liang Zhao stretched out his hands and grabbed the control panel, and moved himself out from under the control panel with the strength of his arms alone. Then, with a perfect pull-up, he stood easily in front of the control panel.
The advantages of being tall and exercising regularly were fully demonstrated. The two of them clearly acted at the same time. When Liang Zhao reached the top, Gu Mengran was still at the foot of the mountain and had just begun to climb out.
The situation was critical and Gu Mengran had no time to defend his pitiful self-esteem. Liang Zhao's large and rough palm was close at hand. He held it without hesitation and used the force to stand up.
As luck would have it, the shaking stopped just as they reached the control panel. Gu Mengran checked the time. It was three minutes. The strong earthquake lasted for a full three minutes.
The engine started, and the main engine system of Fengyi began to operate. The right rudder was turned to coordinate with the engine propulsion, and the tilted hull was adjusted back little by little.
"boom--"
With a loud bang, the suspended right wing of the Fengyi touched the water surface again, and the sound of rapid breathing gradually began to be heard in the suffocatingly quiet cabin.
"Huh!" Meng Gaoyang heaved a long sigh, crouched down and crawled out from under the control platform, panting: "It was a close call, the earthquake was too strong, the empty ship was almost overturned!"
"The magnitude of the earthquake is very high. I don't know what the situation on the ground is like." Liang Zhao was sweating. He leaned against the dashboard, took off his thick coat, and slowly took off his safety helmet.
No one could be happy after surviving the disaster. The earthquake came as expected, which also meant that Gu Mengran’s "precognitive dream" was coming true little by little.
The old man looked worried and sighed, "Yeah, the Huangjiang River seems to be boiling, and the ground... ah!"
"There's no signal on this phone either." Meng Gaoyang took out his phone and took a look at it, then turned to look at Gu Mengran, "Mengran, is this earthquake completely over?"
The military coat wrapped around him like a quilt, Meng Gaoyang was sweating but didn't dare to take it off, waiting for Gu Mengran to speak. But he waited and waited, but Gu Mengran stood there like a statue, motionless and silent.
"Gu——"
Meng Gaoyang was just about to call him again when Liang Zhao suddenly raised his hand to interrupt him.
The fog was getting thicker and thicker, the yellow fog had turned into black fog, the glass was stained with a layer of gray ink, and it was almost impossible to see anything standing in the cab.
But even so, Gu Mengran still insisted on looking out the window, his brows furrowed, his lips tight into a straight line, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Are you scared?" Liang Zhao leaned closer, his tone softer than ever before.
Gu Mengran still didn't say anything and shook his head slightly.
"What happened?" Liang Zhao reached out and patted his shoulder, a faint smile on his lips, and whispered to comfort him: "Don't be afraid, it's okay, we are safe."
"No." Gu Mengran was so hot that he unbuttoned his coat and took off his helmet. He turned to face Liang Zhao, looking a little helpless, his hands wandering around the operating table in boredom.
After a moment's silence, Gu Mengran raised his hand to fan the air, and a silent sigh escaped from his lips, "It's too risky. I just feel, I feel that my decision was too hasty to take you and grandpa to sit on the pendulum on the river."
"Actually, there is a way to avoid it. I should have cleaned up the space in advance and put the Wind Wing inside. Then we could go to the space, ahem, hide there, and wait until the earthquake is over before coming out. Then you and grandpa wouldn't have to suffer all this."
Gu Mengran became more and more annoyed as he spoke, and slapped him on the forehead with his backhand.
Liang Zhao wanted to stop it, but he didn't have time. He put his hand back silently. "Don't think like that. Natural disasters and man-made disasters are what we have to face. We can hide for a while but not forever. You should train our survival ability. What if you are not around? We can't rely too much on space."
"How could you not be by my side?" Gu Mengran turned his head to look at his grandfather and then back at Liang Zhao, his tone was particularly firm: "We will never separate, we will always be together."
Liang Zhao laughed dumbly, "Okay, let's not separate, I'm just assuming."
With this interruption, most of the depression in Gu Mengran's heart was immediately relieved.
The fog was too thick, the signal network was interrupted, and he had no idea of the surrounding situation. His eyes accidentally swept across the high frequency on the operating table, and Gu Mengran's eyes lit up, and he immediately took two steps forward.
VHF-CH16, universal channel for international shipping.
Gu Mengran adjusted the channel and just picked up the walkie-talkie when the high frequency suddenly exploded.
"Earthquake, earthquake! A massive earthquake has occurred near Anchang Port. The Panshi has capsized severely. Call for help! Call for help!"
"Can you hear me? Traffic control! The boat is sinking and no one is out yet. Help!"
"Heshanda calls for help, someone on the boat fell into the water, someone fell into the water!"
"The engine room of the Axe Boat is flooded, and the hull is - hissing..."
"The fog is too thick. Will help come? It's over. It's all over!"
Shocking calls for help, desperate cries, the situation on the river is urgent.
The VHF coverage area is limited, and the calls for help on the walkie-talkie are basically from the Anchang Port terminal and anchorage. Should they respond? Can they respond? In the case of visibility less than one meter and unclear exact location, should they rescue?
The intercom became a hot potato, and Gu Mengran was in a dilemma whether to take it or put it down. Just as he was hesitating, Liang Zhao suddenly took the intercom from him and gently put it back on the console.
"Can't be saved." Liang Zhao said these three simple words with a calm expression, without a trace of emotion.
"for--"
"It hasn't been saved yet, why can't it be saved?"
Gu Mengran was about to speak when Meng Gaoyang took off his military coat and walked towards Liang Zhao angrily, "Is this your first day on a ship? If you receive a call for help during the voyage, you must rescue the drowning person as long as conditions permit, and help pull the person if he can't run. Have you forgotten the rules left by our ancestors?"
The old man's tone was too aggressive. Gu Mengran was worried that they would quarrel at this critical moment, so he quickly pulled his grandfather and persuaded him gently: "Grandpa, don't be anxious. Listen to what Liang Zhao has to say. Why are you yelling so loudly?"
After being scolded, Liang Zhao remained calm and patiently explained to Meng Gaoyang: "Grandpa Meng, the problem is that the conditions do not allow it now. The visibility is too low, the ship -"
"Visibility?" Meng Gaoyang laughed and interrupted Liang Zhao again: "Who uses their eyes to see when sailing? Are radar, AIS, and satellite navigation just for show?"
"Grandpa!" Gu Mengran glared at his grandfather angrily, turned his head and raised his chin towards Liang Zhao, "Don't worry about him, just continue."
Liang Zhao was interrupted frequently, but he was not annoyed and continued, "Low visibility is only one of the reasons. The Fengyi just capsized, the stern deck was wading in water, and the engine room is also very likely to be leaking. We haven't even checked the Fengyi carefully yet. Rashly starting a rescue boat will only put ourselves in danger or accidentally injure the people who fell into the water."
There was some truth in what he said, and Gu Mengran nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Meng Gaoyang also heard it, and like a deflated ball, he instantly wilted.
The old man was born a fisherman, and he was most loyal to the "code of conduct" of the underworld. When he heard that a ship was in distress but no one was able to lend a helping hand in time, it was like putting him on the spot, making him very uneasy.
It's not that easy to stand by and watch. Gu Mengran felt uncomfortable, but no matter how uncomfortable he felt, he would not risk the Wind Wing for a group of irrelevant people.
Wait, the Wind Wing can't be moved easily, what about the diesel boat?
At this critical juncture, helping with rescue and salvaging ships is like a fantasy. Even dispatching the Wind Wing will be of no avail. But if we ignore the ship and only want to save people... a small diesel boat will be enough.
An immature plan came to his mind. Gu Mengran was about to talk about his idea with his grandfather and Liang Zhao, but before he could open his mouth, the high-frequency sound rang again.
"Zizizi - Heng...Zizizi...Sheng is rolling over, huh%@#! Fengyi, Fengyi, can you hear me? Hengrongsheng is rolling over, requesting rescue! Requesting rescue!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
