Under the Ice Wall
It is inevitable that a large ship will shake as it drifts with the current during sailing, but the current feeling of instability coming from under the feet makes people wonder if it is caused by these things underneath.
Ding Can leaned forward, lowered his eyes, and could clearly see the movements of the nemerteans.
They were arching their front halves, growing taller and taller like small bridges rising out of thin air.
This was their way of accumulating energy. After a short wait, when she almost suspected that the nemertean's body had curled to its maximum limit, it burst out with a strong impact force and crashed into the cabin.
Amidst the steady sound of waves, a few dull crashes can be clearly heard.
There are so many of them, and if we let them continue like this, it might really have an impact on the hull.
So the method that Yin Jiu had proposed earlier was also put on the agenda. They could no longer sit on the boat and wait for death. Someone had to go to the sea surface and eliminate the nemerteans at close range.
Just when someone needed to step forward, the patriarch announced what he was going to do. Before he even asked for anyone, someone had already volunteered and was vying to go down.
The Bingxi tribe is a very united group with high cohesion, especially when faced with danger.
The patriarch looked at the crowd gathered in front of him, picked out two young and strong men from among them, told them to be careful about safety, and then let the two men into the cabin.
They had to go through a narrow staircase to the lifeboat at the bottom, open the small door on the side, and push the boat out.
There is a rope connecting the lifeboat and the ship, which is a way to ensure safety so that the lifeboat will not drift into the sea and be unable to return.
Several people were watching on the deck, and soon they saw that the two men were ready, and when they stepped over, they were holding long rakes as tools in their hands.
This was originally what the Bingxi tribe needed to carry out simple farming activities when they went to Fengyang Island, and it is just right to use here.
Gao Wenwen whispered, "I suddenly feel a little relieved. I don't have to worry about being attacked from behind. Everyone seems to be very considerate of others."
The people here don't seem to be selfish. If something happens again in the future, at least I don't have to worry about traps set by fellow humans.
"After all, if the ship is lost, there's no way these people would survive."
Xia Jialian looked back in the direction he came from. The place where the Bingxi tribe once lived had long disappeared during the long voyage.
We are now at least dozens of miles away from the shore where we set sail. If we fall into the water, the possibility of swimming back is almost zero.
What's more, there is freezing cold sea water below.
The only thing that can guarantee survival is the big ship we are on.
They are not only saving others, but also saving themselves.
"But it doesn't look that easy." Shi Yan leaned on the railing and paid attention to the situation below.
There were too many nemerteans covering the cabin, and it was impossible for the two boys to rush directly to the bottom of the nemertean swarm.
The only way is to use the oar to row to the edge of the insect swarm first, and then slowly pry the edges and corners, gradually cleaning towards the more densely populated area in the middle.
The first few attempts were successful, but the further they went in, the more difficult it became to lift the nemerteans, even with the combined efforts of two people.
First of all, let’s talk about their bodies that are nearly two or three meters long. Without thinking too much, you can tell that they must be very heavy.
When stacked together, the arms need to support at least several dozen kilograms of weight. The rake has a long handle, which makes it even more strenuous. I feel exhausted after just a short while.
At the same time, you have to maintain the balance of the boat, so you can't concentrate. Being able to deal with a dozen or twenty fish is already the limit.
After discussion, everyone decided to adopt a rotation method. The younger ones spontaneously formed groups of two and prepared to take turns to deal with these nemerteans.
Soon, it will be Ding Can's turn.
They all went to the bottom cabin in advance to wait. This was only an area for a short rest during the voyage. In addition, the voyage time was not long, so the area was not too large.
It was barely as tall as a person. When she and Xia Jialian stood together, it was fine for her, but for Xia Jialian, it was just above her head.
In addition, the space is small, and you have to be careful not to bump into the kerosene lamp on the top of the distribution cabin that emits a faint light.
Everyone rotates very quickly, and basically they will return to the cabin immediately after feeling a little exhausted, to ensure high efficiency for a long time.
Shi Yan did not come down, but was taking care of the physical condition of the previously injured tribesmen.
Gao Wenwen teamed up with Yin Jiu and became the next person behind Ding Can.
The cabin was cramped, with no light coming in. Adding to the fact that there were so many tribesmen gathered here, it felt even more depressing. It was a bit hard to breathe after just staying there for a while.
"Sister Can, be careful when you go down later. If you notice anything wrong, come back immediately. I'm here."
Gao Wenwen leaned forward to take a look, but the hatch was too narrow and he couldn't see clearly what was outside.
Yin Jiu also spoke up: "They are just some weird bugs. We have so many people here, we can definitely handle it."
"Well, let's adapt to the situation."
Ding Can didn't use the rake, which looked a bit long. Instead, he chose to pick up a medium-length wooden stick leaning against the wall. The repair was not very smooth, but you could see the bends at the branches when it was cut from the tree. It was of medium length, so it was more convenient to use.
After the person outside came in, he handed the oar to Xia Jialian and left with his body intertwined.
Xia Jialian stepped onto the boat first, and after stabilizing her body so that it was no longer shaking, she raised her arms and let Ding Can help her get on the boat.
The balance was better than he had imagined. Ding Can tried to move around inside and even felt lighter than before. It might be because the relatively small lifeboat was easier for him to control.
Xia Jialian first used a wooden oar to prop up the hull, causing the lifeboat to move away from the outside, and then he attached himself to the surface of the water and paddled towards the nemertean swarm.
Most of the sunlight here is blocked, and the temperature seems to be lower than on the deck.
Close to the sea surface, you can see layers of ripples moving backwards, and you can also see clearly what the nemerteans look like.
Originally, Ding Can had a preconceived notion that it should be slippery, like a loach or eel, and covered with a layer of mucus unique to aquatic life.
But if you look closely, you will find that the surface of this submarine nemertean is actually covered with a layer of extremely fine and dense raised dots.
Including the abdomen, all parts of the body are covered with these white dots. The distribution effect is very similar to the pattern on the surface of a ping-pong racket. No wonder it can crawl on the cabin so easily.
The body shape is not cylindrical, but like a flat belt, which fully increases the contact area when crawling.
Ding Can saw the organs of the nemerteans clearly on their heads. The heads were oval in shape, tending towards a triangle, and the eyes on both sides looked degenerate, as if covered by a layer of gray fog.
Perhaps this creature does not use this kind of visual organ when exploring its surroundings.
The mouths of the nemerteans are hidden in the folds of their bodies and occasionally appear when they move. They realize that humans are driving them back into the sea, and those on the edge turn their attention to humans.
Xia Jialian was hooking a few nemerteans with a rake. As he was trying to fight against their strength, something different happened at a higher position.
Several of them turned around and crawled directly towards the lifeboat.
Maybe he was thinking that since he was bound to fall into the water anyway, he might as well make these people suffer first.
Then Ding Can saw that some nemerteans simply wrapped their tails around the bodies of their own kind, and then moved most of their bodies out of the cabin.
The flat body began to sway in place, and when it was raised to the maximum height, it let go of its companions and flew towards the lifeboat due to inertia.
The main reason was that he didn't expect them to do this, nor did he expect them to be so accurate. Several three-meter-long strips flew down, catching Ding Can off guard for a moment.
Even if they wanted to escape, there was no place for them to hide.
"Be careful!" She warned them while raising the stick above their heads to intercept the approaching nemerteans.
The moment the nemertean is whipped, the head and tail ends shrink towards the middle faster.
Ding Can had no choice but to raise his arm again. Fortunately, the clothes he was wearing were very thick in the cold weather, so he didn't feel much pain when he was hit.
But the nemerteans took the opportunity to wrap themselves around her, making it difficult for her to break free.
Despite its frail body, she hadn't expected it to be so powerful when wrapping itself around her. She could feel the nemertean constantly contracting, with pressure from all sides squeezing her body at the same time.
Apart from the lack of snake fangs, there is almost no difference.
"Next!" On the deck, Shi Yan was throwing down the dagger that he had been sharpening. It landed on the bottom of the boat with a clanging sound.
Ding Can squatted down and propped the wooden stick against the bottom of the boat. The stick was now between herself and the nemertean. She pried it outwards with force and finally managed to create a small gap.
Then he picked up the dagger and chopped directly at the body of the nemertean.
It was cut in half with one stroke, leaving no bones. I don't know how it could have such great strength just by relying on flesh and blood.
Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, a few more jumped down.
Xia Jialian had just gotten rid of the few that were hooked by the rake. Following her, they watched the nemerteans that kept flying down from the air, their slender bodies floating on the water.
Some sank, while others circled and twisted forward.
In a short time, many people gathered around the lifeboat, trying to climb onto it, which was much easier than climbing onto the huge monster next to them.
The nemertean only needs to slap the sea surface with its tail to transfer force, thereby raising its upper body, placing it on the small boat, and climbing up.
Before long, a lot of stacked white creatures appeared under his feet, wrapped around his ankles, making it almost impossible to move.
"Let's go back first." Xia Jialian rowed the boat, but the lifeboat was too heavy at this time, and with the clamp of the nemerteans, it could only spin in place for a while.
Gao Wenwen, who was at the cabin door of the ship, became anxious when he saw this scene. He and Yin Jiu picked up the rope and tried to pull the two back from a few meters away.
With the help of other tribesmen in the cabin, the boat gradually approached the cabin door.
Ding Can didn't care about anything else. He reached out to grab the sticky nemerteans and pushed them out. "It looks like the boat is going to capsize."
During the shaking process, a lot of seawater entered the boat and its position moved downward. It would sink to the bottom soon.
There was only a meter left, and the edge of the lifeboat was almost flush with the water. Gao Wenwen's eyes widened and he stretched out his arm: "Give me your hand, I'll pull you up first."
Just as Ding Can was about to step forward, he couldn't move his legs at all because of the entanglement of the nemerteans. Instead, when he moved his body, the boat lost balance, and he stumbled and fell forward.
The lifeboat sank at this time. Ding Can had no time to think about it. He only had time to tie himself and Xia Jialian with ropes to prevent them from falling into the deep sea.
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