Chapter 118 Chapter 118 One Ship Missing

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In the end, they didn't get to eat the balanga fish. Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao dropped their bowls and chopsticks and ran straight to the driver's room. They ran from the third floor to the top floor in five minutes and pushed open the heavy door of the driver's room.

The dim light fell on the ground, and the cockpit was surprisingly quiet. The captain, the first mate, and several crew members gathered in front of the control panel, staring at the radar display intently, but no extra movement could be heard.

Gu Mengran was out of breath after running all the way, and he was more anxious than anyone else.

But when he really got to the driver's seat, he was suddenly a little afraid to go over, fearing a misunderstanding and his hopes would be dashed.

As if he had guessed what was in his mind, Liang Zhao held the hand that hung at his side and gently stroked the back of his hand with his thumb, as if to comfort him silently.

The two of them made quite a noise when they entered the room. Ding Pengyi turned around and stamped his feet anxiously, "Come here, you two. What are you doing standing there like idiots? Hurry up!"

Liang Zhao responded and hurried forward, pulling Gu Mengran.

The crew member who was joining in the excitement considerately made way for him. The radar display was presented before his eyes without reservation. Gu Mengran stood on the driving platform with Liang Zhao, took a deep breath, and looked over carefully.

The radar on the Giant is much more expensive than the riverboat radar, but its functions are not much different. It can clearly capture everything from large ships and reefs to small floating objects and even the foam stirred up by the waves.

Its detection distance is also very far. Even if it is affected by the curvature of the earth and wind and waves, the detection distance of the sea level can reach 40 nautical miles.

The detection range is increased during nighttime navigation, and the distance circle on the screen is adjusted from 1.5 nautical miles per circle to 5 nautical miles per circle.

Eight neat circles spread out like ripples, exactly 40 nautical miles, and on the edge of the last big circle, two inconspicuous red dots appeared at some point.

40 nautical miles = about 74 kilometers, the distance is still very far, the red dot is particularly blurry, and the shape and size of the ship can be vaguely seen.

It was similar to the description in the sailing diary. The larger ship was a multi-layered structure, very similar to a container ship, while the smaller ship was flat and had little of the hull exposed above the water. It was obviously a river ship.

The distance gradually shortened as the Giant moved, but the two small red dots remained at the same position, motionless.

The probability of encountering a ship in the ocean was not low, and they had encountered several ships this month. If it was just a cruise ship or a bulk carrier, Gu Mengran would not have dared to hold out too much hope, but the characteristics of the two ships were very similar, and there were only two ships.

Ever Leap, Wind Wing, and Decheng, one cruise ship and two bulk carriers, how can they be two ships?

Gu Mengran was not good at hiding his emotions, and he was visibly panicking. His body was tense, his lips were pressed into a straight line, and under his increasingly tense brows, his dim eyes flashed with deep anxiety.

"Small--"

Ding Pengyi saw this and was about to say something to comfort him, but the first mate patted Gu Mengran on the shoulder first and said in a serious tone, "Don't worry too much. There are still many ships in the East China Sea. Maybe other cruise ships and river boats just happened to leave together, not necessarily your grandfather and his friends."

"What are you talking about, Lao Wan? Is there anyone as comforting as you?"

Brother Wan: "What's wrong with me? This is not the truth——"

"Go away," Ding Pengyi pushed Brother Wan away and rolled his eyes at him viciously, "Go wherever you want. I know you can't spit out ivory from your dog's mouth."

After saying that, Ding Pengyi squeezed in beside Gu Mengran and immediately changed his tone, whispering softly: "Don't listen to your uncle Wan, he's talking nonsense! Cruise ships are rare, and they are parked together with a river boat. It's most likely your grandfather and his friends."

He also knew that there were originally three ships. He glanced at Gu Mengran's increasingly solemn expression and continued, "It's cold and the distance is far. The signal received by the radar will also have a certain error. Don't worry too much. The old captain is blessed by heaven and everything will be fine."

"I, I know Uncle Ding." Gu Mengran tightly grasped Liang Zhao's hand and looked at Ding Pengyi with pleading eyes, "You have to go over to confirm it anyway, right? Then let's..."

Ding Pengyi nodded vigorously, "Go, go now!"

"Helmsman, old rail, do your job!"

Captain Ding hurried away with the walkie-talkie, but in just a few minutes, the cockpit, which should have been silent with the night, became busy again.

The crew kept lookout, the helmsman turned the rudder, the crew in the engine room monitored the instruments and equipment... Everyone performed their duties, like countless hands pushing together, pushing this huge steel behemoth to speed up its sailing.

Gu Mengran stood in front of the driver's seat in a daze, as if he had lost his soul.

His current condition was not suitable for work, but he refused to leave the cab, so Liang Zhao could only take him to a corner where he would not be in the way.

Liang Zhao gently pressed Gu Mengran onto the chair, then squatted in front of him, patted his knees, and asked softly, "You haven't had a bite of the croaker you've been craving for yet. Our bowls are still in the restaurant. I'll bring them up for you to try."

"I have no appetite," Gu Mengran shook his head and refused. He lowered his eyes to meet Liang Zhao's gaze, but he felt a little reluctant and said in a muffled voice, "Don't worry about me. You've been tired all afternoon. Go fill your stomach first."

"I'm not hungry either." Liang Zhao simply sat cross-legged on the ground, resting his elbows on Gu Mengran's thighs, and tilted his head to look at him.

40 nautical miles is not far. At the speed of the Giant, it would take about 3 hours in calm weather. But at night, the vision is limited and the wind and waves are strong. At the current speed of 7 knots, it is conservatively estimated that it will take 6 hours.

It was very tiring to keep waiting here. Liang Zhao looked at the distraught Gu Mengran, squeezed his hand, and broke the silence again: "The speed is very slow now, and we will have to wait for a long time. Can you go back to the cabin and rest first? I'll be waiting in the cockpit and call you when we are almost there."

Gu Mengran said nothing and just kept shaking his head.

Liang Zhao felt bad seeing him like this, but he had no other choice but to comfort him with some pale words, "Think of it in a positive way. This is also our most hopeful time, right? I have a feeling that it is the Wind Wing."

"But, but there is one boat missing." Gu Mengran hung his head, as if he was about to cry. His eye sockets and nose tip were stained red, and his face became paler.

Liang Zhao felt so distressed that he stroked his red eyes with his thumb and soothed him softly, "There are many possibilities for missing a ship, just like what Uncle Ding said--"

"How can there be so many possibilities? If one ship is missing, there are only three possibilities."

Gu Mengran interrupted Liang Zhao, sniffed, and analyzed in a low voice: "Either the radar didn't detect the signal of the other ship, but this is almost impossible. The Giant is a supertanker. She is equipped with top equipment. There is no reason for three ships to see two ships."

"The second possibility is just like what the first mate said, that it wasn't grandpa and his friends. This possibility is possible, but I, I hope it was grandpa and his friends. It's too difficult to find them. It's been two or three months, and we finally found some clues..."

Speaking of the third possibility, Gu Mengran suddenly became nervous again, his shoulders trembling violently, and his voice choked and panicked: "Grandpa and his family are in trouble. Maybe, maybe they lost a ship."

"Meng Ran." Liang Zhao couldn't sit still anymore, so he quickly stood up from the ground, put his arms around his shoulders and half-hugged him in his arms.

The two were still in the cockpit, and it would be bad if others saw them being too intimate, but Liang Zhao didn't care about that. He restrained himself and kissed the top of his head, whispering, "Yes, it is indeed possible, but the damage was definitely not to the Wind Wing."

"Didn't you say that the Wind Wing is not an ordinary river boat? Its ability to withstand wind and waves is even better than that of the Ever Leap. What's more, the person driving it is my grandfather, a grandfather with rich sailing experience."

"The Ever Leap is safe and sound, and the Wind Wing will be fine. As for the missing ship, it should be the Decheng. As you know, Brother Luo's ship is quite old. And I don't think it was the wind and waves that overturned the ship. I am more inclined to believe that they voluntarily abandoned the Decheng."

"Give up?" Gu Mengran chewed on these two words over and over again. His eyes were still dull, but he was obviously much more relaxed and his body was no longer so stiff.

Strike while the iron is hot. Liang Zhao nodded and continued to analyze: "Yes. They were separated from us and lost Heng Rong Sheng 2. They simply did not have enough fuel for this long voyage. It was fine before entering the sea. We could reach the East China Sea by going from top to bottom and following the current."

"But after entering the sea, the ships have to resist the wind and waves, and they have to consume fuel for heating. If three ships are sailing together, the consumption will be too great and the fuel will be used up in a short time."

"The best solution at this time is to concentrate the fuel on one ship, and have the largest ship, the Ever Leap, go out to tow the two smaller ships. Three ships consume three times the fuel, while one towing two only requires about 1.5 times the fuel."

Liang Zhao paused for a moment when he said this, and deliberately kept silent.

Gu Mengran waited for a long time but got no reply, so he elbowed him anxiously, "Hurry up, why are you giving up now?"

Liang Zhao stopped keeping the secret, pursed his lips and sighed silently, "Because the fuel is getting less and less, they can no longer afford to carry two ships at once. The Decheng is a spare ship. In the absence of fuel, she has become a burden. It is only a matter of time before she is abandoned."

Gu Mengran listened carefully and remained silent for a long time.

It was so long that Liang Zhao thought he was starting to have wild thoughts again. Just as he was about to speak to comfort him, he suddenly raised his chin and nodded thoughtfully, "That makes sense. If I were your grandfather, I would also give up Dechenghao."

The stone pressing on his chest was removed by Liang Zhao, and the haze lingering above his head was swept away. Gu Mengran's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and he felt his breathing became smoother.

Well, I'm hungry too.

His stomach protested with dissatisfaction, making a "gurgling" sound. Liang Zhao did not laugh at him. He stretched out his hand to touch his chin and loosened the shackles. "I'll go downstairs and bring the bowl up."

"Don't." Gu Mengran grabbed his hand and stood up with him. "It's not easy to reach 40 nautical miles. Let's go down and eat together. It's not good to eat in the cockpit."

"Well, let's go."

After such a long delay, the food had naturally gone cold. Fortunately, Gu Mengran was quite popular and could talk to the old chef in the kitchen, so he asked him to heat it up for him.

The taste of the reheated shrimp was not affected at all, the meat was firm, sweet and delicious, I couldn't stop eating it. It was a pity that the reheated croaker was not crispy at all, it tasted tough and I always felt like something was missing.

After eating and drinking, Gu Mengran returned to the cockpit. He had already sorted out his mood. With the captain's approval, he and Liang Zhao joined the team driving the Giant.

The night voyage was dull and boring. At the beginning, the crew members were in the mood to chat and used bragging as a refreshing coffee. But in the second half of the night, the chattering gradually weakened and finally disappeared, and the only sound in the entire cockpit was the hum of mechanical equipment.

I was sleepy. After getting up early and staying up late, Gu Mengran was also very sleepy.

It felt like a century had passed, but when I looked at the time, only four hours had passed.

In the last 12 nautical miles, Gu Mengran looked at the dark and deep sea ahead, which looked like a mysterious black hole, and sincerely hoped to see a ray of light and a ship named Feng Yi.

“Sizzle, sizzle…”

The silence was broken by a faint sound of electricity, coming from the high-frequency call station behind him.

Gu Mengran turned around suddenly and saw the crew member on duty holding a pager and shouting excitedly, "Captain, captain, there is a signal coming in on the common channel!"

Ding Pengyi, who was dozing off in the corner, suddenly woke up, took two steps at a time, ran to the call desk, and wiped his face with a sloppy hand, "Why are you standing there? Call the other side!"

"Oh, okay."

The crew pressed the pager and immediately became serious: "Attention all ships, attention all ships, I am the Giant, my ship is at 24° north latitude, east longitude——"

"Why are you so honest? I told you to call, not to warn." Ding Pengyi glared at the crew member unhappily and snatched the pager from his hand.

In a chaotic world, there is no need to follow any rules or observe any damn etiquette. Ding Pengyi pressed the pager and shouted directly in the most primitive way: "Eternal Leap, Wind Wing, can you hear me? Wind Wing! Meng Gaoyang, your grandson is in my hands!"

"Hello, hey, hey, Wind Wing, Ever Leap..."

It turns out that having a loud voice doesn't help.

The high-frequency signal was not disconnected, and there was still only the "hissing" sound of the current.

As if trying to save his dignity, Ding Pengyi sighed and muttered softly: "12 nautical miles is still a bit far for VHF. It's normal that the signal is not good."

But just as he finished speaking, a male voice came from the high-frequency sound of a man: "@* number? Zizi&...? Here @%&..."

Hearing the long-lost human voice, everyone in the driver's seat suddenly became excited, but only one word could be heard... Everyone looked at each other, seemingly at a loss as to how to respond.

At this time, the benefits of having an experienced captain were immediately apparent.

"In situations like this, when the signal is particularly bad and the voice is intermittent, don't waste words, just repeat yourself and let the other person repeat themselves."

Ding Pengyi gave instructions to the crew, then pressed the pager and said in a serious tone: "Feng Yi, Feng Yi, Feng Yi, Feng Yi... Please answer directly if you hear me, yes or no, yes or no, yes or no..."

His personal demonstration not only taught the crew in the cockpit, but also the people on the other end of the high frequency, who quickly gave the standard response: "##@&yes...yes@#*yes."

"yes!"

One word is enough.