Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 372 Something is wrong

afternoon.

The scorching sun hangs high in the sky, casting boundless heat.

As soon as Ou Yang entered Zhu Yiming's room, he couldn't help but complain, "Hey, why isn't the air conditioning on? It's so hot!"

He complained aloud, but also had his own doubts.

The Cannon Islands are located in the tropics, but the temperature is not usually that high, supposedly due to the influence of some cold current.

Today is different; it's hot and humid, with not a breath of wind, like a sauna.

Zhu Yiming pointed out the window: "You think I don't want to? I just received news that there's a power rationing!"

He lay on the ground with his arms and legs outstretched, trying his best to make more of his skin in contact with the ground so he could absorb more cool air.

"What?" Ou Yang thought he had misheard. "Such a huge spaceship is hanging in the sky, why would they limit its power?"

The wind-powered airship is not just hype; one can meet all the electricity consumption of the new city, and there's no way it will be used up.

But when I turned my head, I saw the huge airship slowly descending under the blazing sun!

"I can't hold back anymore. They said a hurricane was coming... A typhoon is a typhoon, but a hurricane? They're really going with the flow!" Zhu Yiming habitually complained.

Ou Yang hadn't paid attention to the weather forecast, so he quickly took out his phone to check and found a hurricane warning. The central wind force had reached level 15 and was still intensifying.

"The forecast says the eye of the storm is still more than 500 kilometers away from us, and it's not heading this way. The closest it ever got was more than 100 kilometers away. It can't be that exaggerated, can it?" He looked at the airship gradually descending outside the window with surprise.

Ouyang was a layman and didn't know how to operate a wind-powered airship, but while launching it was simple, retrieval was obviously not so easy.

"Who can say for sure about typhoons? Even if you get caught in the tail end, you have to prepare early!" Zhu Yiming felt the ground beneath him getting warm, so he shifted his position, propping himself up on his arms. A cool sensation immediately came from beneath him, making him groan with pleasure.

"Sister Wei is the best!" Zhu Yiming exclaimed. "There's no power shortage on the ship, and there's even air conditioning!"

Upon hearing this, Ou Yang immediately looked towards the port, but he couldn't find any trace of the Hua Tuo ship, nor did he see any other ships.

It was clear that all the ships that had been anchored near Sanva Island had left port to seek shelter from the storm.

There's no other way; the harbor here is too small and there aren't any shelters from the wind. If we don't take shelter, a single wave could capsize us.

Ouyang didn't know exactly how strong a hurricane with a center wind force of 15 was, but he had once read that a 10-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could withstand a typhoon of 12!
One ship at a time, none of the ships anchored on Saint-Va Island are that large. It wouldn't hurt to be cautious and avoid them.

Zhu Yiming suddenly asked, "Such a big matter, don't you have any arrangements?"

“We’re not in such a rush…” Before he could finish speaking, Ou Yang received a call from Lu Wei.

Ou Yang answered the phone: "Hello!"

"Ouyang, come to the dock right now!" Lu Wei said without uttering a single unnecessary word and hung up immediately.

Zhu Yiming raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "See? What did I tell you?"

Ou Yang smirked and turned to leave.

Pushing open the door, a wave of heat hit me, almost suffocating me.

Zhu Yiming, who was inside the house, thought for a moment, then forced himself to get up: "Wait for me!"

The two received news halfway there that the new city had entered a state of emergency, with all departments on high alert, ready to deal with the damage caused by the typhoon at any time.

Residents should stay at home or go to the nearest shelter if possible.

Ouyang was a little stunned; the situation seemed more serious than he had imagined!

When they arrived at the dock, they found that a large number of people, including the emergency response team, were gathered there and were working under unified command to transfer the supplies piled up on the dock.

Saint-Va Island is too small to need many vehicles, so the new town is equipped with only fourteen heavy trucks.

Although the distance between the port and the new town is not far, it takes at least ten or twenty minutes to make a round trip, and on average, only four trips can be made per hour, transporting fifty or sixty containers.

It's not a drop in the ocean, but it won't get much faster either. We can only prioritize transporting grain, non-staple foods, and other essential supplies.

Using small vehicles or even carrying it by hand is one way, but it's too inefficient and will cause traffic congestion, so it's not worth the effort.

Without saying a word, Zhu Yiming opened his phone and started a live stream of everyone working together to transfer supplies. In no time, the number of online viewers exceeded 10,000, and the screen was flooded with encouraging comments.

At first, Ouyang felt there was no need to make such a big fuss, but seeing everyone doing their best for the same goal, he was also infected by the atmosphere and couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Around 2 PM, a sea breeze blew in from the northwest.

At first, no one paid attention, only feeling that the air was a little cooler. But the sea breeze grew stronger and stronger, and soon it was howling. Waves taller than a person crashed hard against the shore, and the splashing water covered everyone's heads and faces.

Ouyang was completely stunned. Wasn't there still more than 500 kilometers to go? It's only been an hour!

"Speed ​​up, speed up!" Lu Wei waved his arms vigorously.

After working for more than an hour, less than a fifth of the supplies had been moved. There were only a few vehicles; how fast could they possibly go?

"We can't keep transporting them like this!" Ou Yang grabbed Lu Wei. "Don't send the containers into the city. After we get them off the dock, find some high ground and leave them there. Let's get the goods out of there first!"

Lu Wei's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded: "Okay!"

This place is a typical volcanic island, low on all sides and high in the middle. As long as you are far from the coast, any place is higher than the pier.

There's no need to travel to the city anymore; the efficiency of transshipment has greatly improved, and the amount of goods piling up at the docks has decreased at a visible rate.

Around 4 p.m., the sea breeze became increasingly violent, with the wind force reaching level 7 at one moment. The crowd was blown about and unable to stand steadily.

The strong winds severely hampered the transportation of goods, making both loading and unloading extremely difficult.

Lu Wei gritted his teeth and decisively decided to stop the transport and leave the dock.

According to regulations, operations should cease when winds reach or exceed level six. However, approximately one-quarter of the total materials remain. If seawater floods the dock, it will inevitably result in significant losses.

Lost supplies can be compensated for, but casualties are a completely different matter.

At a command, everyone quickly evacuated, except for the emergency response team.

Led by Lu Wei, the group quickly donned their exoskeletons, each carrying a 50-kilogram load, and returned to the dock. They gathered the remaining containers together, stacked them, secured them with twist locks, and then reinforced them horizontally with straps.

Seven or eight shipping containers huddled together for warmth should be able to withstand the coming storm.

Around 5 p.m., the wind grew stronger and the waves rose higher. At the horizon, the wind and clouds surged, and rolling black clouds covered the sky and sun. Lightning snaked through the dark clouds, and thunder rumbled intermittently.

Lu Wei roared sharply, "Give it your all, faster!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than dark clouds appeared before them, and a torrential downpour began, as if a hole had been torn in the sky!

High waves surged onto the dock, washing over the ground again and again. Luo Han and Da Fei were unable to dodge in time and were knocked down by the waves, instantly soaked in seawater.

Lu Wei wiped the rain off his face: "Retreat!"

Decisive and swift, without hesitation. The group quickly evacuated the dock, and upon reaching higher ground and turning around, they witnessed a wave as large as a small mountain surging in, submerging half of the dock.

The container teetered precariously under the impact of the water flow.

The view was limited when I was on the dock, so the feeling wasn't very intuitive. It wasn't until now that I felt a chill of fear.

Such a huge wave could capsize even a 10,000-ton ship, right?

The crowd looked at each other, feeling that the scene was reminiscent of the end of the world.

"The hurricane was that powerful?" Luo Han wiped his face. "Will our new city be alright?"

"What problem could there be?" 27 glanced sideways at Luohan.
The new town was designed to very high standards, and even if the construction standards were slightly lower, they wouldn't be much lower. To say there wouldn't be any problems would be an exaggeration, but at most there would be minor issues like broken glass or seawater flooding.

Damaging greenery?

There's no need to worry about that, because the new town hasn't even started greening yet!

Upon returning to camp, the group immediately dried the rainwater off their exoskeletons and performed necessary maintenance.

Equipment is only truly effective when properly maintained; improper maintenance can lead to malfunctions or even injury. Therefore, no one dares to be careless in the slightest. Moreover, they will never delegate any task to others if they can do it themselves.

However, exoskeletons are military equipment that has passed technical certification and reliability tests in various harsh environments. They won't have problems just because they get a little rain.

After maintenance was completed, everyone remained at the camp on standby.

Everyone was relaxed and no one thought there would be any need for the emergency response team. However, under Lu Wei's orders, everyone went back to bed and lay down, ostensibly to conserve their energy, regardless of whether they could sleep or not.

But the wind outside the window grew stronger and the rain intensified, with large raindrops pattering against the glass. How could I possibly fall asleep?

Just as I was finally starting to feel sleepy, I was half-asleep when I suddenly heard a voice: "Get up, get up, get up quickly, something's happened!"

Ou Yang sat up abruptly: "What happened?"

"I don't know!" As he spoke, Luohan rushed out.

Ou Yang followed closely behind, and the group quickly found Lu Wei: "What happened?"

Lu Wei said in a deep voice, "We just received a distress signal."

Everyone was immediately taken aback: "Where did the signal come from?"

It's not surprising that there are signals. Although all parties have joined forces to blockade the Americas, they do not completely prohibit ships from going out to sea, but rather strictly prohibit ships from crossing the blockade line.

The basic process is this.

All parties are using technical means to strictly monitor the coast of Maine, and will immediately pay attention to any vessels that are found to be leaving the shore.

If they only operate in coastal waters, that's fine. But if they show signs of sailing far away, mark them immediately and pay close attention.

This situation is still within the tolerance range of all parties. If it goes any further and gets closer to the blockade line, it will immediately receive a stern warning.

If they return after receiving the warning, then that's the end of it; otherwise, if they insist on entering the blockade, they will be met with warning fire from warships or aircraft.

This is also the final warning.

At this point, even if they return to base, they will be held accountable by the military, and the consequences will be extremely serious; if they are out of their minds and ignore the warnings, then there's nothing more to say, they will be sunk without question.

The reason for creating this process is to impose constraints on the military forces of all parties, preventing them from overstepping boundaries or exceeding their authority.

Lu Wei responded: "The signal source is located in the northeast direction, and it may be a ship from the United States. According to the monitoring of the technical department, the signal source is heading towards us."

“We?” O’Yan asked, puzzled. “You mean the archipelago?”

“No, I’m talking about Saint Václav Island,” Lu Wei said.

Everyone looked at each other, finding it all a bit unbelievable.

What's going on?
Lu Wei continued: "We don't know the origin of the target yet, we can only speculate that the ship came from the United States. In addition, after we responded to the signal, we did not receive a reply from the other party, but we received a distress signal every once in a while, which should be sent automatically."

"We've been instructed to find out about the target as soon as possible... Dafei!"

"To!"

"Can drones take off?"

"Huh?" Dafei was stunned. "This weather?"

"Yes or no?"

Dafei gritted his teeth: "We can give it a try, but I can't guarantee anything... Rotorcraft probably won't work, maybe unmanned helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft."

Shortly after, a large drone soared into the sky amidst the wind and rain. The dense rain blurred the view, and then it quickly moved back and disappeared from the frame.

A strong wind blew, causing the drone to shake violently.

The drone climbed upwards at a steep angle and disappeared into the clouds in just a moment. Streaks of lightning flashed through the dark clouds, and everyone's hearts jumped involuntarily.

In just moments, the drone pierced through the dark clouds, soaring above them to survey the storm from above.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Successfully reaching above the clouds means you're halfway there!

The drone flew straight toward the target direction, and as it was about to arrive, the cabin opened, and several small drones detached one after another and fell into the clouds.

In the camp, several people were staring at different screens, each screen corresponding to a drone.

Unexpectedly, all the screens suddenly lit up at the same time. When the bright light dissipated, only seven screens were displaying normally, while the remaining five screens showed blue screens and lost signal.

Lu Wei's temples throbbed: "Spread out, create distance!"

Another bolt of lightning struck, and four more signals were lost.

The remaining three drones struggled to penetrate the clouds and quickly approached the target.

Judging by appearance, it was a large cruise ship with a displacement of nearly 10,000 tons. From top to bottom, all the portholes were completely dark, except for the bridge, which was lit up.

The drone quickly approached, and several blurry figures appeared in the fleeting frame.

"Someone's there!" Dafei exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at Lu Wei.

Why are there people on board but not responding to calls?
Moreover, despite the large waves, the course and speed of the target remained unchanged, and it only took a few hours to reach Saint-Va Island.

But why not Saint Ko?
The archipelago has not lost contact with the outside world. Recently, a small number of people who fled the mainland have also fled to the archipelago, but their first choice has always been the main island, not Saint-Va Island.

Something's definitely not right here!

(End of this chapter)