Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 373 Braving the Wind and Waves
At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Wei.

Lu Wei frowned, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly, before finally managing to say with difficulty, "We must get on the ship and take a look."

Ou Yang felt a tingling sensation all over his body, suddenly feeling as if he had stepped on a high-voltage line: "In this kind of weather?"

Outside the window, the wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the three-cup anemometer was almost smoking.

"Yeah, the wind is over level eight now, right?" Dafei chimed in. "It's too dangerous."

A wind speed of level eight is 17.2 seconds per second, and a person of average weight simply cannot stand steadily.

"We have to fly, no matter what level!" Lu Wei's gaze was firm. "It's one thing if it's just refugees, but what if there are sick people on board? What if they have spores or phacoemulsification? Or what if there's already a large-scale infection en route? What should we do then? Just sink it?"

Everyone was speechless.

Lu Wei added, "Boarding the ship in this weather is indeed very dangerous, and I don't want to take the risk, but if we don't do it, the entire new city will be in danger!"

No explanation is needed; everyone understands the reasoning behind it.

From a technical standpoint, sinking it would be no difficult task, and given the poor sea conditions, the target would have a good chance of being capsized and sunk by the waves.

Theoretically speaking, even if they acted secretly, no one would know.

The problem isn't whether anyone knows, but rather that doing so crosses one's own bottom line and could potentially lead to unbearable and serious consequences.

No secrets stay hidden forever. If the news leaks, it will trigger a public opinion storm that is extremely detrimental to one's own side.

If this ship was targeted at us from the very beginning, then things will be even more complicated.

For example, goodwill was shown before departure, and everyone boarded the cruise ship with the hope of escaping the epidemic area, coupled with footage of the sinking and narration of the deaths of all passengers and crew.

This is by no means alarmist.

Following the submarine incident, countries collectively put pressure on the United States, further exacerbating the already difficult situation of the U.S. government and leading to its complete global isolation.

In this context, it's not surprising that someone who's given up and is causing a stir is doing something drastic.

"Captain, no need to say anything, just give the order!" 27 was the first to stand up and support him.

"Yes, give the order!" the others echoed.

Ouyang was also caught up in the atmosphere and reluctantly expressed his agreement.

To be honest, he disagreed a thousand times over, but everyone else expressed their support. What could he do?
"An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one." Since you've chosen this profession, you should step up when it matters most.

A clap of thunder rolled overhead, and everyone fell silent.

"The purpose of boarding is to assess the situation; we don't need so many people." Lu Wei's gaze swept over the group. "Alright, Ouyang and Luohan will come with me; the rest of you will stay put!"

Ou Yang's eye twitched almost imperceptibly, but he still agreed.

The three of them immediately began preparations.

Given the unclear situation on the ship and the cramped cabin making it difficult to maneuver, the three removed the back structure from their exoskeletons. Their main weapon was a submachine gun, and they could choose their own secondary weapon.

Five minutes later, the three boarded a heavy helicopter in the rain.

Forget about light aircraft; they simply can't fly in this kind of weather. Only heavy aircraft might be worth a try.

The torrential rain blurred everyone's vision; the strong winds caused the planes, which had not yet taken off, to sway precariously.

Ou Yangxin swayed back and forth, feeling uneasy: "Am I really possessed? Can you even fly in this sky?"

"Don't worry." Lu Wei seemed to be comforting others, but more like he was comforting himself. "Our plane is facing the wind directly, it's not as dangerous as you think."

The engines started, the spinning propellers cleaved through the rain, the pilot gripped the control stick tightly, and only took off abruptly after another gust of wind. Just as they lifted off the ground, a crosswind suddenly blew in, the plane tilted sharply to the left, and the propellers almost hit the ground.

Ou Yang's heart jumped into his throat, and he instinctively hugged his head and curled up into a ball.

Lu Wei and Luo Han weren't much better off.

Fortunately, the driver was experienced. He did not confront the strong wind head-on, but instead maintained his posture and increased altitude with the wind.

Thanks to his efforts, the helicopter flew more than ten meters close to the ground before finally gaining altitude and quickly moving away from the ground. Everyone wiped away their sweat in unison.

Ouyang soon realized that he had been too happy.

When the helicopter is on the ground, it just wobbles, but when it flies in the air, it sways like a drunkard. Every time it encounters a crosswind, the plane will sway dramatically. The feeling is incredibly exciting, and things like tail-sweeping are nothing compared to this.

The most dangerous phases for an airplane are takeoff and landing. Conversely, once you have altitude, even doing somersaults in the air is not a problem.

Ouyang's gaze passed through the porthole and the rain curtain, landing on the dark clouds, where he could vaguely see lightning flashing among the clouds.

A successful takeoff only means temporary safety, not that there are no dangers along the way.

Ouyang kept praying in his heart that he would have a safe journey and that he would not be struck by lightning; but after a while, he began to think about how to avoid getting injured in the event of an accident.

He touched the artificial cheek hanging at his waist, resisting the urge to take it out and bite it.

Ouyang is prepared to remove the artificial cheek immediately should an accident occur.

With this, even if you fall into the water, you can ensure your safety and hold on until rescue arrives!

With a belly full of confused thoughts, the helicopter cut through the rain and headed straight for its target at full speed.

This statement is not very accurate, because due to the wind direction, the plane was not heading straight for the target; the plane's flight path was at an angle of more than 20 degrees from the target.

However, due to the crosswind, the helicopter constantly shifts sideways during flight, and the shifted position just makes up for the yaw caused by the angle.

More than ten minutes later, a delighted voice came from the driver's cab: "Target spotted to the right front, one o'clock position!"

Ou Yang leaned to the window and looked out. The huge cruise ship was bobbing up and down in the endless waves.

As the helicopter approached the target, Lu Wei shouted, "Hold on tight!" He then opened the cabin door, leaving only a narrow gap. A strong wind and torrential rain rushed in, soaking half of Lu Wei's body.

After sending a drone outside, Lu Wei immediately closed the hatch.

In the wind and rain, the drone was almost uncontrollable. No matter how hard it tried, it was blown further and further away by the strong wind and was eventually swallowed by the crashing waves.

If drones don't work, then we'll have to rely on helicopters.

Lu Wei patted the cockpit and requested to be as close to the cruise ship as possible.

The driver's face darkened, and he reluctantly agreed to give it a try, but couldn't guarantee success.

Shortly after, the plane hovered above the cruise ship, and the pilot yelled, "Don't get any closer!"

It's still a bit far, but it's enough.

Whether it was the plane or not, Ou Yang vaguely saw someone emerge from the cruise ship's cockpit, pressing against the window and banging on it, trying to attract their attention.

And they somehow wrote a huge "Help!" on the glass.

That's right, it's "save lives," not "help."

(End of this chapter)