50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 263 Escape
Soon, an explosion was heard, and the entire 'Memphis' began to shake. Sun Zhiwei remained calm and continued to use his spatial ability to throw debris into the water.

Various clothes, papers, plastic cups from the kitchen, blankets from the lounge, and submarine planks he had prepared beforehand—all sorts of useless things were thrown into the water outside.

Soon, these items will float to the surface and become evidence of the sinking of the Memphis.

Even if no complete wreckage is found, the explosions and floating submarine debris are enough to prove the fate of the 'Memphis'.

After finishing these tasks, Sun Zhiwei began to steer the 'Memphis' away from the area where the incident occurred.

Soon the area will become bustling with activity as various surface vessels, search and rescue teams, and submarines gather in that sea area in an attempt to salvage the 'Memphis'.

What Sun Zhiwei needs to do now is to leave this place quickly and find a place to hide the 'Memphis' submarine.

We continued eastward along the Puerto Rico Trench for 100 kilometers before gradually leaving the trench and driving along its edge.

Because he was alone, he simply couldn't handle all the problems that arose.

For safety reasons, he adjusted the reactor to low power, reduced the speed to 10 knots, turned off the radio, and kept only the limited lighting in the command room.

He drove for more than 10 hours, and after being more than 200 kilometers away from the incident site, he finally brought the 'Memphis' to the bottom to rest for a while.

Actually, this distance isn't safe enough. The search distance for shipwrecks usually exceeds 500 kilometers. However, he needs to use the restroom, rest for a while, and then determine the destination.

He couldn't possibly operate a submarine alone for an extended period; the probability of something going wrong would be too high.

After quickly tidying up his personal hygiene, Sun Zhiwei returned to the command room and began to examine the nautical charts.

Through calculations, he determined that his current location was in northern South America, between the Virgin Islands and San Martin.

He carefully recalled the countries in the vicinity and finally confirmed that there were quite a few countries in this region that had already established diplomatic relations with China.

For example, Venezuela, 800 kilometers to the south; Guyana, 1300 kilometers to the southeast; Sudan, 1600 kilometers away; and West Africa, 2100 kilometers away, have all established diplomatic relations with China.

But in terms of safety when docking, there's really none of them.

Because each of these countries has two major powers clashing within its borders, if the 'Memphis' dares to show itself, it will be truly doomed.

After thinking for half an hour, he was only certain of one thing: he had to leave immediately. The sonar indicated that there was a busy shipping lane overhead, with ships passing by frequently.

He quickly ate something simple and then went to the toilet.

After thinking it over, he simply moved a cot into the driver's cab, took a bucket from the kitchen, and also took some cooked food from the kitchen and placed it on the command platform.

Sun Zhiwei regained his spirits and began to follow the operating procedures, raising the 'Memphis' ten meters, then increasing the reactor power to increase the speed to 20 knots and continuing eastward.

Only in the eastern ocean, far from shipping lanes, would he and the Memphis be safe.

Twenty hours later, the 'Memphis' finally moved away from the nearby islands and entered waters without a navigation channel.

By this time, Sun Zhiwei was exhausted. During the continuous voyage, he had to concentrate and keep an eye on the sonar and other equipment at all times.

To ensure the safety of the voyage, he dared not rest. He was afraid that while he slept, the Memphis would collide with something, giving him a nightmare.

This location is deep in the Atlantic Ocean, 1000 kilometers from the incident site, with water depths reaching several thousand meters.

This location is over 500 kilometers from the nearest island and is not on traditional shipping lanes. In such vast waters, searching for a deliberately silent submarine is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Only then did he realize that he and the 'Memphis' were temporarily safe.

He shut off the propellers, hovering the Memphis at a depth of 400 meters underwater, then collapsed onto the cot in the cockpit and began his first sleep in two days.

He slept for 12 hours before finally waking up from hunger.

After waking up, he quickly checked the radar and sonar to make sure there were no problems before taking a shower.

He's the only one using the fresh water on the ship right now, so he can squander it however he wants without worrying about running out.

After washing up, he ate some compressed biscuits and drank some alcohol to perk himself up before finally sitting down to think.

Yesterday he dreamed of a safe place, but now he can't remember it.

He began to bury himself in the nautical chart, hoping to recall something; he always felt that place was very important.

Now he had to find a safe place to moor the Memphis before he could send a telegram home so they could send someone to pick it up.

The nautical chart moved constantly in his hand. There was no suitable place to dock in South America, North America was the bald eagle's lair, and the Caribbean in the middle was someone else's backyard. He could only look eastward.

Just off the coast of North Africa on the nautical chart, he spotted a small island group: the Cape Verde Islands.

Cape Verde is an impoverished country that was only established last year. It has little industry, its agriculture is mediocre, and its population is only around 20, occupying 15 islands with a total area of ​​just over 4000 square kilometers.

Because the country cannot be self-sufficient in food and has a weak industrial base, it will still face considerable difficulties even after it has been established as a nation. Fortunately, the country has already established diplomatic relations with this country this year.

This impoverished country had no resources coveted by the great powers, and neither Eastern nor Western countries paid much attention to it; it was a place where the truth was often overlooked.

In a few years, when global intercontinental trade flourishes, this place will be situated on an important shipping route, and the status of the Cape Verde Islands will be completely different.

The Cape Verde Islands are currently a neglected corner of the world, and the attention of the world's major powers is not focused on them.

Waiting for the handover in the Cape Verde Islands is undoubtedly a good idea, and it would be logical for China to send people over as well.

Sun Zhiwei excitedly clapped his hands on the location of the Cape Verde Islands: "This is it."

He immediately began measuring the distance with a ruler and calculating the sailing time.

Soon, the results came out: his current location was approximately 3540 kilometers away from the Cape Verde Islands as the crow flies.

At a speed of 30 knots, it would only take 64 hours to sail, which is less than 3 days.

Of course, this is the ideal situation; in reality, it's impossible for him to complete it.

First of all, it would be very dangerous for him to concentrate on sailing the boat for three consecutive days.

Secondly, he is now safe. The current focus has shifted to safely bringing the 'Memphis' back, rather than pursuing speed.

So he started recalculating the sailing time at a cruising speed of 20 knots, adding the time spent on rest stops along the way.

(End of this chapter)