50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 291 Riding the Wind and Waves
As expected, Captain Huo was a man of good manners and social skills.

He didn't even ask Sun Zhiwei how he knew the contents of the containers on his ship.

After all, even he, the captain, didn't know what was inside the container.

He simply handed the sailors below slips of paper covered with container numbers and told them to fill the containers with water.

Soon, the sailors carrying long-tube pumps opened the containers filled with cotton.

They used pumps to continuously draw water from the sea and pour it onto the bundles of cotton, which quickly absorbed the water and became heavy.

The Eastern Angel's load capacity continued to increase, and at the same time, the ship became visibly more stable, remaining motionless in the wind and waves.

As time went on, the Eastern Angel propelled itself at maximum power, speeding southward.

By roughly estimating from the nautical chart, it can be seen that the nearest island, Midway, is 800 kilometers further south.

Midway Island used to have a Bald Eagle naval base and a submarine base.

However, due to its remote location and small size, the Pacific naval base was moved to Honolulu after the war, and the submarine base was also relocated.

Most of Midway Island is now designated as a wildlife sanctuary, and the total population of the three islands is less than 200.

About twenty or thirty of them were stationed as a garrison at the base. The base also contained fuel depots and some spare aircraft.

They are like soldiers guarding the border in China, often not seeing a stranger for an entire year.

Captain Huo turned south precisely because of the Midway Island factor, where at least there was a deep-water harbor to shelter from the storms.

As long as they hold out until they reach that point, their safety is guaranteed. Even if the ship can't hold on any longer, they can abandon ship and go ashore.

There are soldiers and communication equipment on the island, which can call for rescue.

Twelve hours later, the edge of the typhoon was visible to the naked eye, and the waves gradually increased. The Eastern Angel cruise ship sped against the huge waves.

Soon, darkness fell and a torrential downpour began. All the sailors were on high alert, each holding their post.

Despite the violent storm, Professor Meng and his family remained obediently in the cabin, all three of them suffering from seasickness.

The cabin was covered in vomit, and they sat pale and slumped on the bed, feeling extremely unwell.

When Sun Zhiwei came to visit them midway through the trip, Professor Meng asked Sun Zhiwei with a bitter face, "'Diting' Mr., can you take your medicine now?"

Smelling the sour stench in the cabin, Sun Zhiwei knew they were about to give up.

"Alright, then take the pills." After saying that, he took out three sleeping pills and handed them to Professor Meng and the other two.

Professor Meng couldn't wait to take the medicine with his family, and they soon fell into a deep sleep.

However, this time, Sun Zhiwei did not immediately put them all into his spatial storage.

The space has limited oxygen, so a living person cannot stay in it for long, and his hypnotic drugs can only work for a few hours.

If the medication wore off and they woke up in the space, he didn't know what would happen. This had never happened before, and he wasn't prepared to take the risk.

Let them stay in the cabin for now; the sleeping pills should alleviate their seasickness.

He placed Professor Meng and his family of three on the bed, and then used a few cloth strips to slightly secure their bodies to prevent them from falling off the bed during the jolting.

After confirming that all three were asleep, Sun Zhiwei closed the cabin door and returned to the bridge. Seeing him enter, Captain Huo casually asked, "How are Professor Meng and the others?"

"All three of them are a little seasick, so we've given them medicine, and they're all asleep now."

"That's good. The eye of the storm will be approaching in about an hour."

Captain Huo looked out the starboard window and saw a huge cyclone rushing toward them in the distance, its oppressive atmosphere making it hard to breathe.

At the center of that massive cyclone, one could see waterspouts stretching to the sky and touching the earth, making the sailors who saw them turn pale.

In just a moment, they couldn't care less, because another huge wave crashed in, seawater rushing in from all directions, hitting the ship and exploding into large swathes of seawater that poured onto the ship.

Braving the wind and rain, Captain Huo leaned out of the cockpit and shouted, "Water pumps, start draining the water now, immediately!"

Upon hearing the shouts, the sailors immediately sprang into action, starting the water pumps to drain water from the ship's hold.

Fortunately, the crew consisted of experienced sailors, and there were no young people running around or talking nonsense that could dampen morale.

Old sailors have their own ways of dealing with storms.

In the work area, they secured themselves to the hull with ropes around their waists to ensure they wouldn't be swept away before starting work.

The helmsman tried to keep the bow of the ship facing the waves. As long as the big waves didn't directly capsize the ship, the Oriental Angel wouldn't capsize.

Yesterday, their welding and securing of the containers made the entire ship a single unit, while the several thousand tons of weight added by adding water to the cotton stabilized the ship's center of gravity.

Despite the rocking and rolling, the ship is actually in good condition right now.

The only problem is that the water is entering the cabin too quickly. All five pumps are running, but they still can't keep up with the rate of water inflow.

After learning about the situation, Sun Zhiwei began using his spatial storage to collect the water in the cabin and release it onto the sea.

He could retrieve items from his spatial storage in an instant, at an extremely fast speed. With his help, the water level in the cabin was quickly brought under control.

Four hours later, the Oriental Angel was finally overtaken by the typhoon cyclone. No one on board could stand, and they all used ropes to secure themselves firmly to the hull.

Sun Zhiwei knew that this was the most crucial moment. He immediately stuffed three pills into the mouths of Professor Meng and the other two who were about to wake up, and then put them into his spatial storage.

The helmsman was exhausted. He shouted, "I can't hold on much longer! Someone take my place!"

Immediately, the navigator moved over with the handlebars, took over the helmsman's position, and regained control of the direction.

Next was Captain Huo, but he was too old and only lasted an hour.

Finally, Sun Zhiwei took over the helm. After all, he had studied cargo ship piloting, so steering the ship was no problem for him.

It wasn't until six hours later that the Oriental Angel sailed out of the strong wind zone. The torrential rain and strong winds immediately subsided, but the waves still hadn't stopped.

Sun Zhiwei noticed that Professor Meng and the other two in the space were about to wake up, so he quickly put them in their respective beds.

At that moment, the navigator, staring at the radar screen, suddenly shouted, "Captain, an island has been spotted ahead!"

Captain Huo's spirits lifted upon hearing this: "Which direction?"

"South, in the south, it's still 50 kilometers away."

(End of this chapter)