50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 292 Midway Island
Captain Huo was puzzled: "That's impossible. Our ship is only going a dozen knots, and the nearest island is at least six or seven hundred kilometers away. It would take a whole day to sail there. Which island is it?"

"Never mind. No matter which island it is, let's move closer. Helmsman, turn 15 degrees to the left."

Upon hearing the order, Sun Zhiwei immediately turned the rudder, and the Oriental Angel made a small turn and sped towards the island.

At this point, although they had left the eye of the storm, it was still a long way off before they could leave the storm area altogether.

This storm, named 'Louise', has a diameter of 1000 kilometers. Even if the storm stays still, it will take them three days to clear.

However, the sailors had been working continuously for more than ten hours.

Human energy is limited, and everyone is running out of energy. If this continues, the danger will increase dramatically.

Therefore, if there is a small island available, we should sail there immediately, so that it can provide some shelter from the wind and waves and allow the sailors to catch their breath.

An hour later, although it was dark, the island ahead was still visible from the ship. Captain Huo picked up his binoculars and carefully examined the island.

Everyone in the wheelhouse looked at the captain, hoping he would bring good news.

"My goodness, it really is Midway Island!" The captain's words were barely out when the sailors cheered.

"Captain, where is Midway Island?" Only Sun Zhiwei was not familiar with the islands along the route, so he asked directly.

"Haha, Midway Island is Midway Island, the former Bald Eagle base. There's a deep-water port there. We're saved."

They wouldn't have been able to get here so quickly otherwise, but the typhoon and waves greatly increased their ship's speed, getting them to Midway Island half the time ahead of schedule.

"Everyone, speed up!" Captain Huo shouted.

"Yes, Captain!" all the sailors responded in unison.

Half an hour later, the Oriental Angel could clearly see the port ahead, which was surrounded by a concrete breakwater and had very little wind and waves inside.

With everyone working together, they steered the cargo ship through the gap in the protective embankment into the harbor.

As soon as the ship entered the harbor, the wind and waves subsided, the ship regained its stability, and it gradually approached the dock.

Sun Zhiwei took a moment to look at Professor Meng's family in the cabin. They had all woken up, but they were all weak and still lying in bed.

Only after the ship came to a stop and the anchor was lowered did Sun Zhiwei leave the helm.

Captain Huo promptly instructed, "Chef, hurry up and cook, everyone is hungry."

"Also, this is a military base. No one is allowed to disembark without my order. Otherwise, I won't be responsible if you get shot by the Bald Eagle soldiers."

The sailors were exhausted and hungry, and had no intention of disembarking. They responded listlessly and slumped down to rest.

Sun Zhiwei hurried to the cabin to visit Professor Meng and his family. When he arrived, Professor Meng and his wife had already gotten up, but they were just as tired and hungry as the sailors.

Upon seeing Sun Zhiwei, Professor Meng asked, "Did you weather the storm?"

"We're safe now. We're at the U.S. military base on Midway Island."

Upon hearing about the US military base, Professor Meng immediately became nervous.

Sun Zhiwei comforted him, saying, "Don't be nervous, this military base has long been abandoned."

"There are only a few dozen soldiers here, which is equivalent to our border outpost. They don't have time to bother with us."

"The cafeteria is preparing food. Let's go wait there, we're starving."

At the mention of hunger, all three of them started to rumble in their stomachs. By this time, their seasickness had completely disappeared, though they didn't know what had worked. Hearing about food, the three regained some strength, got out of bed, dressed, and followed Sun Zhiwei to the dining room.

The restaurant was bustling with activity; almost all the sailors had gathered there, all discussing the storm with great enthusiasm.

This was a rare experience for everyone, as we had never encountered such a large typhoon before. Everyone was very fortunate to have weathered it successfully.

Only Sun Zhiwei remained somewhat worried. He sat down next to the captain and asked in a low voice:

"Captain Huo, this island is still guarded. How do you plan to deal with them?"

Captain Huo, with his extensive experience, had encountered similar situations before. He comforted Sun Zhiwei, saying:

"Don't worry, every port has an obligation to provide shelter for ships in a storm. It's not illegal for us to anchor here."

Although Sun Zhiwei knew about this clause, he was worried that the soldiers here might not abide by it.

However, seeing Captain Huo's confident demeanor, Sun Zhiwei didn't dare to speak again, after all, he was just a passenger.

Looking at the somewhat noisy restaurant, Sun Zhiwei walked out feeling annoyed.

Holding onto the outside railing, I looked at the somewhat dilapidated former naval base in front of me, exposed to the wind and rain.

Although many houses have been demolished and some have collapsed, many more buildings in the distance remain intact.

He knew that there were restaurants, hospitals, stadiums, bowling alleys, libraries, hair salons, cinemas, and other amenities here.

It also has military logistics facilities such as radar stations, armories, shipyards, hangars, and oil depots.

After all, this used to be a naval base, and it has everything you need. It used to be a home port for submarines, and it even has an indoor harbor.

It was clear that 20 or so soldiers were not enough to take care of all the facilities here, and most of the place was slowly decaying in the wind and rain.

Moreover, this place is isolated overseas, and these soldiers rarely see a woman. Forget about training. The only reason they don't desert is because they have plenty of food and drink here.

For example, right now, even though it's night, it's obvious that there isn't a single person on guard duty.

Those soldiers are either dead drunk in bars or fast asleep in their dorms. It's just that there are no women around, otherwise, this place would be even more unbearable.

That's why, even though the Eastern Angel had been docked for almost an hour, not a single soldier had noticed it.

"Oh my god~" Suddenly, a cry of surprise reached Sun Zhiwei's ears from afar.

Sun Zhiwei looked in the direction of the sound and saw a soldier hurriedly pulling up his trousers at the entrance of the barracks in the distance.

Ha, this is a soldier who came out to take care of personal hygiene in the middle of the night. He clearly saw the Eastern Angel docked in the port.

Sun Zhiwei turned back to the restaurant and told the captain about seeing the soldier earlier.

Captain Huo immediately understood that the soldiers would be arriving soon, and he needed to be prepared.

Seeing the captain leave the restaurant, Sun Zhiwei thought for a moment and followed him.

Sure enough, a short while later, a group of seven or eight soldiers wearing raincoats and carrying submachine guns ran over from the barracks.

Sun Zhiwei had sharp eyes; he noticed that the soldiers were dressed very sloppily, and most of their guns were even unloaded.

(End of this chapter)