50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 670 Stealing the Rock Bay

A submarine undergoing near-shore testing must bring not only the entire crew to operate the submarine, but also a number of technicians and engineers.

Because engineers and technicians are responsible for testing the equipment on board, troubleshooting and repairing various faults, test submarines carry much more personnel than regular submarines when they set sail.

With more people, the amount of supplies that can be carried will inevitably decrease, so submarines generally do not sail for more than three days at a time for testing.

Sun Zhiwei didn't know if the 'Yanwan' had gone out for testing, so in order not to miss it, he decided to stay here for three days to see the results.

The small hotel he's staying at now is right by the sea, located downstream of the shipping lane, closer to the ocean.

The houses in this location are in very poor condition because the waterway is very busy, with ships passing by frequently, and most of them sound their horns when entering the open sea.

Anyone who has heard the sound of a ship's horn knows how terrifying it can be.

This small hotel is less than 100 meters away from the waterway, and the building itself is not well soundproofed, so you can imagine how loud the noise is.

But there are advantages to staying here. One is that the room rate is cheap, only fifteen pounds a night, which is particularly affordable compared to other hotels in the city.
Another advantage is that this is the only way for the shipyard's ships to enter and leave the sea. Whenever the 'Rock Bay' returns, it will definitely pass through the channel in front of its window.

Sun Zhiwei didn't care about housing prices, but he liked the fact that it was close to the shipping lane.

In the following days, he rarely left the vicinity of the hotel, and his spatial ability was always on, monitoring the entire shipping route.

On the third day at noon, while he was having lunch, he suddenly discovered that a submarine was entering the port underwater.

He noticed the number "S90" on the submarine's hull, which would later become the hull number of the "Rock Bay".

It's just that it hasn't officially entered service yet, so the name hasn't been decided.

Seeing the "S90" appear, Sun Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief, finally he didn't have to go to the vast sea to look for it.

Because the only Trafalgar-class attack submarine recently completed is the 'Rock Bay'.

The three ships already built – the Trafalgar, the Raging Surge, and the Unyielding – have long been in service with the Navy.

Submarines in service spend most of their time on missions outside the port unless they are shut down for maintenance, and the timing of their return to port for resupply is difficult to determine.

The two ships currently under construction in the shipyard have not even had their keels erected yet, and they will not be completed until next year.

Therefore, it is indeed fortunate that the 'Yanwan' was able to return to Hong Kong within the time he expected.

From that day on, Sun Zhiwei checked out of the room, bought some supplies, and took the yacht in the space directly to the estuary.

Normally, after a test, there will be a few days to rest and summarize the experience. If there are any parts that need major repairs, they will be repaired in time. If not, the next test will be at most 7 days later.

He had already inspected the shipyard yesterday. The engineers who came down from the 'Yanwan' did not gather for a meeting; most of them left the shipyard area.

Clearly, no unexpected problems arose during the test, which is why they were able to go home with peace of mind.

That also means that the next test won't be far in between, and he just needs to wait and see.

And so, from that day on, a white yacht appeared at the mouth of Barrow-in-Furness, where Morecambe Bay meets the Irish Sea. Every day, a fisherman would fish on the yacht.

Occasionally, fellow anglers would run over to greet the man and exchange catches.

On the fifth day of Sun Zhiwei's continuous sea fishing, the "Yanwan" set off from the shipyard again with its crew, beginning its Nth test voyage.

When the 'Rock Bay' entered the Irish Sea, the yacht, which had been stationary for several days, suddenly started moving.

It was Sun Zhiwei who spotted the 'Rock Bay' setting sail, and then he followed it at a distance in his yacht until it left the Celtic Sea and entered the Atlantic Ocean.

By this time, both ships had left the busy shipping lanes and entered remote waters where the water depth exceeded one thousand meters.

Sun Zhiwei noticed that the 'Yanwan' began to descend in the water, indicating that they were testing the submarine's performance in deep water.

Driven by the powerful propulsion provided by the reactor, the massive submarine continuously submerged while filling its tanks with water.

Meanwhile, because the reactor provides ample power, seawater is continuously electrolyzed in a dedicated seawater electrolysis chamber, and the resulting oxygen is continuously supplied to the ship's cabins to provide fresh oxygen for the crew.

Each compartment has an air detector that continuously monitors the oxygen content in the submarine's compartments and adjusts the power of seawater electrolysis in the electrolysis chamber accordingly.

Sun Zhiwei waited on the yacht all day until night before the 'Yanwan' began to rise and soon surfaced.

At this moment, a snorkel was opened, and a crew member went to the engine room to start the diesel engine in the submarine. This was to test the diesel power system.

At this moment, Sun Zhiwei knew his opportunity had come. He immediately and quietly blocked the ventilation pipes with debris, cutting off the airflow between the inside and outside of the submarine, and then cut off the power lines of all the air detectors.

As the diesel engine continued to run, it began to continuously consume the oxygen in the cabin, which was originally powered by oxygen supplied by the vent pipe.

In the first minute, many people in the cabin felt a little stuffy due to the decrease in oxygen, but the officers and soldiers with better physical fitness did not feel it much.

A minute and a half later, most people began to feel increasingly suffocated, and their heart rate gradually increased. However, because the air detector did not sound an alarm, no one realized that danger was approaching.

Soon, two and a half minutes passed, and most of the people in the submarine fell into a state of unconsciousness, with some experiencing muscle spasms and loss of consciousness.

Some of the better-fitting sailors realized something was wrong and began to carry out emergency procedures. Some of them manually turned on the power in the electrolysis chamber to start producing oxygen from seawater.

Some people rushed to the hatch, trying to open the hatch on top of the submarine, while others tried to turn off the diesel generator.

Unfortunately, these measures were too late. A few dozen seconds later, before oxygen could be generated in the electrolysis chamber, everyone in the submarine fell into a coma.

Sun Zhiwei immediately stored the 'Yanwan' vessel, which was located on the seabed, into his spatial storage. The task was accomplished, and the next step was to complete the cleanup.

He started to accelerate the yacht and headed out to sea.

Along the way, he continuously dumped the people and debris from the submarine, as well as some of the stored diesel fuel, onto the seabed.

(End of this chapter)