Lan Jin's words left the Shen siblings speechless. After all, she was not wrong. Among all powers, Lan Jin's electricity ability ranked very high.
Still, the Shen siblings had not expected Lan Jin to be so direct, to say it out loud without hesitation. After a brief moment of awkwardness, the siblings naturally stopped bothering her.
"Anyway, thanks again, Sister Lan. You should rest well. We have shift change tomorrow," Shen Zhiyu said.
"Mm."
After seeing the siblings out, Lan Jin stored the gifts in her space and went straight to sleep.
…
Night fell.
Around twelve hours into the pitch-black night, the ship moved across the water. Not far away, a dense, dark mass gathered, drawing attention.
The scouts spotted it immediately and reported it to the ship captains. Led by Captain Zhang, they came to Deck A. After observing for a while, Captain Zhang said,
"Let's go around it. Try not to disturb them."
But a scout said,
"Captain, beneath that dark mass, there seems to be something."
The ship captains immediately took out binoculars for a closer look. It was not a mass at all. Beneath the dark shadow floated a person. The person was on a single wooden board, drifting with the waves. The scene was tense and dangerous.
Careful observation revealed the person on the board did not move at all. It was unclear whether they were dead or alive. If dead, there was no need to intervene. If alive, the priority was to save the person.
No matter how they looked, something was strange. Earlier in the waters, even small boats could barely float. Even without the small fish swirling, wouldn't the fish have eaten the person? And there was only one wooden board under them.
Could it be a trap?
If it was a trap, it had to be set by humans. No underwater creature could be that intelligent.
If it really was a trap, who could have made it?
As they debated whether to rescue the person, the people from J City base suddenly realized the figure on the board looked familiar. Once they saw clearly, everyone lost their calm.
"That person seems to be one of our J City base power users. How is he floating on the water?"
The captains asked,
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Checked carefully. He is the captain of Power Squad Three."
This squad captain was not only a powerful user but also extremely skilled in every metric. How could someone so strong end up floating helplessly on the water?
Moreover, J City base had a tricky location. During floods, part of the base had been submerged. Only when extreme cold came could the base breathe again. They cleared the ice in front of the gates and maintained stability in the harsh cold.
But when the heat returned, the base resumed normal conditions. They closed the gates early and forbade anyone from leaving. That was why inter-base assistance was needed, opening the gates to send some people out.
Even if the surrounding water level dropped, leaving the base was nearly impossible. So why was this squad captain floating on the water?
Lao Shi pondered seriously. "I need to check. I suspect something happened at the base."
Something happened at the base? This was serious. Captain Zhang said immediately,
"Don't overthink. If something happened, we would have received a distress signal. Since we haven't, let's just go take a look."
The ships protecting the professor team could not move first unless closest. The nearest Ship Two was sent ahead to investigate.
Captain Zhang reminded, "Wear gas masks. From my experience, that dark mass is probably insects. If they attack, use smoke. It usually works."
During the insect disaster, pesticide had helped a lot, but smoke was also effective. Pesticide was limited, so conserving some was necessary.
On Ship Two, the crew steered slowly toward the dark mass. On Deck A, everyone wore gas masks and wrapped themselves tightly. They wanted to move quietly, but the ship's engine still made loud sounds. Soon, the dense swarm noticed the ship and flew violently toward Ship Two.
As the insects approached, Deck A used smoke immediately. The ship was soon filled with smoke. Just as everyone thought it was safe, screams erupted. The dense swarm flew straight through the smoke toward the other ships.
Captain Zhang felt alarmed. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted, "Everyone back to the cabin! Everyone, all back to the cabin!"
A grim memory flashed. During the Maolin mission, they encountered man-eating insects. These insects were terrifying because they left no trace of blood.
The people on the ship were likely attacked. Maybe these insects did not eat people but bit painfully, causing the screams.
Perhaps the smoke disrupted the insects' vision, slowing their attack, which made the screams sound extra miserable. In any case, they could not resist the insects now and had to hide first.
At Captain Zhang's command, everyone rushed to the cabin. Hesitation was unnecessary. Everyone moved quickly. By the time the dense swarm arrived, Deck A was empty.
The insects, finding no target, crashed against the ship, 'crash' after 'crash', waking Lan Jin and the others from their sleep.
The cabin's rest room had a glass window to the water. The glass let light through, with a small white curtain. But the sunlight still filtered in.
Normally, opening your eyes should have shown daylight, but now the swarm covered the glass, blocking the sunlight, making the room as dark as night.
===
Wow, Chapter 300 is here already! ✨(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
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