Lan Jin got up. The room was pitch black. The sudden darkness left her a little dazed.
She did not overthink. She turned on the flashlight on her waist, instantly illuminating the rest area. Then she went to the door and switched on the lights, finally seeing the full situation inside the room.
The room was empty, except for the glass, which was pitch black. Without a second thought, she knew there had to be something on it.
When she pulled back a corner of the curtain and saw the glass covered densely with insects, Lan Jin felt her goosebumps rise, nearly falling off her skin. She stepped back several paces, cursing under her breath.
"Damn it."
Soon, the entire floor of the rest area erupted in shouts and curses.
Next door, Ling Jiang came out of her room and pounded on Lan Jin's door.
"Lan Jin, are you okay?"
It was inevitable. Ling Jiang had long known Lan Jin's fear of insects. Seeing the swarm outside, her first worry was Lan Jin.
Lan Jin quickly opened the door. "I'm fine, I'm fine. But what is going on outside? This is disgusting."
Hearing the noise and realizing they could leave their rooms, people inside began to trickle into the hallway.
The corridor soon filled with people. Just as someone was about to contact Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang himself arrived with his walkie-talkie. Seeing everyone awake, he finally relaxed.
"Good, you're all awake. I didn't have to shout. Something happened outside. Have you ever encountered anything like this before?"
H City base had never faced this situation, so Captain Zhang had no experience. But the cabin was not only occupied by H City base personnel. Perhaps someone from another base might know.
He was about to be disappointed because no one had ever seen anything like this.
Captain Zhang reluctantly turned his attention to Lao Shi, who might have some knowledge.
But Lao Shi did not know either.
"Even though this area is close to J City base, and the person on the wooden board is from J City base, we have never seen anything like this before. And these insects… they are not the same as during the insect disaster."
During the insect disaster, even massive swarms had not harmed or eaten humans. These insects…
The recent chaos had been shrouded in smoke, so the exact situation was unclear. But judging from the screams, the people on the deck were likely in grave danger. And they could not go forward to help. Their situation was no better than the people outside.
"What should we do?" someone asked in the corridor.
More than thinking of solutions, Lao Shi was clearly more worried about J City base. He said with a serious expression,
"Captain Zhang, I think something happened at J City base. I request to return immediately. Otherwise, I cannot complete this mission."
Captain Zhang kept a cold expression, neither agreeing nor refusing.
"In this situation, J City base is not far. We should go check. But right now, I am worried about our own safety. These insects have covered the ships. We cannot move forward or see the conditions of the ships ahead. We cannot give up on J City base, and we cannot abandon the ships in front. We must wait until we escape this trap, then go together."
Lao Shi thanked him.
"Thank you, Captain Zhang."
"This is the right thing to do."
The problem now was how those trapped in the cabin could escape.
…
Captain Zhang's urgency showed. He used the walkie-talkie to communicate with the other ships, all surrounded by insects without exception.
One power user attempted to use their ability through the glass against the insects. The power worked, but the insects came endlessly, creating a never-ending struggle. Everyone grew frustrated.
Captain Zhang asked,
"What ability is that power user using? We should try too. Doing nothing is worse."
"Ice ability. The power user thought the insects from the extreme heat would not fear heat, so they used ice. You should try it too."
When ice ability was mentioned, all eyes turned to Ling Jiang. She gestured and returned to her room. The curtain could not be pulled back, but she could try through the curtain.
She pressed the curtain against the glass, using ice ability on the insects clinging to the ship.
Knowing the number of insects, Ling Jiang used all her strength.
The insects froze, but they also stuck to the ship. The situation was awkward, and Ling Jiang herself did not know how to explain it.
She turned to Captain Zhang and smiled sheepishly.
"Captain Zhang, I froze them, but…"
"But they are stuck on the ship, right?" Captain Zhang rubbed his forehead. Sometimes having too strong a power user was not helpful.
"Have the fire users go next. Melt the ice so they fall freely from the ship."
The fire users went to each room and used their abilities on the windows. Soon, the ice stuck to the ship melted a little. With some manual effort, the insects fell into the water.
But the insects were far more numerous than expected. Wave after wave showed no sign of stopping.
Captain Zhang said,
"This is not a solution. We cannot keep hiding."
At that moment, the professor team sent news. Although these insects had not appeared before, the team had studied all insect types during the insect disaster. This precaution now proved useful.
The solution was simple. Freezing had already been used. The other method was saltwater. Freshwater lakes and rivers did nothing. But salt…
Everything would be solved.
After receiving the message from the professor team, part of the problem was solved. The other part was how to create enough time in the swarm to pour saltwater.
With the first solution in place, the next problem became easier, thanks to high-tech equipment from the base.
Soon, Captain Zhang found several people to carry clothes and brought several buckets of saltwater. After giving instructions, they left the cabin carrying the supplies.