As Zhou Ziwei ran, he extended his soul power along the secret passage. He soon discovered that when the passage had risen more than a hundred meters, near the lake surface, there was a huge hall made entirely of metal, resembling a decompression chamber, with a small, sealed submarine suspended in mid-air.
There were six people on the small boat, five men and one woman. Two of the men and one of the women were tightly clutching a sealed metal box.
Through the power of the soul, one can see that the boxes are half-filled with water, but the water is not all the same color. Some of it is colorless, some is black, and one box is light green. Inside these three boxes, there is a very precise temperature controller and oxygen regulator. A water spirit seed is floating quietly in the water.
However, the three seeds now appear to be growing in completely different ways. The one in the black water has just sprouted, while the one in the colorless water has not even sprouted yet. Only the one in the green water has grown a seedling that is at least three inches long.
It must be admitted that the research level of the M people is truly remarkable, and their research efficiency is incomparable to the atmosphere in China.
It's only been a few days... Not only have they actually started researching, but it seems they've even achieved some good results. If this were in China... they'd probably still be in the process of holding meetings to discuss the list of people participating in the special research.
However, no matter how much Zhou Ziwei admired Old M's work efficiency, he could not tolerate these guys stealing his things... That's right, in Zhou Ziwei's eyes, these three seeds were his things, his wealth, the treasure that Zhou Ziwei would rely on to monopolize a field in the future. Naturally, he could not let these plunderers ruin his grand plan for making money before it even officially began.
Therefore... Zhou Ziwei would never let them take these three small boxes away.
At one end of this decompression chamber is a huge sluice gate. The gate is slightly open, and the surging lake water rushes in from the open sluice gate. Originally, the other end of this decompression chamber should be completely sealed. In this way, when the decompression chamber is filled with water and the water pressure in the chamber is consistent with that in the large lake outside, the sluice gate can be fully opened, and then this small submarine can sail out of this underground base without hindrance and sneak into the huge lake outside undetected.
However, the other end of the decompression chamber... that is, the secret door at the end of the secret passage connecting to the underground base, is still wide open. As a result, most of the lake water that flooded into the decompression chamber flowed down through the entrance of the secret passage, causing the water level in the decompression chamber to fail to rise to the predetermined height. Due to the large pressure difference inside, the submarine is temporarily unable to move out.
It seems there must be some other shady stuff inside this underground base, otherwise these guys wouldn't have bothered with this before leaving.
Old Ms are generally very realistic and would never seek revenge for the three or four hundred armed personnel killed by Zhou Ziwei. In fact, even if they wanted revenge, they would not be so ruthless as to bury all of the thousands of researchers here at once.
Their purpose in doing this was clearly only twofold: first, to wipe out all the Dragon Group members who had infiltrated the underground research base using this method; and second... perhaps most importantly, to directly eliminate the researchers in the research base who possessed some secrets.
Zhou Ziwei knew that if he put in more effort at this time to capture all the researchers in the entire scientific research base and find those who played important roles to take out, he might be able to make a great contribution.
However... Zhou Ziwei didn't really care about these things. His purpose in coming here was only for those three seeds. As for other things, if it was something he could do on a whim, he wouldn't mind helping the country. But if it was too troublesome... Zhou Ziwei didn't have the patience for that.
Moreover, the current situation doesn't allow Zhou Ziwei to be distracted by too many things; just protecting these few members of the Dragon Group is enough to keep him busy for a while.
The surging waves would arrive in the blink of an eye, and he had to prepare in advance. Zhou Ziwei would absolutely not allow the submarine above to escape successfully. Not only did they have to keep the three boxes they were carrying, but they also had to take away the research results they had obtained. They had troubled him to come here and cause such a mess, so he should at least be paid some interest.
With a thought from Zhou Ziwei, a butterfly dart silently rode the waves upstream from the secret passage, entered the decompression chamber, and then circled the thruster beneath the submarine suspended in mid-air, instantly and completely destroying the submarine.
The thunderous sound of water grew closer. Still seated in his wheelchair, with the help of the cannon, Bullet followed everyone into the secret passage, quickly climbing the steps. He said in a low voice, "Attention everyone... Hold onto each other's arms. Only by sticking together can we avoid being swept away by the current. The flood is coming... Stay close together, against one side of the passage, and don't block the flow. Otherwise, we won't be able to hold on."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately clasped hands together and pressed themselves tightly against the wall on the left side of the secret passage, trying to find something to hold onto firmly.
Four more chains with suction cups shot out from the wheelchair, firmly securing it to the left wall. This was a mechanism the wheelchair used for climbing walls and mountains. Normally, two suction cups attached to the wall were enough to easily support the entire wheelchair plus the weight of the bullet. Now that four suction cups were out, it should be able to keep the wheelchair from being swept away by the flood for a while!
However, everyone underestimated the strength of the water flow. After rushing down a drop of over a hundred meters, the speed and force of the water were so great that they were almost irresistible. Under normal circumstances, no matter how much preparation these people had made beforehand, or how hard they tried to hold on, they would not have lasted more than three seconds before being swept away like a bunch of balls, carried downstream all the way to the bottom of the underground base.
However, when the water crashed down from above the secret passage, Zhou Ziwei felt an exhilarating sensation... The water energy was incredibly rich! Just from being swept up by the first wave, Zhou Ziwei absorbed a massive amount of water energy, then converted it into attribute-free energy and deposited it into his middle dantian. This feeling was almost comparable to a raging tsunami. If he had absorbed this energy slowly in a calm lake, it would probably have taken him three days and three nights to absorb this much energy...
After being absorbed by Zhou Ziwei, the surging water became almost like a docile lamb. Although it still flowed over these people's bodies and heads, it felt like a gentle stream with little impact. The people had exerted so much effort for nothing, as if they had punched cotton.
The roaring floodwaters submerged everyone, but they helped each other and none of them were swept away. When Zhou Ziwei, who was at the front, lifted his leg and continued to walk upwards, the people behind him followed suit one after another, and they were surprised to find that going upstream in the water was not strenuous at all.
Several people who were skilled swimmers were quite puzzled, but under the floodwaters, they could only keep their doubts to themselves and could not ask others.
Although they were not ordinary people and had all undergone some training similar to breath-holding, very few of them could hold their breath for more than three minutes. Moreover, this was a deep water area with high water pressure, which made their breath-holding time even shorter. Therefore, they had to rush out of the secret passage within three minutes and even float to the surface of the lake, otherwise... their fate would likely be to drown.
Although everyone understood that, given their current location, reaching the surface of the lake within three minutes was practically a pipe dream, and almost no one could do it.
But none of the people here would give up easily. Even if they knew that going forward would inevitably lead to death, no one would willingly stay in one place and quietly wait for death.
Death is not always scary; what is truly terrifying is the despair that comes from the depths of one's heart.
Zhou Ziwei walked very fast. He walked ahead alone, withstanding the pressure of all the surging waves. He quickly converted the rich water energy into attribute-less energy, then expelled it back and attached it to his soul consciousness. This restored it to water energy. He then secretly manipulated the water flow around him to make it faster.
Unfortunately, Zhou Ziwei doesn't yet have the ability to extract oxygen from water, otherwise... he would truly be like a fish in water, and living underwater for days and nights would be no problem at all.
When Zhou Ziwei and his group quickened their pace and walked to within twenty meters of the decompression chamber, the underground base was already almost completely filled with gushing water. The water level in the decompression chamber gradually rose to a certain level, completely submerging the submarine suspended in mid-air.
With a "whoosh," seeing that the water level had reached a certain level, a middle-aged man with a large beard sitting in the submarine pressed a remote control. The huge sluice gate outside the decompression chamber immediately rose completely. Then, he started to start a row of instruments on the submarine. Hearing the engine sound as usual, the bearded man nodded and pressed another start switch.
With a "whoosh," the propeller responsible for propulsion under the submarine spun rapidly for a few rotations, but before the submarine had traveled two meters, a crisp "crack" was heard. The propeller broke off and detached from the submarine, leaving only a horizontal shaft that continued to spin. The submarine could no longer move an inch.
"Damn it... What happened? How could this be? This submarine is supposed to undergo a water test and maintenance every week, how... how could it suddenly break down today? No... This can't be... This can't be."
The bearded man pounded on the submarine's control panel, seemingly enraged and furious. The men and women sitting behind him, who had initially appeared calm and collected, could no longer remain seated. They jumped up, ran to the bearded man, and loudly questioned him.
"Damn it... I want to know what's going on with you guys too... If you don't want to die, go change into your diving suits right now. This submarine probably can't be used, but as long as we kill those guys who attacked my base, we'll be fine. Even if each of us carries an oxygen tank, it doesn't matter. As long as we avoid those man-eating crocodiles and surface, we'll be saved... And one more thing, you must remember... Even if you die, don't lose that box you're holding. This thing is incredibly useful to us. If you can preserve these three seeds, you'll be heroes, and I guarantee you'll enjoy wealth and glory for the rest of your lives. But... if you lose that box... I think the consequences will be more than you idiots can handle. You know where your families are, right? If you don't want to bring disaster to your families, guard that thing well."
After saying that, the bearded man immediately jumped up from his driver's seat, turned around and ran to open a small storage room in the submarine, taking out a set of diving suits. Just as he was about to change into them, he inadvertently turned around and saw on the display projector in front of him that six or seven people were holding hands and walking step by step out of the secret passage, and walking quickly towards the submarine, which was now completely submerged in the water and whose chains had been broken.
"God... what's going on? Can anyone tell me what's going on?" The bearded man unconsciously threw the diving suit he was holding onto the ground, then roared hysterically, "Can anyone tell me what's going on? With such a surging current flowing into the secret passage, even if there were a pure gold Buddha statue inside, it should have been swept to the bottom of the underground base by now. How... how did these people manage to swim upstream and get here as if nothing happened? What's going on? Can anyone tell me?"
"I can tell you..."
The bearded man was just venting his frustrations unconsciously. When he shouted those words, he naturally didn't expect anyone to actually answer his questions. But at that moment, an excessively young voice suddenly rang out in the cramped space of the submarine, sounding as abruptly as a ghost...
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 527: Self-Destruct Program
Sound can be transmitted through various mediums, including air, liquids, and even solids.
However, no matter what, sound must be transmitted effectively through a certain medium.
This time, Zhou Ziwei had a sudden inspiration. Instead of letting his voice travel through the water, he simply made it ring out directly inside the submarine.
This is a technique for manipulating wind energy. Wind energy is the first type of natural energy that Zhou Ziwei has mastered, and it is also one of the natural energies that he is most proficient at using.
What is wind? At its core, it is nothing more than the natural kinetic energy generated when air moves. Therefore, controlling wind energy is equivalent to controlling the air in a certain area, and air is also one of the most common carriers of sound.
When people speak, it causes the air to vibrate. When this air vibration reaches someone else's ear, that person hears what the other person said. This is what is known as sound waves.
However, Zhou Ziwei is someone who can manipulate wind energy, so... even if he doesn't open his mouth to speak, as long as he uses the air he controls to simulate the air vibration frequency produced when a person speaks, he can naturally make his voice suddenly ring out anywhere his soul power can reach.
The hysterical, bearded man was startled by Zhou Ziwei's sudden response. He turned around in horror, looked around, and roared at the men behind him with bloodshot eyes, "Who...who was talking just now? Who's playing me for a fool?"
The five people looked at each other, then shook their heads in confusion.
In fact, they hadn't heard anything at all. The "I can tell you" that Zhou Ziwei had deliberately said to him alone, causing only a slight vibration in the air near the bearded man's ear. So, no one else had any idea that someone had actually spoken to the bearded man; they thought he was acting strangely under intense stimulation…
"Impossible... How could no one be here? Didn't anyone say 'I can tell you'?" The bearded man roared, his eyes red. "The person who said that, step forward now, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, if I find out who's playing me, then... I'll make sure you..."
"Hmph... I'm the one playing you, you idiot, so what? What can you do to me, you idiot?"
Before the bearded man could finish his threatening words, the mysterious voice from before suddenly rang in his ears again without warning.
This time he was facing the other five people in the submarine, so he could see them clearly. The five of them were staring at him with blank expressions, wide eyes, and tightly shut mouths. Not one of them uttered a sound. So... who was making that sound? Could it really be a ghost?
"Who are you? If you've got the guts, step forward!" The bearded man suddenly pulled out a Desert Eagle and glared angrily at the cramped submarine. However, the submarine was only so big, and it seemed that apart from the storage compartment, there was nowhere else to hide.
But now even the storage compartment door is open, and there's nothing inside except some diving equipment, a little food and water. So... where is this strange sound coming from?
"Did you hear that? Which direction was that sound coming from?" The bearded man searched around but found no clues, so he turned his questioning gaze to the other five people.
The five people seemed to be perfectly in sync, immediately shaking their heads in unison upon hearing this, with the same amplitude and direction of the shaking. Then, the only woman among them instinctively hugged the box in her arms tighter and said doubtfully, "Lord Bazan, we...we don't seem to have heard anyone else speaking...Lord Bazan...are you sure someone was really talking to you just now?"
"What...you...you didn't hear that?" The bearded man, addressed as Lord Bazan, was even more startled. He stared at the five men with fear in his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you...are you sure...you really...really didn't hear that person's voice? He just said, 'Hmph...I'm playing a trick on you, you idiot, so what? What can you do to me, you idiot?' That's it, you...you really didn't hear any of you?"
Upon hearing this, the five people shook their heads in unison again, and for a moment, their gazes toward Lord Bazan were filled with pity and fear... Lord Bazan has probably really gone mad this time!
Lord Bazan's face was like a palette, changing several different colors in an instant—blue, purple, white, green… leaving the other five people in front of him dumbfounded. They never imagined that Lord Bazan possessed such a powerful face-changing skill; it was truly unbelievable…
"Hahahaha...hahahaha..."
Lord Bazan indeed seemed to have gone mad. As everyone stared at him speechlessly, a crazed, savage grin suddenly appeared on his face, which had been displaying several colors of beard. He roared, his head swiveling aimlessly in all directions, screaming hoarsely, "I don't care who you are... I don't care if you're human or ghost, hahaha... You want to scare me? Well, I'll grant your wish... I'll just turn myself into a dead man, then I'll be a ghost too! Hmph... I couldn't deal with you when I was human, so let's see who's more ferocious after I become a ghost! Hahahaha..."
As Lord Bazan spoke, he immediately turned around and slammed his fist down onto the control panel of the submarine. The fist smashed into the recess covered by transparent glass, shattering the palm-sized glass into pieces. At the same time, Lord Bazan's hand was covered in blood, but the bearded man's face only had an extremely ferocious smile, as if he was no longer aware of the pain.
With a soft "beep," Lord Bazan inserted a finger into the recess filled with shards of glass and pressed it hard on a red button. Instantly, a piercing alarm blared wildly throughout the small submarine.
"Warning, warning... The Wilson submarine has initiated its self-destruct procedure and will be destroyed in ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six..."
With the piercing alarm and the loud countdown, the other five people in the submarine were horrified. They never expected that Bazan, this madman, would actually do something so irrational, activating the submarine's self-destruct program without a second thought.
The two men, already dressed in diving suits, immediately rushed to the submarine's hatch, frantically pressing the button to open it, trying to escape before the submarine self-destructed. They knew they only had a few seconds left, and even if they ran for their lives, they wouldn't get very far. The terrifying explosive force of the self-destruction would be immense, and even if they managed to escape thirty or fifty meters, they might not survive.
However, since the submarine is about to explode, no one wants to die here immediately. Even if the chance of survival is slim after escaping, there is still a glimmer of hope, which is better than sitting here and waiting to die.
Of course, the mad Lord Bazan wouldn't allow anyone to escape in front of him. Although his fragile nerves had completely lost their minds under Zhou Ziwei's stimulation, he hadn't completely gone mad. He still knew the importance of these researchers. At least... he couldn't let them fall into the hands of the Chinese.
If it becomes clear that they can no longer successfully protect them from leaving this place, then the only thing left is destruction, utter destruction... This submarine possesses a terrifying explosive capability, enough to instantly turn everything within dozens of feet of it into ashes... No, if it were to be blown up in the water, it probably wouldn't even leave a speck of dust. Even a speck of blood or flesh would be devoured clean in the blink of an eye by the man-eating crocodiles that are being raised in large numbers in this lake.
After activating the self-destruct program, Lord Bazan immediately shut down all other programs on the submarine. Even if the submarine's propellers had been tampered with and cut off by Zhou Ziwei beforehand, they would be unable to operate now. The hatches were locked shut, and even Bazan himself could no longer open them. Unless someone used brute force to tear the submarine apart, the six people inside would only be able to wait to be blown into a cloud of blood mist within seconds!
The five researchers were already terrified by the scene, and when they saw that even the hatch could not be opened, they all screamed in alarm. One of them rushed towards Lord Bazan even more desperately, as if he wanted to fight Lord Bazan to the death first.
With a "bang," Lord Bazan, who had already fallen into a state of mental frenzy, naturally did not hesitate at all. His Desert Eagle immediately went off, and a bullet almost blew half of the researcher's head off.
It turns out that this guy's Desert Eagle wasn't loaded with ordinary bullets, but with explosives.
boom--
As the gunshot rang out, a muffled sound suddenly erupted from the submarine. However, the mechanical countdown had not yet ended, and the sound did not seem to be an explosion. The crew members were startled by the sound, and only then did they regain some of their composure from the fear of their comrade being shot. They turned their heads and saw that a large hole, about one meter in diameter, had suddenly appeared on one side of the submarine's bulkhead. Immediately afterward, the vast expanse of lake water outside seemed to burst forth like a floodgate opening, and in less than two seconds, the entire submarine was completely filled with water.
The remaining three men and one woman, the four researchers, were immediately swept up by a giant wave and flung an unknown distance with a "whoosh." Just then... a deafening roar came from the water, and in an instant... the entire lake seemed to turn into a pot of boiling water, violently and frantically churning. Collapses and explosions echoed from underground, and the eroded soil turned the once clear lake water into a murky mess...
The researchers felt as if they had been struck hard on the back by a sledgehammer as heavy as a mountain, and then they all lost consciousness...
Zhou Ziwei never expected that the bearded uncle would have such poor mental resilience. He was just teasing him, but he didn't expect the guy to be so petty and easily frightened. He completely broke down after being scared, and even wanted to commit suicide... and wanted many people to commit suicide with him... What a madman... This guy must be under a lot of pressure at work!
When Zhou Ziwei heard the self-destruct alarm coming from the submarine, he was shocked. He knew that the researchers inside the submarine were probably working on the breeding technology of water spirits and had already made some initial progress. It would be a huge waste to let them die here. So, Zhou Ziwei didn't hesitate. He immediately fired a butterfly dart, violently breaking through the thick hull of the submarine. Then, he used a surge of water energy under his control to sweep up the four researchers inside and the three boxes they were holding. He then used the water energy he controlled to ride the lake water like a giant fish, enveloping the four researchers and the other six members of the Dragon Group beside him, and desperately fled towards the surface of the lake.
A deafening roar erupted behind Zhou Ziwei and his group shortly after they swam out of the decompression chamber. The small submarine, packed with an unknown amount of explosives, had created a terrifying explosion. Even more terrifying was the fact that a secret armory of the underground base was located not far from the decompression chamber. The submarine's explosion, blasting through the wall, immediately triggered an even more horrific blast. Instantly, the entire underground base was completely destroyed in the monstrous explosion. The towering buildings, tens of meters high, began to collapse, causing a severe earthquake to strike the small island in the lake above, which then began to sway and slowly sink towards the surface…
Zhou Ziwei felt a terrifying shockwave from behind him. He immediately shouted and turned around, unleashing the maximum flow of water he could control to strike the target. Instantly, the powerful energy impact caused the lake water that Zhou Ziwei had painstakingly controlled to shatter into pieces. Clumps of water, out of control, were quickly broken into pieces, escaping the control of Zhou Ziwei's water energy. They then carried human figures... like balls, rapidly rolling and drifting away in the water.
Damn it, it seems I still can't control enough water energy. It was completely dissipated by the aftershocks of the explosion. If a nuclear explosion were to happen here... with my limited abilities, I'm afraid I'd still be powerless...
If it were someone else, they probably would never have considered such a vague idea as what to do if a nuclear explosion happened near them. But Zhou Ziwei is different... He not only has to consider this kind of thing, but he has actually experienced such a thing once before.
However, he discovered it relatively early and managed to burrow underground in time, thus escaping the disaster. It could also be said that the nuclear bomb that exploded on the island was not particularly powerful.
If... if something like this happens again, those terrorists will have more experience dealing with him. They probably won't give him as much time to react if they drop a nuclear bomb on him again. And they probably won't use a low-yield nuclear bomb again. If they really give him a hard blow and drop a nuclear bomb with a yield ten or even a hundred times greater than last time, will he still be able to escape?
Therefore, Zhou Ziwei often thinks about this issue and tries his best to improve his strength so that even if those guys frantically bombard him with nuclear missiles next time, he will still have the ability to escape safely.
This time, a large amount of water energy was used to resist the submarine's explosion, but unexpectedly, it still couldn't completely withstand it. Of course... most of the shockwave from the explosion was absorbed by Zhou Ziwei. The remaining small amount of shockwave hitting Zhou Ziwei was no different from being blown by a gust of wind. It couldn't even break through the alloy suit's defense, so it naturally didn't cause any harm to Zhou Ziwei.
However, for those researchers and the six members of the Dragon Group, even this residual shockwave was enough to cause them terrifying damage.
As their bodies were scattered by the energy, they all instantly fell into a deep coma, losing all consciousness.
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 528: Crocodile Swarm
The six members of the Dragon Group had been holding their breath and enduring the surging water as they ascended through the secret passage below. By now, they had been holding on for more than two minutes, and were already close to their limit. When this force suddenly struck them, they all involuntarily opened their mouths wide and instantly lost consciousness, their bellies swollen from being filled with lake water.