6: Rescue in Turbulent Waters! Salvage the Mysterious Black Box!

"Target clear! Secure!" Chen Hai's deep, calm voice echoed through the comms channel, breaking the almost solidified tension on the bridge.

The drone footage showed that near the oil tank farm entrance, two armed militants behind sandbag bunkers had been silently neutralized, like two puddles of melted shadows. The Marines, like ghosts, crossed the gap in the barbed wire and quickly occupied advantageous positions around the oil tank entrance, establishing a makeshift circular defensive perimeter. The entire process was clean and swift, without alerting the enemies in the living quarters several hundred meters away.

"Good! Well done!" Deputy Captain Gao Qiang couldn't help but praise in a low voice.

Lin Feng's taut nerves also relaxed slightly, but his gaze remained as sharp as an eagle's: "Order the engineering team to immediately take fuel detection and extraction equipment, along with necessary breaching tools, and depart on the third RHIB! Target: D-zone oil tanks! Marines, provide alert and cover!"

"Understood! Engineering team departing immediately!" The communications officer quickly relayed the order.

Soon, the third speedboat, carrying several engineers and technicians, departed Deep Blue 01 and sped towards the harbor. At the same time, Lin Feng issued new instructions: "Drones, focus on monitoring the movements of armed militants in E-zone, especially the heavy machine gun on the water tower! Main gun, load high-explosive rounds and maintain lock on the water tower! CIWS, remain on standby!"

Time passed in anxiousness. The engineering team successfully landed and, under the strict protection of the Marines, began breaching and inspecting the thick protective doors of the oil tanks. The piercing sounds of electric drills and metal cutting were particularly clear in the silent harbor, but fortunately, with the cover of wind and waves, they did not attract attention from E-zone for the time being.

[Ding!]

[Mission: Race Against Time - Objective 1 (Locate and arrive at the supply point) Completed!]

[Reward: Energy/Points +100 (Stage Reward)]

[Mission: Race Against Time - Objective 2 (Successfully obtain energy supply) In progress...]

The system's prompt invigorated Lin Feng, but his gaze remained fixed on the screen.

"Captain, report! Protective door breached! Currently checking internal fuel status!" The engineering team leader's voice came through, tinged with excitement and tension.

On the bridge, everyone's hearts were in their throats. Was there still oil in the tank? What was its quality? This directly determined the fate of Deep Blue 01!

A few seconds of silence felt like centuries.

"Detection results... liquid level in the tank is about 30%! Oil quality... preliminary inspection shows a large amount of water and impurities! Cannot be used directly! Requires purification!" The engineering team leader's voice carried immense disappointment and a hint of urgency.

"What?!" Lin Feng and Gao Qiang exclaimed almost simultaneously. Water? Impurities? Cannot be used directly?!

[Warning! Target fuel quality severely degraded! Direct injection into the engine will lead to serious malfunction or even explosion!]

[Mission Objective 2 (Successfully obtain energy supply) Obstructed! Purification problem needs to be solved!]

The cold system prompt was like a bucket of cold water poured over them! Hope was right in front of them, yet unreachable due to the oil quality issue!

"Damn it! It must be due to maintenance interruption after the disaster, seawater intrusion, or condensation!" The Chief Engineer roared exasperatedly over the comms channel.

"Purification... do we have purification equipment?" Gao Qiang looked at Lin Feng, his expression grave.

Lin Feng frowned deeply. A Type 055 destroyer certainly had its own fuel purification system, but that would consume a large amount of the ship's already precarious electricity (energy), and it was designed for fine filtration of standard marine fuel. For such severely degraded, high-water-content oil, the effect was unknown, and the processing speed couldn't keep up with demand! The system rewards did include a "Basic Fuel Purification Module" blueprint, but that could only be obtained after completing the mission!

"Engineering team, can you set up a simple separation device on site? Even if it's just to separate out some usable fuel first!" Lin Feng asked in a deep voice.

"Captain, report! We brought portable oil-water separators, but the processing capacity is too small! Faced with such a large reserve of poor-quality oil, it's a drop in the ocean! And it requires stable power support!" The engineering team leader's tone was desperate.

A stalemate! Time ticked by, minute by minute, and the energy reserve had already dropped to 14%! Deep Blue 01 was like a giant gasping in the darkness, its strength rapidly draining!

Just then, the radar operator, responsible for monitoring, suddenly let out an urgent cry: "Captain, report! Sonar detected an anomaly! Northeast corner of the harbor, shallow waters, intense struggling and cries for help! Not armed militants! Looks like... survivors in the water! And... something is rapidly approaching them! Very fast! Quite large!"

Lin Feng and Gao Qiang immediately looked at the sonar screen. In the position representing the shallow area in the northeast corner of the harbor, several weak acoustic signals representing human bodies were violently bobbing up and down, accompanied by faint, intermittent screams and choking sounds captured by the sonar! And in the sea less than fifty meters from them, a large, rapidly moving biological signal, clearly not human, was heading straight for the people in the water!

"What is that thing? A shark?" Gao Qiang asked, startled and uncertain.

"Doesn't look like it! Too fast! Signal strength is also high!" The sonar operator's voice tightened.

"Eagle Eye! Immediately turn the camera! Check the northeast corner shallows!" Lin Feng ordered decisively.

The drone quickly changed course, its high-definition night vision camera locking onto a shallow area in the northeast corner of the harbor, filled with reefs and abandoned small fishing boats. As the image zoomed in, the sight was shocking!

In the cold, murky seawater, about seven or eight people were desperately struggling! There were men and women, wearing tattered winter clothes, clearly having been immersed in the icy water for a long time, their physical strength severely overdrawn! One of them seemed to be tangled in a fishing net, thrashing about in despair! And on the sea surface less than twenty meters from them, a clear, rapidly parting V-shaped wake was speeding towards the people in the water! Underwater, a blurry but huge shadow, at least three or four meters long, was faintly visible in the murky water!

"What the hell is that thing?!" Someone on the bridge cried out. The outline of that shadow was definitely not a shark; it looked more like a... monstrous fish, magnified countless times, with a chitinous texture! Its wide-open maw gleamed with a chilling light under the night vision lens!

"Save them!" Lin Feng didn't hesitate for a second, almost shouting the command! "RHIB! The nearest RHIB, go rescue them immediately! Marines, provide fire support! Prioritize driving away or killing that monster!"

"Understood!" Chen Hai immediately responded, "Claw Team 3! Follow me! Speedboat, turn to the northeast corner! Fire team, prepare! Aim at the underwater target!"

The Marines, originally on standby in D-zone, immediately split off a small team, jumped onto the RHIB speedboat docked at the pier, its engine roaring like an arrow released from a bow, rushing towards the shallows several hundred meters away! The heavy machine gunner and automatic rifle-wielding team members on board all aimed their weapons at the churning water!

"CIWS! Lock onto the high-speed underwater target! Once the target surfaces or shows clear attacking intent, open fire immediately! Be careful to avoid the survivors!" Lin Feng ordered the ship's weapon systems. The 1130 CIWS turret instantly rotated, its fire control radar locking onto the high-speed moving unidentified signal underwater!

The speedboat's speed was incredibly fast, reaching the vicinity of the shallows almost in the blink of an eye.

"Open fire! Drive it away!" Chen Hai roared.

Tat-tat-tat-tat--!

The roar of the heavy machine gun ripped through the night sky, dense bullets raining into the water, creating a boiling splash in the monster's path! Team members with automatic rifles also fired wildly at the underwater shadow!

The underwater monster seemed startled by the sudden attack, its high-speed charge abruptly halted, its huge body making a sharp turn in the water, creating a massive vortex! It did not immediately retreat, but instead circled the area of the people in the water at high speed, seemingly looking for new attack opportunities! Its ferocious, dark-scaled or chitin-covered dorsal fin even briefly broke the surface, standing half a meter high! It opened its huge, tooth-filled maw, emitting a low, threatening hiss that sent shivers down one's spine even through the seawater!

"Damn it! This thing isn't afraid of bullets!" Chen Hai cursed under his breath, seeing that the bullets had little effect underwater.

"It's going to attack! Look out!" a sharp-eyed Marine shouted, pointing underwater. The monster adjusted its direction, accelerated again, and its target was clearly the struggling survivor entangled in the fishing net!

"Save them!" Chen Hai's eyes were bloodshot. He grabbed the lifebuoy and rope from the boat and, without hesitation, plunged into the icy cold sea! Several other crew members who were good swimmers followed closely behind!

At the same time, on the bridge, Lin Feng's eyes flashed with a cold light: "CIWS! High-explosive rounds! Cover the perimeter of the water where the monster is! Force it back! Watch the impact points!"

Buzz—!!!!

The 1130 CIWS on the bow of the Deep Blue 01 instantly erupted with a terrifying roar! A scorching torrent of metal, made up of tens of thousands of 30mm high-explosive rounds, tore through the night sky like a flaming whip wielded by a god, striking fiercely at the water dozens of meters away from the survivors and rescue team!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dense explosions rang out like rolling thunder! Huge columns of water shot skyward, mixed with shattered rocks and fish and shrimp! The violent shockwaves and countless high-velocity fragments instantly covered that area of water!

This terrifying display of firepower had an immediate effect! The underwater monster was clearly completely intimidated by this destructive barrage! It let out a sharp, piercing shriek, full of pain and fear, and its massive body twisted violently, abandoning the attack. It fled frantically towards the deep sea at an even faster speed than it arrived, leaving only a rapidly disappearing underwater trail and a murky, bloody stain!

The monster was successfully driven away!

"Quick! Save them!" Chen Hai and the team seized the opportunity to swim vigorously to the survivors, cutting through the tangled fishing nets with their daggers, and pulling the half-frozen, semi-conscious survivors onto the speedboat one by one. There were seven people in total, all with blue-purple faces, shivering.

"Captain, reporting! All survivors rescued! Seven in total! One seriously injured and unconscious, the rest mostly suffering from exhaustion and frostbite! The monster has fled!" Chen Hai reported, panting, his voice trembling with the relief of a narrow escape.

"Bring them back immediately! Medical team prepare for emergency treatment!" Lin Feng let out a sigh of relief, but his brow did not relax. The underwater monster… this world was more dangerous and bizarre than he had imagined!

Soon, the speedboat carrying the survivors and the Marines who had completed the rescue mission returned to the Deep Blue 01. The seriously injured and the survivors in worse condition were urgently sent to the medical bay. The remaining few survivors, who were in slightly better condition but still shaken, were temporarily accommodated in an empty cabin on the ship, guarded by two Marines, and provided with hot drinks and blankets.

Lin Feng and Gao Qiang personally came to the medical bay. Lieutenant Li Mei, a resolute and capable female lieutenant in her thirties, was fully engaged in rescuing the seriously injured person—a teenager who looked only seventeen or eighteen, with a terrifying wound on his abdomen, torn open by the monster's Claw or teeth, suffering from severe blood loss, and with weak vital signs.

"How is he?" Lin Feng asked in a deep voice.

Lieutenant Li Mei did not lift her head, her hands rapidly performing hemostasis and debridement: "Penetrating wound! Intestinal damage! Hypovolemic shock! Needs immediate surgery and blood transfusion! Our blood bank is low on stock, especially O-type blood! His blood type is O!"

"Take mine! I'm O-type!" Gao Qiang rolled up his sleeve without hesitation.

"I'm O-type too!" Lin Feng immediately said. Several other O-type officers and crew members on the ship also rushed over upon hearing the news.

"Good! Prepare for surgery immediately! Captain, Deputy Captain, you two go handle other matters, leave this to me!" Lieutenant Li Mei's tone was not to be questioned.

Lin Feng nodded, took a deep look at the unconscious teenager, and exited the medical bay with Gao Qiang. They went to the cabin where the other survivors were accommodated.

These people looked like a family: a middle-aged couple in their forties, with haggard and terrified faces, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl clutching her mother's arm, her face pale, and a relatively strong, thirty-something man who appeared more composed, but his eyes were also filled with lingering fear and wariness.

"Thank you… thank you for saving us…" The middle-aged man, seeing the Captain's epaulets on Lin Feng's shoulder, struggled to stand up to express his gratitude, but Lin Feng pressed him down.

"You're welcome. I am Lin Feng, Captain of the Deep Blue 01." Lin Feng pulled up a chair and sat down, his gaze calm but scrutinizing, "Can you tell me, who are you? How did you fall into the sea? And… what was that thing that attacked you?"

The middle-aged man's name was Zhang Weiguo, the village chief of a fishing village near the port. His wife was Wang Xiulan, and his daughter was Zhang Xiaoya. The strong man was Zhao Tiezhu, the village militia leader.

"Captain Lin… we… we were hiding over there…" Zhang Weiguo pointed in the direction of the E-zone of the port's living area, his face showing fear and anger, "After the disaster, our village… many people died… the remaining people hid in the port, thinking it was a large area with walls… it was fine at first, everyone took care of each other… but later… later Scarface and his gang came!"

"Scarface?" Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.

"Yes! He's the leader of those scoundrels occupying the living area!" Zhao Tiezhu interjected, gritting his teeth, his eyes spitting fire, "He has a big scar on his face, he used to be a gang leader! He brought a group of hooligans, relying on a few guns, and occupied the living area! They treated us like slaves! Forced us to go out to find food and supplies, and if we even slightly disobeyed, they'd beat us to death or cripple us! They… they also…" He glanced at Zhang Xiaoya, not finishing his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"We really couldn't take it anymore… Scarface forced several of us men to row small boats to farther waters today to find fish again… saying not to come back if we didn't find any…" Zhang Weiguo's voice choked, "As a result… we encountered a storm… the small boat capsized… we barely managed to swim to the shallows… and then that monstrous thing targeted us again… if it weren't for you…"

"What was that monster? Have you seen it before?" Gao Qiang pressed the key question.

"Never seen it! Never seen it before!" Zhang Xiaoya shook her head in terror, her voice choked with sobs, "Like… like a giant strange fish… with very long teeth… and very sharp Claws… incredibly strong! It… it bit Uncle Li…" She couldn't continue, burying her face in her mother's arms.

Zhang Weiguo added: "After the disaster… the sea… hasn't been peaceful… fishing boats often go missing… some people said they saw strange big fish… but something as fierce as today… this is the first time…"

Lin Feng and Gao Qiang exchanged glances, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. Mutated marine life? Or some unknown deep-sea monster disturbed by the disaster and venturing into shallow waters? This undoubtedly added huge, unpredictable dangers to future sea voyages!

"One more question," Lin Feng looked at Zhao Tiezhu, "You're in the port, do you know the situation with the oil tanks? Is the oil inside still usable?"

"Oil?" Zhao Tiezhu was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "Those tanks… Scarface and his people also tried to get their hands on them when they first arrived… but they heard the oil inside wasn't clean, when they pumped some out and tried to burn it in a stove, it produced black smoke, and machines couldn't use it at all, almost blew up… so they stopped bothering with it later… there should still be a lot inside, but… it's useless!"

It indeed confirmed the engineering team's assessment! Lin Feng's heart sank. Fuel was right in front of them, yet unusable! The energy crisis was imminent!

[WARNING! ENERGY RESERVE: 13%!]

[ESTIMATED SUSTAINMENT TIME: Approximately 16 hours!]

The system's red alert flashed again. Time, truly, was running out!

Just then, the urgent voice of the Communications Officer rang out: "Captain, reporting! Emergency from the engineering team! While attempting to extract a small amount of low-quality oil for purification experiments, they discovered that the oil contains a special, highly corrosive unknown microorganism! Our portable separator filter element was instantly clogged and corroded through! Preliminary assessment, conventional purification methods… may be completely ineffective!"

"What?!" Lin Feng and Gao Qiang rose abruptly! The last hope seemed to have been shattered as well!