flstandardbreds Chapter 1279
Chapter 1279
Soon, the collection box was filled with coral branches and countless fluorescent microorganisms in the holes.
Looking through the gaps in the box, it was as if a handful of flowing stars were contained within, reflecting a soft halo of light.
Just as the collection box was about to close, Zhou Shuwan suddenly noticed that the microorganisms that had crawled into the box began to secrete a faint green film, which quickly covered the surface of the ceramic pores, with the same texture as the mucus collected earlier.
"So the mucus really is secreted by them, and it's for building a survival barrier," she said thoughtfully. "This may be the key to their survival in extreme environments."
Mu Mu threw out the collection boxes one by one, and Zhou Shuwan operated the robotic arm to collect the coral branches and microorganisms together.
This includes the mucus that has already been secreted.
They wasted about forty minutes here before finally filling the collection box.
After confirming the location, Zhou Shuwan breathed a sigh of relief: "We should go."
Qi Mingyu nodded: "The temperature is already forty degrees, we need to speed things up."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Mu Mu suddenly exclaimed, "Sister, look! The seawater temperature in the collection box has dropped to thirty-seven degrees!"
Zhou Shuwan had an idea and immediately pulled up the internal monitoring data of the data collection box.
The original setting of a constant temperature of 40 degrees Celsius has indeed stabilized at 37 degrees Celsius.
"Are they regulating the ambient temperature?" This thought sent a chill down her spine, yet also filled her with a hidden excitement.
To verify her hypothesis, she took out a small amount of microorganisms and mucus and put them into a test tube containing seawater at 40 degrees Celsius.
Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, the temperature of the seawater in the test tube dropped to thirty-seven degrees Celsius, and the green film formed a dense film on the test tube wall, stabilizing the temperature at this value.
“This isn’t just simple cooling; it’s precise temperature control.” Qi Mingyu’s tone was grave. “They can sense the ambient temperature and regulate heat exchange by secreting mucus, maintaining their living environment within a suitable range. If this ability could be applied to the base…”
He didn't continue, but all three understood the value of it.
After the apocalyptic boiling water disaster, humanity's greatest predicament is its inability to establish a stable living space in the boiling water.
The base's high-temperature coating and air conditioning system can barely maintain the internal temperature; if the equipment fails, it will face catastrophic destruction.
The temperature control capabilities of these microorganisms may lead to new breakthroughs.
In the basin of this giant sea cliff, the temperature remained at thirty or forty degrees Celsius, probably not only due to the sea cliff and cold springs, but also due to the influence of these microorganisms.
"We made the right choice coming here!" Zhou Shuwan's voice trembled slightly with surprise.
"So that means we don't need any extra temperature control to bring them all back?"
However, space on their submarines is limited, so even if this method works, they cannot take too much with them.
However, for the sake of future research, Zhou Shuwan still took out several perforated storage boxes from her space.
The robotic arm was used to collect more coral reefs and microorganisms.
Qi Mingyu also had a concern: if this environment were lost, he didn't know if these microorganisms could withstand other unfamiliar environments.
However, he did not voice his concerns, but instead fully cooperated with Zhou Shuwan to take away as much as possible.
Another half hour passed before they finished collecting the materials.
The submarine continued forward, and the seawater temperature had risen to forty-seven or forty-eight degrees Celsius.
But at this moment, the atmosphere inside the cabin was no longer oppressive; instead, it was filled with hope.
Zhou Shuwan looked at the dark sea outside the porthole, silently making plans in her mind.
Upon returning to base, we will immediately establish a microbial cultivation chamber.
Perhaps it won't be long before humanity is able to truly establish itself in this boiling sea.
Just then, Qi Mingyu suddenly pointed out the porthole: "There are lights and shadows ahead!"
In the dark depths of the sea, a faint orange-red light flickers, unlike the fluorescence of microorganisms, more like some kind of artificial light source.
How could there be any trace of humans in this deep sea!
The three exchanged a glance, each seeing a deep sense of wariness in the other's eyes.
Zhou Shuwan closed her eyes and finally "saw" the existence that she cared about.
A blurry outline appeared in the distance, like a huge building hidden in the depths of the sea.
what is that?
Is it a naturally formed geological structure, or...?
Zhou Shuwan's heart clenched, and cold sweat broke out on her back.
"Mumu, slow down, proceed carefully, weapon system ready." Zhou Shuwan's voice was steady, but her hand gripping the control stick tightened.
The Kunlun is a military submarine equipped with laser cannons and torpedoes. They practiced for several months before setting sail and knew exactly how to use them.
Mu Mu nodded, knowing that her sister must have discovered something, and her expression became serious.
His fingers moved quickly across the control panel, and the indicator lights of the weapon systems lit up one by one.
The submarine slowed down, moving forward silently like a fish.
Qi Mingyu stared at the sonar screen, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper: "It's a huge metal object, with a very regular shape. It must be man-made."
As the submarine drew closer, the orange-red light grew brighter and brighter, and the temperature of the surrounding seawater gradually increased.
The temperature has already reached 50 degrees Celsius.
They were essentially freed from the influence of the sea cliffs and cold springs.
Just then, Qi Mingyu suddenly pointed out the porthole: "Wanwan, Mumu, look!"
The two immediately moved closer to the porthole and looked in the direction he was pointing.
At the end of the searchlight beam, an irregular bulge appeared on the originally flat rock bed.
Those protrusions looked like piles of messy metal debris scattered on the seabed, each with a different shape.
Some resemble broken ship planks, some resemble twisted pipes, and others resemble parts of some kind of machinery.
"This is... shipwreckage?" Mu Mu asked in surprise. "Could it be that someone else came here sometime ago, but they all perished?"
Zhou Shuwan frowned slightly: "It doesn't look like ordinary ship wreckage."
“Look at the luster of those metals. Although they are covered with a thick layer of sea mud, you can still tell that they are high-strength alloys, and there are no obvious signs of corrosion.”
“Ordinary ship materials, after so many years of seawater erosion at a depth of 3,000 meters, would have long been rusty or even disintegrated.”
Qi Mingyu maneuvered the submarine slowly closer, the beams of the searchlights illuminating the wreckage more clearly.
Just as Zhou Shuwan had said, the metal fragments were made of exceptionally hard material and showed no signs of rust.
Besides the material's corrosion resistance, there is actually another possibility.
"These wrecks haven't been on the seabed for long; it's very likely that it happened recently."