flstandardbreds Chapter 1055
Chapter 1055
Zhou Shuwan watched intently.
Mother is right!
The brown crystals growing wildly on the glass were precisely the sharp edges of sea salt, but they solidified incredibly quickly. In just a dozen minutes, the once-transparent window had been transformed into a dark brown frosted glass, and even the thick, impenetrable fog outside was barely visible.
It’s enough to show how much salt is hidden in this fog!
"How can there be so much salt hidden in this fog?" Zhong Tiyun's voice trembled.
She raised her hand and wiped the window gap, and her fingertips were immediately covered with a layer of fine salt. She put it to her nose and smelled it. It was the unique salty and astringent smell of sea water, more than ten times stronger than ordinary sea water.
"The salt content of the seawater we measured on the island was already high enough, and now this fog... could it be that the seawater has evaporated and all the salt has floated into the sky?"
Zhou Shuwan shook his head: "What we can be sure of now is that the increased salt content in the sea water must be due to this fog."
She then warned the two people: "You must be careful not to inhale this concentrated salt."
The concentration of these salt crystals is too high, but each one is small enough that if accidentally inhaled into the body, it may cause suffocation.
Zhong Tiyun and Mu Mu both nodded.
"Sister, look at the hull!"
Mu Mu suddenly shouted.
From the direction he was standing, he could just see the small deck two stories above.
Zhou Shuwan followed his gaze and her heart tightened instantly.
The railings, deck edges, and even the metal window frames of the cockpit of the cruise ship were covered with a thick layer of salt. The originally silver-gray metal was wrapped into a dark brown color, as if it had been "gnawed" by salt.
"This salt spray must be very corrosive!" Mu Mu said, "I wonder if the boiling point alloy can withstand it!"
"It should be possible!" Zhou Shuwan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Boiling Point Alloy can even withstand ice rain, let alone a small amount of salt mist."
"Mom, Mumu, now's not the time to panic. No matter how terrifying this salt fog is, it won't be as terrifying as the blood-sucking fog we encountered before. Mumu, go to the warehouse and get more tarpaulins and sealant. The more the better. Mom, let's continue checking the cabins, especially the fresh water storage compartments and the supply compartments. We must seal the gaps. If the fresh water is contaminated by salt, our lives will be much more difficult."
"it is good!"
Zhong Tiyun and Mu Mu hurriedly agreed, and the three of them immediately went their separate ways.
Zhou Shuwan and Zhong Tiyun took the sealant and checked each cabin one by one.
The doors and windows that had been sealed before had fine salt seeping into the gaps. The edges of the plastic sheeting had become brittle from the salt and would fall off easily if pulled.
Although the two were terrified by the corrosive power of the salt spray, they did not dare to delay. They repeatedly applied sealant along the gaps, and added two layers of waterproof tarpaulin on the outside. Even the vents were tightly sealed with plastic sheeting.
When we walked to the cabin where the seawater purification equipment was located, it was very close to the deck, so close that we could clearly see the situation on the deck outside.
Although a thick layer of plastic sheeting had been laid inside the cabin, one could still faintly hear the "clacking" sound of salt grains on the deck hitting the hull.
Zhou Shuwan looked out through the window. The glass was covered with a layer of light brown fog due to smoke, making it almost difficult to see the situation outside.
She squinted her eyes and tried to look out through the gap, and finally saw that the railings on the deck were covered with a thick layer of salt, and the originally silver-gray metal poles were coated with dark brown.
Even the anti-slip grooves on the deck were filled with salt grains. When the wind blew, fine salt dust was raised and floated in the mist as light brown smoke.
"Is the purification equipment affected?" Zhong Tiyun hurriedly walked to the front of the equipment and reached out to touch the outer shell of the fuselage. Fortunately, the fuselage was always inside the cabin, and the balcony and doors and windows were sealed tightly, so there was no need to worry for the time being.
Looking at the water inlet pipe connecting the equipment to the deck, the sealing gasket at the interface has been swollen by salt.
Zhou Shuwan immediately squatted down and wiped the salt off the joint with a rag. He squeezed out the sealant and wrapped it around and around until there was no gap at all. He then found a piece of waterproof tarpaulin and wrapped the entire joint tightly with tape. "Don't use this equipment for the time being. Let's drink the stored fresh water first."
Zhong Tiyun nodded.
Because she had suffered from a lack of food and water before, when Zhou Shuwan's space could gradually open up, she put out food and water first.
So, now they have enough food and water on board to last them for three months.
It won't affect the equipment here if you don't use it for the time being.
Zhong Tiyun and Zhou Shuwan checked the doors and windows of the cabin again and found that the plastic sheeting on the vent near the deck had been half soaked through by salt spray. They simply added another layer and pressed a few metal weights on the edge.
"This should help it last longer. Once we get out of this salt spray area, we can give it a thorough overhaul."
Zhou Shuwan looked at the gray deck outside the observation window, feeling unsure.
Salt grains continued to fall onto the hull, and the color of the deck became darker and darker. It was unknown how long this seal could last.
Zhong Tiyun followed her gaze and looked out the window, her tone full of confusion: "This fog is so strange. The temperature is only 20 or 30 degrees Celsius. It shouldn't be able to evaporate so much seawater, let alone form such dense salt particles."
Zhou Shuwan straightened up, frowning, and spoke slowly, "The temperature isn't high enough. Perhaps there's some other 'heat source' on the seafloor. When I was on the island before, I noticed the temperature beneath the sea was higher than on the surface. I didn't think much of it then, but now I think it might be the movement of the seafloor crust. Perhaps there's a fault or crack, bringing up hydrothermal fluids from underground."
"Hot liquid?" Zhong Tiyun was stunned.
"Yeah." Zhou Shuwan nodded: "The temperature of the hydrothermal fluid on the seabed can reach tens or even hundreds of degrees. Even if the sea surface temperature is only 20 or 30 degrees, the hydrothermal fluid can 'bake' the surrounding seawater and evaporate it quickly.
Moreover, the hydrothermal fluid itself carries salt from the underground rock formations and mixes with seawater, making the salt concentration in the entire sea area higher and higher.
When these high-salinity seawater is evaporated by hydrothermal fluids, the water vapor is filled with salt particles. When it floats to the sea surface and encounters cold air, it gathers into this brown fog.
Of course, this is just her guess.
No one can explain how this fog containing rich salt is formed.
"Did you notice anything obvious when you were diving?"
Zhou Shuwan shook his head. "Now that I think about it, the temperature has probably cooled down, so we basically can't feel it. I just felt that the buildings on the island were decaying very quickly, and at the time I thought it was because of the seawater."
As she spoke, she seemed to be lost in thought.
So, this is probably why she couldn't sense where the mothership was.
Captain Chen and his men have probably been gone for a long time.
As the sea temperature rises, a thick fog that is so thick that it blocks breathing begins to spread all around.
"We are still late..."
Finally, she sighed softly.