vncnus Chapter 1608: Shipwreck Bay
Chapter 1608: Shipwreck Bay
Chapter 1608: Shipwreck Bay
Because the entire surface was covered by forests, the remains of human civilization had long been submerged by vines and tree roots, and there was no need to explore. After confirming that the Umbrella Tokyo Base no longer existed, Wu Chen immediately took Furiosa and Alice 1049 on the little black bird to Shipwreck Bay.
The so-called Shipwreck Bay was the arc-shaped Mariana Trench with a total length of 2550 kilometers, an average width of 70 kilometers, and a maximum depth of 6 to 11 kilometers before the Wood Catastrophe.
Before the seawater was sucked dry by the corpse tree (Boom Tree), almost all the ships in Asia and the Pacific were stranded here. Fortunately, the high-tech ships that were frozen in a huge crystal and isolated from the world and able to maintain their own operation successfully escaped the wooden catastrophe. Among them was Umbrella's doomsday research ship: "Arcadia".
Alice 1049 insisted on going to Tokyo Bay first. Now it seems that she wants to send the "biochemical cocoon" in the LNG tank to the "Arcadia" as soon as possible.
The search for the "Tokyo (nuclear explosion) pit" did not take Wu Chen too long. Alice 1049 acted as a human navigator, leading the little black bird across the Japanese island and into the Shipwreck Bay.
"Look, Wu Chen. Those white mineral deposits hanging on the salt crystal cliffs are the largest source of crystal water." Alice 1049 acted as a tour guide with excitement: "It is also very simple to handle. Just keep heating it and you can collect the precious crystal water."
"Dihydrate gypsum is heated and dehydrated." Wu Chen certainly understood the principle.
In fact, the surface temperature generated by natural sunlight cannot dehydrate dihydrate gypsum. Only when the temperature reaches 65°C does dihydrate gypsum begin to release crystal water, but the dehydration rate is slow. As the temperature rises, the dehydration rate gradually increases. At around 107°C, the dehydration rate quickly increases, and at 170-190°C, dihydrate gypsum dehydrates to "α-hemihydrate gypsum" or "β-hemihydrate gypsum" at a very fast rate. When the temperature continues to rise to 220°C and 320-360°C, the hemihydrate gypsum continues to dehydrate and becomes α-soluble anhydrous gypsum.
"Think about it. 500 grams of dihydrate gypsum contains up to 200 grams of water. This is almost the largest source of crystal water that can be collected." Alice 1049 laughed loudly. "Of course, it's still not as good as our blue ore!"
"500 grams of cobalt chloride hexahydrate contains 300 grams of water." Wu Chen completely agreed.
Under normal circumstances, an adult needs to consume about 2000 ml of water every day, including from drinking water and food. In other words, 5000 grams of dihydrate gypsum can meet the needs of an adult. That is, 25 kilograms of "white ore". Just knock a piece off the ore bed and carry it home, you can meet the water needs for the whole day. This work from collection to dehydration can be easily completed by one person.
In addition, the "recycled water circulation system" collects and filters urine and converts it into reusable "recycled water". Therefore, the supply of crystal water can fully meet the needs of all survivors in the entire Shipwreck Bay Shelter.
In order to prevent the "water traces from being exposed", the entire Shipwreck Bay is "solidified" in thick salt crystals, leaving only necessary ventilation holes. It is like an underground creature living under the "crystal dome" to avoid being hunted by the Tyrannosaurus.
Thanks to the toxically concentrated oxygen supply, hypoxia is almost a non-issue.
After passing an underwater mountain range full of crystals, the most spectacular doomsday scene suddenly comes into view.
"Wow..." Even though she was born in the vast sea of sand and was used to the bizarre and unpredictable scenes after the doomsday catastrophe, the Queen of the Citadel, "Princess of Fury" Furiosa, was still shocked by the scene before her.
All you can see is the undulating, glittering sea salt crystals, like a huge dragon's spine crawling on the seabed sandwiched between cliffs on both sides. Inside the transparent crystals, large and small ships, stacked one on top of another, seem to be frozen in ice crystals, and you can clearly see them as you fly by. Although there are no traces of humans, the hulls that have obviously been modified many times are full of traces of survival in the end of the world.
Wu Chen even saw a flight deck full of abandoned ships, and the logo of the US Pacific Fleet's aircraft carrier battle group before the end of the world. But now it has become a huge garbage dump. The construction style of "huge ships below, small boats on top; spanning front and back, mixed left and right" is also the architectural feature of the entire Shipwreck Bay.
Among them, there are some "infected hulls" covered with vines and plants. Without exception, there are Umbrella logos on them. It is said that in the 10 years between the "Raccoon City Incident" and the Wood Cataclysm, the remaining governments and organizations, including Umbrella, have been trying to save humanity. Although they all ended in failure, the failed products after many attempts have also become the relics of life.
For example, these "infected hulls" were once mobile offshore shelters converted from various large cruise ships.
"Aren't they afraid of associating with the Boom Ecosystem?" This is the question that belongs exclusively to the Queen of the Citadel, the "Furious Princess" Furiosa.
"Look, if you can't change it, you have to learn to adapt." Alice 1049 shrugged. "And as I said before, no rules of the Boom ecology have been found so far. As you can see, these hulls that were infected in the wooden catastrophe did not suffer from secondary infection after the catastrophe."
"Huh?" Wu Chen saw many glowing crystals on one of the "infected hulls" covered with vines: "What is that?"
"A kind of crystal similar to 'resin'." Alice 1049 blurted out: "We call it 'Boom Crystal'."
The crystals that flow out of the tree trunk are usually condensed from the secreted sap. The formation of these crystals is related to the plant's self-protection mechanism. When the plant is damaged, sap will flow out of the surface of the branch and condense into transparent crystals in some cases. For example, the sap that flows out of the peach tree can form amber crystals, which is not uncommon in nature. They can help seal wounds and prevent infection, and are also a way for plants to adapt to the environment.
"We are called 'Amber'." Wu Chen's flashing true vision had already seen through the clue.
Amber is a transparent biological fossil. It is the resin drops of plants such as Coniferaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, and Araucariaceae. It has been buried underground for tens of millions of years and petrified under the action of pressure and heat to form resin fossils. Some of the resin fossils contain small insects such as bees, which are extremely beautiful.
"Ah, that's fine." Alice 1049 nodded gently. "The latest research has found that there is a powerful 'genetic energy' hidden in the 'Boom Crystal'. This seems to be the only operating law in the entire 'Boom Ecology' that has been captured and observed by humans."
"You mean, the Boom Tree will eventually generate crystals." Wu Chen felt that he was getting closer and closer to the super biochemical Ghost in the Shell, which was similar to the Iron Man mecha system under the ecology of the alien higher creature Radam in "Space Knight Dibowei".
"Not a tree, but a vine," Alice1049 corrected. "The difference, I guess, is that a tree has flowers and fruits."
"Hmm..." Wu Chen seemed to have thought of something.
(End of this chapter)