Onboard the ships, numerous inflatable rafts were present, typically kept for emergencies. After all, this was not a landing operation but an oceanic voyage to salvage meteorites, requiring fewer vessels. Bringing along inflatable boats was deemed sufficient.
However, no one had anticipated that the rafts would be needed so soon. Once inflated, they were tossed into the water, and soldiers quickly boarded, grabbing oars and paddling vigorously. Nearby ships were already prepared to receive crew members from other vessels.
Hundreds of people paddled towards surrounding ships. The sky had grown dark; the torrential rain had stopped, but the clouds remained thick, obscuring the moonlight and starlight from the water's surface.
Fortunately, the ship's searchlights were activated, illuminating the sea and guiding the soldiers. There were no creatures in the water. The central escort ship was only a few hundred meters from the larger ships on the periphery, a distance that could be covered in mere minutes.
"Rumble..." The escort ship to the south continued its barrage against the sea turtle, the fierce explosions unabated. The ship's ammunition was dwindling, but the heavy expenditure had yielded significant results. The sea turtle's recovery rate was progressively weakening. Previously, it only took a few breaths for the cracks on its shell to heal, but now, it took over a minute for its injuries to fully mend.
The sea turtle also noticed its diminished recovery ability and felt its internal energy draining. It no longer dared to approach the ships carelessly, sometimes forced to dive underwater to avoid being hit by artillery shells due to pressure from the fighter jets overhead.
Previously, the sea turtle could heal severe injuries within a few breaths. Now, a single misstep could exacerbate its wounds. If a shell penetrated its body through a crack in its shell, even its formidable vitality would be unable to withstand it.
At this point, the commander breathed a sigh of relief and said, "After receiving the crew from the leaking ships, we will proceed north immediately to rendezvous with our comrades. The sea turtle no longer poses a threat to us. We are more concerned about the squid still tailing us."
Gong Changfa also remained in the command center, arms crossed, his brow furrowed. He felt at a loss for what to do at this moment.
Zhu Kai was the first to ask, "Boss, doesn't your ability allow you to agitate molecules or ions? Can you find a way to disperse the hydrogen ions in the acidic water?"
Gong Changfa shook his head slightly. "No, I cannot do something of this magnitude. The range of my ability is only about ten meters, and the acidic water has completely enveloped the hull. At best, I can only reduce the concentration of acidic water in a small area. For such a vast expanse, perhaps no one can achieve it!"
Now, due to the squid's ability, everyone in the fleet felt immense pressure. If their own ships faced the danger of being corroded by acidic water, what would they do? It seemed there was no other option but to try their best to outrun the squid.
Suddenly, a soldier on the deck spotted a light in the dark sea in the distance. The soldier thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after rubbing his eyes and observing again, he mused, "Could it be the fleet from the Ability Administration in the north? They arrived so quickly!"
However, upon closer inspection, the observer immediately noticed something unusual. It wasn't his eyes deceiving him; there was indeed a light appearing on the sea, and it wasn't emitted by warships. Logically, the sun had set, the sky was overcast, and the moonlight couldn't reach the water. Yet, a patch of light appeared on the sea and was spreading towards them.
"Report, there's a situation in the sea, please observe quickly!" the soldier quickly reported what he saw.
Someone on the ship immediately used binoculars to observe the situation in the water. In the northern area, a white light suddenly spread across the sea towards the fleet. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be numerous jellyfish in the water, all glowing. It was likely due to fluorescent substances within them, causing them to emit light even at night.
The light emitted by the jellyfish was a cold light. As they swam in the water, they appeared very graceful.
Countless jellyfish swam towards them with the current. The light emitted by these numerous jellyfish made it appear as if the sea itself had suddenly brightened, but in reality, it was an illusion created by the bioluminescent jellyfish.
"Why are there so many jellyfish appearing all of a sudden? Will these jellyfish attack humans?" Everyone was filled with doubt, completely unable to comprehend why jellyfish would appear at this time, nor what their purpose was.
The jellyfish were not very large, only about the size of a washbasin. Only their bells were emitting light; the tentacles beneath the bells did not glow.
Since they were unsure if the jellyfish posed a threat, the fleet did not attack them preemptively.
However, as the jellyfish swam towards the fleet, the ship's sonar suddenly detected a school of fish. Hidden beneath the jellyfish was a massive school of fish, which had previously been concealed by the jellyfish's light, making it difficult to see with the naked eye. But to the sonar, the movements of the fish school were clear.
The commander was somewhat bewildered by the sudden appearance of the fish school, not expecting fish to appear at this time. He wondered if these fish were also going to attack humans.
At this moment, the sonar also detected a colossal creature in the distance. About a kilometer away, a behemoth reappeared. It was four hundred meters long, and it was the great white shark that had previously left. The great white shark was herding the jellyfish and fish school towards the fleet.
Upon hearing this situation, the commander made a decisive command: "Launch missiles immediately to disperse the fish school! We cannot let this fish school get any closer!"
Previously, not knowing the origin of the fish school, the fleet had not taken action. But now, having learned that the fish school was being driven by the great white shark, the commander immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. Why would the great white shark be doing something so pointless? It couldn't possibly be hunting because it was hungry. The only explanation was that the great white shark was employing a strategy of "driving tigers to swallow wolves"!
Before this, fish schools were primarily prey for humans. A single cast of a fishing net could yield tons of catch. Now, the situation had reversed. The fish school, driven by the great white shark, was now charging towards the fleet, and these fish were likely to be man-eaters.
The fleet immediately opened fire on the fish school, intending to break it up. However, the fish school was exceptionally dense, having formed a fish formation with fish packed tightly together. Missiles were launched, hitting the fish school, but they failed to disperse it. Only a few hundred fish were killed, and the approach of the fish school was not even halted.
"Captain, how about using the high-voltage coils to electrocute this entire fish school!" a staff officer suggested.
Upon hearing this, the captain rejected it without a second thought. He said directly, "Look how many of our comrades are still in the water. If we use high-voltage electricity now, it will certainly electrocute the fish, but have you considered what will happen to these comrades?"
The problem had become thorny. The fish school was undoubtedly hostile, likely man-eating fish. In this situation, the fleet had no way to deal with them.
Just then, Gong Changfa spoke up, "That's right, isn't Lin Xi's ability useful at this time? We can immediately notify Lin Xi to help. In any case, saving people is the priority right now. After saving them, we will retreat immediately!"
Xun Yan suddenly remembered that indeed, Lin Xi's ability could play a significant role at this moment. He quickly said, "I'll contact Lin Xi immediately and ask her to help save people, but whether she can hold back the fish school is unclear."
Xun Yan took out his walkie-talkie and called out, "Lin Xi, Lin Xi, respond if you hear me. There's a fish school appearing to the north, and we need you to act immediately. Create a path for the soldiers in the water now, the fish school will arrive soon!"
The walkie-talkie quickly crackled to life, and a clear voice came through, "Received. I will use my ability immediately, but my ability can only be used once. The sea surface is too vast. After this one use, I will have no stamina left, and I won't be able to help then!"
"That's enough, saving people is the most important thing right now!" Xun Yan said quickly.
On the escort ship to the east, a valiant young woman suddenly stepped forward. Her long hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, and she wore tight pants and a tank top. Without hesitation, she stood at the ship's edge and leaped into the sea. The moment she touched the water, she punched the sea.
"Whoosh," in an instant, the surrounding seawater became soft and pliable. Inflatable rafts could no longer glide. Touching it gently with a hand, one could feel its texture. The soldiers in the water were all amazed.
Someone on the cruiser shouted through the loudspeaker, "All soldiers disembark and run! Don't stop, hurry up, run to the ship as fast as you can."
Hearing the order, the soldiers did not dare to delay. They quickly disembarked from the ship and began to walk on the sea surface. The sea surface was now swaying, feeling like walking on a waterbed – soft and yielding. Running on it did not allow for true speed, but at least there was a foothold, and it was much faster than paddling.
Lin Xi, panting heavily, sat on the sea surface and thought, "I was too overconfident. I shouldn't have agreed to this mission; it's still too difficult!"
Lin Xi's ability was to control colloids. The moment she jumped off the ship, she had already used her ability to turn over ten meters of the sea surface into a gel-like state, allowing so many soldiers to move on the water.
However, for such a vast expanse of sea, nearly a square kilometer, Lin Xi was only a third-tier ability user. Turning such a large area of the sea into a gel consumed far too much stamina.
Just then, a shout came from above her head, "Miss Lin, do you need help?"
"Yes!" Lin Xi said curtly. Normally, she, a proud individual, would not deign to accept help from others. But now, she was utterly exhausted and had no choice but to ask for assistance.
"This is quite rare. Miss Lin, you would ask me for help?" The man on the ship was also an ability user, assigned to this ship. He was a member of the Heavenly Chosen Bureau. Seeing Lin Xi weak and powerless, he quickly pulled a rope from the ship, jumped down, embraced Lin Xi, and began to climb back up, bringing her onto the ship.
Lin Xi, too weak to stand, leaned against the railing, watching the situation in the sea.
By now, the light from the north was clearly visible, surging like a tide beneath the ships. Suddenly, the sea surface in the center of the ships became exceptionally bright. The curtain of light formed by so many bioluminescent jellyfish was enough to illuminate the path forward.
Looking at the soft glow on the water, many couldn't help but marvel. If this were not a battlefield, encountering such a beautiful scene might have inspired them to compose poetry. If a painter were present, they would surely have captured it on canvas.
However, this was happening on a battlefield. Beneath the tranquil and beautiful sea surface lay many dangers. Upon closer inspection, dark shadows could be seen beneath the jellyfish.
The soldiers quickly reached the stationary ships, where rope ladders were thrown down. They began to climb the ladders, soon reaching the ships.
But at this moment, the light beneath the water grew increasingly intense, and the trembling of the gel on the sea surface became more violent.
Lin Xi's expression changed, and she said, "Not good, these fish are eating the gel!"
As soon as she spoke, the increasingly violent trembling gel instantly ruptured, and countless seawater surged up. Jellyfish and fish schools appeared together on the water surface, and the gel finally shattered into pieces.
A soldier using binoculars to observe the fish school saw the fish appearing on the water surface and his face immediately changed. He said, "These are pomfrets, and they are carnivorous!"
At this moment, more than twenty soldiers had not yet boarded the ship. The moment the gel ruptured, they fell into the water. The fish school immediately began to savagely tear at the fallen soldiers. These pomfrets were not large, most of them palm-sized, but their sheer numbers meant that after surrounding a person, within a few breaths, the fallen were reduced to mere bones.