"Impossible!" Xu An denied the idea without hesitation. "They won't die. Even if there are casualties, it's impossible for all of them to die."
Zhou Haimei glanced at Xu An's expression, as if trying to persuade her.
"But when we were at the Southern Base, Chu Yu also said that Qin Chuan was in danger."
Hearing this, Xu An's attitude was no longer as intense, but her expression remained one of unwillingness. She didn't know what she was being stubborn about, but deep down, she still believed that someone like Qin Chuan wouldn't die so easily.
"What do we do now? Do we just wait here to return to the Lighthouse?"
Xu An looked expressionlessly at the distant sea. "How much longer until we return to the Lighthouse?"
Zhou Haimei calculated the time. "Less than 20 days. We've wasted too much time on the road."
"Then, did Qin Chuan and the others report the energy in this area to the Lighthouse?"
Zhou Haimei looked at the calm, waveless sea, and a hint of doubt arose in her heart. "Could it be that there's no energy in this sea area at all?"
Waves rolled in from the horizon, crashing against the reefs and splashing spray. Xu An looked at the turbulent sea, and the woman's strange smile flashed in her mind.
"No, there must be energy here. Qin Chuan and the others must not be dead yet."
Zhou Haimei didn't know how Xu An came to this conclusion, but thinking about returning to the Lighthouse soon, her face couldn't help but show a smile.
"Speaking of which, we've been down here for almost three months. I wonder what the situation is like on the Lighthouse now."
The two people who were thinking about the Lighthouse had no idea what was happening on it.
Meanwhile, on the Lighthouse.
"What's the situation? Still can't find them?"
The technician had a pale face and looked at the superior in front of him with a distressed expression.
"Report, sir, we still haven't found any signs of life."
"Then hurry up and find them! What are you standing there for? If anything happens to him, neither you nor I will have a good outcome!"
This "him" clearly referred to Qin Chuan. Anyone with a bit of status on the Lighthouse knew Qin Chuan's identity. Even if they weren't afraid of Qin Chuan's grandfather, Qin Chuan himself was a rare talent and a key person designated for protection by the higher-ups. Who would dare let anything happen to him?
The young researcher retreated with a pale face, leaving the man alone, staring at the sea with anxiety.
As the temperature plummeted, the Lighthouse's energy consumption tripled. The sea area chosen this time was for collecting natural gas to supplement the suddenly increased energy demand. However, not only was no energy found, but Qin Chuan and over a hundred soldiers were all lost here. If he couldn't find them, the people above would skin him alive. Moreover, the last signal they received from Qin Chuan was a week ago. At that time, Qin Chuan said he had found natural gas energy in the sea area and hoped the Lighthouse would land directly in the South China Sea for technical support. At that time, everyone on the Lighthouse who knew this news was cheering and celebrating. No one understood the significance of this energy better than him. The Lighthouse had been operating in the air for two years, and it had replenished energy during this time. However, the replenished energy, though spectacular and grand, was nothing compared to the energy consumed by the Lighthouse. Not to mention that the temperature was dropping at a straight line, and in just three days, it had dropped from over twenty degrees Celsius to minus ten degrees Celsius. Even so, the temperature continued to fall. The Lighthouse had long since turned off the central constant temperature air conditioning and replaced it with paid private air conditioning. However, this choice also meant that those living in the relief shelters would have an even more difficult life. More and more people began to hoard food, and even began to openly cut down trees on the Lighthouse to take them back to burn for heat. The Lighthouse could still issue some announcements to stop it at first. Later, when it couldn't be suppressed, they had to resort to violent suppression. The man grabbed his hair in frustration. "Damn it! Increase the search area and search the sea area where Qin Chuan last appeared again!" The adjutant beside him said with a solemn expression, "Yes!" Back by the sea. Zhou Haimei looked at Xu An. "An'an, what do we do next?" "Wait!" Zhou Haimei was a little confused. "Wait for what?" "Wait for the Lighthouse to come, or wait for Qin Chuan to appear. Mei Jie, I have a premonition that Qin Chuan should be in this sea area. Also, the woman who spoke to you earlier seemed a bit strange. Let's find a place to stay and investigate slowly. Maybe we'll have some results." Zhou Haimei had always believed in Xu An's words. Since Xu An said there was something fishy here, Zhou Haimei would definitely stay and observe. "Now that you mention it, when I asked that woman in Hakka if she had seen a team of soldiers come here, there was a clear look of disgust in her eyes, which didn't seem like the reaction of an ordinary person to hearing about soldiers." In the apocalypse, ordinary people, when hearing about soldiers, would at least have joy in their eyes, if not admiration and respect. But the woman's eyes were too calm. So calm, as if she had rehearsed this countless times. Thinking of this, she conveyed it to Xu An exactly as it was. Hearing this, Xu An frowned tightly. "Tell me again what you all said, every word, without missing anything." Zhou Haimei looked at Xu An's solemn expression and put away her frivolous thoughts, recalling carefully. "I first exchanged pleasantries with her in Hakka. Seeing that I could speak Hakka, she asked if I was Hakka. I said no, I just learned it by chance before." "Then I asked her if she had seen a team of soldiers come here. She said she had. I asked her where, and she directly said that those people had angered the Sea God and were drowned in the sea." "Drowned? Didn't you tell me it was a sacrifice?" Zhou Haimei nodded and continued, "Yes, after saying they were drowned, the woman added that they were sacrificed to the Sea God, and she had a strange smile on her face. I thought she was talking nonsense, so I didn't pay attention to her and came back." But Xu An tasted something unusual in these words. "I'm afraid this woman isn't talking nonsense, but the truth." Zhou Haimei's gaze followed Xu An, looking at the woman still chopping wood, and a chill suddenly ran down her spine. At this moment, Xu An suddenly said, "Do you know that in the past, many places still retained some backward customs of sacrifice and offerings?"