PDLP Chapter 663 Self-Destruction?
Chapter 663 Self-Destruction?
one second.
two seconds.
three seconds...
The anticipated devastating explosion did not occur.
The only sounds were the crashing of waves against steel, the loud hissing of the submarine pumping ballast water, and... the short, incomprehensible screams of the few Bald Eagle sailors who had just poked their heads out of the submarine's conning tower hatch, their faces turning from deathly pale to utterly terrified.
The depth charge, like a giant, silent black mushroom, was firmly "grown" between the two antenna bases atop the submarine's conning tower. Its cold body reflected a chilling, eerie light under the emergency lights.
After that faint "click" from the fuse, there was no further sound.
"Uh..." Liu Huaqing hung on the side of the minesweeper, which was still standing upright, blinked, and shook the seawater off his head, wondering if he had been knocked silly. "No...no sound?"
Did it break when it fell?
No, no, Russian stuff looks clumsy and rough, but it's precisely that clumsy, rough quality that makes it so reliable. Unless…
凸(艹皿艹), it seems I've changed the fuse of the depth charge back to the original one.
He suddenly remembered that the fuse of this type of depth charge had a mandatory safety mechanism—to prevent detonation in shallow water or due to accidental collision, the fuse safety mechanism was locked when the water depth was less than 10 meters! The safety mechanism would only be released when a certain depth of water pressure was reached, and then it could be detonated at the set depth!
Now, due to the massive impact of the submarine surfacing, the bomb is stuck several meters above the surface in the conning tower! The water depth is zero! The fuse safety hasn't been disengaged at all! That "click" sound just now was probably just the sound of the mechanical components coming into place, not a detonation signal!
It didn't explode! It became a huge, stuck above the enemy's head... a dud!
"Damn it..." Liu Huaqing let out a groan that was hard to decipher, whether it was relief or disappointment. This thing was a giant, incredibly unstable firecracker! Nobody knew when it would trip and...
"Boom..."
"what……"
Don't get me wrong, this isn't some damn depth charge that suddenly exploded.
However, the nuclear submarine had already surfaced, and the water jet from the high-pressure gas sprayed the "Sea Eagle," which had been leaning against the hull, and pushed it back down.
If it weren't for the fact that the Russian ship was so sturdy, after being hit so hard and then tumbling into the water, this ordeal would have allowed it to barely float on the surface instead of sinking without a thud. Even the emergency diesel engine was still faithfully emitting a low growl, propelling the severely tilted but miraculously still-alive small boat, extremely slowly and erratically trying to move away from the submarine wearing the "crown of death."
Using the force of the impact, Liu Huaqing's leg broke free from the railing that was gripping him. Of course, it was likely fractured and deformed, but at least he was alive…
After settling Xiao Zhao in, the chief engineer, who was still on the ship, struggled to climb to Liu Huaqing's side and dragged him to the relatively safe bow of the boat.
"Old Liu! What the hell is going on here?!"
"Shh!" Liu Huaqing made a shushing gesture, his eyes fixed on the submarine. "Don't speak... Go check if there are any more grenades on board!"
“Yes, it is! Why would I need to look?” The chief engineer grinned, revealing his blood-stained mouth, and reached for the rope around his neck. With a pull, a lump of metal, resembling a sawed-off soda bottle, appeared in his hand. “Don’t bother looking for anything else. Except for the welded parts, everything else has sunk to the bottom!”
"Damn it, everyone else is only carrying a Defense-1, and you're carrying an Attack-42? Don't you find it heavy?!"
“Well, that’s good! Old Duan! Ever thought about capturing a submarine with a grenade?” Liu Huaqing’s eyes shone like stars in the sky, and he pulled out an oval-shaped object from his neck.
"Hey, we've done this kind of thing before on the northern front! But back then it was the Mauser C96... This boat is huge... That's impressive!"
The two exchanged a glance, chuckled, and then quietly slid off the ship's side.
Our warriors, full of martial spirit, even in this state, still thought of capturing others, and with only two grenades. Should we call them recklessly bold, or do they possess the unique optimism of revolutionaries?
Or perhaps, we should bow to these soldiers who are devoted to their country?
……
After a while, two heads appeared beside the hull of the Thresher. Liu Huaqing knew that his legs were not working properly, so he took the initiative to act as a support, grabbing the smooth outer armor of the Thresher and lifting the chief engineer, Duan, up onto it.
But after Lao Duan climbed up, he didn't pull Liu Huaqing onto the boat as agreed beforehand. Instead, he turned around and climbed forward, clinging to the steel hull of the thresher shark.
"Old Duan! Pull me up!" Liu Huaqing was so anxious that he scratched the steel plate, but fearing that he would alert the enemy in the command tower, he could only lower his voice and shout angrily at Old Duan.
"Pah! You're all brats with a broken bone. Go back and take care of Xiao Zhao! Don't drag me down!" Old Duan put both grenade pins in his mouth, held them in his left hand, and slowly crawled toward the submarine's command tower using only his right hand.
Closer, closer.
Huh? They've all climbed up to the control tower enclosure, and no one's come out to check?
Old Duan had doubts, but that didn't stop him from starting to look for a way to climb the command tower.
Why is it so smooth?
To explain this clearly, we need to rewind time.
Ten minutes ago, just as the depth charge made its click.
On the submarine's conning tower, the corporal closest to the bomb stiffly rolled his eyes to confirm that the deadly thing was indeed still "alive" and had not turned him into a pile of minced meat.
He gasped sharply, nearly choking himself. The immense shock of surviving the ordeal made his legs buckle, and his feet slipped off the suspended ladder.
It took the corporal quite a while to realize that he had nothing to support him: Huh? I slipped, but I didn't fall?
Oh, I remember now, the captain who just squeezed his way up! He was like a cork, we were all stuck!
Thank you to him...
“God…it…it’s stuck?” another sailor asked, his voice trembling.
"Yes, not only is it stuck, we're stuck too!" the corporal added quipped.
"The fuse... the fuse was activated! But... it didn't explode?!"
"God bless!"
"Holy shit!" Finally, someone couldn't hold back any longer and shouted down into the tunnel, "Guys! Bad news! There's a bomb stuck in our control tower!"
"Great news! This bomb was a dud! Rejoice! Once we've cleared the external malfunction and returned to port, we'll have something to brag about at the Sailors' Club with this legendary experience!"
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Joyful laughter echoed throughout the submarine.
“NO! mother, f………………”
"You bunch of idiots!" The captain, after observing the depth charge for a while, cursed at the sailors around him. He twisted and turned desperately, trying to escape his "stuck" predicament.
"Do not dive! Absolutely do not dive! Repeat! Maintain surface! High alert! The damn depth charge above us... the damn depth charge above us isn't locked! It just hasn't reached the set depth yet!! This damn gauge! Anyone who dares to press the dive rudder, we'll all be fucking meeting Poseidon!"
These words were like an electric current, instantly shattering the lingering sense of relief among all the submarine crew. A massive panic, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed the entire command tower.
"Captain, are you sure?"
"I'm sure! The ship I was on last time had its bow blown off by one of these mines!"
"Oh my God! Are we going to be captured by the Chinese?"
Capture my ass! Do you think those old men on Capitol Hill would let you be captured?
The captain, who had struggled to break free, craned his neck to look in the direction of the captain.
What?! The captain is already flipping the red command board again!
"No!"
With a mighty struggle, the captain sent several people who were stuck tumbling straight down the suspended ladder.
"Don't self-destruct..."
The captain, who was pinned to the bottom, shouted these words with all his might as his eyes rolled back.