27. Challenging the North Sea Storm
The disappearance of Hell Island and the confirmation of Cindy's position left Ran and his friends with no other choice but to follow the Bio Research carrier.
They took the boat to catch up with the Bio Research carrier, but they lost track of the ship in a short time.
If he wanted to monitor the position of the carrier, the boat must be connected to the satellite link by turning on the transponder. But that would make them easily tracked by Bio Research. Tough choice.
After a brief discussion with his teammates, Ben turned on the transponder to get a satellite connection. The monitor showed several flashing dots. The biggest dot was undoubtedly the Bio Research carrier. Its position was about 10 Nautical Miles from their boat.
They could see that the carrier's speed was 50 knots. Good grief! How could this boat be able to catch up with its maximum speed of 25 knots.
They were not worried. At least they could continue to follow the carrier's direction. From the radar screen, it seemed that it was heading for the next island, the Mother Island.
Ben opened the map to check the situation and the size of the island from satellite.
Geez! The island was small! Much smaller than the other islands. Probably no more than 5 sq km in area. But why was it called Mother Island?
"I'm sure it was just a cover. Try open the sub-surface plot in this navigation system," Ran pointed to a panel that read: sub-surface scanning.
Ben nodded. His teammates were curious with what they would find out.
As soon as the scanning device was on, the four of them sighed in disbelief. It was extraordinary!
From the surface, Mother Island looked small because most of the "body" of the island was below sea level. The area was thousands of times what it looked like. It could be categorized as an extremely large island.
And even more astonishingly, the scan result showed that the surface of the submerged land was "metal". That explained why the surface of the island wasn't eroded by sea water.
They shook their heads after reading the scan result. There was always something new in their adventures. Wicked islands and bizarre inhabitants, ferocious landscapes, and a diabolical research institute. No matter what else they would encounter after all these, they should always be prepared for any kinds of possibilities.
The distance between their boat and the Bio Research carrier was getting further away. The dot of the ship was getting smaller on the monitor screen and finally disappeared.
The four men were confused. How did the carrier suddenly disappear from radar and satellite monitoring? Even though it was very clear that the position of the mother ship was still far from the Mother Island?
"We just keep our course to the island. This is the only lead we have. Just use the traces of the carrier's shipping lanes as a guide for us," Tet suggested.
"Yup! That's right, Ben. We will follow the trace of the carrier's journey," Ran replied.
Ben nodded and steered the rudder according to the trail created by the Bio Research carrier.
Not long, the Bio Research carrier signal reappeared. Its position was very close to the destination island. It was strange! So where did they go when they disappeared?
The question was answered instantly. The small boat entered a pitch-black area of the sea. Ben turned on the boat's spotlights. Nothing was visible. They were comp letely surrounded by thick fog or something.
Ben only relied on navigation to steer the boat. It was total darkness! As if they were on a night voyage without stars or moon. Then everything took a turn for the worse when the boat was rocked by big waves that hit the hull of the ship.
"We're in a storm!" Ben shouted warning his teammates to be vigilant. The pitch-black area was part of the ongoing storm in this water. Not knowing the type or the strength of the storm, Ben suspected it was so massive that it interfered with radar and satellite coverage.
The sea was very rough. The little boat bobbed and tossed around as if it was made out of paper. Ben used his boating skills to keep the boat from being overturned by waves and devoured by the angry sea.
The next incident that Ben didn't expect appeared before his eyes. Whirlwind! A giant tornado towering in front of them!
Ben was disheartened. This boat wouldn't survive if this storm continued to hit. Especially when he saw the giant tornado splitting itself into tornados. They might be smaller, but they were now surrounded by several hurricanes on all sides. We are screwed!
The tornado carried the water up with its strong suction. It was both awesome and terrifying sight for the four men who could only hold on tightly to the masts of the ship. Except for Ben who continued to struggle with the wheel.
The boat would not survive very long. Ben, who almost lost hope, accidentally saw a black lever on the navigation panel. He had been wondering what the function of that lever since the first time he saw it. Only after the light above the lever flickered and followed by a loud ringing sound as if it were a warning alarm, did Ben realize that the lever was for an emergency. But he wasn't sure what kind of emergency.
Ben predicted that the ship would sink if it was hit by a giant wave one more time, so he made a bold decision.
Ben pulled the emergency lever, and shouted warning his teammates to be on alert.
There was a loud thud as the structure of the ship started transforming. The mast lowered automatically, the hatch closed by itself, and the ship's cabin was covered with thick glass that appeared out of nowhere.
The whole boat became completely watertight.
Then the most astonishing thing happened next. Just as a giant wave hit the hull, the boat overturned and sank, the hum of the ship's engines changed.
In a panic, Ben still had time to look at the monitor screen; the propeller that was previously under the ship's stern had disappeared. It was replaced by another propeller that appeared above the stern. The ship balanced itself and glided under sea surface.
This little boat had turned into a submarine!
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