Apocalypse in Water - Chapter 123



Only Krnovel

Episode 123

When I was a police officer, I had several accidents while racing cars with criminals.

So I learned driving skills from Detective Yoon, who was a former driver, and one of them was drifting.

When you press the accelerator pedal all the way down when turning a corner, the rear wheels will slide sideways, allowing you to pass through the corner without losing speed.

During the maneuver training, it suddenly occurred to me that the twin-engine Hallasan would be able to drift on the water.

I explained the principle to Jeong-woo and had him try it out.

But Jeong-woo was a genius at sailing.

Although the shape was different from the car drift, Jungwoo managed to implement the sea drift after several attempts.

“You shouldn’t use this recklessly. The boat right behind you will capsize in the waves.”

I joked as I watched the waves surge up like skid marks.

Actually, it wasn’t to that extent, but if we added a little wave, it didn’t seem impossible.

And I had a trident that could make waves.

The trident alone cannot create waves that can capsize a ship like the Hallasan drift, but when combined, it can capsize a moderately sized ship, as it does now.

“Captain!”

Jungwoo turned around, checked the location of the flyer, and asked.

“Should we slow down now?”

“Yes. We need to reduce the distance between us and the flyer. But we can’t catch up with them, so I’ll ask you to adjust your speed until we reach the trap.”

“Old story!”

Hallasan Lake, without being overt, slowed down enough to keep up with the fleet as they charged at full speed.

The pirate ship squadron did not rescue the speedboat pirates who had fallen into the sea, but only ran towards us.

Nureongni made a broadcast to make excuses for abandoning his subordinate.

– I will never forget the vanguard who sacrificed themselves to catch you. So wait! I will catch you. Look forward to it. What kind of pain is in store for you. Hehehe!

The leaflets were fired upon as if to prove the legitimacy of capturing us.

They fired from the artillery and 60mm mortars on the Coast Guard ships and the Chamsuri-class speedboats, but they knew they wouldn’t hit them.

The distance was exquisitely dropped, but Jung-woo’s outstanding piloting skills, along with the instantaneous power of the twin engines, made for an evasive maneuver that was almost artistic.

– You’re dodging like a rat. Let’s see how long you can dodge. Firepower open! Fire Blaster!

The yellow tooth that had been on the medicine roared.

But despite the slogan full of superficiality, “Unleash the firepower! Fire Blaster!”, the bombardment did not increase.

It seemed that they had already brought all the guns that could be fired and were shooting them.

The Vulcan guns were more threatening than the shells.

The Vulcan guns on the Coast Guard ships were manual, but the Vulcan guns on the Chamsuri-class high-speed patrol boats were automatically aimed.

Bullets poured in as the evasive maneuvers progressed.

The Hallasan ship was completely covered in iron plates from the bow to the bottom, so there was no danger, but grenades kept flying overhead.

I was thinking about taking care of that Vulcan gun, but then I started seeing some foamy currents in the distance.

Well then, there’s no need to bother dealing with the Vulcan cannon.

Because we’ll send out leaflets all at once like speedboats.

The foamy currents in front of me were spewing out foam with a loud noise, like Niagara Falls lying on its side.

The atmosphere was so dangerous that it felt like everything would be overturned and swallowed up if you got close to the mighty waves.

On the other hand, the sea next to the bubble algae was a deep blue color almost black, and it was so calm that it seemed as if it was not moving at all.

Bomi said, looking at the rising bubbles.

“The bubble algae’s hype is amazing every time I see it.”

“That’s right. Otherwise, those pirates would be fooled.”

The bubble currents have already been explored, but since the direction and flow of the currents in the submerged world change frequently, I went up and checked the current status once more with the Mujido method.

Nothing had changed since I discovered it, including the hidden vortex.

But just in case.

“Bomi! Check the hidden vortex.”

“Yes, I understand, sir.”

Bomi took out an arrow and broke the tip.

Then he shot an arrow with a broken tip.

It won’t be easy to keep your balance without the weight-bearing tactic, but Bomi is a true archer.

The arrow landed squarely on the calm, dark blue water.

Because the metal tip was removed, the wooden shaft of the arrow did not sink.

But it couldn’t stay still and started spinning around in big circles.

The dark blue water was as if a mouse was dead, with no ripples or currents visible, so it looked as if someone was hiding under the surface, holding an arrow and spinning it.

The arrow moved faster as it circled, while the radius of the circle gradually decreased.

Then, when the radius became 0 and the arrow reached the center of the circle, it broke in two like a sinking ship and was instantly sucked into the water.

“The hidden vortex is still there.”

“Okay! Then let’s go.”

At my shout, Jeongwoo turned his key towards the foamy current.

* * *

After welcoming Director Park and others to the apartment, we thoroughly explored the surrounding sea.

As the population grew, it became necessary to secure resources to continuously feed them.

The exploration found algae that stretched out like stems and branches, as well as buildings and resources from Seoul sunken in the deep sea.

Through the item Jiyeon gave him, he recorded the memories of the birds through Mujihaedo, and also created a map that organized the terrain and dangerous areas of the seabed.

The bubble currents and hidden eddies were also discovered during these explorations.

The Hallasan was dispatched after receiving news that the exploration vessel, which was converted from a lifeboat, had capsized.

As we approached the scene of the accident, foamy currents began to appear.

Looking at the foam spouting wildly, I thought that the probe had capsized in that crazy wave.

But the lifeboat was capsized in the calm sea next to the foamy current.

Just moments ago, the lifeboat, which had capsized like an arrow spinning on the surface of the water, was spinning in circles.

Fortunately, the people on the lifeboat held on to the lifeboat’s rope.

I thought something was strange, but since rescuing people came first, I headed towards the lifeboat.

“Just hold on a little longer. I’ll save you right away.”

At my shout, the expedition leader who was holding the lifeboat’s rope shouted.

“It’s dangerous here. If you just go in, Hallasan Lake could capsize.”

I naturally thought he was telling me to be careful of the bubbles next to me.

“It will be safe. We will approach from the opposite side, not from the current that is spewing out that huge bubble.”

“That will absolutely not work. It will flip over immediately.”

The expedition leader shouted firmly.

I tilted my head and asked.

“It’s flipped over. Why?”

“This area looks calm, but the currents under the water are so strong that it can capsize a boat. And there are whirlpools. They say the whirlpools are so strong that it makes you dizzy.”

And come to think of it, people kept slipping and sliding as if someone was pulling them out of the water.

Unlike the image of a calm, undisturbed sea, they were desperately struggling and clinging to a lifeboat.

What happened?

Suddenly, I remembered the strange sign I had seen in Mujihado.

Even in Mujihaedo, the flow of water encountered by the birds as they passed was recorded.

A faint dotted line, never seen before, appeared in records from the birds around here.

The dotted lines formed a circle, like a whirlpool, and were moving toward the center.

Although it was a dotted line, you could feel on the paper how fierce and steep the flow of water was.

At the time, I was like, what is this?

Because it is an old bird’s memory and the condition of the bird that left the record was so poor, its reliability was low.

So I thought it was just a simple error.

Could it be that the dotted line was referring to the flow of water beneath the calm surface?

If so, it could be dangerous, just like the expedition leader said.

Can Hallasan Lake withstand the whirlpool beneath its surface?

A metal rod, apparently a piece of debris from the probe, was seen approaching the center of the vortex.

As soon as the metal bar reached the center, it bent as if it had been pressed from both sides, and then split in two.

The center of the dotted line of the vortex that appeared in Mujihado was indicated by a thick solid line.

The solid lines that were twisted like a whirlwind did not simply indicate the flow of the current, but seemed to represent the tremendous strength of the current created by overlapping eddies.

Oh my god! Can I really come in?

I hesitated, but I couldn’t give them up.

I couldn’t stand to see people die right before my eyes, but if I didn’t save them, I would lose trust as a leader.

If that happens, the very existence of the apartment community could be shaken.

I was prepared for this situation from the moment I decided to let people into my apartment.

Still, since it was a life-threatening situation, it was inevitable that I would feel nervous.

I swallowed hard and tried to give the order to enter to Jeong-woo.

Jungwoo also seemed nervous, as if he had figured out the situation.

At that time, Bomi, who couldn’t read the mood, said.

“Sir! Why aren’t you going in? We need to save people! Do you really need a map when the sea is so calm?”

Ah! Map! I thought, oops.

In the urgency, I forgot the simple solution.

I hurriedly took out the ignorant mask and soaked it in sea water.

A swirling dotted line appeared on the blank paper.

There were densely connected dotted lines forming a circular vortex.

At this rate, wherever I went, I felt like I would get caught in a whirlpool.

On the other side, a path appeared between the eddies, like a retreat, but it took too long to get back there.

On the way back, the lifeboat, which is the exploration vessel, will break in half and the people will be sucked into the water.

What should I do?

At that moment, a flow of foamy currents was visible next to the dotted lines of the ignorance.

The thin solid line looked weak at first glance.

Hey! Why is it like this here?

With this thickness of line, the wind was as strong as a gentle breeze.

It’s a complete contrast to the magnificent, foamy, and loud exterior.

Even in a world submerged in water, isn’t what you see everything?

If there are dangerous whirlpools hidden in the calm waters, couldn’t there also be bubbles full of pretense?

So, the fastest and safest way is to go through that bubble current.

“Jungwoo! Let’s go through that foamy current.”

“Huh? What did you say? Captain!”

Jeongwoo looked at me as if I was saying something nonsensical.