99: Hiding in a mass grave! Licking their wounds amidst the piles of bones, waiting for a typhoon to strike!

The black iron ghost was like a wounded lone wolf searching for a den to lick its wounds.

Dragging the wake that continuously leaked Bio-Engine Oil, it stumbled into a massive Seabed Fissure.

That was originally a Cross-River Tunnel.

The once-busy Magic City Metro Line 2 had long been submerged by hundreds of millions of tons of seawater, transforming into a deep, dark throat leading to hell.

"Shut down the engine. Initiate Silent Dive Mode."

Jiang Ran's voice carried a hint of exhaustion.

As the order was given, the faint Thruster at the stern finally stopped rotating.

The entire vessel, relying solely on its final inertia, silently slipped into the depths of the dark Concrete Pipe.

"Clang..."

Accompanied by a muffled sound of hitting the bottom, the heavy belly of the black iron pressed onto the thick silt and gravel, stirring up a cloud of turbid dust.

"Hoo... we're in."

Old Chen slumped into his chair and let out a long breath.

He wiped the cold sweat mixed with blood from his forehead, looking somewhat nervously at the darkness outside the porthole, which was pierced by the Searchlight:

"No matter how powerful the radar of those Killing Gods above us is, it shouldn't be able to penetrate over a hundred meters of deep seawater.

Plus this layer of reinforced concrete several meters thick, right?"

"This is their blind spot."

Jiang Ran leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, feeling the Phantom Pain transmitted through his nerve connection—the sensation of the hull being torn apart—slowly subsiding:

"This tunnel wall contains a large amount of metal rebar mesh, making it a natural Faraday Cage.

It can shield all our electromagnetic signals and bounce back their Sonar Waves."

"It's just... this place looks a bit creepy."

Su Qingyu had already treated her own wounds by now.

She walked up to the observation window, watching the area swept by the Searchlight, her eyes faintly flickering.

In the pale white beam of light, several sections of severely deformed, rust-covered subway cars were still visible.

Like dead giant worms, they were jammed haphazardly deep inside the tunnel.

Through the shattered car windows, one could vaguely see densely packed, ghastly white bones piled inside.

These people were likely caught at the moment the Cataclysm occurred.

Just like any other day, they were caught in the Morning Rush Hour, and were instantly buried alive here by the surging seawater and collapsing earth layers.

"This isn't just a Shelter, it's a Mass Grave."

Old Chen looked at the skeletons frozen in positions of struggle, couldn't help but shiver, and instinctively pulled his collar tighter:

"I'm just afraid we can escape the Yama Kings above, but not the Lonely Ghosts here."

"The dead won't harm you; the living will."

Jiang Ran opened his eyes, his deep blue pupils flashing faintly in the darkness.

He looked at the white bones, feeling no fear, but rather a sense of calm kinship:

"For us right now, this place is safer than any Five-Star Hotel."

"zero, report damage status."

"Beep—Scanning in progress."

zero's emotionless electronic voice echoed in the empty Command cabin, breaking the eerie atmosphere:

"Starboard Outer Armor peel rate: 65%.

Ballast Tank No. 3 ruptured, sealed.

Bio-Muscle Fiber rupture rate: 18%.

Main core module intact, Power System efficiency reduced to 80%."

"Initiate Self-Repair Protocol."

Jiang Ran gave the order without hesitation:

"Mobilize Reserve Energy, prioritize repair of Hull Structure and Outer Armor.

Although this place is dead, some things here are exactly what we need."

Following his command, the damaged hull surface of the black iron suddenly secreted large amounts of Black Mucus.

At the same time.

Several Tentacle-like Collectors extended from the ship's abdomen, plunging deep into the silt at the bottom of the tunnel and the Subway Wreckage.

It was "feeding."

Devouring the iron elements from the scrapped metal and absorbing Organic Matter from the silt to fill the ruptured wounds.

In this silent tomb, a chewing sound, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves, slowly began to echo in the darkness.

"Buzz—"

Even hidden in an Underground Tunnel over a hundred meters deep, buffered by thick concrete and rock layers, everyone could still feel the deck under their feet trembling slightly.

That wasn't an earthquake; that was the sea roaring.

Something extremely terrifying was happening in the world outside—a dull, low-frequency roar, as if coming from the center of the earth.

It was traveling through the seawater medium, penetrating layers of obstruction, and transmitting into this silent tomb.

"This movement isn't right..."

Old Chen stopped the circuit inspection work he was doing and nervously glanced at the dark tunnel wall above his head:

"The vibration frequency is too low. It doesn't sound like the Destroyers above are dropping Depth Charges; it sounds like the whole ocean is trembling."

"Beep—Intercepted Ark Weather Satellite Wide-Area Encrypted Broadcast."

zero's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the oppressive silence.

Immediately afterward, the Holographic Projection in the center of the command station flickered, and a massive Meteorological Cloud Map instantly unfolded, filling everyone's view.

"Hiss..."

The moment he saw the map clearly, Old Chen gasped, and the wrench in his hand clattered to the floor.

On the map representing the East Sea Area.

A massive, crimson, almost black vortex was entrenched stubbornly in the southeast, like a bloodshot Demon's Eye.

Its size was astonishing.

The dense spiral cloud system covered almost one-third of the nautical chart, and its edges had even reached the outer defense line of the Magic City Dead Sea.

"Code: 2509.

Codename: Poseidon."

Su Qingyu looked at the real-time data scrolling next to the screen, her expression worse than when she was facing missiles:

"Central pressure: 885 hPa.

Maximum wind speed: 75 meters per second (Category 17 or higher).

Radius of the Category 7 wind circle: 500 kilometers.

Estimated landfall time: 48 hours later."

She turned her head, her voice dry:

"This is not an ordinary Typhoon.

This is a Super Typhoon, and a 'Monster-level' cyclone generated by climate extremization after the Cataclysm."

"75 meters per second..."

Old Chen swallowed. He was a man who had sailed ships his whole life; he knew exactly what that number meant:

"This kind of wind power can whip up thirty-meter-high Giant Waves on the sea surface.

Let alone small vessels like ours, weighing two or three thousand tons.

Even a Ten-Thousand-Ton Giant Ship, if it dared to sail into the eye of the storm, would be snapped in half like a cracker!

This isn't a Typhoon; it's a giant Meat Grinder!"

The red vortex on the screen was still spinning slowly. With every refresh, its position moved one step closer to the Magic City Dead Sea.

That was more than just wind and rain; it was a destructive energy field formed by billions of tons of seawater caught up in a raging atmosphere.

"No wonder the waves outside are so huge; it turns out the vanguard of this thing has arrived."

Old Chen looked at the red vortex, his eyes filled with the instinctive fear of a Natural Disaster:

"In this kind of weather, even the ship wouldn't dare to stand against it, right?

They will definitely return to port to take Shelter from the wind, or find a Deep-Water Bay to drop anchor.

Should we also retreat further inside?

The tunnel entrance is still a bit shallow. If this 'Poseidon' truly arrives, the surging seawater could wash the tunnel away."

However, Jiang Ran did not show any fear.

He stood in front of the hologram, his deep blue eyes reflecting the swirling, bloody red storm.

Not only was there no retreat in his eyes, but a fervent, incomprehensible flame gradually ignited.

"You're right, Old Chen."

Jiang Ran's voice was low, carrying a strange magnetism:

"In this weather, even Aircraft Carriers have to take cover, and even God has to close his eyes."

"How is this a disaster..."

He slowly stretched out his hand, making a grasping motion toward the red vortex, as if intending to hold this world-destroying power in his palm:

"This is clearly a Heavy Hammer sent to us by the heavens... one strong enough to overturn the chessboard."

"Heavy Hammer? You're saying this Typhoon is... a weapon?"

Old Chen looked at Jiang Ran blankly, as if looking at a madman whose brain had been ruined by seawater:

"Commander, that's a Category 17 Typhoon!

In this kind of weather, forget about fighting a war.

Even the ship.

To ensure the Hull Structure isn't torn apart, they have to retract or secure all External Sensors and Weapon Systems.

Everyone is a clay Buddha crossing the river—barely able to protect themselves. How is this a weapon?"

"You also know they will 'retract' and 'secure'."

Jiang Ran turned around, his finger lightly tapping the still-spinning Meteorological Cloud Map, the cold smile on his lips becoming more pronounced:

"That is the key."

"Dr. Su, you tell Old Chen: under extreme sea conditions, with thirty-meter waves and a wind speed of seventy meters per second.

What will that ship's proud 'Eye of God'—the phased array radar—see?"