First Officer Clark tried his best, but still couldn't compete with that force.
This was not a loss of direction caused by ordinary ocean currents. He stared, looked back at the captain, and murmured: "It's the underwater rudder blade... something is stirring it!"
The captain also left his chair, his eyes full of solemnity.
Mate Clark continued to work on the wheel, but now it stopped moving at all.
Suddenly, a crew member broke in and reported: "Captain Morgan! The ballast tank! There is something in the ballast tank!"
As his voice fell, the big ship suddenly shook. People were unsteady and staggered, and many small objects fell from the tables and shelves.
The passengers were screaming and almost losing control.
"What!?" First Officer Clark grabbed the crew member's collar and asked.
Morgan pressed his hand down and let the crew lead the way.
When they arrived outside the ballast tank, they looked down from the hatch and found some strange-shaped aquatic plants floating on the water.
"The ship tilted and the water in the ballast tanks caused us to lose balance."
"Is it these plants?"
Everyone was whispering.
Captain Morgan took the lantern, shined it downward, and then said, "Someone has to go down and have a look."
He then ordered two sailors with good water skills to climb down the ladder with tools and dive into the water for inspection.
In less than a quarter of an hour, they emerged from the water and climbed up the stairs.
"It's hard to get through, it's crawling with strange plants..." a crew member coughed.
Another person added: "The branches and leaves floating on the surface are just the tip of the iceberg. I suspect that the hull of the ship was damaged and these aquatic plants got in through the gaps."
"Impossible, it was just overhauled before departure." First Officer Clark did not believe this speculation.
The ship's crew from the maintenance team have arrived, and they are waiting for Captain Morgan to give orders.
"Are there similar situations in other ballast tanks?" Captain Morgan asked.
Someone answered him: "This is Cabin 3, and these plants were also found in the water in Cabin 1."
“Does the pump work?”
"Can……"
"First pump out part of the water to clear the water level for easy cleaning, then let people go in to deal with those strange plants, and then repair the leaking areas. If you can pump out water, it proves that the leaking cracks are not big, so act quickly!
"
After receiving the order, the crew immediately got busy.
The ballast water pump was turned on, and after a while, the water level receded to below the waist of an adult.
In order to maintain the general stability of the cruise ship, they will not drain all the water at once.
Only then did everyone see clearly what the plants looked like. They grew from somewhere at the bottom of the ballast tank and spread like vines until they covered most of the walls of the ballast tank.
It behaves like a climbing plant, but its appearance is completely different. It looks more like a crawling pulse with weird and terrifying macrocephalospores growing on it.
When the crewmen with axes approached the plants, they were frightened by the strange sight in front of them. They froze on the spot and kept swallowing their saliva.
"Do it!"
Morgan urged from above, and the two crew members immediately became ruthless and slashed at the roots that were squirming like veins.
With a pop, the strange thing was split open by the axe, but what happened next made the reckless crew member almost see Hui Guang.
A mysterious green smoke spewed out from the broken part of the root, which was extremely corrosive. If it touched a person, his skin would begin to fester, as if it was burned by fire.
"Ah~~~!"
The crew member suffered burns all over his body. He fell backward in pain and lay in the water, rolling and struggling.
The other man was so frightened that he ran back as soon as he threw the ax away.
"Drag him up! Idiot!"
First Officer Clark cursed the crew, jumped down, and pulled out the wounded who had stopped jumping from the water.
The ship's doctor and assistants rushed over and carried the person to the infirmary.
Finding that the plants in the ballast tank could not be cut, Chief Clark gasped and asked Captain Morgan what to do.
The captain seemed to have lost his mind at this time, staring at those plants with hatred.
"Burn it with fire!"
His words were astonishing, and he immediately took action, asking his subordinates to get oil, and then took out a lighter.
"No! This is too dangerous!" First Officer Clark tried to stop the captain, but the latter did not listen at all and looked down fiercely.
He went down with an older crew member and sprinkled oil on the strange plants. Then he handed the lighter to the crew member and ordered him to light it while he climbed up the ladder first.
The older crew member felt guilty, but he had to obey the order and could only light the lighter with trembling hands.
As the flames rose from the roots, the older crew members gradually backed away, watching the fire as it grew more intense.
Suddenly, a huge force exploded from the spores. The corrosive gas just now was actually flammable. After being ignited by the flames, it exploded. The flames swept through the ballast tank and engulfed the elderly crew member in an instant.
The flames almost burst out of the hatch, and several people blocking the opening were knocked over by the air waves.
As the explosion subsided, the ballast tank was already in a mess. Those roots that were originally motionless actually moved, disturbing the water flow below, making people's hair stand on end as if they were living creatures.
The explosion completely widened the original small crack, and a large amount of seawater poured into the ballast tank.
Captain Morgan was shocked and quickly got up to close the cabin door.
"Come help!" he shouted.
Then Chief Officer Clark and several of his surviving subordinates came over and closed the cabin door forcefully.
The balance of the hull was broken again, and the entire ship sank partially, and then tilted to the heavier side.
"This door can never be opened again. No matter what method you use, seal it."
Morgan was sweating profusely, and First Officer Clark next to him was panting from exhaustion.
"Fill the opposite ballast tank with sea water to keep the ship balanced, otherwise we may roll over. Quick! Everyone, take action!"
…
After a period of time, the Northern Faith barely maintained the water level and did not tilt again, but the problems with underwater plants and routes were not resolved.
The ship's crew gathered below deck for a meeting. The safety team did not come because they had to deal with the passengers who were about to become disorderly.
Some problems can no longer be hidden. Some guests have already discovered that the cruise ship is sailing to the Sea of Tranquility. The news spreads throughout the ship like fire.
"There's something under the water!" Someone yelled on the deck, so people crowded on that side and looked down, and indeed saw some strange shadows swimming against the bottom of the ship.
"Everyone, please rest assured, we will definitely deliver everyone safely to the port!" Captain Morgan hurried over to maintain order after the meeting.
"You're talking nonsense! If you can go back, why is the ship still heading west?"
"Oh glow! My grandma is still waiting for me at home..."
"You are committing murder! Terrorism!"
Everyone is scolding Morgan, but for now he can only endure it silently, and once again said shocking words: "If necessary, the cargo warehouse on the second floor may be used as a temporary ballast tank."