Ryan didn’t say a word. Listening to the creaking of the ship and feeling the violent shaking, he said in a low voice, “Get ready.”
No one answered. The only sound was the quiet rhythm of their breathing.
Everyone in the captain’s quarters silently counted down: four, three, two, one. At that moment, all the controls were pressed in perfect sync.
With a cold grunt, Ryan pushed the thrusters to their maximum, just a second before the massive wave hit. All the energy from the recently paused systems erupted at once, and with a whoosh, the submarine that had seemed stuck in the mud suddenly sprang up like an arrow, shooting forward.
As the ship shook violently, that heavy feeling eased. The noise from the hull stopped, and the pressure vanished in an instant.
Echo let out a sigh of relief, feeling the icy seawater around her throat, but her heart warmed up.
“Notify Cobra. Get ready to dock,” Ryan ordered in a calm, serious tone.
The submarine was leaking badly, and if Cobra couldn’t make it, they’d have to swim back across the Atlantic one by one.
They began to rise, the submarine gliding upward at an angle as it skimmed the surface, with the light growing stronger and the water rapidly approaching.
Meanwhile, Cobra was driving the warship with all his might, positioning it at a forty-five-degree angle to face Ryan’s direction. He quickly opened the back of the ship, and the massive tail lifted, revealing a spacious docking bay above the water.
Adolph watched the surveillance footage on the warship and saw the bay fully open. With just two seconds left, he shouted to Cobra, “Accelerate, go!”
Cobra pressed the power button, and the warship’s speed shot up instantly.
At that same moment, Ryan’s submarine shot out of the water, racing toward the warship’s open docking bay.
With the warship moving slowly and the submarine speeding fast, a collision seemed imminent, and both Adolph and Cobra held their breaths, fists clenched, eyes fixed on the docking process.
Inside the submarine, Ryan had turned off all auxiliary systems, leaving him blind to the outside. He relied solely on the timer.
As the minute ticked down, Ryan yanked back on the control stick to shut down the power system, causing the submarine to slow down, coasting forward until it matched the warship’s speed.
Adolph and Cobra both threw their fists in the air, celebrating the completion.
The submarine successfully entered the warship’s docking bay.
Cobra lowered the back of the ship, swallowing the submarine into its belly as they sped away.
Inside the submarine, Bill snapped his fingers, letting out a sigh of relief. “Boss, we completed the docking.”
Ryan nodded, his face still serious as he glanced at his clothes, soaked with seawater. With a swift movement, he stood up and headed toward the cabin.
Bill immediately followed, catching a glimpse of Adolph’s subordinates, who looked stunned and awed at Ryan.
Bill raised an eyebrow, feeling a swell of pride. Only Mr. Ryan could handle the ship so well, only he could achieve what seemed impossible. Calm, collected, skilled, and with unwavering trust in them-this was their boss, the one they admired and would follow to the ends of the earth.
In the cabin, as Echo watched the seawater flowing out, she plopped down on the floor and suddenly realized she was drenched in sweat. It was definitely sweat, not water-she had been so tense, way too tense. She hadn’t felt it before, but now that she relaxed, she understood what it meant to be on the edge of death. It was terrifying and exhilarating.
The lights flickered on, and Echo frowned slightly, adjusting to the brightness. She saw Ryan standing at the door, his face serious, and a wave of fear washed over her. This was it-she was done for. All because they had tried to save her.
Ryan strode into the cabin, his expression dark as he saw Echo soaked and looking terrified. He quickly approached her.
Seeing the grim look on Ryan’s face, Echo tried to force a weak smile and trembled, “Mr. Ryan, this… uh… it hurts…”
Before she could finish, Ryan stepped forward, scooped her up, and held her tightly. The moment he did, the pain in her back flared, making her grip his arm.
Noticing her pained expression, Ryan’s face darkened even more. He flipped her over without hesitation, ignoring the others around, and ripped the fabric from her back.
He could see that her skin was red and bruised from the water pressure. Anger flashed across his face as he growled, “Stupid.”
Echo hadn’t expected him to pick her up. She rested against his arm, too exhausted to protest, the pain overwhelming. She had just come back from the edge of death, and she couldn’t muster the energy to argue. At this point, if Ryan wanted to send her to Mars, she wouldn’t have cared.
As Ryan held her, she could sense his concern even as he was focused on her injuries.
He turned and headed for the exit, saying, “Tell them to prepare the plane and the best nuclear detection equipment and personnel. I need to get into their chemical department.”
Bill quickly acknowledged him and rushed out of the submarine to contact this country’s defense minister and the related ones without hesitation.
While Ryan held Echo, she couldn’t help but ask, “Nuclear? What do you mean?”
Hawk, who was next to them, replied in a low voice, “You don’t really think that was some kind of metal-based explosive, do you?”
Echo froze for a moment at Hawk’s words. She hadn’t thought about it before, but with so many metal-based explosives on board, there was no way they could pack such a powerful punch. The energy from that kind of force was almost on par with a tsunami-it wasn’t something a few ships’ worth of explosives could compare to.
Suddenly alert, she looked at Hawk and asked, “So what is it?”
“Uranium. It’s a nuclear material with radioactive properties and can be extremely dangerous,” Hawk replied, clenching his jaw as he watched Echo lift her head.
“Uranium? How could it be uranium? I touched it… I… I’ve felt it…” As soon as she heard what it was, panic set in for Echo, and her words started to tumble out in a jumble.
Her already exhausted body went tense again, instinctively gripping Ryan’s arm and clothing. She turned to look at Ryan’s hard expression, her body shaking as she struggled to find her voice.
“If you move again, I’ll toss you overboard,” Ryan shot back, casting a cold glance at the trembling Echo.
His face was as hard and frigid as steel as he quickly made his way onto the ship, staring out at the endless sea.
Echo knew if she kept shaking, Ryan really would throw her in, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know if it was from exhaustion or fear.
“I’m not scared, but I can’t control it,” Echo managed to say, gripping Ryan tightly as she tried to steady her breathing.
Saying she wasn’t scared felt like a lie-nobody could claim they weren’t scared when their life was on the line. But she could at least try to keep her emotions in check and balance herself out.
Ryan watched Echo, her teeth clenched tight as she fought to control her breathing and stop shaking. It didn’t seem to be working, so he simply said, “Take a nap.”
He suddenly reached back and struck her on the neck, and before she knew it, everything went black.
As Echo passed out, Ryan frowned deeply and turned to Hawk. “Let Tiger know to bring over the new serum we just developed.”
Hawk nodded.
They were among the world’s top arms dealers, with resources and equipment that even some small countries would envy. Naturally, there were nations that couldn’t produce certain materials on their own and came to them for help.
Even though nuclear production was officially banned worldwide, there were plenty of people who still needed it discreetly. Thanks to a compilation of various data, they could manufacture nuclear weapons themselves. To protect their staff from radiation, they naturally conducted research in that area. The latest serum was quite expensive; while it wouldn’t eliminate all harm, it was definitely better than nothing.
When Echo regained consciousness in the nuclear facility, she found herself in a stark white world.
The smell of disinfectant was overwhelming and nauseating. Various machines hummed around her, and the lab technicians, their faces the only visible part of them, stood silently, creating an atmosphere that felt stifling.