Chapter 514: This road is blocked
Under the moonlit night, the ship sailed in without any markings.
On the bow deck, several figures stood here.
They all have a common identity, genetic warriors from the Steel Battalion of the Jieko Group.
Gene warriors are the most suitable candidates to carry out this top-secret mission.
"The position has arrived."
Gene Warrior Captain Lou Zongcheng checked the position and walked to the side of the ship. With his enhanced vision, he could already see the sand and mud on the shore in the dark.
The river they are currently in is the narrowest part of the Strait of Malacca, only 2.8 kilometers wide. There are 37 sandbars and rocks in it, which further blocks the navigation of the Strait of Malacca.
But this time when they came here, what Lou Zongcheng and the other genetic warriors needed to do was to block this strait and canal.
To this end, they also prepared a secret weapon.
"Open the dumping port and pour the expanded mushroom mud into the sea."
Lou Zongcheng gave an order and pulled out a rubber water pipe from the cargo ship. It was thicker than a human waist. As the motor ran and the water pump ran, the pipe vibrated violently and some kind of blue viscous substance spewed out and fell into the sea. , which is the expanded mushroom mud developed by Jieke Group.
Under the sea surface, these expanded bacterial slimes begin to dilute as soon as they encounter water, and their texture and chemical properties change.
On the other side, several genetic warriors opened sacks one by one and threw out a large number of kelp seedlings.
As soon as these kelp seedlings entered the sea and came into contact with the expanded fungus mud, they began to grow wildly, as if they were made of golden garbage, and fell directly to the seabed to take root.
Lou Zongcheng and the others drove the boat while spreading water, just like driving a boat seeder. The sea was their field, and kelp was constantly planted here.
In less than half an hour, Lou Zongcheng and the others had circled the sea surface. These diluted expanded fungus mud, plus specially prepared kelp, continued to spread under the action of the ocean currents, growing into every corner of the narrow strait area. at.
After doing all this, Lou Zongcheng and others directly continued to move the ship towards the other side of the Strait of Malacca, as if nothing had happened.
After the ship left, the growth of the kelp in the sea did not stop. The expanded fungus mud was more powerful than any chemical fertilizer. These kelp seedlings grew from the size of a palm, and continued to grow longer and wider.
Over the next few days, these kelps continued to grow, rising faster than ordinary people could imagine.
One meter!
Ten meters!
Fifty meters!
Three days later!
A large ocean-going cargo ship called the Almeida from the American Shipping Company sailed over. The ship can carry 100,000 tons of cargo and can load and unload 9,500 standard containers at a time. It is considered a giant on the sea.
In the wheelhouse of the ship, Captain Wilt was enjoying the sunset while holding a cup of coffee.
As a captain who often runs the Malacca route, Wilt often travels here and is very familiar with the Malacca Strait. It is no exaggeration to say that he can drive through it with his eyes closed.
"It's a pity that I can't take the Kra Isthmus Canal. Otherwise, I can save a week and get ashore earlier. I miss the hot girls in the bars in my hometown."
Wilt complained to the first mate next to him that he was just a captain and had no right to decide where to go. That was the route planned by the shipping company.
"Who says it's not the case? It's just that the Jieke Group is too greedy for money. We have no choice but to follow the old route."
The first mate nodded sympathetically. They spent most of the year at sea and were tired of the sea. They all hoped to return to land as soon as possible to rest.
"Just wait, the Jieke Group will be unable to hold on sooner or later. I don't believe they can just watch so much shipping benefits being earned by Temasek here..."
Wilt was bragging about his insights when suddenly a piercing alarm sounded in the cab, and at the same time the huge ship shook. It seemed that the ship was pulled by something, causing the people inside the ship to stagger, and the ship's speed was visibly reduced. Come down.
"What's going on?"
Wilt's head hit the console, and there was a cut on his forehead. Blood was flowing, but he didn't care much. He immediately looked at the control screen, which showed that the ship's speed had dropped sharply and the propeller was in abnormal condition.
"BOSS, our marine main engine is still running, but the propeller has stopped moving. It seems to be stuck by something. I am troubleshooting here..."
The next second, the chief engineer's call was also broadcast, reporting the situation on his side to Wilt.
"Shit, it can't be entangled in fishing nets and cables, but it shouldn't be! How can there be such a thing in the Strait of Malacca."
Wilt looked puzzled. He had traveled to the Strait of Malacca so many times, and this was the first time he encountered this situation.
The Strait of Malacca is an international golden waterway. The Strait management authority often sends people to clean up potential safety hazards in the Strait. Moreover, fishing nets are not used here, and there are no submarine cables.
Wilt couldn't understand, but due to the current malfunction, he could only send a message to the nearest Temasek Straits Authority to report his experience here and ask for help.
Temasek's work efficiency was not very high. It took several hours before Wilt waited for the emergency troubleshooting ship sent by Temasek.
Two divers were brought on the boat. After saying hello to Wilt, the two divers put on their diving suits and goggles and jumped into the seawater to see what was blocking the propeller. Clean it up.
But when the divers went into the sea and saw the situation at the propeller, they couldn't help but widen their eyes.
On the wide and heavy propeller, several dark green broad-leaf kelps were wrapped around the propeller, making it immobile.
The two divers looked at each other in disbelief.
I have never seen kelp wrapped around a propeller. Kelp is such a fragile plant, and the propeller that can drive a giant wheel has huge kinetic energy, and the kelp will be torn and crushed if it comes in contact.
What's more, the Strait of Malacca is not a kelp growing area, and the varieties of these kelps look weird.
"Let's go cut the kelp."
One of the divers made a gesture to express this meaning. Then one person held a knife and the other held scissors and pliers, and stepped forward to pull the kelp, trying to cut it off.
Click!
The knife cut on the kelp, and the tough touch came, as if it was cutting steel skin.
No matter how hard the diver tried, he could not cut off the kelp. He only made a cut of less than a few centimeters and exhausted him half to death.
"Fake, what the hell is this?" The scissors in another diver's hand collapsed, with a look of disbelief on his face.
This kind of broad-leaf kelp is more than one meter wide, and it is not only entangled in several strips, but also entangled in so many circles that it is impossible for them to solve it with human power.
With no other choice, the two divers had no choice but to swim ashore and report their findings to above.
"What, kelp that is difficult to cut with a knife, do you think I haven't read a book? You are using this excuse to fool me."
Wilt didn't believe it at all until he saw the footage recorded by the diver's body-worn camera, and he had no choice but to believe this outrageous thing.
"What about my ship now? You, the strait management side, have to compensate us for our fault."
"Your ship has to be towed to the dock repair shop for processing, and the hydraulic shears and cutting machines can be used to cut off the kelp, but you have to pay for the repair and towing fees yourself. The cost is about..."
Temasek's terminal official refused to admit that he was at fault. He planned to go back and let the institute find out how this ridiculous kelp grew and was so strong.
Wilt argued with Temasek's Straits Management for a few words, but finally had no choice but to agree.
After all, every time the ship is delayed at sea for one more day, it will lose a lot of money. If it cannot arrive on time, the liquidated damages will cause the shipping company to hemorrhage.
Just trying to tow an ocean-going container ship that has lost power to a shipyard repair shop is definitely not an easy job.
They finally used a tugboat to pull the ship to the repair shop. On the Malacca Strait, other ships successively issued distress alerts, reporting to Temasek Strait management that there was an abnormal propeller failure and that they needed help.
At first, there were several such requests for help a day, and then the reports of help began to surge wildly.
A large number of ships entered the narrowest channel of the Strait of Malacca and became entangled in this tough kelp, causing the ships to lose power and float on the sea. These ships ranged from a few thousand tons to a giant ship with a displacement of two to three million tons.
By the time the management of the Temasek Strait realized the seriousness of the matter and urgently banned ships from entering the river, more than a hundred ships were already trapped.
Suddenly, the entire Strait of Malacca was filled with blocked ships. This once busy international golden waterway was also stopped as a result. A large number of ships intending to pass were blocked on both sides of the strait, unable to advance or retreat.
Not surprisingly, the strange incident in the Strait of Malacca immediately made headlines around the world.
A military strategist once told a joke about kelp entangling submarines, but it actually came true one day, except that the submarines were not entangled, but ships of all sizes were entangled.
The management of the Temasek Strait urgently conducted an investigation into the problematic waterway. As a result, when divers went into the sea and conducted a search, they discovered that the strait area seemed to have turned into a kelp forest.
Lines of kelp take root and grow on the seabed. The longest kelp grows to more than a hundred meters long, which is longer than any known kelp in Blue Star.
Temasek, who did not believe in evil, used various means to destroy it, including bombs. The kelp was indeed broken by the explosion, but the broken kelp drifted with the current. Many ships docked outside the strait were unlucky enough to get entangled in the kelp, causing more ships to be paralyzed. .
Moreover, these kelps reproduce very quickly. There seems to be some kind of substance in the sea water that allows them to reproduce and grow rapidly.
For the study of this special kelp, scientists have found traces of artificial cultivation on this kelp, which is not like a naturally mutated species, and are studying it with great interest, but these cannot solve the problem of the Malacca Strait being unnavigable. dilemma.
Knowing that these kelps were most likely artificially cultivated, Temasek immediately thought of Jieco Group.
Because no matter in terms of motivation or strength, Jieke Group is extremely suspicious.
If the Strait of Malacca is blocked, Jieco Group will benefit the most. At the same time, with Jieco Group's genetic technology, they can transform this kind of mutated kelp, which is really not difficult.
"The real culprit of the kelp dilemma in the Strait of Malacca has been identified. We have reason to suspect that it is the Jieke Group that maliciously released this mutated kelp in the Strait of Malacca in order to monopolize the interests of international shipping, making the international golden waterway unusable. It is really a heinous and innocent crime. Forgive. 》
Temasek National published an article accusing Jieco Group, although they did not have any valid evidence to prove that Jieco Group was responsible for this matter.
Other European and American media quickly followed suit and targeted the Jieke Group with suspicion.
Not only the media, but also the people who eat melons think that the Jieke Group is the biggest suspect.
As long as you are not a fool, it is not difficult to see who will benefit the most from the blockage of the Malacca Strait.
In addition, the Jieko Group has a criminal record. It sent genetic warriors to the Los Angeles Olympics to disgust the beautiful country, and also used satellites to collide with the satellites of the beautiful country. The Jieko Group is very talented in causing trouble, and they never tire of it.
"Unfounded slander, we have absolutely nothing to do with mutant kelp. If Temasek continues to maliciously slander us, don't blame me for sending troops to defend our innocence." 》
Of course, Jieco Group will not admit such "slander". Jieco Group officially issued a statement denying it. Anyway, there is no evidence, so what can you do to me?
At the same time, he also threatened and warned Temasek, be careful if you talk nonsense, I will beat you up.
Several Jieco Group warships began to cruise outside the waters of Malacca, and Jieco Group's Magic Bird fighter jets flew across the border in Temasek's airspace.
Faced with the pressure from Jieco Group, Temasek did not dare to continue to post provocations. It could only hold its anger in its heart and find a way to deal with those kelps on its own.
In the final analysis, the world still has the final say with its fists. Not to mention that Temasek has no evidence, even if it does, there is nothing that can be done about Jieke Group.
As long as your fist is hard enough, that bag of washing powder can be said to be a weapon of mass destruction, thereby destroying a country.
Although many changes have taken place in the world today, the law of the jungle, which is the law of the jungle and the strong, has never changed. Weak countries have no diplomacy.
At the same time, when it was reported that the Strait of Malacca was blocked by mutated kelp and became unnavigable, all ships planning to pass through the Strait of Malacca were dumbfounded.
Because this situation obviously cannot be solved in a short time, Temasek does not even have a good plan, and other ships cannot afford to wait.
The beautiful Chinese freighter that was first entangled took more than a week to come out after entering the dock repair shop. Counting the delays, more than half a month has passed. Who can afford this energy consumption?
A large number of ships are blocked in Malacca, causing huge losses every day.
The Strait of Malacca cannot be crossed, so they can only choose to take a detour.
Once a detour is chosen, the Kra Isthmus Canal becomes the first choice, as it is the closest and fastest canal access.
Suddenly, there was an endless stream of requests for applications to open the Kra Isthmus Canal. These European and American shipping companies that had said they would not use the Kra Isthmus Canal had no choice but to bow their heads in the face of reality.
(End of chapter)