69novels Chapter 439: 40 minutes of descent, 11 hours of ascent!
Chapter 439: 40 minutes of descent, 11 hours of ascent!
Chapter 439: 40 minutes of descent, 11 hours of ascent!
Raven began to feel mild joint pain, a common phenomenon during stress reduction.
She immediately gestured to Han, who responded by gesturing for her to move her joints slightly within a permissible range to promote blood circulation.
21-meter stop point: 45 minutes.
The real test begins when they finally reach a depth of 21 meters.
Deep-water decompression tests both technical skills and equipment. Shallow-water decompression, on the other hand, is an ultimate test of human physiological limits and willpower.
Han gestured, indicating that the three of them should form a "triangle" defensive formation back to back.
This way, they can observe each other's condition and minimize unnecessary movement, thus conserving energy.
From this point on, decompression stops are no longer measured in minutes, but in hours, coldly displayed on everyone's dive computer screen.
They switched to the first hyperbaric decompression gas, a high concentration of oxygen (80% oxygen), which began to accelerate the "flushing" of inert gases dissolved in their body's slow-moving tissues.
12-meter stop point: 70 minutes.
Time seemed to thicken here. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. Raven began to feel a slight, tingling pain in her knees and elbows.
She knew this wasn't decompression sickness, but a normal physiological reaction after prolonged immersion in high pressure; it was a signal that those tiny inert gas bubbles were being safely expelled.
But this persistent, inescapable pain was constantly eroding her will.
9-meter stop point: 90 minutes.
The hour and a half of suspension made them feel like insects trapped in amber.
The monotonous darkness and the hissing sound of the CCR respirator created a hypnotic spell.
Trying to combat sleepiness by falling asleep during stress relief is extremely dangerous, as you may unconsciously loosen your grip on your mouthpiece.
They had to start playing simple "games" using gestures, such as taking turns making complex GUE gestures for the other person to recognize, in order to keep their minds clear.
The longest and most agonizing part was at a depth of 6 meters. This was the last "gate" before they could return to the human world.
According to the diving computer's calculations, they need to stay here for more than three hours.
Here, they switched to the final and most crucial decompression gas—100% pure oxygen.
Han used gestures to explain the risks of this stage to Lin Yu'an and Ruiwen: pure oxygen is the most efficient "detoxifier", but it is also a kind of "poison".
Breathing pure oxygen continuously for extended periods greatly increases the risk of oxygen poisoning in the central nervous system. Once the toxicity accumulates beyond the safe level, it can lead to underwater convulsions with potentially disastrous consequences.
Therefore, they must strictly follow the "oxygen break" procedure planned by the diving computer.
They removed the CCR mouthpiece from their mouths and replaced it with a spare secondary head that hung around their necks and was connected to a regular air cylinder, breathing in "dirty air" for 5 minutes.
Allow your body to rest briefly from the high-oxygen environment. Then switch back to CCR and continue breathing pure oxygen for 20 minutes.
They have to repeat this cycle of "breathing for 20 minutes, resting for 5 minutes" nearly eight times here.
Just as this stop was about to end, Han's diving computer emitted a slight vibration, and a green "decompression complete" message popped up on the screen.
His diving profile was the shallowest, so he was the first to complete his decompression duty.
Han did not ascend immediately. He first scanned the two men's diving computers with a light to confirm that their decompression plan was still proceeding smoothly and that the remaining time was as expected.
Then he swam to Lin Yu'an and made several handover gestures.
He first pointed to himself, then made a gesture of swimming upstream, then pointed towards the shore, and finally made a gesture of taking control of the whole situation with both hands.
"My decompression is complete. I will go ashore first and coordinate the follow-up matters for you."
Lin Yu-an and Rui-wen simultaneously made the "OK" sign.
After completing the final handover, Han Ting did not linger. He swam at a steady pace toward the light that was so close at hand.
Now, only Lin Yu'an and Ruiwen remain, along with the silent orange package.
6-meter stop point: 180 minutes.
An hour and a half later, Ruiwen and Lin Yu'an rose to a depth of 6 meters, which was the last "gate" before they returned to the human world.
Here, they switched to the final decompression gas—100% pure oxygen.
They strictly adhere to the "oxygen rest" cycle of "20 minutes of oxygen inhalation followed by 5 minutes of air breathing".
Raven's dive computer indicated that she would need to stay here for nearly two hours.
On Lin Yu'an's screen, the number representing the remaining time exceeded three hours.
They could clearly see the bright moonlight shining through the cave entrance; the light of the human world seemed within reach.
But they must be like imprisoned souls, firmly nailed to this shallow area by the invisible laws of physics.
Cold, hunger, fatigue, and muscle stiffness from prolonged suspension all challenged their limits.
During the second pure oxygen breathing cycle, Raven even began to experience mild hallucinations.
She vaguely saw schools of colorful tropical fish swimming past her, but she immediately realized that this was impossible in this deep freshwater pool.
Lin Yu'an noticed her subtle change. He swam to her side, without making any gestures, as that would distract her.
He simply reached out his heavily gloved hand and firmly grasped her hand.
That powerful touch, like the most effective tranquilizer, instantly pulled Raven back from her dazed state.
She grasped his hand in return, feeling its firm strength, and the slight unease in her heart quickly dissipated.
Time passed by, second by second.
Finally, after an endless wait, Raven's dive computer issued a "decompression complete" notification.
She glanced at the computer screen beside her, which still displayed "Remaining decompression time: 72 minutes".
More than an hour.
He would have to spend another hour alone in the cold, dark water.
Raven swam up to him, first giving him an "OK" sign, then pointing to her diving computer, then drawing a circle on her other palm with her finger, and finally pointing to Lin Yu-an.
"I've finished de-stressing. I can stay and keep you company."
Her gaze was firm. In technical diving, it is a common practice for dive buddies who have completed decompression early to stay behind and monitor their teammates who are still decompressing, provided there is sufficient gas.
However, Lin Yu'an shook his head without hesitation.
He pointed at Raven, then firmly pointed with his thumb upwards to the patch of moonlight that represented safety and light.
"No. You must go up immediately."
Raven looked at him, puzzled and even a little angry. She gestured again to indicate that she still had plenty of gas.
Lin Yu'an shook his head again.
He reached out and gently touched Raven's shoulder, then pointed to his own eyes with his index finger and then to hers.
"Look at me."
Next, he tapped his dive computer screen lightly with his finger, which displayed his remaining decompression time of 72 minutes. Then, he made a very slow and steady breathing motion with his palm on his chest.
"You see, I still have a long time ahead of me, but I'm in good shape and very stable."
After doing all this, his gestures changed.
He pointed at Raven, then crossed his arms in front of his chest and slowly opened them, as if stretching his body. Finally, he pointed his finger above the water.
"And you've been here too long, you're exhausted. You need to go up, breathe some fresh air, and relax."
Ruiwen knew that Lin Yu'an wasn't giving orders, but was worried about her.
After enduring more than ten hours of underwater ordeal, her body had already reached its limit.
Let her go up ahead of time, hoping that she can get away from this cold and oppressive water a minute sooner and get some rest a minute sooner.
This is an undeniable expression of tender care.
Raven stopped insisting; all her resentment and stubbornness melted away in the face of his simple gesture.
She leaned closer and, through the cold mirror, gently pressed her forehead against Lin Yu'an's.
This is a silent farewell and promise from a diver.
"I'm waiting for you."
Although there was no sound, Lin Yu'an clearly understood the sentence from her eyes.
Then, she let go, took one last look at the man's lonely yet resolute figure, and turned to swim towards the moonlight.
Now, only Lin Yu-an and Evelyn remain, facing the final seventy-two minutes alone.
Now, this underwater world, 6 meters deep, has once again returned to a breathtaking silence.
Only Lin Yu'an remained, along with Evelyn, who floated silently beside him, and the countdown of 72 minutes on the underwater computer.
Lin Yu'an slowly adjusted his posture, relaxing his body to the extreme, and entered a state close to meditation.
In this final stage, the battle is no longer against technology or equipment, but against the deepest physical and psychological fatigue and inner demons.
The first twenty minutes were a battle against the "Oxygen Demon".
He continued the "oxygen break" procedure, switching back to pure oxygen breathing. The high concentration of oxygen was like the sharpest bone scraper, relentlessly washing away the last of the inert gases in his body.
He could clearly feel a slight, tingling sensation, like an electric current, spreading through his fingertips.
This is not a tremor of HPNS, but an early sign of oxygen toxicity in the central nervous system.
On the computer screen, the number representing the cumulative percentage of CNS has jumped to the warning line of 85%.
He didn't panic; it was a perfectly planned physiological response.
Switching back to breathing air allows the brain a brief rest from the high-oxygen environment. The tingling sensation slowly recedes like the tide.
The second twenty minutes were a battle against the "cold".
After being soaked for a long time, even wearing top-quality dry clothes and an electrically heated vest, the biting cold had penetrated every inch of his skin.
He began to tremble slightly and uncontrollably, not from nervousness, but from an instinctive bodily response to maintain core body temperature.
Each tremor accelerated the depletion of his already limited strength.
Lin Yu'an closed his eyes, ceasing to pay attention to the outside world. His consciousness sank deep into his mind, beginning to recall.
He recalled the blizzards on the Alaskan ice fields and his fishing experiences in Greenland. He used those even more extreme memories of cold to combat his current physical discomfort.
The third twenty minutes is a dialogue with "loneliness".
Exhaustion, cold, high oxygen levels—all physical torment ultimately point to one end point: mental illusion.
Before Lin Yu'an's eyes began to appear some bizarre and fantastical images.
He could almost see Emily smiling at him while holding her newborn daughter Eve, and he could almost see Arya and McCorz waving to him in the Alaskan sunshine.
He saw the refrigerated truck speeding towards him from his past life! He saw the assassin he killed in the supermarket! He saw the motorcyclist who was the Alaskan assassin.
He knew this was the sweetest temptation his brain, in its extreme exhaustion, was sending him, tempting him to give up resistance and fall into a deep sleep.
But he was not deceived by these illusions. His consciousness continuously inventoried the items within the golden finger space, keeping him perfectly clear-headed!
Lin Yu'an's gaze remained calm as he watched the numbers on the underwater computer screen counting down.
Total dive time: 11 hours and 48 minutes
[Remaining decompression time: 00:05]
Eleven and a half hours.
The descent from the surface to the 308-meter abyss, filled with unknowns and anticipation, took less than forty minutes.
His decisive bottoming-out operation at the bottom of the abyss lasted only 4 minutes and 32 seconds.
However, the price he had to pay for this "bottoming out" in less than 40 minutes was a full eleven hours.
The vertical distance from 308 meters to the ground was only a little over 300 meters, but it took him almost half a day to get back.
The ascent from the abyss to the 100-meter safety station took nearly two hours.
It took another three hours to gradually climb from 150 meters to the shallow water area of 21 meters.
The final 21 meters, the ultimate negotiation with the bubble, took a long six hours.
For eleven hours, he completed a long and tedious period of spiritual practice in the dark and icy waters.
Each stress-relief break is an ultimate test of willpower and focus.
Time passed by, second by second.
"Drip—drip—drip—"
A slight vibration came from my wrist.
As the final second of the countdown ended, the red decompression countdown on Lin Yu'an's underwater computer screen finally turned green.
Decompression complete!
At that moment, he felt a sense of relief and liberation.
He took one last look at the dark pool that had imprisoned him for an hour, then activated the thrusters, carrying Evelyn, and slowly ascended toward the moonlight that seemed within reach.
"puff-"
The moment his helmet finally broke through the water, the long-lost scent of grass and earth filled his nostrils with the damp air.
On the shore, the team that had been waiting instantly sprang into action.
The blinding searchlights did not shine directly on him, but instead illuminated the water around him at a soft angle, avoiding the strong light that would irritate his eyes, which had just adjusted to the darkness.
Two figures rushed towards him almost at the same time.
It's Han Ting and Ruiwen.
Although both of them were exhausted, they had already changed into dry clothes and their eyes were clear.
They didn't say any celebratory words; all their communication translated into efficient and coordinated action.
"I'll take over," Han Ting said in a steady and powerful voice.
He skillfully took the orange body bag from Lin Yu'an's hands, and with his rich experience, he and the others dragged it to the shore with remarkable stability.
Raven, on the other hand, circled around to Lin Yu-an's back.
"Don't move, I'll help you." Her voice carried an undeniable command and deep concern.
She knew that after more than an hour of extreme soaking and decompression, Lin Yu'an's body was in its most vulnerable state.
Carrying over 80 kilograms of equipment out of the water makes it extremely easy to fall due to exhaustion, causing secondary injuries.
Together with two other staff members who were already waiting in the shallow water area, she began to disassemble Lin Yu-an as if dismantling a precision instrument.
First, they unfastened the heavy spare gas cylinders beside him and handed them to an assistant to carry away; then they unfastened the buckles on the thrusters and finally helped him remove the heaviest CCR respirator from his back.
As the last weight left his body, Lin Yu'an felt as if he had instantly escaped gravity, and his whole body felt so light that he was about to float away.
"Alright, now you can walk up by yourself, my hero." Raven supported his arm and half-carried him ashore.
On the shore, Director Chen and his entire team were already waiting.
As soon as he stepped ashore, a warm and thick bath towel was immediately draped over his shoulders, shielding him from the chill of the valley in the early morning.
"Mr. Lin, thank you for your hard work." A medical worker handed him a cup of warm brown sugar water with a strong ginger flavor.
Lin Yu'an took it and drank it down in large gulps. The spicy, warm current instantly surged from his throat into his stomach, and then spread throughout his body.
He was quickly led into a well-prepared medical tent that was brightly lit and heated.
Inside the tent, there was no excessive small talk or unnecessary questioning; everything proceeded in an efficient and professional silence.
One assistant helped him remove his wet wetsuit undergarments, while another used a dry towel to wipe his body.
The chief medical expert directly aimed a portable ultrasound probe coated with coupling gel at his heart, below his collarbone, and in key veins and joints in his shoulder.
Begin a rapid "bubble detection".
Inside the tent, a black-and-white ultrasonic image was displayed on a screen.
"The blood flow in the subclavian vein is stable, and no obvious air bubbles are observed—Spencer's syndrome grade II, within the normal range." The doctor announced the results in a calm tone while performing the procedure.
"Cardiac examination — no abnormal shunts were found due to patent foramen ovale. Excellent."
The medical team breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Lin Yu-an did not have any potential risk of decompression sickness.
At that moment, a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup, exuding a rich aroma, was placed in front of him.
Lin Yu'an took it and, disregarding his image, began to eat it heartily.
After burning a huge number of calories, this warm, carbohydrate- and protein-rich food is the best comfort for the body.
Seeing Lin Yu'an wolfing down his food, Raven's eyes were filled with heartache, while Han Ting's face showed a smile of mutual respect between heroes.
In this warm tent, surrounded by hot food and professionals, Lin Yu-an's senses, dulled by the long deep dive, finally began to return to normal.
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