Chapter 254: Strange Phenomenon

The four of them went down the gangway and found the chef and crew already waiting below.

Seeing Ye Su come over, the chef immediately cast an admiring look, and the crew members were excited.

"So everyone is waiting for me here?"

The captain handed over the landing net and smiled:

"Everyone heard you were going to catch fish today, so they were all excited and ran here early!"

Ye Su also picked up the fish spear and looked at the crowd:

"Alright then, it just so happens the captain’s cold storage is running low. We’ll catch more fish today; whatever we can't eat can be stored in the cold storage."

Hearing Ye Su’s words, everyone danced with joy.

The freighter cut through the sea, kicking up waves that traveled into the distance, refracting the sunlight into seven-colored rainbows.

A gentle breeze mixed with the salty smell of seawater filled their noses, and unknown seabirds circled the freighter.

Ye Su held the fish spear, looking at the distant sea surface, while the crew members on the ship enthusiastically acted as observers.

Soon, the crew found a target, and Ye Su hit whatever he pointed at, quickly spearing a large fish.

Suddenly attacked, the school of fish following the ship scattered directly. Even after Ye Su dragged the fish up, the fish didn't gather again, which was inevitably strange.

This phenomenon inevitably attracted the captain’s attention. He walked onto the deck and looked back, finding that the fish seemed to be separated by a dividing line and wouldn't move forward.

And the sea under the ship was like dead silence; the usually active marine life was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a calm sea.

The captain had sailed for many years and had never seen such a strange thing. He had even been lucky enough to encounter situations where ships were held by sea monsters and couldn't move.

Looking back, experts had provided the principle of phase interference. Even the blood-red seawater hadn't brought the captain as much fear as today. The captain, who had long since lost his fear of the deep sea, felt an inexplicable panic seeing this deep, dark sea today; it was just too quiet.

"This is hell. What kind of place is this? It’s quiet enough to make one panic."

The captain lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, trying his best not to think about the deep-sea imagery. The nicotine entering his bloodstream brought a slight stimulation to his brain, causing brief hypoxia, which also reduced much of his fear.

Just then, a crew member pointed to the shipping containers on the ship:

"The seabirds that were following us before are all gone now! It’s like they all disappeared!"

Ye Su had handed the fish he caught to the chef to process. Because there were no schools of fish behind, Ye Su helplessly put down the fish spear and walked toward the deck.

After all, the captain and crew were on the deck, and having sailed the seas for years, they must be knowledgeable; perhaps they knew the reason for this.

Just as he got on deck, he saw the silent crowd. Ye Su greeted them:

"What’s wrong with you all? You were all high-spirited just a moment ago; why did you suddenly become like this? It can't just be because there are no fish, right?"

The captain looked at Ye Su cautiously:

"Su, everything here is filled with eeriness. I’ve sailed the seas for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a situation."

Ye Su smiled: "The world is vast, and there are all sorts of wonders. It should be reasonable for such a situation to appear, right!"

The captain flicked his cigarette butt into the sea and looked at Ye Su:

"Su, you have to know that animals’ senses are very sensitive. Now that the animals in the sea are gone, and even the birds on the ship are gone, we must have entered a very dangerous place."

Seeing that the captain wasn't joking, Ye Su’s expression also became serious.

"Captain, don't you often sail this route? If this problem hasn't appeared before, then it might have just appeared! What do you think is the reason?"

"Could it be a ghost ship?"

One of the crew members suddenly spoke up.

The crew member beside him was startled by his imagination and hurriedly said:

"It’s daytime now, and look at that big sun. Besides, ghost ships have fog, right? Look, where is there any fog?"

Everyone looked around; it was indeed an endless sea surface, and they complained about that crew member scaring them.

"Could it be that we’ve encountered a supernatural phenomenon?"

The crew members were even more speechless. This was definitely supernatural! If you haven't seen it before, isn't it a supernatural phenomenon!

At this moment, Ye Su suddenly thought of a question and hurriedly looked at the captain:

"Captain, you just said that animals are more sensitive, so they didn't follow?"

The crew members also stopped discussing and looked at Ye Su.

"That’s right! Exactly!"

Ye Su smiled: "Generally, if such a situation occurs, it should be that the animals heard sounds or fluctuations that humans cannot hear. I think we have ways to perceive these fluctuations with technology."

The captain immediately understood: "You mean sonar?"

The crew members, who were still confused, had their eyes light up when they heard the captain’s words.

Underwater sonar could be said to be the thousand-mile eye of navigation and a reliable helper for ocean voyages, especially the latest 3D imaging sonar, which could directly simulate the image of the seabed based on sound fluctuations, even more accurately than what the human eye could see.

"Let’s go, the equipment is in the wheelhouse. Let’s go see what’s abnormal!"

With a wave of the captain’s hand, the crew went down the gangway. The chef saw them walking directly into the ship and stopped cutting the fish.

"Hey, what happened? Why did you all leave? What about these fish fillets?"

The captain didn't look back: "You put the fish back in the cold storage first; we’ll eat when we’re done."

Celine looked at their worried expressions and couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

Ye Su walked at the end and held her hand: "It’s okay, we’re going to the equipment room to see what we’ve encountered!"

Celine nodded and followed Ye Su toward the inside of the ship. Unlike small ships where the wheelhouse is at the bow, the freighter’s wheelhouse was in the middle of the ship, wrapped in shipping containers.

The captain and the others walked inside the cabin for two reasons: for safety, and because there weren't as many containers, allowing them to reach the command center faster.

Soon, Ye Su followed the captain and the others to the sonar equipment room. The captain explained to Ye Su:

"To ensure the accuracy of the sonar system, the sonar room is always placed close to the sonar equipment. Depending on the function, the compass antennas are arranged on the cabin deck, the navigation equipment room is at the top of the cabin, and the captain’s command center is also close to the top of the ship."

During the explanation, they arrived at the sonar room. However, because it was quite small, it couldn't hold so many people, so Ye Su, a layman, could only stay outside.

But then, an exclamation came from inside the sonar room, followed by the terrified voices of other crew members.

"My god, what is that!"