Chapter 593 - 581 Disturbance

Because the mushroom cloud was still rapidly cooling, what had been a slender "stalk" also began to rapidly expand and thicken. The surface was a tumult of gas mixed with massive amounts of dust, like the aftereffect of an eruption, where semi-fluid lava reveals a scorchingly hot core emitting a bright, white light through the cracks.

The cloud layer only reached halfway up the stalk of this mushroom cloud, which stood tall, propping up the entire fire-red sky. The sun was merely an unremarkable ornament against this backdrop.

The sky was fire-red, and the ocean was merely a reflection of the sky, with the whole world filled with a fire-red mixed with black, as if one had come to another world entirely.

Musk’s eyes were temporarily blinded by the brilliant light at the moment of the explosion — or perhaps it was just that the intense light occupied his entire field of vision. In any case, for a good 10 seconds, all he saw was a vast expanse of white.

When he regained his vision, all he could see was a super mushroom cloud that seemed to be right in front of him, which had begun to darken in color due to its expansion nearly reaching its limit, appearing mostly black and red on the outside.

He had sunglasses on his chest, and all tourists who had purchased package tickets were also given sunglasses in advance and informed of the precautions, but just then, everyone’s attention had been drawn to the meteor, and only a very few were prepared.

Although at this distance viewing with the naked eye wouldn’t cause much harm, Musk still felt his head spinning, and shaking his head with his eyes lowered did nothing to help. Everything seemed to be separated from him by a semi-transparent screen of light.

He looked towards his two sons, whose shapes were blurry, then saw Tom shaking his head and gesturing something after noticing his gaze.

It took 73 seconds for the sound waves to reach them. Apart from the airflow coming head-on, what accompanied it was a howl passing through the gaps in the windows. It was a deep and extremely powerful sound that gave one goosebumps all over just by brushing past the ears.

The only thing Musk felt could be compared with it was standing within 1000 meters of a rocket launch pad. Perhaps because he had similar experiences, he managed to get through the first round of shockwave dispersion quite adeptly.

Fine, but dense vibrations also came from the deck beneath his feet, which were shockwaves traveling along the earth’s surface.

At this distance, the sound, compared to the blast center, was insignificant. If one could hear a very violent sound, the likelihood of survival wouldn’t be too high.

He fumbled a Geiger counter out from the tool bag at his feet, then heard the "click click" of the device and saw the jumping needle.

Not bad, slightly above the standard safety value for radiation workers, but basically harmless.

The 340,000-ton nuclear warhead had its power greatly diminished by the underground explosion, with the force leaked on the surface and the mushroom cloud probably no more than 100,000 tons in equivalent.

By this time, his vision had somewhat recovered, and he could see Sachs vigorously rubbing his eyes.

"Daddy, I’m blind, I can’t see anything."

"No, baby, just close your eyes for 10 seconds and then open them again. We’ll do it together, and you too, Hilde, all of us together."

Sachs obediently closed his eyes, counted to ten silently, then opened them again, continuing to hear Musk’s voice:

"Sachs, can you see now?"

"I can see the deck, I can see myself, but everything is pale white. The sky around is so dark, but I can’t see my own shadow."

"Then, let’s close our eyes for another 30 seconds."

Having counted to 30 again in his mind, Sachs finally saw the brown deck, the reflective chrome handrails, and cowboy jeans that matched the color of the ocean.

Now that his vision had restored, the first thing Sachs did was to look back in the direction of the mushroom cloud. By then, it no longer emitted bright light, looking very dirty in a grayish-white due to the mixed dust and diffusion, while its lower half was covered by several kilometers of white water vapor — all of it evaporated seawater from the high heat.

Even from 25 kilometers away, the mushroom cloud at an altitude of more than 20 kilometers vividly displayed all its details before them, like a monster surging out from the sea and reaching for space.

Next to them came the constant "click-clack" sounds of Uncle Tom, who was using a film camera to record the scene.

As professionals, they would not forget the destruction caused by the hydrogen bomb’s electromagnetic pulse, which could reach thousands of kilometers. Although the first Ground Drilling Bomb’s effect was much smaller, at such close range, they were bound to be affected.

Musk had just then realized and pressed his wristband, but as expected, he got no response.

He fixed his gaze on the massively spectacular mushroom cloud, and in that moment, he truly comprehended the ultimate weapon of humanity, understanding that a hydrogen bomb’s apocalyptic power was more than just a line of thin text.

The rocket that launched it wasn’t even a fraction as heavy as Falcon 9, yet it had the capacity to flatten an entire city.

He imagined such a mushroom cloud rising over Houston and immediately shuddered.

There must never be a nuclear war, never.

...

Unlike Musk, who reacted sluggishly, Yuanwang Seven had been constantly broadcasting instructions for personnel to take protective measures, so Lin Ju donned his full-protection sunglasses at the moment of the explosion.

Apart from his vision being filled with white light during the blast, Lin Ju also felt a slight but distinct current of electricity coursing over his skin, causing goosebumps all over.

That was the immense electromagnetic pulse generated by the explosion, which despite significant weakening, still had the capacity to damage nearby electronic devices.

Yuanwang Seven and the surrounding naval ships, however, were safe, as their cabin protection could withstand such electromagnetic shocks, though Yuanwang Seven had switched off the external antenna power three minutes in advance.

Zhang Zheng had specially turned on an emergency light, which had gone out after the nuclear blast.

Lin Ju removed his sunglasses to see the same deep blue ocean and the mushroom cloud, which had swelled to its limit.

He tried to speak several times but lacked the energy to do so, only then realizing that his heart was beating at an unprecedented rate, nearly suffocating him.

Eventually, it was Zhang Zheng who first found his bearings, taking a long breath, seeming to reclaim himself.

He thought he would be excited, cheering even, but when the event actually occurred, he and everyone else felt an intense sense of helplessness, only able to stand there and watch everything happen.

The words full of retaliatory fervor he had originally thought to utter could not be spoken, and in the end, he could only say,

"This must never happen to us."

Lin Ju also nodded solemnly. This was just a "small" hydrogen bomb with its power drastically reduced, having a yield of just over 300,000 tons. How terrifying would the monsters be with yields of millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of tons?

Only those who have experienced that might firsthand can understand why scientists would concoct the "nuclear winter" myth. It’s only when people face death directly that they realize they are not as carefree and detached as they thought.

He patted Yu Man’s back, who had been holding onto him the whole time, feeling her body trembling continuously.

"It won’t happen to us, it never will."