When Ivan returned to the lounge, the computer was still playing a silent movie. The screen showed shimmering reflections on the azure seabed and towering, temple-like buildings.
Arthur Stone sat there naturally and relaxed, facing the screen, as if he were watching a movie intently. However, Ivan noticed that his gaze was not on the screen, but seemed to penetrate the computer monitor and land on a very, very far distance, as if the submarine were transparent to him.
" Mr. Stone, you'd better come and take a look at the command center," Ivan said.
Arthur Stone, snapping out of his daze, asked, "What's wrong, Ivan?"
Ivan said, "The magnetic detection system is malfunctioning. Boris said there was a ship ahead, but our sonar (https://m. hetushu. com. com) shows there's nothing there."
Arthur Stone chuckled, "Really? This Boris is your good partner, isn't he? He's quite something! Determining the shape of an abnormal magnetic field from a few magnetic field lines and data changes on the display screen isn't an easy task!"
"I think so too. That bastard Boris is probably talking nonsense. I know him; he loves to brag!" Ivan said. "But none of us understand it. You'd better go up and take a look."
"No need to go up, I can see from here."
Arthur Stone reached out and pressed the power button on the second computer. A beep was heard, and the screen lit up, but it was Ivan the familiar Windows interface or the DOS interface. Ivan didn't understand computer programming languages, so he didn't care. But the computer booted up incredibly fast, like turning on a light bulb.
Stone was typing away on the keyboard, and Ivan thought that even the way this man worked at his desk and typed was so elegant.
A triangle appeared on the screen, followed by several twisting curves emerging from one side of the screen. On the other side, rows of numbers and incomprehensible letters were displayed on the bar screen.
"So Mr. Stone's equipment here is connected to the system above, but why wasn't it turned on sooner?"
Ivan recognized that the image displayed on the computer screen was the same as that on the magnetic field detector above.
Arthur Stone didn't speak, focusing intently on the screen. Then he typed rapidly on the keyboard, bringing up a small window. After entering a command, the letters, lines, and numbers on the screen disappeared, replaced by a pure blue display.
The image was then covered with a grid, resembling a drawing sheet. Several dotted lines flickered and moved, as if someone were drawing on a drawing sheet with a pencil. Before long, the dotted lines formed the shape of a ship, and the structure of the hull could be seen very clearly.
Arthur Stone continued to operate the keyboard, and the ship structure diagram on the screen was no longer a dotted line, but began to be filled with colored blocks, like a jigsaw puzzle, and soon a complete ship model was assembled.
"It really is a ship! That Boris guy... he's got some serious skills!" Ivan was shocked as he watched the increasingly clear ship structure diagram formed by dotted lines on the screen.
As a veteran who had spent many years at sea, he was not only familiar with submarines, but also had encountered all sorts of ships after his retirement. However, the structure of this ship was somewhat strange; it looked neither like a cargo ship nor a passenger ship. He wondered what kind of ship it was, and suddenly remembered what Boris had said about the research vessel that had infiltrated the Arctic during those two years. Looking at the screen again, he became more and more convinced that this must be a research vessel.
" Mr. Stone, this..." Ivan couldn't resist asking what was going on, but knowing he shouldn't, he changed the subject, "I've already ordered a halt. What should we do next?"
"You did the right thing!" Arthur Stone said. "Now mark the location of the ship as shown by the magnetic field test, then rise to a depth of three hundred feet and use that as a center to narrow the search area to a radius of one hundred and fifty nautical miles. Oh, and remember to turn on the gravity detector."
"Yes, sir."
"Wait a minute." Stone turned and tossed a box of cigars over. "For Boris and your guys."
Ivan returned to the control room, Boris asked impatiently, " Ivan, where's Mr. Stone? Isn't he coming to check on things?"
Ivan said, "No need to come up, he can see better from down here than we can." Then he punched Boris hard, "You little rascal, you guessed it right, it's a boat!"
"Really?" Boris exclaimed excitedly. "I knew it! I couldn't be wrong."
Ivan took out a cigar and handed it to Boris: "This is for you, Mr. Stone."
Boris opened the box, smelled it, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, thoroughly enjoying himself. "Ah, this is good stuff!"
Ivan reminded them, "Distribute it among the men; don't keep it all to yourself!"
"Of course! Once it floats up, we can all enjoy it together." Boris put away his cigar. "Hey buddy, what's going on? Why isn't the sonar detecting it?"
Ivan shook his head and said, "How would I know? Mr. Stone told us to write down these coordinates, surface to a depth of 300 feet, search within a 150-mile radius, and also said to turn on the gravity detector. Boris, you've worked on research vessels before, do you know what a gravity detector is for?"
Boris said, "Of course I know, it's used to measure the distribution of gravity in the ocean."
" Boris, can you be more direct? Don't act like you have a PhD," one of the guys said.
"Who's acting like a PhD!" Boris said irritably. "No matter how I explain it, you won't understand."
"Just tell me what you can detect."
"What can we detect?" Boris thought for a moment. "Probably terrain, islands, reefs, minerals, and maybe even find Godzilla's lair with the map—who the hell knows!"
"Hey guys, do you think Mr. Stone might be looking for some kind of treasure? Like a shipwreck or something. I heard this used to be an important shipping route; France, Spain, and Netherlands ships all passed through here on their way to South America."
"Then we'll become the One Piece Kings?"
What is One Piece?
"A very famous Japan manga."
" Japan manga? Is it censored?"
"Get lost! All you know is that little thing in your crotch!"
"Hey, stop arguing, look at this!"
"What's the matter?"
"This thing is making a sound."
What the hell?
"It's the gravity detector you were talking about."
" Boris, come and see, it's time to show you what you're really capable of."
Boris and Ivan walked over together.
"Hey, why are you all staring at me? I don't understand this thing either!" Boris patted the machine's casing.
"The magnetometer is also responding!" someone else shouted.
Boris stormed over to take a look, his expression turning strange.
"Hey Boris, what's up? Another ship, isn't it?"
Boris gripped his hair tightly. "No, no, no, this... I don't understand! I really don't understand!"
Ivan shook his head and said, "Alright, stop guessing. I'll go check with Mr. Stone. You guys keep an eye on this spot."
Just as he was about to leave the control room, he saw Arthur Stone's elegant figure appear at the hatch.
" Mr. Stone, come and take a look. It seems there's a problem," Ivan said.
"I understand," Stone said. "Now shut down all these annoying systems, float up, recharge, and let everyone enjoy some fresh air."
"Yes, sir." Despite his doubts, Ivan faithfully carried out the order.
"Oh, right, Ivan," Stone said suddenly, as if remembering something, "Are our weapons systems functioning properly?"
"Everything is normal, sir," Ivan said. "We have a total of 14 533mm torpedoes, 8 in tube and 6 in reserve."
Arthur Stone nodded and said, "Let's double-check it; we might need it later!"