By the time Aoki and the Qingmu entered the bridge, Ivan and Boris had already moved Lieutenant Colonel Halsey's body, and the chair he had been sitting in was broken. There was some dust on the ground, probably from Halsey's clothes.
Cotton military uniforms lose their flexibility and become brittle over time, slowly degrading into small molecules. The unique environment of the Spacetime Deep Well well maintained its original appearance. When ejected from the well, air and sunlight caused many fragile chemical bonds in the cellulose to break, turning it into powder at the slightest touch. One can imagine what Boris saw; this was probably the most bizarre corpse he had ever handled.
Everyone carefully inspected everything inside; most of it was still sturdy, including the command platform and tables. They also moved all the food from the deck, except for the fish and meat still drying, inside to prevent it from spoiling in the scorching sun.
By this time, Anderson's fish was almost cooked, so he brought it all in. They used their military knives to put the peeled fruit into clean fruit platters and cups; these were the same ones they had found in the soldiers' barracks last time.
People began to enjoy the fragrant fish and fresh fruit. The delicious food made them forget the troubles brought about by their current predicament. Even the usually talkative Boss Coal remained silent and, together with Hanran, hid in a corner to feast.
After eating, the people slumped over and fell asleep. They were so exhausted, as if they hadn't slept for days and nights.
I don't know how long he slept, but Boris's loud voice suddenly rang out, like thunder in the cabin:
" Redbeard! Anderson! Guess what we found?!"
People were awakened by his noise, Petru yelled, "What are you shouting about? We're not deaf!"
Situ pointed to the remaining food beside him and said, "Why are you taking so long to dispose of a corpse? We saved this for you, eat up."
"Ah, it's nothing. It's dark and big down there, I got a little lost." Boris's stomach rumbled, and he sat down to eat heartily.
"Where's Ivan?" Situ asked. "What did you find?"
"See that Apache on the deck?" Boris asked, gesturing towards the window as he ate. From the window, the Apache's wings were clearly visible.
"Only a blind man can't see it; it's just a pile of scrap metal!" Petru said.
Boris said, "Did you forget that the Swordfish is equipped with two Apache helicopters? There's one still parked in the hangar!"
"So what? A thousand years have passed, and even a hundred of them parked won't be usable."
"No, no, you're wrong! You might not believe it, but the aircraft in the hangar is brand new, as if it just came from San Diego and Bookfield."
Seeing Petru's disbelieving look, Boris added, "It's true, Ivan found it. You should believe him. Unfortunately, the plane's fuel tanks are empty. Ivan went to other holds to see if he could find any fuel."
"Fuel oil has a very short shelf life. Even if they fell into the Deep Tushu Well and encountered an oxygen-free environment, it's impossible for it to be preserved for thousands of years. Moreover, the people on board exhausted all their energy while they were alive, so if there was any fuel oil left, it wouldn't have been preserved," Situ said.
Boris, somewhat discouraged, shoved a piece of fish into his mouth and mumbled, "Anyway, it's a new helicopter, a new one!"
Ivan is back, and he has proven that Boris wasn't lying.
"The helicopter is indeed new, except it's out of fuel," he said.
"Why is that?" Petru found it very strange. "Is there something else new on that ship that we haven't discovered?"
"There probably won't be any more. Including the last one and this one, we've seen most of the cabins, and they're all old and unusable. Only the helicopter hangar is special; its inner deck shows no signs of aging or corrosion, and the entire hangar looks brand new, including everything inside."
After Ivan finished speaking, he calmly sat down and ate.
Su Huilan then asked Situ, "Didn't this ship fall into Spacetime Stasis Zone? Why is this happening?"
Situ said, "It's hard to say. The Spacetime Stasis Zone is just a theory. Apart from the officers and soldiers who died on the Swordfish and Ronald Cohen, no one has experienced it. Anything could happen. But this matter is indeed very strange..."
He thought for a moment and said, "If we compare the Spacetime Stasis Zone to a special bubble in space, this large bubble may contain many smaller bubbles, and each bubble may have different spacetime properties."
"You mean the ship fell into the giant bubble of the Spacetime Stasis Zone, and then a smaller bubble that wasn't in the freeze zone happened to cover one of the ship's cabins?"
Qingmu found it utterly unbelievable. "Doesn't that mean Ronald Cohen can just hide in the helicopter hangar and meet us alive?"
That's the theoretical view.
Su Huilan asked in surprise, "Then how come they're all dead? Didn't anyone notice that?"
"That's what's puzzling me too," Situ said. "If no one had been to the hangar, that would be one thing, but the helicopter's fuel tanks are empty; it's obvious someone took it. That's normal; they need energy and wouldn't leave a single drop of fuel behind. But since someone was in there, they should have noticed the anomaly in the hangar."
Alice said, "Perhaps it was just an ordinary soldier sent to collect fuel. They don't have the Mental Power you have, and the marks of time weren't as obvious as they are now."
Situ nodded and said, "That's possible."
Having finished eating, Ivan wiped his hands on his clothes, stood up, and said, "Don't be discouraged. I found some tools, all of which are still usable. I also have a brand new can of lubricant."
Boris was extremely frustrated and complained, "What's the point? A plane without fuel is just a pile of scrap metal! What good is lubricant? To sell it to the prostitutes on Amsterdam 'Sea Cucumber Street?"
His rude words drew disdain from the ladies present, who all turned their heads away in disgust.
Ivan said, "We can remove the M-203E-1 30mm single-barrel chain gun from the Apache helicopter. With a little modification, it can be turned into a heavy machine gun, even better than a Gatling gun. Of course, that thing is a bit heavy, and it would be even better if it had a base; I think aircraft wheels would be quite good."
Boris's eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly, "Haha, Ivan, I knew you were smart!"
Petru and Anderson also perked up, saying, "That's a great idea!"
Ivan said, "This is no easy task. Boris and I can't handle it. You guys are better at dealing with planes and machine guns than we are."
"No problem, as long as we have enough parts, the four of us can definitely handle it," Anderson said confidently. "Modifying a machine gun isn't much more complicated than installing a fishing rod."
"Then let's go now, our guns need oiling too," Petru said.
They leave as soon as they're told to, as if they're on a military base on their way to carry out a mission, forgetting everything and everyone else.
Boris walked over to Petru, asking as he went, "Hey, can you use that fire poker as a soldering iron? Maybe you'll need to solder..."