Phi-Fic Chapter 1283
Chapter 1283
"Sister! Come out quickly!" Mu Mu hurriedly opened the storage box door.
Zhou Shuwan immediately crawled out, her brows furrowing slightly as she looked at the hard, dark green mucous membrane on the outer wall.
"What exactly happened? The collection box is just an ordinary box, and it's been fine for so long. How come it died on this support?" Mu Mu asked, her face full of confusion.
Zhou Shuwan squatted down and carefully observed the porous structure composed of alloy material and coral branches.
She suddenly remembered something and said, "The collection box is filled with seawater and has never left the aquatic environment, but we fix the coral branches to the support, and the only thing around us is the humid air in the cabin, which is not the continuous aquatic environment they really need."
Qi Mingyu thought it made sense and immediately nodded: "Yes, they are marine creatures. Even if they secrete mucus, they still have to live in seawater."
"In the collection box, the coral branches are completely submerged in water. The mucus is moist in the water and can exchange nutrients with the water flow. But in the storage box, there is simply not enough moisture in the air."
"Once the water evaporates, the mucous membranes dry out. They either die from dehydration or the hardened mucous membranes seal themselves off, unable to absorb nutrients from the water, and eventually die from exhaustion."
These words hit the nail on the head, and Mu Mu instantly understood: "That's right! How could anything from the seabed survive without water! We never thought of that!"
Zhou Shuwan, still wearing protective clothing, picked up a piece of coral that was still submerged in the seawater in the collection box through her gloves and examined it carefully.
The microorganisms on the branches were still wriggling, the blue light was still shining, and the mucous membranes were moist in the water.
She speculated, "These coral polyps must live in water to maintain their activity, and their secretions and movements all depend on seawater. Once they are out of water, the mucus will quickly harden, and instead of protecting them, it will become a shell that isolates them from the outside world. Without water and nutrients, they will naturally not survive."
The cabin fell silent instantly. The three of them stared at the box of dead microorganisms and understood the root of the problem.
They only thought about getting the corals to attach and regulating the temperature, but they ignored the most basic point.
These peculiar microorganisms must live on the seabed and cannot survive without a continuous marine environment. Even with the protection of mucus, they cannot be exposed to air for extended periods.
Now, we need to see if they absolutely have to live in a specific underwater environment!
If there are requirements regarding the salinity and pressure of seawater, then their idea has already failed completely before it even begins.
Zhou Shuwan removed her protective mask and said in a calm tone, "Since we've determined that we can't live without water, let's create an environment with a continuous water supply."
She took out a larger storage box from the space.
This storage box was almost as tall as two people, making the already limited space on the submarine even more cramped.
Qi Mingyu immediately understood: "You mean, to construct an aquatic environment using a double-layered enclosure?"
“Yes.” Zhou Shuwan nodded. “We need a larger container to house this half-person-high storage box, and fill the space between the two boxes with seawater so that the coral branches and microorganisms are always submerged in water.”
This simulates their familiar seabed environment while ensuring that the mucus remains moist and does not solidify and seal them off.
Mu Mu's eyes lit up, and she instantly perked up: "That's a great idea!"
The three of them got right to work. Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu worked together to carefully place the half-person-high storage box into the center of the large box.
They then adjusted the positions to ensure that there was a uniform gap between the two boxes, large enough to hold seawater.
"Which kind of seawater should we use?" Qi Mingyu stopped what he was doing and looked at Zhou Shuwan. "Should we use seawater from this area, or seawater brought from our base?"
That's a very important question.
Zhou Shuwan pondered for a moment: "The marine environment here is special. The temperature is low and the salinity may be different from that of conventional boiling water. We are not sure yet whether these microorganisms depend on this special seawater to survive."
"To be on the safe side, let's use the regular seawater around our mid-air fortress first, which is an environment we are familiar with. We will also use these corals to regulate the temperature in our area later."
"it is good!"
After Zhou Shuwan finished speaking, she drew out a stream of clear seawater from the storage box in her space. The water appeared out of thin air and slowly flowed into the gap between the two boxes.
As the water level gradually rose, the pale blue seawater submerged the bottom of the inner storage compartment and spread upwards until it completely soaked the alloy frame.
The next step is to relocate the coral branches and microorganisms.
With the experience from last time, I was more skilled this time.
Zhou Shuwan continued to carefully use tongs to pick up the dead coral branches carrying microorganisms from the collection box.
Qi Mingyu then adjusted the angle of the alloy bracket to maintain the interlaced mesh structure.
Mumu used a brush to dab the mucus from the bottom of the collection box and gently applied it to the connection between the coral branch and the support, helping the microorganisms adapt to the new aquatic environment more quickly.
The whole process was carried out in an orderly manner, and it only took more than 20 minutes for the five pieces of coral dead branches taken out of the collection box to be properly fixed.
When the last coral branch was in place, all three of them held their breath, their eyes fixed on the microorganisms soaking in the seawater.
At first, probably because they had just been moved, they seemed a little restless, and the pale blue fluorescence on their tails flashed particularly frequently.
But as time went on, the fluorescence gradually stabilized, and the microorganisms began to slowly wriggle between the holes in the coral branches.
"It seems they've adapted well to this seawater." Mu Mu's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of joy.
Qi Mingyu took out the monitoring instrument and inserted the probe into the seawater between the two tanks to monitor changes in water temperature, salinity, and the composition of microbial mucus.
"The water temperature is 25 degrees Celsius, the salt content is normal, the mucus has not coagulated abnormally, and no toxic substances have been detected."
This time, Zhou Shuwan didn't rush in.
Instead, he stood outside with Qi Mingyu and Mu Mu, focusing intently on monitoring the situation.
Time passed by, and half an hour quietly slipped away.
The coral branches in the seawater remain vibrant, forming a hazy halo underwater.
Zhou Shuwan nodded: "Okay, I'll go in and test the internal temperature."
She stood up, took out the fully sealed protective suit again, and carefully put it on.
Just in case, she also took out a small oxygen tank from her storage space and put it in her mouth.
"I'll be staying inside for a bit longer this time. You all need to closely monitor the situation outside, especially the state of the seawater and the activity of microorganisms. If there are any abnormalities, notify me immediately."
"Wanwan, you must be careful."
Qi Mingyu looked at her with worry in his eyes and reached out to check the seal of her protective suit: "If you feel uncomfortable, no matter what the temperature test result is, you must come out immediately."