The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

The captain gripped the handles of the observation equipment with both hands, and the equipment rotated as he moved.

On the sea, a periscope peered out from the azure surface. After the captain had rotated 360 degrees to observe the surroundings, he began to issue orders.

"Drain ballast tanks one and two, full left rudder, engine telegraph shift one to two, prepare to surface!"

"First and second displacement, full rudder to left, first forward and second forward, prepare to surface!"

Each staff member, fulfilling their respective responsibilities, repeated the captain's orders and began the ascent mission.

As the orders were issued to each compartment and unit, the submarine's systems quickly began to operate.

Seawater began to be discharged from ballast tanks one and two. The muffled sound of the water being discharged, "glug glug," echoed in the sonar operator's ears, like the sound of a giant sea monster excreting.

The force of the ejected seawater propelled it, creating undercurrents on the submarine's hull.

Like a sleeping creature awakened from its slumber, the submarine slowly began to break free from the shackles of the deep sea and began to rise towards the surface.

The submarine's hull gradually tilted upwards, and in the darkness of the deep sea, Zero-Nine-Two's massive body resembled a moving mountain, its size comparable to that of a super-large whale.

The pressure of the seawater gradually decreases as the depth decreases, and a faint metallic deformation sound can be heard from the surface of the hull.

The surrounding seawater began to stir, and countless tiny bubbles spewed out from the gaps in the hull, like millions of pearls dancing in the darkness.

These bubbles rose rapidly, leaving white trails in the seawater, as if draping the submarine in a shimmering veil.

As the submarine continued to surface, the color of the seawater subtly changed.

From the initial pitch blackness, it gradually turned into a deep, dark blue, as if the mysterious night sky had been dyed by the sea.

Light began to seep in, bringing a faint glimmer of light to the deep sea.

Under the light, the submarine's steel hull gleamed with a cold luster, and propelled by its propellers, it cleaved through the sea with overwhelming force.

As the submarine approached the surface, the sea began to ripple violently.

The massive hull resembled a whale breaking through the water, pushing the seawater to both sides.

The waves surged, forming a huge whirlpool, and white spray, like blooming flowers, splashed wildly around the submarine.

Sunlight pierced through the seawater, casting golden patches on the submarine's deck, contrasting beautifully with the blue of the sea.

Finally, the submarine surfaced completely.

The seawater flowed down the contours of the boat, gathering into trickles on the deck before finally returning to the embrace of the sea.

The conning tower on the hull stands tall, overlooking the vast ocean.

"Perform decompression work in each chamber, start the ventilation equipment, and take turns exiting the chamber after confirming safety!"

The captain folded the handles of the observation equipment, pulled the periscope down a bit, gave the order, sat back in his chair, took off his sweat-soaked hat, and fanned himself.

"Hoo~!"

After the order was given, the submariners in each compartment showed a noticeable change in expression and their bodies relaxed somewhat. After lying submerged for more than ten days, the only time they were happy was when they surfaced.

Once the decompression is complete and the body has adapted to the change in air pressure, you can go through the hatch to the deck of the ship to relax and breathe some fresh air.

This is the only time the crew can look forward to after a long underwater training session. They don't ask to return to the naval base for resupply or relax on shore; they just want to go up on deck, look at the azure sky, and smell the salty sea breeze.

Inside the torpedo compartment, Jiang Defu patted the massive vessel, which was over 500 millimeters in diameter. Although no ballistic missiles were brought on board, the torpedo compartment was still equipped with several training torpedoes.

During these days of sea training, most of our energy has been focused on this aspect. For strategic nuclear submarines, torpedoes are not normally used.

But when it comes to use, it means the submarine is facing a do-or-die situation. Whether it can launch within the designated time is a subject that the soldiers in the torpedo room train for daily. "Don't rush, we can wait a while. Let the people in the battery compartment go out first. Their environment is much harsher than ours!"

Taking the water bottle, Jiang Defu frowned as he drank the purified and distilled seawater, signaling to the soldiers in the torpedo room not to rush.

He wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with his finger and sucked it into his mouth. Although the distilled fresh water was hard to drink, Jiang Defu still cherished it. Fresh water was a very precious resource for the submarine.

"Finally, I can go upstairs and catch my breath! I was so suffocated!"

The young soldiers looked up at the ceiling, but all they could see were the lights and the overhead cables. They couldn't see the sky outside. After relaxing, they couldn't wait to get to work overtime.

"This time, we didn't bring live ammunition, but everyone trained very well. Class One and Class Two, you did a great job. I hope you can keep it up and maintain it during the live ammunition launch."

With his arms draped over the training torpedoes on either side, Jiang Defu praised the previous training assessment.

When things are tense, everyone is serious; when they're relaxed, they're all laughing and joking. At this point, no one really cares about praise anymore; everyone just wants to get out of the cabin as soon as possible.

The steel behemoth-like hull rested steadily on the shimmering sea.

With a muffled mechanical hum, the hatch on the hull slowly opened, as if a giant beast had opened its throat, and the suffocating, turbid air, carrying the smells of engine oil and sweat, surged out.

The submariners, who had undergone long training in the confined compartments, were like migratory birds that had been given a new lease on life, and they couldn't wait to grab the ladders and climb onto the deck.

The salty sea breeze, carrying the warmth of the sun, rushed towards them. One by one, the young submariners took off their caps, tilted their heads back, and greedily inhaled the fresh air, their Adam's apples bobbing violently, as if they wanted to swallow all the fresh air into their lungs.

Suddenly, after taking a few breaths of fresh air, everyone froze. Their noses twitched. Having been confined in the recirculated, filtered air for so long, they were now surprised to realize that their bodies were already soaked in the smell of sweat and stench. Their sailor shirts clung to their backs like a piece of sour pickled vegetable.

But nobody cared. So what if it stank? It's not like we're all alone. Nobody should look down on anyone else. They looked at each other and laughed, their laughter carried far away by the sea breeze.

Flocks of seagulls followed the commotion, their snow-white wings sweeping over the control tower, circling and calling out above the deck.

Suddenly, ripples appeared on the sea surface, and several dolphins nimbly leaped out of the water, their silvery-blue bodies drawing graceful arcs in the air. The splashing water droplets reflected the sunlight, like scattered diamonds.

The submariners gathered at the edge of the deck. Some of them took out their unfinished compressed rations, broke them into pieces, and threw them far out to sea. The dolphins leaped up precisely to catch the food, and the splashing water drew gasps and laughter.

The sunlight generously poured onto the deck, dispelling the gloom inside the cabin.

The young soldiers stretched their stiff bodies, some covering their eyes and squinting as they gazed at the distant clouds, taking in the shimmering waves of the sea.

The cries of seagulls, the playful sounds of dolphins, and the laughter of soldiers mingled together, composing a free and joyful symphony.

At this moment, they temporarily forgot the fatigue of training and the oppressive atmosphere inside the cabin, and fully enjoyed this rare moment of comfort on the deck.

Not far above the horizon, the silhouette of the supply ship X615 appeared in the distance.

Jiang Defu took off his military cap and waved to the approaching supply ship. Judging from the situation, it seemed unlikely that the ship would be able to dock anytime soon.

At this moment, he, who was wandering far from home, was feeling homesick; it had been almost two years since he had returned.

He missed his children, he missed Anjie, and he missed his home in Beijing.

During training, he could temporarily forget about these things, but once he was completely relaxed, the longing that had been suppressed in his heart would inevitably surface.

On a supply ship not far away, at the bridge window.

Looking at the dark behemoth floating on the sea, Ding Jiqun, who was observing it with binoculars, widened his eyes after scanning the submarine's deck and quickly adjusted the focus of his binoculars, trying to see it more clearly.

"My God, that's—Old Jiang!"

After more than a decade apart, two old classmates from the Naval Artillery School, and close comrades-in-arms, meet again in the deep blue sea… (End of this chapter)