However, with a strong sense of crisis, he didn’t just sit down and wait for death. He planned to completely seal off the supply compartment before USS Constitution was fully submerged. The food, drinks, and electronic devices were all very delicate—if they got soaked, they would definitely be ruined.

Especially those USB drives and hard disks, which contained the crystallized knowledge of human civilization.

Before doomsday arrived, Brian Sullivan preserved this knowledge just in case, never expecting it would actually come in handy. But the evolution of USS Constitution made him realize that knowledge was equally important. Now, he had even started to learn this knowledge bit by bit, hoping to evolve USS Constitution to an even more perfect state.

Therefore, the knowledge could not be lost.

It took half an hour for Brian Sullivan to pack all the water-sensitive supplies into sealed bags, one by one. Then he stacked them together, securing them with tape and welding rods to prevent them from being damaged if USS Constitution rolled over.

Now, USS Constitution was rocking more and more, the rainwater accumulating deeper and deeper, and there was a real possibility that USS Constitution could be swept away at any moment.

……

The heavy rain still didn’t stop.

Another hour and a half later, the rainwater completely submerged USS Constitution. The places where water was seeping in could no longer be blocked with tape, and thin jets of water sprayed into the compartment. In no time, the water had already risen above Brian Sullivan’s thighs.

At this moment, sparks flashed in several places on the wall of USS Constitution, and then the lights went out completely.

The wiring had short-circuited.

Inside and outside the vehicle, everything was pitch black.

Only on the compartment wall, a line of large characters written in fluorescent paint glimmered dimly: “A person who knows why he lives can endure any kind of life.”

Staring at this line of glowing words,

Brian Sullivan’s tense heart immediately calmed down. He hugged the oxygen tank in his arms tighter, regaining a deep and undisturbed calm: “Luckily, I stored two 40L oxygen tanks…”

A 40L oxygen tank could be used continuously for 48 to 96 hours, that is, 2 to 4 days. With two tanks, he could at least hold out for another six days.

Given Brian Sullivan’s current physical condition, even if he was completely soaked in water, he could last six days.

Moreover, Brian Sullivan didn’t believe this heavy rain would continue for six more days. How thick would the clouds have to be to rain non-stop for six days?

But if, against all reason, it really did rain for six days without stopping, Brian Sullivan would have no choice but to abandon USS Constitution and escape alone. Even if he was eaten by the monsters outside, it would be better than suffocating to death in the water with USS Constitution.

……

Brian Sullivan’s thinking was correct. When the water inside the compartment had risen so high that only his head was above the surface, the rain outside finally stopped, and the sound of raindrops falling disappeared.

At that moment, the mechanical watch showed the time as the 10th, 22:57.

Brian Sullivan remembered that the storm had started at 14:18 on the 9th.

The torrential rain had lasted 32 hours and 39 minutes.

“What a truly fierce and unrestrained downpour—definitely worthy of being called an apocalyptic-level rainstorm.” Brian Sullivan thought, trying to find humor in his misery. The end of the rain brought him some relief.

But the crisis was not over, because the floodwater had not yet receded. He looked at the pressure gauge on the compartment wall and, by calculating the pressure, could tell that the rainwater had submerged USS Constitution by at least over a meter.

He had no idea how long it would take to drain away.

After soaking in the water for several hours, Brian Sullivan felt a bit exhausted. He was considering how he would sleep in the water that night, and how he would handle urination and defecation.

He could hold in a bowel movement, but there was no way to hold in urine.

After ten minutes of mental struggle… Brian Sullivan’s furrowed brow finally relaxed.

Given the situation, why bother worrying about such things?

Letting out a breath, Brian Sullivan gradually felt that the remaining oxygen in USS Constitution’s air was being used up by himself. It was time to put on the respirator and dive underwater.

Almost at the same moment he put on the respirator, USS Constitution suddenly seemed to be struck by something and flipped over in the water.

Bang!

Caught off guard, Brian Sullivan was thrown against the roof of the vehicle. Fortunately, the resistance of the water was great enough that he wasn’t injured. But the flipping of USS Constitution made Brian Sullivan’s heart sink—this didn’t feel like it was caused by the current, but rather like an attack.

Before Brian Sullivan could reorient himself, there was another violent impact from outside, and USS Constitution spun around again.

It spun several times in a row.

Several tools like wrenches that had been fixed to the compartment wall were thrown loose, hitting Brian Sullivan and leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

“I must make sure to weld all the tools to USS Constitution’s body next time!” After a while, Brian Sullivan finally stabilized himself. By then, the impacts had stopped, and USS Constitution was lying sideways in the water.

Brian Sullivan grabbed a handrail and moved to the sunroof, twisted the wrench, and opened the sunroof.

Then he shone his flashlight outside, trying to find the cause of the impact.

But the water was extremely murky at this point, and the flashlight beam couldn’t reach far, making it impossible to see what was happening outside. He could only make out what seemed to be a huge shadow moving in the water outside. Clearly, there was something in the water—most likely a mutated monster.

This creature seemed very curious about USS Constitution, circling around it. Brian Sullivan had already seen the shadow pass by the sunroof several times.