King of the Wilderness

Chapter 792: Chapter 359: First Night at Sea, Steering the Lonely Planet (Part 3)

”Then it’s settled.” He decisively concluded, ”Riven, the teaching part is entirely up to you.”

”In that case, I have about 30 hours of sailing time to finish digesting the PADI Open Water Diver theory material that you sent me.”

”Haha, don’t worry, you can ask me anytime if you have any questions.” Riven smugly raised her chin.

On the side, Captain Mike listened to these two young people enthusiastically planning their ”recreational” projects. He shook his head with a smile and added in an experienced tone:

”Alright, I’ll handle the mundane tasks on land. Clearing documents, checking the engine, refueling — leave all these to me.”

”I guarantee to restore the Polaris to its 100% optimal state, ready to set off for the Exuma Islands at any time.”

”Thanks for your hard work, Mike,” Lin Yu’an said sincerely.

”A perfect team should be like this. Some are responsible for pushing the limits, while others handle the logistics, trusting each other and fulfilling their roles.”

”Alright, the plan is set.” Lin Yu’an glanced at his watch, ”It’s about time. Mike, Riven, go get some rest. Wish you sweet dreams.”

Riven and Mike nodded and turned to head down to the cabin. Once again, only Lin Yu’an was left on deck.

He turned off all unnecessary lights, letting his eyes adjust to the sheer darkness.

It was as if the whole world had vanished, leaving only the sparkling starry sky above, the rhythmic sound of the waves by his ears, and the steady ”whoosh” of Polaris cutting through the waves.

A solitude that was lonely, yet addictively, all-controlling.

He stood behind the wheel, feeling as though he wasn’t steering a ship, but commanding a lonely planet, sailing toward the unknown in this boundless universe.

This was exactly how he wanted to truly live!

When the electronic clock struck midnight, Riven promptly appeared on deck.

She had changed into a professional Helly Hansen sailing jacket, her short golden hair tousled slightly by the sea breeze, but her blue eyes appeared exceptionally bright in the dark.

”Captain, it’s time to change shifts.”

”Thanks for bearing it.” Lin Yu’an briefly handed over the sea conditions of the past three hours, the radar scans, and the autopilot settings to her.

”Everything is normal, with wind speed stable at around 15 knots. We’re right at the edge of a high-pressure system, weather might change. Expect little variation during your watch.”

”Roger that.” Riven skillfully confirmed all the information.

After completing the handover, Lin Yu’an didn’t immediately go to rest.

He returned to the cabin, took a quick shower, and lay down on the bed in the cabin. From his backpack, he pulled out his iPad and opened the PDF file of the PADI Open Water Diver theory material.

The glow of the screen lit up his focused face, with the title of the first page clearly reading ”Chapter 1: Becoming a Diver.”

For ordinary people, this was a textbook that could take hours or even days to understand and memorize.

But for Lin Yu’an’s enhanced brain, this was more like a high-speed data scan and logic restructuring.

His fingers slid swiftly across the screen, hardly pausing on any page for more than ten seconds.

The first section was about diving equipment introduction. Mask, snorkel, fins, BCD (Buoyancy Control Device), regulator, tank...

These complex pieces of equipment, in the eyes of ordinary people, were swiftly broken down into independent physical models in his mind.

He muttered to himself, ”I see, the core principle of BCD is Archimedes’ principle, changing buoyancy by controlling the inflation and deflation of the bladder to achieve neutral buoyancy.”

”While the regulator is a decompression system that reduces the high-pressure air inside the tank over 200 atmospheres through two stages to match the ambient water pressure for breathing.”

He even mentally modeled in 3D the internal structure diagram of the Atomic T3 regulator he had seen at the dive shop, understanding the function of each component by heart.

The second section was diving physics, also the core of the whole theory. Pressure, buoyancy, changes of light and sound underwater... these points presented no difficulty for him.

What truly intrigued him were the physiological responses of the human body in the underwater environment.

”Boyle’s Law... Pressure increases, volume decreases.” His gaze lingered on the section about ”barotrauma.”

The textbook described how, without timely ear pressure equalization, the air in the middle ear cavity would be compressed, causing the eardrum to retract or even rupture.

He immediately associated this with his own body, simulating the action of pinching his nose and blowing air, the pressure transfer process from the nasal cavity to the eustachian tube and then to the middle ear.

He began pondering whether, in emergency situations, apart from the Valsalva maneuver of pinching the nose and blowing, swallowing or jaw movements (Frenzel method) could achieve a more gentle and effective ear pressure balance.

The third part, which excited him the most, was about nitrogen’s ”dual personality” in a high-pressure environment!

Decompression Sickness (DCS) and Nitrogen Narcosis.

He first delved into decompression sickness, a specter that strikes fear into divers.

”Henry’s Law: At a constant temperature, the solubility of a gas in a liquid is proportional to the partial pressure of that gas.”

He looked at the formula on the screen, his mind racing.

”This means, in the high-pressure underwater environment, the nitrogen in the inhaled compressed air dissolves abundantly in the blood and tissues.”