CHAPTER 452: CHAPTER 450: LARGE SEARCH AND RESCUE DOG

"Professor Chen, there’s really no need for you to go down to the ground. The disaster area is just too dangerous right now!" Onboard the Airbag Ark, the captain of this vessel was persuading Chen Xin.

This time, the nation had deployed eight newly commissioned Airbag Arks to participate in the earthquake relief efforts in the Southwest Region. As the chief designer of the Airbag Ark, Chen Xin had volunteered to accompany the Ark into the disaster area.

One reason was to conduct further tests on the Airbag Ark. Although it had passed its trial flight and acceptance inspection, any areas that could still be improved would be revealed only through practical use.

The other reason was that Chen Xin wanted to personally go to the disaster area to understand what the place needed most, in order to provide targeted assistance.

Therefore, he appeared on the Airbag Ark heading for the disaster area for the rescue mission, much to the concern of the captain regarding Chen Xin’s safety.

The captain had immense respect and admiration for the academician who designed the Airbag Ark and understood the significance of such researchers to the nation.

Moreover, he also understood the potential consequences if such an important researcher faced any danger while participating in the earthquake relief efforts and Ark testing.

So he kept persuading Chen Xin, hoping that he would stay on the Ark or only use the small airship equipped on the Ark to observe the disaster area from the air and avoid going to the ground.

However, Chen Xin shook his head as he stood by the porthole and said to the captain, "Even though we foresaw the possibility of geological disasters in the Southwest Region when the Toba Volcano erupted more than a year ago—and the Airbag Ark was developed specifically for disasters in the Southwest—they have now truly occurred. I still need to personally go to the front line of the disaster area to know what is genuinely needed there and how to provide help."

"This..." The captain knew what Chen Xin said was true, but he still felt that researchers like Chen Xin should not put themselves at risk: "Even if that’s the case, Professor Chen, you should still stay in a safe place. I suggest you not delve deeply into the disaster area; it’s better for you to stay on the Ark."

In the captain’s view, the best thing Chen Xin should do was to head back to the research base and stay safe. But since he had already come to the disaster area, there was no way to send him back. Thus, the only option was to let Chen Xin stay on the Ark, which was relatively safer.

However, Chen Xin directly refused this suggestion.

"That’s not possible. I still have a lot of tests to carry out, and many tasks can’t be completed by just staying on the Ark." Chen Xin shook his head, refusing while glancing out of the porthole, then said to the captain, "We’re almost there. Prepare for landing. I’ll go check if the search dogs are ready."

With this said, Chen Xin left the cockpit, leaving behind the captain who watched him leave, feeling helpless.

While the captain held the highest command on the Ark, it was difficult to restrict someone like Chen Xin, who had exceptionally high authority as a researcher. The captain’s only option was to protect Chen Xin as best as possible to prevent any danger to him.

Leaving the cockpit, Chen Xin walked through the corridor and crossed the gangway connected to the main body of the Ark to reach the small airship mounted on one side of the Ark.

This was an added feature during the subsequent manufacturing of the Airbag Ark, with four recesses below the flat oval airbag to accommodate four small airships.

These four small airships could provide additional lift for the Ark during flight, and also serve as transportation and cargo tools for the Ark.

Since the Ark was large, landing required a huge open space. Usually, the Ark itself wouldn’t land on the ground but would transport personnel and material using the small airships instead.

The same approach was being used for entering the disaster area for rescue. When the eight Airbag Arks entered the disaster area together, it looked like eight football fields flying in the sky, eight times more spectacular than Wan’s famous scene. Finding such a large space to land on the ground was almost impossible.

When these Arks were manufactured, they took off one by one, not all eight at once.

Now, although the Arks have gone to different places due to task assignments, finding a place large enough to accommodate a single Ark’s landing is still difficult.

Thus, small airships less than fifty meters long become extremely useful, as landing them is much easier.

"Academician, the twelve search dogs we brought are all on the airship. Except for numbers 4 and 7, which seem slightly unwell, the other dogs are in good condition and ready to work at any time," a staff member reported to Chen Xin upon his arrival.

Listening to the staff’s report, Chen Xin turned his gaze inside the airship. Five gray-and-white furred wolf dogs were lying quietly on the cargo bay floor. However, two of them looked slightly unwell, with their handlers calming these large creatures beside them.

These five search dogs were the result of Chen Xin’s genetic modification of wolf species. With an average shoulder height of one meter, a body length exceeding two meters, and a weight between 65 to 80 kilograms, their size rivaled some small horses and did not lack the intimidating presence of big cats like lions or tigers.

Additionally, they possessed formidable mobility and a strong sense of communal cooperation, capable of traveling ten kilometers at around ten kilometers per hour, reaching speeds of nearly 65 kilometers per hour when chasing prey, and covering distances of up to five meters per stride in sprints. Their thick fur allowed them to survive normally in temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius.

Moreover, throughout the genetic modification, Chen Xin specifically enhanced their intelligence, enabling them to understand more complex commands and clearly express their intentions through actions.

Combined with canine genetics introduced during enhancement, these genetically modified wolf dogs were incredibly loyal, demonstrating a high degree of dependence and loyalty towards humans in multiple test cycles, even when extremely hungry, without posing any threats to humans.

Conversely, their enhanced sense of smell allowed them to accurately detect the human scent and initiate rescue activities voluntarily, qualifying them as excellent search-and-rescue dogs.

For this venture into the disaster area, Chen Xin brought all sixty mature dogs raised at the research base recently. Apart from ten allocated to two Arks going to Lucia for rescue, the remaining dogs were concentrated onboard the eight Arks heading to the disaster area for rescue, with five being on the Airbag Ark.

Soon, these dogs would follow the first batch of search and rescue personnel to land in the disaster area, participate in search and rescue operations.

Chen Xin would also accompany them to the ground, to understand what is needed in the first-line disaster-affected areas while further observing and documenting these large creatures.