Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Fierce Kill Intent and Dragon Encounter

Gold Coin clearly sensed two massive metal signatures coming from afar. Although he could not see them in the 5000-meter-dark ocean, he distinctly felt the two enormous metal constructs charging toward him with a fierce intent to kill.

Suddenly, a small metal object rushed quickly in his direction.

“What is this?” Before the gold giant dragon could react, he heard a thunderous boom echoing through the water.

Sound travels faster and farther in water than in air.

Gold Coin felt the pressure in the water change in an instant, as if an invisible ripple enveloped his entire body before refracting away.

When he sensed the unusual wave passing over him, he thought with alarm, damned, I’m exposed!

A large metal object could not possibly hide at the bottom of the sea. If he hadn’t been greedy and unable to contract his form, he wouldn’t be in such a passive position.

He had not imagined that human technology and intelligence far surpassed his expectations. It was truly his fault for not heeding Lin Mo’s warning. Even the speculations from military enthusiasts online fell well short of the truth; the actual military technology level exceeded common imagination.

Gold Coin quickly sprang into action. He knew that pretending to be dead here would only lead to more precise weapons being used against him. He followed Lin Mo’s advice and, instead of revealing a biological form, disguised himself as a construct and shot out from the trench.

At over 500 atmospheric pressures at the 5000-meter seabed, the gold element’s Void Magnetism was greatly suppressed; only the water element giant dragon could remain unaffected in such an environment.

In the trench, the gold giant dragon swiftly transformed his shape to resemble a human creation.

Maintaining a sharp front and broader back, Gold Coin transformed into a large, flat tetrahedral-shaped submersible. He quickly switched his movement apparatus, revealing a gill opening to draw in water. Through a long, curved acceleration tube, the innate Void Magnetism concentrated, rapidly converting seawater into conductive fluid, and propelling it towards the rear nozzle, swiftly ejecting the water flow.

The ship was surrounded by sixteen small nozzles for directional control. According to electromagnetic theory’s “Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule,” the evolved sharp-conical submersible effortlessly floated upwards, and its form swelled as it released some of the stored compressed air, displacing the seawater and increasing buoyancy.

While magnetic fluid propulsion might still be in testing phases internationally, for the gold giant dragon, applying metal to achieve an extraordinary level was effortless. It easily implemented superconductors and superconducting magnets of 500,000 Gauss, binding the magnetic field within a certain range—no need for propellers, gears, or shafts—all delivering rapid mobility without any vibration or noise.

This movement startled and terrified the two attack submarines in the distance.

“Alarm! Alarm! Turn on active radar to the maximum! All personnel to battle stations!”

“My God, what is that? It moved and is almost twice the length of the Hampton! Help, aliens!”

“Shut up, Major Golra! I command you to be silent in the name of the captain. Someone take this idiot away! I need a better officer on duty. Damn it, if it weren’t for you irresponsible fools, we wouldn’t have had the major incident five years ago with the forged nuclear reactor inspection records. My unfortunate predecessor, you fell victim to these fools.”

“Yes! Captain Smith!”

Onboard the Los Angeles-class “Hampton” attack submarine, the red alert was already ringing. Two burly sailors dragged the officer on duty away from the communications station.

“Oh my God, 5000 meters deep! Such a massive creature! Humans can’t create something this big; the water pressure would crush everything! We’re doomed! God, we even declared war on it with MK48! Damn it, this isn’t a movie! We’re dead! Hahahaha!” The already distraught Golra continued shouting as the guards dragged him away.

Captain Smith, frowning, rubbed his slightly throbbing temples. He decisively took on the duty of the officer on watch, officially taking command of the entire “Hampton” attack submarine.

“Now beginning preparations to surface, activate all control devices, and fully scout the target. Send the gathered intel to the Command Center via satellite.” Though reluctant, Captain Smith partially acknowledged Golra’s panicked words. He knew if he didn’t act, they would really be in danger.

Twice the length of a Los Angeles-class submarine, capable of operating at 5000 meters underwater, even the Seawolf-class submarines made from HY-100 high-yield strength steel wouldn’t be able to dive to such depths. The strongest materials currently available to humankind couldn’t withstand being thrown to such depths. This was the deep sea, where the water pressure was terrifying. If it were the Hampton, it would be crushed into a sheet of metal.

Additionally, the signals from sonar indicated that the other party did not employ conventional power, resembling more of a fluid propulsion system, completely devoid of mechanical sounds. Although it was moving slowly, it was incredibly quiet.

This meant that the opposing force was more advanced than their submarines, and any weapon they had could easily leave their two nuclear submarines here forever.

If it hadn’t been for terrain comparison, it would have been hard to detect such a massive object lying over five thousand meters beneath the ocean surface, nearly the size of a small aircraft carrier.

“Captain Smith, SSN-776 has scanned the target’s exterior using synthetic aperture radar! What a colossal figure, entirely metallic! We can confirm it’s not a natural object,” a technical officer reported.

The Virginia-class submarine "Hawaii" even utilized synthetic aperture radar, disregarding seawater’s loss of electromagnetic waves, to lock onto the gold giant dragon and quickly scan its shape.

The two submarines used ultra-low frequency communication, which, combined with the seawater’s attenuation, only allowed for short-distance conversation. Regular radio calls wouldn’t expose the submarines’ positions.

“Okay, show me.”

As Captain Smith approached to view the recently scanned image of the mysterious submersible located 5000 meters underwater, several technical officers controlling the detection system gasped in shock.

“It’s adjusting its posture; it’s moving so fast—30 knots! No, 60 knots! My God, 90 knots! 120 knots, and it’s accelerating! How is this possible? It has disappeared beyond detection range! Captain Smith, you need to see this! Its speed has reached an astonishing 177 knots. This isn’t human machinery—no one can achieve this!”

“This is first contact; it’s aliens for sure! Thank God we’re still alive!”

“Now at a depth of 15 meters below sea level, Captain Smith, should we continue to surface?”

Captain Smith did not respond; his gaze fixed intently on the image transmitted from the other attack submarine.

Though made of numerous lines pieced together, it was still clear that it was not a natural object but a true man-made product of technological civilization — a sharp front and broad back, shaped like a flattened tetrahedron, resembling a dart or arrowhead. The image marked its dimensions at approximately 210 meters in length, with an estimated displacement of 30,000 tons.

Remote sensing clearly showed energy response patterns, indicating this mysterious object was emitting energized seawater from its rear. According to the annotations from the energy halo, it seemed to be charged seawater, indicating that the other party was utilizing a magnetic fluid propulsion system, which was essentially the most advanced oceanic propulsion system available to humankind.

“Has the other party already left?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well, maintain this depth and report everything we’ve discovered to higher command, requesting orders.”

“Yes, sir.”

Not long after, the Command Center at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii received the latest orders.

The “Hampton” and “Hawaii” were to fully track that mysterious submersible while dispatching the nearest submarine squadrons 1, 11, 15, and 19, the 37th Anti-Submarine Helicopter Squadron, and the “George Washington” aircraft carrier strike group to provide support.

“Are we really going to go to war with aliens?” Captain Smith of the “Hampton” submarine glanced at the freshly received fax order, subconsciously treating the creature capable of hitting 177 knots as an alien sub.

Discovering alien traces in the South China Sea was thrilling news.

If they could obtain alien technology, underwater weaponry alone could see the most immediate technological advancements, along with greater deterrent power.

“Chief Engineer, I need the most powerful propulsion! We must pursue that mysterious submersible, which has been codenamed ‘Dart’. We need to track the ‘Dart’ and promptly report back to command. Our reinforcements will arrive soon.”

“Yes, Captain, but won’t this cause conflict with China?”

“No, command has ordered us not to provoke. Focus on our own tasks unless the ‘Dart’ disappears into China’s coastal waters. As long as we can track it until our forces arrive, we’ll achieve great merit. Those old Chinese boats and their outdated nuclear submarines are no match for the ‘George Washington’ aircraft carrier strike group. The carrier training ship cluster nearby San Sha Islands is yet to form combat capability. If the Chinese don’t comply, we Americans will warmly educate them; aircraft carriers are not toys for just anyone to play with.”