Chapter 300

Chapter 300: The Flying Little Boat

Nearby, there were an unknown number of Chinese attack submarines, and even strategic ballistic missile submarines. China is not some gentle little nation like those in Asia, Africa, or Latin America; they also possess nuclear weapons, and being able to keep up with America’s carrier fleet means they have the capability to threaten this task force.

If the Americans unilaterally used nuclear depth bombs, it could very likely provoke a nuclear retaliation from China.

Although the Chinese claim not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, it does not mean they will never use them; this is not a joke.

While the South China Sea has long been eyed by neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific, with its maritime boundaries often confused and controlled only weakly, it remains China’s territorial sea. Using nuclear weapons in another country’s, especially a nuclear-armed country’s territory or waters, greatly increases the likelihood of facing nuclear strikes.

Although China does not possess as many nuclear weapons as America or Russia, their arsenal is still enough to destroy the Earth.

No matter how powerful the Americans are, they cannot withstand China’s saturation nuclear attacks. Before China is destroyed, one can be sure that America will be wiped off the Earth at the first opportunity.

Even if China is willing to maintain a rational understanding of limited nuclear counterattacks with America, the thousands of personnel and ships in their aircraft carrier task force would undoubtedly be the first targets for retaliation.

This deal, however you look at it, is bound to result in a loss.

Colonel David A. Roshman, commander of the George Washington, directly vetoed the proposal to use nuclear depth bombs.

While the Americans were enthusiastically throwing bombs, Lin Mo was arguing endlessly with the gold giant dragon Gold Coin, which emerged from the sea surface in a conical submersible shape to provide protection.

The reason was simple: this American carrier fleet posed a threat to the survival of their symbiotic partner. As the other party in their survival contract, it was necessary to take measures to remove this threatening force.

Of course, this was merely Gold Coin’s one-sided self-serving justification.

Lin Mo firmly refused to allow this glutton to bring him more trouble for its own appetite.

Just then, while the man and the dragon were caught up in their heated debate, the gold giant dragon had to stubbornly endure dozens of attacks from depth bombs and torpedoes to keep a manageable distance for their soul contract dialogue.

The gold giant dragon was no longer the weak state it had been immediately after its revival at Team 7759’s base, when it hadn’t fully regained its form and had suffered severe damage from missile strikes.

After consuming a large amount of metal, it had now accumulated enough "reserves" to deal with human attacks.

These foolish Americans on the ocean surface only knew how to throw bombs mindlessly, bombarding without care. Even the most powerful underwater shockwaves posed no threat to the gold giant dragon.

To know oneself and one’s enemy is essential for victory; sadly, the Americans were entirely unaware, mindlessly exhausting large quantities of their military supplies.

The U.S. Navy soldiers, completely ignorant of the gold giant dragon from another world, had no clue that certain special weapons might threaten Gold Coin. Therefore, Gold Coin treated this seawater bubble bath as a form of massage.

A large coffee table was filled with cups of all sizes, with the "George Washington" being the largest among them.

Previously, they wouldn’t activate sonar systems unless absolutely necessary, but today they acted completely out of character—as if they were waging war.

The normally quiet underwater world turned into what resembled a construction site, bustling with activity, as shrimp soldiers and various fish schools began to stir nervously.

When did the Americans become so audacious as to behave this way in the South China Sea? Don’t they fear torpedoes?

This sudden third party inflamed the Americans’ frenzy, or perhaps ‘crazy’ would be a more appropriate term, as they launched concentrated sonar deployments that sounded like countless iron rods striking against countless iron barrels. The fierce active sonar was clearly audible inside the Chinese submarine.

Engaging in war with aliens? Is this a joke?!

Simultaneously receiving the clearly encoded messages from the Americans, the commanders of the Chinese nuclear submarine combat group thought they must be hearing wrong, or that the Americans had lost their minds.

“Oh my God, oh my God! What are the Americans doing? Why won’t they stop? What on earth is that thing? It takes so much punishment—could it really be aliens?” On the Chinese Type 097 "Qin" class attack submarine "Xianyang," which was just 20 nautical miles away from the American George Washington aircraft carrier task force, Captain Zhu Hong complained while lowering the periscope that was floating above the surface.

The sailors in the cockpit exchanged puzzled glances; could this really be happening?

The closest Chinese vessels to the Americans were their two Type 097 "Qin" class attack submarines, the "Xianyang" and "Yongzhou," now completely ignored by the Americans—perhaps even if noticed, they didn’t have time to care.

“Target confirmed, not one of our vessels! There are no electromagnetic signals or mechanical noises, nor sonar signals. It seems solid. Its approach speed earlier reached up to 200 knots, and it appears to be using a magnetic fluid propulsion system, but the speed seems to exceed the design of such a system; it could be an improved version,” reported the technical officer in charge of data filtering to Captain Zhu.

As the Americans discovered the "Gudgeon," several Chinese submarines were equally shocked to find an unidentified third party approaching at high speed. Although they did not activate their active sonar, the sonar waves from the "Gudgeon" were also picked up by the Xianyang and Yongzhou.

The rapid beats of active sonar and the explosive sounds of torpedoes left all the Chinese crew members almost dumbfounded, fearing they had been exposed, nearly losing their composure.

Seawater is an excellent conductor of pressure and sound. In the silent state of the Xianyang, the submarine shook continuously, yet the crew dared not make a loud noise. Advanced equipment could even detect conversations hundreds of meters deep within submarines.

In fact, the George Washington aircraft carrier task force had indeed found them. With such an array of various high-powered sonars actively in control, it was nearly impossible not to be exposed.

However, the Americans seemed uncharacteristically distracted by their own problems. They frantically attacked that "third party," acting as if they were saviors engaged in a heroic battle against the Transformers led by Megatron in the South China Sea.

Well, clearly those who could connect the dots like this have watched too many Hollywood science fiction movies.

Meanwhile, the other three Type 093 "Shang" class attack submarines—Yuchang, Juque, and Tai’a—remained stationed farther away, 60 nautical miles out, only activating their passive sonar while lurking at a depth of 500 meters.

Passive sonar effectively acts as a sound wave filtering device, transmitting various sound waves from the ocean, filtering out ocean noise and isolating sounds from human-made devices.

As for the locations of the Type 096 and Type 098 strategic ballistic missile submarines, even the other Chinese attack submarines had no idea where they were.

These two strategic submarines were known for their mystery, usually lurking 600 meters deep in the sea and surfacing once every four months for resupply. The Type 098, in particular, had never even surfaced for production.

“Notify the Yongzhou: our ‘Dark Sabre’ is fine. Let’s dive to 300 meters and slowly retreat 10 nautical miles. The technical team will analyze that unidentified underwater object. I need to gather information for a report,” Captain Zhu of the Xianyang ordered.

However, the Americans’ actions left the officers on the Chinese submarines puzzled. Was it really that serious?

The bombings and torpedoes were so vigorous that even Chinese submarines dozens of nautical miles away felt the overwhelming power.

Could they be aliens? As long as it wasn’t one of China’s own submersibles, the Chinese submarines had no interest in greeting the Americans. As long as the Americans didn’t use nuclear weapons and quickly exited Chinese territorial waters, anything else was acceptable.

It was like watching fireworks!

“I’m ‘Seagull 3.’ My towed sonar was cut by that thing; damn it!” a disgruntled voice reported to the command center of the carrier task force from a helicopter in the 37th Light Anti-Submarine Helicopter Squadron, sounding as upset as a kindergarten kid who had their candy stolen by a little thug, bursting with frustration over losing their crucial equipment.

Just moments ago, the target known as "Gudgeon" had zipped past at an astonishing speed below the surface. The helicopter felt a sudden lift, and the sonar equipment immediately lost contact, as they could easily imagine that the tow line had been severed.

Just as the George Washington aircraft carrier task force was scrambling and lost the target "Gudgeon" again, they suddenly received a coded signal that seemed to represent an identity marker.

“さようなら (Sayōnara: Goodbye)! -Flying Little Boat.”

Well, now they finally knew who this guy was, the one who could withstand all those bombs without flinching—Flying Little Boat!

Unbelievable!

Indeed, it was a “Flying Little Boat.” Although it had the massive size of a Dreadnought battleship, it was still quite “small” to spring from the surface like that.

At least no human submarines could accomplish such a feat right now, and attempting to do so would likely result in the rapid decompression that could kill the entire crew.

The Americans had been played. And to top it off, the gold giant dragon made sure to throw a bucket of crap at the Japanese too.

With the holiday not yet over, the gold giant dragon snatched the Americans’ sonar and made its escape.

At 200 knots once again, a mysterious rise in the water was clearly visible as it swiftly disappeared into the distance.

David, the captain of the George Washington, saw the translated message and immediately turned pale, as if he had just eaten something disgusting.

“What a vile fellow! I hate you,” he muttered, staring at the J-15 "Dark Sabre" carrier-based aircraft, which was leisurely climbing higher in the wind, his face twisting in frustration.

Yet he no longer had the courage to fire the AIM-9X "Sidewinder"; he and his teammates had seen…