Super Invincible Battleship

88  Chapter 68: Fallen Angel

Just as Yan Fei was using his Drone Avatar to size up the Red Dragon Submarine, the high-performance sonar on board the Red Dragon had also detected the Drone Avatar.

Although the Drone moved quickly underwater, the sound of the propeller pushing the water at the rear was still inescapable, so as soon as it appeared near the Red Dragon, it was immediately detected by the Red Dragon's sonar. The Drone's shape was a bit odd, and the sonar echo looked somewhat strange, leading the sonar operators on the Red Dragon to mistake it for a shark. Then, the "shark" they thought they saw swam near them and started circling around them as if observing them. At this point, the crew aboard the Red Dragon Submarine began to feel uneasy.

Inside the Red Dragon Submarine, the sonar operator reported, "Report, the suspicious object is approaching our vessel again."

The executive officer said to the captain, "I think this suspicious object is dangerous, should we launch a torpedo to destroy it?"

The captain responded, "This mission carries a special purpose, we're responsible for transporting people to the waters off Shanghai, so we can't afford any complications."

The executive officer said, "But this thing keeps following us, our whereabouts might be exposed. We just used sonar to chase it away and it didn't respond, so I suspect that it's not a living creature at all. And look, it has circled us several times, but its shape on the sonar remains unchanged, so it's very likely to be a man-made item. We are near China's waters. The likelihood that this object is manufactured by China is extremely high. If that's the case, our whereabouts may already be compromised."

The captain began weighing the pros and cons, and the executive officer urged, "We are still a distance away from Shanghai. If we attack the suspicious target, the likelihood of being discovered due to our torpedo explosion is not high. But if we don't drive it away, approaching the waters near China would be risky. Given the current tension between the two countries, if we're discovered, they might choose to eliminate us."

After much consideration, the captain finally made a decision and gave the order, "I command tube number one to prepare for anti-submarine torpedo launch, target the suspicious object outside."

Consequently, the torpedo tubes on the Red Dragon began flooding with water in preparation for launching a torpedo, with Yan Fei's Drone Avatar being the intended target.

Yan Fei had circled the submarine several times and had not yet figured out how to deal with it when he heard the sound of the torpedo tubes flooding with water. He was shocked. The flooding of torpedo tubes was a harbinger of an imminent attack. He was well aware that his Drone Avatar could be detected by other vessels' sonar, so he never assumed the other party hadn't noticed him. Now that he realized they were about to launch a torpedo attack, he was clearly the target.

However, Yan Fei had never experienced naval warfare and lacked experience. He hesitated, wondering if he'd misunderstood the submarine's intentions. Then he saw a large stream of bubbles emerge from beneath the submarine and a massive torpedo launched in the direction of the Drone, its rear connected by a wire.

Yan Fei was enraged inside, realizing that the submarine actually intended to attack him. Since that was the case, he no longer needed to show any courtesy. Anyone who attacked him was an enemy and should be eliminated.

At that moment, the Drone was less than one kilometer away from the Red Dragon Submarine. As soon as the torpedo was launched, it sped toward the Drone. Yan Fei's Drone hastily changed course, only to find that the torpedo also turned and continued to pursue the Drone.

Yan Fei then understood that the torpedo was wire-guided; once launched, the submarine could navigate the torpedo via the wire attached to its tail. That's why the torpedo continued to chase him after he changed course.

Coming to this realization, Yan Fei no longer dodged but instead turned the Drone's nose toward the incoming torpedo, with the Vulcan Gun on the Drone's head opening fire. He saw a burst of bubbles abruptly appear, and the Cannon Rounds hit the torpedo's head continuously, then the torpedo exploded under the pressure of the Vulcan Gun's fire. Yan Fei then saw a white flower bloom in the deep sea and rapidly disappear under the intense water pressure, leaving behind a trail of bubbles and the wreckage from the exploded torpedo.

The operators inside the Red Dragon Submarine were navigating the torpedo with the wire when they suddenly found the torpedo explode inexplicably, and the sonar on board registered the impact sound of bullets being fired. Upon receiving this information, the captain immediately sensed that something was wrong. He wanted to launch a second torpedo, but after Yan Fei destroyed the first torpedo, he quickly closed the distance to the submarine, coming within 100 meters. At this distance, the submarine could no longer launch torpedoes at Yan Fei.

Although Yan Fei wasn't certain that this was the Oogawa Family's vessel transporting personnel to China, the unprovoked attack he had just experienced meant this matter couldn't be left unsettled today. The Drone rapidly approached the submarine, the Red Dragon's submerged speed of 20 knots was slow compared to the Drone. The Drone adjusted its nose and fired 30-millimeter armor-piercing rounds at the submarine.

However, to Yan Fei's surprise, the usually infallible 30-millimeter Naval Cannon was ineffective in attacking the hull of the Red Dragon Submarine. The 30-millimeter armor-piercing rounds couldn't penetrate the Red Dragon's hull and only managed to shatter the new type of rubber sound-absorbing tiles on the outermost layer of the submarine.

Yan Fei's heart stirred, and he hastily checked the Auxiliary Brain, only to discover that there were no Merit Points awarded for sinking a submarine, nor were there any other records. It seemed that although the Drone's Naval Cannon had attacked the Red Dragon Submarine, it had not breached the hull, hence the Drone's Merit evaluation determined that the attack did not merit any Merit Points.

Yan Fei was impressed by the sturdiness of the Red Dragon's hull; it was then he remembered the previous introduction to the Soryu-class Submarine which included information on the hull materials. According to that data, the Soryu-class Submarines fully utilized NS-110 High Strength Steel, and it was this use of high-strength steel that gave them a maximum diving depth of 604 meters, surpassing the majority of submarines in the world. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Prior to this encounter, Yan Fei had little knowledge of NS-110 High Strength Steel, but after realizing that even a 30-millimeter armor-piercing round couldn't penetrate the hull, he understood how exceptional the NS-110 High Strength Steel was, truly deserving of a material capable of deep-sea diving to 604 meters.

While Yan Fei was extremely shocked on the outside, those inside the Red Dragon Submarine were even more astonished. They had not expected that the unidentified object was man-made, capable of weaponized attacks, and had exploded their weapon. Moreover, the attacker's underwater travel speed was remarkable, far exceeding their own submarine's and had then initiated an attack on them. Even though the weapon had not penetrated the steel plates of the hull, it had already destroyed the submarine's outer layer of silent tiles.

Without the protection of the silent tiles, the tremendous echo of the Drone's Naval Cannon attacking the Red Dragon's hull began to spread across the seabed, transforming the Red Dragon into a major source of underwater noise, no longer able to maintain its stealth. And the "clang clang clang" of the Naval Cannon attack had the crew inside the Red Dragon Submarine on tenterhooks, worried that the next second would see the hull breached.

Yan Fei's Naval Cannon bombarded the submarine's hull without success in penetrating, so he changed his target and began attacking the Red Dragon's exterior sonar devices. The sonar devices were not installed inside the hull but exposed outside to facilitate sound detection and enemy identification. Under the Drone's Naval Cannon fire, the Red Dragon's sonar devices, incredibly vulnerable, were swiftly destroyed.

With the Red Dragon's sonar destroyed by the Drone, the submarine suddenly lost its ability to scout the environment, effectively becoming "blind." Consequently, the captain immediately ordered a rapid ascent, abandoning their special task of transporting personnel.

Unable to destroy the Red Dragon Submarine, Yan Fei pursued relentlessly, continuing his attack until the Red Dragon surfaced; still, he attacked a few more times from below the sea surface, failing to breach the hull.

However, upon seeing the Red Dragon emerge, Yan Fei ceased his attacks and moved away. While submerged, because missiles couldn't be used, Yan Fei's Naval Cannon couldn't break through the Red Dragon's defense. But once it surfaced, Yan Fei's strongest weapon, missiles, would come into play. The Drone pulled away precisely to avoid detection by the Red Dragon, planning to ascend from the water at a distance and attack the submarine using the Drone's missiles from the sky.

The 30-millimeter Cannon Rounds were ineffective against the Red Dragon's hull, but Yan Fei believed that the Drone's anti-tank missiles could surely penetrate it. Penetrating the hull would not only award him a massive quantity of Merit Points for sinking the Red Dragon but also drown the Oogawa Family members en route to China, eliminating a security threat.

As the Red Dragon surfaced, the hatch opened, and several crew members emerged. They stood atop the hull to assess the damage and discovered that the sonar had only suffered minor damage, so they immediately began emergency repairs. Due to Yan Fei's inexperience, he failed to locate the true position of the sonar; thus, the actual damage inflicted by the Naval Cannon was minimal, and the sonar was salvageable.

Others who surfaced, clad in black with hoods, looked around expressionlessly, with one of them taking the lead to communicate via a satellite phone.

Within the Red Dragon, the captain listened intently, relieved upon realizing there were no further attacks. Only when the Damage Control Personnel reported that the sonar was repairable did he ease his mind. Just as he was about to order the Red Dragon to remain surfaced and return to base, he suddenly received new orders from the rear command, telling them to continue with their mission.

The Drone rapidly dived, then, at a distance of ten kilometers from the Red Dragon, it made a vertical ascent and left the seabed. The Drone Body quickly changed its shape, reverting to its original form. Ignoring the water still dripping from its body, it flew towards the distant Red Dragon.

The Drone swiftly closed in on the Red Dragon, and as the submarine had surfaced, the bridge's radar systems activated and instantly detected the advancing Drone. Due to a previous incident involving an attack on the South Korean Coast Guard Law Enforcement Ship, Japan had taken notice of this particular Drone, which resembled the US Army's Predator Drone. As soon as they spotted the Drone suddenly appearing, they heightened their alertness, not only reporting this Intelligence back to command but also readying their anti-ship missiles on the submarine for an imminent attack.

Under Yan Fei's control, the Drone quickly approached the Red Dragon. Just as the Drone was at the optimal attack distance and Yan Fei was about to launch an anti-tank missile at the Red Dragon, a flash of white light appeared on the distant horizon. Suddenly, one wing of the Drone snapped off. Following another flash of light, the Drone's other wing also broke away. The Drone, having lost its wings, plunged into the ocean and began sinking to the seabed.

In the Dream Technology headquarters in Shanghai, Yan Fei's true self was discussing matters with Lu Pingping when she suddenly saw Yan Fei shout loudly, then he flipped over and fell to the ground, convulsing continuously in apparent agony.