Chapter 544: The Panicked Yinghua Guo

"Rest assured, Minister Zhang," Li Mingyuan patted his shoulder, "Yinghua Guo currently has no military of its own, and the Star-Spangled Country garrison has been mostly recalled by their homeland, which is trapped in a UFO panic. It is the perfect opportunity."

Minister Zhang sighed, "It is not the enemy I am worried about, but you. After all, this operation goes deep behind enemy lines, and the risk factor—"

"Compared to the guerrilla warfare you fought back in the day, what is this?" Li Mingyuan interrupted him with a smile, "Besides, having a vehicle with the performance of 'Kunpeng' is like running with a cheat code. If nothing goes wrong, I will be back by tomorrow morning. You just wait to see the news of the Yinghua Guo people being scared out of their wits!"

Minister Zhang shook his head, knowing he could not sway this stubborn young man, and could only urge, "You must keep communications open. If there is any anomaly, evacuate immediately, understand?"

"Understood!" Li Mingyuan gave a military salute and turned to walk toward "Kunpeng."

The moment he stepped onto the boarding ladder, he suddenly looked back, a flash of cunning in his eyes, "Oh, by the way, Minister Zhang, after I return, I want to fully push forward the 'Pangu Net.' Once this operation ends, it will be the beginning of us truly leading the era."

Minister Zhang was stunned for a moment, then nodded solemnly, "Go. The future of Long Country depends on you young people."

Li Mingyuan walked into the control cabin of "Kunpeng," sat skillfully in the pilot's seat, and fastened his seatbelt. He took a deep breath and turned on the communicator, "Pangu, system self-check."

"Self-check starting... all systems normal, power Hexin stable, energy output 105%, flight control system ready, defense system ready, 'Sky Eye' receiving system connection normal..."

Li Mingyuan's finger hovered over the start button, a flash of excitement in his eyes, "Start main thrusters, target: Yinghua Guo Kyoto Bay, full stealth mode, airspeed set to 280 knots."

"Flight path planned, estimated travel time 3 hours 17 minutes, alert status of sea areas along the route analyzed, avoidance of enemy surveillance zones calculated."

Li Mingyuan pressed the start button, feeling the vibration of the giant lift fans at the bottom of "Kunpeng" as they began to spin, and a confident smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"Yinghua Guo, I am coming."

"Kunpeng" slowly lifted off, hovering steadily at a height of five meters above the sea surface. Subsequently, the tail ejected a dazzling blue flame, and the massive body surged forward like an arrow released from a bow, its speed increasing rapidly, turning into a silver Lightning in the blink of an eye, disappearing into the night of the east.

Yinghua Guo, Kyoto Bay coast, late at night.

Inside a small weather Radar station near the coast, duty officer Fukuda stared at the screen, drowsy. This should have been a peaceful night; ever since the last great war ended, Yinghua Guo had been under the "protection" of the Star-Spangled Country, and coastal defense work was basically handled by the Star-Spangled Country. Yinghua Guo itself only retained a small amount of alert facilities, mainly used for weather observation and monitoring civilian ships.

Fukuda yawned and glanced at the wall clock—2:37 AM. In three more hours, he could hand over his shift, he thought, and have a wonderful sleep after getting home...

Suddenly, a faint but abnormally fast light spot flashed on the Radar screen, approaching rapidly from the Dongbei direction.

Fukuda was stunned for a moment, rubbing his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong. But that light spot truly existed, and its speed of movement was unprecedented.

He immediately sat up straight, adjusting the Radar parameters, trying to obtain a clearer signal. The numbers on the data screen made him gasp—target speed: 320 knots! Distance to coast: only 50 nautical miles!

"This... this is impossible!" Fukuda muttered to himself, scrambling to pick up the phone, "Connect me to headquarters! Immediately! This is an emergency!"

The duty officer on the other end of the phone did not believe Fukuda's report at first, but when he mentioned the speed exceeded 300 knots, the other party's tone changed immediately.

"Are you sure there is no reading error?" the officer asked sternly.

"Absolutely not, I have cross-checked three times! That thing... whatever it is... is approaching Kyoto Bay at a speed of over 300 knots! It is only 40 nautical miles from the coast now!"

"Sound the alarm immediately! I will contact the Star-Spangled Country garrison at once!"

Fukuda hung up the phone, cold sweat already seeping from his forehead. With trembling hands, he pressed the alarm button, and the shrill alarm sound instantly resounded throughout the entire Radar station.

However, the speed at which the situation developed far exceeded their ability to respond. On the Radar screen, that light spot suddenly made an incredible maneuver—it turned almost at a right angle while flying at high speed, changing course, and began to fly parallel along the Kyoto Bay coastline!

"My god..." Fukuda stared at the data, dumbfounded, "It is only 10 nautical miles from the coastline now, cruising at high speed along the coast!"

Just then, the light spot on the Radar screen suddenly disappeared.

Fukuda adjusted the parameters in a panic, "No, no, no! Don't malfunction at a time like this!"

But a few seconds later, the light spot appeared mysteriously again, but its position had changed—it now seemed to be deliberately approaching the coast, the distance having shortened to a staggering 5 nautical miles!

Kyoto Bay Command Center, in chaos.

The few officers on night duty contacted various observation points in a panic, trying to obtain more information. The ringing of phones, the sound of alarms, and hurried footsteps blended together.

"Is there any response from the Star-Spangled Country garrison base?" the commander asked loudly.

"Report, we cannot contact them! The radio channels are completely silent!" the Communication Officer replied in terror.

"What? How is that possible? Keep trying! Use all channels!"

But it turned out that, whether due to electronic interference or other reasons, their communication systems had almost completely failed, and only the most basic internal phones could barely be used.

"Order all coastal observation stations to enter the highest state of alert! Those with the capability, conduct visual confirmation immediately! At the same time, notify the coastal fishing villages to evacuate!" The commander issued the best order he could think of, but he knew in his heart that, faced with such an unidentified high-speed target, they had almost no ability to respond.

Outside Kyoto Bay, a small fishing fleet was conducting night fishing. Three old wooden fishing boats sailed slowly under the moonlight, and the fishermen on board were busy organizing their nets.

Nakajima Kenichi, an old fisherman with dark skin, was smoking at the stern of the boat, enjoying a rare moment of rest. Suddenly, he noticed a strange fluctuation on the sea surface in the distance, as if some huge object was moving at high speed on the water.

"Hey, Tanaka, look over there!" Nakajima pointed into the distance.

His companion Tanaka looked up, "There is nothing there, old Nakajima, are your eyes playing tricks on you?"

Nakajima frowned; he was certain he had seen something. Just then, a strange ripple suddenly appeared on the sea surface, approaching them rapidly.

"What is that?" Tanaka also noticed the anomaly, his voice filled with fear.

Nakajima did not have time to answer; that ripple had already expanded into a distinct "wave-less corridor," as if the seawater had been parted by some invisible force. Then, he saw it—under the moonlight, a massive silver-gray object was speeding along the sea surface at an incredible speed!