Chapter 198: The Shock of

East Sea, test sea area, the next morning.

The 056B frigate "Jiujiang" carved a gentle white wake on the sea surface.

On the bridge, Li Yang stared at the data jumping constantly on the monitoring screen, his eyes already bloodshot.

"Old Li, you didn't sleep again last night, did you?" Captain Zhou Haitao handed over a cup of hot tea; he was a veteran sailor in his forties, speaking with a heavy Shaanbei accent.

"I slept for three hours." Li Yang took the teacup.

"This is the first ship-mounted test of the 'Xuanwu' core; I have to keep an eye on it."

Captain Zhou laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Relax, our ship can now have infinite endurance."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the communications soldier reported: "Captain, radar has detected an unidentified target, bearing 075, distance 35 nautical miles, heading directly toward our ship, speed 12 knots."

Captain Zhou's expression became serious: "What is the identification signal?"

"The other party broadcasts identification as Kyushu University Marine Research Institute - Sea Breeze research ship, but..." the radar operator paused.

"There is a slight anomaly in the electromagnetic signature, with a 0.3% deviation from the database record."

"It matches the warning from the research institute." Captain Zhou looked at Li Yang.

"Director Li, what is the power output of your Xuanwu core right now?"

"Maintaining the ship's conventional cruising, it's only using 3% of the rated power." Li Yang glanced at the instrument.

"If needed, it can be increased to 100% within thirty seconds."

Captain Zhou walked to the porthole and looked at the distant horizon with binoculars: "Then let's see what tricks they want to play."

32 nautical miles away from the Jiujiang, in the wheelhouse of the Sea Mist.

Ono Jiro stared at the radar screen, his brows locked tight.

"Target ship confirmed, it is the Longguo Navy's Type 056B frigate 'Jiujiang', speed 15 knots, course stable." The deputy reported.

"The other party seems to have discovered us, but has not taken any evasive or expulsion actions."

"They are waiting." Ono said.

"Waiting for us to play our hand first."

He walked to the console and pulled up the control interface for the underwater drone swarm.

Twelve green light spots were neatly arranged on the left side of the screen, each marked with a number and status.

"Release boats 1 to 4, activate camouflage mode, close-range reconnaissance." Ono gave the command.

"Maintain a distance of 5 nautical miles, focus on collecting ship wake components, infrared signatures, and electromagnetic radiation data."

"Understood."

On the deck, four hidden hatches opened silently.

Four three-meter-long black drones slid into the sea, their shapes carefully designed to look like large tuna.

They dived to a depth of fifteen meters and sailed quietly toward the Jiujiang.

8:10 AM.

Jiujiang bridge, the sonar operator suddenly reported: "Detected multiple underwater targets making rapid contact!"

"Distance 8 nautical miles, depth 15 meters, speed... very slow, only 4 knots."

"What type?" Captain Zhou asked.

"Echo characteristics show... like large fish, but the movement trajectory is too regular." The operator stared at the screen.

"They are circling us, as if they are... collecting data?"

Li Yang immediately understood: "It's a drone reconnaissance boat, probably the Gappon Chicken's Black Tide series, bionic design, specifically used for stealth reconnaissance."

"Good fellow, these Gappon Chickens aren't even pretending anymore, are they?" Captain Zhou sneered.

"Director Li, can our laser close-in defense system hit underwater targets?"

"Theoretically, it can." Li Yang pulled up the system interface.

"But we need to adjust the laser wavelength and power; water has a large attenuation effect on lasers."

"Then let's change the method." Captain Zhou thought for a moment.

"Notify the whole ship, enter level two combat deployment, load the main gun with training shells, and fire two shots next to those 'fish' to scare them."

Thirty seconds after the order was given, the 76mm main gun on the front deck of the Jiujiang slowly rotated, aiming at the position of the drones.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two training shells landed on the sea surface only two hundred meters away from the drone swarm, kicking up two white water columns.

On the Sea Mist, Ono Jiro looked at the monitoring screen, his face sinking.

"Should we recall the drones?"

"No." A flash of determination crossed Ono's eyes.

"Since they have already discovered us, let's go hard."

"Release all drones, activate active reconnaissance mode, approach at high speed, and obtain as much data as possible in the shortest time."

"But..."

"Execute the order!"

The remaining eight drones all entered the water.

This time they no longer camouflaged; as soon as they entered the water, they rushed toward the Jiujiang at a high speed of 25 knots, simultaneously activating active sonar and laser scanning.

Under the sea, twelve white wakes pounced on the frigate like poisonous snakes.

On the Jiujiang bridge, the alarm sounded loudly.

"Twelve targets detected underwater! Approaching at high speed! Distance is only 5 nautical miles, estimated contact time 12 minutes!"

Captain Zhou looked at Li Yang: "Director Li, what do you say now?"

Li Yang took a deep breath, his fingers operating rapidly on the console:

"Activate the 'Dingyue' laser close-in defense system, connect to the 'Xuanwu' core energy, and apply for low-power blinding mode."

"Approved."

Almost at the same instant, the spherical turret above the Jiujiang bridge rotated, and the six sets of laser emitters inside lit up with a pale blue glow simultaneously.

The voice of the "Torch Dragon" AI sounded on the bridge: "Threat assessment complete."

"Twelve underwater targets, non-armed reconnaissance units."

"Recommend graded response: first blind the optical sensors, then destroy the propulsion systems."

"Do it." Captain Zhou said.

The first drone had just entered the effective range of the laser.

"Lock onto target 1, fire."

A pale blue beam, almost invisible to the naked eye, penetrated the seawater and accurately hit the optical window at the head of the drone.

The sensors inside the lens overloaded and burned out in a thousandth of a second.

The drone lost control and kept spinning in place.

Immediately after, the second beam, the third beam...

The "roll call" style strike began.

Each laser was spaced 0.1 seconds apart, sweeping across the twelve drones in sequence.

The entire process took only 1.2 seconds, quiet, precise, and cold enough to make one's scalp tingle.

On the Sea Mist, all monitoring screens went black simultaneously.

"Lost all drone signals!" The technician's voice trembled.

"The last data transmitted shows that their optical sensors were... blinded by lasers."

Ono Jiro punched the console.

But he hadn't given up yet: "Activate the backup plan! Use the satellite link to scan the energy signature of the 'Jiujiang'! I want to know the energy consumption data of that ship!"

"Scanning... wait, this data is wrong..."

"What's wrong?"

The technician stared at the screen, his face turning pale: "According to infrared and electromagnetic signature extrapolation, the current energy consumption level of the 'Jiujiang' is already more than three hundred times that of a frigate of the same class."

"And they have maintained this energy consumption for four hours, and there is still no downward trend."

"Three hundred times?" Ono thought he had misheard, "Are you sure?"

"The data is correct." The technician swallowed, "This means either our monitoring equipment is all broken, or..."

"Or that ship really has near-infinite energy." Ono finished, his voice dry.

He remembered what Sato said before departure: "If Longguo really has mastered this technology..."

"Captain, what do we do now?" The deputy asked.

Ono looked at the light spot steadily stopped in place on the radar screen and gritted his teeth: "Retreat, evacuate this sea area at full speed."

"Then the drones..."

"Forget them." Ono turned around.

"Activate the self-destruct program for all of them; we don't want them, and we can't let the Longguo people get the complete wreckage."

The Sea Mist changed course and fled toward the southeast at maximum speed.

On the Jiujiang bridge, the radar operator reported: "Target ship turned and retreated, speed has increased to 24 knots."

"Still want to run?" Captain Zhou smiled.

"Director Li, how long can our new heart support maximum speed?"

Li Yang glanced at the energy monitoring screen: "Theoretically, the energy is infinite, but the current hull structure also has fatigue limits."

"It is recommended not to exceed eight hours in full-power mode."

"Then chase them for eight hours." Captain Zhou ordered.

"Full speed ahead, follow them."

"Maintain a distance of 5 nautical miles, and use the laser to illuminate their wheelhouse."

"Understood!"

The four gas turbines of the Jiujiang burst into maximum power simultaneously, the bow lifted sharply, and it chased the Sea Mist at a limit speed of 32 knots.

On the sea, the two ships engaged in a chase, one after the other.

The difference was that after fifteen minutes of full-speed sailing, the fuel consumption gauge of the Sea Mist had already started to alarm.

While on the energy monitoring screen of the Jiujiang, the curve representing the output power of the "Xuanwu" core was as straight as if it had been drawn with a ruler.

11:30 AM.

In the wheelhouse of the Sea Mist, Ono Jiro stared at the black dot chasing closely behind, sweat beading on his forehead.

"How much fuel is left?"

"At most, we can maintain full-speed sailing for two more hours." The chief engineer replied.

"After that, we must slow down, otherwise we won't have enough energy to return to port."

Ono closed his eyes.

He knew they had already lost this "game".

Not lost in tactics, not lost in equipment, but lost in a fundamental generational gap.

What does a warship that can sail at full speed infinitely mean?

It means all maritime attrition tactics, all voyage calculations, and all supply planning have become waste paper.

This ship can come whenever it wants, leave whenever it wants, and if it wants to chase you, it can chase you until your fuel runs out.

"Captain, the other party sent a clear-text communication." The communications soldier suddenly said.

"Receive it."

Captain Zhou's smiling voice came through the speaker: "Friends from the Sea Breeze, why are you running so fast?"

"We just wanted to chat with you about marine scientific research."

Ono gritted his teeth: "We are a legitimate research vessel and enjoy freedom of navigation on the high seas."

"Of course, of course." Captain Zhou said.

"So we didn't take action, we're just following along to learn."

"By the way, you don't want those 'big fish' of yours anymore?"

"It's a pity to have them floating on the sea; how about we help you fish them up?"

"No need!"

"That's such a waste." Captain Zhou paused.

"How about this, let's make a deal."

"You honestly confess who sent you and what you wanted to do, and we'll let you go."

"Otherwise—"

He drew out his voice: "We will keep following you until your fuel runs out, and then tow you back to our port."

"At that time, it will be a diplomatic incident, oh."

The wheelhouse was dead silent.

The deputy whispered: "Captain, we..."

Ono clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

Three minutes later, he took a deep breath and picked up the communicator: "We were just ordered to carry out a marine environmental monitoring mission and have no malicious intent."

"Please stop tracking, we will leave this sea area immediately."

"Ordered? Ordered by whom?" Captain Zhou pressed.

"... Kyushu University Marine Research Institute."

"Fine." Captain Zhou seemed to smile.

"Then give my regards to your research institute."

"By the way, next time you come, remember to bring more oil."

The communication was cut off.

The Jiujiang slowly decelerated and finally stopped in place, watching the Sea Mist flee in a sorry state.

On the bridge, Captain Zhou walked to Li Yang's side and patted him on the shoulder: "Director Li, this new toy of yours... is really powerful."

Li Yang looked at the steady curve on the energy monitoring screen and said softly: "This is just the beginning."

That afternoon, testing continued.

The Jiujiang carried out a six-hour full-system, full-load test in the designated sea area:

Full-power radar scanning, full-band interference by the electronic warfare system, and the laser close-in defense system simulated the interception of over three hundred incoming targets.

If it were a traditional warship, this intensity of testing would have long since exhausted its fuel.

But when the Jiujiang finished, the energy reserve of the "Xuanwu" core still showed: 99.9%.

It had only used 0.1%.

At 7:00 PM, the test data was transmitted back to the Longyin Research Institute.

Feng Yan looked at the report and said to the naval generals in the video conference:

"The data proves that the 'Xuanwu-Fusion' core can already support the ship for indefinite full-load combat."

"Theoretically, a frigate equipped with this system can fight continuously at sea for months without any fuel replenishment."

On the other end of the video, Deputy Minister Liu asked: "What about actual combat safety?"

"The 1000-hour continuous test has been passed, and today it also underwent the maneuver test of actual sea pursuit." Feng Yan pulled up the data.

"All parameters are normal, and there are no signs of material fatigue."

"Good." Deputy Minister Liu nodded.

"Next, we need to discuss the plan for large-scale retrofitting."

After the meeting, Feng Yan walked out of the office.

Wang Hao was excitedly gesturing to Chen Guang in the corridor: "See that? See that! This is real infinite firepower!"

"Brother Hao, I told you long ago, energy is the kingly way!"

Chen Guang pushed up his glasses: "Theoretically, if we retrofit all main combat vessels with the 'Xuanwu' core, the combat mode of the entire navy will be completely changed."

"Ocean-going deployment costs will drop by 90%, and supply pressure will almost disappear..."

"And we can fire lasers whenever we want!" Wang Hao added.

"From now on, when our ships go to sea, it will be like carrying a sun, illuminating the entire Pacific!"

Feng Yan smiled and didn't interrupt them.

Today's confrontation was just a prelude.

When the "Xuanwu-Fusion" technology is fully rolled out, the maritime rules of the entire world will be rewritten.

And they are the ones writing the new rules.

His phone vibrated; it was a message from Li Yang on the Jiujiang: "Returned to port, everything went smoothly."

"Also, salvaged four drone wrecks; although the self-destruct program was activated, we should still be able to analyze something."

Feng Yan replied: "Well done, bring them all back, let Guangzi study them properly." ===== CHAPTER 199 =====