Chapter 261: Dispatching a Small Squad Again to Probe the Virtual and the Real

Sasebo Naval Base, Headquarters of the First Combined Fleet.

After the furious roar subsided, the banquet hall once again fell into a suffocating silence. Ōkuchi Dennana, the General, his chest heaving violently, his heavy breathing sounded especially clear in the quiet hall.

His scarlet eyes swept over the officers around him who kept their heads down, not daring to speak; the muscles on his face twisted from anger and resentment.

Moments later, the madness in his eyes seemed to recede slightly, replaced by an almost obsessive stubbornness.

He drew a deep breath, as if using all his strength to barely suppress the storm in his heart. No, he could not just sit and wait for death! He could not accept a vague 'lost contact' report! He had to know what had happened! Alive, he must see the person; dead, he must see the corpse! Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he could not give up.

Ōkuchi Dennana suddenly lifted his head, his sharp gaze fixed on his chief of staff and several fleet commanders present, and said without room for doubt:

【Order!】

His voice remained hoarse, yet carried an irresistible authority. Several senior officers lifted their heads, their eyes showing worry and a faint, hardly noticeable doubt. In a situation completely unclear, and possibly fraught with great danger, was it too risky to dispatch another fleet to that sea area?

Ōkuchi Dennana seemed to see through their thoughts, but he completely disregarded them. What he needed now was action, results—not hesitation and doubt!

【Immediately draw the Fourth Destroyer Squadron—'Yūgure', 'Shiranui', 'Kuroshio', 'Yukikaze'—from the duty fleet in port, and attach the light cruiser 'Jintsū' to form a high-speed search detachment!】

He issued the order in no uncertain terms, speaking extremely fast: 【Colonel Matsuji Ijuin, captain of the Jintsū, shall act as temporary commander! Order them to immediately top off fuel and fresh water, and set sail before dawn!】

Upon hearing this order, several officers' faces changed slightly; the chief of staff could not help but step forward and whisper in a low voice: 【Your Excellency, the situation is still unclear—】

【Enough!】 General Ōkuchi cut him off sharply, his gaze knife‑sharp: 【I know what you're worried about! But the empire cannot simply lose a main force fleet without explanation! We must go and confirm!】

Ōkuchi Dennana eased his tone a little, but his obstinacy did not diminish: 【Order Colonel Ijuin, upon reaching the designated sea area, to maintain high vigilance, focus on search and reconnaissance, and avoid engagement with any unknown fleet! Once any trace of Admiral Yamaguchi's fleet is found—whether survivors, wreckage, or any other clue—report immediately to headquarters!】

Ōkuchi Dennana's tone emphasized 'caution and prudence' and 'search and reconnaissance', but deep down, that last sliver of hopeful thinking still played on his mind.

He would rather believe that Yamaguchi's fleet had merely suffered an extremely rare accident that completely cut off communications, or had temporarily lost its bearings. By dispatching this small, high‑speed detachment, he sought both the truth and clung to a faint hope—perhaps a miracle would appear, and Yamaguchi and his men… were still alive.

【Yes, Your Excellency!】 Despite lingering doubts, faced with the commander's indisputable order, the chief of staff and other officers could only salute, turn sharply, and rush to convey and execute the order.

The deathly quiet banquet hall sprang back to life, yet the atmosphere was utterly different from the earlier revelry. Officers hurried about, their faces grave and uneasy. Orders were issued in rapid succession, and soon the port echoed with whistle blasts and the clamor of personnel movements.

A small search fleet was about to set sail, carrying the commander's last sliver of hope and endless questions, toward the dark, unknown sea that had swallowed the Nagato detachment.

Alright, we now shift our gaze from the distant Orient to Lin Yu's stronghold—Shen City:

Shen City, a concealed coastline somewhere near the sea.

The morning sun had just spread across the sea, dispelling the night's chill. The sea breeze carried a salty dampness, brushing against the jagged reefs and steep coastal cliffs. On this seemingly barren, rarely visited coastline, a massive military fortification, ingeniously blended with the surrounding environment, stood silently in place.

The thick reinforced‑concrete structure was carefully camouflaged, covered with paint and netting matching the rock color, and in some areas even planted with vegetation matching the local environment. Without prior knowledge, it would be hard to spot this steel fortress hidden in the coastline from afar.

Here lies a key node of Lin Yu's secretly deployed Coastal Defense Giant Shield system—a dual‑mounted 380 mm coastal defense main battery emplacement named 'Furious Wave'.

Lin Yu, dressed in a simple training uniform, arrived at the outskirts of the position in a car accompanied by Qi Ming Yuan and a small squad of elite guards, then proceeded on foot. The closer he got, the more he could feel the grandeur and sturdiness of the works. The tall concrete bunkers were as solid as hills, their firing ports and observation apertures cleverly designed to balance field of fire with protection.

When Lin Yu's gaze fell upon that massive, semi‑buried turret, even he could not help but feel a surge of excitement.

The turret was built from thick, sloping steel plates riveted together, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. Two enormously thick barrels, each nearly twenty meters long of 380 mm caliber, like the fangs of a giant beast pointing toward the sea, protruded side by side from the turret, exuding an awe‑inspiring, destructive aura.

Merely standing at the foot of this steel leviathan, one could sense the terrifying power it held. A single discharge from any one of these twenty‑four giant guns would be enough to make a ten‑thousand‑ton warship quake with fear!

Just as Lin Yu was surveying the coastal defense gun, a burly, broad‑shouldered middle‑aged officer strode out from the interior of the emplacement. He wore a neatly tailored, slightly distinctive dark‑gray artillery commander's uniform, his visage stern, his eyes sharp, his every movement exuding a strict rigor. This was the Coast Defense Artillery Brigade Commander summoned by the system—Meierdun.

Meierdun stepped before Lin Yu, snapped a crisp German‑style salute, and spoke in a loud, steady voice:

【Chief! Coast Defense Artillery Brigade Commander Meierdun reporting! The 'Furious Wave One' emplacement and its attached observation and command units have been deployed as planned and are now combat‑ready!】

Lin Yu nodded satisfactorily, returned the salute, and looked approvingly at this capable aide granted by the system: 【General Meierdun, thank you for your hard work. This Coastal Defense Giant Shield system is the coastal barrier I have high hopes for; its performance will directly determine Shen City's safety.】

【Please rest assured, Chief!】 Meierdun replied confidently, 【The system's design philosophy is highly advanced, its firepower unmatched! My subordinates and the full six‑thousand strong personnel will bring it to peak effectiveness, so that any enemy daring to attack from the sea will be smashed to pieces before this steel shield!】

He stepped aside, making a 'please' gesture: 【Chief, please allow me to give you a detailed briefing on the operation of this coastal defense system and the specific performance parameters of the Furious Wave main gun.】

Lin Yu smiled faintly, stepped forward to keep pace with Meierdun, ready to delve deeper into understanding this steel Great Wall that would guard his core territory.