Chapter 35: CV8 USS Hornet

Nearly 8,000 tons of steel, undoubtedly the main hull of the Oak.

It may have torn when it sank to the bottom, and most of the cargo leaked out.

But for Tang Wen, it was enough; this 8,000 tons of steel, valued at 1,600 yuan per ton, was worth over 12 million.

Moreover, steel production currently cannot offer cabbage-price fire sales; buying several thousand tons of steel at once is still very troublesome.

Converted into silver coins, the total would still save tens of thousands of silver coins in material costs.

With steel as the main material, other materials like aluminum alloys would cost very little even if purchased externally.

With the Oak in hand, Tang Wen immediately decided to leave this place of trouble and called everyone into the cabin.

The steel wire winch was dismantled, the lock removed, and thrown into the sea with the effort of two crew members.

Under Tang Wen's control, the six motors were throttled to maximum, instantly raising high waves at the stern.

Driven by 1,500 horsepower, the yacht moved rapidly on the water in the blink of an eye, heading south.

Gao Weilun immediately realized the other party intended to flee; originally hesitant due to the power of the machine guns, he prepared to wait and see, but he heard his superior roar over the radio:

"What are you still waiting for? The pirates are about to run; why don't you chase them up quickly!

Pin them down; I am bringing the main force and will arrive immediately!"

It turned out that the commander of Dongsha Island had just arrived late with the largest patrol boat of over thirty tons, only to find the 'pirates' were already turning to flee.

How could this be tolerated?

The largest patrol boat, hull number PP3700, mounted multiple 20mm and 40mm machine guns; its firepower was extremely fierce and could absolutely overwhelm the pirates.

If they let the other party escape, would it not mean the entire Dongsha Water Police were being beaten unilaterally without even a chance to fight back?

Being humiliated by pirates like this would truly make people laugh if it got out.

Continuous urging sounds rang out in the radios of the five small boats, ordering them to hold the pirate ship at all costs.

Gao Weilun gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and said:

"Chase! But don't get too close; have two men lie on the bow and shoot; absolutely do not let the pirates escape, understand?"

Although the order was delivered with force, Sergeant Yang Xing saw the lieutenant's changing expression, paused for a moment, and then suddenly understood.

At this time, the other four small boats, forced by orders, began to pursue while firing; PP3563 also joined the ranks but stayed in the middle of the pursuing formation, unwilling to charge to the front.

Seeing the large ship in the distance, Tang Wen also knew enemy reinforcements had arrived and had long since pushed the throttle to maximum.

But the hull of over 50 tons was still too heavy; although the 34-knot speed was fast, the pursuing small boats were lighter and could not be shaken off for the moment.

Even more unbearable was the sweeping fire from several M2 heavy machine guns coming from different directions; relying on just two machine guns could not achieve comprehensive suppression.

Even on the rolling sea, stray bullets struck the yacht, but fortunately caused no damage.

Tang Wen glanced at the fuel gauge; there was still more than half left.

Six 250-horsepower V8 motors, working at full power, reached a total fuel consumption of nearly 500 liters, consuming one-fifth of the fuel in one hour.

However, to prevent overheating, full-power output should best be controlled within 30 minutes.

"Everyone, prepare for impact!"

Tang Wen's voice spread through the bridge; immediately, under his control, the yacht's hull began to tilt, presenting its side to the pursuing small boats.

Due to the change in direction, the patrol boats quickly closed the distance with him, entering within one thousand meters very soon.

Seeing this, the PP3552 patrol boat at the very front rejoiced, thinking the pirates had given up fleeing and were preparing to surrender; it immediately shouted over the radio:

"The vessel ahead, stop immediately; after disarming, we may accept... why are you pushing me?"

The captain of the 3552 patrol boat, who was holding the radio to urge surrender, was interrupted by his deputy and scolded angrily.

"Commander, look at what is on the bow!"

The captain of the 3552 didn't even pick up the telescope; now the distance between him and Tang Wen was only 500 meters, and it was already quite clear to the naked eye.

On the originally smooth, enclosed bow of the Y1 yacht, a lone tube was turning toward them.

The captain's first reaction was impossibility; his second reaction was to rush to the helmsman and turn the ship's wheel desperately.

But it was too late; with a crisp cannon report, a 152mm stray bullet struck the sea surface ten-plus meters beside the 3552, raising high waves.

The Y1 yacht, firing from its side, tilted noticeably to the other side after the shot, and everyone on the entire boat felt the vibration brought by the cannon.

The breech automatically ejected the shell casing; a golden high-explosive grenade rose by itself from the ammunition magazine, aligned with the breech, and completed loading.

Tang Wen immediately moved the crosshair slightly to the upper left and silently counted ten seconds, preparing for the next shot.

This was the advantage of a commander controlling a warship; no complex ballistic calculations were needed; one simply corrected the crosshair position directly through the visualized projectile trajectory.

Within a mere few hundred meters, the accuracy of the bombardment was very high; even direct fire with the naked eye had a considerable hit rate.

The 3552 boat being bombarded understood this point as well and turned desperately to flee.

They did not know where the pirates had gotten the cannon, but just from the sound they knew it was a heavy cannon, the kind that would fall apart after taking one hit.

Even without a direct hit, even if a near-miss exploded in the water a few meters beside the boat, the shockwave would be enough to sink this patrol boat with a displacement of less than 10 tons.

Any thought of pursuit vanished into thin air at this moment; the 3552 boat now only wanted to escape!

The other four small boats witnessed the muzzle flash and the smoke and dust emitted after firing throughout the entire process from behind; at this moment, they were all dumbfounded.

But just then, that damn cannon struck again; this time everyone heard it clearly.

This stray bullet traced a beautiful trajectory in Tang Wen's eyes, plunged into the water behind the 3552 boat, and exploded upon entering the water.

The shockwave generated by the near-miss flipped the small boat directly off the sea surface; after the hull bottom suffered heavy damage and was slammed back into the seawater, a terrifying crack opened directly.

【Near-miss *1, (Damage +2350)】

【Hull breached below the waterline; enemy warship is flooding rapidly!】

【Enemy warship is sinking!】

【First time sinking an enemy warship with cannons in naval combat; obtain title "First Entry," reward 2000 experience】

【Inflicted over 50% damage on one enemy warship and sank it within 5 seconds; obtain title "Devastating Strike," reward 500 experience】

【Enemy warships in the combat area ≥5; obtain title "Victory with Few Against Many," reward 500 experience】

A series of prompts popped up one after another, while Boat No. 3552, its hull ruptured by a near-miss shell, was rapidly taking on water and sinking.

The crew, dazed and disoriented, scrambled to grab life rings and jump overboard, terrified of drawing another artillery strike.

The remaining four boats, seeing the slowly turning gun barrels, immediately scattered in all directions, now with no intention whatsoever of counterattacking.

Gao Weilun roared over the radio:

"It's not that the coast guard isn't trying— it's just that the pirates have artillery!"

The noise of the 152mm cannon could not be hidden; the officer aboard the large ship behind immediately recognized it as a 6-inch heavy gun and decisively abandoned the pursuit.

A 152mm cannon? Even a formidable "Ticonderoga"-class guided missile cruiser carried only 127mm guns.

A 6-inch gun with an estimated range of ten kilometers—do we really want to go up and get ourselves killed?

The once aggressively chasing fleet now focused solely on self-preservation; all of them were within artillery range, hoping the next target wouldn't be them.

On the largest patrol vessel, the officer who had been eager for glory now had a clear-eyed look, his expression unchanged as he ordered a hard left rudder to retreat from the pursuing pirates.

What should have been a fierce chase ended abruptly due to weapon superiority; they merely watched as the "pirate ship" turned around and raced full speed toward the high seas.

……

【Battle Ended: Victory】

【You won your first true naval battle— all rewards are doubled】

【Gained Silver Coins: 6432; Gained Experience: 6000】

【Bonus Reward: +100 Gold Coins】

【Armory Unlocked】

【Combat Mission Unlocked】

【Consumables Slot Unlocked】

【Combat Camouflage Unlocked】

【Daily Supply Box Unlocked】

【Gained: 1 Super Supply Box】

To avoid suspicion, Y1 would not sail directly toward Echeng; instead, it would head south first, then make a wide detour along the coastline to return.

After leaving Dongsha by thirty nautical miles, Tang Wen set the course and activated auto-cruise mode.

After the first battle, the system rewarded him with a flood of bonuses and unlocked many new features.

First, silver coins and experience gains carried a first-battle bonus—he had made a fortune.

Over six thousand silver coins equaled three hundred thousand, and the experience points Tang Wen had desperately craved also flooded in: 6000.

The system was practically screaming: Why bother building ships? Combat is the correct use!

This was still a low-tier battle—how much would the rewards be in a real naval engagement?

But Tang Wen dismissed the thought after just a moment; the times had changed.

Even a Level 10 battleship would kneel before a missile.

Yet beyond that, the newly unlocked features were highly practical:

First, the Armory—equivalent to a shop—allowed purchase of consumables and warships using silver and gold coins.

Consumables functioned like skills; for example, he saw "Engine Boost," "Repair Team," "Surface Searcher," "Radar," and "Enhanced Anti-Air Defense."

Engine Boost, as the name suggests, increased a warship's speed by 8% to 20% upon use, with a duration and cooldown.

The Repair Team could restore damaged modules after taking damage; Surface Searcher and Radar scanned a set range on the water and underwater for ships and objects; "Enhanced Anti-Air Defense" temporarily increased anti-air cannon damage, and so on.

As for warships, the Armory unlocked all Level 2 to Level 10 purchasable warships at once—all independent of the tech tree.

Consumables could be bought with silver coins, but warships in the Armory could only be purchased with gold coins.

Yet the prices at a glance made Tang Wen gasp; even the cheapest Level 2 cruiser started at 500 gold coins, while the most expensive X-class warship reached tens of thousands.

Unlike warships developed through the tech tree, gold-coin warships each had unique bonuses and significantly enhanced combat power.

Combat Missions were part of the combat mode, consisting of a progressive series of objectives—typically granting special rewards after accumulating a certain amount of battle results.

But Tang Wen had little interest in combat mode; his attention was fixed on the "Daily Supply Box."

The Daily Supply Box allowed the commander to spend 100 experience to receive one supply box, once per day.

The supply box randomly dropped rewards such as gold coins, silver coins, experience, warships, and consumables, with a chance to yield a Super Supply Box for a generous special gift.

And after completing his first combat mission, Tang Wen received one Super Supply Box.

According to the description, the Super Supply Box's reward pool included all high-tier warships in the system, or tens of thousands of silver coins, or tens of thousands of experience—either way, even the minimum reward was extraordinary.

Tang Wen didn't dare slack off; he decided to wash his hands first.

Returning to reality, he saw the cabin filled with people lying down.

Tang Yi and the others had stayed up all night, their minds tightly strung—now they had collapsed into sleep.

Tang Wen didn't disturb them; he quietly walked to the stern to wash his hands, only then realizing his eyes ached fiercely, and a wave of drowsiness surged uncontrollably.

His first experience of real combat had been a significant psychological trial for Tang Wen.

Glancing at the sun directly overhead, he checked the map—it would still take over three hours to reach shore.

"Open the box, then sleep!"

Tang Wen shook his head to snap himself awake, clasped his hands together, and prayed northward:

"God of GAIJIN of the Flying Horse, please don't let me get the base reward, hey!"

【Opening Super Supply Box*1】

In his mind appeared a golden-glowing box, which burst into light and opened with special effects.

At the center of the opened box floated a miniature model of a warship.

【Gained: Level VIII Gold-Coin Aircraft Carrier: Hornet (CV8)】

"…"

Tang Wen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shook his head hard to confirm he wasn't dreaming.

USS Hornet!

This was the third ship of the U. S. Navy's Yorktown-class aircraft carrier in World War II, featuring a full-length flight deck, 251.3 meters long and 25.36 meters wide, with a flight deck measuring 228.6 meters in length and 34.7 meters in width, and a full load displacement of 27,000 tons, with a top speed of 34 knots!

At an economical cruising speed of 15 knots, she possessed a massive range of 12,500 nautical miles and could carry 75 to 79 carrier-based aircraft.

Historically, Doolittle led the Hornet in the air raid on the Japanese homeland as retaliation for the Pearl Harbor incident.

In the game, the Hornet carried TBD "Devastator" torpedo bombers armed with MK7 torpedoes, F4F Wildcat carrier-based fighters, SBD-5 dive bombers, and even B-25 "Mitchell" tactical bombers.

The Hornet was also sold in the Armory, but its price reached 12,000 gold coins.

That means a supply crate dropped 12,000 gold coins?!

Tang Wen was so delighted he nearly fainted—this was an aircraft carrier!

Even though a 27,000-ton displacement was nothing remarkable in this era, who could refuse an aircraft carrier fully loaded with warplanes, ready to launch at any moment?

Moreover, as an Armory product, the "Hornet" was not the historical Hornet.

According to the game mechanics, torpedo bombers SBDs formed a squadron of eight aircraft and a flight of four; dive bombers SBDs formed a squadron of ten aircraft and a flight of five; B-25 bombers formed a squadron of six aircraft.

The problem was, although the Hornet actually carried a limited number of aircraft, after inheriting the game mechanics, it gained a skill nonexistent in reality: conjuring aircraft from thin air.

In the game, lost aircraft could be slowly replenished via a cooldown skill; theoretically, you could restore any number lost, consuming only a certain amount of silver coins.

Because of this trait, players jokingly called it "aircraft factory in the hangar" and "sea-based aircraft manufacturing plant."

In the game, limited by match duration, this feature had little practical significance—but in reality… it was utterly incredible!