Chapter 687 Small Boat for Big Boat (1/2)

The submarine in Shelter 70 has strong stealth capabilities, but it is not completely invisible after all.

Just as Muda expected, after the destroyer of the Federation Navy arrived, it quickly locked on the submarine under the sea and salvaged it.

However, what Ling Muda didn't expect was that there was no one on board the submarine.

There are indications that the two pilots abandoned the submarine after its power system was damaged.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't be able to run far.

The destroyer of the Federation Navy immediately dispatched a frogman unit to embed in the deep sea search.

But what confused everyone was that after searching for a full hour, they found nothing.

The two pilots seemed to have been dissolved by the sea water and completely disappeared into the waters...

"There's something I need to know from you."

Destroyer deck.

An officer walked up to Mu Da, took out a recording pen, opened it in front of him, and tapped his index finger on the table in front of him.

"It's routine, please cooperate."

"Understood, just ask." Mu Da nodded, pulled out a chair and sat down.

The officer also pulled out a chair and sat across from him. At the same time, he took out a pamphlet from his pocket, opened it, glanced at it, and asked.

"First of all, I want to know that this sea area is not your patrol area. Why are you here?"

Having thought about his words in advance, Muda replied calmly and calmly.

"I was on duty at the time, and while searching the patrol area, I tracked an abnormal sonar signal. I followed that signal to this area. Regarding this, the brothers who were on duty in nearby waters at the time can testify for me, I applied for access and reported the situation to them.”

"We have understood it, and it is indeed what you said...but there are still some doubts here."

The officer raised his sharp eyes and glanced at him before continuing meticulously.

"When we retrieved the communication records, we noticed that friendly ships on duty nearby proposed reinforcements to you in the communication. Why did you refuse?"

The suspicion in his eyes didn't reveal any flaws. Mu Da just shrugged his shoulders and said matter-of-factly.

"Do you even need to ask, because we're not sure what it is. What if it's just a piece of garbage washed over by the ocean current? If it were you, would you ask for reinforcements before you figure out the situation?"

There is nothing wrong with this statement.

No one wants to become the laughing stock of friendly forces because of a piece of garbage.

The officer couldn't find fault, nodded, and continued to ask.

"So you used two depth charges with a yield of 100 kilograms for confirmation?"

"Yes."

"What a luxury... Why didn't you report the situation to nearby friendly ships before opening fire?"

Mu Da sighed and said patiently.

"The enemy is right under your nose. If it were you, would you shoot first or report first? Could you please please don't ask such incomprehensible questions? If you suspect that I have a problem, please point it out to me directly. What's the problem?"

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that, Lieutenant Muda, we didn't doubt you, you know this is just a routine matter," the officer quickly waved his hands and said with a smile to ease the atmosphere, "Then the last question... So you had confirmed that the submarine belonged to Shelter 70?"

Mu Da stared at him meticulously and said seriously.

"I don't need confirmation, this time, this place, it appeared in our patrol area without any authorization, and refused our communication request. So we dropped the bomb until they stopped completely... We were lucky , We were lucky, we only used two bombs to break them down, but unfortunately you were still a step too late, allowing the people above to escape. "

The officer sitting opposite him nodded and suddenly spoke.

"Do you know why they stopped?"

"I don't know and I'm not interested," Mu Da looked at him expressionlessly, with a hint of impatience in his tone, "Besides, didn't you say this was the last question?"

"Of course...I have already asked the formal questions. The question just now was just out of my personal interest."

The officer put away the recorder and the pamphlet in his hand, stood up from the table with a smile and stretched out his right hand.

"thanks for your cooperation."

Mu Da also stood up, held his right hand, shook it and then let go.

"You're welcome. Did my answer pass the test?"

"Passed? You misunderstood, Mr. Muda, we didn't doubt you. I said at the beginning, this was just a routine matter..." Putting the recorder into his pocket, the officer clicked on the pamphlet in his hand and said slightly He smiled and said, "I will contact you again if there is any new situation."

Mu Da nodded.

"Remember to bring my medal next time."

The officer laughed and patted his shoulder.

"That's for sure! Also, congratulations, this is at least a second-class achievement!"

After saying that, the officer turned and left.

Looking at the back of the man turning away, Mu Da smacked his lips with a little regret.

Only second class.

but--

It doesn't really matter what the credit is.

He just hopes that he will not be placed on the pillar of shame in history.

Unsure of who the mole was and what level of federal authorities he had penetrated, he ultimately chose to conceal part of the truth and did not tell everything.

Including radio communication with the submarine.

Including the spherical detector that is hanging on the bottom of the speedboat with a fishing net and so on.

He doesn't know if his choice is correct, he just hopes that his future self will not regret today's decision...

At the same time, a jet-black single-rotor helicopter slowly landed on the spacious apron on the destroyer's splint.

Escorted by two bodyguards wearing exoskeletons, Charas, the presidential chief of staff and chief of staff, stepped down from the helicopter and walked towards the oncoming destroyer captain with a serious expression.

"Mr. Charas? What brought you here?" Looking at the confidant beside the President, the captain stretched out his right hand from a distance and greeted him with a smile.

"What else could it be? Such a big thing happened, why didn't you tell me right away!"

Seeing Charas's expression of displeasure, the captain retracted his hand in embarrassment and tried to explain.

"It was just a submarine used for scientific research. Although we found some traces of modifications on it, the modifications were very rough and it was not a big deal."

In his opinion, the chief of staff really made a fuss out of a molehill.

It was just a submarine from Shelter 70, and it was not an offensive submarine. There was no need to panic at all.

Not to mention that the sea area where it appeared had no strategic facilities, only the ruins of an ocean current power station.

This is even less cause for alarm.

Charas narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the captain standing in front of him.

"Just the submarine?"

The captain was stunned for a moment, looked at him strangely, nodded and said.

"Of course, the submarine has been found, and our people are planning to dismantle it... Do you want to go to the scene and have a look?"

"Take me there." Charas' eyes moved slightly, nodded, and then followed the captain's footsteps and moved from near the apron to the stern of the destroyer.

I saw a drum-shaped submarine being hoisted onto a splint by a hook.

Several sailors wearing exoskeletons were holding a series of tools such as welding torches and cutters, preparing to take this guy apart.

Seeing the thoughtful expression on the chief of staff's face, the captain standing aside couldn't help but asked curiously.

"What is the submarine in Vault 70 doing here?"

Charas didn't look at him and just said casually.

"Who knows... maybe it's to cover up the evidence, or maybe it's to take away something I forgot here."

"This is a bit strange," the captain looked at the submarine thoughtfully. "If they were going to cover up the evidence... why did they destroy it with great fanfare in the first place? What's the use of covering it up now? No one would believe it at all. them."

Logically speaking, this does not make sense.

What's even stranger is that they found the body of a giant sea monster near the submarine.

The shape of that guy was stranger than any alien species they had ever seen. It was like a giant starfish, but it had more tentacles than an octopus.

Based on the identification of the damage on the submersible shell, they have been able to confirm that these damages were caused by the sea monster.

As luck would have it, the depth bombs dropped by the federal patrol on the submarine actually saved the lives of the pilots on the submarine.

The bomb did not hit the submersible, but hit the sea monster chasing behind the submersible.

According to the oral statements of the patrol leader and two other sailors on the speedboat, they did not know what the bomb they dropped hit.

At present, the federal navy is currently unable to determine whether the sea monster appeared in this sea area by chance or whether it has stayed there due to some human factors.

If it's the latter, it's a bit intriguing.

As we all know, because the partially damaged motor is still working, there are very few alien species active near the ruins of the Ocean Current Power Station.

There is only one possibility to force the alien species to stay in that area...

Mind interference device.

Only that thing can do it.

However, in order to confirm this, the body of the alien species needs to be salvaged and dissected.

Charas glanced at the captain indifferently, and then turned his attention to the bumpy submarine.

"You have to ask Vault 70. Maybe they thought they could win, but found out halfway through that they overestimated themselves, so they decided to clear themselves up and find a cheap scapegoat to take the blame. I don't care about our enemies. Whatever the reason for attacking us, I only care about how to send them to hell, and you only need to do your job, Mr. Captain."

The captain looked at the chief of staff blankly.

Although he didn't know why the chief of staff suddenly used such a serious tone, his intuition told him that the gentleman was not interested in the topic he raised, so he quickly ended the topic with good sense.

"Okay, I just feel weird...please don't pay attention."

Charas gave the captain a meaningful look, said nothing, and turned back to the helicopter under the latter's confused gaze.

Two bodyguards wearing exoskeletons sat across from him, saying nothing.

"Go back to North Island."

After throwing a few words at the pilot, Charas leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes as if to rest.

Nobody knows.

The moment he closed his eyes, his consciousness was instantly pulled away from his body and escaped into a milky white space.

An old man in a gray robe was standing in the spotless white center.

His shoulders were bathed in holy light, and a soft power blurred the outline of his facial features, giving him a majesty that could repel people thousands of miles away, while still maintaining an all-encompassing intimacy.

To this guy who didn't show his true colors, Charas nodded slightly and showed his false piety.

He is not one of those ignorant wastelanders, and he will not believe those deceptive things.

Strictly speaking, he doesn't trust anyone but himself.

But he had to admit that Torch did have some good things in his hands.

Such as this "Temple".

As long as he closes his eyes, he can communicate with his allies in the Sea Coast Province anytime and anywhere, and obtain necessary intelligence and other support from them.

And the most important thing is that unlike the previous "sacred realm" that can only be owned by the dead, as the second sacred realm, the "sacred church" can gain eternity in it without giving up the human body.

This also means that as long as he can obtain his own temple, he can realize the eternity of the gods as a human being!

In the face of the power of gods, the power of mortals is too small.

He longed more than anyone else to possess that power, to be able to gain eternal power as an eternal being.

It is precisely because of this that he, who has never had any faith, has still become the most devout believer of the Torch Church in the southern seas, and loyally and firmly assists all the great plans of the Torch Church in the southern seas.

"Dear Mr. Forerunner... I have confirmed that it is just a submarine from Shelter 70. Our ships have intercepted it. You can rest assured."

After speaking, he stopped talking and waited quietly for the bishop to speak.

Looking quietly at the old man in front of him, who was only a few years younger than himself, Arzu pondered for a while and slowly spoke.

"The guard is dead."

His subordinates already knew about this, Charas replied respectfully.

"You don't have to worry, we will dispose of its body and no one will discover its secrets."

Alzu nodded slowly and then said.

"Vault 70 is not worth mentioning, but you must be careful with the Alliance, those people are difficult to deal with. I once saw a Forerunner fall in their hands... Unlike me who is attached to the physical body, that was a true Forerunner. "

The incorporeal forerunners were unreliable, but he also had to admit that those intangible guys were different from him in that they could hardly be eliminated in a physical sense.

He doesn't think the alliance has the ability to shake his ideals. He is not the kind of person who is quick and easy.

But at the same time, he had to admit that those guys were indeed difficult to deal with, even more difficult than companies and colleges.

However, unlike Alzu, who was wary, Chalas, who was the chief of staff to the federal president, just smiled lightly and said nonchalantly.

"Don't worry, I've been keeping an eye on them. Those people chose to camp in the Baiyue Strait. No matter what the hell they had in mind, their fate is almost doomed."

"I hope so. We will have a battle with them sooner or later, but the later the better." After a pause, Arzu, who was wearing a gray robe, continued, "I need your people to continue searching for the submarine. Pilots...regardless of whether they find anything, keep them at sea."

Charas bowed again and promised softly.

"As commanded."

…

Just as the Federation Navy expanded its search scope and launched a carpet search over a ten-nautical-mile radius, in uninhabited waters about a hundred nautical miles away from the wreckage of the Ocean Current Power Station, a nearly two-hundred-meter-long nuclear-powered submarine was slowly sailing underwater. .

Different from the boiler-burning nuclear submarines of the 21st century, this "Dolphin" nuclear-powered submarine uses second-generation controllable fusion technology, using helium-3 and deuterium that can be captured in the ocean as fusion fuel to provide cruise power.

Although at the end of the prosperous era, the second-generation controllable nuclear fusion technology has almost been replaced by pure helium triple fusion with a simpler energy structure, today, two centuries later, this technology is still quite advanced, at least far more advanced than in the South. The synthetic oil power system commonly used by the Federation of Islands fleet is much more advanced.

At this moment, neither Charas nor the more than a hundred sailors on the destroyer knew that the person they were looking for had already fled.

And it still slipped away from under their noses...

The buffer chamber of the Dolphin submarine.

The filled sea water gradually empties outward.

Then atomized detergent was sprayed from the walls on both sides, and the extended spray gun blew out a high-pressure airflow, washing away the algae and dust hanging on the deep-sea diving suits of the two visitors.

Seeing the signal light above his head dancing with green light, Sisi exchanged glances with Tails beside him, and passed through the opened gate one after the other.

Opposite the gate is a long and narrow room of less than ten square meters. The long partition window on the left can see the unexpectedly spacious interior of the submarine.

There are suspended escalators and corridors on both sides of the spacious space, and long containers are placed in the center.

Above the dome is a hook lock that is only connected to the track. Several workers in work clothes are walking on the suspended corridor.

Sisi couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on his face.

She had never seen such a strange submarine, which completely subverted her inherent impression of submarines as a closed and narrow means of transportation.

Nearby, two men wearing exoskeletons stood on either side of the door at the end of the room, holding assault rifles identical to those of the Federation Navy.

However, the exoskeleton with a thick humeral structure does not look like a military model. It is somewhat similar to the exoskeletons used by the stevedores at the roundabout port. And the temperament of these two people does not look like professional soldiers, but more like temporary security guards.

In the middle of the two people, there was a man in a blue coat standing. His appearance and demeanor were a bit majestic.

Looking at the two divers approaching, the man simply introduced himself and extended his right hand.

"Welcome to the Dolphin, my name is Chen Jianhong, and I am the captain of this submarine."

Taking off his helmet and putting it under his arm, Sisi gently shook his messy hair, took the man's extended hand and shook it.

"Sis, this is Tails next to me. We are both residents of Vault 404."

"Oh! You can call me Awei!" He also took off his helmet and looked around with a curious expression. He couldn't help but say in surprise, "giao! I thought you didn't have weapons... I didn't expect you to have any weapons." There is such a powerful guy!”

Looking at the two people with unique temperaments in front of them, the captain named Chen Jianhong was obviously stunned for a moment, but only for a moment.

"Are you referring to... this submarine? This is indeed not a weapon, just an ordinary cargo submarine."

"Cargo submarine?!"

Having never heard of such a strange concept, Taitail's eyes widened in surprise, "Ah...why do we need to use submarines to transport goods? Isn't it troublesome?"

Chen Jianhong shrugged and continued.

"I think so too. Although this thing was originally built to facilitate logistics and transportation between underwater settlements and sea settlements, building a straight up and down elevator is obviously much more trouble-free than using a submarine to transport things. But now I I'm just glad that the original designer was far-sighted, otherwise we and the more than 500 Coral City residents on the submarine would have been buried under the sea... Before you ask us, shouldn't you explain your own affairs first? "

Tails asked looking at him confused.

"explain?"

"Huang Guangwei," the captain stared at this guy intently, then looked at the woman named Sisi, and said with an unkind expression, "The biometric information registered on the submarine is called this name, but we The people found on it are you. I want to know where the original owner of the submarine is and... is he still alive? "

The atmosphere at the scene was a little stiff for a while.

But it was only for a moment.

"Of course he is still alive and doing well, otherwise we wouldn't be the ones suffering here now."

In order to prevent Ah Wei from saying unnecessary words, Sisi quickly took over the conversation before she spoke, looked at the captain who was looking towards him and continued.

"He is in the Alliance now, staying with Sun Yuechi, the director of your shelter."

Hearing these words, Chen Jianhong was stunned again, and then in less than half a minute, a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"...In the Alliance? Wait! The Alliance?! Our manager is there too? But this...how is this possible! Didn't he go to the Great Rift Valley?!"

At this moment, he finally realized where the sense of disobedience in his heart came from when he heard the guy named Tails say those words.

Until the entrance to Vault 70 was blocked by the Southern Islands Federation ships, the whereabouts of the manager Sun Yuechi and the fact that the weapons depot was locked inside were the biggest secrets of Vault 70, and only a few people knew about it. !

However, these guys seem to know this!

"His original destination was indeed the Great Rift Valley, but when passing through Dawn City, he changed his mind and handed over the administrator's permission to us..."

Looking at the dumbfounded Captain Chen and the two soldiers beside him who also looked surprised, Sisi spent a full half an hour patiently telling him the whole story.

Including how Sun Yuechi got to Shuguang City, and how he forced the manager's permission to their manager.

Including how Huang Guangwei was stranded on the north shore of the Baiyue Strait, and how he was picked up by them and brought back to Shuguang City...

After listening to her statement, Chen Jianhong stretched out his index finger and pinched the center of his eyebrows. He felt that his chest was full of complicated emotions, and he couldn't say a word for a while.

He couldn't accept it.

Their manager would rather pin his hopes on an outsider he has never met than choose someone he is familiar with.

What was even more unacceptable to him was that when they were hiding in the sea, playing hide and seek with the federal fleet with their lives at stake, that guy had already started a new life in Dawn City? !

What a joke!

"So... that guy is a popular drinker at your place now?" He retracted the index finger pinched between his eyebrows and squeezed out these words from his mouth with a trembling voice.

Not wanting to offend the dedicated captain in front of him, Sisi's expression was a little subtle, but he still nodded honestly.

"Yes... including the owner of the submarine, Huang Guangwei, who gave the submarine to us for disposal before boarding the airship to Dawn City -"

"These bastards!"

An angry curse interrupted her mid-sentence. Chen Jianhong clenched his fists, unable to hold back the emotions in his heart any longer, and gritted his teeth.

"Here we are suffering from claustrophobia, evading the federal fleet, living a frugal life with meager supplies! And the culprit who caused all these mistakes is enjoying life on land! This guy has no idea. Do you feel guilty at all?"

What a joke!

This is so unfair!

Sis coughed slightly.

"I think... your manager should feel guilty, that's why he commissioned us to investigate the wreckage of the Ocean Current Power Station."

Chen Jianhong said angrily.

"What's the use of investigating that thing! Except for those idiots on the island, everyone here can see clearly that it was obviously the person with the torch who did it! As long as he still has some backbone, he should come back to take charge of the overall situation, or at least bring the weapons arsenal The door is open!"

Looking at this guy who was so angry, Sisi didn't know how to comfort him for a moment, with a helpless expression on his face.

Making a 180-degree U-turn immediately after making a fatal mistake may not be the best remedy, and may also produce another, more fatal result.

The war against the Church of the Torch requires the support of survivors in the southern seas, and it is not in the interests of the Alliance to watch the survivors here kill each other.

What they need to do most now is to put the brakes on this out-of-control train, rather than allowing the scale of the war to continue to expand.

So she didn't tell the captain in front of her that at this moment she was holding the key that could open the door to the weapons depot.

It's not time to use it yet...

Just when Sisi was thinking about what to do next, Taili, who had been standing next to her quietly for a while, suddenly spoke.

"Oh! Your managers are all at our place anyway, why don't you just go to our place too!"