A blue sea.

A propeller plane painted in ocean blue is quietly clinging to the surface of the sea, rising and falling with the churning waves, like a drifting plank.

Two pontoons replaced the 20 cannons, lying under the plane like a sled. A depth charge with a pressure sensor clings to the belly of the aircraft, like a sharp blade hidden under the blue.

There was silence all around, only the sound of the tide rolling.

At this moment, Feng Qing, who was lying in the cockpit with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from his seat.

Because of the force, her forehead almost hit the cockpit, but thanks to the seat belt pulling, there was no accident.

With a creaking sound, the plane seemed to come back to life in silence.

At about the same time, the standard duck voice of the corps commander Mosquito Brother came from the communication channel.

「…… The fish has taken the bait!"

A cacophony of electricity in the communication channel.

The VM screen strapped to the thigh also lit up at the same time, and the coordinates of the strike, estimated from the position and relative distance of the friendly forces, were displayed on the map.

Unhurriedly, he took out a chocolate from his pocket and threw it into his mouth, Feng Qing skillfully reached out and opened the dashboard on the cockpit and started the plane's engine.

The propeller in the nose roared, dragging the light fuselage against the waves.

Controlling the speed at the critical point of takeoff, Feng Qing did not rush to pull the nose up, and the index finger holding the joystick gently tapped the beat.

The sound of the continuous tide was drowned out by the roar of the propellers, and a calm and peaceful sea suddenly boiled.

It's not just one –

It's a full fifty!

The -2/H maritime attack planes are like speeding speedboats, clinging to the rough sea, moving rapidly towards the attack coordinates shared by friendly forces......

……

The tide is boiling above the blue waves, and the waves are surging under the blue waves.

The hoarse screech was like a sweeping harpoon, driving away schools of fish and xenos in front of them, and a group of monsters clinging to the seabed with blue scales swam rapidly in the direction of the submarine water pipeline on the west side of the roundabout.

Behind the mutants is a huge sea monster that resembles a snake and a fish, a bit like a prehistoric plesiosaur.

The tail is more than ten meters long, with scales like dragon scales, a head protruding outwards like a crocodile's mouth, and sharp fangs like blades on a chainsaw, as if it can bite off a small ship in one bite.

Local fishermen call it Laken, a folk song that circulates in the southern seas, meaning "the dragon of the deep sea".

Although according to the "law of mind influence", it is difficult for the telepathic interference device to directly manipulate this kind of xenomorph with a large brain capacity, the mind can be reduced by various means such as drugs.

For the church, this is obviously not a difficult task.

They can even turn a province survivor into a puppet without a mind, let alone an alien with a mind far inferior to that of a human.

The goal was soon approaching.

One of the mutants broke away from the cluster, sped up in front of all the clansmen, and pulled a palm-sized thermite bomb from its back.

This thing is also a weapon given to them by the torch.

After activation, it can not only burn underwater, but also burn through hundreds of millimeters of steel plates!

The blue-skinned guy twisted his disgusting face and let out a clattering laugh before pressing the button on the bomb, and a thirty-second countdown appeared on the screen.

However, at the same time, when it was less than fifty meters away from the submarine water pipeline, a faint wave of water suddenly surged to its side from the side.

Something was rapidly approaching it.

Just as it sensed that something was wrong, it was about to react when a sharp arrow pierced its flank, pushing it towards the surface with a dull blast.

That mutant

It let out a hoarse and dull wail, and large bubbles instantly flooded its entire face and gills hidden in its jaw.

Unbalanced and in great pain, it flapped its hands and feet wildly in the sea, but forgot to let go of its hand holding the thermite bomb.

And at this moment, the thirty-second countdown was just over, and a dazzling white light enveloped a large bubble, instantly engulfing the guy.

The slowly blooming fireworks were like mandala flowers blooming at the bottom of the sea, and the army of blue-skinned mutants who came from the mountains and tsunamis were instantly stunned by this terrifying scene.

Unaware of what was happening, they looked around in confusion as they looked around for the source of the attack.

And at this moment, not far from them, iron lumps shaped like crabs were quietly lurking at the edge of a seaweed forest, and the thick barrels were already aimed at them.

If the Imperial army were here, they would certainly be familiar with this scene.

These heavily armored iron bumps are carved out of the same mold as the "king crab" amphibious armor that is rampaging through the port of Golden Gallen!

In fact, they're the same thing.

It's just that the weapons hanging on the arms have been changed from two 37 guns to a chainsaw designed for deep-sea environments, and a supercavitating weapon called the "Harpoon".

As the name suggests, the principle of this thing is to use the supercavitation principle to reduce drag, the tail is equipped with nitrate propellant, and the front end is a fighter with a titanium aluminum mixed magnesium powder charge, which is equivalent to a miniature version of a torpedo, caliber 19, and the firing device and 19 explosive guns belong to the same model, which is convenient to switch ammunition after going ashore to continue the pursuit.

Unlike the 19 Explosive Bullet, the 19 Harpoon has an effective killing distance of only 200 meters and a minimum safety distance of only 10 meters.

This combat radius is still a bit difficult to deal with some ships, but it is more than enough to deal with near-surface torpedo and frogman troops.

Although the Alliance's arsenal was the first time to ponder underwater weapons, with the technical support of the survivors of Coral City, Boulder Military's quickly solved several of these problems and loaded them with the Alliance's "King Crab".

This was the Harpoon's first actual combat.

So far, it's pretty good......

Looking at the "fireworks" that fell into the seabed in the distance, and the restless group of demons and monsters behind them, the Voldemort model who was lying in the "king crab" grinned.

"I didn't expect our Jungle Corps to work part-time in the Navy one day."

A teammate's voice can be heard in the communication channel.

"In a sense, a kelp forest can be considered a jungle."

「666!」

"It doesn't matter, the opponents are mutants anyway."

There's nothing to keep with these brutes.

They should go to hell to repent.

"The hit works! Fire freely!"

Spit out a string of bubbles from the crab's shell, and Voldemort manipulated the king crab to step forward, "Don't let our fish run away!"

A dry response came from the communication channel.

"Roger!"

"Whoa!"

As the order to attack was given, a total of 22 "king crabs" opened fire at the same time, firing underwater flares based on the target source detected by the sonar.

Blinding white light bloomed near the group of aquatic mutants, instantly lighting up a piece of water that could not be reached into daylight.

The aquatic mutants, who had already adapted to the darkness around them, screamed and raised their arms to block their stinging eyes.

At the same time, the "harpoons" dragging the bubbles shuttled freely under the light, harvesting fresh lives like the scythe of death.

In just a few breaths, dozens of aquatic mutants were shot into flesh and blood, and a scarlet blood mist spread wantonly with the current.

Death is spreading.

Fear crept into the heart of every mutant.

and ashore

Unlike the greenskins, who nest under cold, damp reefs, they learn more of the cunning of a fish than the bloodlust and madness of a beast.

Seeing that his morale was about to collapse, the mutant leader who was dormant in the midst of the mutant crowd let out a low long roar.

"It's human!"

"They're down there!"

"Rush forward! Tear them apart!"

Hearing the leader's roar, the mutants who continued to suffer casualties finally regained some morale and slammed their legs into the seabed beneath them.

As the depth dropped, so did the pressure of the water around them, squeezing their bloodshot eyeballs and muscular chests.

Finally approaching the bottom of the sea at a depth of nearly 300 meters, the blinding white light gradually departed from their side.

"Click——!

The nearly 1,000 mutants who had reintegrated into the darkness gradually regained their sight, and they let out a roar to dispel fear, and the various creatures in their hands slew towards the source of the attack.

Coincidentally, their opponents thought the same thing.

Twenty-two huge "king crabs" turned on their searchlights almost at the same time, wielding crab legs and chainsaw-welded claws towards the blue-skinned monsters!

Excited roars echoed through the communication channels—

"Crush them!"

"Whoa!"

Flesh and steel collide with each other!

A "king crab" armor quickly popped out of the mechanical leg that folded inward, kicking the mutant who was grabbing the thermite rush away.

Then the massive body lunged forward, slamming its outstretched forefoot down and stumbling on the back of another swooping mutant, crushing it to death on the uneven reef like an ant.

A mutant managed to get around its back and tried to pry the heavy shell open with a harpoon, but it didn't even scrape off the paint that had been applied to it.

Just as it was about to think of something else, a real "harpoon" shot it in the chest, and half of its body was blasted into a mist of blood and minced flesh.

Mutants are like garlic cloves that have fallen into a garlic churner, and in an instant they are crushed into a bloody sludge.

Harpoons were thrown from their strong arms, but only scratches were left on the steel shell.

They use all their resources, with harpoon guns, with underwater rifles, with short knives and daggers, and even with deep mines and explosives...... However, in the face of this armor, which is several times thicker than the claw crab, all these efforts are in vain.

The glare of the searchlight kept them from opening their eyes, and the thick chainsaw split them in two with a single touch.

It's not just chainsaws –

And the fishnet bullets that ejected from the thick barrels!

The sturdy threads formed a large net, tying many mutants to the reef, or simply tying them up with other mutants.

And the more you struggle.

The tighter the nets are bundled!

In just five minutes, more than two hundred mutants had died under the whistling chainsaw.

Continued casualties and battles with no hope of victory almost made ...... There was a deep horror on each mutant's face.

Even their leaders couldn't help but move backwards in fear.

They've never seen anything like this weird!

However, their enemies, the players lying in the king crabs, are all too familiar with their scaly brutes!

Since the capture of several aquatic mutants in Port Fries two months ago, the research site of the Alliance Biological Research Institute in Port Fries has been decoding the mutants, and the habits of these guys have been quickly revealed.

These guys are not as domineering in the sea as they seem.

They can also be attacked by xenos in the sea, just like those

There are no cargo ships with black ironwood or psychic interference devices.

In order to avoid being targeted by the large xenomorphs, they usually choose to travel close to: land or islands, shallow waters on the seabed.

The maximum depth of these waters is no more than 400 meters, and the xenos who are generally too large will not easily sneak there to avoid running aground.

In addition, during the long journey, they will alternately sing "boat songs", actively creating noise to disguise themselves as "XXXL spec" xenos, in order to intimidate those small and medium-sized xenos operating in shallow waters.

Taking these characteristics into account, the port can locate the movement of these beasts by placing a few buoys in the waters near the submarine water pipeline to collect acoustic signals, so as to formulate an interception plan.

This is not technically very difficult to achieve.

Although no satellites can be used, the sensors installed on the seabed freshwater pipes are enough to send signals to players in or near the fries port.

Unbeknownst to the mutants, they had been targeted by the military base in Port Fries as long as they left the Dead Coast and entered the eastern coast of Baiyue Province.

Seeing that the clansmen continued to suffer casualties, the leader standing in the midst of the mutant crowd finally panicked and shouted loudly to the minions in front of him.

"Removal ——!"

"Towards the sea!"

One by one, the mutants who were entangled with the "king crab" kicked their legs hard and retreated towards the sea.

Although the king crab is equipped with ballast water tanks and high-pressure gas cylinders similar to "fish swim bladders", due to the weight of the equipment itself and the limited armor volume, these crabs do not rise quickly, and it is difficult for them to continue firing during the ascent.

Therefore, the 22 "king crabs" did not pursue the water, but continued to fire with "harpoon" bullets welded to their arms.

Slender columns of air chased the heels of the mutants towards the sea, and the mutants were constantly shot into a blood mist by the fish, but more mutants were still lucky enough to escape from the not-so-dense firepower net.

Just when they were only fifty meters away from the sea, the Harpoons, who were chasing after them, finally slowed down their pursuit.

These weapons don't seem to fly far.

Looking at the Harpoons that gradually lost power under their feet and the iron crabs that they threw off, the frightened mutants finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, before this breath could be relieved, slender cylinders suddenly burrowed into the water and fell on top of their heads.

This moment-

Their nightmare has just begun!

Looking at the cylinder that fell unhurriedly in front of him, the faces crowded with scales invariably wrote with astonishment and confusion.

As if sensing the threat of death, an inexplicable fear crept into the hearts of every mutant.

Without waiting for them to react, and there was no chance to react at all, the bursting flames and air columns exploded in an instant, engulfing the evil lives one after another.

Looking at the sea of fire spreading out above the sea, the "king crabs" made amazing noises under their shells.

"It's powerful enough......"

"Anti-submarine is really the job of the Air Force."

"Damn, it's still those greenskins that resist beatings, these scaly things are like loaches, I can't help but fight!"

"So whose MVP is it?"

"Cutting out the explosion should be ours."

"What a good idea."

Just when everyone was talking and arguing, the voice of the mosquito brother suddenly came from the ears of the model Voldemort.

"Bomb dropped! How's that going over there?"

Hearing this duck's voice, the model worker hurriedly responded.

"Oh! We're all good! There were no casualties—"

Mosquito: "Who cares about you, did you ask if you took a picture?!"

Voldemort: "...... Grass! Is it so real?"

Mosquito: "Wait, let's not talk to you yet...... I've detected a telepathic interference device signal here! The source is about 300 meters away from the explosion area, and the depth is between 50 meters and 100 meters. Let's see if there's anything else nearby."

Anything else?!

The model worker was slightly stunned.

Almost at the same time as Brother Mosquito's words fell, a long chirp came into everyone's ears.

"Woo——!

The sound was like the whistle of a freighter, and it trembled with the nearby waters.

Everyone looked up and turned their searchlights upwards to search, just in time to see a shadow dozens of meters long hanging over their heads.

"What the hell?"

There were ghost-like expressions on all faces, and the model worker swallowed involuntarily.

A teammate's voice can be heard in the communication channel.

"Mommy...... There's a big guy."

The telepathic interference device began to emit erratic ripples of interference, and the wailing big creature seemed to be wounded.

The entire sea boiled, and the waves blew away the floating corpses, scaring away the aquatic xenos who were trying to get closer.

The "king crabs" standing at the bottom of the sea are also constantly moving their crab legs backwards under the turbulent current.

"Mosquitoes! Do you still have ammo?!" With his hands pressed desperately against the shaking grip, Voldemort yelled into the headset.

There was a rustling sound in the communication channel, and a disgraceful voice was heard.

"It's gone...... Just one round of spare ammunition, and I dismantled all the cannons in order to throw this thing at you, and you beg for a lot of blessings."

「%¥#@!」

After a flurry of swearing, Voldemort cut his voice to the squad channel and shouted at his teammates.

"Prepare for the boss fight!"

Unlike him, who was very nervous in his heart, there was a roar of excitement in the team channel.

"Whoa!"

……

On the other side, about 100 kilometers from the center of the explosion, a destroyer belonging to the Federation of the Southern Islands was parked.

At this moment, there was a panic in the bridge.

"An explosion occurred in an underwater area 100 kilometers due west! It's near the submarine volcanic belt, which seems to be our minefield!"

"Minefield?!"

"Damn...... Did the planes do it?"

"What's going on with those planes?"

"Is it Vault 70?!"

The reason for the scrambling of the sailors was not only because of the sudden underwater explosion, but also because of the fifty planes that suddenly appeared on the radar!

These planes seemed to come out of nowhere, from this endless sea, and without the slightest warning!

And the weird thing is that there are no aircraft carriers or airfields nearby, and not even a small fishing boat can be seen.

Captain Dongwen stared at the blue sky and the rolling sea outside the bridge window with a frown, not knowing what he was thinking.

Seeing that his boss didn't react for a long time, the adjutant standing next to him took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.

"I suggest reporting the situation here to the Navy Command immediately!"

As his subordinates had argued, the planes could be the work of Vault 70. The explosion occurred in the minefield they had set up to intercept the Vault 70 submersible and protect the crater from threats.

Although the entrance to the Vault was under the blockade of the Federation fleet, there was no guarantee that there would be no other emergency exits to the Vault.

However, the captain standing next to him spoke uncharacteristically after a moment of silence.

"No, keep watching."

The adjutant was stunned for a moment, and looked at him puzzled,

However, the commander had no intention of explaining to him, but only told him that he was optimistic about this place, and turned away from the bridge.

Return to the captain's quarters.

Dong Wen hung the captain's hat on the hanger, then opened the drawer and took out a small communicator from inside.

He used his thumb to pick at the mechanical buttons on the case, carefully typed in a string of numbers, and then put the communicator to his ear.

Before he could speak, an eager voice came from the other end of the phone.

"How's it going?"

It was none other than Mr. Charas, Chief of Staff of the Federal Navy and Chief of Staff of the President, a representative of the Navy's main battle faction.

While there was a consensus for most of the citizens of the Federation to get rid of Vault 70, until the Currents were destroyed, there was disagreement as to whether the conflict should be resolved mildly or aggressively.

Because of his unwavering stance and radical advocacy, Charas was supported by many naval officers, including Tung Boon himself.

It's just that there have been some bad rumors recently, which has made Dongwen begin to wonder if he is really doing this for the benefit of the Federation.

Admittedly, some of the things that the coalition did out of nowhere were indeed questionable, but the slogan they shouted, "Survivors unite," was nothing worthy of their rivalry.

Humans on this planet were once part of a single entity.

And they do live up to their slogan, setting an example for the wastelanders who are still killing each other to end the wasteland era.

For example, in the recent port of Golden Gallen, no matter how much the slave owners there quoted the sophistry of the scriptures, they did untie the rope around the slaves' necks. Another example is the freshwater pipeline to the crater, and although they did make some money, it turned out that the locals did have cheaper water.

Those guys didn't say that they were here to do charity, and if they maliciously raise prices in the future, it will be a matter of the future, and they can't borrow a big hat from the future because they didn't open their pockets today.

At least in his opinion, the church lunatics who talk about "evolution", "future", and "for humanity" all day long look a little more suspicious.

These guys really don't want money, and the psychic interference devices provided to the Federation are given away for free, but no one can say for sure that those people aren't trying to do something bigger.

For example, Coral City.

Don't they just want to get over all the time?

He was in favour of a modest cooperation with the Torch Church, as long as it was truly beneficial to the Federation, even if it was not beneficial in the short term, but would benefit future generations.

For example, it would undoubtedly be worth exchanging a power station for the unity of the whole Union, and future generations will thank their ancestors for their hard work.

It's just that......

What is the benefit of blowing up a freshwater pipeline?

He had been able to convince himself, even to justify himself on Mr. Charas's behalf, but now he really didn't know how to make it up.

But—

Now is not the time to think about this.

After sorting out his thoughts for a moment, Dongwen slowly spoke.

"Explosion...... It did happen."

Hearing a relieved voice on the other end of the phone, he paused for a moment to continue.

"However, there are some suspicions about this matter, because the explosion did not occur at the bottom of the sea, but in the offshore area...... And, did you send those planes?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, and it took a long time to hold back half a hesitant sentence.

"Airplanes?"

"Yes."

Dongwen paused and continued.

"A bunch of planes suddenly appeared on our radar, and they dropped torpedoes or depth charges or something into the sea, and then we observed the signal for the explosion...... I

Not sure if that pipe blew up, but I want to know what those planes were, and what they were bombing—"

However, what he didn't expect was that after hearing this, Mr. Charas, who was usually very mild-mannered, jumped up like a penguin seal.

"That's not something you should care about! Now, Mr. Captain, have your men return to the nearest port at once—no, to the island of Anle due east."

Dongwen was stunned.

"Mr. Charas?"

As if aware of the apocalypse in his tone, the sound of calm breathing came from the other end of the phone.

"I'm sorry...... I'm out of shape, there will be a formal order through the chain of command later, you can go back to the bridge first and ask your men to prepare."

After a pause, there was a sigh on the other end of the phone.

"It's terrible...... A water pipe made the group of people who ate inside and outside betray their original beliefs, and they didn't even realize that they were taking the rope handed by others around their necks, and they were rushing to sell themselves for a good price after only two days of freedom."

"Mr. Charas," Dongwen asked, frowning, "maybe it's not a question I should ask, but...... Does that have anything to do with selling yourself for a good price?"

Charas snorted.

"Aren't they doing this? We've just gotten rid of the rope around our necks from Vault 70, and now they've picked up the rope from Vault 404—"

"So I'm wondering, what exactly is the rope you've been talking about?" Dongwen couldn't help but ask, "Can you put it more concretely?" and not an abstract metaphor."

There was a pause on the other end of the line for a few seconds, followed by a soft cough.

"We're too far off topic...... In short, our friends in Haiya Province don't want us to get too close to the Alliance, those madmen are not a good thing, but we need to use their power to solve our problems for the time being. Anyway, that pipe is a nuisance...... If only someone could solve this problem, every citizen of the Federation would thank him."

Hearing the anticipation in that voice, Dongwen took a deep breath to keep himself calm, and said cautiously.

"Mr. Charas, if there are other concerns, I can settle them for you, including silencing those who should shut up, and letting those who should disappear disappear, but this matter is ...... It's too much."

After a pause, he continued.

"I'm sorry I can't solve your problem, maybe you should solve this problem through a more legal and compliant way, I suggest you talk to Mr. President."

Charas said bitterly.

"That's too slow! And the inhabitants of the crater will not understand us."

Dongwen said immediately.

"Then slow down...... There's nothing wrong with being cautious."

The reason why he hates the guys in Vault 70 is because they are arrogant and self-serving, never willing to put down their bodies to communicate with the survivors outside the vault, and use their blue coats as a shield once they can't explain clearly.

It was then that he suddenly realized that he had almost become the person he hated the most.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time, and after a while, there was a soft sigh as if giving up.

"You're right...... There's nothing wrong with slowing down, it's just that I'm not thinking it through, please forget what I just said."

Dongwen nodded, slowly breathing a sigh of relief in his heart.

Perhaps Mr. Charas was as aware of this as he was.

He had no doubt that the gentleman had made the decision in the interests of the Federation, but just as other captains occasionally went overboard, why not this chief of staff?

He will still support him as always......

After hanging up the phone, Tung Boon returned to the bridge.

At this time, the adjutant came and gave a military salute.

「…… Just now there was a message from the Navy Command telling us to go to the port of Anle Island, due east, to rest and recuperate."

Already from the private route

Dongwen, who had heard of it, nodded, and walked straight to the bridge console to stop.

However, just as he was about to give the order to turn to the east, his heart moved slightly, and he looked at the officer beside him and ordered.

"Eighty kilometers west!"

There were expressions of surprise on the faces of the officers, especially the adjutant who had just relayed the news of the headquarters to him.

"But......" hesitated, and the lieutenant stepped forward to warn him, but was interrupted by a raised hand.

"The command didn't ask us to turn around."

Staring at the rising and surging sea, Dongwen reached out and gently held the hat on top of his head, and said slowly.

"A little detour, I didn't say no."

……

On a clear blue sky.

Feng Qing, who was piloting a seaplane, circled around the sea and was fighting. Turning around, he suddenly saw a warship coming due east.

A look of surprise appeared on her face, she wiped her chocolate-covered hand from her clothes, and reached for the switch on the onboard radio.

"This is Fengqing, and I found a Federation warship, it should be a destroyer...... Towards the little crabs of the Jungle Corps."

"Not sure if there's any hostility and isn't firing at me for the time being...... Ah, it looks like they're trying to call me over the radio...... Do you want to take it?"

Soon the voice of the mosquito brother was heard in the communication channel.

"Pick it up! Why don't you take it! Ask what these Dogecoin are doing here!"

Listening to the tone of "as if there is still a lot of ammunition", Feng Qing made a helpless expression, stepped on the rudder with his left foot, adjusted the course and leaned in the direction of the destroyer.

"Roger."