Forty nautical miles east of Chiwei Island, aboard the destroyer Mayrain.

The destroyer was already at full speed and was fleeing in the direction of Okinawa, while Captain Hideo Fukuda, who had made the decision to "reverse the advance," stood in the command room with resolute eyes, constantly communicating with the headquarters in Tokyo with his characteristic and magnetic voice.

"Yes, yes, we have begun to evacuate the sea area where the incident occurred, but our speed is too slow, I am afraid that we will not be able to escape the pursuit range of the other party."

"No, we're not going to join up with the Reagan and other ships, that would be too risky."

"War is on the horizon, and we have to protect ourselves as much as possible."

"Understand, understand, I have notified other ships to withdraw from the exercise, but the specific order still needs to be issued by the command in a unified manner."

We don't know what it is, maybe small tactical nuclear weapons."

"Its power. In short, Akawei Island has completely disappeared. ”

"The good news is that we don't have to fight for the island anymore."

Hideo Fukuda uttered an inappropriate joke - obviously, he was aware of the inappropriateness of the statement, but he really couldn't control his mouth.

Because, his emotions are too nervous.

Beneath the calm exterior lies a beating heart and an unparalleled, overwhelming fear.

At the moment of the missile's explosion, the Mayrain was actually only 20 nautical miles away from Akao Island in a straight line.

He had seen the explosion, the island disappear in front of him, and the eerie mushroom cloud rising.

Yes, the mushroom cloud produced by the explosion is indeed different from what he has seen-—— whether it is a nuclear weapon or a conventional large-yield bomb, when they explode, the smoke produced by the violent combustion of the explosives must be obscured, whether it is white or gray black, in short, its "transparency" is definitely not too high.

But this time the exploding mushroom cloud is strange.

Its smoke is so faint that it may not even be visible at all if it were not for the help of a telescope.

And even if you see it, you will be shocked by its ghost-like form.

It was like the elusive, unobservable Grim Reaper, wielding its deadly scythe.

Hideo Fukuda had never seen anything like it.

He was almost stupefied, and at that moment, he remembered the explosion he had seen from his parents, from his textbooks, from television more than sixty years ago.

The fear engraved in his veins was awakened immediately, and even if he was as resolute as he was, he almost fell limply on the deck.

He really felt that "hallucination".

The stench of burnt flesh, the violent shock wave, the eyes stinging from the bright light, and the slight coolness felt on the skin in the ultra-high temperature

It took him five minutes to recover from his hallucinations of fear and realize that the coolness on his body was only wet by the sudden waves.

And after that, even though he did his duty as captain as he could, arranged all the retreat plans, and reported all the information detected, he could not recover from the violent impact

On the other end of the phone, the liaison officer of the headquarters was still chattering about the follow-up "operational" plan, but Hideo Fukuda couldn't listen to it.

Because he captured the most crucial sentence in that series of plans:

Return to the waters off Akao Island and establish a defensive line to prevent the opponent's fleet from approaching.

"You guys. . . Are you kidding? ”

Hideo Fukuda asked incredulously.

"What are you kidding? According to intelligence, the opponent's aircraft carrier group has begun to move closer to the waters off Chiwei Island. ”

"If we don't stop it, we're probably going to lose the island entirely."

"No, the most important thing is not Chiwei Island, but on its south side, you know?"

"Chiwei Island can be abandoned, but that island is absolutely not."

"What do you want me to do to stop them?"

Having said this, Hideo Fukuda's emotions calmed down.

He knew that he was afraid that he would be treated as a death squad.

It's a task you can't refuse-—— and everyone knows that the chances of such a task achieving the desired results are slim to none, but so what?

Compared to the loss of that crucial island, the upper echelons were apparently more willing to gamble with his old destroyer.

At that time, whether it is to force the Liaoning ship away or to expand the conflict, it will be a sure-fire deal for the island countries

Hearing his question, the man on the other end of the line replied:

"Fukuda-san, let's do everything we can - you can do anything except take the initiative to fire."

"We can't give you reliable advice, you're the one on the front line, and you need to rely on your own judgment to make the command."

I'm not asking for your advice. This is a rhetorical question. ”

"What I'm trying to say is that we can't stop that fleet at all – maybe you should get in touch with the U.S. side first, rather than really thinking it's okay after you get a 'it's all right' reply."

The phone fell silent all of a sudden, and Hideo Fukuda didn't intend to waste any more time, so he hung up the phone directly.

He knew that he couldn't count on anyone now.

The command will not allow him to retreat and will not increase support.

The reply from the US side was only the same "everything is normal, keep the battle position".

All other ships have withdrawn from the exercise and are ready to retreat.

Only they will go in the opposite direction to face the giant.

Thinking of this, Hideo Fukuda's heart suddenly had a tragic heroism.

Yes, maybe I'm the samurai who slays demons?

Maybe you have to build immortality?

Maybe the other side is just a bluff and a strong outsider?

Wonderful fantasies gradually blinded Hideo Fukuda's mind like poison, and in his bones, he was an out-and-out islander.

As long as they are islanders, they will inherit their national character due to the narrow living space and turbulent living environment-—— and the rhapsody of the next is almost the standard of such islanders.

Hideo Fukuda took a deep breath and grabbed the radio that commanded the entire ship.

A few seconds later, the Mayrain began to turn at full speed and rushed towards the waters off Akawei Island.

The Liaoning formation was still 100 nautical miles away, and the May Rain did not intend to sit still, but crossed the defunct Chiwei Island and continued westward

After 3 hours.

After judging that the risk of conflict was basically eliminated, Luan Yijun had returned to the aircraft carrier, and at this moment, he was observing the unobstructed sea ahead with satisfaction, marking the location of Chiwei Island on the chart.

"From now on, the actual control of this island will officially change hands."

"I was thinking that maybe we could do the same for another island."

"What can't be fought for and can't be grabbed may be solved with a single YJ-21H - in short, we must show our attitude."

"If you can't get something, even if you destroy it, you won't give it to them."

"In this way, no one will rob us"

Hearing his words, Cao Gangchuan couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha Lao Luan, I didn't expect you to tell jokes, it seems that you are in a good mood? ”

Luan Yijun also laughed and replied:

"Can you be in a bad mood? This time, the No. 2 plan was even better than we expected. ”

"Lao Mei is really not stupid, just a report on the damage situation, let them speculate all the subsequent developments."

"I guess they've seen that we removed the electronic jamming and let their reconnaissance planes go above Akao Island on purpose."

"After all, from that point in time, the Reagan formation suspended all training activities and completely entered a state of restriction and defense."

"How can I say it, from a certain point of view, this is not a good thing-—— they are too sharp, and it will not be too easy for us to fight against them."

Hearing Luan Yijun's words, Cao Gangchuan nodded slightly.

"It's all a thousand-year-old fox, and it's a bit outrageous to talk about this thing."

"However, we are not as strong as they think-—— the production of metallic hydrogen is too low, and I estimate that after the subsequent technology is announced, they will quickly detect the anomaly."

"So, at the end of the day, we're just delaying for a while."

"That's enough-—— it gives us time to prepare, and whether Nandao really wants to move or say 'scared away', it will be more calm."

Speaking of this, Luan Yijun couldn't help but sigh again.

In the past few months, he has been too depressed.

Although it is impossible for him to accept the influence of external pressure and external public opinion as a professional soldier, his endogenous anxiety and anger are uncontrollable.

There were many moments when he really felt the urge to attack the other party desperately, but the discipline engraved in the depths of his soul was the strongest rein, allowing him to quickly suppress his emotions.

But fortunately, at this moment, his emotions were relieved.

——

While that was clearly not enough, and while he was still craving a more ferocious and full-fledged revenge, at least he could take a break.

But at this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed the radar screen on the side.

Then, his expression became confused.

"What does this Mayrain mean? Still not leaving? Are you really going to touch us? ”

In fact, from the moment the Liaoning formation set sail for the waters of Chiwei Island, the May Rain was already under the surveillance of Rainbow-9.

Luan Yijun watched it flee in a hurry after the explosion, and then he didn't know what was happening, turned around at a large angle and rushed back, crossing the sea area of Chiwei Island, as if he wanted to be a goalkeeper, and stopped his own route.

Luan Yijun didn't feel any threat, because he knew that when Lao Mei didn't dare to make a move, it was even more impossible for the island country to do it.

He just thought it was ridiculous-—— with such a small destroyer with a full load of only 6,000 tons, who was it going to scare?

Hearing his words, Cao Gangchuan shook his head and replied:

"There is a high probability that I want to touch porcelain and fight a show war for Lao Mei."

"However, I am afraid that their calculation was wrong."

"I estimate that at this point in time, even if we do sink this Mayrain, I don't think they will have any reaction"

"Why don't you try?"

Luan Yijun asked half-jokingly.

But he didn't expect that Cao Gangchuan actually thought about it seriously.

"The international risk is a bit high, but if it is done simply enough, it can still explain the past."

"The depth of the sea here is also sufficient, and it is not easy to salvage it in the short term."

"But the problem is that it's not easy to sink the May Rain before it detects it and signals it to the outside world."

"We currently only have two electromagnetic guns, and the rate of fire is so low that even with electromagnetic shielding, we can't do it without leakage."

Luan Yijun looked at Cao Gangchuan dumbfounded, and now he felt as if he casually said that he wanted to teach someone a lesson, and as a result, this kid began to think about killing people and splitting up the body.

"I'm just going to say that, what's going on in your head?"

After a moment's thought, he spoke:

"Pull 055 back, 052D go up, if it really wants to touch the porcelain, just press it over!"

"Understood."

A smile appeared on Cao Gangchuan's face.

Although he did feel a little distressed about letting 052D charge into battle, he also knew that the bow armor that had been specially upgraded for this drill would eventually come in handy

A few hours later, on the May Rain number.

Hideo Fukuda stood firmly in the command room, his eyes without the slightest hesitation.

At this moment, the distance between this small destroyer, which has an actual tonnage of less than 4,000 tons, and the distance between the behemoth is less than 1 nautical mile, and with the relative speed of nearly 50 knots between the two sides, the two ships will collide head-on in two minutes.

He is like a samurai sitting on horseback, the Mayrain is his war horse, and Otto's 127mm automatic naval gun is his war knife.

But alas, this knife cannot be used.

The only thing he can do is to let his body become a reef in the way of the other party.

Hideo Fukuda has no doubts about his own ability, let alone the sturdiness of the war horse under him.

At this time, the two ships met less than 100 meters, and both sides had lost the opportunity to regret and hesitate.

Hideo Fukuda closed his eyes.

He wasn't going to see this sad scene.

After all, this ship is like his comrade-in-arms, his brother.

In the last few seconds, he seemed to be in a state of flux.

Then, a huge crash roar sounded, and the violent vibration directly threw him to the ground.

The sound of metal bending and breaking was piercing to his teeth, but the screams of the ship's crew were deeper into his soul.

He could no longer endure such torture.

But when he opened his eyes blankly, and was about to check his results, he found out.

There is no result at all.

The 052D ran over its own war horse and the weak May Rain.

On his hull, not even noticeable signs of wear are visible.

On the other hand, the bow of the Mayrain has been completely destroyed, turning into a pile of twisted scrap metal.

If it weren't for the design of the watertight compartment, he even suspected that the ship would be sinking to the bottom of the sea soon-

And the one who started it just walked away forever.

Even the sailors on board did not look back.

At this moment, he suddenly understood something:

It turns out that their so-called courage, in front of them, is a joke.

(End of chapter)