56: Chapter 56 Showdown 1

At the same time, a similar scene was unfolding on the destroyer Xining. After the radar operator on duty reported a surface target, Captain Xu Kai picked up the ship's telephone next to him.

"Yanshan, Yanshan, this is the Xining."

"Received, Xining, please go ahead."

"There are two unidentified vessels in the southeast sea area, judged to be foreign ships, heading toward our eastern waters. Monitor closely! Monitor closely!"

"Yanshan understands!"

Two pristine white warships, one after the other, sped toward the target sea area.

A contest without gunpowder had officially begun.

Time reached 6:00 AM the following morning.

After washing up, Chu Ge headed straight for the Research Institute's cafeteria. On the way, Zheng Jun and Yan Tianhao saw him and quickly greeted him.

"Academician Chu, morning!"

"Morning to you both. By the way, Tianhao, come with me on a long trip after breakfast. Zheng Jun, you stay at the Military Research Institute and focus on overcoming the difficulties of Quantum Communication."

"Yes, sir!"

The two answered in unison.

"Oh, and Zheng Jun, the quantum computer experts should all be arriving in the next couple of days. Coordinate with them; if you run into any trouble with Quantum Communication, you can consult those experts first!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Academician Chu, where are you going?"

Zheng Jun rubbed his hands and ran up to Chu Ge, asking like a curious child.

"The Prism Tower Base. Today, the Prism Tower Project officially goes online!"

"Huh? The Pr—Prism Tower Base? I... I want to go too! Why does Yan Tianhao get all the good stuff? Why am I always the one getting hurt?"

Watching the two of them walk away, Zheng Jun stood there foolishly, his heart filled with regret.

Twenty minutes later, seven or eight military jeeps drove out of the Research Institute's gates one by one.

Outside the gate, four service cars and four motorcycles from the Yanjing Traffic Police had been waiting for a long time. After merging with the convoy, the four motorcycles led the way while the four service cars brought up the rear.

With the lead motorcycles' sirens blaring and the military vehicles' hazard lights flashing, the convoy grandly made its way toward the Yanjing military airport.

...

Under the blue sky and green sea, aboard the destroyer uss mustin.

Captain George Wells returned to the bridge after finishing his breakfast.

"Captain returning to the command center!"

At the hatch, a sentry in a white navy cap stood with hands behind his back and legs apart, shouting loudly.

"Brown, what's the situation?"

"Captain, everything is normal. The fleet has finally sailed out of the thunderstorm zone, heading northwest."

"Mhm, and them?"

George Wells picked up his binoculars and looked into the distance.

"Same as before, maintaining a distance of about 500 meters from our fleet."

"My God, they've been following us since early yesterday morning. These Huaxia Navy ships are like vampires; once they spot you, they bite down and won't let go!"

"Haha, we've long since gotten used to it, haven't we? Everyone knows the score; as long as they don't cross the line, it's fine."

"Haha, it feels a bit like Tom and Jerry. As for who plays which role, let's see who wins the contest."

"Haha."

As the two were chatting, the ship's telephone rang with a buzz.

"Mustin, good morning. This is the 'Hawkeye' electronic reconnaissance aircraft. We will be accompanying your fleet to provide aerial services. Please settle the fuel costs back at the base. Over!"

"Good morning, Hawkeye! Thank you for the aerial escort. As for the fuel costs, you can try asking the Huaxia fleet ahead for them. Over!"

"Mustin, no unidentified submarines detected in the surrounding waters. Proceed with your mission. There is also an RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft in the distant airspace responsible for monitoring Huaxia missile unit movements and signal collection. As for the fuel costs, I'm afraid the Huaxia military doesn't know my account number. Over!"

"Mustin copies, over!"

George Wells put down the phone.

"Brown, it seems Washington is still worried that Huaxia will use missiles to attack the reconnaissance planes. They even deployed an RC-135!"

"Supposedly, this stealth reconnaissance plane is the latest development, costing a lot of money and effort. It's just that these idiots... what use is a single 135?"

"Brown, psychological warfare is the priority!"

"..."

Xu Kai stared at the two American warships through his binoculars.

"Old Lei, what kind of trick do you think these Americans are planning this time?"

Old Lei was the navigator on this warship and had been doing it for over 20 years. He planned to retire this year, but his application was still being held and hadn't been submitted to the base yet. Old Lei planned to hand it in after returning from this mission.

"Captain Xu, I think it's the same old story. They come for a spin every time, purely to annoy us."

"Mhm, maybe..."

Before Xu Kai could finish,

"Report, Captain! Radar Section 357 has detected two batches of aircraft. One is 80 nautical miles northeast of the fleet, echo suggests it's a US EP-3 electronic reconnaissance plane. The other batch is 260 nautical miles due north, likely a large reconnaissance aircraft, model unknown."

"Large reconnaissance aircraft? The EP-3 is here too? This is getting interesting. Report the situation in the relevant sea area to the base immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

"Old Lei, it looks like this time won't be so simple."

After Xu Kai finished speaking, he picked up the binoculars on the table and continued to monitor those two warships.

The sea surface was filled with shifting clouds and treacherous waves.

Chu Ge and his party also arrived in Q City. The base's military vehicles had been waiting for a long time. After Chu Ge and Yan Tianhao got off the plane, they transferred directly to the base's jeeps and headed toward the Prism Tower Q City Base.

The Prism Tower Base was adjacent to Q City's North Sea Fleet. When the locations for the 12 bases were originally surveyed, they were built around existing military forces whenever possible to form base clusters.

With the Prism Tower's capabilities, the defensive pressure around the base could be greatly reduced, security forces could be used more centrally, and extra base expenses could be saved.

As the vehicle approached the base, the Prism Tower's massive form appeared before Chu Ge's eyes. Under the sunlight, the Prism Tower's energy shield reflected a dazzling light, and Chu Ge looked on, entranced.

"Tianhao, do you see that massive high tower? That's the Prism Tower!"

Yan Tianhao had been looking down at the materials in his hands, but hearing Academician Chu mention the Prism Tower, he hurried to look up.

After a long while,

"Aca—Academician Chu, this Prism Tower is so domineering. Coupled with that bright red flag and military emblem on the tower, it looks even more majestic! It's just... isn't the target too obvious? It'll be exposed to outsiders sooner or later."

"Obvious? It's not obvious. Aerial attacks can't threaten it. On the ground? You're joking. This is a military base, and the North Sea Fleet's base at that. How badass would you have to be to sneak in here?"

"The ground is fine, I'm worried about the air. After all, this is our strategic weapon now."

Yan Tianhao vaguely knew some things about the Prism Tower, but he wasn't clear on the specifics. Aside from aerospace and rockets, he knew very little about military matters, especially the Navy and Army.

After passing through several layers of checkpoints and inspections by officers and soldiers on duty, the convoy finally arrived at the base.

Outside the car, Commander Meng looked into the vehicle anxiously.