Chapter 71 The Vanished Flag

Little Sun Country, National Television, live broadcast studio.

"Alright, viewers! Now, let us focus our cameras once again on our heroic 'deep sea 20000' and that flag symbolizing the glory of our Great Sun Empire!"

The female host used her infectious voice to push the atmosphere at the scene to another climax.

On the huge studio screen, the footage switched to the external main camera of the 'deep sea 20000'.

That Rising Sun flag, captured by the ultra-high-definition camera, was visible in every detail. It stood silently on the pitch-black seabed, surrounded by beams of light from the submersible's searchlights, resembling stage spotlights.

The entire scene was filled with a sense of ritual and a deliberately crafted "sanctity".

"Do you see that! This is the symbol of our national spirit! It is like a sun that never extinguishes; even in the deepest, darkest seabed, it can still bloom with dazzling radiance!" A so-called "expert" was giving an impassioned commentary.

In front of television sets and in online live chat rooms, countless citizens of Little Sun Country were moved to tears; their national pride reached its peak at this moment.

"Banzai!"

"Great Sun Empire Banzai!"

Countless bullet comments scrolled crazily across the live broadcast screen.

Just amidst this fanatical atmosphere.

The next second.

Something bizarre happened.

On the screen, that flag, which had been standing quietly just a moment ago...

Suddenly, just like that...

It vanished.

Yes, it simply vanished.

Without any warning.

It wasn't washed away by the current, nor was it hit by anything.

In the previous frame, it was still there.

In the next frame, it was gone.

All that remained in place was a bare flagpole socket and a patch of... pitch-black seawater.

The entire process was extremely fast and extremely bizarre.

In the studio, the impassioned female host and the sputtering "expert" fell silent abruptly.

The smiles on their faces froze.

Their mouths remained open, but they couldn't utter a single word.

The studio fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, fixed on the screen, as if trying to find that suddenly disappeared flag within that pitch-black seawater.

"J-just... what just happened?"

After a full dozen seconds, the female host finally stammered out the question.

"Director! Director! Quick! Replay! Replay at the slowest speed!" The studio director roared frantically from the backstage.

The technicians immediately complied.

On the huge screen, the previous footage began to replay at 0.1x speed.

Everyone held their breath, eyes unblinking, fixed on the screen.

The footage advanced frame by frame.

The flag was still there.

The next frame, it was still there.

The frame after that...

It was gone!

There was no transition in between!

It was as if a frame had been maliciously cut out from the video being played!

"W-what is going on?!"

"Is it a signal delay? Or did the live broadcast equipment malfunction?"

"Impossible! Our equipment is the best in the world!"

The studio was in chaos.

And the internet was absolutely exploding.

"Where's the flag? Where did such a big flag of mine go?!"

"Paranormal event? Are there ghosts on the seabed?"

"Holy crap! That just now scared the hell out of me! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!"

"Is this some new magic trick? Did David Copperfield dive to the seabed?"

"No! Look! That submersible of Little Sun seems to be panicking too!"

4500 meters deep in the ocean.

Cockpit of the 'deep sea 20000'.

"The flag! The flag is gone!!!"

Yamamoto looked at the empty flagpole socket on the main screen and let out a blood-curdling scream.

His face, flushed with excitement, instantly turned deathly pale, devoid of all color.

"How could this happen?! How could this happen?!" He frantically operated the console, aiming all external cameras at the spot where the flag had just been planted, scanning wildly.

But there was nothing.

The flag had vanished into thin air, not even a shadow of a piece of fabric could be found.

"Sato! You bastard! Did you do something?!" Yamamoto grabbed the technician next to him by the collar and roared hysterically.

"N-no! It wasn't me! Mr. Yamamoto!" Sato was scared out of his wits, waving his hands repeatedly, "I... I didn't do anything! It... it just... just disappeared on its own!"

"Disappeared on its own? Are you fucking telling me a ghost story?!"

Yamamoto completely broke down.

He knew he was finished.

This "flag-planting" operation, which had the attention of the entire nation, had turned into a complete, absurd farce in his hands.

What awaited him would be endless ridicule and a trial by a military tribunal.

And all of this was seen by that silent, black "ghost" hovering above them.

Lin Yuan looked at the "rice cooker" below that was spinning around like a headless fly, and his heart was filled with joy.

"Hehe, you little punk, confused already?"

He operated the mechanical arm of the "ghost", folding the Rising Sun flag he had just obtained, which was still covered in seabed silt, unhurriedly within the beam of the submersible's searchlight.

Folding it neatly, square and proper.

He placed this folded flag into the "Subspace Storage Module" of the "ghost".

【Unknown item detected, composition: titanium alloy, polyester fiber...】

【Item stored.】

"Done, job finished."

Lin Yuan clapped his "hands" together, feeling refreshed.

"Chief, Academician Wang, the 'souvenir' has been obtained." He reported in the communication channel in a relaxed and cheerful tone, "Ready to withdraw at any time."

"Well done!" Chen Weiguo's voice, suppressing immense laughter, came from the Command Center, "Withdraw immediately! Do not leave any traces!"

"Understood!"

Lin Yuan glanced at the 'deep sea 20000' below, which was still spinning in place, and a trace of pity appeared on his face.

"Little Sun, stop looking, Grandpa has put the flag away for you."

He muttered to himself.

Without hesitation, he activated that brand-new divine skill he had been looking forward to!

"System! Target, East Sea Fleet designated recovery point!"

"Short-Range Spatial Warp, activate!"