83: Chapter 83 Aircraft Carrier Standoff: The Last Madness of the Old Era's Overlord

"Captain! The Eagle Nation's carrier strike group has entered the range of our main guns!"

"The enemy has launched carrier-based aircraft! Twelve F-35 'Lightning' fighters are flying towards our formation at high speed!"

"In the communication channel, they are broadcasting in plain code to the whole world, claiming that we have infringed upon their 'exclusive economic zone'!"

In the combat command center, urgent reports echoed one after another, and the air was so tense it seemed to have solidified.

On the giant holographic sea chart, a massive red arrow representing the Eagle Nation's carrier strike group was plunging like a sharp knife into Captain Long Ying's fleet's blue formation.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Liberator was the last glory of the Eagle Nation, and also their final act of madness.

This fleet, composed of one aircraft carrier, four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and two nuclear submarines, was the last remaining asset pieced together by the old forces of the Eagle Nation who refused to bow to the Dragon Country. They were like a group of pirates roaming the Pacific Ocean, and the newly discovered deep-sea mineral deposits were their only hope of rising again.

Captain Long Ying stood before the command console, her pretty face icy.

"Exclusive economic zone? Talking about an exclusive economic zone in international waters?" She let out a disdainful sneer, "These pirates are thicker-skinned than their aircraft carrier decks!"

"Order all ships to activate their regional air defense systems! I want to see whose 'Lightning' is faster, theirs or our electromagnetic railguns!"

"Yes, Captain!"

As Captain Long Ying gave the order, in the Dragon Country fleet centered around the dinghai-class warship, countless missile launch tubes on the decks of the massive ten-thousand-ton destroyers quietly opened, revealing anti-aircraft missiles glinting coldly within. At the same time, the menacing electromagnetic main guns at the bow of the ships began to emit a "humming" sound as they charged.

A modern naval battle was on the verge of breaking out.

However, Lin Yun slowly rose from his seat and walked over to Captain Long Ying's side.

"Captain Long, don't be in such a hurry to open fire."

Captain Long Ying turned abruptly, her eyes showing a trace of confusion and the stubbornness unique to a soldier: "Mr. Lin, in military operations, every second counts! This is no time for hesitation!"

"I'm not hesitating." Lin Yun's gaze calmly followed the twelve red dots on the sea chart that were getting closer, "I just think it's too wasteful to use shells to hit these scraps of metal."

He turned his head and smiled slightly at Captain Long Ying's phoenix-like eyes, which were full of questions.

"Do you believe that I can make their planes fall into the sea on their own?"

Captain Long Ying was stunned.

What kind of fantasy was this? Make planes fall down on their own? Could he cast magic from hundreds of kilometers away?

The other officers in the command center also showed incredulous expressions. They admitted that Lin Yun's technology was miraculous, but naval warfare was a rigorous science, not a myth.

"Mr. Lin, on the battlefield, we cannot joke," Captain Long Ying's tone became serious.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Lin Yun didn't explain further. He walked to an independent control console, a device he had temporarily installed, directly connected to the dinghai-class warship's antenna matrix.

His slender fingers tapped rapidly on the virtual keyboard, and lines of complex code flowed like a waterfall.

"Nuwa, connect to the space-based satellite network, lock the target airspace."

"Allocate one percent of Pangu's computing power to crack the underlying protocol of the F-35's flight control system."

"Found their system backdoor... excellent, simpler than I imagined."

"Now, let's send those pilots a 'small gift'."

The corner of Lin Yun's mouth curled into a mischievous smile as he pressed the Enter key.

...

Hundreds of kilometers away, high in the sky.

Twelve F-35 fighters, pulling arrogant white contrails at supersonic speeds, were swooping towards the Dragon Country fleet.

"'Rattlesnake' calling 'Eagle's Nest', Dragon Country destroyer locked, missiles ready to fire at any time!" The pilot of the lead aircraft, "Rattlesnake," had a hint of bloodthirsty excitement on his face.

In his opinion, this was not an evenly matched battle at all, but a one-sided slaughter. No matter how large the Dragon Country's warships were, they were nothing more than sitting ducks under the saturation attack of their fifth-generation stealth fighters.

However, just as he was about to request permission to fire.

All the electronic screens in his cockpit suddenly went "zzzzzzt" and turned black simultaneously!

Immediately after, an inspiring and incredibly familiar piece of music blared through his helmet headphones at maximum volume!

"...Arise! Ye who refuse to be slaves! With our flesh and blood, let us build our new Great Wall..."

"What the f**k?!" "Rattlesnake" almost broke the control stick in his hand.

Why was the Dragon Country's national anthem playing in his fighter jet?!

He discovered in horror that he had completely lost control of this multi-million dollar fighter jet! The control stick, throttle, weapon systems... all the buttons had become useless decorations!

Even more terrifying, it wasn't just him; all twelve F-35s in the entire formation, at the same time, began to twist and roll wildly in the air like they were drunk, performing a comical "aerial ballet."

"Mayday! Mayday! My plane is out of control!"

"God! Who's singing 'The Internationale' on my channel?"

"Eject! Eject quickly! Ah—!"

Through the Dragon Country fleet's long-range optical telescopes, everyone witnessed an unforgettable scene.

The twelve F-35 fighter jets, representing the Eagle Nation's most advanced aviation technology, like puppets controlled by invisible strings, performed a disorganized "group dance" in the air before plunging one by one, like dumplings falling into a pot, into the cold Pacific Ocean.

Not a single bullet was fired.

Not even a decent alarm could be sounded.

Just like that... completely annihilated.

In the dinghai-class warship's combat command center, it was eerily silent.

All the officers, including Captain Long Ying, gaped, staring blankly at the twelve huge splashes on the screen caused by the planes crashing into the sea.

Their minds were blank.

This... this was what Lin Yun meant by making the planes "fall down on their own"?

This was no longer just black technology; this was a dimensionality reduction strike! This was divine punishment!

"Done."

Lin Yun stood up and clapped his hands, as if he had just done a trivial little thing.

He walked up to the already petrified Captain Long Ying and quietly asked, "Captain Long, now, do you still think we need to open fire?"

Captain Long Ying's lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word. She looked at Lin Yun's calm and composed face, and the edifice of military knowledge in her heart, built from countless actual battles and rigorous training, collapsed in that instant.

Her proud tactics, her well-versed naval warfare regulations, seemed so childish and ridiculous in front of this man.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Liberator aircraft carrier.

The carrier commander, an Eagle Nation Navy Admiral named MacArthur, was roaring frantically into the communicator: "'Rattlesnake'! Answer me! What happened?! Where are my planes?!"

Only a deadly silent busy signal responded to him.

On the radar screen, the twelve red dots representing all of his air power had completely vanished.

"General... the Dragon Country fleet... sent a message." A trembling communications soldier handed over a slip of paper.

MacArthur snatched it, and saw only a brief line of text:

"Old era's trash belongs in the recycling bin."

"This is too much!" MacArthur's eyes were bloodshot, a madness like a gambler who had lost all his chips.

He violently slammed the red button beside him, the last resort that only he had permission to activate!

"Since conventional weapons are useless!"

"Then let them taste the Tomahawk!"

"Fire tactical nuclear missiles for me! Target the Dragon Country flagship! I'll send them all to hell!"

Piercing sirens instantly blared throughout the Liberator.

In the launch silo beneath the aircraft carrier deck, a Tomahawk cruise missile carrying a small nuclear warhead had completed its final preparations for launch!

"Report, Captain! High-energy reaction detected from the Liberator! Their cruise missile launch silos have opened!"

"Energy signature analysis... it's... it's a nuclear weapon!"

In the dinghai-class warship's command center, everyone who had just recovered from their shock was plunged into even greater panic.

Against a nuclear bomb, any conventional defense was useless!

Captain Long Ying's face instantly turned pale, and she subconsciously looked at Lin Yun, her eyes, for the first time, showing a hint of plea.

Lin Yun's expression, too, finally darkened.

"Using nuclear weapons?"

"It seems these remnants of the old era truly don't want to live."

"Captain Long Ying, don't be afraid."

He gently patted Captain Long Ying's shoulder, and the warm touch slightly calmed her frantic heartbeat.

"They have nuclear bombs."

"But I have... something more interesting than nuclear bombs."

"Have your people prepare cameras to record this historic moment."

Lin Yun walked to the control console and opened an encrypted communication channel.

"The Sixth Baby, wake up, don't sleep."

"Daddy here has a very noisy fly."

"Help me... swat it dead."