46: The silence of the return journey! The price of blood and the glimmer of light!

The massive gates of the Deep Blue Fortress slowly opened with a low, mechanical roar, like a giant beast wearily opening its mouth.

Outside, the sky was lead-gray, and the inky sea churned with restless waves.

Inside, there was a deathly silence.

The battered fleet slowly sailed into the embrace of its home port.

The once majestic Deep Blue Blade now had its bow armor plates covered in dents and scratches.

Its formidable electromagnetic railgun, 'Thunder,' which once lorded over all, had a barrel that glowed an ominous dark red, with many cooling pipes exposed and broken, emitting a scorched smell, clearly severely damaged and unusable in the short term.

The Iron Rock trailed a long oil slick, its port side visibly listing, and the wounds torn into its hull by the storm resembled ugly scars.

The Claw missile boat was riddled with scars, its hull covered in bullet holes and impact dents.

The only surviving merchant ship, the Harvest, had a twisted and deformed hull, with several cargo bay doors unnaturally agape, revealing seawater-soaked material packaging inside, like a beggar who had survived a disaster.

There were no cheers of triumph, no welcoming sirens.

On the dock, a dense crowd stood in silent solemnity.

When the news that the Raging Waves and the Hope would never return had already reached the base through intermittent communication, a pall of grief and heaviness had descended upon the place.

Now, seeing these battle-scarred warships returning, reeking of gunpowder and blood, and observing the exhausted, hollow-eyed, and even bandaged surviving officers and soldiers on deck, the silent suppression reached its peak.

Lin Feng was the first to descend the gangplank of the Deep Blue Blade.

His military uniform was crisp, but his face showed an unconcealable weariness, and deep in his eyes was an unshakeable heaviness.

He did not look at anyone, walking directly towards the base's command center.

Each step seemed to tread upon the valiant souls of the fallen.

The following days were the darkest moments for the entire Deep Blue Fleet.

Mourning and Trauma:

A solemn memorial ceremony was held in the base's largest plaza.

Black flags hung low, densely inscribed with the names of the fallen—not just the officers and crew of the Raging Waves and Hope, but all personnel who were lost or confirmed dead during the storm and beast attacks.

Lin Feng stood at the forefront, facing thousands of silent officers, soldiers, and base residents, his voice hoarse yet firm:

"They did not return.

They fell in the storm, fell beneath the Claw of the giant beasts, fell on the thorny path to our future."

"Their blood stained the Deep Blue sea.

Their sacrifice is etched upon the Deep Blue flag!"

"We grieve! We are angry! But we… will never surrender!"

"The roar of the Leviathan, the sneer of the Ark, will not make us stop!

It will only make us clench our weapons tighter and straighten our unyielding spines!"

"Remember them!

Remember today's pain!

Then, wipe away your tears, pick up your tools, repair our warships, and sharpen our blades!

Because the battle is far from over!

The Deep Blue's hegemony needs to be forged and defended with the will of the fallen and the courage of the living!"

The low, powerful vows echoed over the plaza, dispelling some of the gloom and igniting the flames of vengeance and an unyielding will.

But the pain of losing comrades and the fear of witnessing the destructive power of the giant beasts still lay deep in everyone's hearts.

Counting the Losses:

Inside the operations command room, the atmosphere was as heavy as an ice cellar.

Chief of Staff Chen Hai's voice was low as he reported the cold numbers:

"Personnel losses: 427 confirmed dead, 189 severely wounded, countless lightly wounded.

All personnel of the Raging Waves… except for a few survivors who abandoned ship early, most sank with the ship."

"Equipment losses: The Raging Waves frigate sank, the Hope merchant ship sank.

The Iron Rock requires major repairs, at least three months.

The Deep Blue Blade has moderate structural damage, the 'Thunder' electromagnetic cannon system's core components are melted, repairs… are a long way off.

The Claw needs medium repairs.

The Harvest merchant ship has structural damage, parts of its cargo holds are flooded, approximately 30% of its materials are damaged or contaminated."

"Morale assessment: …low, but the will for revenge is strong."

Each number was like a heavy hammer striking Lin Feng's heart.

The fleet's main force was almost crippled, its most powerful weapon was scrapped, and personnel losses were severe.

Glimmer in the Darkness:

Just as the heavy atmosphere was about to crush everyone, Dr. Su Qing, covered in oil and with barely concealed excitement, practically burst into the command room, followed by several equally excited core researchers.

"Commander! Major breakthrough! A huge breakthrough!" Su Qing's voice trembled with excitement; he disregarded etiquette and slammed a data pad onto the table in front of Lin Feng.

The screen displayed dazzlingly complex molecular structure diagrams, energy flow analysis spectra, and… a complete technical blueprint marked "Verified"!

"It's the Deep Sea Phantom anechoic tiles!

We… we've completely deciphered it!" Su Qing pointed at the blueprint, his fingers trembling, "The raw data and material samples obtained from the abyssal echoes, combined with our ultra-high computing power simulations and material synthesis experiments in the reverse engineering laboratory (a high-level module unlocked by the system), have finally broken through the most critical bottlenecks of nano-scale filler self-organizing structures and multi-level sound-absorbing cavity designs!

Formulas! Process parameters! All done! It can be mass-produced!"

The command room was dead silent, then erupted in incredulous gasps!

The top-tier submarine stealth technology that had plagued the base's technical team for months and was considered a core secret by the Ark, had actually been completely conquered at the fleet's darkest hour!

"Not only that!" Su Qing took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with even more fanaticism, "We made an even more astonishing discovery while analyzing the Leviathan blood samples brought back by the sea shadow, which were stained on its hull!"

He pulled up another set of data, which showed extremely active biological molecular structures containing vast amounts of energy.

"Leviathan's blood contains a type of biological energy conversion enzyme we've never seen before, incredibly efficient to an unbelievable degree!

It can convert deep-sea geothermal energy, water pressure differences, and even… even the faint bioelectricity of biological tissues themselves, into pure and powerful bioelectrical energy!

Its efficiency far exceeds any of our existing chemical or nuclear energy conversion methods!"

"Although we cannot artificially synthesize this enzyme yet, it points us in a direction!

Combined with the analysis of some energy circuits from the Pioneer ruins, our energy department has proposed a bold concept—a bio-geothermal hybrid energy core!

If successful, it will completely solve our energy bottleneck for future large warships, and even… space-air carriers!"

In the darkness of despair, two beams of light suddenly pierced through the gloom!

Top-tier stealth technology breakthrough!

Discovery of a revolutionary bio-energy conversion pathway!

Lin Feng abruptly stood up, the heavy weariness in his eyes replaced by a sharp, fervent glow!

Heavy losses?

Weapons destroyed?

No!

As long as technology continues to advance, as long as the direction forward remains, the Deep Blue Fleet will never fall!

"Good! Good! Good!" He said "good" three times, slamming his fist heavily on the table, "Dr. Su Qing! You get primary credit!

The entire technical team will be heavily rewarded!"

"Immediately initiate the mass production plan for the Deep Sea Phantom anechoic tiles!

Prioritize equipping the repaired hull of the Iron Rock, and… the first batch of new attack submarines we are secretly building in the dock!"

"Energy Department! Concentrate all resources and fully tackle the bio-geothermal hybrid energy core!

Whatever you need, apply directly to me!

Points, materials, guaranteed priority!"

"Tell everyone!" Lin Feng's gaze swept over everyone in the command room, his voice decisive, carrying the resolve of rebirth from fire, "The Ark can't break us!

The Leviathan can't scare us!

The blood of the fallen will only nourish a stronger Deep Blue!"

"Repair! Rebuild! Upgrade! At the fastest speed!"

"Because the Ark's doomsday judgment…" Lin Feng's eyes became incredibly cold as he looked at a report just delivered by the intelligence department, marked "Top Secret" and "Highest Priority"—it contained fragmented satellite reconnaissance information about the Ark's highest council holding an emergency meeting and the abnormal gathering of its massive fleet after the typhoon was destroyed.

"…is already upon us!

And this time, we will use brand new blades to tear apart their delusions!"

The Deep Blue Fortress, this city of steel that had just undergone a baptism of grief, under the will of its supreme Commander, began to operate with unprecedented speed, as if injected with furious energy!

The fires of the furnaces burned day and night, the welding lights in the dock pierced the darkness, and the laboratory lights never extinguished.

The pain of sacrifice transformed into the fuel for revenge, and the glimmer of technology born in the darkness was guiding them towards a more brutal and glorious future battlefield!