9: Pirates' ambitions? The threat of a massive 10,000-ton ship!

The construction of the Deep Blue Port Outpost was in full swing.

The basic building materials, exchanged through the system, appeared as if by magic at the designated locations, greatly accelerating the progress.

Under the on-site command of Zhang Defu and the full assistance of survivors like Zhang Weiguo and Zhao Tiezhu, the engineering team and the Marines demonstrated astonishing efficiency.

Discarded containers were cut and welded to form the core of a simple but sturdy wall, with sandbags filling the gaps, creating a circular defensive line around the high ground near the oil tank entrance.

The command shed was quickly built using steel plates and structures dismantled from the warehouse; although crude, it was sufficient to shelter from wind and rain and house core equipment.

The foundation for the most critical purification module platform had already been poured, and the equipment required for the massive [Basic Fuel Purification Module] blueprint was being assembled under intense pressure.

The location for the small water purification station was also selected, close to the dock for convenient water intake, with pipe-laying work proceeding simultaneously.

The entire D-district, from yesterday's battlefield ruins, transformed into a vibrant construction site.

The clanging of hammers, the arc light of electric welding, and the roar of diesel generators (small generators obtained through exchange were already in use) intertwined, playing a tenacious symphony of rebuilding a home in the apocalypse.

Lin Feng stood on the nascent outpost's highest point—an observation platform fashioned from a container—watching it all with satisfaction.

In the system interface, the progress bar for [Deep Blue Port Outpost (Under Construction)] had jumped to 32%.

Energy reserves had risen back to 45% with continuous oil supply, and 1600 points remained.

More importantly, there were people here, and with them, hope.

However, peaceful construction time is always short-lived.

"Reporting, Captain!" the urgent voice of the Marine responsible for vigilance came through the communicator, "An anomaly has been detected at the barbed wire fence on the western perimeter of the outpost! Someone attempted to infiltrate! A brief firefight occurred after they were discovered by the patrol! The enemy left behind two bodies and fled! By their attire... they are Scarface's remnants!"

Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.

Sure enough, this viper wasn't completely dead!

He immediately ordered: "Increase vigilance! Double the patrol shifts! Drones airborne, expand surveillance range over the E-district living area! Report any unusual activity immediately! Tell Chen Hai to organize a crack team to scout ahead, ascertain the exact location and movements of Scarface's remnants! We cannot be passively beaten!"

"Yes, Commander!" The order was quickly relayed.

The bustling construction site atmosphere instantly gained a hint of grimness.

The Marines checked their weapons, reinforced their defenses, and scanned the ruins outside the wall with wary eyes.

Just then, the bridge communications officer's voice came through the exclusive channel, tinged with gravity: "Reporting, Captain! Receiving an unknown public radio call! Signal source... from the sea! Approximately 80 kilometers away! The other party... claims to be the 'Black Tide Fleet'! Demanding to speak with the Commander of Deep Blue 01!"

"Black Tide Fleet?" Lin Feng frowned.

A maritime force?

He immediately returned to the bridge.

On the communication screen, an encrypted audio channel was connected, and a male voice with a heavy accent, deliberately mimicking a certain authoritative tone, yet unable to hide a hint of roughness and greed, came through:

"Calling Deep Blue 01! Calling Deep Blue 01! This is the 'Black Tide Fleet' flagship—the 'nu sha'! I am the Fleet Commander, One-Eyed Jack! Repeat, I am One-Eyed Jack!"

Lin Feng gestured for the communications officer to respond: "This is Deep Blue 01. Captain Lin Feng. State your purpose, 'One-Eyed Jack'."

"Hahaha! Captain Lin! Straightforward!" One-Eyed Jack let out an exaggerated laugh, "I heard you graced this small port with your presence and conveniently dealt with Scarface and his useless lot? What excellent methods! Impressive! Truly impressive!"

Lin Feng remained unmoved, stating coldly: "Get to the point."

"Heh heh, Captain Lin is a man of few words!" One-Eyed Jack chuckled twice, his tone suddenly turning tough, "This sea, including this broken port, is now under the protection of my 'Black Tide Fleet'! Scarface's meager possessions, including the remaining oil and supplies in the port, are all Captain Jack's property! You took them without a word, and even attacked my men (referring to Scarface)—that's... not according to the rules, is it?"

"Your men?" Lin Feng's lips curled into a cold sneer, "Since when did Scarface become your dog?"

"Just yesterday!" One-Eyed Jack boasted shamelessly, "He was sensible and pledged allegiance to me! Therefore, the things on his territory naturally belong to me! Captain Lin, I see your ship is quite good, a fine vessel. So, I won't make things difficult for you. Leave the port, leave Scarface's territory and supplies, and 'lend' me two hundred tons of oil as aMeeting gift... I can consider letting you join my fleet, as a second-in-command! Afterwards, you'll enjoy the good life with Captain Jack, better than drifting alone in this godforsaken place! How about it?"

Blatant blackmail and threats! And he wants to annex Deep Blue 01?

Everyone on the bridge showed anger.

Gao Qiang clenched his fists in fury.

Lin Feng's eyes were as cold as knives, but his tone was terrifyingly calm: "Captain Jack, your proposal... is very interesting."

"Oh? Captain Lin is a smart man! You agree?" One-Eyack Jack's voice held a hint of triumph.

"No," Lin Feng's voice suddenly sharpened, like cracking ice, "My meaning is, take your so-called 'Black Tide Fleet' and immediately get out of my sight! Otherwise, I don't mind using my ship's 130mm main gun to help you and your dilapidated fleet... 'anchor' permanently at the bottom of this sea!"

The other end of the communication channel fell into a brief silence, clearly not expecting Lin Feng to be so unyielding.

A few seconds later, One-Eyed Jack's furious roar almost shattered the communicator:

"F*** You! Yellow-skinned monkey! You're given face and you don't want it! Do you think your broken ship can scare me? When this old man was dominating this sea, you were still suckling! Listen! My 'Black Tide Fleet' has six ships! Over a hundred brothers! Heavy machine guns and rocket launchers are plentiful! Be sensible and do as I say! Otherwise, I'll let you taste what it's like to be torn apart by a pack of wolves today! And let you and your broken ship feed the fish!"

"Is that so?" Lin Feng's voice carried a hint of condescending mockery, "Then let me see if your 'pack of wolves' has the guts to approach within twenty kilometers of me."

With that, Lin Feng directly cut off the communication! Clean and decisive!

"Captain, this..." Gao Qiang was somewhat worried, "The other side has many people, and they are all desperate outlaws..."

"Just a motley crew of pirates." Lin Feng walked to the radar screen, his eyes gleaming with confidence, "System, activate active radar scan! Maximum power! Lock onto the signal source direction! Find that so-called 'Black Tide Fleet' for me! Light them up!"

"Command confirmed! Activating active radar scan! Energy consumption increased!"

"Scanning... Target cluster detected!"

"Distance: 78 kilometers... 77 kilometers..."

"Target quantity: 6 (confirmed)"

"Target type: Small armed vessels (modified fishing boats, speedboats)"

"Maximum tonnage: Estimated not to exceed 200 tons (flagship 'nu sha')"

"Weapon signals: Light naval guns (small caliber), heavy machine guns, RPGs detected... No missile threat!"

"Threat assessment: Low (poses no substantial threat to Deep Blue 01)"

On the radar screen, six small red dots representing enemy ships were clearly displayed, slowly approaching the port in a loose formation.

Their speed was not fast, clearly a test and a show of deterrence.

"Order!" Lin Feng's voice echoed through the bridge and the shore outpost, "All ships to Level 1 combat readiness! Main guns load high-explosive shells! CIWS system power on and warm up! Haihongqi-10 missiles ready!"

"All outpost personnel! Enter defensive shelters! Non-combat personnel take cover!"

"Drones airborne! Continuously monitor enemy fleet movements! Focus on locking onto the flagship 'nu sha'!"

"Give these pirates... an unforgettable 'welcome ceremony'!"

The massive hull of Deep Blue 01 subtly adjusted its course, the cold 130mm main gun turret slowly rotated, its black muzzle like the opening eye of a primordial beast, pointing distantly towards the horizon.

On the bridge, the sharp, oppressive hum of fire control radar locking on was deafening.

Eighty kilometers away, in the pilothouse of the modified fishing boat "nu sha".

One-Eyed Jack—a burly, one-eyed, scar-faced fierce man—was pacing agitatedly.

He had just been hung up on by Lin Feng and was fuming with rage.

"Damn it! Giving face and not wanting it! Order all ships! Accelerate! Charge for me! Rocket launchers ready! Get close and hit them hard! I don't believe his ship is made of iron!" He roared into the communicator.

"Boss... their radar... it seems... it seems to be constantly illuminating us..." A subordinate responsible for monitoring radar warnings reported with a trembling voice, the dazzling radar lock-on warning light on the screen flashing frantically.

"What's there to be afraid of! He can't hit a thing from that far!" One-Eyed Jack dismissed it, completely ignorant of the precise strike capabilities of modern warships.

However, no sooner had he spoken.

Whoosh—!

A low, long, extremely penetrating whistle, like the prolonged cry of a giant whale from the deep sea, suddenly came from the direction of Deep Blue 01!

This sound contained an unparalleled sense of majesty and power, instantly overpowering the roar of the waves, clearly reaching every pirate ship tens of kilometers away!

All the pirates instinctively recoiled, a strange chill crawling up their spines.

This was the unique, existence-announcing whistle of a ten-thousand-ton behemoth!

It was a symbol of power!

Immediately after, before they could even react.

Boom—!!!

A deafening roar, as if to tear apart heaven and earth, came from afar!

Even tens of kilometers away, the massive sound wave made the glass on the pirate ships hum!

Everyone looked in terror towards the source of the sound.

On the distant horizon, at the massive bow of Deep Blue 01, a huge orange-red muzzle flash suddenly lit up like a small sun!

Instantly illuminating the gloomy sea and sky!

A visible streak of light, carrying a deathly shriek, ripped through the sky at supersonic speed, smashing down with a thunderous crash into the sea ahead of the pirate fleet!

Boom—!!!!!!!!

A colossal white water column, taller than the pirate ships, shot skyward from the sea less than five hundred meters from the bow of the "nu sha"!

The violent shockwave churned up several-meter-high waves, savagely slamming into the nearby pirate ships, causing their hulls to violently rock, and the people on deck to lose their footing and fall pell-mell!

This earth-shattering shot did not aim at any particular ship, but rather landed directly in the inevitable path of the pirate fleet!

This was a blatant warning!

It was an absolute declaration of overwhelming power!

"M-mommy... what... what kind of cannon is that..." A pirate collapsed to the ground in fear, his pants soaked.

"Five hundred meters... just five hundred meters... he... he can hit wherever he wants..." The radar operator stared at the huge light spot on the screen representing the shell's impact point, his face ashen.

"Turn around! Turn around quickly! Get out of here! Quick!" One-Eyed Jack no longer had any trace of ferocity, his single eye filled with boundless terror, he shrieked into the communicator, his voice completely distorted, "Retreat! Full speed retreat! Get out of this sea! Never come back!"

No further orders were needed.

The remaining five pirate ships (one had almost capsized in the recent giant wave) scattered like startled birds, turning their bows at maximum speed, engines at full throttle, leaving white wakes as they fled wildly away from the port without looking back!

What supplies, what fuel, what second-in-command... in the face of absolute firepower suppression and the threat of death, it all became a joke!

On the bridge of Deep Blue 01, watching the small red dots on the radar screen, frantically fleeing and getting further away, Lin Feng's face was devoid of expression.

"Maintain vigilance.

Radar continues scanning." He ordered calmly.

"Yes, Captain!" On the bridge, the officers and crew were filled with pride and awe.

Just one shell, one whistle, had scared off an entire pirate fleet!

This was the deterrent power of a ten-thousand-ton destroyer!

At the shore outpost's observation deck, Zhao Tiezhu and everyone in the outpost had witnessed that earth-shattering cannon shot and the pirates' pathetic escape.

Zhao Tiezhu spat fiercely: "Bah! Cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong!" He looked at the majestic steel warship in the distance, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination and a sense of belonging.

Following such a Captain, in this apocalypse, there was hope to survive and live like a human being!

However, just as the pirate threat was lifted and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Whoosh—!

Whoosh—!

On Deep Blue 01, the piercing sonar alarm blared again without warning!

Sharper than last time!

More urgent!

"Reporting, Captain! Emergency sonar detection!" The sonar operator's voice was filled with unprecedented panic, "Directly south of the port! Deep sea direction! Detecting an ultra-large, high-speed underwater target! Distance... distance is only 15 kilometers! Speed... speed exceeds 40 knots! Depth 200 meters! Rapidly surfacing! Target... target acoustic signature matches... it's the same species as the 'Toothed Barracuda' that attacked the survivors yesterday! But... but the physical signal strength... is at least five times that of yesterday! Codename... 'Leviathan' cub?! It... it's coming for us!"

Lin Feng's pupils contracted!

Five times the size?! A "Leviathan" cub?! Yesterday's three-to-four-meter-long monster almost took the lives of the survivors; five times that... what kind of terrifying behemoth would that be?!

"All ships to anti-submarine combat readiness! Torpedoes ready! Depth charges ready!"

"Shore outpost! Highest alert! Beware of underwater attacks!"

A new, more terrifying threat had arrived!

The giant beast from the deep sea seemed to have been completely enraged by the port's continuous construction noise and that earth-shattering cannon shot!