Chapter 266 This reconnaissance plane looks familiar.
Schroeder had been immersed in a passionate, pre-battle mood.
His mind was filled with thoughts of how to use this operation to wash away past shame and restore the prestige of the US Navy.
But when he heard the sudden news that "Dragon Country has nuked Japan," he was truly startled; his body jolted, his expression froze instantly, and his eyes were filled with astonishment.
He subconsciously looked toward the direction where the loud noise and intense light had originated, thinking to himself, "That direction is undoubtedly Japan!"
"Could it be that Dragon Country has truly declared war on Japan?"
As soon as this thought emerged, it made his scalp tingle; after all, if Dragon Country had truly launched such an attack, the intentions and power behind it would be terrifying.
However, they soon learned the truth through CIA intelligence channels.
It turned out that Japan had not been nuked; rather, when Dragon Country fired its Electromagnetic Naval Gun, it had somehow gone off course, and the shells had struck the airspace over Japan, causing such a commotion.
After learning the truth, Schroeder let out a sigh of relief, and confidence once again took hold of his heart. A look of disdain even appeared on his face: "When did Dragon Country's warships become so trashy that they can even miss their shots?"
"Where did that imposing manner that used to scare us go?"
The CIA operative heard Schroeder's words, shook their head, and said with a serious expression, "You are at sea and don't know much. A lot of information needs to be updated—for instance, the news regarding the Aerospace Carrier!"
Schroeder was stunned; the Aerospace Carrier was, after all, the target of their operation. He became interested immediately and asked hurriedly, "Have you obtained new intelligence? Let's hear it."
The CIA operative cleared their throat and said solemnly, "We have learned that Dragon Country's Aerospace Carrier is equipped with a powerful weapon system."
"They have newly developed a carrier-based mecha called Space Mecha. Its size is dozens of times that of a conventional mecha; it looks extremely massive and full of technological flair. It seems to be intended for interstellar exploration, though its other capabilities are not yet clear."
Schroeder did not know much about the Space Mecha, only feeling that the thing sounded very sci-fi. He fell into silence, imagining the massive mecha traveling through space in his mind.
After a long while, he came back to his senses and asked, "Is that all, just the carrier-based mecha?"
The CIA operative continued, "That is not the case; besides these mechas..." They paused here, then slowly uttered a few words: "There is also the Electromagnetic Naval Gun!"
Schroeder frowned, "Dragon Country actually equipped the Aerospace Carrier with an Electromagnetic Naval Gun?"
"Just because they have good tech, they have to equip it, huh!"
"Fine, let them equip it. I'm not afraid!"
Just as these words left his mouth, the CIA operative immediately dropped another bombshell: "It is hundreds of Electromagnetic Naval Guns."
Once these words were spoken, Schroeder completely lost his composure. His eyes widened like copper bells, his face was filled with disbelief, and his voice rose by an octave as he shouted, "What? What did you say?! The Aerospace Carrier is equipped with hundreds of Electromagnetic Naval Guns?! Is this information... accurate?"
His previous calmness was entirely gone; now, there was only shock and terror!
The CIA operative sighed helplessly and asked in return, "Did you not see it? The doomsday scene over Japan was produced by the explosion of hundreds of shells from the Electromagnetic Naval Guns."
Schroeder was completely stunned, standing there blankly with his mind a complete blank.
After a long silence, he seemed to suddenly realize something. His face turned deathly pale, and he thought to himself in dismay, "It's over. This isn't going to wash away our shame—this is just throwing our lives away!"
He knew deeply that in the face of such powerful firepower, their two aircraft carrier battle groups had no chance of winning; going there would be like a lamb walking into a tiger's den.
After hanging up the phone, his subordinates were still gathered around Schroeder, excitedly discussing the battle plan. Someone suggested, "General, should we use some small ruses, or launch a direct assault?"
Upon hearing this, Schroeder was instantly enraged. He glared and scolded, "Screw your direct assault!"
His emotions were somewhat out of control. He wondered to himself why his subordinates still didn't understand the situation; hadn't they seen the terrifying strength of Dragon Country?
He then snapped, "We can't fight! We aren't even enough to serve as a snack for them!"
The subordinates were completely confused and looked at each other, wondering what was going on. General Schroeder hadn't been like this just a moment ago; how had he turned into a coward after taking a phone call?
They really couldn't understand it; the contrast was just too great.
The commander of the other aircraft carrier fleet, Constant, had strong objections to Schroeder's cowardly behavior. He had always considered himself courageous and possessed blind confidence in the strength of the US Navy.
Seeing Schroeder's retreating demeanor, he immediately stepped forward and bluntly stated, "Schroeder, if you are afraid, you can take a helicopter and leave; just hand your fleet over to me. If you don't dare to fight, then I will take over as commander-in-chief!"
In his view, Schroeder was retreating in the face of battle, shaming the US Navy, and he did not want to miss this golden opportunity to prove himself.
Schroeder was delighted to hear this; he certainly didn't want to bite the bullet in a battle he knew was doomed to fail. He replied without hesitation, "No problem! Since you are so confident, then be my guest!"
These words left General Constant stunned as well; he looked at the man before him in disbelief, feeling extremely surprised.
After all, in the past, if anyone had dared to speak to Schroeder like that, they would likely have been kicked into the sea long ago. But at this moment, Schroeder had actually backed down, which was completely out of character for him.
What on earth had happened? A giant question mark emerged in Constant's mind; he vaguely felt that things might not be that simple.
At this moment, Schroeder spoke up again. He felt an obligation to inform Constant of the situation, as it concerned the survival of the entire fleet.
Thus, he told everyone all the intelligence he had learned from the CIA regarding the Aerospace Carrier, holding nothing back.
When he heard that the Aerospace Carrier was equipped with hundreds of Electromagnetic Naval Guns, Constant felt as if he had been electrocuted. He began to tremble uncontrollably with fear, his eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief, "Schroeder, are you sure you aren't lying to me?!"
His voice was trembling slightly from nervousness.
Schroeder shrugged and said helplessly, "General Constant, if I'm lying to you, I'm a dog!"
Constant looked at Schroeder's serious expression and knew he wasn't lying. His heart sank; he believed Schroeder's words and realized the severity of the situation.
He hurriedly turned around and walked away with rapid steps, as if he had urgent business to attend to.
Schroeder was stunned and hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"
Constant turned his head to look at him and said word for word, "Duh, obviously to order our fleet to retreat!"
"Do you want us to just throw our lives away? Back then, three Strategic Warships were enough to scare off our two aircraft carrier battle groups! Now, the Aerospace Carrier's firepower is equivalent to hundreds of Strategic Warships—it's a hundred times what it used to be. What the hell are we supposed to fight with?!"
"Are we going over there to grind experience for Dragon Country? Don't look at how many warships we have; we aren't even enough to help them level up! Retreat! We must retreat!"
He quickened his pace as he spoke, heading toward the command room to issue the order to retreat.
With both fleet commanders having decided to retreat, Schroeder asked with some concern, "But what about President Biden's orders?"
After all, disobeying the President's orders was no small matter; he might face severe punishment upon returning, and he still had some misgivings.
Constant stopped in his tracks, also caught in a dilemma.
If they retreated now, they would likely be branded as deserters; this would become a stain on their records, and they would never be able to hold their heads high in the military again.
But if they didn't retreat, facing the terrifying firepower of the Dragon Country's Aerospace Carrier would undoubtedly be a suicide mission. It was truly a dilemma.
Fortunately, just as they were struggling with the decision, President Biden called. Schroeder hurried to answer, and heard Biden say urgently on the other end, "Schroeder, Constant, abandon the mission! We have received the latest intelligence; the Aerospace Carrier is equipped with numerous weapons, and you are no match for it! Return immediately! Do not be impulsive! Return immediately!"
Upon hearing this order, Schroeder and Constant were immensely relieved; the heavy burden weighing on their hearts had finally been lifted.
They secretly rejoiced that Biden wasn't yet confused enough to send them to their deaths, and was even worried that they might act impulsively. They couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "You think too highly of us, old man; we aren't fools who would die in vain!"
After receiving the order to retreat, the two fleets decisively turned their bows and rapidly evacuated in the direction from which they had come.
The warships left white arcs streaking across the surface of the sea!
They soon disappeared over the horizon of the Southern Sea Area of Dragon Country, leaving behind only the surface of the sea as it gradually returned to calm.
...
President Biden put down the phone and let out a long sigh, yet his heart remained restless.
He looked helplessly at the Dragon Country's Spring Festival Gala continuing to play on the screen. Since he no longer had a reconnaissance plane, he could only continue to observe the situation in Dragon Country through this live broadcast.
Watching the mechas coming and going that were occasionally captured on screen, especially that massive, sci-fi-looking Space Mecha, President Biden felt his heart turn cold, and a deep sense of powerlessness welled up within him.
Just then, his gaze inadvertently fell on a corner of the screen. One look made his eyes widen instantly, his face filled with astonishment; it was clearly a fighter plane, and a fighter plane he was quite familiar with!
"Isn't this our lost reconnaissance plane?! How could it be there? What is going on?"
President Biden couldn't help but exclaim out loud. The other high-ranking US officials in the conference room also noticed the image, and they looked at each other with deep astonishment in their eyes. Everyone was filled with confusion, yet for the moment, none of them could figure out what was going on.
However, the image did not last long; as the live broadcast continued, the showcase segment for the Aerospace Carrier came to an end!