286: Chapter 286 The USS Condi, a strategic nuclear submarine, has lost contact in the Pacific Ocean!

The USS Condi strategic nuclear submarine.

In the night duty room, four crew members sat around, listlessly playing poker.

Suddenly, one crew member slammed down a hand of cards. His nicotine cravings acting up, his eyes were bloodshot, and he could no longer contain the rage in his heart.

"Fuck!"

"We've gone back and forth to the Japan bases three times now, and we haven't even touched a Japanese woman once!"

"What the hell!"

As soon as he said this, the other crew members immediately began to complain.

"Yeah!"

"Before, every time we reached Japan, we could go out and have a good time. Now, we have to head back as soon as we unload the cargo. I've never seen such a shitty mission!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"Those sacks of wine and rice up top don't even treat us like humans!"

"I don't even know if we'll be able to see any women this time when we go to the South Korea Busan base..."

"..." The crew members were full of complaints.

Although each of these three missions only took about 12 to 15 days round trip, because there was almost no interval between them, it could be considered a single, continuous 50-day long-duration combat mission.

Although the longest record for a US nuclear submarine remaining submerged is 110 days, normally, a combat mission only lasts about 30 days. The main reason is that the submariners cannot handle it physically or mentally.

To ensure the absolute stealth of the submarine, during missions, the vessel stays deep underwater for long periods, hundreds of meters down, where there is no day or night, completely isolated from the outside world.

Coupled with the cramped interior space of the submarine and the extremely harsh working environment, once a combat mission takes too long, the psychological pressure on the submariners increases, leading to negative effects such as neurasthenia, irritability, dizziness, headaches, and loss of appetite, which greatly diminishes their combat effectiveness.

Just as the crew members on duty were cursing, suddenly, accompanied by a "zzzt" sound of electricity, the lights in the duty room began to flicker violently!

"Fuck! Fuck!!"

The crew members on duty were terrified, immediately dropping their poker cards, standing up, and looking around.

But soon, this sudden event only lasted for a few seconds before everything returned to normal.

The crew members stood there blankly, waiting for several minutes, but the anomaly did not happen again.

"What the hell is going on?"

The shock on one person's face had not yet completely faded as he asked the other three.

Another person swallowed hard and tried to reply.

"Maybe... it's a voltage fluctuation?"

The third person cursed.

"That's it!"

"This decrepit old boat from the 80s has had voltage fluctuations before. This time it scared the hell out of me!"

"It really is just a piece of junk!"

Someone asked weakly.

"Should we report this to the engineering officer?"

Upon hearing this, the other three immediately retorted in unison.

"Report it, my ass. Just note it down on the shift change log!"

"Reporting such a small thing, are you looking for trouble?"

"Fine..."

"Come on, let's keep playing cards!"

The same scene also occurred in the stern duty room.

The crew members on that shift were a bit unwise; after the incident occurred, they rushed to report it to the submarine's engineering officer, only to receive a harsh scolding.

"A bunch of idiots, it's such an obvious voltage fluctuation, why are you reporting it?"

"Waking me up in the middle of the night, all of you can go to hell!..."

Meanwhile, outside the USS Condi. In the 1000-meter deep sea, it was pitch black.

This darkness was not like the night, but like an abyss. After staring for a long time, one would always feel an unknown fear rushing towards them, making one's hair stand on end.

Fortunately, occasionally a few rare deep-sea fish emitting faint light swam by, giving the deathly silent deep sea a little bit of life.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief!"

"Electromagnetic shielding of the target submarine is complete!"

"Please advise!"

"Execute the capture mission immediately!"

"Received!"

Fear often stems from darkness. But in this deep-sea area where the USS Condi was located, it suddenly became bright...

Eighteen beams of white light came from all directions, illuminating the USS Condi in the deep sea, making it impossible to hide. Even the scratches on the anechoic tiles on its exterior were clearly visible!

Following the strong light to find the source, one could quickly spot 18 oval-shaped, flat deep-sea submersibles.

In total silence, the Kunlong Submarine formation had actually achieved a 3D encirclement of the US submarine!

"All units in position!"

Inside the Kunlong Submarine No. 1, Commander Huang of the Kunlong formation observed the US nuclear submarine maintaining a speed of 20 knots through an external virtual model, and let out a cold laugh.

"Kunlong No. 2, Kunlong No. 3!"

"Begin operation!"

Inside the USS Condi. Time for the early morning shift change. Four other US crew members arrived late, their faces beaming with bright smiles.

"Shit, you're three minutes late and still smiling so happily!"

"Did you guys pick up soap for each other?"

The laughter stopped abruptly, and one of the newly arrived crew members cursed.

"You're the one picking up soap!"

"You idiots don't know yet, do you?"

"The Executive Officer just announced tonight that after we arrive at the South Korea base, all of us can take a five-day long vacation!"

The original crew members on duty looked at each other, full of suspicion.

"No kidding?"

The newcomer said confidently.

"Of course!"

Another person added with a smile.

"And, the Busan commander has already arranged it!"

"A group of fair-skinned and beautiful South Korean female college students, everyone gets a turn!"

"WTF???"

Upon hearing this, the four crew members were instantly excited, even experiencing a physiological reaction.

"Shh!..."

The crew members who originally wanted to shout in celebration silenced themselves, forcibly suppressing the extreme excitement in their hearts.

According to disciplinary regulations, any sound louder than 60 decibels on the submarine would be recorded as a serious disciplinary violation.

If that caused the wonderful vacation to fall through, that would be truly stupid!

One crew member kept his voice as low as possible, causing his speech to tremble slightly.

"No wonder I heard a burst of cheering earlier. I was wondering which idiots were going to be punished, so that's why!"

"This time, I'm going to take on ten!"

The newly arrived crew member smiled.

"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and hand over the shift!"

The original crew members on duty, in high spirits, significantly increased their work efficiency. Soon, the shift handover was complete.

"...The submarine has currently entered the eastern waters of Japan. It is estimated that there are 39 hours left until we arrive at the South Korea Busan base!"

"Get out of here and go have your wet dreams!"

The crew members who had finished their shift didn't mind, grinning as they prepared to leave the duty room.

Just at this moment, suddenly! With two loud bangs, all eight people staggered at the same time and fell to the ground together!

"Fuck!!"

"What's going on!!!"

Everyone scrambled to get up, but before they could react, a powerful thrust struck again, pushing all eight of them into the corner of the wall.

"What the hell!! Is the submarine accelerating?!?"

Looking at the violently shaking hull and the flickering lights, the duty captain's face was full of horror as he roared at the top of his lungs.

"Quick!! Report to command!!"

"Highest level emergency event!!!"

(There will be another short chapter later!)