97: Chapter 97 A Bolt from the Blue: Underwater Kangaroo

[Report to General Nimitz, this is hawk e-2 number 8, I have discovered the wreckage of hawk e-2 number 7...]

[Location, near the Banda Sea.]

[Preliminary assessment: The exterior of the early warning aircraft suffered a severe lightning strike and is charred; the pilot is missing.]

[Images currently being captured...]

When Nimitz received the message from hawk e-2 number 8, he felt terrible.

"Struck by lightning?"

"How is that possible!"

"Our hawk e-2s have the best lightning protection in the world. How could it be struck by lightning in broad daylight?"

Nimitz was stunned!

He immediately ordered his subordinates to contact the global meteorological satellite monitoring department.

He had them send all meteorological data for the Banda Sea area from one hour ago.

Five minutes later.

The United States meteorological satellite monitoring department sent over all meteorological data for the Banda Sea for the past ten hours and the next ten hours.

It showed that for the past ten hours, the Banda Sea had been clear with small clouds.

For the next ten hours, it was also mostly clear, with only a little rain expected around 4 or 5 PM.

But it was just light rain.

There was absolutely no lightning warning!

"So, on a clear day, where did the lightning that struck number 7 come from?"

Nimitz looked at the meteorological data and the photos of the lightning-charred early warning aircraft, bewildered.

At this moment.

He finally understood what a "bolt from the blue" meant.

"Commander, what should we do? How do we report the incident with hawk e-2 number 7?"

At this moment, the adjutant next to him asked with some worry, holding a small notebook.

A single hawk e-2 costs hundreds of millions of dollars.

The value of training the pilot is also immense.

Just like that, it was wiped out by a "bolt from the blue."

How would they explain this to the Pacific Fleet?

Nimitz regained his composure and glanced at the adjutant gloomily: "How do you think we should report it truthfully?"

"You ordered hawk e-2 number 7 to interfere with the Dragon Nation's cargo fleet, and as a result, the aircraft was accidentally hit by a bolt from the blue..."

The adjutant was speaking truthfully when he suddenly felt a chill wash over him.

He was startled and quickly changed his words, "Oh no, hawk e-2 number 7 was struck by lightning from an unknown source while performing an early warning mission in the Banda Sea, and the accident is still under investigation."

"That's right, report it exactly like that."

Nimitz nodded with satisfaction.

He definitely could not take the blame for this.

The adjutant silently noted it down, then asked uneasily: "Commander, if we report it this way, won't our superiors think we're fooling them? After all, being struck by lightning on a clear day is too strange!"

"There have been many strange things lately."

"Even the Ministry of Science and Technology can catch a UFO; what's so strange about our early warning aircraft being struck by lightning on a clear day?"

"If they find it strange, let them investigate it themselves."

Nimitz said indifferently.

"Alright."

The adjutant soon reported the matter to the Pacific Fleet headquarters.

The Pacific Fleet headquarters is the department that manages the three major aircraft carrier strike groups: the USS Nimitz, the USS Lexington, and the USS Reagan.

When receiving the news from the USS Nimitz, the commander's adjutant was also stunned: "A bolt from the blue? Nimitz is exaggerating too much to cover up the accident!"

The commander, Wilson, took the data, looked at it, and then put it aside: "UFOs can swear allegiance to our United States, so a bolt from the blue is nothing strange."

"Just continue to apply for funding from Congress and that's it."

"Uh... Yes!"

After the adjutant left, Wilson picked up the data and looked at it again, his eyes narrowing slightly.

UFOs.

A bolt from the blue.

The great discovery on the Antarctic continent that could be called the Age of Discovery.

All of this indicated that this was a period of unprecedented change.

"No matter how it changes, the lighthouse remains the lighthouse of this planet, and it remains the most powerful master of this planet."

Wilson's gaze was bright, his demeanor confident.

Even UFOs were starting to swear allegiance to the USS Washington, and they would surely seize the initiative in this brand-new great era.

...

The pearl river 888 followed the cargo fleet out of the Banda Sea.

It was now less than a hundred nautical miles from Darwin City.

Jiang Chen relaxed his vigilance, half-lying in the cockpit, letting Cuihua keep watch throughout.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, a voice suddenly startled him awake.

[Reminder to the host, a big catch has been made, please retrieve the net in time.]

"Huh, I actually caught something in this sea area!"

Jiang Chen climbed up, pleasantly surprised.

He had been traveling from the Indonesian waters for four or five days, and the fishing net hadn't had any reaction at all.

He didn't expect to have a harvest near the Banda Sea.

He hurriedly retrieved the net.

The things inside the fishing net were struggling violently.

So much so that!

The pearl river 888 also followed, shaking violently.

"Holy crap! What is it!"

"A living creature?"

Jiang Chen pulled hard on the net.

In previous catches, the fishing net had never fluctuated so violently.

Could it be that he caught a shark?

Jiang Chen successfully retrieved the net.

Whoosh!

A massive figure weighing at least half a ton lunged at Jiang Chen.

"You're so scary, that's too much negative energy."

"Let me give you some positive energy."

Jiang Chen shouted.

A bolt of lightning struck out.

Boom!

The massive figure landed on the deck at the stern, and the fishing boat sank slightly.

Jiang Chen looked closely, and he was completely bewildered.

This small head, big belly, long tail, furry... it was actually a kangaroo!

"What's going on!"

"Do kangaroos live underwater?"

Jiang Chen was a bit confused.

Aren't kangaroos mammals that live on land in Australia?

How could there be one underwater?

Just as Jiang Chen was confused.

A large amount of unheard-of knowledge suddenly flooded into his mind.

Zoology, mammalogy, postpartum care for sows, genetics, marine biology, anatomy, mutation studies, genetics, paleontology, non-classical evolutionary theory, N+ Gene... a full twenty disciplines.

[Underwater kangaroo, a B-sequence supernatural creature, has a skin gene called N+ due to mutation, allowing it to use its skin for aerobic exercise underwater.]

[In the earliest times, humans could also perform aerobic exercise underwater.]

[After crawling onto land later, this ability gradually degenerated, and the N+ Gene naturally disappeared.]

The system also provided some basic descriptions of the "underwater kangaroo."

Jiang Chen combined the system's description with the knowledge in his mind, and it took him a full half-hour to digest it.

Only then did he recover.

"N+ Gene, underwater breathing, degeneration..."

"This is going to pry open the coffin lid of Darwin's 'Theory of Evolution'."

Jiang Chen muttered to himself.

This knowledge.

It was like a brand new and fierce iron hammer.

It was going to smash the skylight of the old world to pieces.

If this were to spread, it would definitely cause a sensation.

Just at this time.

On the radio.

A notification from Captain Wei Changcheng suddenly came through.

[Darwin Port, we are almost there!]

[Please have all ships prepare to enter the port!]