Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 318 Siege
As it turns out, Ouyang's worries were completely unfounded.

Many smuggling boats were besieging the Mi ship. At first, they only fired at the warship, but soon mortars, rocket launchers and recoilless rifles joined in, making Ouyang's eyelids twitch.

Ouyang knew that South America was in chaos, with all sorts of weapons in abundance, and the spread of the epidemic had only exacerbated the chaos, so he wasn't surprised by any weapons that appeared on the ship.

There might be a big shot from some region on one of the ships; it wouldn't be surprising if they drove tanks onto it.

Even the best makeshift team is still just a weakling that can't stand up to scrutiny.

Faced with the overwhelming firepower of the American ships, all attacks were like tickling. Occasionally being hit by one or two shells had no impact on the overall situation.

The American warships, firing at full power, were invincible; wherever their cannons were pointed, the smuggling boats sank.

A group of smuggling boats attacked a rice ship, creating the feeling of players besieging a BOSS.

However, the sea conditions were too bad, which inevitably affected the hit rate of the American ships. Most of their shells were fired but they were all empty. Moreover, there were too many smuggling boats and the warships had limited ammunition. In order to conserve ammunition, they had to slow down their rate of fire after a few rounds of shelling.

Many smuggling boats were destroyed by the American ships, but even more emerged from the darkness.

Ouyang was completely bewildered, wondering where all these ships came from. Could it be that all the survivors in South America were trying to find a ship to head north?

He suddenly thought of a question and quietly asked Lu Wei, "Old Ya, are there any boats to pick up our compatriots in the south?"

Lu Wei looked at him with surprise: "Why did you suddenly ask that?"

“It just suddenly came to mind,” Ou Yang said.

“Of course there are.” Lu Wei sighed. “But there are fewer compatriots there, so we didn’t send as many ships to South America as we did to the North… The compatriots there are scattered, and the epidemic is spreading very quickly. We’ve done our best, but we’ve only managed to bring a portion of them out.”

"I see!" Ouyang sighed, and began to imagine the scene of evacuating from South America.

Just as he was lost in thought, a flash of light appeared in the darkness, and a line of fire rose straight up, then suddenly turned sharply downwards, crashing down on the bow of the American ship at extremely high speed.

"A missile! It's a missile!" Lu Wei exclaimed in surprise.

Suddenly, flames erupted from the side of the American ship, and a dense barrage of shells tore through the night sky, leaving streaks of crimson fire that lashed into the air like long whips of flame.

Numerous fire lines chased the rapidly falling flames until the missile was about to hit the warship. Finally, the whip and the missile collided in mid-air, and the latter instantly exploded into a dazzling ball of flame.

That's... a dense array?

Ou Yang grabbed Lu Wei's arm: "What missile?"

Lu Wei switched the drone's view and quickly found the best position and the clearest shot. After careful examination, he suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "It looks like a javelin, used for anti-tank operations!"

Ou Yang was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

Other weapons might not be able to do much to US ships, but anti-tank missiles are different; these things have a minimum penetration depth of several hundred millimeters.

Modern warships are not the armored monsters of World War II. They follow a high-attack, high-sensitivity, low-defense approach, with thin skin and heavy armor. Ouyang can easily imagine the scene of a US warship being hit by a missile, with the metal jet penetrating through layer after layer of decks.

Sinking the US ship is unlikely, but severely damaging it is not impossible.

Ouyang, realizing what was happening, felt a chill run down his spine. The US ship was equipped with close-in weapon systems, which was why it was able to intercept the enemy at the last moment. But what was on the Hua Tuo ship?
If the South Americans were to use this thing to attack the hospital ship, they could at least make a big hole in the Hua Tuo.

Not only Ou Yang, but everyone on the Hua Tuo ship, from Xu Yi to the ordinary crew members, secretly felt lucky.

While directing the warship to break away at full speed, Xu Yi ordered all drones to be launched to closely monitor the movements of the South Americans. Once a missile or a suspected missile-like object was detected, it should be given special attention.

He wanted to give the order to destroy it immediately upon discovery, but the hospital ship had no suitable weapons and no ability to destroy it immediately.

Even a medium-caliber naval gun shouldn't put us in such a passive position!
Moreover, Xu Yi immediately reported the situation of the Hua Tuo to the Dongzhou. The Dongzhou replied that it would send reinforcements immediately, but the nearest warship was hundreds of kilometers away, and even if it moved at full speed, it would take a long time.

To ensure the safety of the warship, Xu Yi hesitated for only two seconds before ordering the helicopter to take off immediately and follow behind to provide cover for the warship.

Xu Yi gave the crew very direct orders: if the Hua Tuo helicopter were attacked, its only mission would be to intercept missiles.

The helicopters on the hospital ship are rescue models and are not equipped with weapons.

What can be used to intercept it? Only the aircraft itself.

Xu Yi even seriously considered releasing phantom pheromones onto the smuggling boats, but considering that releasing this substance would only drive the South Americans even crazier, he had to abandon this tempting idea.

Lu Wei kept switching perspectives, carefully analyzing each image, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

Ouyang prayed repeatedly that the Mi ship must hold on, otherwise the Southern Mi people would surely turn their attention to the Hua Tuo ship—in his more than twenty years of life, he had never hoped for the Mi ship to be safe and sound as much as he did at this moment.

In short, everyone on the Hua Tuo ship who knew the situation was on edge.

Just as they feared, two more trails of flame appeared in the darkness, followed by another, all flying upwards in a top-down attack towards the Mi ship.

Several other streaks of fire launched an attack in a horizontal firing manner, but it was unclear whether they were missiles or rocket launchers.

The USS American, which had just been counting its shells, suddenly unleashed its full firepower, firing its main guns and close-in weapon systems at full speed while its vertical launch units launched missiles as if they were free.

The fire rain from the close-in weapon system swept across half the sky, destroying the incoming missiles one by one. However, after intercepting the top-attack missiles, it was too late to intercept the horizontal fire. Several rockets hit the target in succession, and several bursts of flames exploded on both sides of the US ship.

It was unclear whether the guns had penetrated the defenses, but the naval guns, which had been firing fiercely, suddenly fell silent, leaving only a distant rumbling sound.

Fortunately, the vertical cells were unaffected!
The US ship launched twenty or thirty missiles in one go. They rose into the air one after another, then turned and dispersed in the air before flying toward their respective targets.

Just moments later, bursts of flame exploded one after another on the sea, and dozens of smuggling boats were destroyed by missiles.

The US ships chose large targets, but even so, it was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito; every target that hit was reduced to dust.

The explosion not only destroyed the target, but also affected the smuggling boats nearby. On one of the smuggling boats, a Mexican man carrying a rocket launcher was about to fire at the US ship when the missile hit the smuggling boat, which was only a dozen meters away. The shockwave from the explosion hit the Mexican man who had just pulled the trigger, causing him to lose his footing and stagger. The rocket, which had lost its aim, was launched out of the way.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. The problem is that the Mexicans were in such a good position that the exhaust plume from the back of the launch tube went straight into the cockpit, burning the Mexicans hiding inside and causing them to scream in agony.

The black men all had guns in their hands. The excruciating pain made them instinctively pull the triggers. A series of loud bangs and crashes filled the cockpit as everyone was shot and killed, ending their unbearable suffering.

But that wasn't the end. The tail flames ignited something, and the cockpit quickly burst into flames. First, the stored bullets fired amidst the flames, creating a chaotic crackling sound. Then, with a sudden, deafening explosion, the entire ship was obliterated, reduced to countless fragments in the blink of an eye. The remaining Black crew member was torn to shreds by the explosion, leaving no trace of his body.

Ou Yang was full of questions. It was just a shockwave that caused the explosion. What exactly did the South Americans have on the ship?
Old Mi's reaction also surprised him greatly: "Aren't anti-ship missiles supposed to be used to shoot down warships? How can they be used to shoot down small boats?"

In his mind, the missiles equipped on warships only had a few uses: air defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land attack. When did the US start equipping its ships with missiles specifically designed to deal with small surface targets?
Lu Wei sighed with emotion: "This, actually, is specifically aimed at us."

"Huh?" Ou Yang didn't even consider his own situation; his eyes were filled with clear stupidity.

"You know what a swarm of sharks is, right?"

Ou Yang was taken aback, and tentatively asked, "Unmanned vessel?"

He knew about bee swarms, but he had never heard of shark swarms.

However, bee swarms are drones, ant swarms are robotic wolves and robotic dogs, and shark swarms, as the name suggests, are definitely unmanned boats.

“Yes!” Lu Wei nodded emphatically. “Our unmanned surface vessels were unveiled a long time ago. How could the Americans not have any precautions?”

Ouyang suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"
So the US developed missiles specifically for small surface vessels to counter shark swarm tactics, but ended up using them on smuggling boats.

It was a case of mistaken identity leading to a positive outcome.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

Ou Yang felt he had broadened his horizons, but professionals like Xu Yi and Lu Wei were so engrossed that they almost forgot about the dangers posed by the smuggling boat.

The US ship opened fire at full force at the most dangerous moment, and the entire process was filmed by its own side. In other words, once they return and analyze the video, they can obtain first-hand data on this type of missile.

This is the latest equipment from the US, and they will be able to make targeted adjustments to their own equipment based on the performance of this missile.

Such firsthand information is usually hard to find even if you buy it, but now it's being delivered to you so readily. Who wouldn't be excited?
The conflict continued. The US ship emptied all its missiles targeting small boats in one go, and its main guns also malfunctioned, leaving only its close-in weapon system intact. It had lost 99% of its strength and was practically at the mercy of its opponent.

Anyone can see that if the smuggling boats put in a little more effort, sinking the US warship is not a dream!
But Ouyang always believed that the South Americans' relentless attack was not solely for the purpose of sinking the enemy; they likely had other objectives as well.

For example, they could seize US warships, or take a group of US soldiers hostage to force the US fleet to release smuggling ships to cross the border.

However, he soon realized he was wrong. The smuggling boats had no intention of seizing the warships and immediately launched another attack.

Despite the US ship's best efforts to evade, with its close-in weapon systems firing until the barrels were red-hot, it was unable to stop all the attacks. The warship was hit hard twice more, and a large hole was blasted open above the waterline on the starboard side. Waves surged and surged, and seawater was swept into the hole.

The South Americans could launch another attack at any time; sinking is only a matter of time.

Ou Yang understood a bit. The Southern Americans probably hated the American ships because they had been blocking the northward sea route and sinking too many ships. That's why they launched the attack regardless of everything.

Of course, sinking the American ship to open up a passage to the north was also one of the most crucial factors.

Ou Yang was anxious. The Hua Tuo ship hadn't gone far, so why couldn't the Mi ship hold on?
The people of South America might not be able to tell where the Hua Tuo ship belongs, and might even deliberately pretend to be confused and send the Hua Tuo ship to the bottom of the sea!

His mind raced, but he couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock.

Just when everyone thought the US ship was about to be sunk, a faint, inconspicuous trail of flame suddenly flashed across the distant sky.

However, the tail flame was extremely fast, and in a short moment it flew close by, quickly decreasing its altitude and skimming over the sea.

The bridge suddenly issued an order to everyone: "Attention all personnel! Everyone on deck, secure yourselves!"

What the hell?
Ouyang had no idea what was happening and instinctively grabbed the railing beside him.

The next second, a dark shadow flew over the distant sea at an extremely high speed, leaving waves crashing in its wake.

That was a sonic boom generated by supersonic flight that blew open the sea surface!
The mysterious aircraft flew straight across the sea, shattering windows, deafening the stowaways, and capsizing their boats. Wherever it passed, people and boats were overturned, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

Many South Americans, realizing the danger, immediately jumped into the water to escape the disaster.

Some people also fired at the aircraft, but these things fly too fast, so fast that bullets can't catch up. They can only follow behind the aircraft, watching their target fly further and further away.

After flying straight through a line among numerous smuggling boats, the aircraft quickly climbed and turned, making a sudden turnaround.

Ou Yang's eyes widened, and he immediately nudged Lu Wei: "Old Ya, is this our aircraft?"

"Yes, that's our unmanned aerial vehicle!" Lu Wei nodded with satisfaction.

The closest friendly warship to Hua Tuo was more than 300 kilometers away in a straight line, but this was a supersonic drone flying at a speed of nearly one kilometer per second. It would only take about 6 minutes to fly over 300 kilometers. With the extra time spent on preparation and acceleration, it would only take about ten minutes at most.

However, although this thing is fast enough, it doesn't have many weapons. Even if it used them all in one go, it wouldn't be able to deal with more than a few smuggling boats.

But it doesn't matter. Supersonic speed is an excellent weapon in itself. As long as we fly over the smuggling ship a few more times, the shock will be enough to kill these bastards.

"That's fucking awesome!" Ou Yang chuckled, his eyes glued to the aircraft.

The unexpected incident not only stunned the South American people, but also left the American ships, which were already preparing to abandon ship, completely bewildered and unable to figure out what had happened.

Suddenly, dozens of bright flames appeared in the dark sky, and a swarm of missiles streaked across the heavens, heading straight for the smuggling boat.

The aircraft immediately climbed up and broke contact with the enemy.

Moments later, the missile fell, exploding in the darkness with bursts of flame that illuminated a vast expanse of water.

Modern warfare is about technology, data, and systems, not a single combat unit. These missiles falling from the sky must have been launched by other US ships in the distance, and just happened to arrive at the ground at this time, originally intended to save the US ships, but they arrived a little too late.

Well, although it was a bit late, and although it only served to finish off the enemy, at least it made it in time.

Although the series of attacks failed to annihilate all the smuggling boats, they greatly frightened the remaining vessels. Intimidated by the aircraft, the South Americans dared not launch another attack and scattered in all directions.

The US warships were too busy to help themselves and could only watch helplessly as the smuggling boats escaped.

The aircraft did not return immediately, but continued to circle in the air until the Hua Tuo was out of danger before turning around and leaving, successfully completing its support mission.

(End of this chapter)