Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 349 Hunting S-343 (Part Two)

S-343 submerged and departed from the shore, then surfaced again shortly afterward to rendezvous with a semi-submersible vessel that had been waiting at the designated location. The latter then lifted the submarine out of the water.

To prevent satellite surveillance, the semi-submersible vessel not only camouflaged itself in advance but also deliberately released smoke to fake a fire and remain in place.

The submarine opened its launch tubes, revealing an empty cavity. The engineers who had been waiting on the ship rushed forward, stuffing the spores and hyphae from the Apostles into the specially made warheads, which were then loaded onto the missiles and sent into the submarine by a crane.

Everyone was giving it their all, but Frank, who was on the scene, kept checking his watch like a cat on a hot tin roof, urging everyone to hurry up, hurry up!

The officer in charge of loading had to refuse Frank's unreasonable request, repeatedly stating that the boys had already tried their best and couldn't go any faster.

Missile loading is a meticulous task. With darkness and wind and waves, if we rush the work regardless of the consequences, it's hard to say how much time will be wasted if an accident occurs.

Frank could only continue grinding away in the same spot, like a bound spirit.

Until dawn, the engineers who had worked all night finally completed the loading operation before daybreak, the semi-submersible ship sank, and the submarine returned to the sea.

S-343 remained submerged, cruising eastward at a speed of 20 knots per hour.

At this moment, the submarine carries 16 Poseidon C5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with a range of 9000 kilometers. Each missile can carry several mushroom bombs. Globally, these are among the most advanced weapons and an important component of the U.S. triad strike force.

Only the top three permanent members of the UN Security Council possess a triad of land, sea, and air strike capabilities, while the bottom two only have air-based and sea-based strike capabilities.

In other words, the S-343 could launch missiles from the coast of Milwaukee and open up Europe in one fell swoop.

However, direct launch is not advisable because the distance is too far and the flight time is too long. Europa would have enough time to detect and intercept it. Therefore, launching from the spot is not advisable. It is necessary to continuously close the distance to the east. The closer the distance, the higher the success rate.

Over the next few days, S-343 maintained a state of silent navigation, constantly adjusting its course based on intelligence provided by the Pentagon, and quietly entered the blockade zone on the afternoon of the fifth day after its departure.

The blockade of the Americas was very tight, but it did not involve a large number of warships lined up to block off the vast sea.

The ocean is too vast, and none of the parties have enough warships or manpower. Even if all the civilian ships were brought out to make up the numbers, it still wouldn't be enough.

The real blockade line relies on satellites, aircraft, radar, and various sensors to monitor the situation on the sea. Each warship is responsible for hundreds of kilometers of vast ocean, and will rush to any place where there is a problem.

If ships can't make it in time, use airplanes; if airplanes can't make it in time, use missiles. In short, cut off all transportation and prevent any ships from passing through.

Since the complete blockade began, tens of thousands of ships have attempted to break through it. According to incomplete statistics, more than 50,000 ships of various sizes have been sunk by all sides!
The vast majority of these were ships intending to escape the epidemic area, while a few were hijacked or mistakenly entered the lockdown area.

However, no party will investigate why the ships entered the blockade zone. If a ship fails to turn back in time after a warning is issued, it will be sunk without question.

To ensure safety, before S-343 even entered the restricted area, Frank ordered it to sail at a low speed, moving forward slowly at a snail's pace of 8 knots per hour.

It's better to be slow than to expose ourselves.

At this speed, it would take at least a whole day to pass through the blockade line that is hundreds of kilometers wide, but as long as we can avoid the warships on the blockade line, it is worth it no matter how slow it is.

After six hours of continuous underwater navigation, the S-343 penetrated more than 40 kilometers into the blockade zone.

As the submarine continued to move forward, the atmosphere on board became increasingly tense, and everyone involuntarily tensed up.

S-343 command module.

Everyone sat quietly in their seats, without making a single unnecessary sound.

Sonar soldier Ronnie, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly heard a faint, low-frequency noise. He immediately sat up straight, staring intently at the instruments in front of him, analyzing the wavelength changes, pulse intervals, and harmonic distribution of the noise. Realizing something was wrong with Ronnie, the others held their breath, all eyes fixed on the thin soldier.

A moment later, Ronnie suddenly pushed open his right earpiece and quickly wrote down a line: May 27, 20:07.

He then reported in a low voice: "Noise detected at 21 degrees east of north, at a distance of 75 meters, appears to be on the horizon!"

Frank immediately ordered: "Reduce speed, highest level of noise control!"

The submarine immediately reduced its speed from 8 knots to 5 knots. All unnecessary equipment on board was shut down, and everyone remained in their positions without moving. They could only speak in whispers, had to suppress coughs, and even had to hold back farts.

The first mate immediately marked the nautical chart, carefully analyzed the information provided by the Pentagon, and soon looked up, nodded to Frank, and confirmed the target's identity.

Frank wanted to ask if the target's direction and speed had changed, but he held back.

A moment later, Ronnie gave a hand signal that everything was safe, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But even with a slight sigh of relief, the atmosphere remained heavy and almost frozen.

S-343 continued to advance, and the distance between the two sides continued to shrink. After determining the other side's course and speed, the first mate ordered a turn to avoid the target's direction of travel.

However, the submarine was too slow, and the distance between the two sides continued to shrink.

The first mate had to suggest, "It would be best to wait until the target leaves before we go."

Frank pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The first mate immediately breathed a sigh of relief and ordered a halt to the advance.

The propeller at the stern stopped rotating, and the submarine, which was already moving at a slow speed, gradually came to a stop.

What followed was a long and agonizing wait, but waiting did not mean doing nothing. Everyone on board remained at their posts and kept quiet.

Forty minutes later, Ronnie suddenly raised his head, listened carefully for a while, and quickly wrote down a line: Target changed direction, distance 56!

The sound source continued to move away, but the S-343 remained hovering in place until it was certain that the distance between the two sides was safe enough before restarting the propellers and continuing to move forward at a speed of 5 knots.

Frank suddenly remembered the shaftless pump-jet propulsion system of the University of Tokyo. If his own submarine could also use this technology, its speed could be increased by at least a few knots.

It was another long, maddeningly slow voyage.

At midnight, the sonar operators changed shifts, and Oleman replaced Ronnie.

Just six minutes later, Oleman discovered a new sound source and quickly recorded the data: May 28, 0:07, 19 degrees east of north, distance 112.

The target's identity is currently uncertain, and the distance is far enough that he poses no threat to our side, so Oleman decided to observe for a while before making any further decisions.

Soon, the target's course and speed were determined. It was not heading towards the submarine. At their current speeds and directions, the two would eventually pass each other at a distance of 50 to 60 kilometers.

Oleman secretly breathed a sigh of relief: This distance is safe!
However, he soon changed his mind.

At 1:47 a.m., the target suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the submarine's location!

(End of this chapter)