50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 272 Avoiding Danger
The enemy submarine was passing overhead. Inside the Memphis, everyone held their breath until the sound of the propellers gradually faded away, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Passive sonar closely monitors the distance to the other party, and reports when it exceeds 50 kilometers."

"Yes."

Time passed by, and more than an hour later, sonar operator Bald Dahai reported: "Enemy ship is 50 kilometers away, moving at a constant speed, and its course has not changed."

"Received. 100 km report." Upon hearing this, Sun Zhiwei did not take any further action but continued to wait.

Another hour passed, and a new report came: "Enemy ship at 100 kilometers per hour, at a constant speed, with no change in course."

At this moment, Sun Zhiwei stood up and said, "Order: Ascend to a depth of 100 meters, start the engine, minimum power, speed of 5 knots, heading 40 degrees west of north."

"Sonar, closely monitor the enemy ship's movements." After saying that, Sun Zhiwei sat down again.

The "Memphis" slowly rose to the surface, its propellers began to spin, and the submarine began to move forward slowly.

"The enemy ship's course and speed remain unchanged." The Memphis has advanced one kilometer.

"The enemy ship's course and speed remain unchanged." The Memphis has advanced two kilometers.

"Report! Enemy ships are slowing down! Enemy ships are slowing down!" Da Hai's urgent report made the atmosphere in the command room tense.

"Speed ​​12 knots, rise 50 meters, get close to the cargo ship to your left front, quick."

The Memphis immediately accelerated to 12 knots and quickly caught up with the cargo ship not far ahead.

"The enemy ship is turning."

"Slow down to 10 knots and move in sync with the cargo ship."

"The enemy ship is turning around."

Before Da Hai could finish speaking, a sonic pulse struck the submarine's hull, producing a chilling sound.

Everyone looked at Sun Zhiwei nervously, but Sun Zhiwei remained calm and simply ordered, "Stay close to the cargo ship and keep the course."

"The enemy ship turned and remained stationary." The ocean continued to monitor the sonar echoes, and everyone held their breath.

One minute later, “the enemy ship remained stationary.” The sonic pulses continued to hit the “Memphis”.

Three minutes later, "the enemy ship remained stationary." The sonic pulses continued to be dense.

Five minutes later, "the enemy ship remained stationary."

Suddenly, the sonic pulse and the sound of the impact disappeared, and everyone looked at the sonar soldier, Da Hai.

Da Hai, sweating profusely, carefully discerned the sounds transmitted by the passive sonar: "The enemy ship is turning around; the distance is increasing."

"Distance 114, 115, 116"

Upon hearing this news, everyone slumped into their chairs. As long as they hadn't been discovered, that was good; otherwise, with only five of them, a fight would have been extremely difficult.

An hour later, Da Hai reported, "The islands are providing cover, and the enemy ships are beyond the range of sonar detection." This time, they were truly safe.

"Break free from the cargo ship, sink to 300 meters, speed 20 knots, target 'Nanhua Channel'."

The so-called 'Nanhua Channel' is actually a 280-nautical-mile-long waterway running east-west in the area south of Chigua Reef and north of Yongshu Island.

This waterway is a kilometer deep and has no islands. It is deep, wide, and free of reefs, making it a natural shipping route that allows for safe passage across the Nansha Islands.

This waterway is of little value to us, but for Annam, it is a golden waterway that can greatly shorten the distance between Annam and Malaysia.

Currently, this waterway is unguarded, and neighboring small countries can sail freely here, which poses a potential threat for future island disputes.

The Memphis activated its active sonar after entering the waterway.

This area has entered rocky waters, and without active sonar for navigation, Sun Zhiwei was genuinely worried about navigating the submarine onto the rocks. The entire 'Nanhua Channel' is over 500 kilometers long, roughly divided into three sections, and its overall shape resembles an S.

The two ends of the outlet run northwest-southeast, each accounting for 2/5, while the middle section runs east-west, accounting for 1/5.

The Memphis entered the waterway from the east entrance, reducing its speed to 15 knots as it explored the area.

As the "Memphis" sailed through these currently neglected archipelago, Sun Zhiwei, contemplating the dire situation to come, felt a pang of unease and suddenly addressed the group:
“This sea area has been our territorial waters since ancient times. Our fishermen fish here, and there are supply points and harbors built by fishermen on many islands and reefs.”

"No matter how large the country is, no piece of land is superfluous. Not a single reef can be lost, not even a reef can be discarded, as a legacy left by our ancestors."

Although no one understood why he was bringing this up so solemnly, they all agreed with what he said.

Six hours later, the Memphis will have completed the first section of the South China Sea Channel.

By then, it had gotten dark, but this didn't affect the submarine much, since submarines don't navigate by sight anyway.

The Memphis began to turn, its sonar constantly emitting sound waves to probe the surrounding terrain.

Just as the ship completed its turn, a sonic pulse struck the hull of the USS Memphis, just like the encounter with the submarine that morning.

Before Sun Zhiwei could even curse, he rushed to the sonar.

At this moment, the sea also issued an alarm: "Unknown submarine encountered ahead."

"Distance, depth, speed."

"Distance 85, Depth 200, Speed ​​15 knots."

"Can you distinguish the other person's voiceprint?"

“The voiceprint is unfamiliar; I haven’t heard it before.”

"Make a record of it. Also, did you record the voiceprint of that submarine from this morning?"

“It’s all recorded.”

"What should we do?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Sun Zhiwei replied, "Continue forward at the same speed."

"The other side has already discovered us, so there's no point in hiding now."

"Calm down, this is our territory. Fire active sonar at them, be tough."

The other side seemed to have no idea that they would encounter another submarine here.

The other submarine paused for a moment before continuing to approach, but its speed was reduced to 10 knots, making it appear very cautious.

Upon hearing Da Hai's report, Sun Zhiwei had a sudden realization: this was definitely not a Soviet or American submarine.

Those two companies are the current dominant forces, and they will not back down no matter who they encounter. Sun Zhiwei's decision to have Dahai fire the active sonar earlier was also a test.

If they encounter a US submarine, the other side will most likely respond with sonar, but their speed will generally remain unchanged.

If they encounter a Russian submarine, the other side will most likely exchange sonar fire, but they will accelerate their advance.

The submarine we're encountering now is slowing down, appearing hesitant and timid, which is quite interesting.

I don't know if it's in Paris or London, but it's definitely one of those two.

Since it's these two families, there's no danger. Sun Zhiwei shouted to Dongzi with great enthusiasm, "Let's go meet them and see who they are!"

The others had been tense, but seeing Sun Zhiwei's relaxed expression, they relaxed as well, though they didn't know why.

(End of this chapter)