What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 393 Return (3000 monthly votes in May)

"No, no, no, that's impossible."

Gabriel Marcel arrived at the USS Kearsarge amphibious assault ship by helicopter and shook his head repeatedly in response to Fern's questions.

Although the air attack was suppressed, it could not be concealed from the approaching Clemenceau fleet. The dense radio communications and the more than 100 missiles launched by the main fleet could not be hidden.

The two carrier fleets had already rendezvoused during the day. Based on the direction of the enemy aircraft discovered last night, Fern speculated that its base was most likely in Suriname or within French Guiana.

Marcel is the captain and commander of the Clemenceau, but he previously served in the colonies for many years and vouched for Fern:

“We have very strong control over Guyana and the surrounding areas, and the things you described will absolutely not happen.”

We have contacted the authorities in Guyana and Suriname, and they reported that they did not hear any fighter jets flying over or any secret airfields yesterday.

Fern: ...

Can something that can be discovered by these people still be called a secret?
However, he also needed the assistance of the Clemenceau fleet: mainly their two Tuville-class destroyers and four Florence-class frigates.

Compared to the more advanced Arleigh Burke class, although these warships are relatively outdated, they are equipped with Sea Sparrow and Mistral close-in weapon systems, which are surprisingly effective against low-flying aircraft.

Marcel, however, was unfazed by the mosquito attack and the two fleets advanced directly to a distance of 200 kilometers offshore after coordinating their operations.

The Sulinan authorities naturally welcomed the E2 and EA6B aircraft from the sky to help search for the Second Fleet from their own airspace.

However, the wingman refused to allow it to enter Guyana, but Marcel was willing to work with the local garrison to closely monitor it, and that any aircraft taking off from within the territory would be detected in time.

By the time the two formations arrived near the coast, it was already close to evening. The Clemenceau simply stopped to rest, while the Enterprise diligently took off reconnaissance aircraft continuously, while maintaining the F18 and F14 squadrons' patrols according to the theoretical sortie rate.

With the Clemenceau formation, its 17 warships spreading out and continuously searching, the weak Sulinan military could only watch the unprecedentedly bustling radar screens and count the stars.

They were initially worried that the heavenly soldiers would take the opportunity to cause trouble, but such a large-scale operation was clearly not aimed at them, which made them feel even more at ease to slack off.

……

6月30日23时59分58秒。

International Convention and Exhibition Center.

As the music for "God Save the King" played, the Union Jack was slowly lowered.

The echo had barely faded when the familiar melody began to play, and a vibrant red flag slowly rose, replacing the Union Jack that had flown here for a century.

Tang Wen stood on the side of the stands, his mood reaching its peak.

The original world line with the British flag falling was at 59 minutes and 48 seconds, resulting in a 12-second gap.

Later analysis suggested that the error might have been due to a timer malfunction on both sides, but now it seems that there was no error this time, and the timing was perfect.

After the performance, Tang Wen was surrounded by enthusiastic applause. However, at 0:08, when the first round of brief speeches ended, our host in the venue slightly gestured to everyone to be quiet.

The convention center is also located in Victoria Harbour, next to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong border.

The faint sounds of various fireworks outside reached their ears, but everyone knew that they were insignificant compared to the commotion that was about to unfold.

Five kilometers away in a straight line, the Huashan and Taishan warships, about to be reviewed, stood side by side in a straight line, their two main guns on the bow pointing diagonally forward to the left.

Despite the urgency, numerous light strips were still installed on the two warships, allowing people on the shore to easily see their massive outlines, making them resemble an island appearing in the middle of the river.

Inside the bridge of the Taishan, as the three timers, calibrated several times, simultaneously struck 10 minutes and 0 seconds, a resolute voice came from the telephones in the turret compartments of both warships:
"Turret No. 1 (No. 2), fire all three (two) barrels simultaneously!"

The gun barrel was already loaded with shells and propellant charges. The shells were the improved Type 3 460mm and 610mm shells, which were modified and had their propellant charges reduced to eliminate most of the kill radius.

The medicine packet was pierced by a stimulant, and ten exaggerated flames suddenly burst forth in the darkness, illuminating the riverbanks on both sides for a moment.

The powerful air currents transformed into a tangible storm, which, along with the penetrating sound of cannons, reverberated all around. People nearby could feel a night wind carrying the smell of gunpowder.

But what followed was a sudden burst of red, yellow, and green colored flames in the sky, their brightness immediately overshadowing the fireworks throughout the city. The city experienced a brief period of increased brightness for more than ten seconds before gradually dimming and fading away.

The powerful cannon fire could be heard several kilometers away, and the entire convention center could not only hear the ear-splitting sound of the cannons tearing through the air, but also clearly observe the colorful scene outside.

But immediately followed by a second volley, and then a minute later came the final volley.

After a long 180-second, three-round salvo, the venue was silent for ten seconds, followed by even more enthusiastic applause.

Tang Wen looked at Old Zhang in the distance, lowered his hand, and gave him a thumbs up.

……

1:30 AM.

The Amazon River can reach a depth of 45 meters, which is more than enough to accommodate a small submarine. Moreover, no one would deploy anti-submarine sonar in the river, so diving into it would be completely unimpeded.

However, U69 did not stay in the river for long, and after heading north, it began to look for shallow, uninhabited tributaries.

Tang Wen obtained a tourist map of Baxi and ran directly along the dangerous no-man's-land marked on it. Soon he had to surface to proceed cautiously, and finally hid in a large swamp at the edge of a forest.

After several hours, more than a dozen crocodiles were already lying on the submarine.

Lütjens opened the hatch, and these massive creatures immediately turned and slowly moved toward the control tower.

He immediately stepped back to observe the hatch. The next second, a Gnat appeared at the starting position of the ejection track in front of him. Its not-so-powerful jet engine started, and it was dragged by the catapult, clearing out the dozen or so Swamp Dogs in front of it. It flew into the sky almost vertically with an unscientific climb rate.

But it immediately leveled the press head and hovered at near stall speed, skimming the treetops of the rainforest.

Less than a minute later, a second Gnat was launched and joined the circling formation.

When the 15th gnat took off and joined, the swarm of gnats that had been circling and biting immediately dispersed into groups and flew along the lowest altitude in the night, like a terrain-matching radar.

Large swathes of Appalma are rainforests and mountains, completely undetected by radar. Only a few rainforest natives covered in graffiti are awakened from their sleep, kneeling and praying to the spirits trailing glittering flames in the night sky.

The trees and various obstacles in the dark are not enough to cause any difficulties, because the aircraft has the ability to automatically level and avoid obstacles, and will not crash into anything unless deliberately manipulated.

Even when encountering obstacles that cannot be avoided in time, the magical mechanism will take effect, allowing the fighter jet to dodge them in an impossible maneuver in an incredible way.

The truly powerful ones are not the super elite aces that Fern believes in; on the contrary, their dogfighting abilities are just so-so. Only their unique and unreasonable mechanisms are the source of their magic.

(End of this chapter)