North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 169 A Series of Massive Explosions!
Late at night, Ah Zu welcomed an unexpected guest.

Brigadier General Paparo Kim... no, he's now Rear Admiral Paparo Kim!
General Kim now has two stars on his shoulders, instead of one.

In that era, the United States Navy did not have many generals, and after being promoted to rear admiral, Paparo King had already reached the pinnacle of his military career and the entire United States Navy!
In the study of the small building at the headquarters of Huamei Company, Azu met this elderly man with a full head of silver hair.

"General Jin, congratulations on your promotion to major general and your appointment as commander of the American Continental Fleet!"

"The Home Fleet represents more than half of the strength of the entire U.S. Navy. Becoming the commander of the Home Fleet means that you are already the most powerful general in the U.S. Navy... if not one of the most powerful!"

Despite Azu's congratulations, Brigadier General Paparo Kim did not show the expected joy on his face.

"Li, things won't go as smoothly as you think...!"

After taking a sip of Macallan whiskey, General Jin sighed softly, "The Home Fleet is the Freemasons' stronghold in the Navy. Even if I become the commander, I won't be able to change this situation in a short time."

"If I use too forceful methods to exclude the Freemasons from the home fleet, I am almost certain that I will be besieged by the Freemasons."

"Given the Freemasons' strength in the East and in the Navy, I am very likely to lose my position as commander."

"However, if I am not ruthless enough, I will not be able to remove the Freemasons' influence from the home fleet. In fact, I may be sidelined by them and become a dispensable puppet."

"Sigh...!" Paparo King sighed again, "Li, I foresee that my situation as the commander of the home fleet will be very difficult in the future!"

General Paparo King could be considered to have confided in Azu, a junior whom he greatly valued.

Azu said in a deep voice, "General Jin, based on my intuition, you should be able to get more support from the White House, from the President and the Vice President."

"As long as you gain the unconditional trust and support of these two gentlemen, no matter how the Freemasons attack you, you should be able to secure your position as commander of the home fleet."

General Paparo King slowly shook his head: "I haven't had much interaction with either the President or the Vice President before."

"My appointment as commander of the Home Fleet was largely due to an exchange of power and interests. Gaining the trust and support of the White House is easier said than done."

“Let’s not talk about that… Heh!” General Paparo King chuckled self-deprecatingly, then changed the subject, saying, “Lee, I came all the way from San Diego to see you, not to complain in front of you.”

Azu nodded: "It's almost 2 a.m. now. General, you're still coming to see me so late. Of course, there must be something more important to discuss."

“Yes!” General Paparo King said, “I am about to take up my post in the east, and before I leave, I must see you and have a good talk with you.”

"All ears!"

Azu held this old man in high regard.

General Jin said in a deep voice, "Li, you should already know that after I was transferred, the person who took my place was Andrew Webber of the Africa Squadron."

"He is a Freemason, but as far as I know, he belongs to a relatively rational and moderate faction within Freemasonry."

"This is good news amidst bad news!"

"Before I leave San Diego, I will have a good talk with Brigadier General Webb."

"Although California and the Freemasons are currently irreconcilable enemies, I hope that at least the Pacific Fleet and your California will not have any direct conflict."

"I have served in the Pacific Squadron for so long, and I have a deep affection for both my men and my ships."

"To me, they can sacrifice themselves in a fair naval battle."

"But I absolutely do not want them to become the most pitiful victims in the game of power!"

General Paparo King looked into Azu’s eyes: “Similarly, I don’t want the whole of California, your Huamei Industrial Company, and you, the youngest governor in history, to fall into the power game!”

"So, whether it's Andrew Webber or you, Governor, I hope you can both remain rational and restrained."

Ah Zu pondered for a moment and said, "General Jin, you know me. As long as the Freemasons don't provoke me, I will never go looking for trouble."

"However, if they provoke me, I will certainly retaliate appropriately!"

General Paparo King replied, “That’s exactly what I’m worried about, Lee. Having witnessed your methods firsthand, I know how fierce and ruthless your counterattack will be… just like when you ordered the ramming of their armed merchant ship!”

"However, I hope that even when you are on the defensive, you will try your best to remain restrained...!"

After a brief silence, Azu replied, "This...!"

"boom……!"

Just then, a deafening explosion was heard outside the room!
"Hmm... what happened?"

Both Azu and General Jin were shocked and stood up at the same time.

Outside the door, there was a rather chaotic sound of footsteps, and then a guard, looking slightly nervous, pushed the door open and entered.

"BOSS...!"

"What happened outside?"

"Report! It seems... it seems there's been a massive explosion at our arsenal on Angel Island...!"

"What……?"

Azu, accompanied by General Paparo King and a group of guards, quickly walked out of the small building.

Sure enough, as soon as they stepped out of the small building, they saw flames shooting into the sky in the direction of Angel Island in the distance!

A visible black and red mushroom cloud is slowly rising in the distant sky.

The headquarters of Huamei is located two or three nautical miles away from the Angel Island Armory.

Even from such a distance, you could still hear the enormous explosion and see the mushroom cloud rising. You can imagine just how terrifying the power of this explosion was!
"Prepare the ship immediately, I need to get to Angel Island right away... Our arsenal cannot be lost!"

"no……!"

Behind Azu, came the urgent voices of Vivian, Daisy, and others.

This deafening noise also woke them from their sleep.

In her anxiety, Vivian grabbed Azu's arm: "We don't know what the situation is on Angel Island yet. It's too dangerous for you to go there at this time...!"

Daisy added urgently, "Vivian is right. Even if the Angel Island arsenal is gone, we can rebuild it! But Boss, you absolutely cannot make any mistakes...!"

Azu didn't turn around, but stared blankly at the mushroom cloud that was rising higher and higher, and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I will adapt to the situation!"

"If our arsenal is still in danger, I won't go ashore; I'll stay on the ship and check the situation..."

Azu then turned around, smiled slightly, and comforted Vivian and Daisy: "Don't you know me? I'm most afraid of dying. Don't worry, I won't take any risks when the situation is unclear!"

Vivian didn't let go of her arm: "Then... I'll go with you!"

“I’m going too…!” Daisy grabbed Azu’s other arm without saying a word.

"Hmm, that's fine too...!"

"Li, I'll go take a look too!"

General Paparo King also stepped forward and stood side by side with Azu.

"Okay, then...!"

A moment later, Ah Zu boarded the "Taishan" ship, which had been docked at the pier, and sped off towards Angel Island.
-
Meanwhile, on an unnamed coastline in San Francisco.

Tony O'Hara himself drove the carriage, appearing on this remote coastline in the quiet, deserted night.

From inside the carriage came Susan O'Hara's alluring voice: "My dear brother, what are we doing here by the sea in the middle of the night? The sea breeze here is so cold...!"

"Hehe!" Tony O'Hara tightened the collar of his high trench coat and smiled. "My dear sister, I brought you here to see a spectacular fireworks show!"

"Fireworks show...?"

Susan O'Hara poked her head out of the carriage window, gazing curiously at the empty, dark sea.

"What fireworks show...?"

"boom……!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a huge black and red mushroom cloud suddenly rose from the distant sea!

Immediately following was a deafening roar! "Huh... what's that...!"

"Heh heh!" Tony O'Hara gazed at the massive mushroom cloud over the distant island and excitedly pumped his fist. "Looks like Sean really didn't disappoint me!"

"Sean? Did he succeed?"

Susan O'Hara was also utterly shocked, gazing at the terrifying black and red mushroom cloud in the distance.

“Yes!” Tony O’Hara said with certainty, “That’s the location of the Angel Island Armory!”

"Judging by the scale of this explosion, Sean really did a good job. He must have caused irreparable and enormous damage to that arsenal."

In the darkness of night, Susan O'Hara's expression became very complicated.

He had clearly told the young and handsome governor about Sean's plan to sabotage the Angel Island arsenal.

Why didn't that governor stop Sean?

Was it because there wasn't enough time to stop it?

Or was it intentional that they didn't stop it?

Why wasn't it stopped?
Could it be that it was to protect me?

I just had a private meeting with that governor not long ago. If Sean is arrested, I will inevitably be suspected of betraying the organization!

Only by letting Sean continue to carry out the plan can he avoid being exposed and continue to gain the organization's trust!

Does that governor really think that way?
Would he really be willing to sacrifice such an important arsenal to protect himself?
Is he really willing to pay such a huge price to protect himself?

Am I really that important in his heart?
Thinking of this, a sweet feeling quietly emerged in Miss Susan O'Hara's heart.

A happy smile, almost one she had never seen before, involuntarily appeared on her face!
Tony O'Hara turned around and saw the smile on his sister's face. He couldn't help but smile as well, saying, "My dear sister, how are you? Are you happy that our plan is going well?"

"Hehe...!" Susan's smile didn't fade: "Yes, my dear brother! If Sean could also take care of that governor, that would be even better!"

Tony O'Hara nodded: "That's certainly possible! With such a major accident at the Angel Island arsenal, that Chinese guy will definitely go and inspect it in person."

“As long as he appears on Angel Island, Sean will definitely find a suitable opportunity…!”

Upon hearing this, Susan O'Hara's smile vanished instantly.

She just said it casually, but she never expected that such a possibility would actually exist!
At that moment, she actually felt very worried about that young and handsome governor!

Tony O'Hara, oblivious to his sister's changing expression and thoughts, excitedly muttered to himself, "Perhaps we'll soon receive news that Sean has completed his mission!"

“My dear sister, you don’t even need to lift a finger. We can complete the mission and leave San Francisco and California safely…!”
-
Aboard the high-speed "Taishan," the outline of Angel Island grew larger and larger in the sight of Azu and the others.

"boom……!"

Just as the "Taishan" was very close to Angel Island, another muffled explosion was heard from the island.

This explosion was much smaller than the previous one.

But because of the close proximity, it sounded even more jarring and terrifying to everyone's ears!

"That's... the location of our artillery factory!"

Azu stared in the direction of the explosion, his face unusually grim.

"Cannon factory... Li, when did you manage to set up another cannon factory?"

Paparo King asked, slightly surprised.

Azu shook his head: "General Jin, this is not the time to talk about this. Right now, we urgently need to find out what exactly happened in my arsenal...!"

"Li, based on my experience, an explosion is likely an accident...!"

General Jin said in a deep voice, "But two explosions in a row, and from such a far distance apart, it must be sabotage...!"

“Sabotage…?” Azu looked at General Paparo King with a shocked expression and said, “But everyone in my arsenal, whether they are managers, workers, logistics personnel, or security personnel, has undergone the most rigorous selection process…!”

General Jin shook his head: "No matter how strict the selection process is, there will always be loopholes! Especially if the enemy you're facing is that organization...!"

"General Jin, you mean the Freemasons...!"

General Kim replied, "Besides them, I can't imagine anyone else who could destroy your arsenal under such tight security measures!"

"Damn it, those sons of bitches...!"

Azu angrily shouted, "General Jin, you saw it with your own eyes! It's not that I'm ruthless and merciless, it's that they've gone too far...!"

"Ugh……!"

What could General Paparo King say at this point? He could only shake his head in disappointment!

The situation on the island is unclear, and now is not the time to land.

Azu and his companions could only gaze at the chaotic Angel Island arsenal from afar aboard the "Taishan".

They waited until dawn, when Uncle Nine personally piloted the small boat onto the "Taishan" and reported the events of the previous night to A-Zu in person.

"Boss, around 2 a.m. last night, some enemy agents who had been lurking inside us first blew up our explosives warehouse, and then, taking advantage of the chaos, they also blew up our vital artillery forging workshop...!"

"The number of casualties is still being tallied, but it is estimated to be at least fifty or sixty... mainly security personnel who died in the explosion at the explosives warehouse...!"

Azu asked in a deep voice, "Who is that person who infiltrated and caused sabotage? Have they been caught?"

"He's a grenade production foreman named Sean, who just got expelled from Huamei High School... People who know him say he's an honest and simple man... Who would have thought he could be such a good actor...!"

"I asked you, have you caught him?"

Uncle Nine shook his head heavily with guilt: "Not yet... We are conducting a full factory investigation and will not overlook any clues!"

“If it really is the Freemasons making a move…!” General Paparo King interjected, “If we haven’t caught them yet, we’ll never catch them!”

"With the skills of the top experts in that organization, it would be impossible for a group of ordinary security personnel to catch him."

Azu wholeheartedly agreed: "Let's go, let's go to the island! I must see for myself just how much damage has been done!"

"Boss, we haven't caught that guy yet, what if...!"

"What ifs? With so many of us, how could he possibly find an opportunity to assassinate us?"

Ignoring the objections of others, Azu, along with his guards and General Jin, landed on Angel Island.

But Vivian and Daisy were left on the ship by him, and he forbade them to go on the adventure.

Azu led his men to the original location of the explosives warehouse.

Overnight, hundreds of security personnel surrounded the accident site and were cleaning it up.

Where the warehouse once stood, now only a huge pit remains.

Standing beside this crater, which was tens of meters in diameter and twenty or thirty meters deep, even General Paparo King, with his extensive experience, was shocked by the power of the explosion!

"Li, what kind of explosives do you produce? How could a warehouse explosion have such a huge impact?"

Azu shook his head with a stern face: "General, I have nothing to say for the time being!"

After inspecting the explosives warehouse, Azu and his entourage went to the forging workshop of the naval gun factory.

Uncle Nine, who was leading the way, explained as they walked: "Sean's second explosion damaged some important production equipment in the forging workshop...!"

"The damaged critical equipment will require a long time to repair and replace!"

Upon hearing this, Azu's brows furrowed tightly.

Outside the forging workshop, there were also a large number of security personnel, on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.

Upon discovering that their big boss was coming, the security personnel became even more vigilant and on high alert.

However, one of the security guards kept glancing at his own boss...!
(End of this chapter)