Conan: Begins to collaborate with Miss Bayonetta and become famous

Chapter 840 Ruins of the Northern Territory (2)

"Full right rudder, turn 270 degrees, got it!" The helmsman turned the steering wheel without hesitation.

The huge submarine hull began to tilt to the right.

The captain looked at the first mate beside him and said in a low and decisive voice: "Avoid the target and go directly to the deep water."

The first mate nodded silently, but he keenly noticed that for the first time, the captain, who was always calm and composed, showed an unconcealable nervousness on his face.

"The target has turned 160 degrees!" The sonar crew member whipped around, a look of shock and disbelief written all over his face. "They... they turned instantly! This is impossible!"

The captain quickly walked over to the screen, his brow furrowed. "The target is right there...it's turning in sync with us again."

He appeared calm on the surface, but his brain was working at full speed, trying to understand this strange phenomenon that violated all physical common sense and military manuals.

Because this has never happened in human history!

The weapons officer put forward a chilling hypothesis: "Sir...it...it seems to be able to 'see' us."

"Impossible!" the first mate denies sharply, his tone firm with the determination to uphold absolute faith. "We're invisible! The Horseshoe system is working perfectly!"

The captain maintained his authority, blaming everything on a malfunction: "Weapons officer, there must be a serious error in the diagnostic procedures of the sonar and combat systems. Investigate immediately!"

"Sir!" The helmsman's voice suddenly came over the communication channel, rapid and out of tune. "The target torpedo tube is starting to fill with water! It's preparing to attack!"

The captain's face instantly turned gloomy.

He grabbed the overhead communication microphone and said in a voice like ice: "Torpedo room! This is the control room! Load all launch tubes immediately! High combat readiness!"

"Yes, sir!" A response came immediately from the torpedo room.

Press the unlock button, and the thick silver-gray mechanical chain will "click" and quickly unlock.

The heavy torpedo, like a deep-sea python, was accurately pushed into the launch tube by the automatic loading robotic arm.

"Check carefully!" The torpedo room supervisor's roar echoed in the metal compartment.

"Bow torpedo tubes loaded!"

"Stern torpedo tubes loaded!"

"All launch tubes ready!"

"Excellent!" the supervisor yelled, "Start injecting water and increasing the pressure!"

He yanked the safety on the launch lever.

Eight torpedoes powerful enough to tear apart ships are ready, with their cold warheads pointing towards the dark deep sea, waiting for the captain's final "fire" order.

"All torpedoes are loaded! Ready to launch at any time!" the supervisor reported.

The helmsman's voice rang out almost simultaneously, trembling with despair: "The target... the target's outer hatch is open! It's ready for launch!"

The captain took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

This was the strangest and most dangerous situation he had faced since he took command of this steel behemoth.

"Weapons officer," his voice miraculously regained its composure, "Fill launch tubes one through four. Open the outer hatch. Enter final launch parameters into tube two."

"Yes, Captain!" The weapons officer stared at the screen intently. "Parameters for pipeline number two have been entered. Ready to launch at any time!"

The first mate, who had been silent until then, leaned close to the captain's ear and whispered in a low voice, "Captain, the target is provoking us. It's forcing us to fire first."

"That's right," the weapons officer agreed, cold sweat trickling down his forehead, "It's looking for a legal excuse to sink us!"

“Report! Report!” The helmsman’s scream once again tore through the tense atmosphere. “Enemy torpedo spotted! Azimuth 200°! Distance one kilometer! Extremely fast! And accelerating!”

The captain's fingers gripping the armrest trembled slightly, but his command remained firm: "Helmsman! Full left! Regardless of the consequences, full speed ahead! Get rid of it!"

He stared at the high-speed light spot on the screen that represented death, and beads of sweat finally appeared on his forehead.

"Roger that! Full left rudder! Full power!" the helmsman practically shouted in response, blinking away the sweat that blurred his vision.

"Very good! That's it!" The captain tried to boost morale, but even his voice was a little tense. "Activate active defense measures! Launch jamming bombs!"

"Roger that! Launch jammers!"

"Bang! Bang!" Two muffled sounds came from both sides of the submarine, and special acoustic/bubble jammers were fired, trying to create a false sonar barrier behind it to lure incoming torpedoes.

Beads of sweat dripped from the captain's nose and hit the console. "Launch the second tube torpedo!"

"Tube torpedo No. 2, fire!" The weapons officer repeated the order and pressed the launch button hard.

Two more torpedoes, dragging deadly wakes, roared into the deep sea and headed straight for the ghostly target.

"Torpedo launched! Approaching the target at high speed!" the helmsman reported.

"The enemy torpedo is still approaching! It's 800 meters away! It's not interfered with! It has passed through the barrier!" The helmsman panicked.

“Oh my God…” the first mate exclaimed, “It…it completely ignored our defenses…What the hell is this monster?!”

"Helmsman! Turn the rudder to the right!" the captain shouted again, trying to make a final evasive move.

"Full right rudder!" The helmsman's facial muscles twitched with fear.

"600 meters!!" another crew member reported the death countdown.

The captain's face finally revealed an unconcealable panic.

This situation goes beyond any textbook or training plan, and even beyond the historical experience of human naval warfare.

"Diving officer, stand by! Prepare to urgently blow out all ballast tanks!" He gave the order, which was more to find something for the crew to do, maintain the last bit of order, and prevent panic from spreading completely.

"400 meters!!"

"Watch Captain! Sound the collision alarm!" The captain's voice began to crack.

"200 meters!!"

The captain grabbed the microphone for the entire submarine broadcast, and his voice echoed through every speaker in the silent submarine: "I am the captain! All personnel! Prepare for impact!!"

"Captain!! Impact countdown!" The helmsman's eyes widened, and he screamed with his last bit of sanity:

"five!"

"Four!"

"three!"

"two!"

"one!"

"HIT!!!"

At the moment the "one" was exited, almost all the crew members closed their eyes in despair, waiting for the devastating collision and the influx of cold sea water.

The captain did not sit down. He chose to face death, but his body's instinct made him raise his hands to support the handrail above, trying to steady his legs that were trembling with fear.

He bit his lip and his eyes moved rapidly under his tightly closed eyelids.

however……

A few seconds passed.

The expected violent explosion, the sound of metal tearing and the catastrophe... did not come.

Deathly silence enveloped the command module.

The first mate was the first to calm down, his voice dry: "What... is going on?"

"Torpedo... torpedo it..." The helmsman's voice was filled with confusion and disbelief, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare, "It's gone..."

"It missed?" demanded the first mate.

"No..." The helmsman stared at the sonar screen that had become "clear" and said in a vague voice, "It's disappeared... It's like... It's like it never existed..."

The captain slowly loosened his fingers that were tightly gripping the armrest, exhaled a long breath that he had been holding for a long time, and tried to calm his pounding heart.

"Sonar officer," his voice was a little hoarse, "report the position of the enemy ship."

"Bearing 330°, four thousand meters off the starboard bow," the sonar officer replied, his voice still hazy. "Our torpedoes are still operational and about to hit the target... Countdown: three, two, one..."

Then, a scene that left everyone dumbfounded and unforgettable happened:

Just as their torpedo was about to hit the Virginia-class submarine—

The submarine disappeared completely from the sonar screen, as if it had been wiped out by an invisible giant hand.

No explosion, no debris, no trace.

There was only the eternal darkness and silence of the deep sea, and the frozen shock and incomprehensible fear on the faces of everyone in the command module.