Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Caught a Big Fish

“What’s wrong, Dragon Knight? Where are you headed? You should be returning.”

“No, no, no, Colonel Wu, I think I saw a periscope! Yes, it’s a periscope! It looks just like the Jing Ke.”

“Periscope? Old Dou, have you surfaced?”

“No, I’m currently at a depth of 400 meters and am about to shift positions.”

The radio conversation suddenly fell silent for two seconds, and simultaneously, Colonel Wu and Captain Dou shouted in unison: “Sound the alarm! This is not a drill; all units in the fleet, actual anti-submarine operations have begun!”

In the Shilang aircraft carrier training group, there was only one conventional-powered submarine, and Lin Mo’s eyesight was widely recognized as excellent; he would never report military situations in a panic.

“Oh no! This is Purple Dragon! Captain, can we still count that bonus?”

“Not a chance; you weren’t the one who spotted them. If Dragon Knight truly sees something, he can earn an extra thousand bucks today.”

“Ah! I’m so envious!”

“Alright, I’ll treat tonight! 2,000 yuan standard; if it’s not enough, you’ll have to pitch in.”

“Hey! I’m saying, Dragon Knight, with over a hundred people in the group, 2,000 yuan is just enough for soup!”

“That’s all I’m putting in!”

“Fine, you stingy miser, I finally see through you.”

Meanwhile, below the sea surface, aboard the SSN-767 Los Angeles-class Hampton attack submarine, Executive Officer Morlenk saw a J-15 Dark Sabre carrier-based aircraft suddenly change direction towards the Hampton. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly sounded the alarm: “Everyone, get ready! Immediately descend to 200 meters underwater at maximum speed! We need to leave!”

The faint sound of electromagnetic motors filled the air as the digital periscope retracted into the submarine. The entire submarine trembled slightly as the hull exposed a few openings and seawater rushed into the compartments. The Hampton began to sink slowly.

“What’s happening, Major Morlenk?”

Captain Smith, who had been resting nearby, abruptly opened his eyes.

In recent days, the Hampton had been monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier training group in the South China Sea while also searching for a mysterious high-speed submersible.

Although there was suspicion that this submersible was linked to the Chinese, after following it for half a month, the entire aircraft carrier task force had undergone a complete resupply without finding any traces of the submersible in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, another Virginia-class Hawaii attack submarine had been searching everywhere and, like the Hampton, had yielded no results, as if it had completely vanished in the South China Sea.

Initially, nearly all anti-submarine devices could verify that the submersible had no anti-sonar equipment at all; any sonar, synthetic aperture radar, and magnetic anomaly detector could locate it.

“A Dark Sabre is coming straight for us; it must have spotted us.”

“Damn it! How could we be discovered the moment we surfaced?” Captain Smith slammed his folding lounge chair in frustration. The Hampton had tight sleeping arrangements, as was well known. Why did that cursed Los Angeles-class submarine have to be designed this way? As captain, he didn’t even have a dedicated sleeping space.

To allow his crew to rest well and maintain their combat readiness, Smith could only set up a temporary lounge chair in the cockpit.

“Begin descent, depth 20 meters!”

Bang!

A light sound suddenly resonated above the submarine, and everyone in the cabin changed their expressions. Oh no, the Chinese carrier-based aircraft conducted anti-submarine training just now; they must have dropped a sonar buoy right on us!

“Quick, quick, westward at full speed!”

No joke; if they didn’t get moving fast enough, they would be waiting for the Chinese to drop depth charges on them.

Submarines are the most combat-ready weapons; even if they sank, they had no place to voice their grievances.

Moreover, they were facing a fully armed aircraft carrier task force; although it was called a training ship, there was no mention of not using live ammunition. Who would believe they only used training rounds?

This was not good; fully armed and equipped with anti-submarine devices, before finishing their training, they charged towards the Hampton. This unfortunate situation felt like drinking cold water while having something stuck in their teeth.

At this moment, Captain Smith felt like cursing. How could that cursed carrier-based aircraft spot them when it wasn’t even equipped with side-looking radar? They were still over ten nautical miles away! Even a secondary telescope would struggle to detect the periscope just inches above the water surface.

He couldn’t figure out how the opponent had discovered them.

Hastily, they needed to dive. Although the Hampton was labeled “nuclear” and “attack,” facing against a fighter jet would only bring trouble. Submarines were designed to deal with surface or underwater vessels, never anticipated for counterattacks from airborne fighter jets. Surfacing the submarine and mounting anti-aircraft machine guns was like a foolish gamble with death.

“Target spotted! Bearing south, 21 nautical miles, at a depth of 200 meters, accelerating! Anti-submarine helicopters, launch immediately; deploy towed sonar and prepare the weapon crew for depth charges. We need four carrier-based aircraft!”

Captain Yang Hong of the duty carrier calmly stroked his stubble as he watched a screen displaying a sonar buoy just deployed by the Dragon Knight, which clearly showed a submarine target within the scanning range. The directional sonar system accurately pinpointed the unknown submarine’s location. Once discovered, escaping the aircraft carrier task force would be nearly impossible.

Under the sea, submarines could only move so fast; they weren’t the super submersible vessels powered by magnetic fluid propulsion, just a few knots. That pace allowed Lin Mo’s carrier-based aircraft to make several passes.

At that moment, Lin Mo’s Light Mirror Technique had locked onto the unidentified submarine still at a depth where it could evade detection. The sound of the sonar buoy signals collected by the anti-submarine department reached his ears, guiding his next move.

Unfazed, like planting radishes, he regularly tossed sonar buoys above the fleeing submarine, each buoy having a detection radius of about 800 meters. Though the payload in the aircraft’s pod was running low, it was enough for a one-to-one exchange with this submarine.

Indeed, he was serious about this.

Lin Mo didn’t underestimate his opponent; this was no Old Dou’s Jing Ke, but a real challenger.

This time, what started as a drill turned into a realistic operation, yielding unexpected results. It was likely they’d earn a significant record in the South China Sea Fleet upon their return.

Meanwhile, below the surface, the Los Angeles-class Hampton attack submarine faced a dire situation. Sound travels quickly through seawater, and with their amplifying equipment on board, the roar of the Dark Sabre fighter jets was unmistakably clear within the submarine.

“What do we do? What do we do?” Captain Smith rubbed his forehead, furrowing his brows, sweat quickly forming. The other crew members remained focused, flipping through the emergency manual to proceed with protocol.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of active sonar pounded against the submarine’s hull like a death knell. At such close range, even with sound-absorbing tiles, avoiding detection was nearly impossible. Though the sonar had an 800-meter scanning radius, it could still achieve precise resolution.

The cheap 1,800 yuan Made In China equipment had exposed the submarine’s true identity, revealing the Los Angeles-class attack submarine, which cost under a billion dollars to build.

“We should continue to dive, Captain Smith!”

The first officer remained calm as he suggested to the captain.

Underwater, they were powerless because aircraft were the enemy of submarines. Although submarines posed a lethal threat to surface or underwater vessels, they couldn’t carry any anti-air weapons.

If they recklessly attacked the opponent’s aircraft carrier, not only would they struggle to hit a prepared target, but a swarm of incoming carrier-based aircraft would be enough to overwhelm them. Even a few rounds of depth charges from just a couple of those planes would be a death warrant. Once hit, this supposedly powerful nuclear submarine would sink like a can with no hope for recovery.

“You’re right, Major Morlenk, Hank! My first officer, I order us to dive to 450 meters immediately!”

“Yes, sir!” The officer in charge of depth control began directing the whole crew to continue their descent.

“Morlenk, you truly are a competent executive officer.”

“No, Captain Smith, we should dive to 530 meters.”

“530 meters?” Smith raised his eyebrows, tightening his frown. That depth was almost the maximum dive capability of a Los Angeles-class attack submarine.

Underwater, the pressures increased significantly. For each meter descended, the increasing pressure could crush everything, and balancing external water pressure while using high-pressure air was impossible. Excessive air pressure could have irreversible harmful effects on the human body.

“Report, Captain Smith, Major Morlenk, we have reached maximum speed of 30 knots! But…”

The sailor in charge of monitoring the hull reported. There was no need for further words; the muffled sound of the jet engines above remained clearly audible, while the pounding of the active sonar had not diminished but rather became more intense and precise.

In the murky waters, the Hampton’s natural circulation pressurized water reactor continuously provided power to two steam turbines, generating up to 35,000 horsepower, pushing through the thick seawater. A slender shadow raced beneath the surface.

At 30 knots, the speed was under 60 kilometers per hour. Even under such immense pressure, it might struggle to outrun surface cruisers and frigates.

“Instructor Lin! We’re on our way to support you!”

As Lin Mo dropped another sonar buoy, he heard the voices of his Training Group 15 students over the radio.