Chapter 341 - 318: Flying Fire Fleet

Chapter 341: Chapter 318: Flying Fire Fleet

The night of January 4th was dark and windy.

The sea was pitch-black, with only the faint, flickering twinkle of distant lights. The silence was tinged with the unknown.

Aboard the Yun Jia, it was business as usual. Researchers worked overtime, conducting genetic hybrid modification experiments. The Mizusawa Clan’s private soldiers were continuously opening one container after another, sending the unconscious people inside to the labs.

Everything seemed no different from any other day. A few of the men in charge of transport were even complaining as they worked.

"I don’t know when Lord Divine Son’s plan will be over. Staying on this ship every day is really uncomfortable."

"They’ve been shipping more and more people to the labs these past two days, so it must be soon. Besides, what’s so great about getting off the ship? Haven’t you heard about the chaos caused by the Parasites? Who knows how many are out there now. At least we don’t have that monster on board."

"That’s true..."

As they spoke, one of them spotted a light in the distance on the sea and found it strange.

He nudged his companion. "Look over there. Is that a ship coming this way?"

"A ship? No way."

"That... That is!!"

They had only been watching for a few moments when the light intensified rapidly, and immense beams of light shot straight toward them.

Accompanying the beams of light was a massive, amplified voice that reverberated across the entire sea. At the same time, the same voice came through the open communication channel in the ship’s cockpit.

"This is the North Star Country Navy’s Flying Fire Fleet. All crew members aboard the Yun Jia are to cease all activity immediately. Abandon all resistance and await boarding and inspection."

"Repeat, this is..."

Hearing this, everyone in the cockpit turned pale with shock.

"Why is the Flying Fire Fleet here all of a sudden?!"

"Why wasn’t there any warning?!"

"What do we do? We’re just a cargo ship!"

The Flying Fire Fleet is one of North Star’s carrier battle fleets, possessing terrifying combat power.

The Yun Jia, on the other hand, was just a large cargo ship with next to no weaponry. When facing the Flying Fire Fleet, the gap between them wasn’t that of a child against a boxing champion—it was a child against a Cybertronian Transformer.

Upon receiving the news, Divine Son Mizusawa Chun immediately went to find Heikawa Yue.

"North Star’s warships are here. The situation is dire."

"How were they so fast?" Heikawa Yue was also stunned. "We only moved onto the ship a few days ago. How did North Star find out?"

"There’s likely a problem on the inside."

Mizusawa Chun couldn’t be bothered with tracking down the source of the leak now. The crucial thing was how to deal with North Star’s warships.

"I just tried to contact the family, but communications have been cut. I can’t reach the port, and teleportation-type items are restricted. The enemy must have set up a total blockade in advance."

Heikawa Yue’s expression turned extremely ugly at his words. "North Star is trying to wipe us out completely this time. I never thought they’d pull something like this, they’re usually so by-the-book."

Their defenses had been inadequate because, unlike Soloma, North Star had always been particular about having a just cause for their actions. They would usually even give you a heads-up before an attack, basically saying, "I’m about to hit you."

But this time, North Star had completely changed its style, silently deploying a carrier battle group. A "nation-destroying" superweapon of this magnitude wasn’t something to be deployed lightly. They must have confirmed the details of the experiments on the Yun Jia before making this decisive move to eliminate it completely.

Moreover, the two nations were now far too close—so close that once North Star’s warships confirmed the target, they could just pop out of port and be there in a flash, giving Sakura Prayer no time to react.

"We absolutely cannot sit here and wait to be slaughtered," Mizusawa Chun said.

"Lord Divine Son... I hate to admit it, but we’re facing a carrier fleet." Heikawa Yue shook his head helplessly. "A carrier battle group has enough power to destroy the entire Sakura Prayer Country as it is now, let alone us on a single cargo ship."

After the "Earthquake Rules" ended, Sakura Prayer Country’s national power had declined drastically. Its weapons were all cheap, locked goods bought from Soloma. If North Star truly decided to be ruthless, a single carrier battle group would indeed be enough to eliminate its key personnel and government institutions.

"Even if you send out all your guards, plus the entire Snake Slave Army on this ship..."

Heikawa Yue didn’t for a second believe that this force could go toe-to-toe with a carrier battle group. In the face of missiles and concentrated artillery, they were nothing but bubbles, bursting in an instant.

"Who said this is all I have?" Mizusawa Chun’s face was cold. "Those people in the containers—can’t they be put to use?"

Heikawa Yue was taken aback. "You mean... as hostages?"

Mizusawa Chun sneered. "There are tens of thousands of civilians on this ship. Let’s see if North Star dares to bomb us."

"But..."

Heikawa Yue’s expression was strange. ’It’s true there are many civilians in the ship’s containers, but they’re almost all Yingqi People, not North Star People. Why wouldn’t North Star dare?’

"Heikawa, we cannot afford to fail. I trust you understand that." Mizusawa Chun turned and walked out. "As long as we withstand the pressure, we might be able to negotiate an outcome."

...

「Aboard the Flying Fire.」

The investigation team, which included Guan Tong, was in one of the cabins.

They had proposed and planned this operation, and after receiving approval, they had naturally come here at the first opportunity to join the warship.

With the exception of Silver Fox, it was the first time for the other four on such a large warship, and they found it quite novel.

"With this kind of superweapon deployed, it won’t matter what tricks the Divine Son pulls with his abilities." Silver Fox was full of confidence. "He and his guards have no choice but to surrender obediently."

It certainly seemed that way.

The difference in military strength between the two sides was simply too great. If a fight broke out, there would be zero suspense.

"Mizusawa Chun won’t surrender," Shangyuan Zi said suddenly. "A man like him would bite off a piece of your flesh even if he only had his teeth left. There’s no way he’ll surrender."

"I agree with that," Guan Tong nodded.

Although he had only seen Mizusawa Chun once and had never spoken a word to him, you only needed to see what a person had done to understand them.

Judging by the findings of the investigation so far, Mizusawa Chun was just as Shangyuan Zi described: extremely cold-blooded and vicious. Forcing such a person to surrender without a fight was highly unlikely, even with such an overwhelming advantage.

"Are you saying he’ll still resist?" Silver Fox asked curiously. "With what?"

"I don’t know either. In any case, just don’t give him any opportunities!" Shangyuan Zi’s tone was agitated. "If he doesn’t heed the warning, just open fire and blow up the ship."

"...But aren’t there many civilians on board who were captured to be used as test subjects?" Suzuki suddenly interjected.

"That’s right. Considering the tens of thousands of civilians on that lab ship, I doubt the captain will give the order to fire easily... Could Mizusawa Chun be planning to use that?"

Silver Fox realized the key point, and her expression turned ugly. She knew Mizusawa Chun would absolutely use those hostages to his advantage.

"We’re not gods; we don’t have the ability to save everyone," Guan Tong said. "As long as we do the best we can with what we have, that’s enough to have a clear conscience."