Chapter 308 - This Is Marianna's Territory (2)
"I repeat, Captain Gerrard. This is Marianna's Territory. Have you applied for a safe passage with our office before coming unnoticed?" Captain Mason asked. Even a fool could guess that Marianna's Naval Fleet is trying to make things difficult for them.
"Captain Mason, please check with your superior again. The application has been made, and a memo should be on your president's table right now." Captain Gerrard could feel that the naval fleet before them was making fun of them. But for now, he had no choice but to tolerate.
It wasn't because he was worried that they'd lose if they opened fire. It was because he knew that if a war started around here, the Pacific Union would be taking the blame on behalf of the others, even if they won.
And the problem is, after watching the recording between the five Marianna's newest Patrol Ships against the Oceana's Fleet, even he's not that confident about going against this behemoth. With four CIWS targets and over twenty targets from their Rocket Launcher's system, the Jiaolong-01 can target half of their ships here at the beginning of their barrage.
Furthermore, this was just one side of the vessel. If the other side of the ship could produce the same number of weapons, won't that spell "checkmate" to this Joint Fleet?
"Captain Gerrard. Our office is checking, but they're sure they received no such memo from last week until yesterday. Are you sure that the Joint Fleet applied for the passage correctly?" Captain Mason asked.
"This..." the question asked by Captain Mason made Captain Gerard speechless for a moment. As the person that sent the memo out personally to Marianna's Presidential Office, how could he have no idea when was the note was sent?
But the problem here is the time he was sending the memo. Because he believed that Marianna wouldn't have the ability to stop the Joint Fleet, he did not bother to send the note out until the last second.
Even if they forced their way through the Marianna Strait, all Marianna's Naval Forces could do was to stay out of their passage until they crossed the strait.
Evidently, he had to take the blame for poking the wrong nest. Marianna is not the nest of stingless bees but a killer hornet.
"Oh, Captain Gerrard. Our office just called. It seems we received your memo simultaneously with the other messages, and thus it was lost in between the documents. I do apologize for our office's inefficiency in handling this matter."
"But since we're here, what about the Jiaolong-01 escort the Joint Fleet across this Marianna Strait?" Captain Mason suddenly sounded apologetic while suggesting that they accompany the fleet across the Marianna Strait.
Having no reason for him to say no, Captain Gerrard can only reply to Captain Mason's suggestion with a "yes, sure." Returning to his own office later, he vented his anger a little before going out from his messy room.
The five Assailant-Class Patrol Ship also appeared from the other side of Jiaolong-01 after the nerve-wracking exchange was over. To add salt into the wound, the Jiaolong-01 also proposed that they'll help as much as possible to retrieve the eight abandoned jet fighters scattered around the vessel.
This was precisely the opportunity Zhang Qin Feng was waiting for. When the wreckage was retrieved by the mysterious but famed Builder's Frame from The Wind Group, the jet fighter was scanned all over to leave an elaborated blueprint in Stein's system.
With this blueprint, it won't be impossible for him to obtain the power of air superiority in the future.
The Marianna's Naval Fleet's positioning was also planned meticulously as it offered to follow the Joint Fleet on their western's side. Even if the Joint Fleet was unwilling to go with their suggestion, they had reason to retorted Marianna's Naval Fleet either.
This positioning made the Joint Fleet look like a joke. Their sailing across the strait under the fishing boats and spectator's view ended up blocked by Jiaolong-01's height all the way until passing Dongcheng and Han Country's waters.
The escort mission eventually finished when the remaining of the Joint Fleet sailed out of Marianna Strait's territory. Meanwhile, Zhang Qin Feng had returned to the island two days earlier by getting on board in one of the Assailant-Class Patrol Ship.
It seems that Jason Deng was overwhelmed by calls from both Dongcheng and Han Country after the two naval fleets returned to their country. This was precisely why Zhang Qin Feng purposely chose to escort the Joint Fleet by positioning themselves on the western side.
The reason was simple. Both Dongcheng and Han Country are located on the western side of Marianna Strait, while Marianna is on the southeastern and New Panem on the east.
"Boss, if you have nothing important, I'll be busy with my office work first. Is that alright with you?" Jason Deng asked.
"En. Go ahead and get busy with your work. I have nothing much to do around anyway." Zhang Qin Feng smiled in reply. It's not like he had nothing in mind, but he believed that something must take some time to slowly mature.
And this is precisely the maturing period, after bringing in so many surprises to the world. If Zhang Qin Feng continued to do this in the long run, it would definitely create chaos everywhere from the sudden arrival of technology.
After leaving something on Jason Deng's table, Zhang Qin Feng went and returned to the house assigned to him by the developers.
Finally having a time of his own, Zhang Qin Feng comfortably went and soaked himself in the bathtub and took some time to relax.
*Dururu...*
His cellphone rang just minutes after he got into the bath. Using the Luna device to answer the call, Zhang Qin Feng spoke.
"Hello?"
"Feng, are you back from your business?" it was Wang Yufei on the other side of the phone.
"Yeah. I just got home. Why?" Zhang Qin Feng smiled while replying.
"My flight just landed. Can you get someone to pick me up from the airport?" Wang Yufei asked.
"Of course. I'll arrange for your transport now. See you soon." Zhang Qin Feng chuckled and cut the call. Less than a minute later, a ride was sent out from the Wind Base Security Force and headed to the international airport to pick Wang Yufei up.
After knowing her identity, she was immediately treated like a VIP in the airport's waiting area, all the way until her ride arrived.