Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

092 – Sign of the Apocalypse

Under the orders of the President, the U.S. Carrier Strike Group returned to their homeland from the Ministry of National Defense, leaving messages for the carrier groups of allied countries, the United Kingdom and France.

The message conveyed the same ominous feeling as the one transmitted by Myung-jun to Connecticut, saying, ‘Beware of the abyss.’

Naturally, upon receiving the message, both countries inquired with the U.S. State Department about its meaning. However, the U.S. government, claiming to have received a message from an unknown source themselves, kept its origin thoroughly concealed.

While the United Kingdom and France considered the message something they could ignore if they wished, they collectively summoned their carrier groups back to their homelands in the Pacific Ocean.

The movement of summoning the world’s most powerful carrier groups simultaneously from all the seas to their respective homelands by the United States was unsettling. Even as carrier groups from around the world abandoned their search for the Liberal Clan headquarters and returned home, there was one carrier group quietly carrying out its mission amidst the upheaval the Shandong Fleet Carrier Battle Group dispatched by the Chinese government.

It wasn’t solely due to the fact that the U.S. military did not deliver the Liberal Clan’s message to the Chinese carrier group, citing them as a hostile nation. The U.S. military also conveyed the same message to the Shandong Fleet like the carrier groups of the United Kingdom and France.

However, Captain Ryu Wi of the Shandong Fleet considered the message a deceptive operation by the U.S. Navy, judging it as a withdrawal tactic. Instead of withdrawing, he initiated a more proactive search operation.

Unaware of the terrifying presence observing their every move from the depths of the sea where they sailed, unlike the Connecticut’s crew who, with Myung-jun’s help, could luckily escape, the crew of the Shandong Fleet was not as fortunate.

A week had passed since the carrier groups of various nations started leaving the area they were searching to return to their homelands.

The Shandong Fleet, without rest, continued to launch reconnaissance aircraft, intensifying their search for the Liberal Clan’s headquarters.

The area they were searching was originally under the scrutiny of the U.S. Navy’s supercarrier General R. Ford-class carrier group. However, as it was currently vacant, there was nothing to hinder the Shandong Fleet’s search.

The captain of the Shandong Fleet, Ryu Wi, felt absolute confidence in their extensive search operation, deploying numerous carriers and escort ships on the sea and mobilizing all six nuclear submarines and conventional submarines owned by the Chinese government beneath the sea for the search operation.

Until now, they couldn’t actively conduct a search operation due to concerns about clashes with other countries’ carrier groups. But since all the carrier groups in the nearby seas had withdrawn, their sea was effectively under Chinese control.

From today onwards, he was significantly expanding the deployment of the carrier group for a more extensive search operation.

“Any communication from the search team?”

“The last contact was 30 minutes ago. We will enter a broad search again shortly.”

“When did Li Chenhao participate in the search?”

“He has been participating for the past two days.”

“Any results?”

“So far, none.”

“Being ana Awakener isn’t all that impressive.”

Ryu Wi chuckled as he spoke. Li Chenhao, an Awakener urgently dispatched from the Central Military Committee’s records for this search operation, was a top-class seeker who could emit sonar waves, exploring a radius of thousands of kilometers like a bat.

However, even with the use of the seeker, there had been no results. Ryu Wi’s skepticism about the abilities of the Awakener he already had grew stronger.

It was unimaginable that a mere human, even with superhuman abilities, could possess powers stronger than the underwater detection capabilities of the Communist Party’s state-of-the-art nuclear submarines.

He believed that the public’s evaluation of Awakeners was exaggerated. Rumors about Cha Myung-jun, the leader of the Liberal Clan, who was praised for being able to annihilate the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the world’s strongest carrier strike group, were nothing more than inflated gossip spread by sensationalists who loved exaggeration.

With a face full of dissatisfaction, Ryu Wi instructed the communications soldier.

Since Li Chenhao’s abilities were not as promising as expected, focus more on searching using sonar and anti-submarine helicopters.

Li Chenhao’s contact came in just under 10 minutes after Ryu Wi issued the command.

A man, blind from birth, sat in a specially designed seat next to a small, high-speed boat, dipping his hand into the sea while covering his eyes. He wasn’t intentionally covering his eyes for concentration; he had been blind since birth.

Born into a poor family with disabilities, he had to do whatever it took to survive be it pickpocketing, theft, robbery, and even contract killings.

However, at the final moment of his life, he received a last chance to turn his life around, waiting for execution in prison for the crimes he committed. The Communist Party gave him that chance thru the Awakening Project.

For mass cultivation of Awakeners, they planned to push numerous death row inmates into a low-rank gate while holding only one pistol. Those inmates, with nothing to lose, were considered the optimal targets for the plan.

Holding just one pistol, he walked into the gate and awakened his ability within. His ability, like that of a bat, allowed him not only to manipulate sonar but also to destroy steel structures and concrete through resonance, making it possible for him to grasp structures underwater in a wider range than any sonar developed by humans.

He, like a martial arts, shattered the bodies of living beings with the sound he created by clapping his hands underwater, found enemies hiding hundreds of kilometers away, and scrambled the brains of rivals trying to kill him.

And now, he was using his ability to explore the depths of the sea.

– Thud –

As Li Chenhao clapped his hands underwater, invisible vibrations spread in all directions.

The vibrations, traveling at the speed of sound underwater, soon collided with numerous structures under the sea, transmitting their locations to Li Chenhao.

“A whale… Orca, perhaps? Mother and cub. There are dolphins, too, and a school of tuna tracking anchovies. Maybe due to the operation, no fishing boats are visible. Submarines, only Chinese submarines.…”

While conducting the scan, he sensed something unfamiliar. The ‘underwater mountain range,’ which had never moved despite numerous scans, seemed to have shifted slightly.

Comparing the difference between the mental map he had drawn earlier and the current terrain, he tried to confirm whether his senses were merely a misconception.

“I’ll scan again. Please send a warning signal.”

“It hasn’t been an hour yet, has it?”

Li Chenhao’s ability was powerful, but to use it, he needed a kind of ‘charging time’ depending on the range he wanted to explore. The moment he used his ability required all search teams to stop sonar operations, conducting machine-based searches while he charged.

However, Li Chenhao’s instincts told him that now was not the time to wait for charging.

“Something’s wrong! Tell them to turn off the sonar right away!”

There was a brief commotion from above, and a communication soldier who hurriedly ran over informed Li Chenhao.

“Suspended sonar search.”

“Good, let’s go!”

Instead of the broad-range scan used a while ago, Li Chenhao emitted directional sonar waves towards the direction where discomfort was felt.

This way, he could conserve energy while providing a clearer and more definite way to check the state of the area.

Detecting the returning sonar waves, Li Chenhao couldn’t believe the information they conveyed.

‘The mountain… It’s entirely gone?’

Where there should have been a massive rock resembling a mountain, as he had observed countless times through sonar waves since yesterday, the information conveyed by his sonar indicated a giant hole in its place.

As if something living in that spot had awakened from slumber and was swimming somewhere else.

Realizing the meaning behind the information, Li Chenhao urgently plunged both hands into the sea and conducted a wide-range scan.

– Thud! –

A narrow range, with vibrations faster than sound.

After the waves shot out faster than sound, Li Chenhao, hearing the information, couldn’t close his mouth in disbelief.

“Escape! Escape! We need to get out of this area right now!”

“What?! What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“Tell all the search teams to turn on the sonar and escape from the current area immediately!”

At that moment, a massive wave engulfed the boat Li Chenhao was on, tearing him out of the chair and throwing him into the middle of the sea.

What on earth had happened?

Feeling the terrifying seawater rushing into his mouth, he gathered the remaining strength desperately and clapped his hands underwater.

Looking at the vivid imagery unfolding in his mind, he wore an expression of horror.

‘An aircraft carrier… Swallowed?’

Although he couldn’t see it with his eyes, he could feel the form of a giant monster with his body.

It was a gigantic whale-shaped monster with a mouth so enormous that it could split even the largest human-made vessel, an aircraft carrier, in half. This colossal monster, upon awakening from its slumber, accurately swallowed China’s pride, the Shandong, which had been floating above its head.

Witnessing the surreal sight as if a mountain had suddenly risen from the sea, Li Chenhao felt his consciousness fading away. His body rapidly lost strength due to the excessive consecutive use of his powerful ability.

The one who saved Li Chenhao was the communication soldier he had been conversing with a while ago.

“Li Chenhao!”

“Ugh! Cough!”

“Pull yourself together! I’ll lift you up now!”

“Shandong… Puhaha! What happened to the Shandong?”

“It’s split into three pieces! The middle part was even swallowed in one gulp! Crazy! No mythical creature could be that huge! We have to escape from the sea right now!”

‘How?’ Li Chenhao screamed in his mind. A massive sea monster capable of splitting an aircraft carrier in half was chasing them. It was incomprehensible how they could escape.

Due to the tsunami-level giant waves caused by the monster erupting from below, some of the ships in the carrier fleet were overturned.

Even the boat Li Chenhao had been on a while ago was tossed into disarray by the waves, leaving him stranded in the middle of the sea.

At that moment, the communication soldier, who had been holding onto Li Chenhao, spoke to him while still clutching the tube.

“Assault landing ships haven’t overturned yet! First, request rescue from the anti-submarine helicopters, and let’s contact the homeland!”

The communication soldier was desperate too. Although saving his own life was crucial, the visually impaired individual he held in his arms was one of the most important Awakener highly valued by the Chinese Communist Party.

In fact, the communication soldier’s immediate decision to swim to Li Chenhao was based on his astute judgment. The Chinese government would prioritize rescuing Li Chenhao even in the face of significant danger.

Following his judgment, a helicopter that had been conducting search operations from a distance urgently approached, dropping a ladder.

“Is this Li Chenhao from the Central Military Commission Records Bureau?”

“Yes!”

“Grab my hand! I’ll lift you to safety right away!”

As the soldier at the end of the ladder held Li Chenhao’s hand, the communication soldier, who had been supporting him, tried to grab the end of the ladder.

Then, at that moment, the communication soldier had to release the ladder due to the immense pain he felt on the back of his hand.

“Aaah!”

“Sorry! We have to go rescue more survivors from the Shandong right away!”

“What are you talking about?”

“The nation won’t forget your sacrifice!”

“No! Please save me!”

“I’m sorry! Li Chenhao rescued! Lift him up to treat the injuries!”

Thus, the helicopter that had successfully rescued the crucial figure, leaving behind the communication soldier holding onto the tube, began flying towards the direction of the Shandong.

In pursuit of saving high-ranking military officials, including the captain, who were much more valuable than a mere communication soldier’s life.

Watching the helicopter cruelly soar away, leaving him behind, the communication soldier felt the pain in his hand, which had been injured a while ago.

“Aaaah!”

However, his agonizing scream was drowned out by the deafening noise of the helicopter slicing through the air, and he was left to dissolve into the endless waves.

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