In the dimly lit cabin, everyone stays where they are, tries to relax and doesn't do superfluous activities.

With a slight sound of footsteps, the oil-stained chief engineer drilled into the command center, and Hua Jianfeng immediately greeted him.

"The radiation barrier is not broken, I have tested it with an instrument, and there is no radioactive contamination. In addition, the primary circuit of the reactor was intact, but the main circulation pump was damaged and could only work in a natural circulation mode. ”

"What do you mean?" Lu Cheng, who was standing aside, asked.

"The reactor can only output very little power, and the submarine speed cannot exceed four knots." Hua Jianfeng briefly explained, and then asked the chief engineer, "Can you restart the reactor?" ”

"It should be fine, but at least 20 percent of the power must be retained, otherwise you will have to float to the surface and use diesel engines to generate electricity to help the reactor start."

Hua Jianfeng nodded slightly. "Go and rest, I'll send someone to call you later."

The chief engineer had just left, and Roca Achievement rushed over.

"How's it going?" Hua Jianfeng immediately asked.

"The main compartments are intact, it's just that the pressure of the two aft ballast tanks is abnormal and should have been broken down."

"Can we float up?" Lu Chengwen asked anxiously again.

"Move all personnel and items that can be carried to the forward compartment. Reduced weight of the aft compartment. The seawater in the front ballast tank and the main ballast tank is then emptied. You can float to the surface of the sea. Rest assured. We can't sink. "Finished. Hua Jianfeng let out a sigh. I relaxed a lot.

"When are we leaving?" Lu Chengwen also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not now." Hua Jianfeng nodded at Le Jiacheng. Then he walked over to the sonar field. "How. Is there any contact? ”

The sonar chief shook his head slightly. "It's faint. The orientation is not fixed. The identity of the other party cannot be determined. ”

"Looks. We've met the 'Seawolf'. ”

"Sea wolves?" Lu Chengwen asked again.

"America's Seawolf-class attack nuclear submarines." Hua Jianfeng leaned on the beam next to the sonar console, and wiped his hands vigorously on his face a few times, as if he was using this method to refresh himself. "Do you remember the incident that happened in the waters east of the Okinawa Islands the year before last?"

Lu Chengwen thought for a moment and said, "You mean, the incident in which our submarine tracked the American aircraft carrier?" ”

"We are the ones who are following the USS Washington."

"You guys!?" Lu Chengwen immediately cast an admiring gaze at Hua Jianfeng.

"After three days and three nights, it has not been discovered, and with the help of escort submarines in the US aircraft carrier formation, as well as anti-submarine aircraft, the quiet performance of the 'Gun Squid' has been tested. In addition, we discovered several Japanese submarines participating in the exercise and gathered valuable information. As a result......" Hua Jianfeng smiled bitterly and said, "Probably the US commander sensed the danger and brought in a 'Seawolf'-class attack nuclear submarine." In less than a day, our whereabouts were revealed, and we were pursued by the first 16k novel of the U.S. submarine, which forced me to almost sink. If it weren't for the timely arrival of several other submarines and the fact that HNA's long-range anti-submarine patrol planes dropped hundreds of sonar buoys in the area where the incident occurred, interfering with the passive sonar of the 'Sea Wolf,' I am afraid that the 'Gun Squid' would have really plunged headlong into the mud on the seabed. ”

"So powerful?" Lu Chengwen was also surprised. In his opinion, the "Gun Squid", which has just taken out the "Houston", is the most advanced attack nuclear submarine in the world.

Hua Jianfeng sighed and didn't say anything more.

"Captain......

Hearing the sonar chief's shout, Hua Jianfeng immediately turned around, and Lu Chengwen immediately looked at him.

"It's approaching, three hundred and thirty degrees."

Hua Jianfeng picked up the spare headset placed on the sonar console and listened carefully for a while. There is indeed a very distinctive, faint noise, and the direction from which the noise is coming from is slowly moving to the left.

"Turned, now we're behind it."

Hearing this, Lu Chengwen immediately looked at Hua Jianfeng. Although he was not a submariner and did not know much about submarine warfare, through the previous battles, Lu Chengwen knew that the "Gun Squid" was now in the most advantageous attack position.

"Continue to monitor and report any situation immediately."

"Old Hua ......" saw that Hua Jianfeng was about to leave the command center, and Lu Chengwen chased after him, "Why don't you start?" ”

"Attack that American submarine?" Hua Jianfeng smiled faintly and entered the captain's room, and when Lu Cheng heard it come in, he gently closed the door. "Do you think your opponent is an idiot?"

"This ......"

"We were able to take out the Houston because we had the performance advantage to be able to catch the Houston." After sitting down, Hua Jianfeng immediately took out a cigarette. After a moment's hesitation, he put the cigarette down. By this time, the nuclear reactor of the submarine had stopped working, and the equipment for producing oxygen did not work properly. In order to reduce the rate of oxygen consumption, most of the officers and soldiers stopped moving. Even if Hua Jianfeng has privileges, he should not smoke at this time.

"Aren't we in a good position?"

"Who can be sure?" Hua Jianfeng sighed and had to explain in detail. "First of all, we have an insufficient power supply, the sonar does not work, and therefore it is impossible to determine the distance of the opponent and set the firing data for the torpedoes. Secondly, if the opponent is a 'Seawolf', its maximum speed reaches thirty-nine knots, and the torpedo we use has a range of less than twenty kilometers at a maximum speed of fifty-five. That is, if the opponent is six kilometers away, our torpedoes will not hit the opponent. Thirdly, if we set the speed of the torpedo to fifty-five knots, after launching, it will be immediately exposed. On the contrary, if we shoot the torpedo at a speed of thirty-five knots, although we can avoid premature exposure, this speed will not be able to catch up with the opponent at all. In the end, we lost the main power, and even if we repaired the reactor, we could only sail at very slow speeds. If we are bitten by the opponent, we will not be able to escape if we want to. ”

"Are we going to wait?" Lu Chengwen was also anxious.

"I can only wait, and I must wait," Hua Jianfeng sighed, "Waiting is the best way." The adversary didn't hear the sound of us sinking and knew that we weren't sunk, otherwise they wouldn't have continued their search in the area. Now the adversary did not use active attack sonar, indicating that they did not know whether the 'Gun Squid' had been severely damaged, so they did not dare to tell the voyage and reveal their whereabouts. In this case, the adversary will think that we have fled the battlefield at a quiet speed. After more than ten hours, if we have not been found, the American submarine will leave on its own initiative. The oxygen candles on our submarines can provide the entire crew with the oxygen they need for 24 hours, and then they can also use batteries to drive the oxygen production equipment, and it will last for about 24 hours. Rest assured, half an hour ago, we weren't finished, we won't be finished. ”

Seeing Hua Jianfeng's confident appearance, Lu Chengwen didn't say much.

Half an hour ago, when the torpedo exploded above the stern of the "Gun Squid", almost everyone thought it was over. Fortunately, the torpedo was attacked in a close-range attack mode instead of a bump-and-blow attack mode, and the double-shelled aft part of the "Gun Squid" blocked most of the destructive power, so the submarine did not suffer devastating damage.

After sitting for about ten minutes, Hua Jianfeng went to the command center again.

Lu Chengwen did not follow the past, but was thinking about a more important issue.

Time passed unconsciously, and when the lights in the captain's room suddenly turned on, Lu Cheng woke up suddenly when he heard it, and then immediately went to the command center.

"Sonar chief, closely monitor the surroundings." Hua Jianfeng was already standing in the command position, "ready to connect the main thruster, and the front ballast tank is ready to drain." ”

"Ready to connect the main thrusters!"

As Le Jiacheng conveyed the order, the submarine shook violently, and then regained its calm.

"The main thruster was successfully activated." After saying that, the chief engineer showed a smile of relief.

Hua Jianfeng cast a grateful look at the chief engineer. "Empty the ballast tanks before emptying and preparing to surface."

"Wait......" Lu Chengwen immediately rushed out, "You can't float up now, let's leave this sea area first." ”

Hua Jianfeng was slightly stunned, and immediately nodded, asking Le Jiacheng not to convey the order.

"Lao Hua, we have to find a way to send the message."

"Send a message?" Hua Jianfeng pulled Lu Chengwen to the chart table, "Isn't it too early?" ”

"I don't mean now." Lu Chengwen turned out a global chart. "I have thought carefully about whether the United States knows our true identity or not, and it will definitely set up ambushes in several major shipping passes around the Indian Ocean to prevent us from leaving the Indian Ocean. Over time, the U.S. military will even lay a net in the waters south of Australia. We can't return on our usual route and have to use a backup plan. ”

"Backup?" At this time, Hua Jianfeng was a little puzzled.

"From southern Africa into the Atlantic, and then from the Drake Strait into the Pacific Ocean, the whole submarine." Lu Chengwen drew a route on the chart, "After entering the Pacific Ocean, go to the northeast of the Lane Islands, near the equator, and rendezvous with a large ocean-going freighter." We had to send a message in advance to let the General Staff know that we were returning with a backup plan so that we could send the ships that came to meet us in time. ”

After pondering for a while, Hua Jianfeng nodded slightly. "There is no problem with this route, and we can continue to dive all the time. It's just that the message can't be sent now, and it will take 48 hours at the earliest. ”

"With communication buoys, no ...... is needed"

"I know that even with communication buoys, we have to leave the search area of the US shore-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft before we can send a message, right?"

Lu Chengwen didn't argue anymore, he had already understood Hua Jianfeng's ability.

"Don't worry, I'll get you to your destination safely." Hua Jianfeng patted Lu Chengwen on the shoulder, "Now, you go take a bath, then drink a cup of hot tea, eat something, and go to sleep again." ”

"No, I'd better stay here."

Hua Jianfeng shook his head with a smile and ignored Lu Chengwen.

About fifty-four hours later, the attack nuclear submarine USS Gun Squid entered the Mozambique Channel and released a communications buoy.

The brief telegram was quickly transmitted to a large military base thousands of miles away through the relay of two military communications satellites. About half an hour later, a red-headed document marked "Top Secret" and "Urgent" was delivered to the desk of the Chief of the General Staff. When Admiral Peng Maobang, who had just gone to change into civilian clothes and was about to go home for dinner with his wife and children, saw the documents, he immediately asked his secretary to prepare a car for him and contacted the head of the republic