After contacting Lasco, a small boat was launched from the patrol ship and quickly headed towards the Xuanrui. The brief conversation between Clyde and Lasco hadn't explained the reason for the return voyage, which piqued Lasco's curiosity. ...
“What Mr. Zhuang said makes some sense. How about this, I'll go with you to take a look, using the helicopter on my ship…”
To Clyde and Peng Fei's surprise, the general showed great interest after they told Lasco about their experience.
Chapter 1286 Missile Attack (Part 1)
"Old classmate, do you believe what the boss says?"
Upon hearing Lasco's words, Clyde looked at him with a puzzled expression. In Clyde's opinion, Zhuang Rui's previous guess was completely nonsense; there couldn't possibly be such a large creature in the ocean.
“Clyde, that sea area is indeed very mysterious. For many years, I have been trying to solve this mystery, but without success. We have tried Mr. Zhuang's idea before, but we did not detect any activity on the seabed. Hopefully, we can find something this time…”
As Lasco stated, they had previously conducted surveys of this area by helicopter, but due to the limited space in helicopters, they were unable to carry some deep-sea exploration equipment, so several explorations ended in failure without any results.
Lasco was very interested in Zhuang Rui's survey, but he didn't have high hopes. Anyway, sitting in the helicopter wasn't very dangerous, so he figured he might as well do Zhuang Rui a favor.
Moreover, Zhuang Rui's previous statement was not entirely unfounded. Not long ago, a renowned international marine biologist proposed that octopuses can grow to an unlimited size in suitable waters, which coincides somewhat with Zhuang Rui's statement.
After hearing Lascaux's words, Clyde shrugged and said, "Well, I'd rather believe it's a volcano, but I wouldn't object to going back for another survey..."
Although he didn't take Zhuang Rui's words seriously, Clyde was the first to climb into the "Xuanrui" after a military helicopter that Lasco had brought from the coastline landed on the deck of the ship more than an hour later.
Looking at the six missile launchers beneath the helicopter and the machine gun mounted on the door, Zhuang Rui tilted his head and looked at Peng Fei, asking, "Is this the famous Apache attack helicopter?"
Zhuang Rui actually learned about the American "Apache" attack helicopter while reading reports about Iraq. The reason he remembered it so well was because there were often news reports such as "another explosion of an Apache helicopter belonging to the US military in Iraq".
Peng Fei curled his lip and said, "That's right, it's the Apache helicopter. It's all show and no substance, not even as practical as the Russian Mi-28 'Havoc' series attack helicopters..."
Because of the war in the early 1950s, Chinese soldiers, armed with millet and rifles, both envied and resented American weaponry, and were more inclined to use Soviet equipment, given that the two countries had enjoyed a long period of friendly relations.
"Fine, if you're not going, then so be it..."
Zhuang Rui kicked Peng Fei from behind. He was quite satisfied with the helicopter. Compared to the helicopter on the Xuanrui, which could only carry three people, this one was much better than the civilian helicopter in terms of both passenger capacity and range.
Zhuang Rui, Peng Fei, Captain Clyde, General Lasco, along with two generals' guards and the pilot, made a total of seven people on board, with some space still available in the cabin. ...
After nearly an hour of flight, the Apache helicopter arrived at the coordinates of the sea area where the Xuanrui had previously stopped, with a loud roar. "Mr. Zhuang, is this the place?"
Because the helicopter door was not closed, the sea breeze howled into the helicopter, and General Lasco had to shout for Zhuang Rui to hear him.
"Yes, this is the coordinate..."
Zhuang Rui used his spiritual energy to detect the massive creature ten kilometers away, which was still entrenched next to the larger underwater volcano, seemingly asleep.
If Zhuang Rui hadn't "personally" witnessed its activity before, he probably would have thought it was just an underwater mountain range.
General Lasco nodded, looked at the driver, and shouted, "Activate the deep-sea radar scanning system and survey the area below..."
Upon hearing the general's words, the pilot skillfully took over the controls and loudly replied, "The deep-sea radar scanning system is now activated..."
Originally, this Apache helicopter was not equipped with a radar scanning system; it was installed by General Lasco on short notice. However, on a helicopter with extremely poor stability, the effect was far less than that on a ship.
On the radar scanning display screen to the right of the pilot, there were no bright spots on the seabed except for two shadows, indicating that there were no moving objects in this area.
"Zhuang, the creature you're talking about, is it this volcano?"
General Lasco pointed at the shadow and looked at Zhuang Rui. "We've scanned this area with radar before, but this volcano has never moved. Perhaps your radar system is malfunctioning?"
The scene he saw was no different from previous explorations, so General Lascaux was somewhat disappointed. After hearing Zhuang Rui's account, he had thought he would see something extraordinary.
Zhuang Rui shook his head, pointed to the display screen, and said, "General Lasco, there's no mistake. The radar system on my salvage ship is the most advanced in the world. There must be a deep-sea monster here..."
"Boss, volcanoes don't grow legs, you must be imagining things..."
Clyde felt a little uneasy about his previous desperate escape from this area in the Xuanrui. Although the order came from Zhuang Rui, he also harbored a deep fear of this place.
Zhuang Rui ignored Clyde, lowered his head to think for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and said, "I have a way to detect that guy..."
"What method?"
Several people in the cabin, including Peng Fei, asked at the same time. Even the two officers who were guarding Clyde looked at Zhuang Rui with curious eyes.
"Drop a depth charge to alert that monster." A glint of light flashed in Zhuang Rui's eyes. The shockwave generated by the explosion of the depth charge in the sea would definitely alert the monster. If it landed right on its head, it would be even more likely to drive this overlord of the sea into a frenzy.
The depth charge Zhuang Rui mentioned is an underwater weapon used to attack submarines. It is usually equipped with a depth-determining fuse and detonates when it sinks to a certain depth or approaches the target after being dropped into the water to kill the target. It is usually dropped by ships or anti-submarine aircraft.
Li Zhen originally wanted to equip the "Xuanrui" with a few of these weapons, but Zhuang Rui rejected the idea. If there were submarines in the ocean that wanted to deal with them, they would have no chance of escaping, so there was no need to arm them with these things.
However, Zhuang Rui had heard Li Zhen explain the principle of depth charges. Inside a depth charge is a large amount of high explosives. When detonated by a detonator, it will generate a large shock wave. Zhuang Rui believed that a shock wave of this magnitude would be enough to alarm marine life.
"Depth water bomb?"
General Lasco gave a wry smile and said, "Zhuang Rui, this helicopter isn't equipped with depth charges; those are only carried on anti-submarine helicopters..."
Depth charges were nothing unusual to General Lascaux; they were very cheap to make, and with his authority as a general, using a few hundred wouldn't be a problem. It was just a pity that this helicopter wasn't equipped with any.
"No?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback. He hadn't expected his plans to be stalled here. However, remembering the missile launcher he'd seen hanging below the helicopter when boarding, Zhuang Rui said, "General Lascaux, if we don't have depth charges, launching a missile into the sea below would be fine..."
Although the shockwaves produced by a missile are far less powerful than those from a depth charge, Zhuang Rui can use his spiritual energy to disturb the sea creature and achieve the same effect.
"missile?"
Zhuang Rui's words silenced General Lasco. Although he held a high position and great power, launching missiles into the sea for no reason would make it difficult to write a report when he returned, especially since this was not a military exercise.
Seeing that Lasco remained silent for a long time, Zhuang Rui assumed that Lasco was worried about the money, so he said, "General Lasco, I will pay for the missiles..."
The cost of a missile is at most a few hundred thousand US dollars. Zhuang Rui is willing to spend that money in order to find out what the deep-sea creatures are.
"This isn't about the money..."
Lasco shook his head, looked at the vast sea below, gritted his teeth, and said, "Let's do it. I'll listen to you this once, Brother Zhuang. Don't let me down!"
Zhuang Rui's theory about marine life is the first of its kind among scientists from various countries to explain this devilish sea area, which is one of the main reasons why Lasco was willing to send military helicopters to accompany him on-site.
The strange events that have occurred in this devilish sea have plagued Lascaux for decades. If a difficult report can reveal the truth, General Lascaux believes it is worthwhile.
Regardless of nationality, soldiers all possess a certain fighting spirit. Having made up his mind, Lasco didn't hesitate any longer. Instead, he shouted to the driver, whose name shared the same as that of the internationally renowned soccer star, "Figo, I command..."
"Wait, General Lascaux, wait!"
Before Lasco could even give his order, Zhuang Rui abruptly interrupted him. "What a joke! If a missile were to strike now, Zhuang Rui might as well use the torpedoes from the Xuanrui. Both are suicidal."
"What's wrong? Zhuang, you came up with this idea, didn't you?"
Zhuang Rui's actions made Lasco look at him with confusion.
Zhuang Rui gave a wry smile, pointed to the sea below, and said, "General Lasco, if that sea creature really is an octopus, just imagine what the consequences would be at the helicopter's current altitude?"
Chapter 1287 Missile Attack (Part 2)
Octopus?
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, General Lasco stuck his head out of the cockpit and looked at the sea about twenty meters below. He immediately realized his recklessness.
As the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry; nothing in this world is absolute.
If Zhuang Rui's jinx is right, and a giant octopus measuring six or seven hundred meters in length is lurking beneath this sea, General Lascaux certainly doesn't consider this twenty-odd meters to be a safe distance.
The tentacles of an ordinary octopus are several times longer than its body. If there really is an octopus-like monster beneath the sea, then this helicopter and the people on it will become its snack.
"Zhuang, what height do you think our helicopter should climb to?"
For some reason, General Lasco sensed a strong sense of confidence in Zhuang Rui, which unconsciously made him feel dependent on Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui did not answer Lasco's question, but instead asked, "General Lasco, what is the highest altitude this helicopter can fly?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, General Lasco said somewhat uncertainly, "The limit is around 6,000 meters, but this helicopter can only climb to a maximum of 5,000 meters. That should be enough, right?"
Helicopters climb by relying entirely on the lift of their rotors. The small wing surface and the increasingly thin air at high altitudes greatly affect lift efficiency. At the same time, the difficulty of engine air intake also greatly affects power. Both power efficiency and efficiency decrease with increasing altitude, reaching their limit at a certain altitude.
Apart from some helicopters specifically built to set records, the average helicopter climbs to an altitude of around 3,000 to 5,000 meters. Lasco doesn't participate in extreme sports, so of course he didn't know the altitude limit of this "Apache".
"5000 meters, that should be enough..."
Zhuang Rui estimated in his mind that the sea monster was about 700 to 800 meters in size, and its "arms" that were tens of meters thick should not exceed 3,000 meters. The helicopter at an altitude of 5,000 meters should be able to ensure its safety.
"Okay, Figo, climb to 3800 meters, then launch the missile from launcher number one. Target: sea directly below the helicopter." After discussing with Zhuang Rui, Lasco gave the order to the pilot.
"Yes, ascend to 3800 meters and launch the missile from launcher number one," the pilot repeated General Lasker's order and began operating the system.
The helicopter, which had been hovering over the sea, quickly ascended into the sky. After reaching an altitude of 3,000 meters, the wind grew stronger and stronger, making the skin of everyone on board feel loose. Zhuang Rui and the others had no choice but to close the cabin doors on both sides.
The Apache helicopter is equipped with a total of sixteen Hellfire missiles. Although these are air-to-ground anti-tank missiles, they can still be launched into the sea and explode under human control.
"Alright, prepare for launch." Upon hearing General Lasker's order, the pilot activated a controller on his right, which popped up a button. The pilot gently pressed it with his thumb.
Just as his thumb touched the button, the entire helicopter shook violently. Everyone could see on the display below the helicopter's windshield that a missile, its base spitting fire, was shooting straight down into the sea below.
At a height of over 3,000 meters, it was just a moment for the missile. Before anyone could see it clearly, the extremely destructive "Hellfire Missile" plunged headfirst into the icy seawater.
After a brief three or four seconds, a water column more than ten meters high suddenly rose from the calm sea, with waves churning and spraying into the sky. Under the sunlight, it was as colorful and dazzling as the fountains in Madison Square Garden.
After the explosion, the eyes of everyone on the helicopter turned to the radar scanner. If there really were deep-sea creatures on the seabed, the explosion of this missile might have alerted them.
To everyone's disappointment, the scanning screen kept sending waves into the ocean below, but no abnormalities were detected. After the explosion, the sea returned to its usual calm.
Unlike the people around him, Zhuang Rui's eyes were also fixed on the screen in front of him, but his attention was completely focused on the spiritual energy that had taken him to the seabed.
"No, the shockwave is too weak..."
Zhuang Rui saw the enormous creature again, but found that the explosion on the surface of the sea had no effect on the creature in the seabed. The small waves, only a few dozen meters high, were nothing more than a trivial matter to it.
After waiting for two or three minutes, Clyde finally couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Nothing's happening? Boss, I told you the ship's radar system was broken. Look, there's not a sound at all on the seabed..."
"Impossible, that radar... it's not going to malfunction anyway..."
Before Zhuang Rui could speak, Peng Fei refuted Captain Clyde's words, but he couldn't reveal the origin of the Xuanrui's radar system, so his words were somewhat weak.
"It turns out there are no monsters in this area. Figo, reduce altitude and prepare to return..."
General Lasco shook his head, wondering if he had been bewitched before, wasting a missile and now having a headache over his report when he got back.
Just as General Lascaux was giving orders, Zhuang Rui suddenly said, "Wait, don't descend, be prepared to ascend at any time..."
"Zhuang, that's very impolite of you..."
Zhuang Rui rudely interrupted Lasco once again, pointing to the radar scanning display screen that had been largely ignored, and shouted, "General Lasco, look at the screen! Quick, prepare to climb!"