bioinnovel Chapter 226: Seeking Death!
Chapter 226: Seeking Death!
Two hundred meters underwater.
The Devouring Shark was cruising northwest at a speed of forty knots, surrounded by complete darkness, with only the blue light of the sonar flashing evenly ahead.
Zhang Yan leaned against the cockpit with his eyes closed.
He was thinking about a power solution for the Vermilion Bird.
To increase the thermal energy conversion rate of that blazing solar crystal inlay structure from 73% to 91%, the energy conversion matrix needs to be redesigned. However, once the matrix is reconstructed, the weight distribution of the entire machine will need to be adjusted accordingly.
[Ding! Warning! Large-scale electromagnetic scanning signals detected in the target sea area.]
[Source direction: Southeast-east, approximately 40 kilometers away.]
[Signal characteristics: AN/SQR-20 towed array sonar, a standard anti-submarine weapon of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.]
[Simultaneously detected: 2 P-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft circling over the target area, and 1 Soryu-class submarine submerging.]
Zhang Yan opened his eyes.
He looked at the rapidly marked dots on the holographic screen and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the control panel.
A submarine.
Two P-1s.
Including the three surface ships that were just sunk.
They reacted quite quickly.
He raised his wrist and glanced at the time.
It has been less than forty minutes since we withdrew from ship 573.
In other words, the Japanese reacted in about twenty minutes after their three warships were sunk, deploying this anti-submarine array and chasing after them in their possible escape routes.
The direction judgment was basically accurate.
Zhang Yan's lips twitched slightly.
"He's quite good at calculations."
He shifted his gaze to the status panel of the Sea Devouring Shark on the left side of the holographic screen.
【Devouring Shark - Operational Status】
Energy reserves: 89%
[Weapon System: All Online]
[Stealth Mode: On Standby]
Maximum diving depth: 12000 meters
Current depth: 200 meters
Forty kilometers.
At the underwater speed of the Soryu-class submarine, which is about 22 knots, it would take at least 50 minutes to catch up.
The P-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft's towed sonar has a theoretical detection range covering a diameter of forty kilometers.
But the problem is that theory is theory.
The AN/SQR-20 was designed to detect nuclear submarines.
Its acoustic signature database does not contain the voiceprint of a mechanical shark.
Zhang Yan reduced the mechanical shark to its lowest power for cruising.
The power of the supercavitating thruster decreased from 100% to 12%.
The acoustic signals generated by the entire shark body fell below the background noise of the ocean.
On the holographic screen, the sonar rings trailing from the two P-1s continued to sweep rhythmically.
Scan it here, scan it there.
I didn't find anything.
Zhang Yan leaned back in his seat and continued to think about his powertrain solution.
……
Forty-three kilometers southeast of east.
Inside the cockpit of the P-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, sonar operator Kenji Nakajima stared at the screen, his headphones filled with ocean background noise.
He adjusted the frequency band of the filter again and again.
There was nothing there.
"Sir," he turned around, "no unusual acoustic signals detected in the target area."
The patrol plane's captain, Koji Honda, stood behind him, frowning and staring intently at the screen.
"impossible."
They have eyewitness reports.
The captain of ship 573 saw the thing with his own eyes.
A six-meter-long mechanical giant shark dived underwater and headed northwest.
They came from the northwest, set up a sonar net, but found nothing.
"Change frequency band."
"It's been changed, sir. From 20 Hz to 200 Hz, it's all clean."
Koji Honda clenched his teeth.
"Where is the Azure Dragon?"
"The Canglong reports that the underwater acoustic environment is normal and no contact has been detected."
Koji Honda stared at the blue display screen for a long time.
Then he picked up the communication microphone and connected to the frequency of the Maritime Self-Defense Force command center.
"This is Rising Sun 01. There has been no contact with the target area." His voice was calm and trained.
But he was holding the microphone a little too tightly.
"confirm?"
"confirm."
There was a few seconds of silence on the microphone.
"...Continue the search."
Honda Koji put the microphone back and stared at the screen again.
The target is in this sea area.
He was certain.
But that thing seemed to have vanished into thin air.
……
350 meters underwater.
On Zhang Yan's holographic screen, the search circle for P-1 was still hovering on the outer edge.
The Soryu-class submarine is approaching in a zigzag search pattern, currently 28 kilometers away.
Zhang Yan did not escape.
He adjusted the mechanical shark's course, no longer heading northwest, but quietly turning around and circling behind the Azure Dragon-class.
The acoustic performance of the Soryu is considered good among conventional submarines, but its noise level is like an elephant dragging a chain compared to the Sea Devourer Shark.
Zhang Yan hid in the shadow of the Azure Dragon's tail and quietly followed.
I followed for about two kilometers.
He wasn't interested in the Azure Dragon.
What interested him was the sonar array cable that stretched for hundreds of meters behind the Azure Dragon.
Once this thing is cut off, the Azure Dragon will be blind in one eye.
The mechanical shark's cutting teeth rotated slowly at the lowest possible speed.
Zhang Yan maneuvered the shark to approach the cable, maintaining perfect synchronization at a distance of less than two meters.
We followed the tail of the azure dragon.
The acoustic signal was completely masked.
Then--
The cutting teeth are fed to the side.
[Precise cutting completed.]
The sonar cable drifted silently in the dark depths of the sea.
In the control room of the Azure Dragon, the alarm immediately went off.
"Report! The drag siren signal has been interrupted!"
"What's going on?"
"Unsure, suspected cable fault—"
"Cable fault?!"
The captain of the Azure Dragon jumped up.
They had only been in the water for less than forty minutes, so the probability of the cables aging was close to zero.
"Surf to communications depth immediately and report to the Maritime Self-Defense Force!"
"yes!"
Zhang Yan watched as the azure dragon began to slowly ascend, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He turned the mechanical shark around and continued walking northwest.
The speed began to increase.