Chapter 687: Small Boat for a Big Boat

Chapter 687: Small Boat for a Big One

The submersible of Vault 70 possessed strong stealth capabilities, yet it was not entirely invisible.

As Muda had anticipated, once the Federal Navy destroyer arrived, it quickly locked onto the submersible beneath the surface and hauled it up.

But what Muda hadn’t expected was that the submersible was completely empty.

All signs indicated that the two pilots had abandoned it after its propulsion system was damaged.

Logically, they couldn’t have gotten far.

The Federal Navy destroyer immediately dispatched frogmen to dive into the deep sea for a search.

Yet, to everyone’s confusion, they searched for a full hour and found nothing.

The two pilots seemed to have dissolved into the seawater, vanishing utterly from that stretch of water...

“There are some things I need to ask you.”

On the destroyer’s deck.

An officer walked up to Muda, pulled out a voice recorder, opened it in front of him, and tapped his finger on the table before him.

“Routine procedure. Cooperate.”

“Understood. Go ahead.” Muda nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The officer also sat down opposite him, took a small booklet from his bag, flipped it open, glanced at it, and began.

“First, I want to know—this area isn’t your patrol zone. Why were you here?”

Having already prepared his story, Muda replied calmly, without haste.

“I was on duty, tracking an anomalous sonar signal while searching my patrol area. I followed that signal here. On that point, the brothers on duty in nearby waters can vouch for me—I requested passage and reported the situation to them.”

“We’ve checked, and it’s as you say... but there are still some doubts.”

The officer cast a sharp glance at him and continued meticulously.

“When we reviewed the communication logs, we noticed that a friendly ship on nearby duty suggested you call for reinforcements. Why did you refuse?”

Showing no crack under that suspicious gaze, Muda merely shrugged casually and said matter-of-factly.

“Isn’t it obvious? Because we weren’t sure what it was. What if it was just a piece of trash carried by the current? Would you call for reinforcements before figuring out the situation?”

That reasoning seemed sound enough.

No one wanted to become the butt of jokes over a piece of garbage.

The officer found no fault, nodded, and pressed on.

“So you used two hundred-kilogram depth charges to confirm?”

“Yes.”

“Quite extravagant... Why didn’t you report to nearby friendly ships before opening fire?”

Muda sighed and answered patiently.

“The enemy was right under your nose. If it were you, would you shoot first or file a report first? Please, don’t ask such pointless questions. If you suspect I’m hiding something, just point it out directly.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant, Lieutenant Muda. We’re not suspecting you—you know this is just routine,” the officer quickly waved his hands, trying to ease the tension with a smile. “So, one last question... Had you confirmed that the submersible belonged to Vault 70 at that point?”

Muda stared at him intently, his expression serious.

“I didn’t need confirmation. At that time, in that place, it appeared in our patrol zone without any authorization and refused our communication requests. So we dropped the bombs until they stopped completely... Lucky for us, we got lucky—just two bombs and they were dead in the water. Too bad you were too late, and the people on board got away.”

The officer across from him nodded, then suddenly spoke.

“Do you know why they stopped?”

“No, and I don’t care,” Muda said flatly, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice. “Besides, wasn’t that supposed to be the last question?”

“Of course... I’ve finished the official questions. That one was just out of personal curiosity.”

The officer put away the recorder and the booklet, stood up from the table with a smile, and extended his right hand.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Muda also stood, shook his hand briefly, then let go.

“You’re welcome. Did my answers pass?”

“Pass? You misunderstand, Mr. Muda. We’re not suspecting you of anything. As I said from the start, this was just routine...” The officer tucked the recorder into his pocket, tapped the booklet in his hand, and smiled slightly. “If anything new comes up, I’ll contact you again.”

Muda nodded.

“Next time, remember to bring my medal.”

The officer laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Of course! And congratulations—this is at least a second-class merit!”

With that, the officer turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Muda clicked his tongue in mild regret.

Only second class.

But—

Merits didn’t really matter anyway.

He just hoped he wouldn’t be nailed to the pillar of history.

Unsure who the mole was or how deep they had infiltrated the federal authorities, he had ultimately chosen to conceal part of the truth, not revealing everything.

Including the radio exchange with the submersible.

Including the spherical detector hanging by a fishing net under the speedboat’s hull.

He didn’t know if his choice was right, only hoping that his future self wouldn’t regret today’s decision...

At the same time, on the destroyer’s deck, a pitch-black single-rotor helicopter slowly descended onto the spacious landing pad.

Escorted by two bodyguards in exoskeletons, the President’s Chief of Staff, Navy and Joint Chief of Staff Charles, stepped off the helicopter and walked grimly toward the approaching destroyer captain.

“Mr. Charles? What brings you here?” Seeing the confidant of the President, the captain extended his right hand from afar, smiling warmly.

“What else? Something this big happens, and you didn’t tell me immediately!”

Seeing Charles’s displeased expression, the captain awkwardly withdrew his hand and tried to explain.

“It was just a scientific submersible. We found some makeshift modifications on it, but nothing serious.”

In his view, the Chief of Staff was overreacting.

It was only a Vault 70 submersible, not an attack submarine—no need for such panic.

Besides, the area had no strategic facilities, just the ruins of an ocean current power station.

That made it even less alarming.

Charles narrowed his eyes, staring at the captain before him.

“Just a submersible?”

The captain blinked in surprise, looked at him oddly, and nodded.

"Of course, the submersible has been found. Our people are about to take it apart... Would you like to go to the scene and have a look?"

"Take me there." Charas's eyes flickered, and he nodded, then followed the captain's steps from the helipad to the stern of the destroyer.

A cylindrical submersible was being hoisted onto the deck by grappling hooks.

Several sailors in exoskeletons were holding welding torches, cutters, and a series of other tools, ready to pry the thing open.

Seeing the chief of staff lost in thought, the captain standing beside him couldn't help but ask curiously.

"What is a submersible from Vault 70 doing here?"

Charas didn't look at him, just said casually.

"Who knows... maybe to cover up evidence, maybe to retrieve something they forgot here."

"That's a bit strange," the captain said, eyeing the submersible thoughtfully. "If they were trying to cover up evidence... why would they make such a big show of destroying it in the first place? What's the point of covering it up now? No one would believe them anyway."

Logically, it didn't add up.

Even stranger, they had found the corpse of a giant sea monster near the submersible.

Its shape was stranger than any mutant they had ever seen—like a giant starfish, but with more tentacles than an octopus.

Based on an inspection of the scratches on the submersible's hull, they had already confirmed that the damage was caused by that monster.

As luck would have it, the depth charges dropped by the Federation patrol boat toward the submersible had actually saved the lives of the pilots aboard it.

The bomb hadn't hit the submersible; instead, it had struck the monster chasing it squarely.

According to the patrol leader and two other sailors on the speedboat, they had no idea what their bomb had hit.

For now, the Federation Navy couldn't determine whether the monster had appeared in these waters by chance or had been lingering there due to some human factor.

If it was the latter, that was intriguing.

As everyone knew, because some damaged motors were still running, few mutants were active near the ruins of the ocean current power station.

There was only one possibility that could force a mutant to stay in that area...

A psychic interference device.

Only that could do it.

But to confirm that, they would need to salvage and dissect the mutant's corpse.

Charas gave the captain a cold glance, then turned his gaze back to the pitted submersible.

"That's a question for Vault 70. Maybe they thought they could win, then realized halfway through they'd overestimated themselves, and decided to whitewash their image by finding a cheap scapegoat to take the blame. I don't care what reasons our enemies have for attacking us—I only care about sending them to hell. And you, Captain, just do your job."

The captain stared at the chief of staff, stunned.

Though he didn't know why the chief had suddenly adopted such a stern tone, his instincts told him the man wasn't interested in the topic he'd brought up. So he wisely ended the conversation.

"Alright, I was just curious... Please don't mind me."

Charas gave the captain a meaningful look, said nothing, and in the latter's bewildered gaze, turned and climbed back into the helicopter.

Two bodyguards in exoskeletons sat opposite him, silent.

"Back to North Island."

Tossing the order to the pilot, Charas leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as if to rest.

No one knew.

The moment his eyes shut, his consciousness instantly withdrew from his body, slipping into a milky white space.

An old man in a gray robe stood at the center of that spotless whiteness.

His shoulders were bathed in holy light, and a gentle force blurred the contours of his features, giving him both an aloof majesty and an all-encompassing warmth.

To this being who never showed his true face, Charas gave a slight nod, offering feigned piety.

He wasn't one of those ignorant wastelanders; he wouldn't fall for such tricks.

Strictly speaking, he trusted no one—only himself.

But he had to admit, the Torch did possess some good things.

Like this "Sanctuary."

He only needed to close his eyes to communicate with allies in the Haiya Province anytime, anywhere, and obtain necessary intelligence and other support from them.

And most crucially, unlike the previous "Sanctuary," which only the dead could possess, this "Sanctuary"—the Second Sanctuary—allowed one to attain eternity without abandoning the human body.

That meant, if he could obtain his own Sanctuary, he could achieve divine immortality as a human!

Before the power of the gods, the petty authority of mortals was far too insignificant.

He craved that power more than anyone—to hold eternal authority as an eternal being.

And that was why, despite never having any faith before, he had become the most devout follower of the Torch Church in the Southern Sea, loyally and steadfastly supporting all its grand plans there.

"Respected Pioneer... I have confirmed that it was just a submersible from Vault 70. Our vessels have intercepted it. You can rest assured."

He paused, waiting silently for the bishop to speak.

Gazing quietly at the old man, who was not much younger than himself, Alzu pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.

"The guardian is dead."

Having already learned of this from his subordinates, Charas replied respectfully.

"You need not worry. We will dispose of its corpse. No one will discover its secrets."

Alzu nodded slowly, then continued.

"Vault 70 is insignificant, but you must be careful of the Alliance. Those people are not easy to deal with. I once saw a Pioneer fall at their hands... Unlike me, who clings to the flesh, that was a true Pioneer."

Pioneers without physical form were unreliable, but he also had to admit that those who had shed their bodies were different from him—they were nearly impossible to destroy physically.

He didn't think the Alliance had the ability to shake his ideals; he wasn't the type to waver.

But at the same time, he had to admit that those people were indeed troublesome—even more so than the Corporation or the Academy.

However, unlike Alzu, who felt a hint of wariness, Charas, as the Chief of Staff to the Federation President, merely smiled faintly, unconcerned.

"Please rest assured. I've been watching them. Those people chose to set up camp in the Baiyue Strait. Whatever scheme they're plotting, their fate is almost sealed."

"I hope so. We will have a war with them sooner or later, but the later the better," Alzu paused, then continued, "I need your people to keep searching for the pilots of that submersible... Whether they found anything or not, make sure they stay in the sea."

Charas bowed his head again, nodding slightly, and whispered his promise.

"As you command."

...

While the Federation Navy expanded its search, conducting a grid search over a ten-nautical-mile radius, in the uninhabited waters about a hundred nautical miles from the ruins of the ocean current power station, a nuclear-powered submarine nearly two hundred meters long was cruising slowly underwater.

Unlike the boiler-powered nuclear submarines of the 21st century, this "Dolphin" class nuclear submarine used second-generation controlled fusion technology, with helium-3 and deuterium harvested from the ocean as fusion fuel for cruising power.

Although by the end of the Prosperity Era, second-generation controlled fusion had been largely replaced by the simpler pure helium-3 fusion energy structure, even two centuries later, this technology was still quite advanced—at least far more so than the synthetic oil power systems commonly used by the Southern Islands Federation fleet.

At this very moment, neither Charas nor the hundred-plus sailors on the destroyer knew that the people they were looking for had already escaped.

And right under their noses...

In the buffer room of the submarine Dolphin.

The brimming seawater gradually drained away.

Then, from both walls, atomized detergent sprayed out, and extended nozzles blasted high-pressure air, scouring every bit of algae and dust from the deep-sea diving suits of the two visitors.

Watching the signal light above turn green, Sisi exchanged a glance with Tail beside her, and they passed through the opening gate one after the other.

Directly facing the gate was a narrow room less than ten square meters; through a long window on the left, they could see the unexpectedly spacious interior of the submarine.

In that spacious area, suspended ladders and corridors lined both sides, while long rectangular containers were arranged in the center.

Above the dome, hook locks connected to tracks hung down, and several workers in work clothes walked along the suspended corridors.

A hint of surprise crossed Sisi's face.

She had never seen such a strange submarine; it completely overturned her ingrained impression of submarines as cramped, narrow vehicles.

Nearby, two men in exoskeletons stood on either side of the door at the end of the room, holding assault rifles identical to those of the Federal Navy.

But the exoskeletons, with their robust humerus structures, didn't look like military models; they resembled those used by dockworkers at Ring Island Port. And the two men's demeanor wasn't that of professional soldiers, more like temporary security guards.

Between them stood a man in a blue coat, whose appearance and expression carried a certain authority.

Seeing the two divers approaching, he made a brief self-introduction and extended his right hand.

"Welcome to the Dolphin. My name is Chen Jianhong, captain of this submarine."

Taking off her helmet and tucking it under her arm, Sisi gently shook her disheveled hair, grasped his outstretched hand, and gave it a shake.

"Sisi, and this beside me is Tail. We're both residents of Shelter 404."

"Oh! You can call me A-Tail!" Tail also removed her helmet, looking around with fresh curiosity, and couldn't help exclaiming, "Giao! I thought you guys didn't have weapons... I didn't expect you to have such impressive big toys!"

Looking at the two with their unique auras, the captain named Chen Jianhong was visibly taken aback, but only for a moment.

"You mean... this submarine? It's not really a weapon, just an ordinary cargo submarine."

"Cargo submarine?!"

Never having heard of such a strange concept, Tail's eyes widened in surprise. "Ah, this... why use a submarine to transport goods? Isn't that troublesome?"

Chen Jianhong shrugged and continued.

"I think so too. Although this thing was originally built to facilitate logistics between underwater settlements and surface settlements, building a straight up-and-down elevator would obviously be much simpler than using a submarine. But now I'm just grateful that the original designer had foresight; otherwise, we and the over five hundred Coral City residents on this submarine would now be at the bottom of the sea... Speaking of which, before you ask us questions, shouldn't you first explain your own situation?"

Tail looked at him blankly and asked.

"Explain?"

"Huang Guangwei," the captain stared intently at her, then turned his gaze to the woman named Sisi, his expression unfriendly. "The biometric information registered on that submersible is that name, yet we found you two on it. I want to know where the original owner of that submersible is, and... whether he's still alive?"

The atmosphere grew tense for a moment.

But only for a moment.

"Of course he's alive, and doing well. Otherwise, it wouldn't be us suffering here now."

To prevent A-Tail from saying anything unnecessary, Sisi quickly took over the conversation before she could speak, looking at the captain who was now staring at her, and continued.

"He's in the Alliance now, together with your shelter's manager, Sun Yuechi."

Hearing this, Chen Jianhong was stunned again, and in less than half a minute, a look of astonishment spread across his face.

"...In the Alliance? Wait! The Alliance?! Our manager is there too? But how... how is that possible?! Didn't he go to the Great Rift?!"

At that moment, he finally realized where the sense of dissonance had come from when he heard that girl named Tail speak.

Until the entrance of Shelter 70 was blockaded by the Southern Islands Federation fleet, information including Manager Sun Yuechi's whereabouts and the locking of the armory were the greatest secrets of Shelter 70, known only to a few!

Yet these people seemed to know about it!

"His original destination was indeed the Great Rift, but when passing through Dawn City, he changed his mind and handed over the manager's authority to us..."

Looking at the dumbfounded Captain Chen and the two equally astonished soldiers beside him, Sisi spent a full half hour patiently explaining the whole story to him.

Including how Sun Yuechi arrived at Dawn City, and how he forced the manager's authority onto their own manager.

And how Huang Guangwei ran aground on the north shore of the Baiyue Strait, and how they happened to find him and bring him back to Dawn City...

After hearing her account, Chen Jianhong pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger, feeling a surge of complex emotions stuck in his chest, unable to speak for a long time.

He couldn't accept it.

Their manager would rather place hope in a complete stranger than choose someone he knew.

What was even harder to accept was that while they were hiding in the sea, gambling their lives playing hide-and-seek with the Federal fleet, that guy was already starting a new life in Dawn City?!

What a joke!

"So... that guy is living the high life at your place now?" Withdrawing his finger from his brow, he squeezed these words out through trembling lips.

Not wanting to discourage the dedicated captain, Sisi's expression was somewhat awkward, but she still honestly nodded.

"Yes... Including the owner of that submersible, Huang Guangwei. Before boarding the airship to Dawn City, he gave us the submersible to dispose of—"

"Those bastards!"

A furious curse interrupted her mid-sentence. Chen Jianhong clenched his fists, unable to contain his emotions any longer, and said through gritted teeth.

"We're here suffering from claustrophobia, dodging the Federal fleet's pursuit, scraping by on meager supplies! And the culprit behind all this mess is enjoying life on land! Doesn't he feel any guilt at all?!"

What a joke!

This is so unfair!

Sisi cleared her throat softly.

"I think... your manager probably does feel guilty, which is why he entrusted us to investigate the remains of the Ocean Current Power Station."

Chen Jianhong said indignantly.

"What's the use of investigating that thing! Everyone here except those idiots on the island can see clearly that it was obviously the work of the Torch! If he had any backbone, he should come back to take charge, or at least open the armory!"

Looking at this man blinded by rage, Sisi didn't know how to comfort him and could only show a helpless expression.

Turning around 180 degrees after making a fatal mistake isn't always the best remedy; it could also lead to another even more fatal outcome.

The war against the Torch cult needs the support of the survivors in the southern seas, and letting the survivors here tear each other apart doesn't serve the Alliance's interests.

What they need most now is to put the brakes on this runaway train, not to let the war escalate further.

So she didn't tell the captain that she was holding the key to the armory in her hand at that very moment.

It wasn't time to use it yet...

Just as Sisi was pondering the next step, Tail, who had been quiet beside her for a while, suddenly spoke up.

"Oh! Since your manager is already with us, why don't you all come to our place too!"