hsntnovel Chapter 96 Casualties? None! Does paint chipping count as battle damage? Will the military reimburse
Chapter 96 Casualties? None! Does paint chipping count as battle damage? Will the military reimburse
"call--"
The last orange-red flame licked away in the air.
The massive bow of the Blazing Flame crashed violently through the last thin layer of white mist and plunged headlong into the long-awaited sunlight.
Its daybreak.
The oppressive gray world was instantly replaced by azure blue; the sea breeze, though fishy, no longer carried that hallucinogenic sweet and rotten stench.
The hundreds of civilian ships following closely behind remained dead silent for a full three seconds.
Immediately afterwards, cries of relief and relief erupted.
"The sun! It's the sun!"
"Waaaaah... I'm not dead! I'm still alive!"
The deck was sprawled with people, many of whom even bent over to kiss the deck, which was covered in fish scales and dirty water, as if they were seeing their own fathers.
At this moment, no one mentioned any resentment towards the rich anymore, and no one dared to stare at the black warship in front of them with such sour eyes.
If someone can save your life, then that person is your father.
Even Feng Kun, who had been gritting his teeth before, was now as docile as a quail, shrinking into a corner and watching the back of the Blazing Flame. The jealousy in his eyes had long been washed away by fear, leaving only a devoutness that made him want to kneel until his knees were broken.
The main control room of the Blazing Flame.
Lu Sheng leaned back in his chair, looking out at the sea that had become clear again, the golden light in his eyes slowly fading.
"Zhou Hai, turn off the engine, save some fuel." Lu Sheng said calmly, casually taking out a compressed biscuit from his pocket and opening it. "Also, have Lao Zhao take some men to check the outer armor and see if there are any places that have been corroded and penetrated by the acid."
"Okay!"
Zhou Hai released the launch button with a look of lingering dissatisfaction. Looking at the miserable state of his beloved boat on the monitor, he clicked his tongue in distress: "Damn it, these jellyfish may be fragile, but they're really good at causing damage. Look at this, my newly painted matte black paint has been corroded into this grotesque state, it looks like a toad."
At this moment, the Blazing Flame, which originally had a majestic and imposing black paint job, was covered with a thick layer of green slime. It was the residue left by the charred Ghost Face Jellyfish, which was still emitting a foul-smelling blue smoke.
But it was only a matter of looking disheveled.
Apart from the layer of slime on the surface, not a single piece of sheet metal fell off the entire ship.
Be content.
Su Li, holding the Shura Blade, leaned against the door and coldly added, "If it weren't for this armor, we'd be feeding the fish in the sea by now, or like those people behind us, turning into crazy lunatics who can only laugh like idiots."
Time passed second by second.
Half an hour later.
The mist behind them surged again, as if a giant beast was struggling inside.
"Ugh—!!!"
A dull whistle sounded, carrying a sense of weariness and tragedy.
The flagship Zhenyuan finally broke through with the main force of the military fleet.
However, when this originally majestic and powerful steel torrent appeared in everyone's sight, everyone's breath caught in their throat.
awful.
It's too awful.
The once silver-gray frigate now has a pitted and uneven surface, revealing the metallic undercoat exposed by corrosion, and several spots are still emitting pungent white smoke.
The scene on the deck was even more shocking.
The soldiers' corpses lay scattered haphazardly, some still clutching their guns tightly, but each had a transparent spiked tube stuck in the back of their head, and their faces wore an extremely eerie smile.
That kind of smile seemed particularly eerie in the sunlight.
One landing ship, with a displacement of 2,000 tons, had a large hole in its side and was leaning precariously, emitting black smoke. The ship was listed at least 15 degrees, clearly indicating that the engine room was damaged and it was barely managing to keep up with the main force.
Compare the two.
On one side was the Blaze, which was only a little dirty and had no broken screws.
On one side was a regular army fleet that had suffered heavy losses and damaged ships.
This stark contrast was like a resounding slap in the face to those staff officers who had once questioned Lu Sheng's individual heroism.
"Sizzle sizzle..."
The static in the communication channel finally disappeared, and Chen Yan's voice came through.
"Brother Lu..."
Chen Yan's voice was terribly hoarse, as if he had a mouthful of grit in it; even through the radio, his exhaustion was palpable. "How are your casualties? Do you need medical support?"
Lu Sheng picked up the walkie-talkie and glanced at Zhou Hai and the others who were laughing and joking on the deck, rinsing off the black ash with a hose.
These guys were shoveling up the charred jellyfish debris, complaining that it smelled terrible.
Lu Sheng took a bite of the compressed biscuit, his calm tone almost irritating.
"Casualties? No."
He paused, seemingly thinking seriously, then added, "Oh, by the way, Zhou Hai said the ship has some paint chipped off and needs to be repainted. Does that count as battle damage? Will the military reimburse it?"
Dead silence.
There was a full ten seconds of silence on the other end of the communication channel.
All that could be heard was Chen Yan's heavy breathing.
In the command room of the Zhenyuan, the veins on the back of Chen Yan's hand holding the communicator bulged, and the staff officers next to him were so ashamed that they wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
This is the gap.
Is this the civilian armed group they previously thought was incapable of handling the important task?
This is absolutely a game-changer!
Paint chipping counts as battle damage? Listen to that, is that even human language?
Chen Yan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness and shock in his heart. He knew that Lu Sheng was establishing his authority and reminding him of the "reward" he had promised.
"Good...good job."
Chen Yan's voice became extremely solemn, "This time, we are very grateful to the Blazing Flame for clearing the way; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. As for the paint... I'll get you ten buckets of the best paint when we get back."
If they hadn't followed the path burned out by the Blazing Flame, at least half of this fleet of 100,000 men would have perished in that horrific place.
"Major Lu, on behalf of the Jinling Fleet and the 100,000 survivors, I owe you a favor."
Chen Yan spoke these words with great emphasis, without a trace of official jargon.
"General Chen, you're too kind. It's just a matter of each getting what they need."
Lu Sheng didn't get carried away by a few words of thanks. He knew very well that this was a transaction. He casually tossed the walkie-talkie aside and looked at the sea with some regret.
Unfortunately, all those ghost-faced jellyfish were burned to ashes, leaving not a trace. We didn't gain anything from it.
There was no activity on the system panel; neither crystal cores nor spirit points were credited.
That would be a huge loss.
However, this is just an appetizer.
The further inland you go, the higher the level of the sea monsters become, especially those giant sea beasts with thick skin and flesh—those are the walking reservoirs of spirit source crystals.
"All fleet, listen to my command!"
Chen Yan's voice regained its former imposing general's authority, but this time his confidence was noticeably weaker. "Target: due west, 120 kilometers away, Hefei City, Niuwang Mountain! Full speed ahead! We'll make our first rest stop there!"
Niuwang Mountain.
That was originally a high ground in Hefei City, with an altitude of over 200 meters.
In this post-apocalyptic world where most of the land has been submerged, it was like an isolated island in the ocean, one of the few places to land on the escape route.
"Niuwang Mountain..." Lu Sheng tapped lightly on the map with his fingertips.
I wonder if there are any spiritual plants in this mountain. Maybe I can give him a surprise.
The fleet picked up speed again.
This time, however, the surrounding civilian ships were intentionally or unintentionally moving closer to the Blazing Flame, as if they wanted to stick to the Blazing Flame's side, as if getting closer to that black warship would keep death away from them.
P.S.: Today's update (1/5).