Chapter 1534 Anyway Plan

Earlier in the day.

Tokyo, Joint Staff Office.

There was a knock on the office door of Admiral Matsushita Taishi, chief of staff of the Self-Defense Fleet.

After signaling the visitor to open the door, he found that the person standing outside was the deputy chief of staff of the escort fleet headquarters, Hiroshi Yamamura.

"Your Excellency the Chief of Staff." Yamamura saluted, then strode into the office, and even closed the door that had just been half-opened.

Seeing this, Matsushita Thai stopped stamping the document and asked, "Is there an emergency?"

"The helicopter destroyer Hyuga just reported that they received a radio message with incomplete content. They could only preliminarily identify it as a distress signal, but it did not indicate the specific location and type of distress." At this point, Yamamura hesitated for a moment, "After multiple calculations, we believe... it is possible that it was sent by the Soryu."

"!!!"

Panasonic only felt as if a spring appeared under his butt, and he stood up before he could react.

After his expression changed gloomily for several times, he calmed down a little and signaled the other party to prepare to go out:

"Let's go. I need to talk to the Hyuga myself."

Five minutes later, Matsushita Taishi rushed to the command center and, with a serious expression, connected to the satellite communication with the escort commander, Oe Dosan.

"Dajiang, what exactly is going on?"

"The information is very incomplete, and the source cannot be accurately located. We can only preliminarily determine that it is near the B7 survey point." Perhaps due to the continuous attacks, Dajiang Daoshan looked a little depressed, "But according to the time calculation, our submarine should be nearby..."

The meaning of this sentence couldn't be clearer.

Matsushita was no longer able to pay attention to the other party's emotions, and quickly asked the question that concerned him most: "According to your judgment, has the Canglong been discovered by the Chinese Navy?"

"Before retreating to the Sulu Sea, we have successfully led three Chinese Navy destroyers to a more southerly position." Dajiang's face looked better when he mentioned this mission. "Considering the distance between them and the infiltration route, and the speed of more than 30 knots when chasing us, it is almost impossible for them to find the slow-moving Canglong."

"So...are there any other factors that could expose the Soryu?" Panasonic continued to ask.

"There was a super-high-speed target that flew over our formation. The United States determined that it was an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft... But the flight altitude exceeded 4 meters and it maintained a speed of more than 3 times the speed of sound throughout the entire flight. It should not have any anti-submarine capabilities..."

Dajiang was too embarrassed to mention that he had not discovered this target at all, and quickly changed the subject:

"I personally think that the Canglong may have accidentally hit the seabed terrain during the survey process, resulting in serious damage."

Hearing this speculation, Matsushita Tai's expression subtly relaxed for a moment, and he even revealed a hint of relief.

After a few seconds of silence, he slowly said: "I will contact neighboring countries to assist in the search and rescue."

Dajiang Daoshan on the other side of the screen seemed to have noticed his boss's slightly strange reaction -

Judging from past experience, the Self-Defense Forces are indeed very Buddhist when it comes to matters such as accident rescue.

But no matter what the actual operation is, at least the statement is positive.

Such a reaction is a bit too cold and may become a reason for criticism in the future.

However, due to the difference in status and his depressed mood, he did not ask more questions in the end. He just cut off the communication after making sure that there was nothing else.

Afterwards, Matsushita Taishi immediately went to the office of the Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff, Oreki Ryo, and reported to him the "possible sinking" of the Soryu.

Similarly, the latter was quite calm about this, and did not even mention the issue of organizing a rescue. Instead, he directly asked: "If necessary, can we squeeze out some funds from the Maritime Self-Defense Force budget to rebuild a Soryu-class submarine numbered 401?"

Obviously, he was ready to cover up the whole thing.

"We have already made relevant preparations, but the amount involved in a Soryu-class ship is too large. If we want to completely conceal the audit, it would be best to contact Secretary-General Tanigaki and ask him to allocate part of the cost from the funds raised by the private foundation for this project."

Oreki Ryo nodded and immediately called Tanigaki Sadakazu.

Although it was still dark, the call was quickly connected:

"Oreki-kun?"

"Mr. Tanigaki, there are some unexpected situations in the 'Anyway Plan'. I hope you can come to the General Staff Office as soon as possible..."

"..."

Two hours later, Sadakazu Tanigaki, who was in a hurry, appeared on the sofa in the meeting room of the Joint Staff Office.

The latter got straight to the point:

"Sir, based on the comprehensive analysis of the intelligence we have received so far, the Soryu submarine that was carrying out the 'Alien Plan' may have had an accident and sunk, or has gone missing."

Tanigaki Sadakazu was stunned at first, but his subsequent reaction was equally intriguing.

"Is it missing or sunk?" he confirmed while taking off his scarf.

“It’s still unclear at this point,” Oreki replied. “But no matter what the result is, it means that there may be an area of ​​sea that meets the conditions we need along the route of this mission.”

The whole office became quiet.

"But I remember..." Tanigaki straightened his sparse hair, "Dr. Mishima's report mentioned that even if we find the location of the 'door', we need a precise and sufficient explosion to activate it?"

"To be precise, it is enough energy." Matsushita Taishi corrected on the other side, "If there happens to be an undersea earthquake, or other similar situations, it is possible to successfully complete the activation and swallow up the Canglong... or swallow up the surrounding seawater, causing the Canglong to lose control and sink..."

"I hope so..." Tanigaki nodded, not caring at all how shocking his statement was. "Then, what do you need me to do now?"

At this point, he even had the leisure to make a joke:

"You can't possibly use psychic magic to ask my grandfather, right?"

“You are joking, Mr. Tanigaki…” Oreki Ryo quickly waved his hand and turned back to his serious expression, “If the Soryu is indeed missing, then we will need an additional submarine of the same model and to comfort the families of the missing, so it would be best to apply for a sum of money whose whereabouts cannot be traced…”

"..."

Just as the three were discussing funding arrangements, Minister of Communications and Information Systems Kenshin Kamimai suddenly burst in.

Didn't even have time to knock on the door.

Oreki Ryo's expression changed instantly.

Although Shang Cheng was one of the very few people who knew about the plan, it did not mean that he could disrespect their dignity and interrupt their conversation at will.

However, before Oreki Ryo could stand up and reprimand the other party for being rude, he heard Kamishiro Kenshin report with a serious face:

"I just received the daily routine intelligence sharing from the Defense Intelligence Agency. The Chinese Navy has been conducting frequent activities in the Zhongsha waters since yesterday. The forces currently seen include two destroyers, two frigates, a hydrographic monitoring ship, and at least two fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft..."

In extreme shock, Oreki Ryo’s “ばかやろう” was stuck in his throat, and he could only make a meaningless “嗬嗬——” sound.

The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became tense.

China started large-scale operations yesterday, and the area happened to be near the location where the Canglong last sent a signal.

Obviously it can't be a simple coincidence.

More importantly, the Chinese Navy arrived long before the Canglong sent out a distress signal, and they definitely did not go searching and rescuing after receiving the signal.

In other words, all the assumptions they just made were likely wrong from the very beginning.

Oreki Ryo suppressed his inner shock and gave an order to Makoto Kanamenobu: "Use your best speed to check the current situation of that sea area... or the situation in the past few hours!"

It was not until the latter turned and left that Tanigaki Sadakazu asked in a panic, "Has our mission been leaked?"

Matsushita Taishi also looked pale, but still shook his head: "Everyone on the Soryu, including Captain Sato Kenji, is not aware of the true purpose of this mission... Even if the worst happens - the submarine is sunk and some personnel are captured, it will not cause intelligence leaks. At most, it will be regarded as an illegal underwater mapping activity."

Tanigaki sighed with relief, but still looked a little disappointed: "If the Soryu was sunk, then we can't confirm whether there is a 'door' in the mission area..."

Panasonic comforted in Thai style:

"As long as the intelligence is not leaked, we can send other submarines or hydrographic survey ships to continue exploring..."

However, Kamishiro Kenshin soon brought even more shocking news.

"Subsequent infrared reconnaissance satellites show that a Chinese Navy submarine rescue ship and a tugboat have arrived at the sea area where the incident occurred." His voice was trembling, "It seems that the other party...successfully salvaged the Canglong!"

"..."

No one thought that the actual situation would be worse than the "worst" they had imagined.

The three of them looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Finally, Tanigaki Sadakazu was the first to react: "We must immediately negotiate with the Chinese side and demand the return of the Soryu!"

“Don’t worry, it’s not irreversible…” Oreki Ryo tapped the table lightly, his tone more like he was trying to convince himself: “The area where the incident occurred is not territorial waters, and the Soryu was only carrying normal reconnaissance and scientific detection equipment. Negotiations should not be difficult. At most… we can give up some benefits to the other party.”