Chapter 1327 On the way
Upon hearing this, Han Feng nodded slightly.
On the way here, he had already reviewed the entire river transport plan. Like the sea transport, the biggest danger of this river transport comes from underwater.
Prior to this transport plan, the theater navy had conducted multiple rounds of trial voyages and reconnaissance, but the results were not particularly ideal, as the number of aquatic mutant organisms in the Yangtze River was exceptionally large.
The only saving grace is that it's not as aggressive as some mutated marine creatures, which are like mad dogs, biting any ship they see.
However, there are a dozen or so flight segments that require special attention due to the presence of unknown large mutated creatures...
Therefore, if it weren't for the potential unrest in Nanjing and the need to alleviate pressure on the Eastern Theater Command... the Theater Command would never have considered sending troops across the Yangtze River...
Once the army boards a ship, they're like rootless duckweed, unable to use even a fraction of their brute strength... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're completely at the mercy of others...
This is why even Han Feng himself felt uneasy, his heart rising and falling with the swaying of the deck...
"Tell the captain of the 'Jiangzhou' to remain vigilant, especially when passing through the Three Gorges Reservoir area and the section of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, and to pay attention to the underwater conditions!"
"Yes!"
As time passed, the tremors underfoot seemed to even out a bit, and the fleet had largely left the dock area and began to accelerate.
The whistles had long since stopped, leaving only the roar of engines and the sound of the river.
The hellish flames and sounds of Chongqing were gradually fading into the mist at the stern of the ship, but the smell of gunpowder, blood, and burnt flesh still seemed to linger in the air.
"Order each ship to sail at the predetermined speed, allowing the soldiers to take a quick rest, but also to maintain a minimum level of combat readiness."
Han Feng finally turned around, the hem of his military overcoat drawing a powerful arc in the air.
His face showed little expression, except for his eyes, which, having weathered countless storms, appeared exceptionally deep and resolute in the dim light of the ship's sidelights.
"In addition, in my personal capacity, I am sending a brief telegram to Commander Lu Chong of the Chongqing Military Region."
He paused and said word by word:
The telegram reads: "The battle in Chongqing is fierce and arduous. My unit, traveling eastward, has witnessed the flames of war and feels their pain deeply. Take care and await news of victory. Han Feng."
"Yes!" Xiang Qidong stood at attention and wrote down the telegram.
Han Feng took one last look at the red light on the horizon in the direction of Chongqing, which had dimmed considerably but still stubbornly burned, then turned around and strode towards the warm interior of the bridge.
In the east, the sky was still shrouded in thick fog, but the deepest darkness was slowly receding.
The mighty river, carrying steel and mission, silently rushes towards the next land waiting to be baptized by blood and fire.
Behind them in Chongqing, after a brief lull in the fighting, as the first pale rays of dawn pierced through the smoke and fog, an even more brutal and will-testing tug-of-war and street fighting was about to begin again in the new day, drawing back the bloody curtain.
.....
Two days and one night passed slowly, accompanied by the low growl of the diesel engine and the sobbing of the river.
The combined fleet carrying the 1st Combined Arms Battalion of the 61st Combined Arms Brigade, like a steel centipede cautiously wriggling in ancient veins, drifted downstream.
They passed through the ruins of Zigui Old Port, where sporadic gunfire could still be heard; they passed through Badong County, which was almost completely covered by mutated vines and resembled a green ghost town; and they passed by the former Three Gorges Dam!
The giant that once spanned the Yangtze River now stands silently in the darkness, its massive dam body covered with the slime left by unknown creatures climbing it. The floodgates are wide open, and the river roars as it plunges into the abyss below, stirring up an ever-present, icy mist under the beams of searchlights.
The voyage was not peaceful.
The underwater shadows loomed large, and every now and then something would bump into the bottom of the boat, making a teeth-grinding "creak" or a dull "thud".
Most of them are mutated fish or aquatic arthropods that have become aggressive due to the post-apocalyptic environment, but whose size and strength are limited.
They ram with their bony-plated heads or scrape with their appendages, which have evolved the ability to drill holes.
However, these attempts mostly failed in the face of the heavy hull and specially installed protective netting, leaving behind only slippery stains or a few broken bone blades before dissipating in frustration.
The most dangerous incident occurred when passing through a narrow section of the Xiling Gorge.
Suddenly, a huge, rapidly approaching point of light appeared on the sonar screen!
The sonar operator on the frigate "Jiangzhou" practically shouted the report: "High-speed underwater target! 1500 meters away! Speed... very fast! Huge size!"
The piercing battle alarm instantly blared throughout all the ships!
On the roll-on/roll-off ship "Changjiang Fenjin", the soldiers who were sleeping fully clothed were awakened and quickly went to their deck positions, with light and heavy machine guns pointing at the dark water.
The twin 100mm main guns of the "Jiangzhou" frigate quickly lowered their muzzles, pointing them in the direction of the threat, while the four 37mm automatic turrets stood up like alert hedgehogs with their quills raised.
But that thing was too fast!
Less than a minute later, less than two hundred meters to the side of the fleet, a terrifying bulge suddenly rose in the river, and the water flowed wildly to both sides!
Immediately afterwards, a terrifyingly large mouth covered with dark green scales, nearly three meters in diameter, and filled with ring-shaped sharp teeth burst out of the water, bringing with it a towering column of water!
It was a giant catfish or some kind of unknown fish variant with an unimaginable degree of mutation, and its body length was definitely over thirty meters!
Its cloudy eyes, as large as cartwheels, gleamed with a bloodthirsty light as it lunged toward a 3,000-ton flatbed barge carrying light equipment on the flank of the fleet!
"Fire!"
The 37mm guns on the "Jiangzhou" were the first to spew fire, and the shells exploded on the water, creating rows of white columns of water. Some of them hit the body of the giant beast, breaking its scales and splattering black blood, but they did not seem to have any effect on its core. Instead, they aroused its ferocity!
The behemoth swung its tail violently, its massive body creating huge waves that nearly capsized the small armed boat accompanying the ship!
"Launch anti-submarine rockets! No, use torpedoes! Small torpedoes! Quickly!" The captain of the "Jiangzhou" ship's voice even sounded a little off over the channel.
As soon as the words were spoken, four 324mm lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes were launched into the water, leaving white trails as they hurtled towards the rolling giant shadow.
boom! boom! boom! boom!
Four muffled underwater explosions rang out, and the river surface was violently churned up as if boiling!
The behemoth let out a low, painful roar that pierced through the water (more like some kind of infrasound, making one's chest feel tight). Its massive body convulsed and thrashed violently, and dark red blood and shattered internal organs quickly polluted a large area of the river.
Finally, it gradually stopped struggling. The huge corpse floated halfway up the river and slowly drifted downstream. Its hideous head just passed by the side of the "Yangtze River Endeavour" ship, and its lifeless giant eyes seemed to still be staring at the humans on the ship.
A young officer excitedly suggested salvaging the fish to "improve their meals," but Han Feng frowned and rejected the idea outright.
What a joke! Heaven knows what kind of viruses, radiation, or unknown toxins are in the flesh of this thing.
After this incident, the fleet became more vigilant, but did not encounter any threats of this scale during the subsequent voyage.
