Chapter 155: Chapter 106: Overwhelming Crushing Power_3
In space, several small satellites quickly changed orbits because of this incident, focusing their attention on the Diaoyu Islands waters to survey the scene.
The drone flew over the area where the incident took place, and the sea surface was littered with a large number of Japanese sailors. Among them was a small lifeboat crammed with people, with many Japanese sailors’ hands still clinging to the gunwale. Yan Fei did not attack these sailors in the water, although he very much wanted to. He knew he must have been spotted by the satellites overhead, and if he attacked these sailors, he would definitely be photographed and then branded a terrorist by the world. Although he was currently operating under the guise of the US Forces, it was only a matter of time before he was exposed, so for the sake of his future reputation, he decided to spare these drifting Japanese servicemen. If it had been night, he would have fired the naval cannons and wiped out those Japanese who fell into the sea long ago.
On the Helong, Little Gu had been recording the entire process of the drone wiping out the Japanese patrol ships and fighter jets. He was extremely excited; as an anchor emcee for so many years, he had never shot such explosive footage. He could already foresee how these videos would change his life in the future.
By taking out the Japanese patrol boats and fighter jets, Yan Fei not only earned a large number of Merit Points but also got a significant release for his pent-up frustrations, immediately feeling refreshed and invigorated. Then, through the Quantum Radar, he spotted the approaching Chinese fighters at the scene. Not wanting any interaction with them, he turned around, lowered his altitude, and quickly flew towards the northeast. Just at that moment, the seawater ahead began to boil, and a missile broke through the surface, soaring into the air and heading straight for the drone.
Yan Fei sneered. Although his primary targets were the Japanese fighter jets and patrol boats, the Quantum Radar had been keeping an eye on the lurking Seawolf attack nuclear submarine beneath the sea. He chose not to attack the submarine because he didn’t want to reveal the drone’s ability to hit underwater targets. Now the submarine launched a close-range attack, firing a submarine-launched anti-ship missile. However, Yan Fei had noticed the activity right away, spotted the missile the moment it launched, and before it ascended, he sped up and left the area.
The missile launched by the Seawolf attack nuclear submarine was an anti-aircraft missile with a cruising speed of only 2.5 Mach, normally used for air defense. To use it against a drone that could reach speeds of 3 Mach was futile—it wouldn’t even come close to making contact. However, if the drone hadn’t been equipped with the scanning capability of Quantum Radar and had been unaware of the Seawolf submarine lurking beneath, it might have been ambushed by the anti-aircraft missile.
Yan Fei also knew the capabilities of the Seawolf-class Nuclear Submarine; although his drone now had the ability to attack underwater, a scaled-down version of the AIM-120 Air-to-Air Missile would not be enough to penetrate the Seawolf’s hull. If it couldn’t break through the Seawolf’s hull, the drone would not be awarded Merit Points in the assessment, and it would instead reveal its ability to attack submerged targets. Therefore, Yan Fei had no choice but to make a tactical withdrawal without engaging in a futile attack.
Monitored by satellites from outer space, the drone quickly flew northeast. Judging by its flight path, it was heading directly for the largest US Air Force base in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Continuing to fly, the drone then encountered a thunderstorm. Instead of going around, it plunged directly into the storm, using the thick clouds to block the satellites’ prying eyes. Then it swiftly nose-dived into the sea, quickly changed direction, and stealthily made its way towards Shanghai.
With their view obstructed by the thunderclouds, the space-based satellites lost track of the drone. They waited left and right, but the drone never emerged from the storm. It was more convenient for China; two J-16s were dispatched immediately to check the situation, but when they arrived, aside from witnessing the gloomy clouds and thunder, they didn’t see anything—not even a blip on their radars.
Subsequently, the reconnaissance aircraft of the US Forces and Japan reached the area, but like before, aside from the lightning, they found nothing. No one knew where the F-15 jet had gone. Thus, combining the raging lightning below the dark clouds, everyone could only speculate that the jet had crashed in the storm. But in their hearts, they didn’t believe that the jet would make such a low-level mistake and crash due to natural forces; it had certainly gone into hiding somewhere, and they simply couldn’t find it for the moment.
The drone’s operation not only rescued Taiwan’s fishing boat but also sunk Japanese patrol vessels and airplanes, earning a large number of Merit Points—a flawless achievement.
Yan Fei was very satisfied in his heart. His Auxiliary Brain detailed the Merit Points earned by the drone on this mission:
Merits awarded for launching missiles in Diaoyu Islands waters: shooting down two F-15J Fighter Jets, 1000 Merit Points (500 per F-15 Fighter); downing one Sea Patrol Helicopter, 100 Merit Points (100 per patrol helicopter); sinking one large patrol ship, 1500 Merit Points (1500 for a large non-military patrol ship); sinking two medium-sized patrol ships, 1000 Merit Points (500 for a medium non-military patrol ship); killing 32 enemy personnel, 32 Merit Points.
A total of 3632 Merit Points were earned from this sortie, bringing the cumulative total to 7525 Merit Points.
Unwittingly, the Level 4 drone accumulated a total of 7525 Merit Points after just two sorties. If it were a Level 3 drone, it would have nearly been enough for an Upgrade, as a Level 3 drone only needs 10000 Merit Points to level up. Although there’s still a long way to go from the 100,000 Merit Points required for a Level 4 drone to Upgrade, considering the difficulty of earning Merit Points, the process for the Level 4 drone was far too easy, with the upgrade speed actually faster than that of a Level 3 drone.
In contrast to the F-15 Fighter Jets that previously could only be defeated by surprise attacks, the Level 4 drone dominated them utterly, executing an Instant Kill. Everything felt as easy as breaking dry twigs or slicing through vegetables.