Chapter 274 - 274: Cardiac Arrest

The Blue Ridge.

Its propellers had been destroyed by the explosions, and it now sat dead in the water.

William put his hat back on. A gash on his forehead bled down his cheek. "HUFF... HUFF... 'Is the glory of America going to end in my hands?'"

His adjutant, Wood, held a walkie-talkie. "Damage control, begin repairs immediately..."

"We've sealed the leaking aft compartments..."

"Report, reactor malfunction on the Truman..."

"The Iwo Jima is..."

As damage reports from the various ships flooded in, Wood's heart went cold. They were effectively captured. A warship without power was just a sitting duck at sea.

Although the recent attack had specifically targeted propellers and flight decks, no ships had been sunk.

But Wood knew with chilling clarity that one or two more attacks of that magnitude would send the entire Fifth Fleet to the bottom to feed the fishes.

As the commander, Vice Admiral William naturally understood this as well.

Suddenly, the communications officer on the bridge turned around, his face tense. "Commander, the enemy is broadcasting in the clear. They're ordering us to remain stationary, or we'll bear the consequences. We are only permitted to deploy lifeboats to rescue pilots and sailors who went overboard."

"Shit..."

"America will not yield..."

The officers on the bridge erupted in a torrent of angry curses.

But William, who had already calmed down, spoke in a low voice, "Enough. We've lost. Order all ships not to make any rash moves. At the same time, deploy lifeboats to rescue the men in the water."

Their morale at rock bottom, the crowd of officers fell silent for a moment.

"Yes, sir..."

William was in agony. The Fifth Fleet still had its trump card—nuclear weapons, so the enemy surely wouldn't dare to press their attack further.

But this situation was absolutely not an outcome he wanted to see.

Humiliation!

This was an unprecedented humiliation!

...

While William stewed in frustration and self-reproach...

...inside the Pentagon...

When a dozen or so United States Army generals heard that the Fifth Fleet had been attacked and was now completely disabled in the waters of the Badu Strait in the Ceylon Ocean, their first reaction was to wonder if it was April Fools' Day.

The Chief of Staff, Edward Jackson, took a deep breath. "Gentlemen, the situation is completely out of control. The Fifth Fleet can only rely on its nuclear weapons for self-preservation now. If we choose to declare war, they will certainly be sunk immediately."

The Head of the Navy, Benjamin Franklin, looked grim. "It's not just the Fifth Fleet. The Seventh Fleet is also in grave danger. According to Ohm's report, the shipping lanes in the Malacca Strait are completely blocked. Even if they could clear the mines within a week, there's no way they could clear the artificial underwater reefs in that time."

Suddenly, Major Jack from the communications department rushed in and reported to the assembled generals:

"Report! A fleet has been detected near Guam Base, suspected to be the Luzon people's Pacific First Fleet."

"Those damn monkeys! Give me..." Benjamin slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.

But Major Jack, who hadn't finished his report, added with an awkward expression, "We've already lost the enemy's track on radar."

"What about satellite surveillance?" Benjamin roared.

"Sorry, sir. The enemy warships appear capable of submerging. Satellite remote sensing can't detect them," Major Jack replied helplessly.

Benjamin, his face green with rage, forcefully rubbed his temples.

The current situation had the Pentagon in an impossible position. If they resorted to a direct nuclear strike, they would have to communicate with the other major powers beforehand to avoid an overreaction.

This wasn't something they could do rashly. If it caused other major powers to miscalculate, everyone would be finished.

But without using nuclear weapons, there was currently no way to defeat Luzon's navy, let alone Hongsawaddy.

The generals present were no fools; they quickly assessed the tense situation.

The Seventh Fleet was trapped at Changi Base on Xing Island.

The Fifth Fleet was crippled and paralyzed, effectively being held hostage.

The Third Fleet had just left Yokosuka Base when a Luzon escort fleet appeared near Guam Base, clearly intending to repeat what happened to the Fifth Fleet.

As for fleets in other regions, it would take one or two months to redeploy them to Southeast Asia.

The United States Army's forces in Asia were now essentially pinned down. Without resorting to unconventional power, there was no way to break the stalemate and escape this predicament in the short term.

"Let's use the nukes!" Edward Jackson proposed viciously.

Mark William, the head of the Pentagon, had been silent for over ten minutes. He opened his eyes. "Prepare for it. In four hours, we begin an all-out strike."

"Yes, sir." Lewis, the head of the Nuclear Strategy Office, nodded with a solemn expression.

Mark William then called the City of the Council, hoping they could complete communications with the other major powers within four hours.

The members of the City of the Council, who had already moved deep into their underground bunkers, were naturally furious. They approved Mark William's nuclear strike plan and agreed to help coordinate with the other major powers.

Inside a secret nuclear bunker in Texas...

A flicker of surprise and ruthlessness crossed James Rockefeller's eyes. 'Just as I thought. This action was necessary. If we don't deal with them now, they'll become even more troublesome later.'

He immediately picked up the phone.

"Hello, this is James."

"Mr. Rockefeller, what are your orders?" a respectful, elderly voice answered from the other end.

"..." James explained the situation.

"Okay, I'll arrange the hotlines immediately. It will probably take ten—"

"No. I'm only giving you four hours."

"Yes, yes, I'll be sure to get it done within four hours."

After hanging up, James made another call to the heads of the other families.

These "bunker boys" did not object. After all, the slap in the face from Luzon's escort fleet was a serious threat to America's core interests, something they absolutely could not tolerate.

「At almost the exact same time.」

The Tianzhu navy, in the waters north of the Badu Strait, was scared shitless.

As third-party observers who had witnessed the entire battle between America's Fifth Fleet and Luzon's Fourth Escort Fleet, they were simply stunned by the sudden turn of events.

At first, they had just been watching the show.

They never expected the two sides to start fighting at the slightest disagreement.

Now, they were desperately sailing back to Mumbai Port while relaying the news back home.

Dharma, who had been a "bunker boy" in Delhi for over a month, was completely unsettled by the news and rushed back into his nuclear shelter.

He then got on the hotline to his good buddy, Caesar.

Less than half an hour after the battle in the Badu Strait, all the major powers had successively received the heart-stopping news.

Their hotlines were then lit up in a flurry of activity.

Meanwhile, it was about one hour and forty minutes until morning in Southeast Asia.

And about three hours and twenty minutes until America's nuclear strike.

The entire world was thrown into chaos by the sudden news.

But near the Kela Isthmus in Siam, a state of high alert was being declared. All nearby residents were evacuated to the surrounding underground base-cities.

In the final seven-kilometer stretch of the river channel in the middle of the Kela Isthmus, twelve special target points had been set. The locations of these points had been determined in advance through surveys to be the optimal positions.

Time ticked by, second by second.

With each passing moment, the pulse of the world grew more suppressed and frantic.