Chapter 282 - 282: Clearing the Way with Brute Force

Four days had passed since the Kela Sunrise Incident.

Inside Changi Base.

Vice Admiral William, commander of the Seventh Fleet; Major General Sullivan, head of the base; and Tom, the Black Ship Governor for Southeast Asia.

They watched as over a dozen specialized "ships" appeared on the sea not far away.

"Shit! Aren't those the ground effect ships from Assam?" Sullivan's expression was as if he'd just swallowed a pound of flies.

Five Large Thunder Dragon Ground Effect Ships and ten Small Thunder Dragon Ground Effect Ships, carrying 500 fully armed New Human employees, landed directly on the tidal flats near Changi Base.

Tom finally understood. Homo Sapiens Company wasn't even pretending anymore; they were laying all their cards on the table.

The leaders of the detachment, Commander Hilok Fernando of Homo Sapiens Company's special Malacca Security Team and the team's psychological counselor Yang Fan, approached the gates of Changi Base in an armored vehicle, both clad in sea-blue camouflage exoskeleton armor.

The head of the base's air defense battalion asked, "What do we do?"

Sullivan waved his hand. "We'll go to the gate."

A short while later, the two sides met at the main gate of the base. The atmosphere was less than friendly. Personnel from both sides were armed with live ammunition, their weapons already aimed at each other.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sullivan asked, his face dark.

Hilok Fernando produced a copy of a secret treaty and tossed it over. "On behalf of Homo Sapiens Company, I am here to take possession of Changi Base and ensure you all leave the Malacca Strait unharmed."

Sullivan caught the copy but didn't look at it, as he was already aware of the matter. With a stiff expression, he replied, "We are still clearing the shipping lanes. We cannot leave at this time."

Hilok Fernando coldly issued an ultimatum. "You don't need to worry about clearing the shipping lanes. Pack your things now. You can leave by noon tomorrow. The offer expires then."

"You..."

Vice Admiral William stepped forward. "Can you clear a safe channel before noon tomorrow?"

"Absolutely," Hilok Fernando said, full of confidence.

"Okay. As long as you can clear a safe shipping lane, we can set sail at any time." William knew their withdrawal from Changi Base was a foregone conclusion. Continuing to argue senselessly now would accomplish nothing.

Meanwhile, Tom, who had remained silent, returned inside the base and quickly ordered the exposed members of the Black Ship to gather at Changi Base.

At the same time, the Black Ship also had some of its assets go into deep cover, ready to be activated at a later date.

While the United States Army personnel at Changi Base were busy packing supplies or destroying all classified documents and sensitive equipment that couldn't be taken with them, at the Temasek Investment Headquarters on Xing Island...

Li Gu Ming, Li Weixing, Li Peter, and the others had also received news that Homo Sapiens Company's security team had appeared at the side of Changi Base.

Li Weixing's face was a mask of fury. "Bastards! Homo Sapiens Company is going too far! They don't give a damn about us."

However, the think tank's advisor, Huang Dayong, could only smile bitterly to himself. 'In this situation, how could Homo Sapiens Company possibly let Xing Island go? This is a Universal Giant Corporation that dares to go head-to-head with America and even forced them to back down!'

A flicker of conflict crossed Li Gu Ming's eyes before being replaced by a ruthless resolve. He calmly instructed, "Weixing, Peter, tell everyone not to make any rash moves for the next few days. Leave everything else to me."

"Why don't we go find Mr. Tom and ask them to stay on Xing Island?" Li Peter suggested.

Li Gu Ming nodded, his expression unreadable. "I'll handle it. For now, you two maintain internal stability."

"Okay! I'll make sure the men under me behave." A hint of relief appeared on Li Peter's face.

Huang Dayong, however, felt a surge of alarm and uncertainty, but he didn't dare voice it, pretending he knew nothing.

After Li Weixing and Li Peter left, Li Gu Ming was alone in the room. He stared at the map of Southeast Asia on the wall, his face a mask of cold malevolence.

...

Meanwhile, in the Malacca Strait.

A massive ship was slowly sailing from the blocked eastern waters toward Xing Island.

Ahead lay the area dense with sea mines and man-made reefs.

This was a colossal vessel with a displacement of 300,000 tons.

Under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult for a 300,000-ton class ship to pass through the Malacca Strait, as a vessel of that displacement would have a draft of 20 to 25 meters.

Some routes in the Malacca Strait are only about 25 meters deep, permitting only ships with a draft of 16 meters—the so-called Malaccamax transport ships.

The colossal ship before them didn't have a very deep draft, mainly because it wasn't carrying any cargo and was also a catamaran.

Even so, the presence of numerous artificial reefs made it impossible for the ship to pass through the Malacca Strait.

Currently, only hovercraft could navigate the routes of the Malacca Strait.

The United States Army at Changi Base soon noticed this strange, colossal ship. However, when they saw the hovercraft of the Luzon escort fleet protecting it, they knew it belonged to Homo Sapiens Company and guessed it was likely here to clear the artificial reefs from the Malacca channel.

Just as they were preparing to watch the spectacle unfold...

The colossal ship began to enter the artificial reef zone.

The ship's hull began taking on water, flooding its compartments. As the water level in the ballast tanks rose, the massive vessel sank rapidly until its bottom rested on the seabed.

The nuclear reactor inside the ship began operating at full capacity. Its two plow-shaped bulbous bows plunged into the mud and sand of the seabed.

At this point, the ship's draft reached 35 meters. Between the two hulls of the catamaran, a large row of giant cutter teeth dug into the mud. The teeth began to spin at high speed, pulverizing all the large particles, shells, and small stones in the sediment.

Meanwhile, suction pipes on the ship's underside rapidly drew up the pulverized sediment, dumping it into ore transport vehicles following behind.

The special vessel, named the "Sea Plow," charged forward like a rhinoceros, carving a 35-meter-deep, 120-meter-wide trench along the seabed.

A derelict container ship, previously sunk in the channel, appeared before the Sea Plow. The Sea Plow charged straight at it without hesitation.

CRUNCH... CRUNCH...

The container ship, made of ordinary steel, along with the reinforced concrete inside it, was instantly "devoured" by the Sea Plow, which was constructed from a super-alloy.

The terrifying Sea Plow advanced rapidly toward Xingdao Port at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour.

The blocked section of the eastern route was 28 kilometers long. The Sea Plow carved out a safe shipping lane in only about three hours.

Inside the airport control tower at Changi Base.

Vice Admiral William and Major General Sullivan lowered their binoculars, their faces etched with disbelief.

"Just how strong is the material that ship is made of!"

As a naval admiral, William swallowed hard. "Their materials technology is terrifying. At the very least, our ships can't just plow straight through reefs."

As they watched, the Sea Plow slowly passed by the outskirts of Xingdao Port and entered the western channel, which was even more densely packed with reefs and sea mines. The blockage here was 50 kilometers long and 18 to 28 kilometers wide.

Yet the Sea Plow continued to press forward relentlessly, opening up a safe shipping lane in just five hours.

At this point, only nine hours had passed since Hilok Fernando delivered his ultimatum.

The owners of the transport ships trapped in Xingdao Port also witnessed this scene, and they couldn't help but breathe a collective sigh of relief.

For the past few days, these shipowners had been so worried they could neither eat nor sleep. But with titans like Homo Sapiens Company and America fighting, they didn't dare utter a peep. All they could do was suffer in silence.

Now, Homo Sapiens Company was finally doing something decent for once.