True Apocalypse Game

In the command center of the Eagle Country Seventh Fleet’s carrier, the USS Nimitz, Fleet Commander Daimon was cursing up a storm over the comms channel:

"Damn it! Which one of you bastards fired that laser beam? Turn it off! Now! Do you assholes want to go down in history as traitors to humanity?!"

He wasn’t crazy. Even though humanity possessed powerful weapons, no one knew what would happen when faced with an Exotic Giant Beast of completely unknown origin.

Although it seemed the Space Wormhole was not yet passable and the two sides could only see each other, he had no desire to risk universal condemnation by doing something to provoke the monster.

Otherwise, even the people from the military-industrial complex, always eager to sell weapons, would have his hide in Congress. And that know-it-all in the White Palace would definitely blast him on Twitter!

This was being broadcast live across the globe!

As Daimon’s roar echoed, in the unmanned submersible operations room of the Eagle Country Fleet, Major Rek had already kicked one of his men away from a control console. He lunged for the console, roaring as he slammed the laser beam’s shutoff button, then whipped his head around to yell:

"Lapu, are you trying to get us all killed?! Who told you to fire that beam?! Your actions have violated military law. You can wait to be court-martialed!"

Everything had been fine just a moment ago. He had given strict orders for the submersible pilots in his squad to be cautious, even having them pull the submersibles back a bit.

He never expected that the submersible operated by Lapu would suddenly fire its laser beam, shining it right at the eye on the other side of the Space Wormhole.

Even though it was just a harmless deterrence laser, meant only for dispersal, it was enough to make Rek break out in a cold sweat.

Beside him, several marines, moving like a pack of wolves, had already pounced on Lapu, pinning him firmly to the floor and cuffing his hands.

"Major Rek, I... I don’t know what happened... I zoned out for a second... I didn’t do it on purpose, I really didn’t!" Lapu’s face was flushed, his eyes filled with a sense of grievance and pleading.

Just a moment ago, he had been controlling the unmanned submersible perfectly, following commands from his headset.

But for just an instant, there seemed to be a burst of static. Then, it was as if someone told him to press the laser beam’s fire button. As if possessed, he moved the submersible forward and fired the beam at the other side of the Space Wormhole.

By the time he snapped out of it, Rek had already kicked him to the ground. Only then did he realize what he had done.

He felt incredibly wronged, but also terrified.

He knew full well that his actions were more than enough to land him in a military tribunal. His career was, for all intents and purposes, ruined.

But he truly hadn’t meant to do it; he had just spaced out for a moment.

Rek reported to the command center over the comms channel:

"Reporting. A pilot accidentally triggered the beam’s fire button. His operational authority has been revoked."

In the command center, Commander Daimon’s face was grim as he stared at the underwater Wormhole on the screen. He said:

"Put him in the brig and have him wait for his court-martial... Do you have any idea that in the last minute, our dear President has already fired off five tweets tearing me a new one, like I snuck down his chimney on Christmas and fucked his mom...? You’re in charge of discipline for the unmanned submersible unit, aren’t you?"

Rek’s heart sank. He said nervously:

"Rest assured, sir, it will never happen again. I’ll put him in confinement right now."

He then turned to look at Lapu, his eyes filled with hatred.

’He had hoped for a promotion, maybe even command of a warship someday. Now, with this incident, any chance of that was likely up in smoke.’

If there weren’t other people around, he would have loved to put a bullet in Lapu right then and there.

"Major, I... it might have been a mechanical failure! Yes, it must have been a mechanical failure! Or maybe that eye can affect my mind! Otherwise, I couldn’t have made a mistake. I haven’t made a single operational mistake in three whole years..."

Lapu knew he was finished if he went to a military tribunal, so he was still trying to argue his case. But Rek suddenly raised a hand and shouted:

"Shut up!"

He also made a hushing gesture.

Everyone present, including the marines holding Lapu, froze, not knowing what was happening.

Rek, his face dark, suddenly grabbed the headset hanging around his neck and said:

"Crank the submersible’s sonar to maximum!"

His subordinates immediately complied. They didn’t know what Rek was up to, but their commanding officer was furious, and none of them wanted to ask for trouble.

But the moment the sonar volume was turned up, they finally understood what was going on.

A sound like shattering glass or cracking ice came through the speakers.

"CRACK... CRACK... CRACK... CRACK..."

This was followed by a vibrating hum and a low, guttural roar.

"What... What is that sound?" Lapu asked, his face slack with shock. "Is it the sound of the underwater Wormhole? But the other side of the Wormhole is space. It’s a vacuum, there shouldn’t be any sound..."

But as he said this, another possibility occurred to him. In an instant, the faces of everyone present turned ashen as they looked at one another in dismay.

There wouldn’t be any sound from the other side of the Wormhole, but sound could certainly travel on *this* side.

But for a sound to be audible on their side of the seafloor, amidst such a powerful Energy Field, was a testament to the immense energy involved.

Everyone simultaneously turned to look at the main screen.

They saw that on the other side of the underwater Wormhole, the giant eye had vanished after being hit by the laser beam.

In its place was complete darkness, as if something was now blocking the other side of the Wormhole.

And that sound was clearly coming from whatever was blocking it.

It wasn’t just the Eagle Country Fleet’s submersible team that noticed this. The other surrounding fleets, as well as everyone watching the live broadcast around the world, all saw the same thing.

In the Shandong task force, Zhao Weiguo, relying on the sharp instincts of a veteran reconnaissance soldier, suddenly sensed an extremely intense danger. He immediately gave the order:

"The fleet is to continue falling back! Fall back ten nautical miles! Issue a combat alert to all allied forces!"

That feeling was exactly the same as being watched by enemy scouts back during his time on Lao Mountain!

The Hua Country fleet immediately began to retreat, simultaneously sending an alert signal to the allied forces around them.

The Russian Fleet, centered around the Kuznetsov, also began to fall back. What truly frightened them wasn’t Hua Country’s warning, but the energy readings from their deep-sea probes.

In just that short time, the energy reaction on the seabed had already exceeded normal levels by several hundred times. The heat being released was comparable to the underwater detonation of a ten-kiloton tactical nuclear warhead.

In the command center of the Eagle Country Fleet, Daimon was far calmer. He rapidly issued his orders:

"Go to combat status, Red Alert! Launch carrier aircraft, ready naval guns and torpedoes! Submarine squadron is to patrol the fleet perimeter at cruising speed!"

"Commander Daimon, are we not retreating? The Hua Country People and the Russians are falling back, and the French are already a hundred nautical miles away!" the ship’s captain said urgently from the side.

Daimon narrowed his eyes and said:

"Have our dear allies, the Canadian fleet, advance three nautical miles. The Space Wormhole’s energy is far from enough to open a large-scale passage. Even if something does come through, it will be no match for our fleet. This is a golden opportunity to obtain exotic biological tissue samples. If we seize this chance, Eagle Country can once again take the lead..."

A glint of excitement flashed in his eyes. ’This is a gamble for the nation’s destiny, and also a golden opportunity to one day enter the White Palace myself.’

An opportunity to make a name for himself, on par with MacArthur!

The captain beside him gave Daimon a deep look, but said nothing.

At the same time, squadrons of fighter jets had already taken to the skies, circling the area. The various weapon systems of the Zeus-class Frigates were armed and ready to fire. The Canadian fleet had also advanced three nautical miles, moving into the core of the maritime zone.

The media boats and live-streamers originally at the heart of the zone also sensed that something was wrong, but they were unwilling to let go of this massive opportunity. Many of their cameras were already aimed at the jets in the sky and the warships entering a combat stance, and a new round of excited shouting began.

"THUMP..." A muffled sound came from the depths of the sea, striking everyone’s heart like a hammer blow.

"THUMP... CRACK..."

It sounded like shattering glass.