Wu Kai was overjoyed to have the opportunity to earn military merit, as he was currently lacking in experience. As long as his experience was sufficient, he would be able to get promoted next.
Wu Kai had known one thing since he was young: power was the most important thing. With power, anything else could be easily obtained.
For those from prominent families, power meant control over resources. With resources, it was simple; playing games of transferring wealth from one hand to another, even a fool could make money easily. With money came houses, cars, and women.
Thus, Wu Kai had no intention of causing trouble on the ship. He was well aware that if he simply followed these people into battle and returned, he would secure a merit. If he acted too boldly on the ship, things might take an unexpected turn.
However, when Wu Kai saw Mu Ying leaning on the railing and gazing at the sea, other thoughts began to form in his mind.
At that moment, Mu Ying was leaning on the railing, looking out at the sea. The water was a clear azure, a color that appeared exceptionally pure, a testament to humanity's years of not polluting the oceans.
Mu Ying wore a soft outer garment on her upper body, made of a very pliable material, and a pair of ordinary jeans on her lower body, presenting a casual appearance. A thin veil covered her face, but these veils could not conceal the scars. Yet, Mu Ying possessed a unique aura that emanated from within, not something she faked. Although the scars on her face made her look much plainer, her perfect figure combined with a distinct, refreshing aura made her incredibly captivating.
"Father only told me not to misbehave on the ship, but this time I'm not misbehaving; I'm considering our family's future. If I can marry this powerful woman, our family's influence will surely reach new heights!" Wu Kai thought to himself.
He then stepped forward to converse with Mu Ying. He had encountered many women before and knew how to approach them. For women who were greedy for money, he would flaunt his power. For those who craved fame and recognition, he would boast about his achievements. Mu Ying appeared to be a very elegant woman, and in such cases, conventional tactics wouldn't work; one had to engage in more refined conversation.
Unfortunately, Mu Ying was not very interested in Wu Kai's attempts at conversation. Instead, she issued a threat and continued to gaze at the sea.
After being rebuffed, Wu Kai did not give up. Instead, he persisted in standing by the railing, expressing his emotions: "Actually, I also love watching the sea very much. Because every time I see the deep and vast ocean, I am filled with emotion. I think of how the ocean is the origin of life, evolving from single-celled organisms billions of years ago to the present. The ocean must be the source of life. Miss Mu, what do you think?"
Wu Kai's strategy was simple: he would initiate a topic and then prompt the other person to share their views. Whatever they said, he would do his best to cooperate, even if it was utter nonsense, he would praise it to the heavens. When complimenting women, there were different levels. Usually, people would compliment a woman's beauty or perfect figure. A higher level was complimenting a woman's excellent character and high emotional intelligence. The highest level, however, was complimenting a woman's knowledge.
Simply complimenting a woman's appearance might make many women happy for a moment, but it wouldn't truly resonate with them, as it was just polite talk. Complimenting their good character and high emotional intelligence meant you were praising their inner qualities. However, complimenting their knowledge would make these women feel a sense of kindred spirits, leading to mutual appreciation.
Wu Kai believed his methods of wooing women were already perfected, and once deployed, success was guaranteed.
Unfortunately, after hearing his words, Mu Ying understood what kind of person he was. She then turned and walked away, leaving him with a parting remark: "If you're trying to trick young girls, find another target. I'm not one of those naive youngsters who can be swayed by a few words. And if you dare to approach me again, I promise to freeze you into an ice sculpture."
Mu Ying had suffered greatly from the torment of spoiled rich young men in the past. She couldn't believe her luck was so bad that even now, someone audacious dared to pester her. It was also because she was on a ship in Pudong; if she had encountered such a person in the wilderness, she would have already taken action.
Seeing that his tactics were completely ineffective, Wu Kai realized his game had been seen through.
Watching Mu Ying's retreating back, her attractive figure made him restless. Wu Kai could only curse inwardly, "So arrogant, no wonder you can't find a man. If you fall into my hands later, I will humiliate you severely. Better yet, after I'm done playing with you, I'll give you to my subordinates to ravage!"
Mu Ying was unaware of the thoughts of the man behind her. If she had heard Wu Kai's words, she would have acted without hesitation.
As the ship sailed towards the East China Sea, getting closer to the target, everyone on board became tense. Many soldiers picked up their firearms. To quickly kill the insects, a large number of soldiers were equipped with flamethrowers. This weapon was peculiar; in addition to the gun, a fuel pack was carried on the back. To prevent fuel leakage, it was sealed in steel.
These flamethrowers had a range of over 20 meters, and upon firing, they unleashed a torrent of flames. Neither humans nor other animals could withstand them.
However, flamethrowers also had a drawback: a strong recoil upon firing. This recoil would involuntarily push a person backward even if they were prone on the ground. To use a flamethrower effectively in combat, one needed considerable strength.
"We are now near two insect nests. Sonar has detected the insect lairs, and the computer is analyzing their complete structure. It is also dusk, so I recommend we wait until tomorrow morning to attack." When the ship reached a sea area 20 kilometers from the insect nests, the intelligence personnel on board offered their opinion.
Everyone deliberated carefully. Fighting at sea was not easy, and the sky was already darkening, with the sun about to set. If they rushed into battle now, any mishap could lead to huge losses. It was better to wait until the next day to continue the fight, as the ship's maneuverability would allow them to quickly reach the insect nests.
As night fell, the computer, through the analysis of underwater sonar and electromagnetic wave reflections, revealed the complete structure of the insect lairs.
Everyone was surprised to discover why these two insect lairs could remain stationary at sea instead of being carried away by ocean currents. It turned out to be due to very strong anchoring elements in the sea.
The average depth of the East China Sea is 350 meters. Compared to the four major oceans, this depth is not too great, but for most people, it is a place that would inspire fear. A swimming pool 1.5 meters deep can drown an adult, let alone the East China Sea with an average depth of 350 meters.
For humans to move freely in the East China Sea, they must rely on ships. Yet, the two insect lairs were fixed in the sea, which was truly puzzling. If the lairs were floating, they would surely drift away with the ocean currents. Now, the computer, by analyzing the data from sonar and electromagnetic wave reflections, had finally figured out why the lairs could remain fixed at sea.
These two insect nests were not floating but were anchored to a type of seaweed. This was a mutated seaweed called "Niúwěi Hǎidài" (Cow's Tail Kelp). It was said to be the largest kelp in the world. Before mutation, this kelp could be used as a weapon, capable of beating someone to death.
However, a mutated form of Niúwěi Hǎidài had now appeared in the East China Sea, growing directly from the seabed to the surface. If no other algae were found on this scale, this would likely be the largest algae in the world.
From a biological classification perspective, kelp is not technically a plant but belongs to algae. However, kelp can photosynthesize.
Currently, the two insect nests were fixed to many of these Niúwěi Hǎidài. These insects gathered the mutated Niúwěi Hǎidài and formed them into the shape of nests. At the top of the nests, they used various shipwrecks to piece together the structure. The sea striders lived and laid eggs on the ships or floating objects, while the underwater parts were built by water spiders.
"Now we finally understand the structure of these insect nests. They are built on Niúwěi Hǎidài. I was wondering how they could float at sea. At worst, we can just cut these Niúwěi Hǎidài, and then the insect nests will drift away with the kelp," Ke Yiming said with a smile.
"You're dreaming. To cut these kelp, you have to go deep underwater. We don't have any water-element ability users here. Who can go underwater to cut the root of the kelp?" Wang Aoye shook his head.
"I was just stating a desperate choice in an extreme situation. After all, we have sufficient firepower. As long as we bombard these two nests, victory will be ours," Ke Yiming explained seriously. Cutting the Niúwěi Hǎidài to make the insect nests drift away was merely an option in an extreme scenario. Currently, their side possessed absolute firepower superiority, and bombardment was all that was needed; no other actions were necessary.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Indeed, human firepower was abundant. Previously, in the city, firepower advantages could not be fully utilized because it was easy to harm innocent bystanders. But now, everyone was at sea, and countless firepower could directly cover the insect nests without any need to worry about the battle situation.
After formulating their plan, everyone went to sleep, preparing for battle the next day. However, in the dead of night, a soldier on duty suddenly heard a strange sound, "Squeak... squeak..." The sound persisted, attracting the soldier's attention. The soldiers began searching the vicinity to find out what was making the noise.
The soldiers searched the deck carefully but found nothing. As they were puzzled, one soldier shone his flashlight towards the port side of the ship. To his horror, he suddenly discovered that the ship's hull was covered in worms.
These worms looked slimy and covered in mucus, very disgusting, like snails without shells. The worms were densely packed on the ship and were climbing towards the deck.
"Everyone, look below the ship! There are many marine worms climbing onto the deck," a soldier sounded the alarm.
The others also looked down towards the deck. They were shocked by what they saw. These worms, appearing out of nowhere, were crawling up both sides of the ship's hull. The worms' crawling paths were very clear because they left a sticky trail behind them with every movement.
"What should we do now? Should we report to our superiors, or should we sound the alarm immediately?" a soldier asked the captain beside him.
There were two opinions because, although there were many worms, they did not pose a significant threat, and their crawling speed was very slow. If they sounded the alarm directly, people would come to the deck, see that the worms were not a major threat, and it would disturb many people's sleep. However, if they only reported to their superiors, and the superiors blamed them for not sounding the alarm in time, it would be another offense.
"Don't say anything else. Sound the alarm immediately. Even if we get criticized, it's better than making a mistake," the captain ordered quickly.
Upon hearing the order, the soldiers rushed to the duty room and unhesitatingly pressed the alarm, notifying everyone to prepare for battle. The moment the alarm sounded, everyone on the ship was awakened.
During combat at sea, alarms are crucial. Once an alarm is sounded, everyone must return to their posts and prepare for combat.