Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 81



Only Krnovel

Episode 81 – Landing

Let’s announce the beginning of Operation, Myeongnyang.

The people in the operation room calmly packed their belongings and moved to their respective locations in perfect order.

There was not a single person running around or making a fuss.

Amidst the movement of such people, Director Kim Jun-myeong’s words of encouragement succinctly rang out.

– Pay attention to maintaining communication. If there are any employees who are agitated, please be considerate.

– yes.

– yes.

– All right.

– Thank you for your hard work, Director Kim.

It was the moment when I was about to open the camp operation room door to board the ARK with Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon.

CNN News on TV was broadcasting live footage of missiles and rockets falling simultaneously.

The heavy drinking at the scene was conveyed as it was.

The image of Taiwan becoming a sea of ​​fire, including Jinsan, Kaohsiung, Zalutang, and Taipei, was broadcast over the airwaves.

The bombardment was aimed at the entire coast of Taiwan, making it difficult to predict where the landing point would be.

…

When we arrived at the Shinheung Camp dock, Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon and I exchanged our final greetings with Captain Eun-seok Choi. The ship Hoeyoung Lee was scheduled to depart first to the operational coordinates.

The sight of Captain Choi Eun-seok saluting the national flag as he entered the front gate felt quite solemn.

Although I hoped he would look back at least once. Colonel Choi Eun-seok indifferently disappeared into Lee Hoe-young and closed his hatch.

Soon, a tugboat was pushing the Lee Hoi-young out of the dock.

“Lieutenant Colonel Park. “I’ll have one last cigarette.”

“yes. sure. You should smoke it. haha.”

– Seeueueup

– Phew~

“CEO. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Surprisingly, I don’t think about cigarettes in a submarine.”

I took a deep breath of the last drag of my cigarette, pushing it all the way into my lungs.

I boarded the ARK with Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon. Thanks to the POD drive controlled from the bridge, the huge submarine unloaded from the dock under its own power.

I slowly moved forward, cutting through the current. I once again noticed the Shinheung Camp moving away. She went into a huge steel submarine.

– Clap!

The hatch is locked.

ARK began diving. A small tension arose in the silence.

A sonar report followed.

– contact. 5km ahead. Looks like Lee Hoi-young.

– Is it the same? Are you sure?

– I’m sure.

The active sonar signal was displayed on the main monitor. It was blurry, but clearly the shape of a submarine.

There was an awkward silence for a moment as if Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon was uncomfortable.

– It must be the sound of the screw and shaft of the Lee Hoe-young ship.

– Next time, when I’m not sure. Do not specify the object.

– yes. All right.

The deep-sea dive continued. Perhaps because it was an actual dive, there was a tense silence in ARK’s command and control room.

“Captain! We will soon reach the operational coordinates.”

Inside the ARK, everyone was calling me captain.

“What is the location of Lee Hoi-young?”

“yes. “It’s 2km ahead.”

“Please check each ambush location again.”

Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon continued speaking, pointing to the chart on the drafting table.

– Drafting Table: Lighted table for navigation and map mapping –

“The Lee Hoe-young will be ambushed on this ridge, and the ARK will land in the trench here.”

– Trench: Landforms such as sunken ditches, moats, and trenches.

“Hmm… when launching the unmanned torpedo boat, I guess I’ll have to surface a little.”

“yes. That’s right. “The operation plan is such that the ARK will move along with the maneuver of the Lee Hoi-young.”

yet. ROKS Lee Hoe-young and ARK reached the operational coordinates.

“Captain, we have reached the targeted trench. “I will settle down.”

“yes. All right. From then on, no deviation from the plan was reported without being reported. “It is up to the vice-captain to use his/her judgment.”

“yes. All right.”

Vice-captain Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon’s orders were followed by the crew members’ names being recalled.

– Submarine tube. Report depth and bottom conditions.

– Current depth 300m, bottom 850m

– Steering. Dive angle 15 degrees

– Submerge. Steering angle 15 degrees

– Vice Captain. The landing is ready.

– Chakjeo.

– Ham Chakjeo.

As the submarine’s ballast tanks filled with water, the ARK was slowly sinking into the deep sea.

– Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sound and vibration of the steel submarine perched on the bottom of the sea were heard softly.

– Sound detection. Securing Active Sonar.

– Active Sonar Securing ··· Shutdown

– Sound detection. Use only passive sonar.

– Passive sonar only.

Active sonar generates sound waves from a submarine and determines the situation under the sea through reflected sound waves.

It acts like the eyes of a submarine. However, the sound waves sent from submarines increase the chance of being exposed to the enemy.

He said that using only passive sonar means that only incoming sounds are detected.

It was like closing your eyes and using only your ears to understand the surrounding situation in complete darkness.

Considering the fatigue of sonar operators, Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon arranged for the sonar teams in charge of passive sonar to rotate every two hours.

Now was the beginning of the wait. Compared to the sound exploration, other crew members were bored, but it was a time where they could not relax.

It was a moment of leisure, yet quiet pressure, known only to the submarine crew.

Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon also seemed to have found some relaxation.

“Representative, no, Captain.”

“haha. “Please speak comfortably.”

“Should China go over to the Philippines?”

“Well, in the current situation, if the phone call reaches the Philippines. “This will be the next option once China takes effective control of Taiwan.”

“Then what if we occupy Taiwan?”

“I probably won’t be able to stop. “The current restriction of the front to Taiwan may be a salami tactic.”

– Salami tactic: Like eating thinly sliced ​​Italian sausage salami. Tactics to achieve big goals little by little, step by step. Mainly used as a negotiation tactic.

“Last time, you said it wouldn’t be easy in the Philippines because there are many islands…”

“That means that the conditions for opening the war are like that. “If they occupy Taiwan, they will at least try to come down to Luzon Island.”

“ah ···.”

“You wouldn’t have a U.S. military base under your chin. “You never know when it might be taken away again, and it is also the center of the Philippine economy.”

“To just escalate the war like that…”

“If we succeed in the operation. China will negotiate with the United States. “They will pretend to make concessions by giving up the Philippines and completely incorporating Taiwan into their territory.”

“How could the CEO do that…?”

“I just assumed, ‘If I were China and Taiwan was my target,’ and imagined a specific solution.”

“Ah, sometimes the CEO’s imagination matches up so well that it’s scary. “I’m also fortunate.”

While I was chatting with Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon, the head of the agency came into the command and control room. There was something in both hands.

“Captain”

“yes. Please speak.”

“Captain, please tone it down and make it more comfortable.”

“haha. I like this. “I am raising my voice for my mindset, so please adapt.”

“yes ···. Captain. this.”

He opened the lid covering the plate. There were delicious strawberries inside.

“Captain. These are strawberries grown on the ARK. “Taste it.”

“What about the director?”

“As I grew up, I picked on obscure things one by one, so it’s okay.”

“Is there enough to cover the rest of the crew?”

“yes. enough to go around “Anything left over is frozen and stored.”

“haha. Then, let me go too…”

I picked up a red, plump, ripe strawberry and bit into it. It tasted pretty good. He also gave Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon a look as if telling him to try it.

He opened his mouth with an exclamation.

“oh! “It would be nice to put this in ice cream or yogurt.”

“Even though it’s not like that, when I came here, it looked like the chef was preparing ice cream, yogurt, and sherbet.”

“is it so. ha ha ha”

“I was told that in the evening, soup and seasoned soup would be served with bean sprouts grown in our submarine.”

“Wow~ Our ARK is truly a submarine like no other in the world. Growing and eating fruits and vegetables on board… ha ha ha”

In that way, I was able to relieve some of the burden of actual combat. After the chef prepared a generous dinner, I went to sleep.

We had to wait for the Chinese aircraft carrier to approach in the deep sea for as little as two days or as long as a week.

All we had to do was wait for the OSS and US Navy remaining in Sinheung Camp to do well. I had a lot of thoughts, but soon I fell asleep.

…

The boring submarine ambush continued. It was the morning of the third day. I woke up to the light alarm. She finished her shower.

‘Showing in a submarine.’ She felt proud of herself. She headed to the ship’s lounge.

Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon was standing there looking a bit tired. Each crew member seemed to be concentrating on their headphones and monitors.

“Vice Captain, is there still no movement?”

“yes. That’s right. “Maybe it’s because it’s a joint operation, so I’m a little impatient.”

“I guess so. “The situation on the sea is the same, and I have no idea how the war is going.”

“If it was a solo operation, I would have tried to move it little by little. Moreover, the Lee Hoi-young nearby is not moving at all…”

“But I think we’re a little better. “We just have to wait for Captain Choi Eun-seok to make his move.”

“Yes. According to the operational plan, we are to move according to Captain Choi Eun-seok’s judgment… I only trust the legendary Captain Choi. haha.”

It was then.

– Contact reporting. 38km to the northeast, fleet-sized surface activity is detected.

– Please report in more detail.

– Calculate signal strength and propagation delay. 43 degrees NE, an aircraft carrier and at least 9 frigates are expected.

Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-joon and I went to the drafting table. The chart there showed the expected movement route of the Chinese aircraft carrier.

Lieutenant Colonel Park marked the sonar reporting point on the chart. It was on the solid red line drawn as the expected route.

“Captain. “It looks like the deception operation from above was carried out properly.”

“Yes. It’s really a spot right on the expected route. It’s amazing…”

– Sonar report. Lee Hoi-young has surfaced.

– Steering. ARK was also injured due to the depth of the torpedo boat launch.

– Ham injured. Steering angle 10 degrees.

The vibrations and sounds of a submarine being dragged across the bottom of the deep sea were heard.

– That’s it.

A sonar report followed.

– The Lee Hoe-young is advancing in a direction of 41 degrees northeast.

Lieutenant Colonel Park Seo-jun’s orders followed.

– Submarine tube. Current depth and bottom depth report.

– Current depth 800m, bottom 50m

– Secretary of Armed Forces. Unmanned torpedo boat No. 1, launched immediately after preparation.

– Preparing to launch Torpedo Boat No. 1.

With the command to launch the unmanned torpedo boat, a slight shock could be felt on the ARK. The purpose was to fill the moon pool with water for launching torpedo boats.

– Torpedo Boat No. 1 launches.

– Torpedo Boat No. 2 launches.

With a slight vibration, unmanned torpedo boat No. 1 was launched into the water. No. 2 was launched in succession.

ARK was equipped with two unmanned torpedo boats equipped with four heavy torpedoes.

‘Ah, I probably put in about 4 units when I made it…’

I thought to myself. There was a feeling of regret that the operation would have been easier if there had been more unmanned torpedo boats.

but

Now the hunt has begun.

…