Unknown UFO

"Just as I thought!"

Watching the physical refraction caused by the chopper laser around the Sky Pit, Song Xizhu became even more certain of her guess. What they saw was only the surface; the underlying cause was gravitational waves.

Light traveled in straight lines through the air. Unless the medium itself shifted, light could not bend. This was confirmed after they adjusted the laser generator's irradiation area. A "gravitational lens" phenomenon did indeed exist around the Sky Pit. In other words, the surrounding space had been distorted by gravitational waves.

"Send the results to Command Headquarters immediately, and recommend that this ship withdraw from the current sea area!"

As she looked at the survey results, gravity appeared on Song Xizhu's calm face for the first time. Only ignorance bred fearlessness. She sensed extreme danger!

However, at that moment, 815A's electronic detection equipment captured an anomalous response within the Sky Pit. The next second, the rainbow-colored membrane covering its surface began to flow violently.

Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!

The distinctive hum of a magnetic field rose around the Sky Pit. In an instant, the drones near it were struck by a powerful electromagnetic pulse, lost control, and plunged toward the sea.

Dazzling rainbow light flared from the center of the Sky Pit, its energy level continuously rising as it gradually approached the electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear explosion.

"What the hell is happening? Quick! Withdraw!"

The two more distant E-2 AWACS hurriedly flew away. Their small frames could not withstand the devastation of an electromagnetic pulse.

At that moment, every nation watching the giant Sky Pit detected the unusual changes. Without needing any reminder, the captain of 815A immediately ordered the female helmsman beside him, "Hard to port! Full speed out of the current sea area!"

"Yes!"

As an electronic reconnaissance vessel, 815A's armament was barely sufficient for self-defense. At a time like this, retreat was the best option.

The female officer controlled the 6,000-ton warship, swiftly turning it across the sea and heading without looking back toward the Liaoning Carrier Strike Group.

At that moment, the captain of the Carl Vinson could no longer spare attention for 815A rampaging through the defensive zone. As the anomaly within the Sky Pit unfolded, electromagnetic clutter throughout the surrounding waters grew geometrically. Even from a hundred nautical miles away, they were affected, and their radar gradually began to fail.

"Increase radar power immediately!"

The SPY-1A phased-array radar consumed far more power than conventional radar. The simplest and most direct way to deal with this clutter interference was to increase radar power.

"Yes, sir!"

The radar officer swiftly adjusted the radar output. It was still subject to interference, but at least it was usable. Although sustained high-power operation would consume enormous amounts of electricity and severely affect the cruiser's endurance, reduced endurance was insignificant under the current circumstances.

"Wait! What is that?!"

The Ticonderoga-class cruiser captain stared in disbelief at the brightly glowing Sky Pit. The next second, a black line was "pulled" out from within it. Then the line burst apart into countless black dots, and piercing alarms immediately rang from the radar.

"Unknown targets detected. Number... confirmed at 100. No IFF response!"

After appearing, those unknown targets swooped toward the ships on the sea.

Inside the combat information center, the radar officer looked at the densely packed signals marked UN on the radar screen, then turned to the captain in alarm. Those things had appeared too suddenly. They had not prepared at all.

"Range 50!"

"45!"

"They're still closing!"

"Sir! Electromagnetic interference is intensifying! Our communications are jammed!"

The captain's expression changed as he watched the aerial targets continuously approach. In this situation, they could not wait for orders from the Carl Vinson. Their communications channels were severely disrupted by electromagnetic interference, and their radar had also been affected. As the electromagnetic interference signal level continued to rise, they would soon be blind!

"Intercept high-threat targets immediately! Change course and withdraw from the current sea area!" A captain was no fool. He rapidly assessed the situation and issued a string of orders.

"Yes, sir!"

In the intense and complex electromagnetic environment, the fire-control radar struggled to lock onto multiple incoming targets. Fortunately, although the Ticonderoga-class was an aging design from the 1980s, the number of targets had not exceeded its fire-control channel limit.

The vertical launch cells opened. Whoosh! The rocket motors ignited, exhaust venting through the side channels and propelling the missiles out of their launch tubes. After reaching an altitude of one hundred meters, their control surfaces adjusted their course, sending them toward the incoming unknown targets and leaving white trails in the sky.

Standard SM-2 surface-to-air missiles launched one after another. No matter what, judging by the actions of those things, they clearly meant harm. The Carl Vinson had likewise detected the unidentified aircraft, but their signals were unstable and could not be continuously tracked.

As the unknown aerial targets closed in, the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group reacted swiftly. The carrier formation, already at combat readiness, began carrying out area air-defense missions. Escorting destroyers and cruisers continuously launched air-defense missiles at the incoming unknown targets.

Shipborne air-defense missiles had extremely long boost phases, with most—if not all—of their flight occurring under powered propulsion. After accelerating to high speed, the Standard SM-2s flew toward their targets to intercept the incoming unidentified aircraft.

"Not bad. When the USA really went all out, they actually looked pretty capable."

In the heavy electromagnetic interference environment, 815A's superior radar performance gave it a better grasp of the current situation.

However, as Great East's most advanced electronic reconnaissance ship, the navy was responsible only for operating 815A itself. Even the captain had no authority to know about systems such as the shipborne technical reconnaissance system. Technical reconnaissance authority was directly controlled by headquarters. They were surely gathering USA weapons data with all their might already.

Inside the control room, the technician responsible for operating the shipborne radar system frowned. The electromagnetic spectrum had become a complete mess, while the active phased-array radar was running at nearly full capacity to counter the electromagnetic clutter.

"Something's happening! Unknown aerial targets approaching!"

Hearing that, Song Xizhu strode quickly to the radar. Most of the targets were diving toward the Carl Vinson, while a smaller group rushed toward the two E-2s. Then the E-2s' RCS signals vanished. The remaining aircraft changed course and charged toward the carrier's escort ships.

Seeing the E-2 AWACS signals disappear, she frowned. She sat down and operated the equipment. The radar scan data showed no missile RCS signals, which meant the E-2s had been attacked by a method they did not yet understand—and successfully shot down. Their opponent was extremely dangerous!

Ding!

Ding!

The active phased-array radar, two generations ahead of the US Military's, detected three bright points rapidly closing in. Electromagnetic clutter interference followed immediately. Song Xizhu did not panic. She picked up the internal phone and, once connected, spoke in a clear, icy voice:

"Captain, three unknown targets, speed Mach 1, rapidly approaching our ship!"