Red Alert

About half an hour later, the twelve members of Thunder Squad had completely moved beyond the fleet's visual range.

Wang Qiang, leading the way, spotted an inconspicuous black silhouette ahead through his night-vision goggles.

It was a signal tower at sea, used for ocean observation or as an old navigational aid.

Wang Qiang made a hand signal, and the team members quickly closed in around him.

Two members took a deep breath, dove underwater, and swam toward the base of the signal tower.

Deep within the steel framework of the base, covered in barnacles and rust,

they felt out a waterproof alloy case secured by magnetic adhesion.

They unfastened the latches and took out a moderately sized, elongated package wrapped in multiple layers of composite material.

The package was brought back to the surface and swiftly opened under the cover of the other team members.

Inside was a folded inflatable boat made from special materials, specially designed by the research institute for Thunder Squad.

The team moved swiftly, unfolding the inflatable boat across the water and mounting the power unit at its stern.

One team member pressed both hands against the power unit's designated energy-conducting panel, and the chakra within him began to flow steadily.

The patterns on the panel lit up one after another with a faint blue glow. There was no roar of an engine.

Only a low hum sounded. The water behind the inflatable boat began to churn, generating thrust.

This was a chakra-powered boat custom-built for Thunder Squad by the equipment research group.

Its hull was made of radar-absorbing composite materials, and its shape had been specially designed to reduce its radar cross-section.

Its power system directly converted chakra into propulsion, producing extremely low heat and noise signatures.

On the nighttime sea, it was practically invisible.