Doctrinal Crisis

A message came in: the decoy ship had reached the designated area. Su Ming picked up his telescope and saw a small sailing ship of around 300 tons anchored more than twenty kilometers away. Its sailors had already furled the sails and were lowering the boats. Within ten minutes, they had all evacuated.

"They were fast!" Su Ming exclaimed. This was the age of sail, after all. To respond and get into position so quickly, the crew had probably gone without rest since the previous night.

Su Ming brought the White Triangle alongside and had the zombies pull over the towline secured aboard the ship. He tied it to the stern of the White Triangle, then set off towing the decoy ship.

Their speed dropped considerably. Su Ming pushed the steam engine to 80 percent power, but they were still only making 21 knots.

"There's a lot more drag," Su Ming said. "The decoy ship isn't streamlined enough."

"It was designed for a speed of 10 knots and to carry cargo stably in heavy seas." Xiwo updated the model and their current position on the sand table. "This speed is barely enough. Did Xiao Jin tell you the details of the plan?" he asked Su Ming.

"She gave me a written plan," Su Ming replied. "You all worked hard last night."

"I'm old. Xiao Jin wrote the whole thing," Xiwo said. "She's always been an extremely diligent child. You're the only person I've ever met who can keep up with her."

Su Ming was a little struck by that. "That's only because she's just started learning about these things."

The Federation had also dispatched another survey fleet to stand by on the outskirts of the sea monster's territory.

Xiwo coordinated the two sides' efforts and conveyed a request in the