Chapter Thirteen: The Meeting

Before Chen Jianhong’s words had even finished, the submarine suddenly seemed to be caught by some immense force, plummeting rapidly at a diagonal downward angle. For a moment, everyone inside felt as if they were precipitously falling from a cliff into an abyss.

“Report: hull out of control, propulsion normal, operating system normal, power supply normal…” A continuous stream of urgent reports came from the control room. The lieutenant’s anxious voice was strained and faltering.

“Thermocline cliff?” The thought immediately flashed through everyone’s minds, but they quickly shook their heads in denial.

In the vast ocean, a thermocline cliff is the deadliest enemy for submarines.

A thermocline, also known as a pycnocline or leap layer, is a water layer where parameters such as temperature, salinity, density, and sound velocity change abruptly with depth. It is characterized by sudden or discontinuous shifts in these properties vertically.

Thermoclines play a positive role in underwater communication and submarine concealment. When a thermocline has low intensity, a deep upper boundary, great thickness, and stable persistence, it causes irregular sound reflections, severely reducing the effectiveness of anti-submarine sonar and complicating anti-submarine operations.

In combat, thermoclines are ideal for submarine stealth maneuvers. Submarines actively seek them to conceal themselves while lying in wait. Surface ships, upon detecting thermoclines amid underwater threats, typically withdraw quickly to avoid diminished anti-submarine capabilities and prevent enemy submarines from exploiting the thermocline for surprise attacks.

However, if the thermocline exhibits a negative density gradient—denser water above and lighter water below—a phenomenon called a “seafloor cliff” forms. Here, buoyancy decreases sharply downward.

If a submarine suddenly encounters such a seafloor cliff during underwater navigation, it instantly loses buoyancy and plummets toward the seabed. Most conventional submarines have a maximum safe depth of around 300 meters; if uncontrollably forced below this depth, the immense water pressure will crush the vessel, resulting in catastrophe.

Encountering a seafloor cliff is almost invariably fatal, with countless submarines lost and bones scattered in the deep oceans worldwide due to such encounters.

Twenty years ago, a conventional power submarine from the Republic once encountered a seafloor cliff in the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to the crew’s swift and coordinated response, they escaped the cliff within three minutes—an event that stunned the world and earned the entire crew a first-class collective merit award. The captain, honored with a first-class medal, was rapidly promoted thereafter.

Yet, seafloor cliffs generally occur far from continental shores, in the deep ocean. The submarine’s current position, however, was inside Kyoto Bay. Though reputed for its deep and broad waters, the maximum depth here is about 40 meters, and near the Kyoto port docks, it is less than 20 meters—far too shallow for a seafloor cliff to exist.

What the submarine experienced wasn’t a free fall but rather a sensation akin to being drawn by the enormous suction of a black hole, spiraling obliquely downward.

Chen Jianhong sprang from the crew compartment and stumbled toward the control room. Several crew members peered out the portholes at the rapidly rising water, their faces turning grim.

Given their physical conditioning, they could endure depths far exceeding dozens of meters—even over a thousand meters in deep sea. But the critical issue was that Kyoto was not only one of the largest ports but also the capital of the Jeppen Empire! Countless vessels entered and exited daily. If the submarine malfunctioned here, remaining undetected would be nearly impossible. The presence of a Republic special operations submarine in this area would unmistakably mean a special forces infiltration.

Such a scenario, even if all personnel landed safely, would spell doom for the mission—one that had involved countless pre-operation maneuvers, considerable commitment from headquarters, and extensive persuasion to proceed.

Leidong, tense, unleashed his spiritual awareness to probe every possibility. Although his range and speed were much reduced underwater compared to on land, with great effort, he suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette several hundred meters away.

A monstrous maw, wolf-like and more than ten meters wide, yawned open. A twisting water column, like a dragon, surged rapidly toward the gaping mouth. Within the whirlpool, countless fish, shrimp, crabs, seaweed, and unknown marine creatures, including several white sharks, flailed helplessly like birds caught in a net, struggling but unable to break free from the immense suction and the spinning vortex.

Behind this sea of creatures, the six-bladed propeller of the 098 miniature submarine hummed furiously, darting left and right in a desperate attempt to escape the deadly pull.

“Glutton!” Leidong’s spiritual awareness condensed into a sharp beam that struck forward, accompanied by a sharp curse: “Damn you, glutton!”

As soon as Leidong’s awareness touched the giant mouth, the glutton became alert, sending forth a powerful spiritual sweep.

“Eh?” In an instant, the glutton’s voice rang inside Leidong’s mind. “You little Taoist pests again?”

The giant maw snapped shut abruptly, and the glutton snarled fiercely, “How dare you interrupt my meal! You’re unforgivable!” Then, seemingly recalling something, it added, “I’ll settle this with you later!” The maw’s four stubby legs paddled swiftly, and it vanished without a trace.

The moment the glutton’s mouth closed, the massive water vortex exploded with a “bang,” scattering tens of millions of marine creatures. Freed from their bonds, they staggered dazedly with the dispersing waves before finally regaining their senses and hurriedly fleeing.

At that instant, the miniature submarine suddenly regained freedom, ceasing its descent. Under Chen Jianhong and the lieutenant’s control, it began a slow ascent.

“Whew—” Leidong exhaled deeply, “Damn, that was close to killing me!”

Unbeknownst to him, Chen Jianhong stole a glance back toward the crew compartment, his eyes brimming with profound shock...

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

June 5, 2030, 11 p.m.

Kyoto Sennari International Airport in the Jeppen Empire’s capital was still brightly lit.

This is Kyoto’s largest airport and ranks among the world’s top three. Every day, people of various nations and ethnicities pass through here on their journeys around the globe.

It is a bustling and dazzling district.

The nearby densely packed commercial buildings and entertainment venues teem with crowds, a vivid testament to the area’s prosperity.

Yet among the throng, young women dressed in bizarre fashion discreetly displayed signs offering “compensated dating,” revealing the district’s decadence and chaos.

In front of Terminal 1, a Wuling minivan was parked. A middle-aged man in a black suit was unloading a large suitcase from the vehicle. Behind him followed a woman dressed in traditional Jeppen attire, holding the hand of a lively boy about seven or eight years old.

The woman wore the gentle smile characteristic of traditional Jeppen women, though upon closer inspection, her smile seemed forced. The boy she held skipped about restlessly.

The man silently completed the check-in process, collected two boarding passes, then approached the security checkpoint with the woman and boy. He handed the suitcase to the woman.

“I’m sorry I can’t accompany you on this trip. Truly sorry,” the man said, bowing deeply to the woman.

She bowed in return, maintaining that gentle but strained smile. “Nakayama-kun, is it really impossible...?”

After a moment of silence, the man shook his head sadly. “Keiko, you know the chairman’s scheduled for the day after tomorrow… As for you two, I’ve made arrangements. When you arrive in Hanjing, my friend will meet you at the airport. Remember, his surname is Yin.”

Keiko nodded quietly, still wearing that obedient expression. The man knelt, gently cupping the boy’s smiling face in his hands. “Ninko, remember, always obey your mother, understand?”

The boy puffed up his chest and declared loudly, “I will, Dad. I’ll be good and protect Mom!”

The boy’s innocent voice nearly brought tears to the man’s eyes. Suddenly, he hugged the child tightly. After a long moment, he let go, stood up, and said to the woman, “Alright, go on in.”

Keiko nodded and proceeded through the security gate. Walking along the long corridor toward the departure hall, the boy kept turning back, waving to the man. “Goodbye, Dad—”

“Goodbye, Ninko…” The man mechanically waved his arm, watching as his wife and son gradually disappeared from sight.

Since rescuing her fifteen years ago during that great earthquake, she had loved him wholeheartedly. Even after learning of his notorious status as a gangster, her attitude and affection never wavered. And he, from cautious wariness to genuine love—how complex that emotional journey had been. The adorable son had brought him so much joy since his arrival.

Yet they did not know his true identity, nor did they realize this might be the last time the family would see each other.

He shook his head fiercely, forcing himself to stop thinking. But as he finally turned away, two hot tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

However, as he stepped out of the departure hall, his tears had dried and his gaze hardened. His polished black shoes struck the gleaming floor with a crisp rhythm, his steps resolute.

From a distance, he saw a young man leaning against the hood of his seven-seater Wuling van, smoking.

The man strode forward with purpose, his eyes shining brightly. For he knew that soon, he would witness the most brilliant and glorious moment in his forty-five years of life.