Chapter 257: The Missing Waterdrop is Found (Long Chapter for You)_1

Gu Cheng stared at the wreckage of warships scattered all around, feeling as if he were in a dream.

Everything that had just happened was simply too fast!

First, The Waterdrop self-destructed, and the commanders of the Four Great Fleets were about to discuss their future stance towards the Trisolarans.

Then, warships started to explode inexplicably; now, more than ten minutes later, over a thousand warships of the Four Great Fleets had been destroyed.

Yet, up to this point, the source of the explosions had still not been located!

While the debris from the exploded vessels drifted everywhere, it was laughable that the central computers of the warships could not analyze why the explosions occurred!

Gu Cheng felt as though he was a blind man, able to sense the enemy's murderous intent, but his guide dog, the artificial intelligence, insisted it was just a breeze.

"Governor! Governor!" the operations staff called out anxiously.

The situation had wholly surpassed everyone's understanding, as if an invisible hand were squeezing everyone's throats, and all could feel the panic experienced just before death by asphyxiation.

At this moment, the knowledge that the officers and soldiers had built up from childhood came crashing down; they seemed to have entered the realm of the Grim Reaper, unaware of where the hidden Reaper was slowly reaping lives.

All the technology Humanity took pride in, and the so-called "ceiling of the universe" theory, were of no use here.

It was as if this was a no-go zone for technology, where only magic could secure victory in war.

Suddenly, Gu Cheng snapped back to reality as Jiang Yu's repeated warnings echoed in his ears: "It's The Waterdrop, it's The Waterdrop that attacked us!"

Everyone was astonished, wasn't The Waterdrop supposed to have self-destructed?

Gu Cheng felt his back drenched with cold sweat, "Abandon ship! Everyone abandon ship! Get to the lifeboats and escape! Hurry!"

As Gu Cheng screamed as if his heart was being torn apart, everyone became somewhat calmer amidst the chaos.

Five minutes later, just as Gu Cheng had escaped a distance from the Command Ship on a lifeboat, the Command Ship was destroyed.

Gu Cheng pressed his face against the window and saw a tiny spot of light fly out from one side of the warship.

It flashed by like a shooting star, disappearing in less than half a second.

Then, a red dot appeared on another Warship next to the Command Ship, and then next to that one.

Only then did the Command Ship begin to explode, and although there was no sound of the blast in space, the shockwave caused the lifeboat they were on to shake violently.

Gu Cheng looked away, seeing that everyone in the cabin was as pale as ghosts, as if they had seen a ghost.

"Let's go!" Gu Cheng's voice was hoarse as he spoke, but he still hoarsely shouted, "We're not safe until we've escaped this field of debris!"

The remaining warships from the Asia, North America, and Europe Fleets, quite a few had reacted and started their engines, but it was too late.

No sooner had they moved a short distance than they were caught up to by The Waterdrop.

Warships struck by The Waterdrop would continue to glide forward due to inertia, but what followed was the arrival of explosions and death.

It was as if an invisible giant hand were squeezing and bursting Humanity's prided interstellar warships, one by one.

The officers and soldiers on the Solar System State's interstellar warships, however, because they had quickly abandoned ship, survived in significant numbers even though their vessels were destroyed.

This unilateral massacre lasted only thirty-six minutes, and Humanity's almost entire space force was obliterated in an instant.

About thirty warships managed to complete initial acceleration, but soon the debris from the explosions damaged and destroyed them.

Their speed compared to The Waterdrop was like that of a turtle to a hare.

The Waterdrop then took another ten minutes to hunt down one by one the warships that had started to accelerate.

Gu Cheng watched as the last streak of light vanished, confirming that not a single interstellar warship had survived.

With trembling hands, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "It turns out, I am the one who knows nothing!"

...

In Jupiter City, when Jiang Yu saw the video feeds from Ding Yi and others at the front line cut off after the fleets thought The Waterdrop had self-destructed, he immediately said to the communications officer:

"Contact eighty warships with full fuel reserves! Tell them to prepare to set sail immediately!"

Liang Bote hurriedly said, "Wait! We cannot carry out this command!"

Jiang Yu sneered, "The Waterdrop's attacks have been underway since eighty-one minutes ago, if we wait any longer, the moment will have passed."

Liang Bote shook his head dismissively, "The Waterdrop has self-destructed, I'm sorry, but you lost the bet, right now I..."

Jiang Yu took out a gun and pointed it at Liang Bote, "This is an antique, unlike the laser guns you use nowadays, after I shoot you dead, it will also cause damage to the command center."

Liang Bote yelled angrily, "Times have changed! Such despicable threats should not be used in this era! Even if you kill me, I still..."

Slap!

After being shot, Liang Bote looked at Jiang Yu in disbelief. The severe pain then started radiating from his lower abdomen as he collapsed to the ground, howling in agony.

Jiang Yu stated coldly, "I declare that I am now taking command of the Solar System State fleet! Put me through to the captains of those eighty warships!"

Boom~

The command center door was violently opened, and two robust combat robots came in, thoroughly subduing Liang Bote.

Outside the command center, there were two destroyed combat robots and one officer who had been shot in the head—that was the guard of the command center.

At the same time, dozens of robots were moving in unison, taking control of the entire headquarters.

There were already few officers left at the headquarters, who were all watching the live feeds from the front lines. When the news about "The Waterdrop" self-destructing broke, everyone's guard was at its lowest.

Furthermore, Number Three had calmly used the time when Jiang Yu had been under house arrest to register several dozen armed robots under Jiang Yu's command into the headquarters' records.

Even if the intelligent surveillance equipment detected their anomalies, it would identify them as friendly forces carrying out normal operations and would not sound an alarm.

It only took half a minute for Jiang Yu to take control of most of the officers at headquarters.

Then, General Ai Qi, who was in charge of the headquarters, issued a statement expressing allegiance to the Wallfacer and dispatched all J75s, gaining control of the entire naval harbor.

Inside the command center, the communications officer, whose hands were slightly trembling, finally got all eighty warships online.

The faces of the various captains appeared on the screen in small squares.

Jiang Yu ordered, "I command you to leave port immediately, all warships to enter 'Deep Sea Mode,' and to commence acceleration to Battle Speed Four!"

The eighty captains were somewhat confused, with one asking, "Are we going to support the front line?"

"Execute the order!" barked Jiang Yu. "After the acceleration starts, I'll send you your navigation routes and formations!

"If you haven't left port within five minutes, I will order the bases to attack you! Anyone who dares abandon their warship will be shot on sight!"

By now, most of the captains had received the news that all gangways at the naval port had been withdrawn.

The captains thought to themselves, "Has the Wallfacer gone mad?" as they hurriedly ordered their ships to enter "Deep Sea Mode."

Then, Jiang Yu commanded the one hundred twenty warships not under his direct command to refuel immediately, with orders to depart as soon as two-thirds full.

During refueling, they were instructed to take as much supply as possible and to make sure to load a complete set of spare parts.

Jiang Yu surmised that after "The Waterdrop" would have its massacre near the Uranus Orbit, it would immediately rush over to Jupiter to wipe out the remaining interstellar warships.

Not knowing the current speed of "The Waterdrop," it could be that it would take a dozen or so days to reach Jupiter or it could arrive in just a few days.

Following that, Jiang Yu issued a series of orders, gaining full control of the fleet headquarters and then the entire Jupiter City.

Twenty minutes later, eighty warships had broken free from Jupiter's gravity, with five ships forming one squadron, setting off toward sixteen different directions in sixteen different star systems.

Jiang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief, for even if "The Waterdrop" were to arrive now, it would be too late to catch more than one or two squadrons.

As for the one hundred twenty warships that had not yet finished refueling, they might be able to escape, but how many, who could say.

"Report! Third Squadron has lost contact!" a combat staff officer reported with as loud a voice as possible.

Number Three turned pale, "How can 'The Waterdrop' arrive so fast?"

From Jupiter City to the front line, it would take eighty-one minutes for photons! Could "The Waterdrop" have reached the speed of light?

Jiang Yu, frowning, commanded, "Bring up the frontline location and the navigational chart for each squadron."

The screen of the large display changed, showing the orbits of the three major planets, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter, the position of the front-line battlefield, and the location and navigational routes of the sixteen squadrons.

Number Three immediately sensed something wrong, as the location of the Third Squadron was far from the Uranus Orbit battlefield.

On the contrary, the positions of the Eleventh and Twelfth Squadrons were closer to the front line; logically, "The Waterdrop" should have dealt with those two squadrons first after arriving.

Number Three wondered, "Could the Third Fleet have mutinied?"

Jiang Yu, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief, "We've found 'The Waterdrop' Number Two that has been out of our sight all this time!"

He was actually relieved that the hidden enemy had finally revealed itself.

But then, Jiang Yu suddenly had a realization and shouted out orders, "All warships, leave port immediately! Prepare Jupiter City for an impact!"