The spell's range covers the entire territory of China? Hand it over to the state.

"Zhenhai", bridge operations room.

To ensure that every ounce of energy was supplied to the power unit and damage control system, all non-essential equipment was shut down. Sweat streamed down the first mate's rough face, dripping onto the chart table and spreading into a deep blue stain.

Lin Weiguo sat at the command post, holding a black pen in his hand, the nib hovering above the letter paper, trembling slightly.

There were only two short lines of text on the paper:

"My dear wife, Xiulan, it's as if I'm seeing you in person as I read this. The password to our bank account is your birthday. There's a secret stash of 20,000 yuan sewn into the lining of the old leather jacket on the top shelf of the wardrobe. I was planning to buy you a new bracelet, but now..."

Old Lin stopped.

He was a rough man who led troops into battle, and he feared two things most in his life: his old commander getting angry and his wife shedding tears.

If he wrote anything sentimental at this point, that woman would probably cry her eyes out. He could even imagine the sky falling down when the woman in the apron received this letter.

"Commander, two minutes left."

The radar officer broke the silence with his voice.

On the screen, the huge dot of light representing "Poseidon" resembled a giant deep-sea monster that devoured everything, ignoring all warnings and aggressively pressing towards the unseen red line.

Twelve nautical miles.

This is not just a number; it is the bottom line, dignity, and the guarantee of a peaceful and secure life for the 1.4 billion people behind us.

Lin Weiguo gritted his teeth, his pen slicing fiercely across the paper, the force penetrating the paper: "That's my funeral money, take it and buy some meat, don't be stingy!"

After writing the last exclamation mark, he slammed his pen on the table.

"Power up the entire ship!"

Lin Weiguo grabbed the microphone: "Brothers, this is Lin Weiguo. Enough with the small talk. I have families to support; I owe you all this in this life. If we're destined to be brothers again in the next, I'll be your horse! We might not be able to get over this hurdle today, are you scared?"

"Don't be afraid!"

The responses coming from the radio were varied; some people's voices cracked, and some were on the verge of tears, but no one uttered the word "fear."

"Good! Let these foreign devils see how tough we Longxia people are!" Lin Weiguo suddenly stood up and reached out to press the red combat alarm button.

Just as my calloused fingers were less than two centimeters from the button.

Ring ring—!

A sudden phone ring rang.

The entire bridge crew froze, dozens of eyes turning to the telephone.

Lin Weiguo froze in mid-air, his brows furrowed deeply. Who would make this call at this moment? If it were a call from someone higher up, urging him to swallow his pride and consider the bigger picture, then he…

He grabbed the receiver and said in a deep voice, "This is Lin Weiguo! This place is about to become a meat grinder. Give me your instructions quickly. If you're going to advise me to retreat, don't even bother! I'm not going to be a coward!"

There was a silence of about a second on the other end of the phone.

Immediately afterwards, a slightly teasing voice rang out: "Oh, you're pretty angry, aren't you? Let me guess, are you busy writing your will? Which part are you on? Are you explaining that you've hidden your secret stash of money in your leather jacket so your wife won't have to be frugal and can buy more meat?"

Lin Weiguo was stunned for a moment, and the taut string in his mind almost snapped.

Back in recruit training, it was the owner of this voice who kicked him in the butt and forced him to run an extra five kilometers of cross-country running; later, when he became a regimental commander, it was the same owner of this voice who pointed at him and scolded him for being "too kind to command troops."

"Old...Old Sergeant?" Lin Weiguo's death-defying spirit had dissipated by half, but his anxiety was even greater. "Commander! Long Yi! This is no time for jokes! The Eagle Federation fleet is practically right in front of me! Those bastards have activated their magical shields, so conventional artillery is useless. I only have this one life, plus this ship, and I wouldn't lose out even if I traded one of their research vessels!"

"What a loss! A huge loss!"

Long Yi's resolute voice came through the receiver: "If I were you, I'd tear up the suicide note, save a piece of paper, and use it to wipe my sweat. I'd also cancel your crash command while I was at it."

"Withdraw?" Lin Weiguo asked anxiously. "Commander, we can't back down! The whole world is watching! If we retreat now, how can we hold our heads high at sea? Once our backbone is bent, it'll be hard to straighten it again!"

"Who told you to cancel?"

Long Yi chuckled lightly: "Someone is about to make a move."

Lin Weiguo was taken aback: "Someone made a move? Who?"

"Who else could it be? That god-like figure you watched the live stream with, the 'national hero' you've been chanting in your heart eight hundred times." Long paused, his tone becoming meaningful, "Comrade Su Yun said that your current task is not to be cannon fodder, but... to put on a good show."

"acting?"

"Yes, lure them in deep, make them think we're scared, that we're paper tigers. Then, once they step in..."

The person on the other end of the phone didn't continue speaking, only letting out a nonchalant "hehe".

But that one laugh made the hairs on Lin Weiguo's body stand on end.

Having served as Long Yi's bodyguard for so many years, he knew his old commander all too well. This kind of laughter usually only appeared before some unlucky fellow was about to suffer a major misfortune, one that would even cost him his underwear.

"Understood?"

"Understand... my ass!" Lin Weiguo was still putting on a brave face, but his hand had already left the red button. Looking at the massive ship looming over them like a mountain outside the window, his mind was in turmoil. "Commander, are you sure that's a real deity? If we mess this up and let those foreign devils swagger in and out, I'll truly be a sinner for all time!"

"Don't worry." Long Yi's voice turned serious. "Just follow the plan—from now on, don't think of yourself as a commander. Just think of yourself as an old man faking a car accident on the street, understand?"

Touch porcelain?

A dignified naval commander, trying to stage an accident?

"Okay... execute the order!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Weiguo stood there, panting heavily for several moments.

The sense of certain death he felt was completely dispelled by this phone call, replaced by an absurd sense of loss. He looked down at the suicide note on the table, each word written in blood, and the more he read it, the more his teeth ached.

"Commander... what do we do?" the first mate asked, leaning closer. "Should we still ram it?"

Lin Weiguo grabbed the suicide note, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his pocket, saying irritably, "What the hell are you talking about! Are you hoping I die so you can inherit my Alipay account?"

First Mate: "Huh?"

Is this something you, old man, would say?

"All ships, listen to my command!" Lin Weiguo straightened his uniform, adjusted his hat, and the expression of someone ready to die for their country disappeared from his face, smoothly transforming into the cunning and roguishness unique to veteran soldiers.

"All clear of collision!"

"Shut down all fire control radars!"

"Everyone, drink your tea if you're feeling tea, and eat your melon seeds if you're feeling melon seeds. Also..."

He pointed to his nail guards: "Bring me a chair, preferably a grand master's chair, or at least a comfortable armchair. Put it in the most conspicuous spot on the foredeck! And brew me a pot of fine tea!"

"Commander, what... what are you trying to do?"

"What are you doing?" Lin Weiguo walked to the command console, picked up the broadcast microphone, and this time he turned on the full-band public address system, the kind that even the US across the street could hear.

He cleared his throat and said:

"A staged accident!"

……

Sixteen nautical miles away, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "Poseidon".

General George was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand.

"How long until we can contact each other again?"

"General, we are expected to be within impact range in six minutes." The adjutant glanced at the data. "The enemy has not made any evasive maneuvers, the course is locked, and the fire control radar seems to be... shut down? It seems they really intend to use thousands of tons of scrap metal to test the hardness of our 'Shield of Athena'."

"Commendable courage, but utterly foolish." George took a sip of his drink. "And what about Dragonxia Kingdom? Still no word?"

"No energy fluctuations were detected."

"Hmph, I knew it." The apprehension in George's eyes faded, replaced by a cold laugh. "In the high seas, where the rules are blurred, their reach can't extend that far. Besides, this is the great Eagle Federation fleet. Prepare the champagne; we're about to send those poor Eastern sailors to meet their maker in an accidental collision. It's going to be a—"

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!

Just then, the noisy public address system broadcast interrupted the sound system in the command room.

A loud voice, thick with a regional accent, rang out:

"Hey, hey, feeding? Sound check, one, two, three... cough cough, you there, can you hear me? Can the person on the other end hear me?"

"Hey... you guys in that big boat over there, listen to my advice. Your boat's huge, with lots of inertia, your brakes probably aren't working well, right? Don't slow down! You hear me? Don't slow down! Floor the gas and come at me!"

George frowned. "Translate! What is he saying?"

The interpreter, with a strange expression, stammered, "He said...we shouldn't slow down."

George: ?

Did he mishear?

Before George could react, the voice on the radio suddenly became louder:

"Come on! Ram it here! Ram it towards the bridge!"

"My old, dilapidated ship was just looking for a reason to be scrapped! It's been in service for thirty years, and the air conditioning still doesn't work, and the authorities have never replaced it. Today, I've run into some lucky charms! With this collision, I can collect my compensation, go home to be with my grandson, and save the country some money on dismantling costs!"

"Hey, you steer, are you any good at aiming? If not, I can turn on your navigation lights! Hurry up, I've already shelled some sunflower seeds, just waiting for you to jerk off!"

At the same time, the image on the big screen changed.

The once menacing "Zhenhai" suddenly slowed down on the sea, even turning in place and crossing its hull, exposing its most vulnerable side to the combined fleet's course without any defense.

Even more outrageous, there was an extra chair on the foredeck.

A figure in a naval uniform was sitting there with his legs crossed, holding a large tea mug in his hand. He was blowing on the hot tea as he drank it, while pointing and gesturing in this direction. His posture was exactly like that of an old man waiting to watch the excitement at the village entrance.

In the command center of the Poseidon, everyone was dumbfounded.

The epic feeling of "two armies facing off, life and death hanging by a thread" shattered instantly. A sense of absurdity, leaving everyone bewildered, spread out.

"What...tactic is this?" the adjutant exclaimed, mouth agape. "An empty city ploy? Or some kind of ancient Eastern curse ritual?"

George was also somewhat surprised and uncertain, and his expression gradually darkened.

He had studied countless military strategies of the Longxia Kingdom, from Sun Tzu's Art of War to guerrilla tactics, and even researched the personality profiles of every Longxia general. In his file, Lin Weiguo was clearly a tough man with a fierce and unyielding character.

But at this moment, what he saw was a complete scoundrel.

If the other party is ready to die, it means they have run out of options and can only fight desperately.

But now, not only is the other party not fighting desperately, but they're even opening the door wide for you to crash into, which means—there's a trap!

"This is impossible..." George stared at the figure leisurely drinking tea on the screen, his brain racing.

A commander prepared to sacrifice himself would never be in this state. The only explanation is that their reinforcements have arrived, or rather... the "thing" that gives them confidence is already in place.

That mysterious Eastern weapon!

"He's trying to lure us into an attack!" George realized suddenly, a cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back. "It's a trap! If we run into it or open fire, it will trigger a counter-attack mechanism at the 'rules' level!"

Think about the fate of the F-22, and think about the instant noodles in the pilot's mouth.

George's hand trembled, and a few drops of red wine spilled.

He was acutely aware of the terror of that power. An absolute forbidden zone for the gods. If it were merely an "accidental intrusion," perhaps diplomatic maneuvering could be used to resolve the issue; but if it were an active "attack," who knew what punishment it would bring?

"Stop! Stop right now!"

George practically roared, his former elegance completely gone.

"All fleet, immediate braking! We absolutely cannot ram them!"

With this order given, the massive combined fleet staged a chaotic and embarrassing emergency stop on the high seas, a spectacle worthy of being recorded in the annals of maritime history.

The enormous, twisting sound of steel, like the groan of a monster, echoed through the sky, and the propellers, which were reversing sharply, churned the seawater like boiling water. Due to the immense inertia, several escort ships that were following too closely nearly collided with their own aircraft carrier, causing their captains to scream in terror.

The fighter planes on the deck slid due to the violent deceleration, colliding with each other with a sharp screeching sound. Coffee, documents, and sailors who hadn't been secured yet tumbled into a chaotic mess.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Zhenhai.

Lin Weiguo stared blankly at the chaotic scene opposite him, then slapped his thigh hard: "Hey! Unbelievable! These foreign devils are like donkeys, they won't move when led, and they'll back down when pushed! The more I let them ram into me, the less they dare to!"

He picked up his teacup, took a satisfying sip of the high-quality tea, and then added insult to injury into the loudspeaker:

"Hey, hey, hey? Why did you stop? Don't stop! Move forward a little more! Just ten meters or so! Are you out of fuel? Or should I throw you a cable and pull you over?"

……

On the Poseidon, George calmed his breathing.

He did not lose his composure in the slightest despite the chaos in the fleet.

However, he knew that a direct confrontation wouldn't work. Behind the opponent's damned "rogue" tactics, there was definitely a deadly trap hidden.

But he couldn't just slink back like that.

"Looks like we need to change our strategy."

Thinking of something, George looked out the window at the media drones circling overhead, and a smile returned to his face.

Three minutes later.

George straightened his disheveled collar, took a deep breath, forced a victim's expression, and turned to face the Western media live broadcast cameras that were already waiting nearby.

"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of the free world, as you have seen..."

George pointed to Lin Weiguo, who was drinking tea in the distance, and said with great sorrow:

"This is the 'professionalism' of the Dragon Xia Kingdom. This is what they call 'the demeanor of a great power'."

"We came with a desire for peace and the pursuit of truth, carrying the hope for the scientific progress of all humankind. But what have they done? They've used such thuggish and unscrupulous behavior to hinder the progress of civilization!"

"Look at that commander! His actions are a disgrace to the honor of the navy! He's provoking us! He's trying to incite war! He's playing with the lives of countless young sailors! But we—the warriors of the Eagle Federation—are rational, restrained, and civilized. We will never fall into this trap of low-level violence, and we will never allow barbarity to taint this blue sea!"

……

George's heart-wrenching performance, combined with carefully chosen camera angles, instantly covered major news channels worldwide via satellite signals.

On one side of the scene is a combined fleet that, though in disarray, still exudes a sense of technology; on the other side are three shabby destroyers and an Eastern commander slumped on the deck, holding a large teacup in an extremely ungraceful posture.

This stark visual contrast, coupled with George's captivating narration, quickly escalated into a media storm.

The comment sections of Twitter, Facebook, and major Western news websites were instantly flooded with comments.

Unaware of the truth, Western audiences were completely misled by this scene. They couldn't understand what tactical maneuvering was; they only saw a "civilized" research vessel being unreasonably blocked by a "barbaric" warship.

[My God, is that really a naval commander? Look at him, his uniform buttons aren't even fastened, sitting on the deck drinking tea? That's so unprofessional! A disgrace to the navy!]

[This is supposed to be the land of etiquette in the East? I think they're more like Somali pirates! Look at that defiant gaze; it's a complete insult to scientists from our civilized world!]

[This is utterly disappointing. Is this the only tactic the Dragon Xia Kingdom can use to hinder the scientific progress of all humankind? This is international waters! The ocean belongs to all of humanity, not anyone's backyard!]

[General George is truly a gentleman! He maintained restraint in the face of such blatant provocation, choosing to brake suddenly and damage his own fleet rather than harm the other side. This is the demeanor befitting a beacon of civilization!]

Meanwhile, in the Longxia Kingdom.

The comments on the live streams on various platforms have completely different styles.

Everyone was on tenterhooks when they saw the standoff at the front, expecting to witness another frustrating "solemn protest." But then the scene shifted, and they saw their Commander Lin sunbathing like a grandpa, even complaining that the other side was taking too long to arrive.

A tingling sensation that ran from the scalp to the heels instantly went viral online.

[Holy crap! Is this really our usually serious Commander Lin? This is such a sudden change in style!]

[Hahaha! This is hilarious! Asking to be hit by a car? And then trying to scam insurance? This is outrageous! I'd call it the 'Deep-Sea Car Accident Scam'!]

[The person upstairs doesn't understand, does they? This is called confidence! Before, we had no choice but to risk our lives. Now? We have someone backing us!]

[Blind student, you've hit the nail on the head! Commander Lin was initially ready to fight to the death, but suddenly he's become so arrogant. What does that mean? It means that big shot has made a move!]

[I imagined a whole drama unfold: A mysterious bigwig called Commander Lin and said, "Old Lin, I heard someone's trying to dig a hole in my yard? They even brought a camera? Fine, you just pull up a chair and watch the show. Let's see who dares to lay a finger on you."]

[Got it! Got it all! Commander Lin is fishing! If the US dares to make a move, we'll probably see the famous scene of an aircraft carrier capsized in the next second!]

[Ugh, I'm so anxious! Why is that George over there such a coward? Charge him! Just charge him! How can our boss even show his face if you don't charge him?]

George: I'm not stupid. I watched the F-22 live. I don't want to eat instant noodles.

Of course, many Longxia netizens who are fluent in foreign languages ​​also bypassed the Great Firewall to access foreign websites. Seeing the hypocritical faces of those Westerners, they transformed into keyboard warriors and engaged in fierce online battles.

[Just keep exaggerating! What kind of scientific expedition? Does your scientific expedition involve an aircraft carrier battle group? Hundreds of missiles? What are you investigating? How do torpedoes kill fish?]

[You call us thugs? You sail your warships to someone else's doorstep and act all high and mighty, and that's considered civilized? We sit on our own doorstep drinking tea, and that's considered barbaric? Isn't your standard of civilization a bit too flexible?]

[To sum it up, if you're so capable, come and have a go! When our big boss makes his move, time will freeze, and you'll be in for a world of hurt!]

……

While the online world is engulfed in conflict, the South China Sea in reality remains a place of only howling sea winds.

Lin Weiguo sat on the deck, seemingly as steady as a rock, but his back was already soaked with cold sweat. A sea breeze blew, and a chill ran up his spine.

In his view, this was a huge gamble.

He was risking the lives of hundreds of men on the ship, and the reputation of the Longxia Navy, to gamble on whether the young man whom the old commander Long Yi called "Su Yun" truly possessed extraordinary abilities.

Seeing that the massive fleet opposite had actually stopped and even started waging a propaganda war, Lin Weiguo finally felt half relieved.

Since they don't dare to take action, it means they're afraid. If they're afraid, then the matter is already half settled.

"Looks like the old commander wasn't lying to me." He took a sip of tea to calm himself down, and looked at the media cameras snapping away at him in the distance, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

"Trying to play dirty tricks? Trying to stand on moral high ground and shit your load?"

"Alright, let's wait and see if you slink away or charge in headfirst."

He picked up the walkie-talkie:

"Pass down the order: maintain the current posture, and no one is allowed to move."

"Since they like taking pictures, let them take as many as they want. Tell the cooks to make the braised pork for lunch extra fragrant, and it would be best if they could bring it up to the deck to eat."

"Let's sit here, eat our meat, and watch how these bandits mess up this show!"

Long Yi's goal was actually very simple: to allow the entire joint fleet to enter the country while preserving their three warships.

After Lin Zhengguo made a show of force, he successfully made George think that as long as they didn't attack or collide, everything would be fine. He thought that the combined fleet would definitely be unable to resist bypassing them and rushing in!