Chapter 177
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Vertical and Horizontal Alliances, San Francisco (11)
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“Welcome aboard, Comrade Tan Guosheng. And Comrade Kurt Lee.”
The two who had arrived on the Tianlangxing were greeted by the captain, a Navy Lieutenant Commander. His name was Wanyi. He was one of the officers who had observed yesterday's test. The courtesy he extended was restrained. It was shallow and opaque, making it hard to discern sincerity.
Lieutenant Commander Wanyi led the way toward the bridge. Winter took in as much of the surroundings as he could with sidelong glances. Who would have thought he'd end up boarding this ship.
“Forgive the mess in the Combat Information Center. The Tianlangxing is under heavy strain right now. It's saddled with far too many missions outside its original role.”
The captain clicked his tongue as he spoke, clearly displeased with his ship's situation.
It was understandable. The deck was cluttered with improvised setups that weren't part of the original equipment. They ignored crew movement, leaving some operators practically wedged between machines.
One crewman's laptop screen connected to a console looked quite unfamiliar to Winter. It ran a different OS from standard PCs. CIA Communications Security Officer Kowalski had mentioned it was developed to minimize hacking risks. Her words had come across as playful self-promotion.
“Is the Lieutenant General not coming?”
When Winter asked, Tan Guosheng nodded.
“Madame is at a separate command post. If the bridges are cut, the landing operation will commence immediately. We need to secure at least the runway before nightfall. That way, she'll have more leverage with the other generals tomorrow. She's probably looking at the same feed we are right now.”
There was no tension in her voice. Was she in no danger?
The screen the mid-level officer mentioned was at the center of the bustling CIC. It was a large display likely salvaged from some freighter. It showed a bird's-eye view from high altitude of part of the fleet. As the image zoomed in, something resembling an airplane came into view. Crude and rough in overall shape.
“Kamikaze drones.”
Tan Guosheng's words carried both anticipation and regret.
“A few months ago, we managed manned test flights, but without the navigation gear for unmanned ops, we couldn't finish them. Dismantling military jets or missiles for parts would be putting the cart before the horse.”
Missiles were guided munitions, the Chinese term for them. The Chinese Navy was desperate to conserve existing gear. If they were stingy with bullets, missiles were even more precious. Especially with the nightmare possibility of facing the U.S. Navy someday. That was what "cart before the horse" meant.
“Impressive. So it actually flies.”
As Tan Guosheng moved to respond to Winter's calm remark, Lieutenant Commander Wanyi interjected indifferently.
“No time for tests. Resources and schedule were tight. If it fails, Admiral Xieru's disappointment will be immense. Soon we'll all see if fortune favors the admiral.”
The captain's final words were loaded with meaning. Winter tilted his head. It hinted at factional power dynamics. Face, fate, and grace—the three goddesses ruling the Chinese. The phrase resurfaced in his mind. In a worldview where apocalypse crushed reason, it rang even truer.
The tight schedule was due to the impending generals' meeting.
Tan Guosheng opened her mouth then silently closed it, looking slightly displeased. She had words but held them back. Background aside, Wanyi outranked her. Contradicting superiors outright undermined discipline.
‘But didn't they say it had a chance of success?’
A conversation with Oliver Talbot while he refined Winter's disguise. The dark-skinned tactical intel analyst viewed Admiral Xieru's project positively. Here's what he actually said:
“It's not just my opinion. Regardless of combat power, the Chinese military's human resources are top-notch. Military service was a bigger ticket to success there than in the U.S. With so many technical specialists in the Navy, it's no surprise they have soldiers majoring in aerodynamics or officers skilled in flight controls. Langley estimates a 50% success rate.”
Langley, Virginia, was CIA headquarters.
“The photos made it look awfully unstable.”
Talbot shrugged and chuckled at Winter's doubt.
“They say shape matters surprisingly little if it just flies. A famous Lockheed Martin engineer put it: with computers controlling attitude via thousands of tiny electrohydraulic tweaks per second to control surfaces, even the Statue of Liberty could do barrel rolls. Of course, getting a 225-ton goddess airborne starts with engine issues.”
Lockheed Martin was a U.S. defense contractor specializing in aircraft. World-class tech. Even jokes from there carried weight. It implied real potential.
“Half a century ago, blacksmiths in China built and flew supersonic fighters. Worth the hype.”
Talbot's "hype" was double-edged. Personal interest, but also CIA hopes. If Admiral Xieru led the meeting, CIA ops would ease.
Results soon.
During final pre-launch checks, Winter turned his gaze elsewhere. Countless small feeds. Collecting nearly all signals, as expected from the Tianlangxing's role.
One caught his eye. Russian propaganda footage. Subtitles claimed ~7 million infected variants eliminated in a post-thaw sweep. Winter hadn't learned 「Russian」 yet, but multilingual captions included English and even Korean.
‘Amateurish, but...’
Likely to rally and arm survivors. Tan Guosheng sighed, following Winter's gaze.
“Envy the Russians. They can still fight for their homeland.”
“Is it real?”
“Who knows. Probably inflated kills. They need U.S. aid too.”
Red-hued inflammatory subtitles stressed Russo-American unity. Allies against Axis then, blood brothers against plague now.
The victories shown were real enough. Tracked vehicles massacred bogged-down variants in mud. Monsters couldn't match human mobility. Sinking with every step.
Twice a year, thaw and freeze turned Russia's plains into horrific mud hells. Called Rasputitsa.
Russia had lured and pinned variants in worst-hit spots all winter. At what cost?
‘Environment where special variants barely emerge.’
Winter judged the thaw brief. Too short for adaptation. Water-adapted horrors like Melville needed constant rivers and seas. Marshes dried in a month max.
Even mud-specialized monsters would underperform normal variants the rest of the year.
Russia survived last year thanks to this. Inflows naturally blocked. Same this time. Winter recalled past apocalypses.
“Look, Lee. Taking off.”
Tan Guosheng redirected Winter's attention.
Loaded with heavy nitrogen fertilizer bombs, drones lifted off one by one. Each wobbled precariously leaving twin rails. But tiny adjustments from horizontal and vertical control surfaces steadied the hulking frames.
Cameras were high-altitude recon drones, pre-existing.
Twelve kamikazes total. Four per bridge.
“If just one hits per target...”
Tan Guosheng finally showed anxiety. Fists clenching and unclenching, slick with sweat.
Winter understood. She'd held it in too long.
He watched silently. Poor weather. Bad timing. Thin fog, gusts. Drones lost balance.
“Ah!”
A lament. One engine quit. Propeller stopped. It arced down sharply...
BOOM! RUMBLE!
Massive blast. The bridge-busting bomb. Expanding shockwave obliterated a block. Half-houses lifted whole. Shredded-but-living variants flailed amid debris. Their jaundiced eyes skyward. Wingless plunge. Final gestures clutching at wind.
Thuds visible even onscreen.
More followed. Enough to reallocate per bridge.
“Please...”
Desperate whisper beside him. Hands clasped tight. Praying to whom?
Short, long time passed.
“Yes! Straight on!”
Tan Guosheng shouted.
First drone reached target, diving vertically. Fog split from wingtips into faint trail. Sudden acceleration like lightning. Flash! Thunderous boom! RUMBLE! Speakers distorted from overload.
Another bomb dropped. Smoke roiled, then flashed violently.
“The bridges? Are they down?”
Lieutenant Commander Wanyi this time. Equally rattled.
Smoke lingered. Fate unclear. Meanwhile, two more bridges blew. Screeching—twisting steel audible afar.
“Captain! Collapse confirmed on Target 1!”
Brief cheers.
“Targets 2 and 3 fully destroyed! Operation a resounding success!”
Head ringing. Winter fought a wince. Bridge a frenzy of noise. Shoved, shaken. Tan Guosheng hugged him heedless of decorum.
Time to play happy. As Kurt Lee, Winter smiled, offering congrats.
“Congratulations. Madame... Admiral Xieru's dream is closer to reality now.”
“Damn right! This is how it's done! End of this rotten life in sight! Hahaha!”
Raw hope unfiltered. Tan Guosheng seemed a stranger. Unfamiliar face, voice. How deep her despair before?
‘Hope changes people this much.’
Fresh realization. Familiar yet alien. Like a common word suddenly strange.
Winter recalled unread messages. Shouts from another world's audience. He rarely heeded their demands. Lately, barely even read on time. Painful watching hopeless pleasure-seekers.
Exhausting just to observe.
One good spark, and they'd transform instantly. Winter, veteran of countless apocalypses and despairs, was certain.
But pre-death reality was stingy with hope. All deferred joy to afterlife? Boy's solitary thought, but he trusted it true.
‘Pointless.’
Eyes closed briefly. Shook off intrusive rumination.
Dead body already. Thoughts without action bred impotence.
“Take care of Madame.”
Eyes open to earnest Tan Guosheng gripping his hand.
“Madame will be China's hope. Beyond one life now. Protect her. I trust only you.”
Winter peered into her eyes.
Entered apocalypse dreaming of raging at human-like things, yet Winter Alliance, all apocalypses so far—always like this.
Central screen changed. Showed landing op progress.
Impressive spearhead phalanx. Trained civilians with long spears up front, armed troops and vehicles inside.
Effective for closed airport, open terrain.
Seeing it, Winter knew Kurt Lee time was short.
‘Tomorrow's the turning point.’
Impulse to return to his story strengthened. Long simmering.
And day changed.
============================ Author's Note ============================
#Vertical and Horizontal Alliances
Wrapping up in 2-3 chapters. Control AI returns then. Tough to write every time it appears. Already dreading.
#Statue of Liberty
The bit about flying the Statue was from a U.S. Popular Science article. Original:
"We could get the Statue of Liberty to do barrel rolls with the onboard computers that achieved aerodynamic capability by executing thousands of tiny electrohydraulic adjustments every second to an airplane's control surface."
#Q&A
Q. Crysis2: @No good recs on Joara? This tops the list. Always fun.
A. Thanks. Will keep it fun.
Q. Erin’s Lewd Poet: @Does Winter feel nothing executing death sentences himself? Doesn't seem his type...
A. Necessary evil, like early novel rusty-knife assassin disposal. Unwelcome, but my limit. Accepts it that way.
Q. Kaif: @Sent 27 manuscript coupons. Candy worthy? Sweet treat for sugary innocence?
A. 27's enough for bulk love-candy, not just one.
Huh, craving now. Loved as kid. Where to buy...?
Q. Iron Mockingbird: @Stretching emphasis no joke. Health first. Daily coffee? Conditioning aids?
A. No coffee pre-this novel. Now occasional cup.
Parkkasu galore instead. Cutting back for health lately, but end of last year, one daily. Sometimes two.