The Poseidon Supercavitating Nuclear Torpedo.
Utilizing supercavitation technology, equipped with a nuclear-powered engine, and ard with a gaton-class nuclear warhead.
With a range of over 10,000 kiloters, a top speed exceeding 200 km/h, and a maximum dive depth of over 1,000 ters.
It could reach any sea on Earth, making it one of the longest-range and fastest torpedoes in human history.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be called a Supercavitating Nuclear Torpedo, but rather by its official designation—a nuclear-powered unmanned subrsible.
Only a race of warriors would be reckless enough to even consider creating such a thing.
This thing wasn’t designed to strike enemy nuclear submarines or aircraft carriers.
It was made to directly attack coastal cities!
Or, in a conventional war, it could simply target an entire enemy fleet. No precision was needed. A single, brilliant detonation beneath them, and it was off to Heaven.
Like the intercontinental ballistic missiles on strategic nuclear submarines, this weapon was part of the nuclear deterrence system.
And now, a gaton-class nuclear torpedo had just vanished into thin air!
All the staff on site were stunned. Chief Engineer Korolev slapped himself hard across the face, then looked again at the empty crane arm. Only then was he sure he wasn’t just hallucinating from too much vodka the night before.
"A Level One... no, a Special-Class incident! Report to the Kremlin imdiately! Search for the nuclear torpedo’s location signal!" Korolev bellowed.
What they had lost wasn’t so ordinary piece of equipnt. It was a nuke!
Any accident could trigger a chain reaction, plunging the entire world into peril!
’Did the crane arm malfunction? Did the nuclear torpedo fall into the water?’
Though he knew the odds were slim, Korolev prayed that this was the case.
’God... please let it have just dropped right here...’
The staff on site imdiately scrambled into action, running frantically.
Dozens of soldiers guarding the dock also received the news and ca running, automatic rifles in hand.
This was an active-duty military unit stationed at the shipyard for security. The major in charge shouted from a distance:
"Mr. Korolev, what’s happened? Why was the alarm sounded?"
Korolev had no ti to deal with him. He was slumped in a chair at the control console for the chanical arm, waiting for the signal report.
After just a few seconds, the signal trace results ca in.
Seeing the blinking dot on the screen, Korolev felt his body go limp. Sweat instantly drenched his back; not even the frigid air of the Arctic Circle could cool him now.
The signal showed that the Poseidon Supercavitating Nuclear Torpedo had already left the docks of the Severodvinsk Shipyard, crossed Dvina Bay, and entered the White Sea.
And it was turning northeast!
Severodvinsk, the city housing the Severodvinsk Shipyard, is located on the northern coast of the Bear Country.
Further north from there was the Arctic Ocean!
And by crossing the Arctic Ocean, it could reach Canada and Eagle Country... No, even if it only hit the nations of Western Europe, the consequences would be unthinkable...
"Mr. Korolev, what in the world happened?" Major Sarlevin, the head of security, asked with a frown.
Korolev’s face was deathly pale. He stamred, "We... we’ve lost a torpedo..."
Sarlevin frowned.
"Just a torpedo? If it fell into the water, as long as it hasn’t left the dock, it’s not a huge problem. Production accidents happen... Aren’t the drydock gates supposed to be closed?"
Korolev took a deep breath, struggling to compose himself, and said slowly,
"The dock gates were open for ten seconds when the fire alarm went off. And... the one we lost is a Poseidon Supercavitating Nuclear Torpedo."
Sarlevin felt as if he were suddenly standing naked in a sixty-below-zero gale in Siberia, without a single drop of vodka to warm him.
"Report to high command imdiately! Lock down the entire shipyard!" Sarlevin yelled, directing his n to secure the area.
This situation was completely beyond his authority to handle. They had to act fast; every second of delay could lead to a catastrophic outco.
"It’s already been reported... already been reported..." Korolev muttered, staring at the empty crane arm.
’Who could have done this?’
’Chechen holdouts?’
’Middle Eastern fundantalists?’
’Ukrainians?’
’Georgian partisans?’
Korolev’s mind raced through a list of potential enemies, but now he found himself praying it was one of them who had taken the nuke.
After all, no matter how unhinged they were, they wouldn’t be able to detonate it right away.
The worst-case scenario was that the torpedo’s internal control program had gone haywire, turning it into a rogue nuclear ti bomb wandering the seas...
Piercing alarms blared throughout the facility. People were running and shouting everywhere. The entire place had descended into chaos...
The situation was so critical that within five minutes of the first report, the Bear Country’s high command made a swift decision: notify the other major powers—especially the nuclear states—that one of their nukes was missing.
After all, this was not the ti for a misunderstanding that could lead to an all-out war.
Everyone understood perfectly what a single nuclear weapon implied.
The Cold War had ended a re thirty years ago, and a new one was already in full swing.
The Bear Country even shared the torpedo’s positioning data directly, allowing the leaders of other nations to clearly track the nuke’s trajectory.
As a supercavitating torpedo, the Poseidon could reach underwater speeds of 240 km/h, far faster than most active naval vessels.
Even if they wanted to intercept it, it was impossible right now!
Everyone could only watch as the nuclear torpedo exited the White Sea, swung around izhen Bay, and entered the Arctic Ocean.
Then, the signal was lost completely. It vanished without a trace.
Apparently, it had descended into the deep sea, below 300 ters, where the tracking signal was shielded.
Everyone was deeply worried, with no idea where the terrifying nuclear torpedo was headed.
However, a few observers noticed that the torpedo’s trajectory seed to be aid... directly at the Amundsen Basin!
anwhile, Shen Feng’s Consciousness Antennae were latched onto the Poseidon torpedo, and he could feel the strain.
’They call this thing Poseidon, too? Western mythology is really a bit lacking...’
In the deep sea, ordinary radio signals cannot be transmitted; only extrely low frequency communication works.
Fortunately, he had already set the torpedo’s target location, so it didn’t matter if the signal was intermittent.
Once he decided to nuke the underwater stone statue ruins, he began searching for a suitable delivery thod.
The communication systems on strategic nuclear submarines are heavily encrypted. Launching a missile typically requires several high-ranking state officials to jointly issue launch codes. Once the order reaches the submarine, the captain and the missile officer must then both turn their keys to initiate the launch.
If any link in this chain failed, the missile could not be launched.
Even with his imnse power in the digital world, hijacking a nuclear submarine and forcing its crew to launch a missile was virtually impossible.
Besides, he didn’t want to do that anyway.
After weighing his options, he had found the perfect tool for the job: the Poseidon Supercavitating Nuclear Torpedo.
The weapon had its own independent, hackable computer control system.
And it was much easier to control when it wasn’t yet loaded onto a nuclear submarine.
So, Shen Feng had seized his chance, remotely activated the torpedo’s engine, and made his escape.
After riding along with his Consciousness Antennae for so ti through the deep sea, the nuclear torpedo finally arrived in the Amundsen Sea, directly above the stone ruins.
Between the ice sheet and the halocline, Shen Feng’s Consciousness Antennae were about to be completely torn apart.
Just as this extension of his consciousness was about to be obliterated, the nuclear torpedo turned and dove straight for the seabed!
At the sa ti, a faint roar, like the chanting of millions, echoed from within the stone ruins on the seafloor:
"...Billions into one... now as one..."
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