Long-term salvation

"Commander, do you want to sleep in the captain's room? You've been staying in the bridge for the past two days, checking data. You need a good rest." The captain of the Alicorn blocked Rhode's way to the restaurant, his face filled with meaningful anticipation, and he was obviously happy about this privilege. "The captain's room is very large, and it's very comfortable for an officer's dormitory. It's like a luxury hotel!"

"It's better not to use the term 'luxury hotel' on a warship. It's unlucky."

Rhodes reached out and tapped Nikki Helen's forehead, making her giggle cutely. Then he put his arm around her and walked towards the restaurant.

Sailing silently in the deep sea is indeed a boring thing. When you reach a depth of nearly a thousand meters, everything around you will become empty and boring. Even "same species" will never appear on the route to Point Nemo.

For this reason, when crossing the equator, Rhodes proposed holding a banquet to celebrate, just like the crew of some ships would throw their shoes into the sea when crossing the equator.

"After completing this mission, Commander, would you like to send the Alicorn to the Indian Ocean?"

Helen asked as she and Rhodes walked side by side in the slightly dim corridor. The dull sound of their footsteps on the alloy floor spread through the surrounding pipes and joints, echoing throughout the interior of the Alicorn before finally disappearing into thin air.

Recalling her daily life during this period, Helen spread her hands helplessly:

"There's basically no adversary in the Eastern Pacific that could serve as a training target. Even the US nuclear submarines prefer to conduct confrontations at a more forward location... Do we need to capture a ballistic missile nuclear submarine?"

Nikki's face was filled with eagerness, and from those battle plans that had been deduced and revised many times, Rhode could clearly see her ambition to challenge the United States aircraft carrier battle group alone.

However, the Alicorn does have this capability.

"In this ocean, we only need your will!" Helen placed her hand on her plump chest. The playfulness and shyness on her face had long since disappeared, replaced by the pride and strength of a captain and Aegis leader. "This is the meaning of our existence!"

Seeing Nikki's serious look, Rhode couldn't help but hold her in his arms, kissed her on the forehead a few times, and said with a smile:

"That's a good point, like something out of One Piece. As for what you just said... just don't sink it. We'll need to deal with those countries in the future, so there's no need to go to extremes. Of course, if they show hostile intentions, then just deal with them directly, and deal with them cleanly."

"I understand... Commander!"

After shutting up Nikki with a long kiss, Rhodes reached out and interlocked his fingers with hers, continuing to move forward despite her slight shyness.

Rhodes said as he walked in the shadows cast by the dim lights.

"You should also be careful. If the United States resolutely blocks the Alicorns, their movements will be restricted, which would defeat the purpose of their existence. I will send some more mass-produced Nikkis here soon. They will first learn fighter piloting from Pixy and Mikael, and then become members of this submarine carrier's carrier-based aircraft fleet."

Even the mass-produced Nikki's physical condition and tolerance for harsh environments far surpass those of ordinary humans. While she still can't compare to the concrete blocks of the Ace Combat series in terms of fighter piloting and combat, she can easily surprise the enemy on the ground and even in aerial combat:

In the future, there may be scenes in air combat similar to those in World War I where biplane pilots shoot pistols and rifles, and the same is true for the Rendezook action in Battlefield.

"A fleet on land is also essential," Rhode nodded slightly, his fingers casually tracing the misty metal bulkhead, leaving a trace of a smile. "Honestly, I'm not sure what kind of military technology they'll develop once the governments of the other world learn of the inner world—like Hell Dragons or Hell Beasts. There's no doubt some bastards would do something like that."

"Your ideas... are always so unexpected. Or perhaps it's more reasonable?" Helen smiled. Just by briefly imagining that scenario, she felt a surge of sadness for the future of human pilots. "Perhaps one day, a manned aircraft, piloted by a Nikki, will control several unmanned aircraft... By the way, don't you plan to let the Nikkis pilot AS?"

Nikki, with long blue hair, spread her hands, a look of curiosity on her face:

"Perhaps we can use the Alicorn to launch the AS."

"Of course we can try. But for now, let's go to the party first."

As Rhodes spoke, he stepped into the Alicorn's restaurant. The restaurant, which was rarely used on weekdays, was now brightly lit. The girls placed a small electric grill on the long and wide table and turned the switch to let the scorching heat roast the fresh meat and fish on it into a beautiful brown color.

"You're too late!" Nayako rushed out from the side with her teeth bared. She pounced on Rhodes and stretched out her hand, pulling him towards the long table. "We've already had a round of barbecue and grilled fish. Now we're ready for dessert and canned fruit!"

Abigail, sitting nearby, nodded in agreement. She hadn't eaten much of the barbecue or other dishes, saving her stomach for dessert. Even if it were just some maple syrup pancakes, the girl would be happy. Qianye was busy in the kitchen with several mass-produced Nikkis. The faint sweet aroma had already permeated the restaurant, awakening the deep-seated craving for sweetness in human genes.

"Ah...wait, I remember there should be fresh fruit stored in the cold storage on the Alicorn?"

"Those are for celebrating when we return victorious," New Jersey said, carrying a plate full of barbecue. As a shipgirl, she knew all about these little fun things about sailing. "It's a pity we can't fly carrier-based aircraft now, otherwise we could have ice cream... By the way, can you make ice cream from a jet fighter?"

"Please don't cause trouble for the ground staff, okay?" Rhodes took the plate helplessly. "It's not like there's no ice cream machine in the kitchen."

"This is romance, Commander, romance!"

"Then we can only have a little bit today." Rhode looked at the ship girls, the evil god's offspring, and the Nikkis who were raising their cups, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "The rest of the 'romance' will be on our victorious return—"

A shrill alarm suddenly rang!

+++++++++++

"Is that thing an underwater mountain range? Twenty nautical miles... nineteen nautical miles... getting closer! It's going so fast!"

"How could there be an underwater mountain range approaching at such a speed?! Sound the battle alert!"

"Wait...like, more than one?"

Chapter 365: Monster? Godzilla!

The sea was churning and giant beasts were roaming rampant.

The moment the alarm sounded, the mass-produced Nikkis on the Alicorn quickly returned to their posts, and Rhodes and others did not delay at all. With the help of Abigail, they opened the door and went to the bridge.

At this moment, the bridge was shrouded in dark red lights, and the entire ship quietly entered combat status.

"Report the situation!"

Helen shouted loudly while sitting in the captain's seat, while Rhodes stood beside Nikki with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the two bright spots that were constantly refreshing on the screen in front of him - the spots were getting closer and closer, and even faster and faster!

"Two large unidentified objects are rapidly approaching our position... Comprehensive analysis shows that their length is approximately one-fifth to one-quarter of the Alicorn (495 meters)... Although their paths are not completely straight, judging by their general direction of travel, we are right in their path!"

A mass-produced Nikki shouted loudly, her eyes fixed on the screen, constantly correcting and supplementing the data collected by the sonar.

"The enemy's speed is increasing, but the direction of movement remains unchanged!"

"Since the enemy is so fast... fighting at this depth is disadvantageous to us." After thinking for a few seconds, Helen quickly ordered, "Ascend and evade. Load the torpedo tubes with anti-submarine missiles and thermal torpedoes. Wait for the order to prepare to flood."

After saying that, Helen let out a long breath, turned her head to look at Rhodes, and said:

"Commander, please pilot the fighters in the hangar and prepare to provide air support after the Alicorn surfaces. We will retaliate with torpedoes and depth charges dropped by electromagnetic guns... Commander?"

There was something strange in Rhode's calm expression, as if he had finally confirmed something. After retracting his gaze to the system prompt, he didn't directly answer Nikki's question. Instead, he patted her shoulder, turned his head to look at the three descendants of the evil god, and asked seriously:

"You should feel it, right? That Titan monster called 'Godzilla (from the Legendary Cinematic Universe)'."

"Well, there are many planets with violent planet guardians and natural balancers, but such extremely powerful beings as the one before us... at least extremely powerful for the planet's civilized race, are very rare."

Nyarlathotep spread her hands, a look of helplessness creeping across her lovely face, even her aloof hair drooping. This kind of mentality was rarely seen in the offspring of Nyarlathotep, but the latter quickly adjusted himself, raising his hands upward like a peacock with its tail feathers spread out.

"Be proud, Rhodes! Your planet is a rare super-pit in the Milky Way. The United Empire would run away from it. I already regret marrying you. How are you going to compensate me?"

"Be serious! Don't interrupt me with this little-mentioned matter!" Rhode said angrily. "Helen, don't show any hostility yet. We have no chance of winning in the ocean."

"Yes, Helen understands!"

"...Rod, do you need me to use the [Gate] to transport the submarine to the surface?" Abigail suddenly said, her eyes filled with seriousness.

"That big lizard is not to be trifled with."

"Yeah, even the 'offspring' wouldn't want to be sprayed by that breath... Ah la la, stop looking at us like that, we're not omnipotent." Qianye reached out and stroked the side of his face, a hint of worry between his brows. "I didn't expect to be interrupted by such a being on the way to R'lyeh. Could it be that it was attracted by its prey?"

"It could also be me," Rhode put his hand on his forehead, thinking about the task that just popped up in the system:

[Side Quest: Titan Friendship]

[Mission Description: Maintain friendship with Titans that you can get along with]

Beyond that, there were no further hints. Now think about it—it was you, the system, who lured them here, right?! And "maintaining friendship"... what does it mean to maintain friendship? Feeding nuclear waste to the incoming giant lizard, or going to Aurora Yunnan to bribe its wife, Mothra, in advance?

Furthermore, apart from Godzilla who has been confirmed, who is the remaining one?

"Helen, turn on the armored observation deck and external lights above the central main hull," Rhode said to Nikki, who was looking at him in surprise, after taking a deep breath. "I'll take Abigail there. If that doesn't work, I'll have her teleport us directly to the surface."

Now that the decision had been made, Rhodes didn't delay any longer and quickly carried Abigail to the observation cabin. At this moment, the searchlight beam had already pierced the liquid darkness, condensing into a milky white cone of light outside the porthole, coating the foam and floating objects swept by the water flow with a layer of milky white glow, making them look like twinkling stars.

There was dead silence all around, so quiet that it made one's scalp tingle.

"That's why I don't like coming to the deep sea," Rhodes was getting a little impatient while waiting. He could hear Helen constantly reporting the whereabouts of the two giant beasts on the communication channel... They were getting closer and closer, but occasionally stopped for a short while.

Time passed slowly, and suddenly, Rhodes flashed a ray of light in the darkness ahead, which even the searchlight could not penetrate:

A beautiful and deadly bright blue light.

Accompanied by a large amount of radioactive elements, the light was fleeting in the darkness, but the giant beast vaguely visible in the surging sea water gave people an unparalleled sense of oppression - even though the Alicorn was longer than Godzilla, the former, who was good at killing its own kind, could not compete with the Titan in the deep sea.

"Atomic Breath."

Rhodes frowned. What kind of enemy could make Godzilla use this thing in the ocean?

"The battle is over," Abigail suddenly said. She raised her finger, and the black cat Pickman suddenly transformed into a witch's hat on the girl's head. "The lizard is approaching us. Get ready, Rod."

"Tsk... Got it. Everyone, pay attention and prepare for impact!"

The imagined huge impact did not come. It was more like something was thrown onto the catapult deck of the Alicorn and slowly slid from the side into the deep sea - it was a head, a huge head, the head of a monster that could never appear on Earth - the head of a Kaiju.

Most of the blue polluted blood was purified, leaving only the faintest trace that merged into the water flow and completely disappeared.

[Side Quest: Pacific Rim (Long-term)]

Mission Description: Hunt down monsters that emerge from Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. Hunting is only effective for your own faction. Wait for an opportunity to destroy the Breach.

Rhodes: "...Nayako, I agree with what you said now."

This planet is truly one giant fucking shithole!

Gear boys from Atlas Corporation and Aperture Technologies, hurry up and bring out your big robots!

Throwing these messy thoughts out of his mind, Rhodes turned his gaze forward and stared at the Titan beast whose dorsal fin kept flashing in the liquid darkness.

Finally, Godzilla twisted his body and disappeared into the deep sea.

"…Dr. Serizawa will definitely like the footage captured this time."

After confirming that Godzilla had left, Rhodes breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out and touched Abigail's head, then said to Helen on the communication channel:

"Helen, continue ascending to a depth where you can use the satellite phone."

Chapter 366: Meeting in the South Pacific (3K)

After being interrupted by Godzilla and the monsters, the people inside the Alicorn lost interest in continuing the banquet and had to quickly pick up the scattered food and utensils and return to their respective posts.

Rhodes did the same, but he did not return to the bridge with Helen and the others. Instead, he sat down in the conference room and waited for a reply from the directors of the Cogito Foundation.

About half an hour later, the large screen opposite Rhode slowly lit up, revealing the figures of the other twelve directors. The scenery behind them was even more different, and some were even drowsy in their pajamas.

"So, what are you planning to do by suddenly summoning us?" Irons' face was exhausted, obviously exhausted by recent events. "Don't tell me again that you found something on this planet that could destroy the world."

"Two," Rhodes said concisely, "both of which can destroy human civilization, not the Earth."

Directors: "...Why do you feel this is expected?"

After wiping his hand across his face vigorously, Ains sighed and said helplessly after confirming that he had heard the news correctly:

"Tell me, what do we need to prepare? While the construction of our well-based and road-based nuclear arsenals is progressing smoothly, the development of hypersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles has only just begun, and there's still no clue about the analysis of the vacuum implosion bombs that will serve as their warheads. You'll probably have to wait a few years—for now, we'll have to make do with nuclear warheads. Don't despair."

"Hey, this isn't a matter of disappointment anymore, is it?! You're moving too fast. It's only been half a year... You've been planning this for a long time, Mr. Jonathan Irons."

Rhode complained with a strange look on his face. He thought he was already radical enough, but compared to this guy, it was still a little lacking:

"However, it's best if you proceed with your military expansion as planned. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture. At least, I can handle what's happening right now."

At worst, you can just use the real space implosion bomb to fight those big guys. If you, King Ghidorah, can withstand the Oxygen Destroyer, can you withstand the micro black hole?

In response to Rhodes's gaze, Irons just shrugged and said unhappily:

"I told you to go to Africa a long time ago, but you're still dragging your feet, saying I can definitely solve any problem there. As the next CEO of Atlas, you should come and take a look."

"I'll be there."

After a final suspicious look at Irons, Rhodes turned his gaze to Sawai Soichiro, who was wearing a white shirt and tie, and seemed to have just finished a meeting.

Noticing Rhode's gaze, Director Sawai smiled slightly. He reached out and took out a United Nations badge, waving it around, and said in a slightly complaining tone:

"Well, Rhodes, I'm still working very hard on this 'work,' trying to see if I can recruit a dozen more scientists into the Foundation this year... The UN framework is indeed very suitable for doing things. Look—first, set up a theoretical research group to support a certain resolution, invite selected people in, and promote the knowledge of the outside world and the Foundation. If we can build a consensus, that's great. If not, we can always use a memory eraser."

"...That would be fine. It would be even better if you could become the Secretary-General of the United Nations before the year 2000."

By then, the UN Secretary-General will be spearheading the creation of a warrior society within the UN, right? When will the rebellion begin? No, at this point, it should be said that the Dark Angels are organizing the Heavenly Army and the Order... but that's not quite right either.

Rhode rubbed his temples to calm his racing mind. After taking a sip of the hot coffee New Jersey had sent him, he continued:

"I want you and Director Alan Grant to organize a seminar on paleontology, super-ancient biology, and Titan beasts. I just encountered them a few hours ago—Oh, Dr. Serizawa!"

A new image appeared, that of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, urgently summoned. This Japanese nuclear physicist, recently preparing to transition into paleontology, had joined Miskatonic University's Antarctic expedition and was awaiting departure... Now, he no longer felt the tedium of the long wait.

"Chairman Rhodes! You actually captured Godzilla's appearance?! Where was its last location? Where did it go? Were its radiation levels recorded? And—"

"Stop, stop, stop. Calm down, Doctor," Rhode quickly raised his hand to calm the doctor, whose face already looked rather comical from being squeezed in. "Before heading to Antarctica, you can come take a look at the coordinates I'll send you and recover the monster wreckage here... Actually, what I really want you to go to, what I want the directors to pay attention to, is Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench."

Challenger Deep is the deepest point in the Mariana Trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 11000 meters deep. The pressure at this depth is a thousand times that of sea level! Since the first dive by the "Trieste" in 1960, there have been no manned dives to date. Although exploration of the trench is conducted every few years, it is limited to depth detection and seabed topography surveys.

Upon hearing this, the faces of the directors of the Cogito Foundation turned quite ugly - this is an area that is more difficult to reach than space, and it is also an unknown area that is almost impossible to monitor.