“Use a Special Ship Exchange Voucher!”
“Successfully used. The item you exchanged will appear in a manner unique to this world.”
“A unique manner, huh…” Chu Qing pondered.
As the exchange voucher disappeared from the panel, the sky changed dramatically. The white clouds turned a strange purple, and the wind speed on the sea surface suddenly increased.
The sailors on deck all looked up, noticing the anomaly in the sky.
“Just as I thought,” Chu Qing secretly admired the smart brain’s thoughtfulness. This way, his secret of possessing intelligence and the Space-Time Mall wouldn’t be exposed.
Deputy Garrison Commander Li He climbed onto the flying bridge, his legs bouncing slightly—a characteristic of an old navy veteran who had endured many storms. This Deputy Garrison Commander came from the Qian Cang Empire navy, had left in anger due to being ostracized in his early years, and after many twists and turns, was finally given important responsibilities in the Taixi Archipelago. Over more than a decade, he became Chu Xiong’s most trusted arm and a family retainer entrusted with his son.
He approached Chu Qing and whispered a few words. Chu Qing then feigned surprise, which turned into joy, and finally settled into calmness.
After a period of conversation, at Chu Qing’s instruction, Li He ran down the flying bridge to give orders, directing the sailors to move the sundries on the deck back into the cabins, then to secure the life rafts, close the watertight doors, and prepare for the storm.
The appearance of every Miracle Storm represented a great opportunity. Most of the Garrison Commanders in the Cangdong Sea region had risen to power by acquiring Miracle Battleships. Their trans-era combat capabilities could completely change the power dynamics of a region.
In Chu Qing’s memory, the old Garrison Commander Chu Xiong had obtained a Dingyuan-class thirty years ago, which allowed him to sweep away other forces and firmly establish himself as the Garrison Commander of the Taixi Archipelago.
In the distance, the storm had already formed. Tornadoes hung down from the clouds, and countless streaks of cyan lightning struck the sea surface wildly, causing dread. Even from more than ten nautical miles away, Chu Qing could clearly perceive the immense energy contained within it.
Looking towards the center of the storm, a sharp glint flashed in Li He’s eyes. The battleships and armored cruisers of the East Sakura Empire’s invading fleet were all Miracle Battleships that were ahead of their time. If their side could also acquire a powerful enough Miracle Battleship, perhaps the Cangdong Allied Forces could regain parity, and he himself could return to the Taixi Archipelago.
“Ahead One! Slow Ahead!”
“Both engines Ahead One!”
The engine telegraph was pulled back from Ahead Three to Ahead One. The enginemen, upon receiving the signal, immediately reduced boiler output. The 2,800-ton Huantai cruiser abruptly slowed down. The signalman pulled the halyards to hoist the “RY” flag signal, informing the Flying Whale high-speed transport ship behind to slow down.
Although the Miracle Storm was powerful, due to some unknown reason, its influence diminished the further one was from its center. At twelve nautical miles away, the two ships only felt the wind and waves cause the hull to sway slightly. Based on past experience, as long as one did not rashly rush into its unknown central area, even thousand-ton small ships would not suffer severe structural damage.
The violent energy was released for about half an hour, then the sky returned to its original state. The strange purple clouds completely disappeared, as if everything that had just happened here was an an illusion.
The central area of the storm, twelve nautical miles away, was now enveloped in sea mist, making it difficult to see clearly. Chu Qing signaled the Flying Whale to proceed at full speed towards the storm’s center.
Li He climbed onto the crow’s nest, snatched the lookout’s binoculars, and stared intently at the area twelve nautical miles away, trying to find clues about the Miracle Battleship. Even though he was nearly fifty, he found it difficult to remain calm at such a moment.
As the distance closed to five nautical miles, the sea mist gradually dissipated, revealing a ship silhouette like a mountain and thick main guns.
Li He pulled out an identification manual from his in my arms and tremblingly flipped through it.
“It’s a Dreadnought-class…” Closing the manual, the middle-aged man excitedly turned to Chu Qing, “Garrison Commander, this model of Miracle Battleship is the first to appear in the waters of the Qian Cang Empire… Heaven has not forsaken us…”
The first time this epoch-making battleship appeared in this world was in distant Britain. Its unique design and performance advantages greatly strengthened the British Empire’s control over the Europe Sea region, thus becoming a synonym for a large number of subsequent battleships, just like on Blue Star.
Chu Qing also feigned surprise and ordered the Huantai and Flying Whale to approach the Dreadnought-class ahead.
As they drew closer, all the sailors remaining on deck cheered. The size of the Miracle Battleship before them declared its power to everyone.
They all came from the Taixi Archipelago, their homeland facing the threat of being lost, and they themselves were displaced. Now, there was an opportunity to drive out the foreign invaders right before their eyes, so how could they not be excited?
Rope ladders were lowered from the Huantai and Flying Whale onto this Dreadnought-class, and sailors quickly climbed up to take control of this steel behemoth.
The crew of the Huantai actually only numbered 300, which was not enough to operate a Dreadnought-class. Fortunately, the Flying Whale high-speed transport ship also served as an academy ship, carrying over 600 cadets from the Taixi Naval Academy.
...........................................
Chu Qing walked into the bridge, touched the metallic-sheened bulkhead, and then looked down at the heavy main gun turrets on the deck below.
The Dreadnought-class, the first unified fire control battleship in Blue Star history to be fully equipped with heavy main guns, and the benchmark for modern battleships. Although Chu Qing had seen its silhouette many times in books, documents, and online, seeing and personally commanding a dreadnought was an ineffably wonderful feeling.
He had just come down from the fire control room on the mainmast. The fire control console inside indicated to Chu Qing that this Dreadnought-class was a post-Jutland version.
When the Miracle Battleship appeared, it was fully loaded with ammunition and fuel, and its condition was brand new, without even a single scratch, as if it had just rolled off the production line.
The helmsman was in position, the Paoshu Zhang began debugging the integral computer and range rate disc in the fire control calculation communication room, and the enginemen had already reached the boiler room, starting to add water and coal, preparing to preheat the boilers. The speed with which they got started was due to two factors: first, the former Taixi Navy had previously obtained a batch of early fire control equipment through special channels and had also operated ships using steam turbines; second, upon boarding the ship, Chu Qing immediately activated the maximum magnification of the resonant amplification field, which greatly accelerated the training speed of the soldiers by interfering with brainwaves through a magnetic field.
According to the current consumption rate, 100 space-time points could sustain the amplification field for a maximum of 20 hours. 10,000 hours of onboard practical training time was not insignificant. The major powers’ navies only sailed for about a hundred days a year, so these 10,000 hours of practical training were enough to bring the crew to a combat-ready level.
Seven hours later, 18 drum-type coal-fired boilers drove four steam turbine units. The purple flag with silver inlay of the Garrison Commander and the blue-based Qian Cang Empire Navy flag with a golden anchor crossed with two swords were raised on the mast.
This slumbering behemoth, which inherited the name of the former Taixi Navy flagship, Taixi, had fully awakened.