Darkstone Code-Chapter 890 - 888: Negotiating a Big Deal

On the morning of the second day after the cruise ship was discovered, the top Navy officials, including the Ministry of Defense’s Special Envoy, participated in a telephone conference.

The person hosting the telephone conference was surprisingly not an active-duty Navy officer, nor an important figure from the Ministry of Defense, but an ordinary person from society, Lynch.

"...During this incident, our Navy has actually shown some fatal issues, such as our inability to quickly and effectively locate enemies that may have already invaded the Federation’s territorial waters."

Lynch’s speech kept everyone on the phone line silent because he was telling the truth. The cruise ship had been missing for a total of six days, and during that time, the Navy had discovered nothing.

They deployed almost twenty ships of various sizes to look for this cruise ship, but they had no results whatsoever.

If it wasn’t for Lynch’s airplanes discovering the cruise ship first, they might have had to search for even longer.

At this moment, a Navy Major General spoke up, trying to salvage the unfavorable situation for the Navy, "Mr. Lynch, I understand that as one of the victims, you are very angry right now, but that doesn’t mean our Navy did nothing; it just means we didn’t perform as well as you imagined."

"This isn’t really our fault, just like everyone knows to call the police when they encounter trouble, but the police can’t immediately appear beside everyone who needs them, there is a process."

"Even without airplanes, we would have found the cruise ship; it wouldn’t take much longer."

His statement received affirmation from many high-ranking officers; people who haven’t been to sea will never truly understand what the ocean is like.

Many believe that the horizon can actually extend to a very far distance, but in reality, the distance to the horizon over the sea isn’t so far.

Sometimes, the feeling of "not seeing it" gives people a sense that they’ve gone in the wrong direction, causing them to change direction, thinking they should look somewhere else, and ultimately missing the target.

Lynch’s laughter made some Navy generals feel displeased, and someone wanted to propose ending this meaningless telephone conference. However, the Vice Admiral, who was serving his sentence at home, spoke.

"Continue, Lynch. I believe you called for this telephone conference not just to vent your grievances at us."

The Vice Admiral’s words made all the generals listening on the conference call abandon their previous thoughts. Everyone knew that once the Vice Admiral completed his sentence, he would inevitably be the Federation’s new Admiral.

Considering he had the experience and credentials of commanding Federation warships to defeat Gafura’s invincible fleet, he would become the first truly powerful Admiral in the Federation’s history.

His words carried significant weight, at least more than Lynch’s, to these generals and key ministry officials.

"Gentlemen, you understand better than I do the harshness of war; war does not allow us to compromise on time."

"By discovering the enemy earlier, we can prevent our bay cities and ports from suffering military strikes."

"By locking onto the enemy earlier, we can launch a preemptive attack and gain the initiative in war."

"The term ’preemptive’ is crucial in the context of war; the timing of the cruise ship hijacking also illustrates this point. If we had employed airplanes for comprehensive reconnaissance from the start, perhaps I would have returned to Federation soil days ago."

The Vice Admiral acknowledged this viewpoint; he was aware of the entire process of the rescue operation and knew that airplanes indeed played a significant role. "We have already ordered two hundred airplanes, and we will consider integrating them into the new warfare system accordingly."

"I’m not referring to that, General. Of course, it is related to that."

"I’ve heard that during this period, airplanes have been flying back and forth many times. If our planes can take off from more locations, they can undoubtedly serve even greater purposes..."

"Just state your thoughts directly, Mr. Lynch. We are not skilled in playing word games with you capitalists, so let’s be straightforward."

Someone interjected, sounding not young, at least a Navy officer at the Major General level or above.

Lynch chuckled softly a few times, "Alright, to put it simply, my idea is to establish a complete maritime reconnaissance zone over the Atlantic and East Ocean, building more airports and ports to achieve rapid response."

"Perhaps as soon as the Gafura fleet leaves port, we will have the news, and while they remain oblivious to us, we will already be waiting for them halfway."

"The information asymmetry can provide us more opportunities and probability of defeating the enemy. Gentlemen, if our planes were spread throughout the Atlantic, you might have known what happened to that cruise ship a week ago and where it was headed!"

"And some additional supply ports can ensure that our fleet can receive supplies and even repairs at any time, anywhere!"

"Once the war breaks out, we will establish an unparalleled vast advantage!"

Lynch’s words prompted all the Navy generals to ponder. The biggest issue with this rescue operation was not being able to discover the cruise ship.

No one knew where it had gone, and this was the root cause for the rampant piracy of the time.

They had no home base; they just went wherever the conditions were favorable.

Wherever security was tight, they immediately moved to another location to make a living.

As long as they couldn’t be caught or blocked, there was no way to eliminate them.

Simultaneously, this also reflected the outdated war response mechanism. If this cruise ship had been an enemy warship, or even a combat group? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

If they had stayed in the Federation’s waters off the West Coast for such a long time without being discovered, doesn’t it mean that during this entire period, if they wished, they could have bombarded any city on the West Coast at any time?

This would be equivalent to complete defenselessness!

Lynch’s proposal—

to establish a reconnaissance network using airplanes, covering the entire Atlantic and East Ocean, made the Navy’s top brass quite intrigued.

Moreover, through this incident, they realized the value of airplanes, primarily because these things fly incredibly fast—much faster than cruisers, many times over!

Speed is the secret to victory in warfare.

Combined with readily available supply ports, this seems to have potential.

Previously, Lynch had mentioned this idea to the Vice Admiral, but the Vice Admiral hadn’t understood what planes could specifically do, so he didn’t give Lynch any response.

Now he knew a bit, at least that airplanes are remarkably fast; the Navy’s fleet would have made one trip, and the planes would have completed more than ten round trips, meaning the speed is incomparable.

In addition, it is said that planes can drop bombs, which can play a key role in attacking enemy warships; the Vice Admiral was already somewhat tempted.

He thought for a moment and said, "There are still two problems."

"First, we are not sure about the irreplaceability and necessity of airplanes. Although in some respects, they indeed hold value for us, this value is not sufficient to establish a frightening budget specifically for them."

"You must demonstrate their irreplaceability and significant importance; convincing Congress is not an easy task."

"Second, airplanes are a very new thing; exploring their specific uses will take a long time. We cannot invest fully in their development at the initial exploratory stage, requiring a process."

"Technology advances every day; it may not be long before something new replaces them. I’ve heard... the company’s airborne fortress project is close to completion, and we also need to make comparisons."

The airborne fortress is a very secretive project, its core content being the creation of an "airborne battleship."

At least two dual main cannons, the minimum standard in the airborne fortress project, but that is enough to intrigue the Federation Military.

Once this thing flies over the enemy, there is nothing left to restrain it.

The military has always supported this confidential project, and many believe this is the true future; at least before Lynch’s airplanes came into play, they thought so.

This was the first time Lynch had heard of this project name, but he didn’t care, "In a few days, a small-scale armed combat will occur, at which time airplanes will collaborate with Darkstone Security’s ground attack forces."

"By then, you will see the specific roles airplanes can play, which are definitely not as simple as you imagined."

"I don’t know if the airborne fortress is what I’m aware of. If it is, I can only say that’s a mistaken future; airplanes are the real future!"

After the connection ended, everyone recalled the series of events triggered by this unexpected incident.

Meanwhile, Lynch made a phone call to Lime to ask whether his account was doing well.

To his slight surprise, Lime didn’t answer. He then made a call to the exchange, which confirmed that his account had no current issues.

The manager, with a tone of envy but also jealousy, let Lynch know he made another substantial profit. When asked about Lime, the other party said they hadn’t seen him at the exchange in two days.

This situation was quite unusual; financial practitioners in Bupen would typically be at the exchange from morning till evening except on rest days.

Some financial companies even rented the exchange’s floors or rooms, setting up their operations there.

Lime hadn’t shown up for two days; something must have happened to him.

"Do you have any connections with the media here?" Lynch asked after hanging up the phone and returning to the bedroom, where the girl was still resting.

She had been hiding in the ventilation duct for two days, during which she had to deal with personal issues twice, an experience... that was indeed too unique.

So much so that her spirits hadn’t fully recovered yet.

"You can call my broker; she knows what to do."

Before long, the media on the West Coast received news that Lynch was going to hold a personal press conference, with big news to announce!