The East China Sea had become the focal point of contention between the two nations, inextricably linked to the colossal energy reserves it concealed. According to certain data, the petroleum and natural gas reserves in the East China Sea were sufficient to sustain Dragon Country for the next eighty years—a figure that far surpassed even Saudi Arabia, a major oil-producing nation. It was no wonder some likened the East China Sea to a second Persian Gulf, a second Middle East, given its paramount global energy significance.

Based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Great Dragon Country held absolute rights over the natural extended continental shelf east of the Okinawa Trough. However, when Dragon Country successfully developed the East China Sea Well A gas field in '04 and began supplying energy to its mainland coast, Bird Country grew anxious. They raised numerous justifications and excuses, claiming Dragon Country had infringed upon their maritime rights, extending their territorial claims all the way to Jiang Taigong Island, and repeatedly dispatched warships to sail ostentatiously as a show of force.

After several rounds of consultation, the conflict centered on the overlapping areas of their respective territorial claims. The construction of Great Dragon Country's three outermost wells—A, B, and C—had considered myriad issues from the outset, situating them east of the supposed median line of overlap. Yet, Great Dragon Country’s forbearance did not earn gratitude from Bird Country; instead, their hostility accumulated and swelled day by day.

Zhang Er and Li San were ordinary workers at the East China Sea Well C, managed by Chaoyang Energy. During the Chinese New Year period, their duty was to periodically take a work boat out to measure and inspect the area surrounding the gas platform.

It was New Year’s Eve. For Zhang Er and Li San, both hailing from rural villages where the traditional lunar new year was strictly observed, their hearts were heavy. They weren't saints, devoid of any grand ideology about holding the line for the nation or the people; they were simply honest, down-to-earth men.

"Brother San, do you think they’re making dumplings and setting off firecrackers back home right now?"

Li San glanced at his luminous watch. "Yeah, it’s almost midnight. My wife should have the New Year’s Eve dinner ready. My kid should have received the money I mailed home to buy firecrackers. They must be thinking of me right now."

Zhang Er sighed. "I want to go home too. My mother is sixty-three; she wrote that her legs have been hurting lately. When we get back to the platform later, I’ll definitely talk to Xiao Chun and ask her to be lenient and let me call home." Xiao Chun was the young woman on the platform in charge of external communications.

Li San patted Zhang Er, who was steering the work boat. "Alright, brother, let’s not whine for the sake of the money. Didn't the company give us a two thousand yuan New Year bonus? A lot of people who went home envy us."

Zhang Er kept the boat steady as he spoke. "Brother San, I need to discuss something with you. You know I haven't been on the platform long and haven't saved much money. I have leave after the New Year to go home, and I’m worried my mom’s leg might be a real problem, but I genuinely don’t have much cash on me. Could you possibly..."

Li San pondered for a moment, his voice strained. "Brother, it's not that I won't help you, but my own family is struggling. You know my wife is handling all that farmland by herself; by the end of the year, we barely scrape together a little bit. The boy is in school, and his grandparents are sick year-round..."

Zhang Er nodded. "I understand your difficulties, Brother San. If it’s too much trouble, just forget it."

Li San opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. An awkward silence settled between them as they mechanically repeated their daily routine: collecting seawater samples, inspecting the buoys.

The work boat sailed farther and farther from the platform; the most distant sampling point was nearly two nautical miles away. Once they completed this last spot, they knew their work was done, and they could head back to the platform to eat dumplings with everyone else.

"Have one, Brother. Let's take a break before we head back." Li San felt a twinge of guilt for refusing Zhang Er’s request for a loan and pulled out a cigarette, breaking the silence.

They both took a deep drag. Zhang Er said, "Brother San, those devils' planes have been flying over us frequently lately. Do you think something might happen?"

"What could happen? What business is it of theirs? If anything happens, it’ll be their problem. We’re working on our own turf; what right do those sons of bitches have to care?" Li San spat viciously.

"I think our country should station a warship here near Well C. Otherwise, I just can't shake this feeling of unease," Zhang Er recalled the sight of Bird Country’s reconnaissance plane overhead during the day.

Though Li San came from the countryside, he had at least finished high school and habitually read the papers. "Brother, it's not that simple. If we station warships here for protection, those devils will station troops by the exploration well that their Imperial Oil just drilled. Then, the median line we never officially acknowledged becomes a clear, solid line dividing the interests of two nations. We’d take a huge loss then! Occasionally sending patrols to scare them is all we can do. I doubt the little devils would dare actually start a fight."

"You know a lot, Brother San. These principles are too complicated for me to grasp. But from now on, I’ll follow your lead. Teach me sometimes so I have something intelligent to talk about back home."

Li San chuckled. Many people thought working on these advanced offshore platforms was prestigious, as if they held countless secrets. In reality, the work was brutally hard. If it hadn't been for a favored connection whose turn it was to go home on leave, it wouldn't have been their turn to enjoy this "leisure."

"Brother San, look! What is that!" Zhang Er, being younger, had sharper eyes. He spotted a large, dark shape approaching them in the cover of night, moving swiftly.

Li San peered closely and gasped. "Holy hell, it’s a warship! Why are they moving so quietly and not even turning on their lights! It doesn't look like one of ours!"

Zhang Er's vision was excellent, and he vaguely made out the pattern of the Rising Sun Flag. "It's the devils'! Brother San, tell me what to do quickly! They’re heading right for us!"

Li San’s first thought was to immediately turn around and flee! Report the situation to the leadership back at the platform: Bird Country’s warship had snuck into the platform’s operational area, posing a grave threat to its security.

But Li San dismissed the idea just as quickly. Whether they could outrun that massive vessel was one question, but in the village, running away was deeply shameful, something that earned utter contempt. It was like two families fighting; if you couldn't beat the other side, you at least didn't back down. But if the adversary walked onto your heated brick bed and defecated there, and you responded by covering your nose and running into the courtyard to complain about the stench—your reputation in the village for life would be ruined; you’d be branded a coward!

This stretch of sea was now like his own heated brick bed. He had seen the devils sneak in to defecate. Even though this flimsy work boat was nothing in the eyes of a large warship, turning tail to yield space for the devils to soil his ground was an extreme insult to his personal dignity!

"Turn on all the lights on the boat! Radio the platform immediately! Then, we’ll both shout challenges at the devils!"

Zhang Er moved swiftly, flipping on every light on the boat, then connected the radio. "Platform, platform, this is Work Survey Boat Number One. We have spotted a devil warship at the final measurement point. Those sons of bitches powered down their engines and snuck in!"

The platform’s radio was on, but in a frustrating turn of events, the staff assumed nothing would happen as the New Year’s chimes were about to ring, and they had all gone out to eat dumplings with the others!

"Damn their asses, where the hell are you all! I swear I’ll castrate you when I get back!" Zhang Er angrily slammed down the receiver.

What now? Li San anxiously asked himself. The work boat’s lights were blazing; the devils must have seen them by now. Whether to flee or stand their ground for their rights was a difficult choice.

"People opposite! Listen up! This is a working area for Chaoyang Energy of Great Dragon Country! Please withdraw from our platform's operational zone!" the two shouted toward the Bird Country warship.

If there were people on the enemy’s deck, they surely would have heard, but the destroyer, displacing over four thousand tons, offered no response whatsoever. As the distance between the two vessels rapidly shrank, a collision would instantly annihilate the tiny work boat.

Li San suddenly grew calm. He didn't think of Huang Jiguang or Dong Cunrui. He thought only of a man’s dignity—he didn't even make the grand leap to connect it with a nation's dignity. He simply felt the devils were bullying them, smearing filth across his face!

"Brother! You swim back immediately to report the situation! I’ll ram the bastards with this work boat!" Li San declared fiercely to Zhang Er.

Zhang Er was startled but quickly calmed down. "Brother San! You can't go! You have a wife and child at home, and parents to support! What will happen to them if you ram the ship!"

Li San’s hair stood on end; he ground his teeth together. "Damn their mothers! Those little devils look down on us! I can’t bring shame to the Li family! This is our ground! You little devils can’t just show up whenever you please without notice—I’ll rip out their balls!"

"Brother San, I'm in on fighting the devils! I can go home and brag to those other men that I, Zhang Er, am a true man!"

Li San tried to push Zhang Er away. "You go! Don't try to..."

Zhang Er’s eyes darted. "Fine, I'm going." He released the work boat's rudder. Seeing Li San preparing to take the helm, he suddenly lunged, shoving Li San’s legs and throwing him into the sea. "Brother San! You hurry up and go! I'm better at a man's work than you are!"

The devil warship sliced through the waves, pressing closer, its speed utterly undeterred even as the work boat’s lights swept across its deck. Fury burned in Zhang Er’s eyes; the silent, approaching warship felt like a massive black egg squatting on his wife, filling him with rage. He jammed the work boat’s throttle to the maximum, steering directly toward the enemy vessel.

"Fellow countrymen! I, Zhang Er, am no coward! I’m setting off a firework for you all to celebrate the New Year!"

Boom! With a violent explosion, a towering inferno erupted on the water. At this moment, anyone on the platform who couldn't see the scene definitely had their eyes shut.

Li San, having swum only a short distance, turned back toward the blaze, weeping as he yelled, "Damn you, Zhang Er, you fool! I have a child, but you’re the sole heir! Damn you, devils! I curse your eighteenth generation! Brother, I’m sorry, San Ge, I’m sorry! I had money and still refused to lend it to you. I’m not human, damn it..."

Though the conditions at Well C were harsh, the platform was brightly decorated, thick with the festive atmosphere. Those not on duty were gathered, holding bowls of dumplings, preparing to use the Spring Festival Gala’s satellite broadcast to wish the nation a Happy New Year. They all heard the deafening explosion. These workers had never experienced anything like this and didn't know how to react. Just then, the satellite signal switched over, and the platform's camera was pointed directly at the raging fire.

Every word of the New Year’s greeting they had planned vanished. Bowls of dumplings crashed onto the platform. Finally, someone snapped out of the shock. A supervisor on duty commanded everyone to sweep the platform’s large searchlights toward the area. This time, everyone saw it clearly: the glaring, piercing light of the flag of the Qing Tian Bai Ri.

"It’s the devils’ warship! It’s the devils’ warship attacking! The explosion was our work boat!"

Lacking any proper emergency protocol, the men were stunned until Li San swam back. Only then did someone remember to immediately report the situation to the nation. But they failed to realize that the satellite signal from the live broadcast had already sent this scene back to the mainland, onto television screens in thousands of homes.

Li San climbed onto the platform, not even bothering to change his clothes, and immediately attacked the radio operator. "You son of a bitch, if you hadn’t come out to join the fun, would you be alive? Give me back my brother! Give me back my brother! Workers! The devils are here! My brother Zhang Er is a true man; he wasn't afraid to die. So none of us should be cowards! Grab your gear and fight the devils!"

The workers were all enraged. These were also men of mettle. They began scrambling around, grabbing tools and gathering on the platform, standing ready. Then someone remembered the platform still had a large work boat, and they clamored to take it to ram the warship.

"All of you, stop right there!" The platform supervisor appeared. "The nation already knows what’s happening here. Our East China Sea Fleet is arriving immediately. If you go now, you’ll just be throwing your lives away!"

Li San dropped to his knees on the platform with a thud, weeping toward the distant firelight. "Brother, I’ve failed you, Li San. Don’t worry; your mother will be my mother. After the New Year, I’ll take both our mothers to the hospital for her leg. I have money, Brother; I’ll give you whatever you need. Damn it, come back!"

The people of Dragon Country were shaken with rage. The New Year bells had barely faded, and before the New Year’s Eve dinner was even cleared, this terrible news blared from the television: a work boat from East China Sea Well C had been capsized and exploded after being rammed by a stealthy Bird Country warship. One staff member was missing, with a high probability of sacrifice reported.

Communication lines and the internet, already strained to capacity, became jammed again. Appeals from overseas Chinese around the world flooded toward the capital of Dragon Country. Dragon Country’s Red Riders immediately launched attacks on Bird Country's official government websites, plastering the homepage for hours with an image reading: 'Let the Great Blade Chop Down the Heads of the Devils.' Bird Country’s top computer experts fought back for a full day without success and finally had to shut down their servers.

Bird Country had initially thought that since students would be home for the New Year holiday, there would be no student disturbances. But they were wrong. Before dawn, university students who had gone home across the country spontaneously organized themselves. A massive demonstration smashed every Bird Country embassy in China, with angry condemnation banners everywhere: ‘Bird Country, are you truly insane? An ant trying to shake an elephant—you overestimate yourself!’ and ‘Blood debt must be repaid; annihilate Bird Country’s Eighth Fleet!’

On the first day of the New Year, all supermarkets and department stores in Dragon Country automatically removed and destroyed Bird Country’s products. From that day forward, Dragon Country refused all products from Bird Country! The manager of one supermarket stated, "We have incurred huge losses, but for the dignity of our nation and people, this counts for nothing."

The call for war surged higher and higher; the entire nation's hatred for Bird Country reached its zenith. Many Bird Country nationals residing in China were forcibly ejected from hotels and residential areas that very night, and numerous factories wholly owned by Bird Country were compelled to close.

Many military commanders and soldiers wrote letters in their own blood, pleading to be sent into battle: ‘Heads can be thrown, blood can be spilled, but the nation’s dignity cannot be discarded!’ ‘Strike directly at the Eastern Isle, level Mount Fuji!’ ‘As soldiers, we cannot tolerate such blatant provocation from the enemy; our entire battalion requests to fight the enemy!’ ‘When the God of War of Han emerges, the Japanese slaves will all perish!’...

A certain television station later arranged a special interview with Li San. Li San looked over the script prepared by the station and added a few lines himself. Li San was not a hero; my brother Zhang Er was the true hero, a real man, pure...