When the sight of the giant gorilla’s image, transmitted back by Super Submarine Number Three, finally reached Liu Hui and the others trailing behind, they were stunned into silence. Yet, Liu Hui recovered quickly, demanding, “Where are the other two submarines positioned?”

The dispatcher immediately reported, “They are both submerged and in position. They are arrayed in a triangular formation ahead of this great ape, ready to strike at any moment.”

After a brief moment of thought, Liu Hui commanded, “I order all three Super Submarines to open fire immediately. Take this gorilla down; do not let it approach within fifty kilometers of our ‘Star City’ sea area.”

The command center instantly relayed Liu Hui’s order. The electromagnetic cannon barrels of the three Super Submarines extended outside their hulls, and the charging sequence began. The massive gorilla and the operators controlling it from behind remained utterly unaware that they had been detected by ‘Star City.’ It continued to swim rapidly toward the location of ‘Star City.’

After the electromagnetic cannons finished their rapid charge, the colossal ape was locked firmly in the sights of the submarines’ spiritual energy fluctuation radar. Following the command from the submarine captains, the three Super Submarines, situated six hundred meters beneath the surface, unleashed their electromagnetic cannons upon the giant gorilla. In a mere ten seconds, the three Super Submarines fired over two hundred rounds at the ape.

The distance between the Super Submarines and the gorilla was incredibly short, and the speed of the electromagnetic rounds was extreme. Consequently, the gorilla was struck without any suspense. Violent explosions erupted around the beast, causing the entire sea area to boil as if it were water on a stove. This intense concussive blast temporarily disabled the spiritual energy fluctuation radar, preventing them from obtaining immediate battle results—they could not tell if the gorilla had been killed.

Liu Hui and the command center crew stared intently at their monitors, but all they saw was a cascade of bubbles rising. Slowly, as the explosions subsided, the area returned to calm. The spiritual energy fluctuation radar gradually regained normal scanning function, and the situation in the ocean reappeared before their eyes.

“Boss,” the giant gorilla reappeared. It seemed undamaged, but it was visibly enraged by what they had just done, one radar operator reported to Liu Hui.

On the massive screen covering the wall, the enormous gorilla materialized again in the sea, looking completely unharmed. However, it had ceased its advance and was now repeatedly beating its chest, clearly displaying intense fury.

Seeing the sheer scale of the gorilla stunned Liu Hui. Such a massive creature could not possibly exist on Earth. His own Xiao Hei, without the genetic engineering support from the Zerg Swarm, could never have grown into a beast over two hundred meters long. So, how did this giant gorilla come into being? Why was its size so immense, allowing it to swim freely five hundred meters below the surface? How did it breathe underwater? And why was its course set directly for ‘Star City’? What was its ultimate objective? But clearly, none of these questions could be answered.

When Liu Hui witnessed the gorilla emerging unscathed after absorbing so many electromagnetic cannon rounds, his confusion deepened. Why was this ape seemingly invulnerable to conventional weaponry? Did other individuals or organizations capable of genetically modifying animals exist in this world? Where did they acquire their technology? And why had they never been discovered before?

While Liu Hui was deep in thought, the three Super Submarines encircling the gorilla initiated a second barrage. This time, they fired continuously at the gorilla for two full minutes, launching over three thousand electromagnetic cannon rounds. Under this massive onslaught, before the gorilla could even mount a counter-attack against the human submarines, it was struck again. The bombardment was relentless; explosions continuously rocked its body, and the resulting shockwaves sent the gorilla tumbling backward, covering a distance of a full kilometer by the time the attack ceased.

However, once the great ape managed to stabilize itself in the water, it sprang back to life with vigor. It unleashed a heaven-shaking roar and then rapidly dove to a depth of 600 meters, charging toward one of the Super Submarines. Yet, the 600-meter depth clearly caused the gorilla some distress, significantly reducing its speed to less than eighty kilometers per hour.

“Boss, we just intercepted a burst of electromagnetic wave data from the gorilla’s vicinity. The supercomputer is currently working on decoding it,” a technician announced.

“Has it realized it’s exposed and is deliberately broadcasting a message?” Liu Hui inquired.

“Boss, that is likely the case. But we won’t know the content until our supercomputer finishes decoding,” the technician replied.

Seeing that their second wave of electromagnetic cannon fire had failed to injure the gorilla, the three Super Submarines were greatly alarmed, baffled as to why their munitions were proving ineffective. They then observed the gorilla descending to the 600-meter depth and heading directly toward them. They prepared to dive deeper, intending to attack the creature from the greater depths below.

Super Submarines could descend to a maximum depth of ten thousand meters, a depth this gorilla could not possibly reach. This inherently meant that only the Super Submarines could attack the gorilla, while the gorilla could not harm them.

Overhearing the conversation from the Super Submarines, Liu Hui suddenly spoke, “…Leave one Super Submarine at the 600-meter depth to engage in a pursuit chase underwater with the gorilla. Our submarine speed is faster than the ape’s; it won’t be able to catch us. I want that submarine to closely observe the gorilla’s physical condition during the chase and figure out precisely why our cannon fire has no effect.”

Liu Hui’s orders were instantly relayed. ‘Super Submarine Number Three’ immediately halted its ascent/descent and began a game of cat and mouse with the gorilla. The other two submarines dove to eight hundred meters to stand by, monitoring the engagement above.

The gorilla, charged with boundless resentment, lunged toward ‘Super Submarine Number Three.’ ‘Super Submarine Number Three’ rapidly retreated, firing electromagnetic cannon rounds one by one while using its spiritual energy fluctuation radar for close-range observation of the beast.

The gorilla paid no heed to the individual electromagnetic cannon strikes; it rushed toward ‘Super Submarine Number Three’ in a rage. Round after round struck the ape without causing any discernible harm. In an instant, the gorilla closed the distance to less than a kilometer. ‘Super Submarine Number Three’ quickly pulled back, re-establishing distance.

Meanwhile, in the command center, the supercomputer was processing the data recently gathered by ‘Super Submarine Number Three’s’ radar regarding the gorilla. Suddenly, a conclusion popped up on the screen.

“Boss, our supercomputer has analyzed the reason the gorilla is immune to our electromagnetic cannon rounds. It is encased in a strong, highly elastic armor that protects its entire body,” the analyst reported.

“So, it’s armor! I thought it was some kind of monster that feared nothing about our electromagnetic cannons,” Liu Hui scoffed coldly.

Fear dissipates when the unknown is explained. Once the root cause was known, it ceased to be a problem. Facing this suddenly appearing behemoth, Liu Hui no longer felt intimidated. He did, however, feel a pang of regret: if Xiao Hei hadn’t entered hibernation, killing this gorilla would have been a matter of minutes once Xiao Hei was deployed. Without Xiao Hei now, he was forced to rely solely on the technological weaponry he had developed over the years.

Even relying only on the technology developed by the Star Group, Liu Hui maintained absolute confidence in his offensive capabilities. He issued the latest command: “Order the three Super Submarines to expend all the munitions they carry on that gorilla. I refuse to believe its armor is indestructible.”

Receiving the new orders, the three Super Submarines fired their electromagnetic cannons at the gorilla without reservation. Though the speed of the cannons was reduced underwater compared to in the air, it was still too fast for the gargantuan ape to evade.

In just three minutes, the gorilla absorbed over four thousand five hundred cannon rounds. All it could do was absorb the impacts, the explosions, and tumble backward repeatedly in the deep sea.

The equipment the gorilla carried had already relayed its predicament back to its controllers. The Professor was now aware of the crisis the gorilla faced. Seeing that relying on the gorilla alone could not breach ‘Star City’s’ defenses, and having assessed the immense firepower of ‘Star City,’ coupled with the gorilla’s inability to harm its adversary and the visible damage appearing on its armor, he realized the mission was doomed to fail. The Professor immediately issued the command for the gorilla to retreat at full speed.

Although protected by armor, the explosive force of the cannon rounds still transmitted painful concussions through the gorilla’s body. It had been pummeled mercilessly by the three Super Submarines but dared not retreat without orders. Now, receiving the retreat signal, it immediately turned tail and fled.

Unfortunately, the gorilla’s top speed underwater was only about one hundred kilometers per hour, slower than the Super Submarines. Thus, as soon as Liu Hui noticed the gorilla attempting to flee, he commanded the three Super Submarines to pursue closely, relentlessly bombarding it with electromagnetic cannon fire. He did not want this powerful, directed, and strangely sourced creature to escape; he still needed answers from it.

The gorilla fled in panic, harried by the sustained fire from the three Super Submarines, but it could never shake them off. The continuous bombardment finally yielded results. A shell struck the gorilla, and its armor was instantly destroyed, completely disintegrating and offering no further protection.

At that precise moment, a new set of electromagnetic signals reached the gorilla. Simultaneously, ‘Star City’s’ supercomputer intercepted this signal, cross-referencing it with the previously captured samples, finally cracking the enemy’s communication encryption.

The supercomputer immediately translated the gorilla’s latest order: “Mission failure. Initiate self-detonation immediately. Perish with the enemy!”

Upon seeing the order sent by the enemy commander, Liu Hui sensed immediate danger. He hastily ordered, “All three Super Submarines, retreat rapidly, but increase the intensity of your attacks on the gorilla during the withdrawal. Strive to sink the gorilla into the deep sea in the shortest possible time to minimize the potential damage to ‘Star City’ from the resulting explosion.”

The three Super Submarines rapidly backed away, increasing the rate of fire from their electromagnetic cannons. Fifteen kilometers from the gorilla, they finally succeeded in completely destroying it. The gorilla ceased all movement and began to sink.

Everyone watched the main screen intently. The gorilla descended, and at a depth of two thousand meters, its body suddenly exploded violently. A brilliant white light flashed, like lightning erupting on the seabed. Then, a terrifying shockwave radiated outward in all directions.

Fortunately, the explosion occurred two kilometers beneath the surface. The immense hydrostatic pressure of the deep sea annihilated the vast majority of the explosive energy, preventing any major natural disaster. The blooming flower of destruction was instantly crushed back to its origin by the overwhelming water pressure.

On ‘Star City,’ Liu Hui watched the aftermath, his face ashen. He demanded, “Was the nature of the explosion detected?”

“Boss, it was merely a blast from extremely powerful C4 explosives, not a nuclear weapon,” a technician reported.

“Damn it, that was too close! Where the hell did that damned gorilla crawl out from? Desheng, you tell me!” Liu Hui snapped, his words becoming slightly disjointed in his anger.

Desheng lowered his head and replied, “Boss, I apologize, we truly do not know where that gorilla came from.”

Liu Hui felt an intense wave of relief. If that gorilla had been carrying a high-yield hydrogen bomb and detonated it directly beneath ‘Star City,’ the station would have been annihilated. This realization explained his overreaction.

However, Liu Hui quickly regained composure. He understood that Desheng was not to blame; even with Xiao Hei’s assistance, he had never conceived that such a massive gorilla could exist in the world.

Looking at the chastened Desheng, Liu Hui said, “Alright, Desheng, I know this isn’t your fault. We will discuss this later. Right now, we need to do two things immediately. First, dispatch the Super Submarines to the area where the gorilla exploded to see if we can recover any of its organs or parts for research.”

“The second thing is to trace the gorilla’s swimming route backward to determine how it arrived here. We must conduct a thorough search of the ocean area within a thousand-kilometer radius. I have a hunch that the person controlling the gorilla is not far from us.”

Liu Hui’s latest orders were passed down. Those watching in the command center also felt lingering fear, realizing that only Liu Hui’s decisive actions had averted a much larger catastrophe. They felt especially fortunate that following the intrusion attempts by the Maoshan Sect Master and the Augustus family sorceress, they had significantly reinforced ‘Star City’s’ security protocols, patching many loopholes, which allowed them to detect the gorilla in time. Had the gorilla managed to board ‘Star City’ stealthily, it would have resulted in a disaster of unimaginable proportions.

Noticing the way everyone looked at him, Liu Hui suddenly laughed. “Why are you looking at me like that? I was just speaking out of anger; don’t take it seriously. In fact, my responsibility is the greatest for failing to detect the gorilla sooner.”

Desheng said emotionally, “Boss, I promise I will work much harder in the future…”

Liu Hui chuckled, “Heh heh, tonight is New Year’s Eve, a joyous occasion. I suppose our enemies know that too, sending such a large ape at the start of the Year of the Monkey to set off fireworks and celebrations for us! Come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve wished everyone a Happy Spring Festival yet. I wish you all a pleasant and peaceful New Year!”

Liu Hui’s jesting managed to lighten the atmosphere in the command center. Just then, new intelligence arrived.

“Boss, our orbital space station has detected dense electromagnetic signal exchanges five hundred kilometers to our east. After inputting these signals into the supercomputer, it discovered that the source of these signals is identical to the one we detected on the gorilla,” the technician reported.

“What did that signal source say?” Liu Hui asked.

“The electromagnetic signals were a conversation. The first party reported the mission failure to the other, and the second party ordered them to immediately abandon ship and destroy all evidence,” the technician explained.

Liu Hui started, “Are you sure of their location?”

“We only confirmed the location of the signal source five hundred kilometers to our east, but we could not fix the location of the other signal source,” the technician replied.

As soon as the technician finished, he displayed the imagery obtained from the orbital space station on the large screen. The space station’s spiritual energy fluctuation radar had locked onto a target. When the technician zoomed in as far as possible, even though it was deep night, the screen revealed the silhouette of an immense cargo ship.

“Boss, I recognize it. That’s the former world’s largest freighter, the ‘Khor-Nefis.’ But I thought it had been retired from active duty ages ago. Why is it here?” Desheng instantly recognized the name of the freighter.