Could it be an enemy attack?

Could it be that Li Dahui not only didn't repent but also wanted to strike first?

Han Yu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly got up, without checking Adviser Wu's injuries, hurriedly supported himself against the cabin wall, walked over, took the phone installed on the cabin wall, and shouted into it: "Who's on duty at the bridge? Report the situation immediately, what's going on?"

"Salted Fish, I'm on duty tonight, I don't know what's happening either!"

"Teacher Xia, quickly contact the command center."

"Okay."

"Chief of Staff, take Adviser Wu to the infirmary for bandaging, I'm heading to the bridge!"

Chief of Staff Wang and Director Yang were also startled by this sudden jolt, neglecting to drink any more. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't as the remaining beer bottles were shattered. They also couldn't accompany Adviser Wu for bandaging, hurriedly running to the bridge with Han Yu.

Ma Jintao and Xiao Yu were also awakened by the violent shaking, joining the crew in running to the deck to see what was going on amidst the ear-piercing alarm.

Teacher Xia was busy using the radio to call the command center.

However, there were too many units calling the logistics support group, and the duty officer couldn't respond. It was evident from the communication that they were also clueless about the situation.

Han Yu decisively took over command, leaned over to glance at the radar display, then picked up the loudspeaker microphone and ordered: "Attention all crew members, this is Han Yu, I order you to return to your respective posts immediately, everyone return to your posts immediately!"

As he spoke, the Chief Officer, Second Officer, and two sailors dashed in.

"Chief Officer, take the helm. Second Officer, immediately lead people to the bow."

"Yes!"

"Chief Engineer, Chief Engineer, this is Han Yu, start the engine immediately!"

"Copy, copy."

"Teacher Xia, contact Big 001 and have them start the engine."

"Okay."

At this moment, another swell hit, lifting the ship three to four meters!

Chief of Staff Wang was caught off guard, almost falling down.

Han Yu didn't have time to look back, he heard the Second Officer on the walkie-talkie saying they had reached the bow, urgently asked: "How many links of the anchor chain? Is it under strain?"

"Anchor chain 6 links, under strain."

"Loosen two links first, prepare to weigh anchor."

"Copy!"

"Chief Engineer, Chief Engineer, report the situation."

"Report to the bridge, engine is being prepared."

"Hurry up."

Teacher Xia turned sideways and said: "Salted Fish, Big 001 is preparing the engine, it can weigh anchor in 5 minutes."

Without hesitation, Han Yu said: "Order Big 001, once the engine is prepared, weigh anchor immediately. This swell is too strange, no one knows if there are people overboard, nor if military and civilian ships have dragged anchors. Order them to prepare for rescue."

"Yes."

"Ma Jintao, Ma Jintao, acknowledge upon receipt."

"Copy, copy, Secretary Han, please speak."

"Report the situation."

"All power boats are intact; one just grazed the training ship. We are checking the damage."

"No one knows if there will be more swells, loosen the mooring lines first."

"Yes!"

"Wait, think of a way to see if you can get on the power boat."

"Should be able to, the swells aren't large at the moment."

"Then hurry up, and be safe."

...

The crew members all moved to their positions, and the civilian soldiers of the air defense group took their positions at the guns.

Ma Jintao, Xiao Yu, and Chen Jian, among others, risked the hazard of falling into the sea at night to climb onto the power boats, with help from the deck crew to untie the mooring lines, start the engines, turn on the searchlights on the power boats, and begin cruising the sea, searching for anyone possibly overboard.

Facing the strong wind and huge waves, heading into the wind and waves is safest.

With the efforts of all crew, the training ship quickly got moving, Han Yu handed over command of the training ship to Teacher Xia, who directed the weighing of the anchor, aiming to sail away from the anchorage as quickly as possible while maintaining distance from any nearby anchored freighters and navy vessels to prevent collisions.

In fact, not only the ship felt the intense shaking, but onshore felt the same.

The command center was instantly in chaos, the duty commander initially thinking it was an enemy attack, but no explosion sounds were heard, nor were casualty reports received, leaving them unsure how to respond. A Major looked up, saying: "Commander, it could be an earthquake or a tsunami."

"Call the local government to find out what's going on."

The duty commander walked to the tent entrance, stared at the sea, adding: "Order the troops stationed on the beach to evacuate immediately, and quickly."

"Yes!"

"Notify the naval fleet and civilian militia reserve forces at sea, commanding them to prepare for an earthquake, tsunami response!"

...

The duty commander issued commands frequently; illumination flares rose one by one, turning the beach into daylight brightness.

By the time the military region commander and fleet commander hurriedly arrived at the command tent, the beach was also bustling. Troops stationed on the beach, guided by inspectors, were racing against time to relocate personnel and equipment.

A helicopter roared overhead, turning on the searchlight under its belly as it flew toward the anchorage at sea.

"What on earth is going on?"

"Report to the Commander, we just clarified the situation. The local government officials say that the earthquake station just detected a major earthquake of no less than magnitude seven towards Taiwan, with an epicenter depth of about eight kilometers."

The duty officer steadied his emotions and continued, "We are very close to Taiwan, so the tremors are strong. To ensure safety, I've ordered the troops stationed on the beachhead to relocate immediately as per the emergency plan."

The Military Region Commander finally breathed a sigh of relief, walked out of the tent, and looked toward Taiwan, saying, "Whenever there's an earthquake, there could be aftershocks, and it might trigger a tsunami. Organize more personnel to go down and command; let the troops stationed on the beachhead retreat faster."

Just as the Military Region Commander finished speaking, the Fleet Commander said gravely, "I'll go and check on the situation with the naval troops."

"Report to the Commander, I just inquired."

"Have the naval troops been affected by the earthquake?"

"The tidal wave triggered by the earthquake is large, lifting many fishing boats seven or eight meters high. As of five minutes ago, twelve fishing boats have lost anchor and are out of control, and four navy soldiers and six civilian soldiers fell overboard. The logistics support group is organizing a rescue."

"Who's in charge of the search and rescue?"

"Captain Fang reports that it's being commanded by Han Yu of the Observation Team."

"Can you contact Salted Fish?"

"Yes."

"Contact immediately."

The commanders waited for about three minutes before the communication officer reported that they had contacted Han Yu.

"Salted Fish, where are you? Report the situation immediately," said the Fleet Commander urgently as he took over the communicator.

The communication officer had just said that it was the Fleet Commander who wanted to inquire about the situation. Han Yu, on the power boat, one hand holding the side of the boat, replied through the communicator, "Report to the Commander, I am at sea on the power boat, organizing the rescue of personnel overboard!"

"Can you see the personnel overboard?"

"I've seen three and just rescued three. The helicopter is here, it has a searchlight. Most of the fishing boats have already weighed anchor and are searching too. The visibility now is better than before."

"Saving lives comes first. We must act quickly, and every second counts!"

"Rest assured, Commander, the surge from the quake is big, but the waves are not too large, and the seawater isn't too cold. As long as the soldiers overboard can hold on, we are confident we can rescue them all."

"Good, it's up to you now." The Fleet Commander breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked, "What about the fishing boats out of control?"

"Report to the Commander, the fishing boats are tied and anchored together, and they're all drifting together. They make a big target! We have locked onto the positions of the twelve uncontrolled fishing boats through radar. Adviser Wu, Chief of Staff Wang, and Director Yang from the Observation Team are commanding the Bin Xun and Linggang Tuo 001 to the rescue."

Han Yu kept his eyes fixed on the sea and added, "Now we're not worried about the fishing boats getting lost or losing contact, mainly concerned about them colliding with other vessels. But rest assured, Commander, I've asked Captain Fang to notify all civilian transport battalions to avoid them."

Specialization is key.

In matters of the sea, one must respect the opinions of the seafarers.

Captain Shen from the Observation Team has also arrived, confirming that it was their four observers undertaking search and rescue at sea, moved to tears.

Rescuing people is like fighting fire.

The Fleet Commander, not wanting to affect Han Yu's rescue operation, ended the call once he was clear on the situation.

Han Yu too had no time to report back to the Commander further, when he heard a crew member on a fishing boat calling out that another crew member had fallen overboard.

"Xiao Yu, 7 o'clock direction, get over there quickly."

"Okay."

"Old Ma, Old Ma, search in the 8 o'clock direction!"

"Received."

"Chen Jian, follow the helicopter!"

Just as Chen Jian pushed on full steam to search along with the helicopter above, twenty-six landing crafts from the Navy Landing Craft Battalion arrived.

These landing crafts had not been anchored at the shore but had surged onto the beach; they arrived relatively late.

Knowing where had been searched and where hadn't, Han Yu immediately took over command, delineating the search area, ordering the twenty-six landing crafts to conduct a grid search with the six power boats from Linghai Reserve Camp and two lifeboats from the training ship in the area where the crew went overboard.

Lives are at stake, and the Military Region Commander and Fleet Commander are very concerned about the safety of the people overboard.

Time ticked by minute by minute until just as both commanders were itching to go out to sea themselves, the communication officer came running to report, "Reporting to the Commander, the six civilian soldiers overboard have all been rescued, with just one navy soldier left."

"Good, instruct Han Yu to continue the search and rescue."

"Yes!"

At 2:21 a.m., after a series of aftershocks, the helicopter searching in the air spotted the soldier overboard, and it was within the search area delineated by Han Yu. A fishing boat from Zhehai was closest, and the ship captain quickly moved over, getting the crew to throw life rings and ropes, successfully rescuing the navy soldier.

Upon receiving the report, the young advisers and officers in the Command Center burst into cheers.

The Military Region Commander nodded in satisfaction, just about to go check on the troops' relocation when a Major came over with a dispatch, saying, "Commander, the epicenter's location has been clarified; it's in Puli Town, Nantou County, Taiwan. From the intelligence we just received, many civilian houses have collapsed with heavy casualties."

Inside the Command Center tent, there is a large sand table.

The Military Region Commander and Fleet Commander quickly walked to the sand table, and the intelligence officer who came along with the Major immediately picked up a small red flag, marking the epicenter's position on the sand table.

"So it's there."

"The Seismological Bureau just sent a telegram; they measured the earthquake at 7.6 magnitude."

"It seems the exercise has to be brought to a halt." The Military Region Commander sighed softly, turning to look at the Fleet Commander.

The Fleet Commander paused for a moment, nodded, and said, "Continuing the exercise in light of humanitarian concerns doesn't seem appropriate."

"First report to the Military Commission."

"Alright."