Doomsday: I Build a Space Fleet

Chapter 68 Comprehensive Investigation, Military Deterrence

"Commander Lorraine, could you show me the aerial photos you took during your previous reconnaissance?"

Lin Shu knew perfectly well that the area of ​​land cultivated by these people must not be small to sustain so many people's lives to this day.

Even if the highest yield per mu (unit of land area) is used for potatoes, the planting area will be at least 100 mu (unit of land area). With the addition of various supplementary foods, the total cultivated area will not be less than 300 mu (unit of land area).

"Wait a mininute."

"Cleveland, retrieve the video footage from previous reconnaissance missions."

[Transferring...]

Lorraine handed the data panel to Lin Shu, which contained images transmitted back by the drone during the previous reconnaissance mission.

After handing over the data panel, Lorraine stood in front of the cockpit and began to think, then asked Cleveland a question.

"Are there any agricultural machinery factories in this heavy industrial area of ​​Cleveland?"

[Searching for information...]

There is an agricultural machinery factory located three kilometers to the northeast of this industrial zone.

"That shouldn't be the case. If agricultural machinery were used to cultivate farmland, it would be impossible for it to leave no trace."

"No need to look anymore, Commander Lorraine. When you were scouting before, you focused on whether there were any people or zombies inside each factory area. The surrounding environment was almost never seen in the video."

Ms. Lin Shu, who was in a wheelchair, watched the entire video at three times the speed and pointed out why Lorraine and others had not discovered the farmland.

"Okay, Cleveland, Rainbow One drone is ready to take off at an altitude of 500 meters to conduct reconnaissance over the wasteland within two kilometers east of the industrial area."

[Command received. Rainbow-1 UAV has taken off. Flagship is expected to arrive at the target location in 15 minutes.]

"Information is incomplete at the moment. The task of persuading them to surrender and negotiating is assigned to you, Platinum."

After all, Platinum is currently the strongest in terms of both protection and combat capabilities on the ship. With her in charge, at the very least, she can escape unscathed.

"We guarantee the mission will be completed."

Platinum straightened her body and responded crisply.

"Roy and Kheshig will accompany Platinum, responsible for protection and military deterrence; Xuan Tie, Tengu, and Di Ting will stand by on the aft deck, ready to provide support at any time; Cat will find advantageous terrain on its own, but must not cross the negotiation team."

"clear!"

"Bai Zhi, assess the health of these survivors based on the footage transmitted from the scene, and prepare appropriate treatment."

"Leave it to me."

Lorraine turned to look at Lin Shu.

"Ms. Lin, we'll leave the assessment of their planting situation to you."

"No need to be so polite, just leave it to me."

"And what about me?"

Ouyang Nian was getting anxious as Luo Lin didn't assign him any tasks for a long time.

"The machine gun on the aft deck is yours. Target the possible residential areas within the factory grounds. Be careful not to hit friendly forces."

"no problem."

"Cleveland, once the flagship reaches the designated position, launch all drones, with reconnaissance in front and support behind, and prepare for ground attack."

【receive. 】

The task assignment is complete; now we just need to wait for the flagship to reach the designated location.

Ten minutes later.

Lorraine stood in the cockpit and saw the shipyard to the left of the flagship, as well as the figures moving around inside the shipyard.

Although, according to Platinum, the survivors here were originally workers who served the country and were unlikely to become armed mobs.

However, their act of turning around and running away upon seeing the warship made Lorraine feel that they were somewhat guilty.

"Still trying to run? Ouyang Nian, two rounds of bursts from the left machine gun. Cleveland, launch the support drone, carrying ammunition and flying over the field."

"Leave it to me."

[Received, instruction executed.]

Ouyang Nian ran out of the driver's seat, and a short while later, bullets from the heavy machine gun flew low overhead.

The survivors, hearing the whistling of bullets, continued running, only to be forced to stop by a support drone flying low behind them.

Under the pressure of countless drones flying overhead, someone finally walked toward the dock, attempting to negotiate with Lorraine.

"Platinum, be careful not to get hurt. If the negotiations fail, I have other options."

Lorraine gave Platinum instructions as she headed to the dock for negotiations.

"Don't worry, Commander, I will protect myself."

Platinum replied with a smile, "It feels so good to be cared for."

"If all else fails, use Roy as a shield. He's wearing heavy armor now, so he can take a beating."

"Commander, aren't the mechanical dogs' lives important?"

"No, it's because it's convenient for you to fix, and there won't be any bleeding."

"command..."

Platinum interrupted Roy's counterattack in time.

"The playful fighting is over. The landing craft is docked and ready to carry out the mission."

"Yes."

Fully armed, Platinum, escorted by two robotic dogs and two support drones, approached the factory's negotiators.

The cat, under the cover of Platinum, slipped into the shadows.

Bai Jin noticed that the other negotiator was dressed in a blue digital combat uniform, wearing a boonie hat and combat boots. He exuded a strong military bearing.

"Commander, the leader of the other side is a military person, most likely a military representative. I think we should introduce ourselves first to reassure them."

"No problem, feel free to use your skills. If you have any questions, just say so. Cleveland and I will keep an eye on things."

"clear."

As the other person approached, Platinum saluted first. The other person was taken aback for a moment before returning the salute.

"Bai Jin, former captain of the special operations squad of the 136th Brigade of the 98th Group Army."

"Chen Zhigang, former chief engineer of the 159 ship and current military representative of Dalian Shipyard."

"Guo Zhiwei, representative of the workers at Dalian Shipyard."

"Huang Zhihui, Chief Designer of the Ship Design Institute stationed at the Dalian Shipyard."

After the introduction, Platinum keenly sensed that the other party breathed a sigh of relief. The camera on the helmet continued to work, and the communication device uploaded the captured images in real time.

On the flagship, Bai Zhi began to assess the other party's health based on the images transmitted back by Bai Jin.

Cleveland began profiling to provide favorable support for the negotiation work.

Ouyang Nian maneuvered the 30mm machine gun around, searching for the enemy's residential area on the ground.

Ms. Lin Shu assessed the other party's food reserves based on the images transmitted by the drone.

Lorraine was piloting a reconnaissance drone to investigate potential threats at higher elevations.

"Is that a naval vessel behind you?"

Chen Zhigang asked the question that concerned him most, since the ship was not flying any flags.

The drones flying around in the sky were almost all civilian models, and none of them had any markings to indicate their identity.

"No, that's not it."

Platinum shook his head, pondering how to tell them his current identity.

"Just scare them a bit, say something in a frightening way, mainly targeting the worker representative; the other two can be dealt with separately."

Lorraine's voice came through, telling Platinum how to handle the situation.

Bai Jin first looked down to adjust the name tag hanging on his left chest, then looked up and said.

"We can be a temporary military government, a violent government, or even a dictatorial tyrant."

Platinum paused, then emphasized as she continued.

"Your choices will determine our attitude towards you from now on."