Chapter 304 This is a counter-encirclement battle!

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Su Yue forced herself to calm down and, in the fastest and clearest possible way, threw out her complete chain of reasoning in one breath.

"The official report described it as a major maritime storm, but based on meteorological and hydrological data from the coordinates of the missing ships, it would be impossible for a storm of that magnitude to form in that sea area during that season!"

"The first-aid kit found by the search and rescue team contained a 'Seven-Star Grass.' This herb only grows on Hainan Island! This means that the contents of the first-aid kit were a signal deliberately left by Gu Beichen!"

"The island where the wreckage was found is a decoy; his real hiding place is the 'Bewitching Reef' archipelago to the southeast! I request that all search and rescue forces be immediately transferred to 'Bewitching Reef'!"

Her analysis was clear, logical, and meticulous, connecting meteorology, botany, and military strategy in a seamless and impeccable manner.

After a long silence on the other end of the phone, someone else spoke.

"Nonsense!"

A sharp, impatient voice came from the receiver.

“We can all understand a woman grieving the loss of her husband. But we can’t let such unfounded speculation disrupt the military region’s normal search and rescue operations!”

It was Deputy Commander Ma.

A deputy commander who had a long-standing feud with Gu Beichen and regarded him as a thorn in his side.

"What kind of place is 'Bewitching Reef'? It's full of reefs and hidden currents! Sending our precious search and rescue ships and planes there is no different from sending them to their deaths!" Deputy Commander Ma's voice was full of sneer. "Just for the nonsense of a woman like you? It's a complete waste of precious rescue resources!"

His words were like a poisoned knife, each one piercing Su Yue's most painful spot.

Su Yue's knuckles turned blue from gripping the receiver so tightly.

She was neither angry nor did she argue.

He simply spoke into the microphone, using a voice colder than the Siberian cold front, word by word.

“Deputy Commander Ma, if your stubbornness causes us to miss the best opportunity for rescue, resulting in the sacrifice of a decorated regimental commander and more than a dozen soldiers…”

She paused, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Can you shoulder this responsibility?"

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

Su-yue remained unyielding and issued her final ultimatum into the silent receiver.

"In my capacity as the highest-ranking official of the military special drugs laboratory and as the chief architect of the 'Bacteriophage Project,' I request an immediate, top-level emergency military meeting!"

"I will present all my evidence in front of all the commanders!"

The highest operational command center of the Hainan Island Military Region was filled with smoke, and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

A huge military map of the South China Sea covered an entire wall, and a group of generals with gold stars on their shoulders sat around a conference table, their uniforms wrinkled from staying up all night.

Amidst this somber olive green landscape, Su Yue, dressed in plain clothes, stood out as an oddity.

Her presence here as a family member is an exception to the rules.

"Nonsense!"

Deputy Commander Ma slammed his hand on the table, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Su Yue.

“We understand that a woman has lost her husband! But this is a military command center, not a place for you to throw a tantrum and spout nonsense!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur arose in the conference room, and many generals cast suspicious glances at him.

Su Yue ignored him and walked straight to the head seat, giving the military region commander a less-than-perfect military salute.

"Commander, I request to present all my evidence."

The commander looked at the young woman who had become terribly haggard in just a few days, and finally nodded.

Su Yue turned around, took out a neatly folded telegram from her pocket, and placed it on the conference table.

"This is a secret telegram sent from Beijing through special channels. On the day my husband went missing, there was a 'Seawolf'-class attack submarine of unknown nationality operating in the target sea area."

She paused, then looked around.

"At the same time, the remaining overseas forces of Baicaotang have posted a million-dollar bounty on the dark web. The target is Gu Beichen's head."

The entire conference room fell into a deathly silence.

"This is not a natural disaster, this is a premeditated murder!"

Deputy Commander Ma's Adam's apple bobbed; he wanted to refute, but couldn't utter a single word.

Su Yue then took out a hand-drawn botanical atlas and a regional map of Hainan Island.

"The first-aid kit the search and rescue team found on the deserted island contained this 'Seven Star Grass.' This herb, nationwide, only grows on a specific mudflat near the Hainan Island Military Region. This is what I taught Gu Beichen; it's a signal he deliberately left behind, a signal that only I can understand!"

Next, she unfolded a report filled with complex formulas and charts.

"This is a meteorological model I devised overnight based on ocean currents, air pressure, and seasonal wind direction in the area where the ship lost contact. The conclusion is that the 'once-in-a-century super storm' reported by the authorities could not possibly have formed at that time and place. That meteorological report is fake!"

The three pieces of evidence, like three heavy hammer blows, struck everyone's hearts hard.

Su Yue raised her hand and pointed to the huge map on the wall. Her voice was not loud, but it clearly reached every corner.

"Therefore, this is not a search and rescue operation."

"This is a counter-encirclement battle!"

"Before my husband went missing, he must have sent some kind of signal, deliberately leading the enemy in the wrong direction where they found the wreckage. He is no longer a lamb to the slaughter, but a hunter using the complex terrain of 'Bewitching Reef' to wait for our encirclement!"

Her assertion was so shocking that the entire command room fell into an eerie silence once again.

"Absurd! That's utterly absurd!" Deputy Commander Ma finally found a way to counterattack. He scoffed, "Even if your deduction has the slightest possibility, how do you know he's hiding in 'Bewitching Reef'? Did you tell you in a dream?"

All eyes were once again focused on Su Yue.

Su Yue took out the last item from her pocket.

It was a crumpled piece of paper with a few childish, colorful crayon doodles on it.

"This was drawn by my daughter, Gu Ningjing."

Deputy Commander Ma almost burst out laughing: "Are you crazy? You want us to decide a military operation based on a three-year-old's doodle?"

Su Yue spread the paper on the map and pointed to a few seemingly random circles on it.

“When I was holding her and looking at the map, she cried and pointed to ‘Bewitching Reef’ and then drew those circles on the paper with crayons. I didn’t understand at first, until I put the map on top of the detailed hydrographic map of ‘Bewitching Reef’.”

She raised her head and looked directly at everyone.