"Moths, and a Metal Moth nest," Jiang Ye said.
001's expression cleared. "Then I can help you control airbursts."
"Airbursts?"
"Detonating missiles in the air before they hit the ground. I know the timing to detonate them for the widest strike radius." 001's expression was supremely confident. "According to the data, moths have very low defenses, so they don't need to be hit directly on landing."
Jiang Ye's eyes held a hint of surprise. This ship girl was indeed somewhat useful.
Various units reported their readiness sequentially.
Jiang Ye confirmed all troops and weapons were in position and gave a voice command, "Set sail, follow the planned route."
"Yes!" 001 saluted.
The two frigates started simultaneously, churning the seawater along their sides, leaving white wakes behind them as they roared out of the naval port and charged towards the ocean.
Jiang Ye was relaxed, standing by the window watching the sea, occasionally glancing at the data on the screen.
001 also walked to the window. "What are you looking at? There's nothing at sea, and we're already far from land."
"Just looking at the sea," Jiang Ye replied.
001 paused, then looked out the window for a while, lost in thought.
Jiang Ye turned his head, staring at her with a frown.
He felt this ship girl was a bit too intelligent. When she stood in the shadows, the light and shadow were exceptionally clear, almost like a real person. Every movement was exceptionally lively.
The captain's cabin was quiet, with only the faint hum of the ship's hull and the subtle sound of waves from outside.
001 seemed a bit bored. She sat on a chair, swinging her legs, staring at the floor blankly.
Jiang Ye stood by the window for a while, feeling a bit tired, and walked towards a chair to sit down.
"Ah!" 001 exclaimed.
Jiang Ye was startled and couldn't sit down. He turned to look at her. "What are you yelling about?"
"I'm still sitting here! And you're trying to sit on my lap! Don't you have eyes!" 001 stood up, her face flushed, and her anger flared.
Jiang Ye was speechless. "You're just a projection, not a real person!"
"That doesn't matter! That's very rude of you!" 001 pouted, her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish. After a moment, she sighed and patted the back of the chair. "I'll forgive your first mistake. The seat is yours, please sit down!"
Jiang Ye sat down, utterly speechless, thinking that a mere projection was acting like she was someone important.
001 walked to the wall, pacing back and forth idly, looking down at her toes, like a little girl waiting for her parents after school.
More than ten minutes later, she looked over again. "What are you looking at?"
"Looking at data," Jiang Ye tilted his chin, pointing to the display screen in front of him.
"I'm watching it for you. I'll tell you if there's anything unusual," 001's voice became small again. "I'm so bored, play with me."
Jiang Ye glared at her. "I thought you were a serious combat assistant! What do you mean, play with me?"
"I'll be very serious during combat!" 001 frowned. "I'm very professional!"
Jiang Ye looked at her suspiciously, full of disbelief. This girl looked like an immature little girl, with none of the experience and maturity of military personnel.
Seeing that Jiang Ye was ignoring her, 001 pouted and sat cross-legged in the corner, drawing circles on the floor with her finger. She was clearly entertaining herself like a child.
Jiang Ye continued to stare at the screen, with nothing else to do. As the highest-ranking officer, he had to closely monitor the status of the two warships.
Twenty minutes of silence passed.
001 sat on the floor, resting her chin in her hand, looking as if she were about to fall asleep.
Jiang Ye was speechless, thinking that this combat assistant was truly unreliable. She had said she would help monitor the data, but now she was almost asleep.
He wondered what the developers were thinking when they designed this combat assistant, creating a cute, beautiful little girl with no professionalism. Was this a tool for combat? Perhaps the developers were all otaku?
001 suddenly looked up, her eyes half-closed with sleepiness. She mumbled, "We just hit a big fish. We might have killed it. It's so pitiful."
Jiang Ye looked at the screen, then turned to look at her. "Are you dreaming?"
"Of course not! I mean this warship, it just hit a big fish, maybe a hundred pounds or so," 001 straightened up, her expression serious.
"But the screen didn't show it."
"The warship is very sturdy. A hundred-pound impact is just a scratch, so it wouldn't show up. But I know. I check all the data, big and small, several times every second," 001 said with a hint of pride. "The data shown on the screen is only a part of it. There's a lot I know that you don't. So, don't stare at the screen, it's useless. Play with me."
"Play what?" Jiang Ye felt that despite her cute and clumsy appearance, her core might still be highly intelligent.
001 rested her chin in her left hand, thinking for a long time, and frowned. "I don't know."
"See, you're a combat assistant, not a play assistant," Jiang Ye smiled. "You don't have the function to play. Just honestly monitor the ship's data. We'll be there in two more hours."
"Nonsense! Let's play chess!"
001 conjured a chess board out of thin air, stood up, and ran over, placing it on the table in front of Jiang Ye.
"I'll go first." 001 extended her hand, grabbed a black pawn, and pushed it forward one square. "Your turn."
Jiang Ye was stunned. "How do you have this function?"
"How should I know? I just do! Are you going to play or not?" 001 tapped the chessboard with her hand, making a clacking sound.
Jiang Ye pondered for a moment. Perhaps the designers considered that the long sea voyage might make the captain tired and bored, so they created a virtual little girl to accompany him, playing games, chess, or cards. 001's function was somewhat similar to the ship's cat in ancient warships, able to relax the crew's mood and also help with navigation.
However, he was not in the mood to play chess right now, so he waved his hand.
Jiang Ye was still very anxious. There were four high-temperature zones in total. Three could be eliminated, but the fourth was beyond the frigates' range. He could only wait for the destroyers to be deployed.
And the moths, with their viral reproduction, what would they become in a few days?
After an unknown period of contemplation, 001 suddenly said, "Four nautical miles to go!"
Jiang Ye stood up and looked out the window. He could already see the land ahead, a vast expanse of white snow, and dark reefs.
"We can use the electromagnetic cannon to strike the first high-temperature zone," 001 saluted. "Request permission to activate the electromagnetic cannon!"
"Approved," Jiang Ye said.
On the screen, the gray electromagnetic cannon began self-checking, charging, and gradually turned blue-purple.
The projectile was automatically loaded into the cannon barrel.
"Target acquired. Request permission to fire! Estimated five minutes to eliminate the first high-temperature zone!" 001's expression was serious.
"Approved," Jiang Ye said.
A massive booming sound, even louder than old artillery by several times, startled Jiang Ye. He thought the cannon had exploded. But the rumbling cannon fire continued, one shell after another whistling out, shooting towards the land at astonishing speed.
The electromagnetic cannon's firing rate was astonishing, almost continuous. The barrel temperature rose sharply, and white steam, all hot air, could be seen rising from the deck. If someone threw a corn kernel into the muzzle at this moment, it would instantly be roasted into popcorn, and the popcorn would quickly burn to ashes.
001 lost her expression and stood rigidly. Her computational power was focused on the electromagnetic cannon; she was merely a shell.
The main screen automatically displayed a satellite image. Mushroom clouds bloomed over the high-temperature zones, which were clouds of overturned soil from the shells. Each mushroom cloud was the size of half a football field.
The high-temperature zones were being covered by fierce firepower, and tens of thousands of moths were being crushed into powder!