Faced with Vice Admiral Tommy's furious tirade, Bruce was utterly stunned.
But the more flustered a person became, the more their true thoughts were exposed.
"Uncle Tommy."
"Then, then, can my future military promotion still be honored?"
"Can I return to mainland America, can I return to your side?"
Damn it.
This damned Australian coastal region was such a godforsaken, desolate place.
Bruce had absolutely no desire to stay any longer. If it weren't for the prospect of becoming a Major General, he wouldn't want to spend even a single day in this wretched place.
And now.
Both his subconscious and his rational mind told him.
Losing Meng Hao was undoubtedly a grave mistake.
"Still promoting me to Major General?"
"And I can still be transferred back to mainland America?"
"I'm telling you, Meng Hao's importance is even greater than mine as a Vice Admiral."
Vice Admiral Tommy paused.
Then he sighed.
The deed was done.
Even if he were to skin Bruce alive, it would be useless.
The immediate priority was to find Meng Hao quickly.
"Of course, such a situation of underground cavities and seawater intrusion, while you have responsibility, it's not entirely your fault!"
It had to be said.
Vice Admiral Tommy was indeed a shrewd individual.
After venting his initial anger, he immediately began to ponder how to resolve the situation.
He paused and continued,
"After all, you haven't been the highest-ranking officer at the military base for long..."
"Before this, it was that kid William who was responsible for the entire military base's security..."
"I will report this matter truthfully. I believe the high-level officials on Capitol Hill are not fools, and they will surely handle this matter fairly..."
Good heavens.
This Vice Admiral Tommy was cut from the same cloth as Bruce.
When there were achievements, they would try their best to snatch them.
But when problems were discovered, they would shamelessly shift the blame.
After all, Bruce was his illegitimate son, his only male descendant. Vice Admiral Tommy would naturally do everything in his power to help Bruce escape this predicament.
Vice Admiral Tommy paused, then added,
"What you need to do now is to find Meng Hao quickly..."
"Alive, we must see him... dead, we must see a body. Even if we find crushed meat fragments, we must conduct DNA matching to ensure it's Meng Hao himself..."
"Right now, my biggest worry is that if Meng Hao really escaped, then things will get seriously out of hand."
Indeed.
If Meng Hao could successfully leave and return to Great Xia,
and expose everything he had done,
then America's reputation and credibility would be severely damaged, and Vice Admiral Tommy's political career would essentially be over.
"Yes."
"I will definitely find Meng Hao... even if it's a corpse washed away by the sea, I will find it."
Bruce quickly hung up the phone.
Then, he arranged for the construction team at the military base to investigate the geology and drain all the suddenly intruding seawater, in order to find Meng Hao's dismembered corpse.
...
While Bruce and the others were frantically busy.
The submarine "Dang Gui Hao," piloted by Meng Hao, had officially departed from the underground of the military base.
In the relatively spacious command bridge.
Meng Hao sat in the comfortable control chair.
"Wen Qu."
"Report the situation."
At Meng Hao's command.
The voice of the main control AI of the "Dang Gui Hao" submarine immediately responded.
"Mr. Meng Hao, we have now left the research center military base. Our course is currently normal."
"Engine power has been fully activated, and the life support system has been engaged. Current electrical power is fully sufficient, estimated to last for 127 days."
Good heavens.
With full engine power, it could sustain 127 days of electrical supply.
That meant nearly four months.
Even if only one of the submarine's engines failed, four months would be enough for Meng Hao to reach the coastal waters of Great Xia.
"Mr. Meng Hao."
"To celebrate our official departure from American control, would you like me to play some relaxing music and offer you a glass of red wine as a toast?"
This Wen Qu.
It was quite thoughtful.
However.
Before officially entering Great Xia's coastline.
Meng Hao absolutely would not engage in premature celebrations.
After all.
This was only the first step of a ten-thousand-mile journey.
Celebrating too early could lead to complacency and mistakes.
"No rush."
"Just maintain the current constant speed."
"Also, maintain radio silence. Never let the outside world detect our presence... The Americans will surely launch a massive search once they know we've escaped. Safety first."
"However, the signal receiving mode can be activated. I'm very curious about how chaotic the entire United States is right now."
It wasn't unreasonable for Meng Hao to be so cautious.
After all.
Caution prevents disaster.
Currently.
They had only escaped for a little over an hour.
The straight-line distance had not yet reached 30 kilometers.
If they were too arrogant and got caught again, escaping would be much more difficult.
...
And at this time.
The combined fleet of the United States, after several days of integration, was officially commencing its drills.
Vice Admiral Tommy, for safety reasons, had initially intended to start after finding Meng Hao's whereabouts... Meng Hao's sudden disappearance, although both Bruce and his own personnel embedded in the military base believed Meng Hao had little chance of survival, and escaping in the vast ocean was impossible.
But.
Up until the moment they found Meng Hao's body, there was always a risk of Meng Hao escaping.
However.
The arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be fired.
Stopping the joint military exercise at this point would be a devastating blow to America's national reputation.
With no other choice, he had to steel himself and decide to let the military drills officially begin.
But.
Vice Admiral Tommy understood this clearly.
After Meng Hao's "death."
After this military exercise, it would be virtually impossible to develop any more impressive scientific research products.
Although he showed no outward emotion, his heart was already cursing Bruce in the vilest terms.
If he weren't his illegitimate son.
Vice Admiral Tommy would even have considered sending him to military court.
Damn it.
What a useless fool.
He had finally managed to get Meng Hao, and in the blink of an eye, he had caused him to be presumed dead and completely missing.
This brat.
Hadn't he told him many times.
To treat Meng Hao with respect, to treat Meng Hao well, to ensure Meng Hao's safety.
He had truly treated his words as mere wind.
Ah, well.
Bruce probably listened to him and treated Meng Hao with great respect.
After all.
The seawater intrusion was a low-probability event, not something anyone could predict.
Moreover.
Before Meng Hao "died," hadn't he developed the new energy vehicle? A profit of a hundred billion annually was quite good.