"Yes, sir."

Captain Weber saluted sharply before immediately turning toward the crew.

"All hands, prepare for departure!"

The atmosphere around the submarine shifted instantly.

Crew members moved faster across the upper hull while dock personnel disconnected the final external support lines attached to the vessel. Hydraulic clamps released from the submarine’s sides with heavy metallic thuds while technicians quickly cleared the docking platform.

Warning lights along the submarine pen began flashing yellow.

A loud announcement echoed across the dock.

"Submarine departure in progress. Clear all operational sectors."

Ryan stepped slightly aside with Adrian as the massive vessel slowly came alive beneath the harbor lights.

The low vibrations Ryan felt earlier grew stronger now.

Deep.

Heavy.

Powerful.

The nuclear reactor inside the submarine was ramping toward operational output.

Even though the vessel remained stationary for the moment, the faint hum traveling through the steel hull almost made it feel like some giant creature waking beneath the water.

Captain Weber climbed down through the command hatch while the upper crew followed behind him one by one.

Within moments, only a handful of sailors remained topside securing final equipment.

Then they disappeared inside too.

The hatch sealed shut afterward.

CLANG.

Thick locking mechanisms engaged immediately.

The submarine was now fully enclosed.

Ryan folded his arms while staring at the vessel.

"Still feels insane honestly."

Adrian glanced toward him.

"What part?"

Ryan pointed toward the submarine.

"That."

The submarine slowly detached from the dock as tug systems guided the vessel carefully away from the pier.

"A nuclear submarine leaving a rebuilt Philippine naval base during the apocalypse to hunt possible sea monsters."

He shook his head slightly.

"That sentence alone sounds ridiculous."

Adrian gave a faint smile.

"Welcome to the new world."

Far beneath the surface, inside the submarine itself, the atmosphere felt completely different.

The interior corridors were narrow and packed tightly with pipes, wiring, consoles, and machinery. Red operational lighting illuminated sections of the vessel while crew members moved quickly between stations preparing for deployment.

The submarine smelled faintly of metal, oil, recycled air, and machinery.

Captain Weber entered the command center located beneath the sail tower.

Unlike the wide open bridges of surface ships, the submarine control room felt compact and dense with equipment. Every section contained glowing monitors, sonar displays, navigation systems, communication consoles, and tactical interfaces.

Crew members immediately straightened when the captain entered.

"Captain on station."

"At ease," Weber replied calmly.

He stepped toward the central command console while glancing across the room.

"Status?"

The navigation officer answered immediately.

"Harbor clearance confirmed. Reactor output stable at eighty-three percent. Ballast systems operational."

Another crewman spoke afterward.

"Sonar arrays online. Passive sweep active."

The submarine itself used an advanced spherical sonar array mounted near the bow alongside flank arrays embedded along the hull. Combined, they allowed the vessel to detect movement, engine noise, underwater disturbances, and even terrain changes beneath the sea.

In the apocalypse, sonar had become more important than ever.

Because visibility underwater meant almost nothing.

Darkness dominated the ocean after only a short depth.

Sonar was how submarines saw.

Captain Weber sat down near the tactical display.

"Proceed with departure."

"Yes, sir."

Outside, the submarine slowly moved through the waters of Subic Bay while tug assistance guided it safely past the harbor defenses.

Once clear of the docking zone, the submarine’s own propulsion systems fully engaged.

The vessel accelerated silently through the water.

Unlike surface ships, there was no roaring engine noise.

No giant wake.

No visible power.

Only controlled movement beneath the sea.

Back on the harbor platform, Ryan watched the submarine disappear gradually into the darker waters beyond the bay.

Then eventually—

Nothing remained visible anymore.

Hours later.

The submarine had already traveled far beyond Subic Bay and entered deeper sections of the Philippine Sea.

Inside the command center, the crew operated with disciplined efficiency.

"Current depth one hundred twenty meters."

"Course stable."

"Passive sonar remains clear."

The submarine moved silently beneath the water using pump-jet propulsion designed to minimize acoustic signature. Every effort onboard focused on reducing noise.

Noise underwater killed submarines.

Even small mechanical sounds could travel massive distances beneath the ocean.

Captain Weber observed the sonar displays carefully.

The screens continuously updated with underwater acoustic information.

Whale calls.

Ocean currents.

Distant geological activity.

Small schools of fish.

Everything produced sound beneath the sea.

And sonar operators were trained to distinguish all of it.

One operator adjusted his headset slightly while analyzing incoming returns.

"Thermal layers stable," he reported. "Minimal interference conditions."

Another crewman monitored the submarine’s inertial navigation system alongside backup gyroscopic systems.

GPS became unreliable underwater.

Submarines instead relied heavily on inertial navigation systems capable of calculating movement and position internally without external reference.

Captain Weber crossed his arms while staring toward the sonar displays.

"How far from Subic?"

"Approximately one hundred forty kilometers west, sir."

The captain nodded slightly.

The submarine continued descending gradually.

"One hundred eighty meters."

"Two hundred."

The deeper they went, the darker and colder the surrounding ocean became.

Outside the hull, pressure increased massively with every passing meter.

The reactor compartment deep inside the vessel continued humming steadily while turbines converted the reactor’s heat into propulsion and electrical power. Engineers monitored reactor output constantly from the engineering control room, ensuring coolant flow, pressure systems, and containment remained stable.

Unlike diesel submarines that required surfacing periodically, this vessel could theoretically remain underwater for months.

Everything onboard was designed for long-term submerged operations.

Air recyclers processed carbon dioxide continuously.

Desalination systems converted seawater into drinkable water.

Food storage compartments contained enough supplies for extended deployment.

It was essentially a moving underwater fortress.

Captain Weber walked toward the navigation display while one of the officers updated the operational chart.

"So far, no signs of infected marine life?"

"Negative, sir," the tactical officer answered. "Only unusual sonar disturbances earlier near the western shelf."

The captain frowned slightly.

"Could be whales."

"Possibly, sir."

But nobody sounded convinced.

Not after everything humanity had already seen.

Another sonar operator suddenly adjusted several dials on his station.

"Captain."

Weber looked toward him immediately.

"What is it?"

The operator narrowed his eyes slightly while focusing on the incoming data.

"I’m getting something."