Two hours later, three Celestial Roc dredging ships sailed slowly into a light blue sea area.
The depth of the water here is somewhat shallower than the areas they passed previously.
It’s quite evident that the sea is slightly calmer here.
Shortly after, the scenery ahead changed, revealing a group of coral reefs exposed above the surface.
Upon seeing this, all three vessels received orders to slow down.
At this point, the roaring sound began simultaneously on all three ships, and a variety of flying cars slowly ascended into the air, then flew towards the sky over the coral reefs ahead.
And within one of the flying cars, Jiang Cheng was conspicuously present.
Today’s mission is critically important!
Failure is not an option!
Hence, Jiang Cheng had to personally come to supervise.
Although, to prepare for this day, he had held endless discussions with the engineers and technical personnel involved in the project, and finalized the reclamation plan only after sifting through hundreds of proposals, yet, as the day approached, Jiang Cheng was still somewhat concerned.
After all, such a task is no trivial matter.
The impact it could bring is difficult to judge.
Therefore, to avoid a potential failure of the project due to external criticism during construction, Jiang Cheng, after consulting with other high-ranking members of Jade Island, decided that they must swiftly bring this potential strategic point under their territory.
Land reclamation and island creation is unprecedented on the international stage, so whatever Jiang Cheng does, he has the leverage of standing uncriticized.
After all, with nations scrambling for control over islands, Jiang Cheng merely building an artificial island is no big deal.
However, what concerns Jiang Cheng more is that after building an artificial island using the cutter suction dredger, it will undoubtedly spark widespread discussion internationally.
The impact of this is something he cannot foresee, perhaps the island-building practice might take the world by storm!
All major countries would likely use similar methods to occupy strategic points.
However, Jiang Cheng isn’t overly worried about this.
Because the cutter suction dredging technology, at present, is considered "black technology," a concept yet unheard by many major countries globally.
Thus, as long as Jiang Cheng protects this technology and enforces a technological blockade internationally, the artificial island-building technology will remain unique to Jade Island for quite some time.
In other words, during this period, Jiang Cheng can aggressively harness the island-building technology to annex small reefs worldwide and claim them as part of his territory!
This is a method for rapid territorial and maritime expansion!
Of course, this method is a double-edged sword, while it allows quick expansion of Jiang Cheng’s territorial and maritime control, it will simultaneously spark strong opposition from major countries!
Consequently, Jiang Cheng will also face escalating pressures.
So to genuinely expand his territory, Jiang Cheng must be fully prepared; without matching military strength, he might invite disaster upon himself!
After all, the Pacific Ocean is still dominated by Japan and the United States.
Disregarding future expansion plans, the current reef must be secured by Jiang Cheng no matter what.
It lies only a few dozen nautical miles from Jade Island, making it the nearest strategic point. If seized by another country, Jade Island’s strategic depth would significantly decrease, devastating its future development.
Therefore, even if it means risking everything, Jiang Cheng must secure it.
Securing this reef not only protects Jade Island’s strategic depth but also expands its sphere of influence.
Though Jiang Cheng hasn’t calculated it precisely, he knows for certain that his control over the sea territories would be expanded several times over.
It could even be possible to draw a line between Jade Island and the reef, establishing control over dozens of nautical miles around this line!
What an immense maritime territory that would be!
The mere thought of this makes Jiang Cheng so excited he could hardly sleep for days!
Acquiring this nameless reef is absolutely the most important strategic event in Jade Island’s development!
The benefits it brings are immeasurable!
It could even elevate Jade Island’s international standing by several levels!
A point’s jurisdiction over a sea area compared to a line’s jurisdiction; they are not on the same scale!
In the future, Jade Island’s strategic status will increase exponentially, making it impossible for any country around the Pacific not to recognize Jade Island’s existence!
Of course, the prerequisite for all this is that the reef must first be built and withstand the inevitable international backlash!
However, Jiang Cheng remains somewhat confident. Previously, he supplied design plans for a destroyer to the Octopus Island’s number one dock researchers, and it’s already being manufactured on a tight schedule, and soon the world will witness the might of this game-changing battleship!
Battleships, cruisers, these types of ships, long past their prime, cannot withstand a destroyer’s missiles and merely sink before displaying any power.
Of course, Jiang Cheng is uncertain if the island-building incident will spark military actions from neighboring powers, but he must prepare.
For even if hostile forces don’t dare directly engage militarily, provocations will surely intensify, so a counterstrike is necessary to prevent this situation.
These new destroyers would be the perfect countermeasure.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Jiang Cheng shook his head and refocused on the Nameless Island reef below.
This time, he brought a large number of researchers and the three Celestial Roc cutter suction dredgers to complete the island-building plan as swiftly as possible, aiming to establish the island and arm it with enough military strength to handle potential future challenges before the outside world notices their actions.
They had already conducted thorough validation and sufficient trials with the Celestial Roc dredger before arriving here.
Hence, what remains is a field assessment; as long as nothing seems amiss, they can begin this construction plan!