In the command room of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Yamaguchi Tamon's high-pitched voice echoed. "Even the short-legged P-47s can fly here! Find the American aircraft carriers!"

In the dispatch room adjacent to the command center, rows of Japanese operators sat behind instrument panels covered in buttons and rotary switches. These operation rooms were not singular; they constituted the largest internal spaces on the aircraft carrier aside from the hangars. The aisles behind the rows of operation stations were spacious enough to accommodate at least two people walking side-by-side. Given the smaller stature of the Japanese personnel, it was enough for three to walk abreast.

If these aircraft carriers had been designed by the Japanese, they certainly would have exerted the "Immortal" spirit, pushing Japanese subjective initiative to its limit, and the passageways would naturally have been cramped and narrow. Fortunately, the carriers were designed by China, which had mandatory requirements in these areas. The Japanese formation management personnel, having received their orders, walked briskly and comfortably through the aisles, issuing commands to each responsible operator.

Yamaguchi Tamon's single order was transformed into actionable reality, involving a multitude of elements. Although the sky appeared empty, in the eyes of the experts, this boundless sky was a three-dimensional space. To maximize the combat effectiveness of the military, the airspace required strict control.

The J-9 fighters engaged in air combat over Midway were solely responsible for bombing operations and screening against the US Air Force. Searching for the US carrier positions required J-9 reconnaissance aircraft taking off from the carriers.

To prevent the enemy from deducing the carrier's location based on the return routes of carrier-based aircraft, the carrier formation needed to move constantly. This required the control center to provide highly rational formations and signal calibration. This was an incredibly complex task. Before the extensive involvement of computers in calculation, relying solely on human manpower for planning and management resulted in very low management levels. Even with auxiliary equipment like computers, the Japanese still found it extremely difficult.

Nevertheless, Yamaguchi Tamon's order was executed perfectly. Within half an hour, five J-9 reconnaissance crews flew off the deck, heading in the direction where the US carrier formation might exist.

During this half-hour, Japanese and American air force fighters clashed repeatedly. Both sides found they could not drive the other away, and neither retreated a single step. The tempers of both air forces flared higher as the fighting intensified. Planes billowing thick smoke continually crashed into the sea, while parachutes drifted amidst the blue sky and white clouds.

The reason the Japanese Combined Fleet had dragged things out for so long was that much time had been spent on preliminary anti-submarine warfare. On the sea surface near Midway, Japanese destroyers were shuttling back and forth, fishing out pilots from both sides who had fallen into the water. Midway Island had already been turned over once by rocket fire, and the artillery on the island had temporarily lost its effectiveness. Coupled with the absence of American submarines underwater, the Japanese Navy felt that salvaging even one precious pilot was a significant gain.

In every scheduled report, there were updates on the combat situation and how many pilots from both sides had been rescued. Yet, there was never the location of the US carriers that Yamaguchi Tamon was waiting to hear. This made Yamaguchi Tamon's heart grow heavier. In previous naval battles between China and the US, both sides had deployed their formations and fought head-on. This time, the US military had begun to fully conceal their carrier positions, which showed that the US plan was to deal a killer blow to the Japanese Combined Fleet at Midway. Finding the US carrier positions sooner would allow them to fully utilize the advantage of the Asian Allied Forces' land-based naval aviation, allowing the Japanese Combined Fleet's superiority to be fully unleashed.

Just as Yamaguchi had anticipated, Admiral Nimitz's pre-war objective was to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese Combined Fleet. The Pacific Campaign had been fought to this point, and the US Navy already felt immense pressure. If Hawaii were lost, the US Navy's core anchorage would have to retreat to California on the West Coast, severely restricting its range of action.

To reverse the current advantage of the Asian Allied Forces, the only option was to unilaterally inflict heavy damage on one of the two navies of China or Japan. The Chinese Navy now relied on the islands of the Western Pacific. These islands were massive in area, allowing for the easy establishment of airfields and ports, and were very close to China. The difficulty for the US military to fight there was too great.

Compared to the Chinese Navy, the Japanese Navy's possible directions of operation were narrow, making it easier for the US military to locate the Japanese Navy's main force. There was a chance to inflict heavy damage on it. Therefore, before the battle, Admiral Nimitz had formulated a plan with considerable risk: after the battle began, he would move the positions of the ten US aircraft carriers to the north of Midway, rather than deploying them within the safer range of the Hawaiian Islands.

Three hours into the battle, Admiral Nimitz, based on calculations made by the US military regarding the possible locations of the Japanese carrier formation, dispatched reconnaissance planes.

At this moment, the sky over Midway was like a boiling cauldron, with fighters from both sides tumbling up and down. As the so-called objective of the war, half of the land on Midway Island presented a scorched black color. The US troops on the island had almost no heavy weapons left. Only when fighters carrying large amounts of rockets approached did the US troops who could still fight on the island, under the command of their officers, fire volleys at the pouncing Japanese planes. If one only looked at the combat method, it was as if the US military had traveled back to the First World War, fighting with the most primitive air defense methods.

But the Japanese Air Force did not mock the US military. Midway had already been attacked for several rounds, and the heavy firepower of the US military on the island had been basically destroyed. The US heavy firepower that hadn't been discovered was all prepared for anti-landing operations. That the US troops on the island could still command volley fire after enduring round after round of air strikes showed the quality of a first-rate powerful army.

In the reports sent back, the Japanese Air Force repeatedly emphasized the fortitude of the US military. And they requested to implement even more powerful fire strikes against the US military. In this world, the highest expression of respect was nothing other than extermination.

In this Battle of Midway, the General Headquarters of the Japanese Combined Fleet was on the aircraft carrier *Izumo*. However, Yamaguchi Tamon was not the type to grasp everything in his own hands. The command authority for the land-based naval aviation centered on Wake Island was in the hands of Lieutenant General Taira Toyonori.

Lieutenant General Taira Toyonori was an outstanding young officer in Japan, but those who liked to gossip about background matters were more focused on Lieutenant General Taira Toyonori's father, Japan's current President, Taira Toyomori.

But this kind of background meant nothing to Yamaguchi Tamon. Yamaguchi Tamon's style was very rough: if you have the ability, you go up; if you don't, you get out. As for who these officers' fathers were, Yamaguchi Tamon never had any interest in knowing. The reason he chose Lieutenant General Taira Toyonori was that the Lieutenant General had graduated from the philosophy department of a university and had a very high level of mathematics. After graduating from university, he tested into the Naval Academy and subsequently displayed exceptional military talent. Profound mathematical prowess was the powerful support behind Lieutenant General Taira Toyonori's ability, which Yamaguchi Tamon valued highly.

Lieutenant General Taira's headquarters was set up on a warship off Wake Island. At this time, Wake Island was covered with airfields. Due to limited space, all space was used for fighter take-offs and landings. Not only was the command on a ship, but even fuel supplies were piped from tankers in the island's lagoon to the edge of the space-constrained tarmac.

Based on mathematical risk calculations, Lieutenant General Taira formulated a specialized ammunition supply process. Even if it meant risking certain accidents during transport, attack ammunition was stored on ships near the shore as much as possible.

After receiving the request for frontline combat, Lieutenant General Taira quickly made an assessment. "Change to a bomber formation centered on the H-5, and implement a thermobaric bomb attack on Midway."

Once the order was given, the Japanese calculation room began rapid organization. At this stage, the air route could already be ensured to be safe, so there was no need to dispatch a specialized escort formation to take off from Wake Island together with the H-5 bombers. The Japanese air routes naturally had specialized aviation units protecting each segment of the route.

Previous Japanese military operations were all very clear purpose-oriented operations. Since introducing the concept of airspace control from China, the entire air war had turned into a theater management mode. What the H-5 bomber group had to do was merely take off at the determined time and fly at the designated speed and direction, and they would receive the maximum degree of protection during the flight. During the flight, at every node, they had to switch to receiving management from the airborne early warning and control aircraft. When the H-5 group arrived over Midway, there would naturally be a corresponding escort formation to provide protection during air combat.

Since this kind of operational command thinking completely jumped out of the Japanese military's tradition, it gave Lieutenant General Taira Toyonori, with his profound mathematical foundation, room to perform.

The organization room calculated quickly and soon provided a plan. Thirteen minutes later, the ammunition ship began transferring thermobaric bombs to the island. These schedules had to be calculated in minutes; even being one minute early would cause chaos in the scheduling. In this direction, the Japanese "Immortal" spirit actually demonstrated its positive significance.

The thermobaric bomb was a new type of weapon developed and evolved from the fuel-air explosive (FAE). Although its basic concept and operating principle were similar to the fuel-air explosive, its fuel composition had undergone significant changes. Its characteristics were: strong ability to kill concealed targets, particularly suitable for dealing with various targets hidden underground or in caves; generating relatively high temperature and pressure upon detonation; the detonation shock wave having a long duration and great power; and causing personnel to die from suffocation due to lack of oxygen.

At this stage, the "thermobaric bomb" was just a term borrowed by He Rui; in essence, it was still a type of fuel-air explosive. However, this was not a fact that the Asian Allied Forces could understand. In the domain of islands, the quantity of fuel-air explosives dropped was related to wind speed. This required very good weather measurement capabilities.

More importantly, if conditions were insufficient, quantity would make up for it. Midway Island was only 5 square kilometers. Theoretically, 5 fuel-air explosives would be enough. Lieutenant General Taira directly approved 20, simply fearing that the combustion would not be sufficient and the power not great enough!

The US military at this time did not know what they were about to face. In 1966, during the Vietnam War, the US military used the BLU-82 fuel-air explosive, which could be said to be the predecessor of the thermobaric bomb. When this type of bomb exploded, it could turn an area with a radius of over 500 meters into scorched earth.

He Rui had absolutely no thought of taking revenge on the US military. They weren't even from the same spacetime, so where would talk of revenge come from? He simply ordered continued research to strike targets within reinforced bunkers and underground fortifications (especially caves and caverns) on the battlefield, merely to win victory.