Just after 12 p.m., when the "Black Fish" class destroyer, on northern alert, sent out a warning signal, Bai Zhizhan suddenly realized the truth.
But it was too late.
If one had to point out Bai Zhizhan's greatest blunder, it was the underestimation of the distance.
But that's not entirely accurate.
The crux of the matter was that the emergency deployment of fighter planes had reported back only after 12:15 p.m., claiming to have discovered the eastward-moving Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet about 200 kilometers east of the 41.2 Subsquad, and had visually identified two "York" class fleet carriers.
In other words, before the "Black Fish" sounded the alarm, Bai Zhizhan merely believed that the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet was to the east, without knowing how far exactly.
This distance was far too close!
If the 41.2 Subsquad had not reduced its speed during the night, it would probably have been only 100 kilometers away from the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet.
