Chapter 31: Firing the First Shot in the Counterattack Against Western Technological Blockades!

"Knock, knock."

The sound of knocking interrupted the lecture inside the main control room. Everyone looked toward the door, only to see Zhou Qinglei standing there straight as an arrow.

"Comrade Su Dingping, all equipment and materials are ready."

"Good."

Su Dingping nodded, then turned his gaze toward the 21 professors present.

"Everyone, I have formulated a detailed plan for the upcoming dismantling of the 956E. Each of you has a specific role! You will lead, and the naval personnel will provide support! We must strive to separate the core components of the 956E as quickly and efficiently as possible!"

"The process of dismantling is also a process of familiarizing ourselves with the details of the 956E's core components!"

"Understood!" Sun Yongguo and the others replied in unison.

Seven months ago, they had already been longing to take apart the 956E to see what the 'Sovremenny-class' from the Russian Bear was really like. After all, a model is just a model; it is never as convincing as the real thing. With Su Dingping's arrival, this wish was finally being realized.

Dismantle the 956E?

Lü Guangjun stood there, stunned. How did I not know about this? Can the 956E even be dismantled? If it could, we would have taken it apart seven months ago. The two vice deans he brought with him were equally bewildered. Didn't the higher-ups strictly forbid 'fiddling' with the 956E? When did they change their minds?

"Old Sun, what's going on? Isn't the 956E..." Lü Guangjun nudged Sun Yongguo and asked in a low voice. The two vice deans leaned in as well.

"Oh, you mean this." Sun Yongguo said, "Just yesterday, Chief Xu gave the approval."

"Yesterday? That was right when I arrived! What about the other chiefs?"

"What other chiefs?"

"Uh..."

Lü Guangjun swallowed the words that had reached his lips. So it was a private approval, without a consensus vote? If something went wrong...

*Ahem.*

Clearing his throat, Lü Guangjun changed the subject: "Chief Xu certainly trusts Comrade Su Dingping quite a lot."

"It's trust!" Sun Yongguo seemed to think of something, his face filled with emotion. "You only arrived last night, so you wouldn't understand. You'll know in time."

The three men looked at each other, inwardly shocked. Lü Guangjun nodded, half-understanding, his gaze returning to Su Dingping. He had never personally experienced the feeling of being trusted one hundred percent by a high-ranking official. For a moment, his gaze became complex—filled with admiration, envy, and more.

"I have refined the detailed division of labor and the dismantling steps, all based on your areas of expertise," Su Dingping said as he took out a thick stack of documents. "Those whose names I call, come and collect your step-by-step blueprints."

"Professor Li Mingrui."

"Here."

"Professor Zhang Minhai."

"Here."

...

"Dean Lü."

"Here."

Lü Guangjun took the stack of blueprints from Su Dingping and returned to his spot to examine them carefully. As he read, his expression changed abruptly. The dismantling steps were so detailed that it was as if Su Dingping had personally assembled many 956E ships himself. He looked at the other two vice deans and saw the same shock on their faces.

Deducing the construction of the 956E and creating a model was already incredible, but this refined dismantling guide left them even more stunned. Now, the three of them understood what Sun Yongguo meant by "you'll know in time."

"Everyone's work has been assigned. You have ten minutes to familiarize yourselves with it!"

At Su Dingping's command, everyone quickly opened their blueprints. The many professors present had all participated in the construction of naval warships, and they knew the weight of these blueprints well; they each began studying them as if they were holding precious treasures.

Ten minutes later, Su Dingping led the 21 people down the gangway. Opposite the 956E, Zhou Qinglei and all the naval personnel were waiting. Behind these sailors, a large amount of machine tools, cutting equipment, and cranes were piled up. The materials Su Dingping requested were stacked like a small mountain.

As they watched Su Dingping and his team descend, Zhou Qinglei suddenly shouted:

"Attention!"

In front of him, the 295 naval officers and men on the 956E stood straight in unison.

"Report numbers!"

"Report to the Captain, 295 personnel of the 956E are present! All 295 accounted for! Awaiting your instructions, Captain!"

"Gentlemen," Zhou Qinglei said loudly. "These professors are the pillars of our navy. You have all had some contact with the lead, Comrade Su Dingping, over the past two days."

"They are carrying out a major task that concerns the future of our navy. In the coming time, I, along with all of you, will fully cooperate with their actions! I have only one requirement: follow orders in every action! Absolutely no mistakes allowed!"

"Mission guaranteed!" 295 voices shouted in unison.

Zhou Qinglei then walked quickly to Su Dingping and the others, saying, "Professors, everything is ready. Comrade Su Dingping, please give the men some encouragement."

What?

Su Dingping was stunned. In such a public setting, he was supposed to go up and rally everyone? Me? Give a speech? I can do that! But to rally them? That's really not my forte.

He shook his head quickly: "I don't know how to do that. I can't. Dean Sun, you..."

"Comrade Dingping, you are the leader of this operation. Before every major naval project begins, the person in charge must lead everyone in an oath! That’s how I did it too." Sun Yongguo explained quickly. "If even you cannot hold twelve-fold confidence, then we, including the naval officers before us, will feel anxious."

"Comrade Dingping, give it a try," Lü Guangjun advised.

Engineer Zhang added, "Dingping, I believe in you!"

"Comrade Dingping, we all believe in you!" the professors urged one after another.

Looking at their sincere eyes, Su Dingping said, "Fine, I'll try."

Taking a deep breath, Su Dingping walked toward the naval officers. Sun Yongguo and the others stood behind, looking nervous. Allowing a 19-year-old to lead everyone in a collective oath on such an important occasion was a very bold attempt.

"Everyone, I don't know what the previous procedures were, and I don't want to know. This 956E in front of us is something we bought at a great price." Su Dingping pointed to the ship behind him.

"The Russian Bear has tampered with it, and there may even be backdoors we haven't discovered yet! Once our interests diverge, they can remotely cut off our command over the 956E at any time! I want to ask you all: can you endure this damned humiliation?"

"No!" everyone shouted in unison.

"I can't endure it either! That is why we are going to perform a detailed dismantling of the 956E, to pull out every bit of tampering and every backdoor!" Su Dingping exclaimed.

"Many people say we can't do it, but I refuse to believe that! Today, we will use our own hands to fire the first shot in resisting the West's technological blockade!"

"In the near future, we will surely step over the corpse of the 956E to build our own, more advanced, modern warships! Of this, I am absolutely confident!"

Su Dingping's voice rose several decibels.

"Fire the first shot in resisting the Western technological blockade!"

"Fire the..."

The crowd responded in unison. The sound pierced the clouds and echoed in the air, lingering for a long time.

Zhou Qinglei shouted, "All 956E personnel, attention—salute!"

296 people saluted Su Dingping and the others in perfect unison. At this moment, all eyes were focused on Su Dingping.