Chapter 36: The Bear Nation Is Baffled: What on Earth Are They Doing?

Is Lyu Guangjun leaving?

Sun Yongguo and Zhang Gongnong looked at each other in bewilderment; they truly had no idea about this development.

"Director Lyu, everything is going so well here. Why leave so suddenly?"

"Exactly. There are still major projects ahead for the 956E that require our expertise."

Su Dingping also turned his gaze toward Lyu Guangjun.

Lyu Guangjun explained, "I have been here for quite some time now. With the three key decision-makers of the 408 Institute all gathered here, I can’t help but feel like I’m neglecting my duties at home. Furthermore, our institute bears primary responsibility for the failure of the 051B upgrade. Now that we have made some progress, it is only natural that I return to shoulder that burden."

"Comrade Dingping has led us here to fire the first shot in countering Western technological blockades. It is time for me to return and lead the researchers at the 408 Institute to fire the second!"

Seeing that Sun Yongguo was still intent on persuading him to stay, Lyu added with a smile, "You can’t let the 335 Research Institute take all the credit, can you? Old Sun, you have to give me a chance to earn some merit as well."

Seeing that Lyu Guangjun’s mind was made up, the two men stopped trying to dissuade him.

Su Dingping said, "Director Lyu, please wait a moment." With that, he walked briskly toward the barracks.

Watching Su Dingping’s retreating figure, the others looked at each other, wondering what he was up to. Soon, Su returned carrying a thick stack of documents.

"Comrade Dingping, this is?"

"Director Lyu, I don’t know when we might meet again. These are the research reports I have summarized recently. Perhaps they will be of some help in your efforts to upgrade the 051B."

Hearing this, Lyu Guangjun accepted the materials with a solemn expression. After flipping through them briefly, he said with excitement, "Comrade Dingping, these materials are incredibly important to me!"

"Great kindness needs no thanks. Just wait for good news from the 408 Institute!"

Following the necessary security protocols at the base, the three men boarded a special flight directly to the capital. Shortly after their departure, Sun Yongguo contacted Xu Dongguo. After reporting the progress of the past few days, he informed him of Lyu Guangjun’s departure. Having learned from past experiences, Sun was naturally meticulous regarding personnel movements involving classified information.

Upon hearing the news, Xu Dongguo’s emotions stirred. He felt more and more that keeping Su Dingping in the Navy was a remarkably correct decision. With a genius present, he could drive a group of experts to charge forward. Su had successfully ignited a fierce determination in the other experts; now, everyone was holding their breath, eager to compete head-on with Western technological blockades.

This was a good sign. He hadn't heard those defeatist sentiments for quite a while.

"The West may have their strategies, but we in China have our countermeasures. Great things are on the horizon for the Navy!" He paused, then spoke into the phone, "Comrade Yongguo, I plan to visit the base in a few days to see Comrade Su Dingping. Will that disrupt your research progress?"

"Chief, you are welcome at any time!"

After hanging up, Xu Dongguo received a classified telegram. The process for Su Dingping’s official military ranking was nearing completion.

...

Two hours had passed since Lyu Guangjun’s departure. In the "Military Industry Illustrated Forge," Su Dingping was busy recording data in front of his instruments. Suddenly, an alarm sounded in the northern part of the shipyard.

Su Dingping took a step and instantly appeared in the northern sector. As he was about to record the flickering data on the instrument, a violent explosion tore through the area.

Miles away, Su Dingping reappeared. He frowned as he watched the flames shooting into the sky in the distance.

"The forging of the integrated ramjet engine failed. Did the excessive pressure load on the instrument trigger a chain reaction?"

After a moment of reflection, he waved his hand, and the site of the explosion reverted to its original state. Immediately, he returned to the northern shipyard. This was the exact location where the integrated ramjet engine was being forged.

*Beep—*

The alarm sounded again, but this time, he was prepared. With a thought, everything seemed to freeze. He waved his hand again, and the half-forged ramjet engine instantly detached from the instrument, breaking into countless components. Moving among the parts, he diligently recorded the extent of the damage sustained during the forging process.

Several hours later, a massive missile sat before Su Dingping. It was the "SS-N-22 Sunburn" supersonic ship-borne anti-ship cruise missile, the perfect fit for the "Moskit" supersonic anti-ship missile system.

Because the analysis of many core technologies for the 052D required a significant amount of time, he had shifted more of his energy toward analyzing ship-borne missiles during this period. The core technologies of the missiles used by the 956E were far superior to the eighth-batch Yingji and Haihongqi missiles currently used by the Navy, so Su Dingping had prioritized them.

He had already successfully analyzed the core technology of the Moskit system and could now operate the 956E’s launch system for testing. As for the SA-N-7 Gadfly air defense missile system, it was still under analysis.

Soon, Su Dingping appeared in the main control room of the 956E. Seeing "Missile Loading Complete" on the dashboard, he knew the "SS-N-22 Sunburn" was ready. Next was testing its combat performance. The target: the 052D, located dozens of kilometers away.

He took a deep breath and pressed the missile launch button on the main console.

[Target locked!]
[Combat command sent to Moskit!]
[Countdown: 8 seconds!]
[Ignition successful!]

As a series of notifications popped up, a roar emanated from the anti-ship missile launchers on the deck. A moment later, Su Dingping watched a missile streak into the sky, trailing a long tongue of fire. However, a violent explosion occurred in mid-air shortly after.

"Failed."

Su Dingping waved his hand, and everything returned to the state before the launch. With a gesture, the "SS-N-22 Sunburn" appeared before him and disassembled.

"The launch system is fine. The problem might be in the orientation gyro; the unstable oscillation during the missile's flight caused a certain coupling phenomenon."

"Or perhaps there was signal interference during the transmission of the active radar data from the warhead..."

After deep contemplation, Su Dingping began his first round of adjustments. He spent the entire night adjusting, testing, researching, and readjusting. He shouldered the workload that would have required a whole team in the real world, and he saved the hundreds of millions in costs that the entire process would have incurred.

By the time dawn broke in the real world, after the 21st adjustment, the "SS-N-22 Sunburn" anti-ship missile successfully struck the 052D. Appearing on the deck of the 052D, Su Dingping looked at the massive crater and the surrounding flames on the warship, a smile spreading across his face.

"The Moskit supersonic anti-ship missile system, along with the 'SS-N-22 Sunburn' anti-ship missile, has been successfully developed!"

With a wave of his hand, the 052D returned to its original state. Checking the time, Su Dingping exited the forge in high spirits. When he arrived beside the 956E, Sun Yongguo and the others were already waiting.

Seeing Su Dingping walk over with a beaming smile, everyone was confused. Why was he so happy after just taking a nap?

Su Dingping didn't explain, saying straightforwardly, "Gentlemen, let's begin."

Meanwhile, in the capital, the seventh round of negotiations between Wang De and Turgenev collapsed once again under the intervention of Xu Dongguo. Turgenev and his team were completely baffled. They had agreed to give the other side the "cold shoulder" for a while, letting them realize that the Navy could not function without the 956E, and then they would obediently accept their conditions.

Yet, more than half a month had passed, and Wang De and his team still wouldn't budge!

"At which point did something go wrong?"