Chapter 63: What Eight-Eight Fleet? We'll scatter their ashes to the winds!

With Xu Dongguo's approval, Sun Yongguo didn't even take time for lunch and went straight to find Zhou Qinglei.

"Captain Zhou, according to the commander's latest instructions, all drill plans are suspended starting today. Cooperate with Comrade Su Dingping to complete the modification of the 052."

Zhou Qinglei wore a puzzled expression.

The 052 had just arrived, and the brothers had only practiced for a morning and weren't yet proficient. Why suddenly suspend everything?

But upon hearing the second half of the sentence, he froze entirely and blurted out eagerly,

"President Sun, what did you say? The 052 is going to be modified?"

"How will it be modified? In what direction?"

Sun Yongguo explained, "Dingping said so, but the specific guidelines haven't been finalized yet."

Zhou Qinglei's eyes instantly lit up.

Having taken the lead in the 956E optimization, he naturally knew Su Dingping's capability.

Now that Su Dingping was going to modify the 052, even if it turned out similar to the 956E, it would still be a massive gain.

That way, the warships he would command in the future would at least all be modern ones.

Thinking of what Su Dingping said yesterday, Zhou Qinglei was immensely excited. "Dingping really didn't lie to me!"

"President Sun, I'm not in a hurry. Let Dingping take his time to think; we have plenty of time."

"Right, what is needed? I'll go prepare it immediately!"

At this moment, he wished he could start right away.

Sun Yongguo said, "Wait for the notice for specifics. I estimate the equipment we used previously to dismantle the 956E might come in handy. Have the brothers get everything ready."

"No problem! I'll go prepare right now!"

Right now, Zhou Qinglei had no appetite for lunch; he bounded away cheerfully.

Watching his hurried retreating figure, Sun Yongguo smiled helplessly.

"I wonder how Dingping plans to modify the 052."

"If we follow the Bear Country's path, it should be similar to the 956E! If we don't follow the Bear Country's path... the Eagle Country's path? No, currently we don't have detailed technical data on Eagle Country warships, the difficulty is too great."

"Could it be..."

Amidst his musings, Sun Yongguo's brow furrowed sharply.

"Are we taking our own path?"

As soon as this thought arose, he immediately shook his head.

The navy's own path had currently only reached the 051C, and Lü Guangjun and the others didn't even have the slightest clue about how to proceed further.

That path was even harder!

Because there was no reference object.

After thinking through various possibilities without finding an answer, Sun Yongguo had no choice but to give up.

On Saturday, the Ningbo bus stations and railway stations were bustling with crowds.

Usually, holidays weren't this crowded, but today was the day the Eastern Fleet was exhibiting the 956E, and numerous military enthusiasts had hurried over from all across the country.

Some came in groups, some alone, and others brought their children along.

In no time, everyone headed straight for the designated location set by the Eastern Fleet.

Outside a specific pier in Ningbo, the crowd craned their necks, eagerly awaiting the appearance of the 956E.

"Brother, are you here to see the 956E too?"

"The 956E is, after all, our navy's first modern warship. Even though we bought it, it belongs to us now! As a military enthusiast, I naturally had to come and take a look."

"Hey brother, why did you bring your son along?"

"That's where you don't understand! I want to tell my son that the 956E belongs to us, but also doesn't quite belong to us. In the future, if he has the ability, I hope he can contribute to the country! And let us hold our heads high for once! A fine man should set lofty ambitions, shouldn't he?"

Among the crowd, Turgenev and the others were remarkably present.

They silently listened to the remarks of those military enthusiasts, their expressions showing no particular change.

Before long, a person in charge walked out and said,

"Everyone, the 956E has arrived. Please enter the venue in an orderly manner."

The previously noisy crowd instantly quieted down, and people formed two lines, entering the pier in an orderly fashion.

As the distance continuously closed, the massive hull of the 956E came into view.

Seeing pictures in the news and seeing the real thing on-site were two entirely different matters; the 956E brought a tremendous sense of shock to everyone.

"Is this the 956E? It's damn spectacular!"

"I never expected the 956E to be this huge. With it, our navy can finally straighten its backbone!"

Everyone was immensely excited, whereas Turgenev and his companions looked on with cold eyes.

"Look at these Huaxia people, treating the 956E like a precious treasure. If they knew that the 956E is only considered second-tier over at our place, would they be so shocked they couldn't speak?"

Kovsky muttered in Russian.

Turgenev emitted a disdainful, cold snort and said nothing.

They had originally come to see the kind of scene they desired, but instead, they found these military enthusiasts full of enthusiasm, completely casting Japan's Kongō class out of their minds.

Kovsky really wanted to step forward and say: Don't you guys really know the gap between the 956E and the Kongō class?

"Boring! Nothing to see!"

After watching for a while, Kovsky found it dull.

He had long since grown tired of looking at the 956E back home and didn't plan to waste time here.

Just as the group was about to leave, a loud shout suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Hey, Commander!"

The surrounding voices instantly quieted down as a man with long hair and a rather artistic vibe squeezed out from the crowd.

"Commander, can I ask a question?"

The long-haired man's Mandarin was quite standard; clearly, he was a Huaxia person.

The lieutenant colonel responsible for guiding everyone through the 956E tour looked at him and said calmly, "Go ahead."

"I want to know, is the gap between the 956E and Japan's Kongō class large?"

The long-haired man spoke on his own accord.

"I saw someone online saying that the 956E is far inferior to the Kongō class. If one day they meet the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force at sea, is there any chance of winning?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of those who had previously been excited immediately turned cold.

Meanwhile, Kovsky and the others, who had wanted to leave, instantly stopped in their tracks. They exchanged glances, a hint of a smile surfacing in the depths of their eyes.

They had finally waited for the good show they wanted to see!

Right away, the group squeezed forward and stood at the very front row of onlookers.

The lieutenant colonel said steadily, "I believe in our soldiers!"

The long-haired man shook his head and continued.

"A senior military intelligence expert abroad once said that modern naval warfare is not about numbers or morale, but about the advanced technology of the warships. A powerful warship can crush many others without taking any damage. I heard you only have two 956Es."

Before the lieutenant colonel could speak, the visiting military enthusiasts immediately became displeased.

"How are you talking, kid? What's wrong with two? Do two warships eat your family's rice?"

"In the past when we didn't have the 956E, didn't we still live our lives? Why are you starting to pick faults and complain now that life is getting better?"

"No matter how much inferior the 956E is to the Kongō class, it's still here to protect us! Damn it, are you even Huaxia or not? Why are you turning your elbows outward?"

"What do you mean by 'you' and 'us'? You've got a rebellious bone in you, kid!"

Faced with the public indignation, the long-haired man didn't panic. Instead, he swung his hair stylishly and said with a smile,

"Sorry everyone, my immigration process is finished. I'm not Huaxia anymore. Also, perhaps in the near future, I'll be drinking small cups of sake in some Japanese izakaya and watching the triumphant news reports on TV."

At this, everyone immediately realized.

It turns out this person came here just to watch us make a fool of ourselves.

You can immigrate if you want, what does it have to do with us? But coming over here and acting subhuman—that's your fault.

If the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, hot-blooded folks in the audience would have already rushed up.

Kovsky and the others watched with smiles rippling deep in their eyes.

They could sense that once this incident spread, under public opinion, the Huaxia Navy would be forced to continue purchasing the 956E.

As for who that person was, they didn't care; as long as the objective was achieved, that was enough.

Turning back to look at the lieutenant colonel, the long-haired man was just about to speak when he heard a shout coming from outside the crowd.

"Make way!"

"Everyone, make way!"

The crowd parted as a dusty-looking man in plain attire ran over hurriedly.

Hoo—hoo—

Panting heavily, the man glanced at the long-haired man, then looked at the lieutenant colonel before him.

"Sorry for coming late."

The long-haired man stepped back with a look of disgust.

Seeing the man carefully pull out a tightly wrapped cloth bundle from his chest, the lieutenant colonel asked in surprise, "Fellow townsman, what is this?"

While untying the knots on the rope, the man said, "Last night I saw the news on TV saying we could come tour the warship today, heard it's called something 9..."

"956E."

"Right, right, right, that's it. Heard it was bought from Bear Country."

"Yes, fellow townsman."

The long-haired man didn't move his body, but stretched his neck forward to see what on earth the guy was doing.

Turgenev and the others also watched out of curiosity.

Everyone else fell silent, watching quietly.

"I used to be a farmer, and now I run a small supermarket to make a living. Although I don't have much culture, I know an old saying: Having your father's or mother's isn't as good as having it ourselves."

Untying several knots, the man carefully flipped open layers of cloth, revealing a plastic bag inside.

"So I figured, to contribute a modest bit of effort to the country so we can build our own modern warships sooner, then we can also walk through life with our heads held high."

The man opened the plastic bag, revealing a stack of slightly wrinkled banknotes inside.

Hundred-yuan bills were the majority, but there were also fifty and twenty-yuan bills.

At a glance, this thick stack was at least ten or twenty thousand.

Anyone able to pull out this much cash all at once in the year 2000 had to have a decent family background. Yet looking at his attire, this was likely the majority of his savings.

"I wanted to donate through the town earlier, but I was refused, so I thought about taking the train all the way from Henan to donate directly to you."

The man said somewhat sheepishly.

"The bank was closed, so I couldn't get new bills. I could only take the money from the store and scrape some more together. Commander, please don't mind it."

"It's not much money, but it's my heartfelt gesture."

With that, the man handed the money forward.

Upon seeing the money, the long-haired man's face stiffened. His mouth opened and closed silently; although no sound came out, he clearly wasn't saying anything pleasant.

Turgenev and the others also froze in place. This was something they had never expected.

Seeing this scene, those military enthusiasts instinctively patted their pockets. Rummaging for money, they stomped their feet in frustration.

Traveling by long-distance bus and train meant fearing thieves, so none of them carried much cash on hand.

The lieutenant colonel quickly wrapped the money back up and handed it back to the man.

"Fellow townsman, we appreciate your good intentions, but we cannot accept this money."

"Don't be like that, I've already come all this way!"

"Fellow townsman, we have discipline. We really cannot accept this money."

Amidst speaking, he noticed the actions of the others and solemnly addressed the crowd.

"Everyone, we understand your feelings, and we appreciate your intentions! On behalf of the navy, I want to say this to everyone: Please trust us! We will not let everyone down!"

"Commander, we trust you!"

Everyone shouted in unison, their voices ringing so loudly that it made Turgenev and the others' ears hurt.

The lieutenant colonel turned to look at a nearby soldier and said, "Find two people later to safely escort our townsman back! Remember, you must escort him all the way home!"

"Yes, Commander!"

As the man departed, the long-haired man could no longer stay put and turned to squeeze into the crowd.

However, not long after, a series of miserable screams erupted from the crowd.

"Who tripped me?"

"Damn it! Who the hell stepped on me? Ah—"

"Stop stepping, my waist is going to snap..."

The crowd quickly dispersed. The long-haired man, covered in footprints, grabbed his waist and stood up shakily.

"Which murderous bastard did this! Don't let me catch you! I swear I'll screw you over!"

Looking around, all the people who had previously crowded around him had run off to other areas to look at warships.

Unable to find the culprit, the long-haired man stomped his feet in anger and cursed under his breath for a long time before leaving.

Kovsky and the others, who had initially been full of glee, ultimately departed quietly with livid faces.

This matter quickly spread far and wide.

Military enthusiasts on the Tiexue website even began calling for donations to build warships, and responders were numerous.

That same night, at the temporary classroom of the Navy's Northern Waters Military Base:

"Everyone, the second phase of lessons is concluded. I know there are still many aspects of the SA-N-7 Hurricane air defense missile system that everyone doesn't quite understand. I've already prepared the relevant materials, and a copy will be distributed to each of you."

Looking toward Sun Yongguo, Su Dingping asked, "President Sun, has the roster for the Eastern Fleet been finalized?"

"Finalized."

"Good! Tomorrow morning I will see you all off, and I hope to hear your good news soon!"

After exchanging farewells with everyone, Su Dingping signaled Sun Yongguo. He still needed the latter's help to process the applications for equipment, materials, and military funds.

As the two walked out of the classroom, Su Dingping handed over a list and said, "President, please have the items on here procured as soon as possible."

Sun Yongguo glanced over it, his brows raising slightly.

Earlier, he had felt that the equipment left over from tackling the 956E could all be put to use, but looking at it now, many items needed to be repurchased.

"Rest assured, I'll have people handle it promptly." After putting away the list, Sun Yongguo said, "Dingping, something happened this morning at the 956E exhibition site."

"What happened?"

Sun Yongguo explained the situation from earlier. Upon hearing it, Su Dingping paused in his steps, his gaze turning significantly sharper.

"They won't be disappointed! Whatever Eight-Eight Fleet or Kongō-class destroyers they have—next year, we'll scatter their ashes!"

(End of Chapter)