Chapter 22: That shouldn't be the case; they ought to be more anxious than we are!

Just as Su Dingping was conducting his lecture for Zhang Gongnong and the others, at the Naval Northern Theater Military Base, in the office of Xu Dongguo.

"Reporting, Commander, files delivered by the Ministry of State Security."

A guard walked in, holding a thick stack of documents and audio recordings. Glancing at the security seals, Xu Dongguo verified them and said, "Call the two experts over."

"Yes, sir!"

Before long, two intelligence analysis experts arrived with brisk steps.

"Commander, please give your orders!"

"There are some documents here that require your expertise. I want to see a report in two hours!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The two men glanced at the Ministry of State Security seals and immediately understood that the documents were top secret and could not leave the room. They set to work on the spot. Xu Dongguo remained calm, reviewing his own paperwork while he waited.

Two hours passed in a flash.

"Reporting, Commander, we have finished!" They handed over a report.

Xu Dongguo took the report but did not read it immediately. Instead, he asked, "Tell me your assessment."

One of them replied, "Reporting, Commander, based on the data retrieved from Zhang Gongnong's computer and information collected from his office, compared with the technical catalog provided by Sun Yongguo, there is a very strong correlation. Therefore, we conclude that there is no third-party involvement..."

The other added, "Through a comprehensive background check, no one has found any contact between this individual and suspicious foreign entities... This person is clean!"

After listening, Xu Dongguo said, "Very well, thank you both."

The two men quickly left. Only then did Xu Dongguo open the report.

Su Dingping, male, born in 1981, currently 19 years old...

He grew up at an institute for state officials; his parents passed away during a classified mission in his early childhood, and he had been under the state's care since then...

He skipped grades through middle and high school, completed a four-year university curriculum in two years, and finished a three-year master's program in a different field through self-study in one year. Five months ago, Zhang Gongnong personally requested Su Dingping to participate in his senior graduation project, and he had been a prodigy ever since...

Every significant piece of information related to Su Dingping was recorded in the report. The more he read, the more satisfied Xu Dongguo became.

"Solid background, impeccable roots!" That was his first judgment.

As he reached the section highlighted by the experts, Xu Dongguo’s expression began to change. By the time he reached the end, he could not hide his joy.

[...I will turn 'should' into 'definitely'!]

[The Chinese Dream... each generation has its own Long March, each generation has its own mission. The baton of the era has been passed to us; we are the sparks that will build China...]

These records touched him deeply.

"Good lad, great ambition! This is the spirit the youth of China should possess!"

With a clean background, impeccable roots, firm beliefs, and profound knowledge, he grew increasingly satisfied with Su Dingping. He took out his official seal and stamped the report.

"Guard!"

"Commander, please give your orders!"

"Archive this file and seal all records! Raise Su Dingping's security clearance level!"

"Yes, Commander!"

As the guard left, Xu Dongguo stood up and paced the room. Su Dingping's identity was verified; now, it was time to consider the rewards. For the technical drawings alone, an individual first-class merit was inevitable. But if Su Dingping could truly teach Zhang Gongnong and the others within three months, a single first-class merit would clearly be insufficient. Such a talent among talents had to be kept at all costs.

"He must be compensated in other ways as well. Bonuses! Subsidies! Nothing can be spared!"

"How can I bring Su Dingping into the Navy without drawing too much attention?"

Just as he was pondering this, the phone on his desk rang.

"Reporting, Commander, a call from Dean Sun."

"Put it through."

Soon, Sun Yongguo's voice came through the line.

"Commander, Comrade Su Dingping's lectures officially began this afternoon."

"How is it going?"

"Commander, the progress is quite smooth! We are very confident about the three-month timeline!"

Hearing this, the weight that had been pressing on Xu Dongguo's heart finally lifted.

"Comrade Sun Yongguo, if Comrade Su Dingping has any requests, you must notify me immediately!"

"Yes, Commander!"

After hanging up, Xu Dongguo’s furrowed brows relaxed, and a trace of joy appeared on his face. Now, he could start moving forward with many things.

He called out, "Guard."

"Commander, please give your orders."

"Contact Wang De; I have some instructions for the follow-up negotiations with the Russian representatives."

...

A few days later, Wang De, who had just finished the sixth round of negotiations, sat there with a dark expression. Although they hadn't reached a consensus in previous talks, he could clearly feel the two sides moving closer. But this time... the talks had completely collapsed.

Recalling Xu Dongguo's instructions from a few days ago, Wang De felt helpless. He had understood the subtext: the Navy didn't intend to buy anymore. But he couldn't wrap his head around it; the attitude from above hadn't been like this recently.

"It's strange. Commander Xu visited Harbin Institute of Technology a few days ago, and his attitude changed shortly after. Could there have been a major scientific breakthrough?"

After thinking for a long time, he shook his head. He felt that the possibility was far too low!

If there were a major scientific breakthrough, it should have been at one of the research institutes, not a university.

Meanwhile, Turgenev and the others were equally annoyed. They couldn't figure out what Wang De was planning.

"This shouldn't be happening. They should be desperate for more 956E destroyers! Why has the tone of the negotiations changed so suddenly?"

"Could it be that their military experts have cracked the core technology of the 956E?"

"Impossible! How long has it been? Our anti-reverse engineering measures are top-tier. Even if they wanted to make a breakthrough, it would be impossible without ten or eight years!"

They were very confident in their anti-reverse engineering measures. If there had really been such rapid progress, there wouldn't have been a plan for a second procurement in the first place.

After a moment of thought, Turgenev said, "Don't panic. This is likely a bluff to make us lose our footing. Don't forget, the situation is against them! We don't need to be anxious; they should be the ones feeling the pressure!"

They looked at each other and felt this made sense, their nerves settling down.

Let's wait and see who lasts longer!

They were extremely confident, unaware that the core technology had already been mastered by Su Dingping, who was now preparing to disseminate the knowledge through his lectures.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Dongguo was very satisfied. He even told Wang De not to rush the subsequent negotiations and to keep Turgenev and his team waiting.

However, not long after, a call came through to Xu Dongguo.

"Old Xu, it's Qian Wenbing. You should know the situation by now! I asked Secretary Wang, and he said the breakdown of the talks was due to your interference. Old Xu, what is the meaning of this?"

Hearing this, Xu Dongguo knew the other party was looking for an explanation, but some things weren't ready to be disclosed yet.

"Old Qian, this matter is complicated. You don't need to worry about it; I have my own plans!"

"Old Xu, do you have any idea how much pressure I’m under in the southern seas?"

"What, do you think the pressure on my northern seas is any less than yours?"

Qian Wenbing, on the other end of the line, became anxious. "Then tell me, how should the two 956E destroyers be allocated? Should we protect the South, the East, or your North?"

"My North doesn't need them!"

"You! Fine, fine, fine! You said it yourself, Xu Dongguo!"

Xu Dongguo hung up the phone with a calm expression.

If something were to happen in the future, two 956E destroyers wouldn't be able to stop the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and four wouldn't either—it would only buy them a little more time. That wasn't what he wanted.

What he wanted was the core technology to modernize the warships! Only by mastering these would the Navy see an overall renewal!

"I wonder how Su Dingping is getting on."

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than the guard came running over.