Chapter 31: New Clue, First-Generation Flagship

"No problem, we fully welcome the client's inspection!"

Tang Wen snatched the phone and answered quickly; he wasn't afraid of an inspection, he was afraid they wouldn't come!

Setting other things aside, the dry dock at the shipyard alone was enough to intimidate, and the shipyard's R&D department had plenty of blueprints to show.

Four million! Even collecting a one-quarter deposit would be enough to break even.

Moreover, as long as there was an actual ship sales order, the reputation of the Gaijin Shipyard would surely spread, making future business much easier.

Of course, by then the price would definitely not be four million; even if it doubled, it would still have huge competitiveness.

On the other end of the phone, Huang Dongfu was actually quite uneasy; even four million required a huge decision for him, but for a 1,400-ton large ship, it was worth the risk.

However, he was still afraid of being cheated, so after much thought, he decided to make more preparations.

It would be best to bring a few old sailors with shipyard experience, just to see the other party's quality.

"Boss Tang, is next Monday suitable for you?"

Tang Wen casually flipped through the calendar; it was only Wednesday now, with four days left, just enough time to go out and salvage a sunken ship, so he immediately agreed:

"No problem, contact me by phone before you come, and I will send a car to pick you up in town."

After exchanging a few polite words and hanging up, Tang Wen high-fived Tang Yi to celebrate.

"We must secure this order; if we successfully salvage steel this time, it will be over three million in pure profit!"

"Once we get the money, we can even directly build a Tachibana-class ship, complete the Level 1 ship mission, then dismantle the armaments and convert it into a fishing boat to sell, killing two birds with one stone!"

The two rejoiced for a long time, then immediately prepared to set sail.

The quality of the warships built by the shipyard was beyond reproach, and with Tang Wen's single-player game-style cheat operation, even crew coordination was unnecessary—though it wasn't needed anyway.

They only needed to fill up the fuel, and they could whoosh out into the waves.

The Y1 yacht's fuel tank held a full 3,000 liters, with a maximum range reaching 450 nautical miles.

The weight of the gasoline filling the tank exceeded two tons; naturally, the shipyard did not have that much gasoline in reserve.

Tang Shiba and Tang Shijiu loaded a pile of empty oil drums and drove to the gas station in town; as soon as they got out of the car, they demanded 3,000 liters of gasoline.

Even in this era, purchasing gasoline was strictly restricted.

But with the slip Tang Wen had approved for himself, plus a large bundle of cash, the boss didn't say a word and immediately started working.

Tang Shiba didn't bargain at all, buying exactly 6,000 yuan worth of 90-octane gasoline at a price of 1.8 yuan per liter.

Don't look down on the low octane rating at this time; as long as it was gasoline from a legitimate refinery, it hadn't yet added the additives required for environmental protection in later eras, or even mixed with alcohol, so it was actually quite durable.

The gas station in town was under the Petrochemical Group, so the gasoline quality was very good.

By the time they finished pouring barrel after barrel of gasoline into the tank, it was already evening.

Tang Yi had already changed into thick clothes and gear, standing by the dry dock fully equipped and ready to depart.

This trip had a total of seven crew members including Tang Wen, and the supplies on the ship were already piled high.

Of course, everyone remembered to bring ear muffs; no one wanted to go deaf again.

With fuel and supplies filled up, and the cannons modified, the Y1 was even somewhat overloaded, with the entire hull bottom completely submerged in water.

That 152mm MK17 cannon, although very crude with only a bare barrel and base, still had a total mass of about six tons, occupying almost all the extra buoyancy at the front.

Moreover, after testing the cannon in the morning, a problem was discovered: once the cannon extended out from the hull, it caused the ship's center of gravity to rise, and firing caused the hull to shift violently.

Although it wouldn't capsize or shatter the hull, it would make it impossible to fire while moving at high speed, otherwise it would severely interfere with navigation.

Additionally, the firing rate of one shot every six seconds was still too fast; to reduce the impact on the hull, it was best to fire only once every fifteen seconds.

The two 25mm machine guns on either side of the hull didn't matter; the recoil was negligible.

However, Tang Wen prayed in his heart that he wouldn't have to use these things, hoping to pass the journey with excitement but no danger.

For this reason, Tang Wen decided to depart as soon as possible; at a speed of 20 knots, they would arrive at the designated sea area before 1 AM.

Night had no effect on salvage work; after all, it wasn't real salvage, and sonar and metal detectors played the main role.

And during this time period, the water police would relax their vigilance, and in the pitch black, nothing could be seen.

With everything ready, at 20:30 in the evening, Tang Wen led the salvage team onto the yacht.

Still grabbing the rudder to activate Third World control, with just a thought, the buttons and regulators on the control console began to work automatically; the six engines started self-checks one after another, then began working at 40% power.

This way, only 600 horsepower was needed to achieve a speed of 20 knots, placing it roughly in the medium-low RPM range of the motors, which was more fuel-efficient.

The searchlight at the bow illuminated the pitch-black sea surface; the six engines working together spread a wide white wake at the stern, flexibly pushing the yacht into the ocean.

Tang Wen discovered a huge benefit to the third-person perspective: no seasickness, and it was very relaxing.

At a speed of 20 knots, the hull would constantly sway and rise and fall, but for Tang Wen, it had no effect whatsoever, just like sitting in front of a computer staring at the screen.

Moreover, he discovered a new function: he could import already mastered paper maps into the control panel; after setting the compass, he could directly view the coordinates of the warship he was controlling on the map in real time.

This also meant that Tang Yi didn't need to climb to the top of the ship to correct the course with a sextant and compass; Tang Wen only needed to set the target point and route on the map, and the Y1 would automatically proceed along the planned course.

With a draft of just over one meter, the yacht didn't need to worry about running aground on reefs; it could be said to be extremely worry-free.

However, the sea surface at night was really nothing to look at; except for the moonlight and thin stars, it was all pitch black. After controlling for half an hour, Tang Wen set the automatic route and returned his consciousness to his body.

The swaying immediately transmitted beneath his feet made him slightly uncomfortable, but fortunately he didn't get seasick, and he adapted quickly.

Right beside him, Tang Yi was studying the nautical chart with someone else; it was still the location of the Oak.

The part of the Pratas Islands exposed above water was not much, but below sea level, there was a shallow reef area dozens of times larger.

According to the data found, the Oak was only 10 nautical miles from the island at the time, exactly stuck on the periphery of the extension zone.

No wonder the Oak sank; if it had held on for just a few more minutes, it would have run aground on reefs in water over ten meters deep, and its top could have been exposed to transfer cargo.

But it was precisely this regret that made Tang Yi believe that for later generations, the Oak had already lost its salvage value and would be waiting for them at the bottom of the water.

As the interpretation of those data became deeper and deeper, Tang Yi put question marks on whether many sunken ships still existed.

Because besides them, there were others who had the same goal: the newly born Flower Nation.

Just on the eve of departure, they discovered a new piece of information:

The "Matsushima," which the Gaijin Shipyard was preparing to build as the lead ship of the Combined Fleet's "Matsushima" class, was discovered and sunk by the US Navy submarine "Barracuda" while escorting a transport mission near the Pratas Islands in May 1944.

The "Matsushima" class's second ship, the "Uji," was surrendered as war reparations to the Baldy after the war to serve as a coastal defense vessel; it was bombed and sank in the Port of Magic City while participating in an uprising, was later salvaged and repaired, officially renamed the "Nanchang," and served as the flagship of the People's Navy's Sixth Fleet.

Now that the "Uji" has been obtained, has the "Matsushima" also been salvaged and repaired, along with the surrounding "Oak"?