Chapter 201: Ghost Sets Sail (Part 1)

Beside him, another middle-aged man wearing thick glasses, also from the Second Department of the General Staff, listened earnestly to the discussion for a while without ever opening his mouth.

It was not until half a day later, after everyone had exchanged views for quite some time and had already determined some directions and plans for the investigation, that he slowly set down the nearly empty water cup in his hand and spoke for the first time: "The higher-ups sent me here to evaluate, from a technical perspective, the probability that the Mechanical Life appearing in the video actually exists!"

His name is Wang Yang, and he is a professional technical analyst at the Technology Bureau of the Second Department of the General Staff.

Seeing everyone turn their gazes toward him, the forty-seven-year-old Wang Yang expounded his opinion unhurriedly, "My profession is a technical analyst, and at the Technology Bureau, I am specifically responsible for introducing various data regarding the appearance of weapons to evaluate or even reverse-engineer them. Based on my personal judgment, the chassis of this Mechanical Life in the video possesses extreme industrial aesthetics; looking at the form alone, it is the most perfect humanoid robot I have ever seen."

"And humanoid Combat Mecha, as a very popular research direction in recent years, have been widely initiated as projects by countries around the world. But as far as I know, all countries are currently in the stage of technical exploration! A comrade mentioned earlier that it is impossible to create CG videos that they cannot see through using only Computer Science, so I can also answer everyone based on the current progress of Combat Mecha in various countries: the current technology on Earth cannot manufacture it."

He paused before continuing: "The other party claims to be a Mechanical Life from beyond the heavens. A comrade just mentioned the need to contact relevant agencies responsible for space monitoring to retrieve meteor fall data from the recent period... I want to ask why go to such trouble? Wouldn't it be better to just follow the contact information left by the other party and take the initiative to contact them?"

"Inappropriate, there are too many uncertainties in this!"

Sun Zhengshu from the Ministry of National Defense shook his head repeatedly.

There were some who looked thoughtful, and after thinking for a moment, Zhang asked: "Comrade Wang Yang, tell us your line of reasoning!"

"Very well!"

Wang Yang nodded with a faint smile on his face. He tapped the table lightly and mentioned: "My line of reasoning is very simple: for now, ignore everything else, assume the content of this video is true, and then continue to extrapolate along this line!"

"The one contacting us in the video is a Mechanical Life from outer space. I noticed that in the video just now, the Mechanical Life who called himself 'Frenzy' revealed a lot of information. Setting aside whether the content is true or false for now, let us first organize the information he mentioned."

"First, Frenzy is not the only one; he may be a Leader of some Mechanical Life. Second, they possess interstellar travel technology, and they were forced to leave their home planet for certain reasons. Third, these Mechanical Life that have arrived on Earth are now in urgent need of rest and, even more so, supplies, which is why they are willing to contact or even trade with countries on Earth to obtain the materials they need. Fourth, it is not just one wave of Mechanical Life that has arrived on Earth; at least one other wave has also come to Earth and has already had contact with the United States. Fifth, the relationship between the two waves of Mechanical Life that arrived on Earth is not friendly..."

After Wang Yang presented his analysis to everyone, many people in the office, including Sun Zhengshu from the Ministry of National Defense, immediately frowned.

He pressed, "What do you mean?"

"We are not the only national power that Frenzy and his kind are contacting. They are in urgent need of replenishing supplies, so it is very likely they are in contact with multiple national powers simultaneously."

Wang Yang tapped his finger on the desk incessantly, "If we reverse-engineer based on the assumption that the content in the video is entirely true, then I have reached this conclusion!"

"Therefore, I propose taking the initiative to contact the other party. Because even if only one piece of information in that video is true, the benefits to our country are obvious!"

Zhang furrowed his brows. Although he only headed the Ministry of Land and Resources, and if not for considerations of confidentiality, it would have been impossible for the higher-ups to have him temporarily serve as the head of the investigation team, this did not mean he lacked political sensitivity.

As one of the high-level officials of this country, Zhang also knew that because of modern history and the deliberate blockade and suppression by European and American countries, although China's economic strength had grown with the advancement of reform, there was still a significant gap in military industry and certain cutting-edge fields—let alone comparing it to the United States, even compared to those old-established powers in Europe that China had already left behind.

Therefore, after thinking for a moment, he nodded at Wang Yang, "Comrade Wang Yang's point of view is worth taking seriously. How about this: after the meeting ends, I will first report to the Prime Minister, and you should prepare as well; you may need to accompany me to see the leader at that time."

"Yes!"

Time flew by, and before one knew it, five or six days had passed. The Decepticon Workers' modification work on the Arkhangelsk was nearing its end.

To avoid attracting attention, Sun Cheng did not approve Hephaestus's request to also treat the surface of the New Typhoon, so this nuclear submarine still appeared somewhat old and dilapidated.

No one knew that its interior had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Under Sun Cheng's personal supervision, a team of Decepticon Workers worked exceptionally hard, and the modification of the Arkhangelsk proceeded quite smoothly.

The Severodvinsk Shipyard had stood for many years. Although it experienced the impact of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economic recovery of Russia in recent years had also brought strong guarantees to the shipyard. Almost most of the materials needed during the entire renovation process could be obtained from the Precision Instrument Directorate of Support at the shipyard. Sun Cheng had frequented this place often recently and secretly obtained many good things.

Although he couldn't help much, Sun Cheng hadn't been idle these past few days; he also participated in the modification of the Arkhangelsk.

Relying on brute force, he dismantled the two lounges originally set up on the Arkhangelsk, and also tore down the sauna, swimming room, library, gym, and so on.

As for the debris removed, he threw it directly into the seabed outside Severodvinsk.

According to his own estimate, the debris dismantled and discarded in these few days alone could reduce the weight of the Arkhangelsk by at least three hundred tons; this was an incredible figure.

In the midst of busyness, time always passes quickly.

So much so that when Hephaestus came before Sun Cheng to report that the first phase of the Arkhangelsk's modification was basically complete and the submarine could set sail at any time, he finally realized that he had been staying in Severodvinsk for nearly a week.

PS:

Second update, sorry. A bit late!