Chapter 10

Night as dark as ink, the clamor of Dubai Port gradually subsided after midnight, only the steam turbines of the power plant continued to roar tirelessly, providing this emerging land with eternal light. In the study on the top floor of the administrative building, Chen Feng sat alone at his desk; the screen of the laptop from the twenty‑first century was the sole light source in the room, faintly illuminating his young face already etched with deep contemplation.

The computer's fan emitted a faint buzzing sound; in an era without electronic noise, this sound was especially clear. Chen Feng's fingers slid across the touchpad, opening the locally stored encyclopedia database—a database with no internet connection, which was his greatest trump card and also his heaviest burden.

"Elizabeth‑class……firepower is balanced, but the speed is still insufficient."

"Nagato‑class……410 mm Main Gun, firepower superb, but the design has some flaws, and for us now, manufacturing the Main Gun is too difficult."

"Hood‑class……"

His gaze lingered on the image of the ship dubbed "the most elegant battleship of the Royal Navy." Its slender hull, distinctive side curvature, and signature tall tripod mast. Chen Feng opened the detailed specifications and read them word for word.

Displacement: standard 41200 tons, full load 46700 tons……

Main Gun: four twin‑mounted 381 mm (15‑inch) 42‑caliber Mark I main guns……

Secondary guns: twelve 140 mm (5.5‑inch) BL Mark I……

Anti‑aircraft armament: ……

Armour: the Armour Belt's maximum thickness 305 mm, inclined at 12°; deck armour……

His gaze lingered on the "armour" column for a long time. The Hood class's armour protection is not outstanding in later assessments, especially its weak horizontal protection, which is also one of the reasons it ultimately sank in the Denmark Strait battle. But——

"Speed: 31 knots……maximum speed can reach 32 knots." Chen Feng whispered the number, a flash of light passing through his eyes.

31 knots. In 1905, when the dreadnought's average speed was 21 knots and the newest battleships were only around 25 knots, this was an almost dreamlike figure. High speed meant tactical initiative, meaning the ability to choose engagement or disengagement, meaning the ability to rapidly deploy to key sea areas.

"Firepower, protection, speed — the impossible triangle." Chen Feng leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the desk, "The Hood‑class sacrificed some protection for extreme speed and powerful firepower. For us… this is precisely the most suitable."

He finally made up his mind. What does Lanfang need now? Not to go to battle with the British Grand Fleet, not to vie for sea control. They need a presence fleet, a deterrent force, a mobile strike platform capable of rapidly delivering firepower at critical moments and then swiftly withdrawing. The Hood‑class perfectly fits this need.

"Moreover, although the 381‑mm main guns are difficult to manufacture, with the artillery technology transferred from Austria‑Hungary and our upgrading industrial capacity, they are not impossible to master." Chen Feng calculated, "More importantly, its design concept — the battlecruiser, a concept that did not yet exist in 1905. The British first battlecruiser, HMS Invincible, has likely not yet had its keel laid. If we build it, we will have the world's first true battlecruiser."

He sat upright, began operating the computer, and called up the Hood‑class battlecruiser's detailed design drawings, structural drawings, armor distribution diagrams, power system diagrams, weapon configuration diagrams, and so on, one after another. The file list stretched out of sight.

"Print." Chen Feng let out a soft sigh, connecting to the printer that had likewise come through time and been modified.

The moment he pressed the print button, the printer emitted a dull startup sound and then went into a frenzy of work. Squeak—whoosh—hiss—various sounds mingled together. Sheet after sheet of paper covered in complex lines and dense annotations spewed out, quickly piling up on the floor beside it.

Chen Feng did not leave; he pulled up a chair beside the printer and watched those crystallizations of wisdom from another era materialize in this time‑space in an almost primitive way. The drawings piled up — from a few centimeters thick to over ten centimeters, then to half a meter high — and the smell of ink in the room grew stronger.

The printer ran for a full four hours. It protested several times from overheating, forcing Chen Feng to pause and let it cool. When the final sheet — a detailed hull structure diagram showing every rivet position — was finally fed out, the sky outside had begun to lighten with a pale dawn.

On the floor, the drawings had piled into a small mountain, nearly occupying half the room. Chen Feng rose, stretched his stiff neck, and gazed at the drawings, a complex welling of emotion rising within him. It was pulling up seedlings — overreaching, mortgaging the future. But in this law‑of‑the‑jungle era, he had no choice.

"Come here." He shouted toward the door.

The guard stationed outside the door immediately pushed it open: "Mr. President!"

"Go fetch Mr. Wang, and also inform the shipyard's chief engineer Liu Yongfu, deputy chief engineer Chen Qiming, power group leader Zhao Dezhu, and weapons group leader Zhou Tieshan… the list is here; have them report immediately to Conference Room One." Chen Feng handed him a slip of paper, "Remember, keep it secret, don't alarm anyone."

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, Conference Room One.

This was a windowless underground conference room, its walls specially treated for excellent soundproofing. The long conference table was already filled with people. Besides Mr. Wang and several core shipyard personnel, there were two new faces — two engineers seconded from the German naval cadets: Hans Müller and Friedrich Schneider. They had signed strict confidentiality agreements, and their families had received special arrangements and preferential treatment.

Everyone's eyes were on Chen Feng seated in the place of honor and on the wall behind him covered with canvas. The atmosphere was solemn yet filled with anticipation.

"Everyone, I've called you here so early because we are about to launch a project codenamed 'Leopard.'" Chen Feng got straight to the point, his voice unusually clear in the sealed conference room, "Before we begin, please confirm once more that you and your immediate family have all signed the highest‑level confidentiality agreement. If you have any reservations, you may leave now; I guarantee there will be no repercussions."

No one moved. Everyone's gaze remained fixed on him.

"Very well." Chen Feng nodded, signaling the guard to lock the door from outside. He rose, walked to the wall, and grabbed a corner of the canvas.

"Please look, this is the 'Leopard.'"

The canvas was flung open.

On the wall was pinned an enlarged overall layout diagram — a sleek, elegant hull form, four twin‑turret main gun mounts arranged in a superfiring fore‑and‑aft layout, a towering bridge, three funnels… Although merely a line drawing, its ahead‑of‑its‑time design beauty instantly stunned everyone present.