Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 613: Do you want something more exciting?
"The Virginia?"

Sensing Lin Yuan's confusion, Vice Admiral Joseph King nodded and explained, "The Virginia is the first of the Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines, the latest generation, and was commissioned last October."

It turns out that the big black fish docked at Pier 25 is the Virginia-class nuclear submarine?

In his previous life, Lin Yuan had also heard of the name of this type of submarine, but he did not know much about it.

It is only roughly known that the Virginia-class is a new generation of submarines after the Seawolf-class. Until his rebirth in 2024, a total of 19 submarines were in service, becoming the backbone of the US Navy's underwater force.

As for the Sea Wolf class?
Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the previous design became less practical and too expensive, so only three ships were built.

To make an inappropriate analogy, the Hailang-class nuclear submarine is equivalent to the F22 fighter, while the Virginia-class nuclear submarine is equivalent to the "fat electric" F35.

The Seawolf class is larger, while the Virginia class is smaller. It seems possible that the later generation of the Virginia class will be inferior to its predecessor.

But the Seawolf class was designed and finalized earlier, so its internal electronic equipment and environment are naturally more backward than those of the Virginia class.

In terms of comfort, the Virginia-class is definitely one of the best nuclear submarines.

Obviously, Lieutenant General Joseph King's choice was too generous, which made Lin Yuan feel a little unbelievable.

Originally, he thought he would be very satisfied if he could lease the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine.

He didn't even dare to count on the Seawolf class, but he didn't expect that Vice Admiral Joseph King would actually take out the only Virginia-class nuclear submarine currently available.

Isn't this too much of a courtesy?

"Mr. Joseph, isn't this inappropriate?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Why not? Life underwater is too hard. Mr. Lin is one of us, so we'll make sure you're as comfortable as possible," Lieutenant Commander Joseph King continued. "Even though the conditions aboard the Virginia are much better, you'll still feel a little uncomfortable."

Lin Yuan knew that life underwater in a submarine was indeed difficult. Without mentioning anything else, just the air quality alone was enough to illustrate the difficulty.

First of all, you can't take a shower in a submarine.

Secondly, various equipment inside the submarine, such as the reactor, are big heat generators.

This ensures that the temperature inside the boat is generally maintained above 30°C. If the equipment is fully turned on during navigation, the temperature may even exceed 40°C for a long time!
Therefore, when there are no outside visitors, the officers and soldiers on the boat often perform their tasks shirtless.

Consider this image:

More than one hundred shirtless men, covered in sweat and not having showered for days, lived for dozens of days in a steel pipe that was seventy to eighty meters long and more than ten meters in diameter.

During this period, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating are all crowded together, and the air they breathe is filtered and mixed with the smell of engine oil, sweat, farts, smelly feet, burps... and other horrible mixed gases, and it is uninterrupted 24 hours a day, and there is no escape.

What does it feel like?
When you are tired after a day and return to the cramped bunk on the upper and lower floors and want to take a rest, the only options are shared bunks.

You squeeze into the narrow bunk with great effort and find that the mattress is still warm.

The previous person had just left, and his sweat made the bed sticky, damp, and yellow, with an indescribable smell.

You couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! Can't you go outside the bunk after playing X-ray?"

Lin Yuan: (Benefit)
Lin Yuan shuddered at the thought of this scene.

No wonder many "Soviet jokes" were born around the hard life of submarine officers and soldiers.

It is said that a young Soviet man participated in the army conscription.

During the initial physical examination, all his physical indicators were excellent, and he was definitely a good candidate for a soldier.

When he reached the final step, the conscription officer asked him, "Which branch of the military do you want to join?"

The young man excitedly replied, "I want to be a submariner!"

Then, unsurprisingly, he was diagnosed as mentally ill and was rejected!

This "Soviet joke" is both absurd and true, and indirectly reflects the difficult life of submarine officers and soldiers.

It is no wonder that Lieutenant General Joseph King took special care of Lin Yuan and dispatched the best-equipped "Virginia".

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Joseph." Lin Yuan thanked him. "I'm really sorry to trouble you. I would like to provide an additional $300 million in aid to the Atlantic Fleet."

The revolving door between politics and business has nothing to do with him. He just hopes that the US Navy will become as corrupt as possible.

But Lin Yuan could not remain indifferent to the kindness of Lieutenant General Joseph King.

Based on the previous basis, the additional sponsorship fee of 300 million US dollars is completely worth it.

Seeing Lin Yuan's understanding, Lieutenant General Joseph King smiled with satisfaction and said, "Thank you, Mr. Lin, for your kindness. Now let's discuss your filming plans."

This involves how the nuclear submarine should cooperate during the filming process, which naturally needs to be reviewed by Lieutenant General Joseph King.

So Lin Yuan handed over the script and shooting plan that he had prepared long ago.

This material was produced by Meng Tao, and the content is quite easy to understand. Lin Yuan believes that even Lieutenant General Joseph King, who doesn't understand film shooting, can easily understand it.

Lin Yuan looked at Lieutenant General Joseph King, watching him flipping through the materials page by page.

It is obvious that Lieutenant General Joseph King did not just go through the motions after receiving the sponsorship fee, but was reviewing the filming plan very seriously.

According to this shooting plan, Lin Yuan will go out to sea with the submarine and head to Greenland in the Arctic Circle.

Lin Yuanjiang crawled into the torpedo launcher and was launched into the freezing cold polar waters, making a thrilling escape.

This is a very thrilling escape scene, which takes place more than 140 meters underwater. There is no life-support equipment and Lin Yuan has to face it entirely on his own.

Lin Yuan, who has experience in diving in the Kalonos Cave, certainly knows what it means to be more than 140 meters underwater.

The huge water pressure brings a lot of problems, and being underwater in the icy polar waters further increases the danger.

Vice Admiral Joseph King had already finished reading the plan. He smiled and applauded, saying, "What a wonderful scene! It's worthy of being a clip from 'King of Spy 2'. The Virginia is truly fortunate to be able to participate in such a classic scene."

"Mr. Joseph, you are too polite. We should thank you for your strong support." Lin Yuan also replied with a smile.

We've already entered the stage of polite conversation, so there shouldn't be any major problems. Is this matter settled?

Suddenly, Lieutenant General Joseph King leaned forward and asked mysteriously, "Mr. Lin, do you want to make this movie more exciting?"

"Even more exciting?" Lin Yuan was quite surprised.

Could Lieutenant General Joseph King still give him some guidance?
Vice Admiral Joseph King said, "Filming this drama aboard a single submarine feels a bit like a one-man show, and a bit lonely. If we had another submarine, and a strategic nuclear submarine, wouldn't it be even more interesting?"

Lin Yuan: ()
When Lin Yuan heard about the strategic nuclear submarine, he really couldn't help it.

Is it really possible?
As we all know, the Americans basically never hide their military weapons and equipment.

Any advanced equipment, regardless of whether it has been made or not, must be shown off even at the PPT stage.

They don't like to hide things and believe that if they have strength, they must show it off in order to have a deterrent effect. Therefore, various types of advanced equipment are always displayed in new ways and shown off on various occasions.

But strategic nuclear submarines are an exception.

Even the high-profile Americans do not show much of their strategic nuclear submarines, the country's treasure.

This shows how high the level of confidentiality of strategic nuclear submarines is.

"I want to ask, how do you plan to coordinate the two submarines?" Lin Yuan asked. He didn't know to what extent Lieutenant General Joseph King could support.

"Let's modify the plot. Terrorists hijacked a US Navy Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine, and you boarded a Virginia-class submarine to intercept it.

You are still shot out of the torpedo launcher, but instead of escaping, you climb onto the Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine and enter the submarine through the torpedo port, thus stopping the terrorists.

How about this idea?" asked Lieutenant General Joseph King.

Lin Yuan asked in surprise: "Is this really possible?"

This means that the Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine is not just a background presence, but is deeply involved in the filming.

Lin Yuan will have the opportunity to enter the interior of a strategic nuclear submarine. Although he probably will not be allowed to view the "big log" inside the submarine up close, being able to enter the submarine is already quite a surprise to Lin Yuan.

"Is it really okay to expose the interior scenes of the Ohio-class submarine in the movie like this?" Lin Yuan asked.

"It's nothing. Past military propaganda shoots have also shown scenes from inside the submarine. As long as you don't film details of equipment that need to be kept confidential, there will be no problem." Lieutenant General Joseph King replied.

"As a non-military personnel, my boarding of the Ohio-class will also cause controversy, right?" Lin Yuan asked.

Even though he is already a household name around the world, this means nothing to him reaching the Ohio Class.

According to confidentiality guidelines, entertainment and business people like him are not suitable to board the Ohio Class.

"This is very simple. On behalf of the Atlantic Fleet, I will sign a military training agreement with you. I will hire you as a deep-sea diving and combat instructor, so that you will have a military identity." Lieutenant General Joseph King replied.

Lin Yuan: "..."

When it comes to finding loopholes in the rules and doing absurd things legally and compliantly, the United States is truly unique.

It has to be said that when Lieutenant General Joseph King proposed the plan, he also thought of various details.

With such great ability, it is no wonder that he was able to work as an executive at General Electric after retiring.

Even if we ignore his background and only look at his abilities, he is still a very valuable talent.

So Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Joseph. It would be a shame if a talent like you didn't make full use of your abilities.

I'd like you to work part-time as a military film consultant at Linyuan Pictures after you retire next year. Your salary would be comparable to that of a vice president. Would you be willing?"

Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Lieutenant General Joseph King smiled brightly.

His favorable impression of Lin Yuan deepened.

Lin Yuan did not continue to provide additional sponsorship because he knew that no matter how much the sponsorship was, it would not go directly into the pocket of Lieutenant General Joseph King.

A military consultant position at the vice president level at Linyuan Pictures is a real personal benefit, with an annual salary of at least one million US dollars.

So the smile on Lieutenant General Joseph King's face grew even wider.

"Happy cooperation!"

He extended his hand and Lin Yuan shook hands with him again.

Lin Yuan was also quite satisfied with today's collaboration. What other movie could possibly use two of the most advanced nuclear submarines in one shot?

One of them is a strategic nuclear submarine.

This is probably unprecedented in the entire history of film.

Other film companies would never dare to even imagine such a display.

The price Lin Yuan paid was only $800 million in sponsorship fees and a high-paying job.

Compared with his gains, the gimmick of two real-life nuclear submarines appearing in "King of Spy 2" may be able to increase the box office of the movie by $2 million out of thin air.

This deal is definitely worth the money!
After the handshake, today's meeting was over.

Lieutenant General Joseph King said, "Mr. Lin and the crew members involved in the filming will have to work hard and conduct the necessary training first. I have already handed this work over to Lieutenant Colonel Louis.

If he does anything wrong, please tell me immediately.

I will clear the way for you immediately."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Commander Louis is a very nice person and an excellent person. Don't worry, I will get along well with all the officers and soldiers of the Virginia."

Of course it would be a pleasure. All the officers and soldiers on the boat are his fans. How could there be any unhappiness?

On the contrary, Lin Yuan was worried that they were getting along too well.

When he thought about the boat being full of shirtless, sweaty men, Lin Yuan felt it would be better not to be too happy.

Lin Yuan said goodbye to Lieutenant General Joseph King and was then escorted to the door by him.

Lieutenant Colonel Louis, who was waiting outside the door, immediately came forward.

"Lieutenant Colonel Louis."

"Here! Sir!"

"Mr. Lin Yuan, I leave this to you. Please take good care of this distinguished guest on behalf of our US Navy!"

"Yes, sir!"

After the formal handover, Lin Yuan followed Lieutenant Colonel Louis out of the H3 building and came to Pier 25.

I saw a large group of officers and soldiers in naval uniforms happily chatting with the crew members.

"That's the Virginia," said Lieutenant Commander Louis, pointing to the big black fish at the berth at Pier 25.

As expected, Lin Yuan nodded.

"These are the officers and soldiers on our boat. They are all great guys." Lieutenant Commander Louis said, pointing to the naval officers and soldiers who mingled well with the crew members.

"I trust you. I'll trouble you from now on." Lin Yuan smiled and nodded to Lieutenant Colonel Louis.

Seeing Lin Yuan and Lieutenant Colonel Louis, the group of naval officers and soldiers immediately surrounded them.

"Source God! I'm your fan!"

"I got your autograph! I'm so happy. This is my family heirloom!"

"Source God! Can I shake your hand?"

Looking at the enthusiastic submarine officers and soldiers of the Virginia, Lin Yuan shook hands and greeted them one by one.

Looking at this situation, if you don’t know, you might think that a senior leader has come to visit the troops.

After greeting the officers and soldiers of the Virginia, Lin Yuan's nostrils twitched slightly.

He smelled very strongly of sulfur soap.

Lin Yuan immediately knew where this smell came from:

Every time submarine soldiers go out to sea to perform a mission, they have a strong smell on their bodies, and the mixture of various odors is quite pungent.

At this time, a simple shower will not be able to wash away the odor on your body.

Because after three months at most and one month at least, their bodies have already been marinated with flavor.

You can't just take a shower to get rid of this bad smell.

This is like sailors who have been out to sea for a long time. They often have a strong fishy smell on their bodies, which can be smelled from a distance and cannot be removed by just taking a bath.

There are only two ways to get rid of the smell:
One is to wait for a long time for it to fade away slowly, which may take dozens of days.

Another way is to cover it up with something with a strong smell.

Sulfur soap is a good choice, and therefore has become a favorite of submarine officers and soldiers after missions.

On the one hand, it can clean and remove some of the body odor, and on the other hand, it can cover up the remaining odor with the smell of sulfur soap.

Because of the popularity of sulfur soap, submariners who had just returned from sea were easy to identify in naval bases:
The one that smells like sulfur soap!
The smell of sulfur soap on the officers and soldiers of the Virginia meant that they had just completed their mission and come ashore.

"You just finished your mission at sea?" Lin Yuan asked in surprise.

"Yes, we just returned to the Norfolk Naval Base this morning, and immediately caught up with Vice Admiral Joseph King who assigned us a new mission. We are so lucky to catch up with the filming of "King of Spy" 2." Lieutenant Colonel Louis said.

"I had just finished a hard task, and I was immediately assigned a new task and had to go out to sea again. I felt uneasy." Lin Yuan said.

The hard work that submarine soldiers endure when performing their missions is obvious to all.

The officers and soldiers of the Virginia had just returned. Normally, they should have had a good meal first, after all, the food underwater was too maddening.

Then, after eating and drinking to his heart's content, he would take the generous subsidy he had just received and go find the hottest girl in the red-light district outside the naval port to fully enjoy the pleasure of being a man.

A red-light district is a must around every US naval base, just like there must be taverns in the harbor during the Age of Discovery.

Sailors need to vent, let alone submarine officers and soldiers who face many times more hardships?

At this time, they should have a party to their heart's content and relax their tired minds.

But with an order from Lieutenant General Joseph King, the leave of the officers and soldiers of the Virginia was canceled, and they were immediately assigned a new task.

Is this really good?

Are they really not full of resentment?
Hearing Lin Yuan's concerns, Lieutenant Colonel Louis smiled and said, "It's precisely because we just finished our mission that we won't be assigned any new tasks in the short term. That's why we have time to participate in the filming of "King of Spy 2"."

"What I mean is, everyone should need more rest now, right?" Lin Yuan said.

"No, no, no, being able to participate in the filming of "Lord of Spy Wars 2" is the best vacation." Louis said.

"Ah?" Lin Yuan couldn't believe it.

“Gen Shen, you have no idea how popular you are in the military and how well-loved your movies are.

When the news came out that your "Lord of Spy 2" needed a submarine to cooperate with the filming, do you know how many submarines were vying for this spot?

It was so crowded back then! I only managed to get this opportunity after a lot of hard work.

When all the officers and soldiers on board heard the news, everyone cheered and returned to the ship. We came here specifically to pick you up for training," said Lieutenant Colonel Louis.

After hearing Lieutenant Colonel Louis' explanation, Lin Yuan realized that it was not a coincidence that the Virginia returned and he immediately received the task of accompanying him in the filming.

Instead, he received the filming assignment first and then returned to the airport on purpose.

Otherwise it would be too coincidental.

"Don't worry about our leave being canceled. When can we not take leave? We have so many days off in our military careers, missing one won't be a big deal.

But there is only one chance to participate in "Lord of Spy 2"!
This is something worth bragging about for a lifetime, and it can record a major event in film history and even cultural history!
If you miss out, you will regret it for the rest of your life. You don’t know how frustrated those guys who failed in the competition are now! "Lieutenant Colonel Louis said.

"I can only say thank you all for your kindness. Let us work together to make this scene wonderful," said Lin Yuan.

"Of course! Just let us know if you have any requests, and we will fully cooperate." Lieutenant Colonel Louis said confidently.

"Let's go, I'll show you around first." Lieutenant Colonel Louis led the way, leading Lin Yuan and others towards the Virginia.

"Please allow me to introduce our Virginia to you first." Lieutenant Commander Louis said with considerable pride.

Can you not be proud?
The Virginia-class is the latest generation of attack nuclear submarines, and the USS Virginia is the first submarine. Those who can become a member of the Virginia are the elite among the elite.

"Our ship, the Virginia, was commissioned in October 2004 and is now fully combat-ready," said Lieutenant Colonel Louis.

Lin Yuan nodded. It has been less than half a year since they joined the army, and they have already fully formed combat effectiveness. This shows that Lieutenant Colonel Louis and his subordinates are quite outstanding.

It also means that Lin Yuan does not have to worry about the quality of the officers and soldiers driving the submarine, and there will be no accidents like what happened to Ah San, where the submarine sank due to a mistake.

It is said that there is no trivial matter in aerospace, and responsibility is always heavier than Mount Tai.

But if something goes wrong with the space station, the astronauts still have plenty of time to operate it or even escape on a spacecraft.

But once an accident occurs in a submarine, all the crew members will be destroyed within just a few minutes.

Moreover, after death, even the body is difficult to salvage and can only be left quietly on the seabed, becoming a real living coffin.

"Our ship, the Virginia, has an underwater displacement of 7800 tons," Lieutenant Colonel Louis continued.

Lin Yuan and Meng Tao expressed their understanding that this tonnage could definitely not be compared with strategic nuclear submarines, as those things were like small underwater towns.

Among attack submarines, 7800 tons is considered a big one.

Conventional diesel-electric submarines are generally below 4000 tons.

For example, the Kilo-class submarines imported from Russia, which are now regarded as treasures by the Chinese Navy, have an underwater tonnage of only 3000 tons.

Lin Yuan couldn't help but sigh: The gap is quite big now.

Even though twenty years later, China has caught up with or even surpassed the United States in areas such as fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and early warning aircraft, it is still in a catching-up state in the field of submarines.

(End of this chapter)