50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 489 The Melbourne's Sailors' Miserable Fate
More than a century later, Melbourne has become a megacity with a population of over 300 million, and its population continues to grow by hundreds of thousands every year.

However, discrimination is ubiquitous in Western societies, and Australia implemented the "White Australia" policy until the 70s.

After experiencing two world wars, the Third World independence movement, and the equality movement within Western countries, anti-discrimination gradually became "politically correct" in European and American societies.

In 1972, Australia abolished the "White Australia Policy," which excluded non-European whites, and in 1975, it enacted the Anti-Racism Act.

Australia is gradually transforming from a homogeneous, exclusive, and closed society into a diverse, inclusive, and open one.

These transformations have attracted a steady stream of immigrants from around the world, injecting vitality into Australia's economy, technology, culture, and other fields.

What makes Melbourne so unique is that it is home to immigrants from 233 countries and regions around the world, and has 116 different religious beliefs.

More than 180 languages ​​are spoken in Melbourne.

In addition to English, letters from government departments and public service providers that Melbourne residents usually receive list the telephone numbers for interpretation services in 16 commonly used non-English languages, making it easier for residents who are not familiar with English to communicate with government departments.

The different ethnic groups living in the area have their own unique styles in terms of lifestyle, festivals, and cuisine, bringing a rich multicultural charm to Melbourne.

It can be said that, in terms of politics and law, discriminatory policies have been consigned to the dustbin of history, but in real life, Western centrism and white supremacy remain deeply rooted.

On his way from the airport to the port, Sun Zhiwei encountered a group of protesters.

They chanted "Hail Victory" and "Australia belongs to white people, everyone else should get out."

The slogan "Long live the victory" was adopted by the Djokovic Party and was used by white supremacists after World War II.

A group of police officers followed behind the protesters, monitoring their situation at all times, and arresting anyone who acted too aggressively on the spot.

Sun Zhiwei's pickup truck is now stuck at an intersection due to being blocked by the protesters. Some of the men saw Sun Zhiwei's skin color and swore at him, and even gave him the middle finger.

Sun Zhiwei is no saint; he always retaliates immediately when provoked.

He pinpointed the location of those guys; right above their heads was an extended metal bar with a huge traffic light hanging from it.

The spatial cutting mechanism was activated gently, and the screws securing the metal crossbar immediately broke. The heavy metal bar, with the traffic light hanging from it, fell from the sky and smashed into the heads of those people.

Chaos erupted at the scene. To avoid danger, the crowd scattered rapidly in all directions. Sun Zhiwei immediately stepped on the gas and drove through the dispersed marchers.

Although he settled the score on the spot, Sun Zhiwei still remembered the name of the organization these people belonged to: National Socialist Network.

This is Australia's largest white supremacist organization and a major New Zealander organization; Melbourne is their headquarters.

He doesn't have time to teach these people a lesson right now; he'll come back and check on them when he's done with his work.

The pickup truck quickly drove to the Port of Melbourne, where he could see countless ships coming and going in the port area from afar.

The Melbourne was moored at the very edge of the dock, with no other ships around. All the ships, even those much larger than the Melbourne, kept their distance.

Sun Zhiwei's lips twitched slightly upon seeing it; this plague-like creature truly exuded a powerful deterrent effect. He parked his car in the dock parking lot and then approached the Melbourne for a closer look.

Near the dock, many people, like Sun Zhiwei, were visiting the HMAS Melbourne. After all, it's the only aircraft carrier in the world with such a "jinx" reputation, so it's definitely worth a visit.

The naval soldiers guarding the dock didn't stop them from visiting from a distance, as long as they didn't get close. Seeing their miserable expressions, Sun Zhiwei couldn't help but laugh.

They must all be sailors from the HMAS Melbourne. Serving on such an aircraft carrier is not only dangerous, but also very shameful.

From the conversations among the soldiers, he learned that since the radar dome sank to the bottom of the sea, the Melbourne had not received any navigation missions for the past six months and could only stay at the dock with nothing to do.

Sun Zhiwei used his spatial ability to survey the entire Melbourne. There were very few soldiers left on board, and not a single officer.

However, in the taverns near the docks, he saw many naval officers and soldiers in military uniforms. Some of them were drunk, some were embracing dancers and behaving indecently, and even the military police on the ship were getting drunk in the taverns.

Many sailors, drunk, cursed the Melbourne indiscriminately, hoping it would sink soon and stop holding them back.

This is normal; as long as the Melbourne is still around, they are tied to it.

Only when the HMAS Melbourne is no longer there will they be reassigned to other ships. As a naval officer, no one wants to be stuck at the dock all day, just waiting to die.

Ignoring the sailors on the dock, he continued to carefully observe the equipment on the Melbourne.

HMAS Melbourne, as a standard light aircraft carrier of the British Colossus class, was designed to support fleet operations. It eliminated armor and adopted a single-level hangar and light anti-aircraft guns.

To expedite construction, the hull below the waterline was built according to Lloyd's Register merchant ship specifications.

The ship's overall protection capabilities are significantly reduced compared to other types of aircraft carriers, its ability to operate independently is weak, its maximum speed is 25 knots, its range at 14 knots is 12000 kilometers, and it has a crew of 1355.

舰上标准配备42架固定翼飞机，4架A-4G“天鹰”攻击机、6架S-2E“跟踪者”反潜飞机、10架反潜直升机。

The self-defense firepower consisted of only 25 40mm anti-aircraft guns, which was better than nothing.

The more advanced designs and equipment include hydraulic steam catapults, arresting cables, a 5.5° angled deck, landing aids, and some new radars.

Overall, this is an old-fashioned small aircraft carrier from World War II. Many simplifications were made during its construction to reduce costs and speed up the process.

Both in terms of design and technology, the HMAS Melbourne is an outdated aircraft carrier. It's impossible for China to develop aircraft carriers according to this standard.

But even this aging aircraft carrier possesses many core technologies that we lack. Decades of technological blockade against the mainland by both the East and the West have left China lagging behind in military technology across the board.

Looking at the Melbourne, Sun Zhiwei had already decided to take it down, and to do so while preserving as much of the equipment as possible.

He plans to use James Roberts' American identity to buy the old aircraft carrier, arguing that it will add a tourism project to his soon-to-be-built Anatahan Island.

(End of this chapter)