What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 510 Laying Down the Bait (2600 Monthly Tickets in June)

"Chai Natang and his invincible fleet."

This is the headline of Forbes magazine's report on the departure of the Great White Fleet.

On the day of departure, two battleships and four destroyers lined up in the bay, with the Stars and Stripes flying on top, making it look like an authentic early 20th-century Imperial Navy from a distance.

Forbes magazine, known for its penchant for ranking everything, seized the opportunity. Associate Editor Joni Hauser announced in her personal capacity the launch of the "Forbes Power Rankings," which would rank individuals and companies possessing various types of equipment. The article included a lengthy list of the equipment owned by Gekkin Corporation, including but not limited to:

1艘航母、4艘战列舰、4艘巡洋舰、8艘驱逐舰、164条护卫舰（东江级，算上租出去的渔船），累计吨位超过20万吨，排列个人战力榜第一。

Johnny even believes that if these "tourist attractions" were combined, they would be enough to overwhelm the navies of 95% of the world's countries.

There are certainly many shady dealings behind this exaggerated number:

According to the current world naval rankings, only Italy, ranked 7th, has maintained the 200,000-ton mark. After that, India and other navies have only around 100,000 tons. The 10th is Russia, which recently separated from India.

Moreover, Johnny only calculates tonnage. According to this calculation, many giant shipping groups control cargo ships of over a million tons, which would easily surpass 99% of them.

But the outside world, always eager for a good spectacle, seized upon this "authoritative list" to hype things up, even dubbing the replica of the Great White Fleet the "Invincible Fleet."

……

When I think of you, you're at the ends of the earth.

When I think of you, you are right before my eyes.

When I think of you, you reside in my heart.

I'd rather believe we had a preordained connection in a past life.

"Our love story in this life will never change."

"..."

Wearing a World War II uniform of the Imperial Navy, Wang Tianhou stood on the deck of the USS New York and sang the complete version of "Legend" that Tang Wen had repeatedly revised for the first time in its entirety.

The surrounding celebrities and socialites were silent for a few seconds, and then showered the two with exaggerated praise.

Putting aside the flattering parts, composer/lyricist Tang Wen felt his scalp tingle after listening to the song. The 28-year-old diva's voice paired with the song reminded him of Su Shi's line, "How can it be like being in the human world?"

The ship not only had celebrities, but also various professionals brought by entertainment companies, who immediately offered to bring accompaniment and do it again.

Tang Wen did not refuse, and only after practicing several times and perfectly recording a live version of the MV did it end.

After that, he finally solidified his identity as a talented man, giving people another reason to approach him. The agent who spent a lot of money to get the boat ticket also looked forward to this tycoon bringing more exciting content.

However, they were destined to be disappointed, as Tang Wen had no intention of wasting a month on the ship.

Aside from the occasional necessary appearance, he planned to spend the rest of his time in Antarctica or South Mei, focusing on preparing for the Lost Empire, especially the anti-aircraft tower array in South Mei.

At the grand banquet on the first night, Queen Wang performed an even more stunning indoor version of Legend. The recording team was also very serious and planned to send it to the mainland by seaplane for auto-tuning and release it first.

After participating in the main activities, Tang Wen pretended to get some fresh air, but actually prepared to go to the lower cabin and secretly leave with Jean Bart.

Just as he was going down the stairs, a woman, both unexpected and expected, stopped him at the bottom of the stairs.

"They said you wrote this song for a long time, just so I could sing it."

"Uh……"

Tang Wen had a vague feeling that something was wrong and didn't know how to start, but she continued:

"It really suits my voice. I'd like to use this song as the title track for my new album, is that okay?"

"Ah, no problem. Just remember to save me a signed copy of the album when it's released."

Just as Tang Wen was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his heart was immediately gripped by what followed: "Actually, I think talented men are the most romantic, especially when they are more mature than their age, rational yet emotional, and seem to have endless secrets."

"..."

If the battleship's floor hadn't been made of steel, Tang Wen would have already carved out a two-bedroom apartment.

It must be said that the 28-year-old diva was incredibly alluring, both in appearance and voice, but... Tang Wen really didn't want to be part of a love triangle, no, a love quadrangle, so he could only say it tactfully:
"Actually, I think art is pure."

"I also……"

Boom, boom, boom.

The staircase suddenly began to vibrate with the sound of heavy footsteps. Jean Bart appeared expressionlessly at the bottom of the stairs below the two men. Then, under the light of the incandescent bulb, the thick wooden handrail was snapped in two by slender fingers and slowly crumbled into wood chips and debris under the heavy pressure.

Wang Tianhou, who was fishing for a big fish, screamed as if she had seen a ghost, covered her mouth, and hurriedly ran away.

Tang Wen couldn't help but swallow, thinking that similar situations would probably never happen again after today.

……

Capital
Li Jian was browsing BBS as usual. As an electrical engineering student, his major was at the forefront of the Internet.

The private message from the backend suddenly flashed, and when I opened it, it was an official mass notification:

"Dear user 'A-Jian74', the first anniversary of DaWang BBS is coming soon. Click the link to register for the forwarding lottery. The first place winner will receive a cash prize of up to 100 million yuan and other special rewards."

Users who have participated: 5398

One million??

Without a second thought, Li Jian clicked to sign up and forwarded the message. He also checked the prizes. In addition to the first place winner, there were different levels of rewards for the second to 1000th place winners. Furthermore, the first 1 people to enter the lottery would all receive commemorative silver coins. It was incredibly generous.

He didn't expect to win any of the extravagant prizes mentioned earlier, but even a single silver coin was worth several hundred dollars, which was already quite satisfactory.

……

"Is everything arranged?"

"The nuclear compartment of the HMAS Birmingham has been safely locked and sunk to a depth of 430 meters. Because the sinking speed is controlled by buoys, there is no obvious cracking in the hull."

"I mean, keep it a secret."

"Everything is arranged. All the crew members have gone ashore for leave. The reason for the sinking is that the shipyard took over control and the ship sank due to improper operation during performance testing. There are no problems with the general-purpose electric boat."

Johnson breathed a sigh of relief. The fishing operation on the Birmingham was merely to provide evidence for the so-called "wormhole theory." It was entirely planned by the Navy itself, and incidentally, it also served to settle accounts with the crew members who died on the Seawolf, otherwise it would be difficult to deal with their families. It was a win-win situation.

The Birmingham was packed with locators and all sorts of other devices, all designed to monitor possible salvage operations by the Lost Empire.

Next, they released the news that the Empire had given up on salvage and was just waiting for them to take the bait.

However, the thought of the submarine reminded Johnson of the Type 685 submarine, and he asked Bean about the progress of the investigation.

"Da Mao also discovered it, and they are investigating internally."

"that's it?"

"that's it."

Bean explained with a helpless expression:

"They are spreading rumors internally that this is a corruption case, that Yeprini is in some minor trouble, but they haven't found a breakthrough yet."

(End of this chapter)