What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 654 What's Wrong with Being a Dog?

Among the many advanced technologies of the Lost Empire, wormholes are the most elusive and technically the most terrifying.

Other technologies, such as superhumans, clones, and super-fast travel, can at least be considered as having a few feasible technological routes. As for wormholes?

The existence of wormholes is just a conjecture. The military also has great doubts about this mysterious thing that can travel light-years and teleport instantly. However, knowledgeable cutting-edge physicists claim that it has great value and can even be used for interstellar travel to conquer other planets.

This gave Gross another opportunity. After persuading Prism Building to conduct an on-site investigation of signal noise in the South Pacific, he siphoned off another $2000 million in the name of the LIGO gravitational wave detector.

Since then, Prism Building's investment in the LIGO gravitational wave detector has exceeded $1 million, greatly advancing humanity's exploration of cutting-edge science.

Following this, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had to continue to spend money, with the Navy and Air Force jointly making new demands regarding the events that occurred in Khaki Gulf:
Since the P13A might be searching for enemies visually, the Imperial Army would also need equipment to interfere with visual searches.

After consulting with various military-industrial complexes, Raytheon presented its smoke generator, developed for the Navy, indicating its ability to further optimize a new formula that offers faster diffusion and stronger shielding.

The generators used on warships are relatively expensive and cannot be mass-produced for the time being, but aircraft can be equipped with disposable smoke canisters, which are neither heavy nor very expensive, and can be quickly mass-produced and deployed.

Rams saw that the unit price was not bad at only $20 per unit, but when he calculated the number of aircraft that needed to be equipped and the amount of reserves, it would be an expense of at least several hundred million dollars.

He didn't want to approve it, but Wayne said:

“Even the cheapest F-16 on patrol missions is worth close to $100 million. If the smoke can save three F-16s, it’s a good deal.”

Johnson was even more self-righteous, saying that if the USS Stansson had been equipped with a smoke generator, it might have survived unscathed.

Although the vertical launch system and guns of the USS Stanson were not damaged, one of the AN/SQS-53C sonars in the broken bow was completely destroyed. The replacement cost alone was as high as $7000 million. Including the cost of various materials, dry dock and painting, the repair would cost at least $1.8 million and take six months.

Which is more important?

Rams had no choice but to agree to immediately allocate funds to accelerate the mass production of smoke generators, and approved the first batch of aircraft and warships to be equipped with smoke devices. $5 million was spent so easily.

The unexpected expense made him very uncomfortable, so he finally found Kazimirz and said:
"The Empire is spending too much on maintaining world peace, and there is another large expenditure coming soon. If this continues, the military expenditure burden will become more and more outrageous."

The "next expenditure" does not refer to dealing with India, but rather to the Balkan Peninsula.

The Balkan Peninsula has been engulfed in conflict since January. In the original world line, the old European Union intervened long ago under the Atlantic Treaty, and it took a long time before the Empire also got involved.

However, since the Christmas campaign nearly drained Europe's vitality, the old money needed to recover, and it would take a long time just to replenish ammunition.

This caused the fires in Balkans to burn even more fiercely, to the point that the Empire, which had originally wanted its allies to step in and hold the line, could no longer sit still. After all, with the fall of the polar bear, the Empire was counting on the future to continuously harvest Europe to enrich itself, and it couldn't afford any trouble.

The President is hesitant about the issues of the subcontinent and Southeast Asia because there is little benefit to be gained, but he is exceptionally determined to secure the money and has urged the Heavenly Army to intervene actively several times.

Withdrawal from the subcontinent is a foregone conclusion. In any case, the surgical strike has effectively paralyzed Operation Shakti, and the Lost Empire certainly did not obtain the crucial experimental data. The expected goal has actually been achieved.

However, Third Brother's mouth was too sharp and the losses were too heavy, so the Empire was losing face and was unwilling to retreat easily.

From Rams' own perspective, the land in India was quite good. Although he didn't want to fight for it, he was eager to see if he could squeeze some profit out of it.

A brilliant man like Kazimirz naturally knew what he was thinking, and an idea popped into his head in a flash:

"Arm sales to the next continent!"

Ramston frowned immediately. How could the Empire possibly sell equipment to India at this time? Wouldn't that be a slap in their own face?

But that was certainly not Kazimirz's true intention; he was referring to the subcontinent, not India.

Rams fell into thought.

Rams's thinking was successful.

"Little Bus?"

"Correct."

Kazimirz nodded emphatically:
"Third Brother has effectively lost this opportunity to grow mushrooms, and his prestige has inevitably been greatly shaken. This, in turn, will affect the restart of Operation Shakti. I analyze that it will be at least two or three years before the next experiment."

To suppress internal opposition and vehement emotions, they were left with only one option: to fight.

Rams suddenly realized that this was not difficult to think of, but he had been so confused lately that he had overlooked it.

Originally, everyone thought that the third brother's mushroom cultivation was irreversible, so they also provided some wild mushroom cultivation techniques to the third brother's neighbors.

Since the third brother has no hope for the time being, then the little bus cannot become the first.

Without the suppression of Mushroom Chris's Sword, and with internal high pressure within India—conflict is inevitable.

"Conflict is good."

When Ramston gets into a ruthless business, he sells weapons at high prices during conflicts so that buyers won't haggle. He also demands full payment upfront before slowly shipping the goods, dragging it out for years to swallow the money. Then he tells the buyer that they have to pay for upgrades before he can ship the goods, and the money comes in!

The big dog owner has a lot of potential money; shouldn't we try to squeeze some out of him?
Not only can they sell equipment, but if the already sanctioned India really goes to war, it will definitely need external support... Another opportunity to take advantage of the situation has arrived.

After a few words of guidance from Kazimirz, Rams felt completely refreshed and finally left with ease.

……

In late April, as international forces penetrated deeper into the region, international media began to extensively expose the brutal chaos unfolding there.

Sharp's hope for a temporary peace through reconciliation with Geigin was completely dashed. After Lec was formally arrested, many bigwigs associated with him were either arrested or left the scene in disgrace, and there was no sign of it stopping.

Sharp himself completely lost his prestige after being suppressed by Guyon. No one believed him anymore, and they all sought their own way out. Many people took the initiative to betray their colleagues to the Allied Forces in hopes of getting a pardon.

During this process, Sergio stood out because of his long-term contact with Geigin, and many people began to seek him out in hopes of obtaining Geigin's protection.

Although Tang Wen repeatedly claimed to cooperate with international organizations, the two battleships were still kept.

Two construction vessels from the Spratly Islands have arrived at Natuna to prepare for port expansion. The Gajkin garrison fleet is only 1,000 kilometers away. Warships can arrive within 24 hours, and airplanes can arrive in as little as one hour.

Although the A4 is far inferior to the F16, what can you do when the A4 can only manipulate propellers?

Sharp was already considering a dignified exit to pursue behind-the-scenes interests, but now Prism Building would rather arrest him directly, as he was no longer of any value to them.

In the local Chinese community, a Luzon Chinese man named Wang Lufei, with the local name Juchang and nickname Ao Debiao, has risen to prominence.

These "outsiders" were the first to enter the Sulawesi region and begin to expand. For some reason, Lin Zhengwan strongly supported this. At first, many Chinese were not optimistic about it, after all, Chinese people attending large gatherings would encounter strong hostility.

However, Wang Lufei seems to be fearless, easily controlling a large area of ​​territory with just a pheasant neck and a machine gun, showing signs of becoming a new big boss.

What's even more amazing is that the authorities didn't react at all, and Sergio even went to Sulawesi to meet with Wang Luffy in a friendly manner?

Many Chinese businessmen were incredulous and went to ask the well-informed Lin Zhengwan for an answer. It is said that the latter did not answer verbally, but simply pointed to a snail in the garden.

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening and quickly went to support this rising star.

Lacking both a solid foundation and sufficient funds, Wang Lufei immediately received countless invitations and offers of shares, all begging him to accept them.

With ample money, equipment, and manpower, Wang Lufei quickly settled down in the area and became a true new tycoon. The chamber of commerce that Lin Zhengwan had led and organized for over a century was immediately abandoned and collapsed.

There was no way around it; all the background and experience were meaningless in the face of absolute violence. Gai Jin was a much more reliable backer. The extent to which the Chinese businessmen fawned over Wang Hu made even the latter apprehensive. They fabricated a heroic and moving early life story for him, bought a bunch of titles of success, and swiftly elected him as the president of the Aodebiao Chamber of Commerce, giving him control over 80% of the Chinese business economy in China.

In just half a month, Wang Hu's status underwent a dramatic change. Although he had a comfortable life on Varee Island, it was still boring and tasteless.

Just a few days ago, Gaijin seemed to be suffering terribly from the sanctions, but in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

But after Gaijin showed off his skills, he was ordered to lead his men into the Chow Chow. He thought he would have to go through a fierce battle and survive, but instead a bunch of big shots he had never been able to contact before gave him money, land and people.

They have a manor, businesses, and luxury cars; more importantly, their status has reached a level that was once unimaginable.

The hardships he endured during his early development on Varee Island, followed by the exaggerated joy, made him feel as if he were in a dream.

The immortals' methods are terrifying; with just a flick of their wrists, worldly riches and honors are within their grasp!
Overjoyed, Wang Hu tossed and turned, feeling uneasy. Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't yet late at night, he made a phone call, tears streaming down his face, to pledge his loyalty:

"President Tang, I used to think that you looked down on me because you didn't teach me the techniques. In private, my underlings would say that I was just a dog working for you."

But what I want to say today is, what's wrong with being a dog? I'm content being a dog, and I'm just a dog of the Dragon Group!

Woof, woof! Woof woof!

The barking of the dog on the other end of the phone was so loud that Tang Wen, who sat up in bed to answer the call, was stunned.

"Commander, where did that dog barking come from? I don't remember there being any dogs near my house."

Cheshire groped around on him, and then Jean Bart on the other side also woke up:

"You look so good today?"

Oops.

Wang Hu, I love you!
Tang Wen gritted his teeth and said to Wang Hu, who had helped him set off for the CG:
"You did a great job. Next time I'll bring you some spiritual essence to cleanse your marrow and strengthen your bones."

"Thank you, boss. I won't disturb your rest any longer, woof!"

The call ended, but Tang Wen was now facing Jean Bart, whose gaze remained intense in the darkness, his scarlet pupils gleaming with a dangerous light.

"..."

Tang Wen lowered his voice: "Cheshire is asleep."

"I wasn't asleep, what you're doing is..."

"Tuk Tuk"

The voice of the ship girl who peeked out was interrupted by the knocking on the door, and Tang Wen immediately shushed her to be quiet.

Zhenhai's voice came from outside: "Are you all asleep?"

"We fell asleep."

Cheshire, what are you doing here!

The next second, Kronstadt smashed through the door and burst in, shocked by the appalling scene, then his rage reached maximum:

"Oh, so you secretly threw a party behind our backs!"

Zhenhai looked at Tang Wen expressionlessly:
"Commander, what are you doing?"

Tang Wen: "I'm learning English and French at the same time... Nan Mei seems to have something to do, I'll teleport away first... Hey, calm down, I won't do it again next time..."

……

……

2 PM the following afternoon
Tang Wen first received a call from Zhao Hande:

"I couldn't get through on the phone all morning... Oh well, the meteorological bureau has already incorporated the plateau snow accumulation variable into the model and revised it, only to find that the plateau snow accumulation has increased by 40% compared to previous years!"

Recalculations have revealed a real possibility of severe flooding this year. It's possible that dikes will breach in many areas along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and in Northeast China. Emergency measures to strengthen flood control have already been arranged. We will remember this kindness!

Not long after, it was Old Zhang's computer again, mysteriously requesting a copy of the "Flood" system's test data.

Tang Wen immediately complained that the "flood" had far exceeded expectations in terms of power load and heat generation during the test, and even the cooling pipes exploded, with radiation so strong that it could cook a person.

"So our manual specifically emphasizes that personnel need to wear protective clothing. Weren't the protective clothing we sent used?"

Tang Wen then remembered that there were indeed several pieces of equipment that looked as bulky as spacesuits that were sent along with the "Flood" system, which he simply threw away as trash.

Old Zhang was taken aback by the silence:

"Wasn't he wearing protective clothing during the test?"

"..."

"..."

"Hey, don't overthink it. The 'flood' was indeed quite effective, but could we make it even bigger?"

"Bigger? How big?"

Tang Wen, however, asked first:
"Then first tell me what kind of influence from outer space you detected at that time, and to what extent?"

This time, Lao Zhang hesitated for a moment before hanging up, and then quickly called back:
"Communications below 500 kilometers altitude were almost completely disrupted, but only peak power could block them, and it would take at least ten minutes to restore them."

Tang Wen: "Can it achieve a peak power of 1000 megawatts? We don't need to consider reliability. Even if it's a one-time use, it's enough if it can maintain output for one minute."

"Absolutely not!"

The voice wasn't Old Zhang's. The person who spoke then introduced himself as someone who researched radio, explaining to Tang Wen:
"At such power, it is very likely that medium and low orbit satellites will be completely burned out, and even cause a short-term failure of global communications."

Furthermore, the heat dissipation and load-bearing capacity of the vacuum tubes determine the design's upper limit. Even if it were actually built, it would be extremely unreliable. Transferring it to a warship would cause the total system weight to increase dramatically to nearly 1 tons; it might even collapse during preheating alone.

The main reason for the sudden and intense reaction is, of course, the enormous impact. With a peak power of 1000 megawatts, it is almost comparable to a solar flare and is worthy of being described in a novel as "full-band jamming interference".

The only way to achieve the same level of disruption is to drop a few hydrogen bombs weighing millions of tons into the atmosphere. But what is the difference between turning on a 1000-megawatt jammer and using a hydrogen bomb to block global communications?
The strategic importance of this level of jamming power is close to that of a hydrogen bomb, and its impact is enormous.

Tang Wen, however, seemed to sense something and asked:
"Why are you so clear about the consequences? Could it be that the country is trying to secretly conduct its own research?"

The answer was a silent rebuke.

"..."

Tang Wen did not insist, after all, he had now successfully replicated "Flood" and knew that the structure of "Flood" was feasible.

Since the technical level is within 60 seconds, it's not too late to study it later.

(End of this chapter)