46: Let's do something special; or copy Aliber this time

Chapter 46: Something Special; How About Replicating an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer This Time!?

At the Xia Academy of Sciences, the quiet early morning was silent everywhere, with only a few insects suddenly croaking loudly in the still night.

In that secret room, whose security level had been raised another notch.

Zheng Lixing exclaimed in surprise: “This Mysterious Organization is going to provide us with brand new technology again.”

They hadn't expected that what they thought would be a routine status report would turn out to be such a pleasant surprise.

“It seems this ‘Mysterious Organization’ is quite generous,” Zhang Yuli smiled, “I thought we’d have to wait a long time for the next technology.”

He could tell that this inquiry about what technology Da Xia needed was entirely because they felt Da Xia’s Pay attention to, which prompted them to proactively ask what technology was needed.

Otherwise, he estimated that the next technological transaction would probably have to wait several months or more.

Zheng Lixing stroked his greying beard: “What technology should we ask for? Is it the B-2? Or other scientific technologies?”

“Who doesn’t want B-2 Bomber, C-5 strategic transport aircraft and other such technologies?”

Zhang Yuli smiled helplessly: “But how easy is it to obtain such technology? Let’s just take it one step at a time.”

He even wanted the complete set of EUV lithography machine technology, but that was clearly not realistic enough.

He wasn't surprised by this, after all, the ‘Mysterious Organization’ had similarly asked last time if Da Xia wanted top-tier global military technologies like the B-2 Bomber.

However, even for the ‘Mysterious Organization,’ such technology is not that easy to acquire; it entirely depends on whether their luck is good enough and how deeply they are hidden in the Eagle Country.

After thinking carefully, Zhang Yuli typed a reply.

【Any technology is fine; our Da Xia still lacks many things, so there is no need to make excessive demands.】

This time, he didn't remind them to pay attention to safety, but chose to speak directly.

After all, it wasn't their first collaboration, and he believed that the ‘Mysterious Organization’ always prioritized safety.

Nor did he specify any particular technology, saying what designated technology he needed.

For Da Xia today, whether in the military field or the commercial market, there are simply too many missing technologies; any technology that can be put to use is lacking.

Now is a critical juncture for Da Xia's manufacturing industry to transform, with a large number of low-end manufacturing industries urgently needing to transition to mid-to-high-end production.

After all, it's still the same old saying: Da Xia cannot exchange 100 million shirts for one aircraft; this can only feed Da Xia’s over one billion people, but it cannot truly make Da Xia a prosperous and developed country.

No matter if it's a white cat, a black cat, or a blue cat, any cat that can catch mice is a good cat now.

As for copyright issues, they are no longer the primary concern; India still counterfeits medicines all day long, and no one dares to tell India about ‘copyright’ infringement.

How many divisions do you have? If you dare, come over with your warships and say: “Open the door, free trade.”

Soon, the Mysterious Organization's reply arrived quickly.

【We have been informed, and we believe this technology will definitely not disappoint you.】

Looking at this text, neither of them rushed to reply.

“Actually, the Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology the Mysterious Organization provided last time was very good.”

Zheng Lixing's face was full of uncontrollable smiles: “It has a wide range of uses, and the manufacturing difficulty is not too high.”

In fact, compared to the previous Boeing 777, he felt that the Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle could unleash even greater value.

There's no need to say much about its military applications; the Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a divine weapon for urban warfare, localized conflicts, and low-intensity warfare.

While the Boeing 777 model can also be temporarily converted into a transport aircraft, it remains essentially a civilian aircraft.

Even in the civilian market, Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles can also create enormous commercial value.

Who wouldn't like a technology that allows you to have your cake and eat it too?

Zhang Yuli frowned upon hearing this: “However, this Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology still needs to be appropriately compensated to this organization.”

“The unconditional ‘remuneration’ we promised before is still far from enough.”

“Indeed, it’s not enough. We need to find a way to compensate them,” Zheng Lixing did not refute.

When they first obtained this Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology, they hadn't actually considered its enormous potential in detail.

Now that they understand the significance it can achieve, the previous verbal ‘remuneration’ seems a bit meager, and if the ‘Mysterious Organization’ doesn't use it at all, wouldn't that be equivalent to no remuneration?

If this were Eagle Country's technology, Da Xia wouldn't mind taking it for free. Money? What money? Didn't the Empress Dowager already pay for it back then?

However, for this extremely important Mysterious Organization, they must definitely give as much as needed; they are not afraid of it asking for too much, only afraid of it not wanting anything.

After much thought, Zhang Yuli slowly articulated his idea: “How about this, let’s take half of all the net profit earned from this Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology.”

“Then, when the time is right in the future, we will give them this money.”

Zheng Lixing nodded in agreement: “Your method is good, let’s do that.”

Both Zhang Yuli and Zheng Lixing understood very well that goodwill always runs out one day, no matter how much they appreciate Da Xia and are willing to provide technology without compensation.

But what about the future? This kind of thing is not sustainable; only common interests can ensure continued cooperation between both parties.

And Da Xia will not care about this petty gain, just as the song goes: good wine for friends, shotguns for enemies—that has been Da Xia’s consistent style for thousands of years.

California, Livermore LLNL Laboratory.

Seeing that there was no further reply from the other side, Lu Ze closed the light screen on his eyeball.

“The special team currently interfacing with me should still be those few people from the original Xia Academy of Sciences,” Lu Ze mused inwardly.

From his previous interactions with the other party, the person he spoke with had actually remained unchanged.

So, this should simply be Da Xia changing this communication channel from a temporary emergency status back to a formal and long-term status.

And the Special Secret Team is the department permanently responsible for the Mysterious Organization, with its authority greatly increased once again.

“Any technology is fine? Then which one should I choose?”

Lu Ze then began to ponder the second question.

What technology does Da Xia need? If a list were made, it would probably be dozens of meters long.

Not to mention the oft-discussed technologies like ultra-high precision high-speed multi-axis machining centers or EUV lithography machines, from large nuclear-powered aircraft carrier technology to small basic processed items like hand-tearable steel.

Even excluding many technologies he couldn't access, there were still a vast number of choices, like a sea of people.

And most importantly, he needed to replicate according to his current needs, rather than blindly replicating.

“As for aircraft… I feel like I’ve replicated too many,” Lu Ze shook his head, “Let’s choose something else, otherwise it’s too monotonous.”

Before, he had always replicated aircraft technology, and even two of those times were F22s.

This time, he should definitely change things up and choose other technological items to replicate.

Moreover, the B-2 Bomber he had always wanted to replicate hadn't even been cataloged yet, so he had even less desire to replicate aircraft.

“What should I choose… something that would help Da Xia and also provide many achievement points.”

Lu Ze muttered to himself, and suddenly a thought flashed in his mind: “Hey, why not replicate a destroyer?”

Since he had no interest in the aerial aspect, and there were too few top-tier technological items for the Army, he naturally had to start with the Navy.

Most of Eagle Country's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are either docked at overseas bases, cruising around the world, or undergoing maintenance in shipyards. It's difficult for him to access them, unless there's a special opportunity.

But some destroyers are not; they often dock at various ports, and it's even possible to go in for a close-up visit, unlike aircraft carriers which can only be admired from afar.

“In 2009, Eagle Country should still be using the arleigh burke-class destroyer, which also seems pretty good.”

Lu Ze's eyes lit up; he had finally found his target!

The future most advanced Zumwalt-class destroyer of Eagle Country, although its development began as early as 1997, would not be finalized until 2013, and its service entry would be even later, in 2016, seven years from now. He estimated there was no hope for it in the short term.

The arleigh burke-class destroyer is also an extremely good choice. Although it is like a younger brother compared to the Type 055 Destroyer developed by Da Xia in later generations, in 2009, the Type 055 project had not even been officially put on the table, and even the Type 052D would need another five years to enter service. During this period, it could indeed be called an invincible destroyer.

“Its single ship cost is around 2 billion usd, isn’t it? How many achievement points would that reward?”

Lu Ze couldn't contain his excitement at this thought and quickly walked out of the restroom.

He had to hurry and ask Lucy how to get access to a destroyer.

It's important to know that achievement points are not solely based on the level of the technological item, but also on its scarcity and high value, which all contribute to an overall evaluation.

And the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer happens to be an existence with high technological content, combining both scarcity and high value.

How had he never thought of this before? Even with Da Xia's low manufacturing costs, a single Type 055 would easily cost a billion usd.

He conservatively estimated that the achievement point reward for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer would be about ten times that of an F22. Wouldn't that be a massive windfall?

Lu Ze washed his hands and hurried back to where he had just been resting.

Looking at Lucy, who was sitting in the chair, full of enthusiasm, still watching anime, and even imitating a few lines from it, she said with a serious voice: “Jeanne d'Arc transformation, what happened? What happened?”

“Lucy, stop watching for a moment.”

Lu Ze stood in front of Lucy and said with a serious expression: “You tell me… can we get access to a destroyer here?”

He didn't directly state the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer as his target, but chose a broader category.

Even other destroyers wouldn't be unacceptable!

(Sorry for the delay today, I had some things to do. This is the second update; the third update will be later tonight, I'll try to get it out before 12 AM.)

(If you have monthly or recommendation tickets, please cast them. We need data now that it's on the shelves!)