161: Chapter 161 People's Goddess Statue

Beijing, National Museum Square.

At six in the morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The roaring sounds of more than a dozen heavy cranes broke the peace of the morning.

The statue of liberty — the 93-meter-tall green statue — was being slowly placed onto a specially made base.

The steel cables were taut and straight, making a creaking sound.

Crane driver Lao Zhang had sweat all over his forehead; gripping the joystick, he adjusted the angle bit by bit.

"Slow down! Slow down!"

The ground commander shouted into the walkie-talkie: "Move another 5 centimeters to the left!"

The surrounding crowd had packed the square densely.

Outside the cordon, tens of thousands of people held up their phones to take pictures.

"Holy shit! It really is the statue of liberty!"

"Oh my god, was this thing actually moved back?"

"That is so fucking satisfying!"

Bursts of cheers erupted from the crowd.

Museum Curator Lao Wang stood next to the base, his mouth unable to close.

He was in his fifties, wore glasses, and was dressed in a Zhongshan suit; looking at this behemoth, his eyes went straight.

The Deputy Minister of Culture patted his shoulder: "Lao Wang, this time your museum has a supreme treasure."

"More than just a supreme treasure!"

Lao Wang's voice was trembling: "This is... This is..."

He thought for a long time and managed to squeeze out:

"This symbolic meaning is even more precious than the Dayu Ding!"

The deputy minister smiled: "The exhibition name has been decided, it will be called 'Freedom's Return'. All ticket revenue will be donated to the military families' fund."

"Good! Good!"

Lao Wang nodded repeatedly, suddenly thinking of something: "Um... How much should the ticket price be set at?"

"200 each."

"Won't that be too expensive?"

"Expensive?"

The deputy minister glared at him: "Do you know how many people made online reservations last night?"

"How many?"

"5 million."

Lao Wang sucked in a breath of cold air.

Meanwhile, the internet had already exploded.

Among the top ten hot searches on Weibo, eight were related to the statue of liberty.

A certain netizen posted:

"Brothers, I just got back from the museum square and I really saw it! 93 meters tall, just standing right there! I am so fucking excited my hands are shaking!"

Attached images: a nine-grid photo collage of the statue of liberty from various angles.

Reposts: 500,000

Likes: 10 million

The comment section was even crazier:

"I suggest renaming it the 'Statue of Liberation'; that name is more apt."

"No, no, it should be called the 'People's statue of liberty', after all, it now belongs to the people."

"The people above are all too literary; isn't it better to just call it 'Spoils of War No. 1'?"

"Hhahahaha I'm dying of laughter, spoils of war numbering, does that mean there will be a No. 2 and No. 3 later?"

"Japan: Suggest returning it to the original owner."

"Daxia: Suggest you first return 140,000 square kilometers of land."

"Japan: ..."

"Daxia: Why aren't you talking anymore? Go on."

...

The Gaulish Rooster Ambassador to China couldn't help posting on Twitter:

"Art has no borders, and the statue of liberty is a symbol of human civilization wherever it is."

The comments underneath instantly broke one million:

"So you admit that the statue of liberty now belongs to Daxia?"

"Art has no borders, so don't ask for it to be returned, right?"

"Gaulish Rooster official seal of approval: The statue belongs to all mankind!"

"Eagle Sauce: So I maintained it in vain for over a hundred years?"

"Suggest Eagle Sauce ask the Gaulish Rooster for a refund, after all, this gift was given for nothing."

Over on Eagle Sauce's side, it was even livelier.

A grassroots petition to "Take Back the Goddess" was launched, and 18 million people signed it within 12 hours.

The White House spokesman was cornered by reporters and asked how they viewed this matter.

The spokesman wiped his sweat: "No comment."

The reporter pressed further: "So is The White House defaulting that the statue of liberty was snatched away by Daxia?"

"I said, no comment."

"Then does Mr. President have any statement to make?"

"... No comment."

After speaking, the spokesman turned and left, leaving a group of reporters dumbfounded on the spot.

East China Sea, a certain secret dock.

Inside the huge dry dock, the uss john finn was securely strapped and mounted on scaffolds.

Everywhere on the hull were cutting marks, and sparks erupted from time to time.

Academician Zhou wore a hard hat, held a flashlight in his hand, and crawled up and down inside the hull.

The seventy-something old man moved even more agilely than a young person.

Following behind him was a group of engineers, each holding various measuring instruments.

"Academician Zhou, should this radar console be dismantled?"

Young engineer Xiao Li pointed at a huge piece of equipment.

Academician Zhou leaned over and took a look.

"Dismantle it."

He touched the console and narrowed his eyes: "This is the legendary SPY-1D phased array radar."

"Eagle Sauce's pride."

"Boasting the ability to simultaneously track 100 targets with a detection range of 400 kilometers."

Xiao Li nodded: "Sounds pretty impressive."

"Impressive my ass."

Academician Zhou pointed at a module: "See this filter?"

"Saw it."

"Its anti-jamming capability relies entirely on this thing."

Academician Zhou knocked on it, "As long as the electromagnetic interference exceeds the threshold, the entire System will be paralyzed."

"As soon as our Mecha's anti-gravity System starts up—"

He snapped his fingers: "It becomes completely blind."

Xiao Li suddenly understood: "No wonder 108 missiles couldn't hit our Mecha."

"That's the exact reason."

Academician Zhou turned and walked towards the stern: "Let's go, take a look at the launch System."

The vertical launch silo area at the stern.

Wang Haifeng led a few people in dismantling the MK41 launch System.

"This design is indeed ingenious."

Wang Haifeng squatted beside the launch tube, his hand touching the tube wall: "Modular, load whatever missile you want. Tomahawk, Standard, ASROC, swap them however you like."

The young engineer beside him lit up: "Then can we also learn from this?"

Wang Haifeng shook his head: "No need."

"Why?"

"Take a look at this launch speed."

Wang Haifeng patted the launch tube, "It can only fire 8 rounds a minute."

"The missile launch System on our Mecha's back has 1,200 micro-missiles with smart guidance, fired simultaneously."

"You tell me which one is more practical?"

The young engineer scratched his head: "That's true..."

"Don't underestimate them."

Wang Haifeng stood up, "This set of Systems, in a traditional navy, is already top-tier."

"However—"

He looked at the mecha transport ship docked in the distance:

"The times have changed."

Deep inside the engine room.

Academician Li crawled into the narrow space to inspect the gas turbines.

Four LM2500s, neatly arranged.

Each weighing 25 tons, with a power of 25,000 horsepower.

"Total power of 100,000 horsepower."

Academician Li recorded the data: "Sounds very scary."

He patted the engine: "But what about the fuel consumption?"

The engineer next to him flipped through the materials: "8 tons per hour."

"Endurance range?"

"4,500 nautical miles."

"Overhaul cycle?"

"2,000 hours."

Academician Li smiled: "Our crystal core reactor—"

"Power of 50,000 kilowatts, running continuously for 240 hours without fuel replenishment, basically requiring no maintenance."

He looked at these four huge engines:

"This is a generational gap."

"It's not that their technology is no good, but rather our technology..."

Academician Li touched the crystal core sample, the one tucked in his pocket:

"Is no longer in the same era."

Eight in the morning.

In the conference room, 200 experts gathered together.

Academician Zhou stood on the stage, holding a thick stack of reports in his hand.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

He scanned the audience: "The dismantling work is basically complete, let me state the conclusions."

Everyone straightened up.

"The uss john finn, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, represents the highest level of Eagle Sauce's navy."

Academician Zhou opened the report:

"The Aegis System is indeed advanced."

"The power System is also formidable."

"The weapon System can be considered top-tier in a traditional navy."

"However—"

His tone shifted:

"In front of a Mecha, it is just a live target."

"Its speed cannot keep up; a Mecha's maximum speed is Mach 8, while it can only run at 30 knots."

"Its defense cannot keep up; the armor is sliced open with a single slash."

"Its firepower cannot keep up either; all 108 missiles missed completely."

The entire room fell silent.

"The only value of this warship—"

Academician Zhou closed the report:

"Is that it has let us see clearly the limits of a traditional navy."

"And it has made us understand—"

He looked out the window at the distant sea surface, where the Mechas were training using the uss john finn as a target:

"The Mecha era has truly arrived."