121: His girlfriend is your wife? Wait, my CPU is burning out!

"Well, my wife was his girlfriend."

Holy crap! My CPU is about to fry. What kind of development is this?

Your wife was his girlfriend? Can these two terms be shared like that?

Seeing Lu Shenwei looking completely bewildered, Gu Ming explained further, "We went to military academy together. My wife was the department beauty back then, and plenty of people were chasing her, including Chen Guang and me."

"Don't let Chen Guang's stern, square face fool you now. He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve back then. He managed to win over my wife within half a semester."

"Later, when Chen Guang went away for training, I saw my chance. I pestered and cajoled her until I won her back. That's when the grudge was formed."

Lu Shenwei was left with a head full of question marks after hearing that; the plot was a bit mind-bending.

"That's all ancient history. Surely Chen Guang wouldn't hold a grudge for that long?" Lu Shenwei asked, puzzled.

Gu Ming sighed and added, "If it were just that, it wouldn't be enough."

Holy crap! There's more?

At this moment, Lu Shenwei just wanted to find a stool, sit down, snack on some spicy strips, and watch the drama unfold.

"Five years ago, during the all-army multi-system competition, I had a lapse in judgment. I intended to let him win, but ended up surpassing him instead. My assessment score was one point higher, so I got promoted that year, and he had to wait until the next."

Ugh, stealing a wife and blocking a promotion—if I were Chen Guang, I'd definitely pick a fight with you.

You're reaping both love and career success, while I'm here all alone, forced to watch you two show off your affection.

You scoundrel, get out of here!

"That really is a bit..."

Lu Shenwei covered his face. No man could handle that, let alone a dignified Second-Rate Four.

"Once the exercise ends, I'll be heading back to the naval base. Your..."

Before Gu Ming could finish his sentence, his phone rang in his pocket.

"I heard two new pieces of equipment appeared in this Zhuri confrontation. Hurry up and find out about them; don't be late to the punch."

Zhong Zheng's anxious warning came from the other end of the line. Gu Ming looked up at Lu Shenwei and said, "I've already found the General Manager of the R&D unit. Tell me, what are your instructions?"

"What? You've already found them? Is it Northern Ordnance, Southern Heavy Industries, or perhaps the Jingji Equipment Research Institute?" Zhong Zheng asked, looking stunned.

He had already received news that the 59 stealth coating used by the Red Army was developed by the Western Theater Command itself.

That was a stealth coating! If it could be applied to the 055 ten-thousand-ton destroyer, maybe one day a single 055 destroyer could actually take on an entire Eagle-chan carrier strike group with low risk.

"None of those. You're very familiar with the enterprise that developed the stealth coating."

Zhong Zheng asked, puzzled, "I'm familiar with it? It couldn't be our Naval Equipment Procurement and R&D Department, could it?"

"Hehe, if you say so, it could be," Gu Ming said, acting mysterious.

Zhong Zheng darkened his face. "Be serious, kid. Tell me."

"Julong Steel. The stealth coating was developed by Lu Shenwei."

"Really? Is it really little Lu? Hurry up and bring him to me—no, have him sign a confidentiality agreement on the spot to ensure the stealth coating is supplied to our Navy first."

"Director Lu is right here with us. Why don't you give him your instructions?"

Lu Shenwei took the phone, and Zhong Zheng asked with a chuckle, "Little Lu, how much of that stealth coating do you have left?"

"I hope you are well, Zhong Zheng. I think there should be over a hundred barrels left."

Over a hundred barrels? Good grief! If this were all given to the Navy, why couldn't we build an 055 stealth-coated destroyer?

"If you haven't promised it to anyone else, how about giving the Navy a hundred barrels first?" Zhong Zheng asked.

Lu Shenwei was naturally happy to oblige. "No problem. I'll have a truck send it to you later."

"Wait, give the phone to that kid, Gu Ming."

Gu Ming took the phone back, and Zhong Zheng said urgently, "Now, immediately, send a special plane to Qinchuan to bring the stealth coating back for me."

"Huh? Right now?"

"Yes! Right now! If you're a step late, there might not even be a scrap left!"

Just from what Zhong Zheng knew, several military equipment bigwigs were already looking for the R&D unit for the stealth coating, and a few others who weren't thinking clearly were looking for the swarm drone manufacturer.

Little did they know, these two units were actually one and the same, and he had already beaten them to it.

"Understood, leader. I'll dispatch a special plane to fly to Qinchuan first thing tomorrow morning," Gu Ming replied.

"You silly kid, do you know what this stealth coating means? With it, our warships can roam freely across the vast seas. If you don't send someone now, it'll be too late."

Under Zhong Zheng's repeated prodding, Gu Ming finally came to his senses.

He immediately dialed the Navy duty phone and dispatched a large transport aircraft to Qinchuan.

"Little Lu, give the factory a heads-up. We'll be there to pick up the goods as early as this evening."

"So urgent? Alright, I'll tell Director Ma. As soon as he sees the military trucks, he'll load the goods and let them pass."

When Ma Quanlin received the call, he was confused. "They want all our stock of 'Liuguang' anti-rust paint? Military trucks coming to pick it up this evening? Alright, I understand."

Ma Quanlin hung up the phone and immediately notified Grandpa Liu at the front gate post.

"Front gate post? If military trucks arrive this evening, let them through directly. Let them drive to the warehouse to pick up the paint."

"Yes, load all the paint onto the trucks."

After giving the instructions, Ma Quanlin turned and headed for the construction site, but in his haste, he left his phone on the table.

Because of this inconspicuous phone, the four major combat forces of Dragon Xia almost started fighting.

Zhuri Exercise Command Center.

The gloom between Chen Guang's brows had vanished, while the overbearing Colonel Man was feeling a bit depressed.

The tactical analysis lasted for over half an hour, after which the attention of the military experts and leaders was drawn to the Red Army's new equipment.

"In my opinion, this single-tube portable drone launcher can definitely be equipped to individual soldiers on a large scale."

"It can attack when advancing and defend when retreating; it's simply a god-tier weapon for individual soldiers."

"What's even more commendable is that this equipment can be combined using connecting parts into a multi-tube launcher, forming a swarm attack that is far more powerful than our active-duty mortars."

"If you ask me, the swarm drones can definitely rival our guerrilla god-tier weapon from back in the day—the 107 rocket launcher. This thing is hit-and-run, focusing on surprise."

"Colonel Man has the most say on this matter."

Hahaha—

The group of leaders and experts burst into laughter, and even Colonel Man couldn't help but crack a smile.

"That's true. I really do have the most say on this matter. When our armored cluster saw the sky filled with drones, other than using vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns to strafe the air, there really wasn't a better solution."

"Chen Guang, how do you deal with the things your Western Theater Command came up with?"

Chen Guang chuckled and said, "Classified."

He had once asked Lu Shenwei how to deal with swarm drones, and Lu Shenwei only said two words: "Jamming."

Chen Guang knew about jamming, of course, but Lu Shenwei hadn't gone into detail about how to jam them.

"You're keeping secrets, kid. In my opinion, just use anti-aircraft guns to shoot them down."

"Anti-aircraft guns have a low hit rate. Missile interception is more practical."

"Missile interception? How much does a single drone cost? An interceptor missile costs at least 3 million."