123: Go to hell! The Navy is the best in the world!

Grandpa Liu hesitated repeatedly before calling Wang Zizhong, who was blowing in the cold wind far away in East Siberia.

“Vice Director, there are four military trucks outside. They say they’re here to pick up cargo. I can’t get through to the Chairman or the Factory Director. What should I do?”

Wang Zizhong had been drinking until he was tipsy, but he sobered up halfway the moment he heard this.

“Military trucks? Let them in quickly. Keep trying the calls, but don’t neglect our comrades,” Wang Zizhong reminded him.

With Wang Zizhong’s word, Grandpa Liu stopped worrying and immediately opened the steel plant’s gate.

The four military trucks drove in one after another, parking in front of the old warehouse storing Liuguang Coating.

Wang Zizhong called Vice Director Zhao Tieniu to handle it. Poor Zhao Tieniu had been working overtime for half a month and had finally managed to get half a day off.

After receiving the call, he hurriedly pulled on his pants and rushed to the factory.

“What’s the rush? What happened?”

“Four military trucks came to the factory. Director Ma probably forgot his phone at the construction site. I’m going to go see what’s going on first.”

Zhao Tieniu threw on his clothes and rushed to the warehouse door without even catching his breath.

“Comrades, I am Zhao Tieniu, Vice Director of Julong Steel.”

“Director Zhao, you’ve finally arrived. This is the letter of introduction from the Army theater. We need 60 barrels of Liuguang Coating, and we’ll load them ourselves.”

Seeing the Army truck driver pull out the letter of introduction, the Navy truck driver refused to be outdone: “This is our requisition for 50 barrels.”

“We need 50 barrels too.”

“We need 70 barrels.”

The truck drivers from the Air Force and Two Artillery grew anxious. Before coming, their leaders had specifically instructed them to get their hands on the military coating.

Zhao Tieniu steadied himself: “Everyone, don’t be anxious. We have plenty of coating in the warehouse.”

He was in charge of safety and production at the steel plant and had no idea that there were only 130 barrels of stealth coating in stock.

“Please open the warehouse door. We’ll move them ourselves,” the Army truck driver said politely.

Qinchuan was the Army’s territory, so the people he brought temporarily were the most numerous, with over twenty soldiers.

Before coming, Chen Guang had explained that the coating stock couldn’t satisfy everyone, and they could get a little confrontational if necessary.

Zhao Tieniu opened the warehouse. The Army truck drivers were the quickest, moving the paint barrel by barrel onto their truck.

The Navy personnel on the side grew anxious upon seeing this. Didn’t they say there was plenty? This wasn’t enough at all!

“Don’t just stand there, everyone. Let’s finish quickly so we can go home.”

The accompanying Navy soldiers rushed forward to carry the goods, and the Air Force and Two Artillery grew anxious.

This was absolutely not ‘plenty’; there were only a hundred or so barrels at most. If they finished moving them all, what would be left for them?

The remaining two groups rushed in, squeezing and shoving each other—it was quite a scene.

“I grabbed this barrel of paint first. Let go!”

“Don’t hurt our friendship; we’re all eating from the same pot.”

“Step aside. I grabbed this barrel of paint first.”

Zhao Tieniu was stunned by what he saw. What was going on?

“Everyone, don’t fight! We have plenty of paint. There’s still stock in the warehouse next door.”

It would have been better if Zhao Tieniu hadn’t shouted. After that yell, the four groups fought even more fiercely.

“Army brothers, can’t you yield?”

“Screw you! ‘Brothers’? We in the Navy are the new power, okay?”

“Put down that barrel of paint. Do you still want artillery support in the future?”

“The Air Force is the best in the world! Everyone, let go!”

The hundred or so barrels of paint were completely divided up by the four groups in less than five minutes.

The Army theater grabbed the most, a full 60 barrels, followed by the Navy with over 50 barrels.

Two Artillery and the Air Force were the slowest; Two Artillery managed to grab 10 barrels, and the Air Force only had 7.

The Army and Navy trucks left the factory in 'triumph' one after another, leaving Two Artillery and the Air Force staring at each other.

Zhao Tieniu opened the door to another warehouse: “I told you there was still stock. Take a look.”

Barrels of paint were stacked full in the middle of the warehouse, but he had no idea these were just ordinary anti-rust and anti-corrosion paint.

The eyes of the Two Artillery and Air Force personnel lit up, and they hurriedly loaded their trucks and left.

After sending off the four groups, Zhao Tieniu was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly saw Ma Quanlin walking over from a distance.

“Old Ma, you’re finally back. The scene just now was terrifying.”

“Isn’t it just the Army trucks coming to pick up paint? How was it? Did you arrange everything?”

“What Army? All four major service branches came.”

“What did you say? Four major service branches?”

Ma Quanlin was shocked. Director Lu had clearly told him that only Chen Guang and the Army theater were coming.

Ma Quanlin couldn’t figure it out. He reached into his pocket to ask what was going on, only to realize he hadn’t brought his phone.

When he dialed Lu Shenwei’s number, he found that no one answered.

“How many barrels did they all take?”

“Army 60 barrels, Navy 55 barrels, Air Force 65 barrels, Two Artillery 40 barrels.”

What did that mean?

Wasn’t there only 130 left in stock? How did the total add up to over 200 barrels?

“Did they all take them from Warehouse No. 7?”

“Warehouse No. 7 wasn’t enough, so I opened Warehouse No. 8.”

“Ah?”

It was over!

Warehouse No. 8 stored ordinary anti-rust paint.

“Which direction did they leave in?”

“Heading east out the door. They should be going to the airport.”

“Quick, chase them! The Air Force and Two Artillery loaded the wrong paint.”

“Loaded the wrong one? That shouldn’t be.”

“No time to explain. Get in the car, quickly!”

“Where to?”

“The airport!”

Ma Quanlin floored the gas pedal almost to the fuel tank, but he couldn't catch up to the military trucks.

“We’re in trouble. Little Lu, hurry up and answer the phone.”

The Air Force and Two Artillery had taken the wrong paint. If it was used on key military equipment, the problem would be huge.

Dragon Xia, a certain base of the Southeast Air Force.

The ‘Big Fatty’ landed slowly at the military airport.

“Was the mission successful?”

“Leader, look. 65 barrels of stealth coating. It’s just a pity they aren’t from the same batch.”

“Not the same batch? It doesn’t matter. As long as it can help the fighter jets stealth, that’s enough.”

The Director of the R&D Center was beaming. He had only learned in the last two days that the new generation of stealth coating had appeared at the Zhuri Exercise Base.

He just couldn’t understand: even if such good stealth coating wasn’t prioritized for the Air Force, it should have been given to the Navy first, right?

Why was it that the Army’s ‘clumsy, big, and rough’ gear got to use it first, and it was even painted on the heavy, outdated Type 59 tanks?

A waste of good resources, simply a waste of good resources!

“Did you give the factory a receipt?”

“Ah? I was busy grabbing paint with the Army and the others at the time. The factory didn’t ask us for one, and I forgot to give it.”

“Give them a receipt tomorrow and wire the money over next week.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it first thing tomorrow morning.”

Zhuri Exercise Base.

Lu Shenwei was fast asleep on the guest house bed, his phone ringing incessantly, with over 99 missed calls.

“The Chairman’s phone still won’t go through. We can only wait until tomorrow. Let’s pray nothing happens.”

“It’s my fault. I didn’t distinguish the difference between the two types of paint. If something happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

Zhao Tieniu looked remorseful. Ma Quanlin consoled him: “Who could have foreseen that all four groups would come at once? Let’s wait for the Chairman to return the call tomorrow.”