106: Chapter 106: Dare to cross the line, and we'll use you as a test subject.
Jiang Ning's words were like a reassurance, and also like a bugle call, instantly igniting the fighting spirit of everyone in the command center.
"I agree!"
The first to stand up was an Old General with graying hair; he slammed his hand on the table, making the cups jump.
"If conventional methods can't solve it, we must use unconventional ones! We trust Engineer Jiang's professional judgment!"
"Seconded!" Another elder from the highest decision-making level nodded heavily. He scanned the room, his words leaving no room for negotiation: "From now on, the 'Zhenhai Project' Supreme Command is established. I will personally serve as Commander-in-Chief, and Comrade Jiang Ning will serve as Chief Engineer and on-site Commander-in-Chief. All relevant units nationwide must cooperate unconditionally! If they need people, give them people; if they need money, give them money; if they need supplies, give them supplies!"
"I have only one request," the elder said, looking at Jiang Ning, placing all his hope on her. "Sixty hours. Save Donghai City, and save the hundreds of millions of people along our coast!"
"Mission guaranteed." Jiang Ning's answer was as simple as ever, yet more effective than anything else.
Orders issued from this small command center spread across the entire Xia Kingdom with unprecedented speed.
In an instant, this massive state apparatus began to operate frantically for a common goal.
Beijing, National Special Materials Research Institute.
The director was woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night. After hearing the order, he didn't say a word, rushed directly into the secure warehouse, and personally opened the alloy door that required joint authorization from the highest level.
"Take our 'Taihang-7' alloy from the bottom of the box, all of it, don't leave a single gram, and ship it out! It must be loaded onto the special train within three hours!"
Northeast, a certain heavy industry group.
The ten-thousand-ton gantry crane that had just come off the assembly line, intended for the next generation of aircraft carriers, hadn't even been painted yet when the chief engineer directly called for a halt.
"Change it! Change it immediately! Redesign all parameters according to the blueprints sent by Engineer Jiang! Three days? No! Twenty hours! You must have it modified for me in twenty hours! All workshops, all workers, three shifts, round-the-clock! This is a military order!"
Kunlun Academy, deep in the Yanshan Mountains.
Three thousand students had just finished the finishing touches on "National Defense Project No. 01" and were just about to take a breather.
A sharp assembly alarm pierced the night sky.
Lin Yuan was the first to rush out of the dormitory; he was now the captain of the "First Construction Brigade."
"Emergency assembly! Everyone, fully armed, assemble on the parade ground! Quick! Quick! Quick!"
Although the students didn't know what had happened, a week of actual combat had already instilled in them the instinct of absolute obedience. In five minutes, three thousand people, every single one of them, stood neatly on the square.
Director Zhao Lixin and several academy professors stood on the high platform, their expressions serious.
"Comrades!" Director Zhao Lixin didn't waste words and directly turned on the holographic screen on the square.
On the screen was the real-time satellite cloud map of Donghai City, along with the terrifying red warning representing the super tsunami, which was constantly expanding.
"You have all seen the situation." Director Zhao Lixin's voice spread across the entire square through the amplification formation.
"In seventy-two hours, an unprecedented disaster will strike our Donghai. There, we have tens of millions of our compatriots."
"Conventional methods have failed. Now, we are the only ones who can save them."
"Chief Engineer Jiang is already on the front lines in Donghai, having secured a precious sixty hours for us. She needs us; she needs us to use the knowledge we have just learned and our own hands to create a miracle!"
"Now, I order!" Director Zhao Lixin straightened his back, his voice suddenly rising.
"All students of the first cohort of Kunlun Academy, board the planes immediately and head to Donghai! Participate in the 'Zhenhai Project'! This is your first internship, and it is also the first answer paper that we, Kunlun Academy, will submit to the motherland and the people!"
"Do you have confidence!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
The roar of three thousand people merged into a wave of sound, shaking the valley with echoes.
They had just built a fortress to protect the mountains with their own hands, and now, they were going to protect a vast ocean and the land by the sea that they loved so deeply.
Half an hour later, dozens of large transport planes roared up from the secret airport deep in the Yanshan Mountains, carrying three thousand young soldiers straight to Donghai.
Meanwhile, at the port of Donghai City.
Jiang Ning was already standing on the temporarily constructed command platform at the pier.
In front of her was the surging sea, and behind her was the brightly lit, bustling, and massive port.
Engineering vehicles, special equipment, and rare materials from all over the country were converging here continuously via sea, land, and air.
The entire East Sea Port had already turned into a huge open-air factory.
"Report, Engineer Jiang! The first batch of 'Taihang-7' special alloy has arrived! It is being processed!"
"Report, Engineer Jiang! The expert team from Northeast Heavy Industry has arrived! They said that the core components of the gantry crane are already being manufactured over there, and they guarantee to airlift them here within thirty hours!"
"Report, Engineer Jiang! The special plane for the Kunlun Academy students is expected to arrive in one hour!"
As messages were summarized, Jiang Ning just nodded calmly and issued new instructions methodically.
"Have the materials team cut and shape them immediately; the blueprints have been sent over."
"Have the heavy industry experts connect directly to our design system; I want them to increase the precision of the gantry crane by another three percent."
"After the students arrive, have them enter the preset work areas by brigade, familiarize themselves with the blueprints, and prepare for construction."
Under her coordination, this massive and complex construction site was busy but not chaotic.
Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo stood behind her, watching this young woman, who was even younger than his own daughter, command this super project, and all he felt was admiration.
"Engineer Jiang," he couldn't help but step forward and hand her a cup of hot water. "You haven't closed your eyes for over ten hours. Why don't you... go take a rest first?"
"No need." Jiang Ning's gaze still hadn't left the massive holographic construction plan in front of her. "I will not rest until the project is completed."
She paused and added another sentence, as if speaking to herself: "Efficiency is life."
Just then, an officer in charge of maritime surveillance ran over quickly, breathless.
"Report, Engineer Jiang! Urgent telegram from the East Sea Fleet!"
"That fleet from Country R has made a move! They have dispatched several so-called 'scientific research submersibles' that are approaching the edge of the no-navigation zone we designated, with unclear intentions!"
"Unclear intentions?" Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo cursed angrily. "The intentions of these bastards couldn't be clearer! They just want to come and steal our technology and probe our bottom line!"
Jiang Ning raised her head, glanced at the light spots on the screen probing back and forth at the edge of the red line of the no-navigation zone, and her face darkened.
She spoke to the officer, enunciating every word: "Tell the East Sea Fleet to issue one warning. If they dare to move one step further..."
"Consider it a test shot for our 'base station'."