290: Chapter 290 Two Motherships Still Have Forty Days to Complete Construction? Lin Mo: It Doesn't Matter, I'll Handle It!

Academician Huang grumbled and scolded all the way, making everyone secretly snicker.

However, Academician Huang, who had already walked some distance away, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He looked back, staring fixedly at that American nuclear submarine, his eyes slightly reddened.

Over sixty years of time, more than twenty-three thousand days and nights—the determination to catch up with American nuclear submarine technology had long been Academician Huang's lifelong obsession. Yet now, that obsession had become nothing more than the "scrap metal" before his eyes; anyone would be moved to sigh at such a sight.

"Academician Huang," Lin Mo said, offering comfort. "You are the creator of history and the pioneer of the future."

"Ever since the 'Kunlong Submarine' debuted on Blue Star, the era of fourth-generation nuclear submarines has completely turned the page, hasn't it?"

Academician Huang nodded slightly. After taking one last look at the American nuclear submarine, he slowly turned to face the north, his eyes filled with determination and hope.

"The day the Kunpeng enters the sea will be the moment our Huaxia becomes the maritime hegemon of Blue Star!"

Navy Headquarters building. The first-floor cafeteria.

Academician Huang, while unceremoniously devouring a steamed bun, complained to Lin Mo beside him.

"Chief Designer Lin," he said. "Don't blame me for pulling rank and lecturing you!"

"You are young, yet you have already become a leader of Huaxia, standing above millions. This is the recognition you deserve, and no one would say a word against it."

"But sometimes, you still need to weigh your priorities. Don't get lost in this supreme power; it is very detrimental to your future development!"

Hearing Academician Huang lecture Lin Mo, the entire cafeteria fell silent. At nearby tables, the naval experts from Academician Huang's faction and senior generals from the Navy Headquarters kept their heads down, quietly drinking their hot porridge, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Lin Mo dipped his bun in chili, stuffed it into his mouth, turned to look at Academician Huang, and grinned with bulging cheeks. "Academician Huang is right to lecture me..."

Seeing Lin Mo's extremely perfunctory attitude, Academician Huang straightened his face. "What do you mean, 'right to lecture me'?" he snapped. "I don't think you heard a word I said!"

"Comrade Lin Mo, look at how much time you've actually spent on research lately! There are twenty-four hours in a day! And you're only spending an average of fifteen hours on research!..."

"Pfft!!!" As soon as these words were spoken, the hundred or so people in the cafeteria couldn't help themselves. Those eating rice spat it out, those drinking porridge spewed it, and those drinking soy milk sprayed it everywhere...

"Ahem..." Academician Huang realized his words might have been a bit inappropriate. He coughed twice to ease the awkwardness and said helplessly,

"Chief Designer Lin, you are the new generation of national talent in our Huaxia, a brand-new hope bestowed upon Huaxia by the heavens!"

"I truly do not want to see you waste such great talent on power and position! Although you possess the terrifying gift of only needing one hour of sleep a day, even spending one hour a day handling administrative tasks is, in my opinion, a tremendous waste!"

"To put it bluntly, it is extremely irresponsible to the people of Huaxia!"

Academician Huang's tone grew increasingly stern. "Science and technology are the true primary productive forces! If you don't believe me, look around: among our Huaxia's truly top scientists, how many have gone into politics?"

At this point, Academician Huang turned to look at Shi Jinghai. "Since Commander Shi happens to be here, I won't mince words; I'll tell you directly."

"A few days ago, I, Old Yu, Old Sun, Old Cheng... and Old Yuan—a total of sixteen Huaxia lifetime honorary academicians—jointly wrote a letter and submitted it to the top leadership!"

"We have no objections to the Huaxia leadership's arrangements for Lin Mo's position! But we have massive objections to his work assignments!"

"Lin Mo is a young man not yet twenty-three, whose primary talent is scientific research. Yet what have you arranged for him to do? You have him managing epidemic prevention, commanding the Dragon Army, and constantly attending this meeting or that!"

"Are the top officials of the Dragon Army all incompetent, that they absolutely must have this young man, Lin Mo, to lead them?"

Being criticized in public by a Huaxia honorary academician, Shi Jinghai felt somewhat embarrassed. However, Academician Huang had no intention of stopping there and continued with sharp words.

"Even if you intend to temper the young, you must consider the timing! Don't think the four major plans are progressing smoothly; that is only because we old folks are holding them up!"

"Take the R&D of the 'Kunlong Submarine' as an example—my team has been implementing the entire process! And over at Old Yu's, the miniature 'Xihe Device' reactor for the Kunlun Generation II armor and the giant 'Jinwu' reactors for the two major motherships are essentially all relying on his team's self-reliance!"

"Do you think we don't want to bring Lin Mo over? We don't because we know it's useless!"

"That aside, look at the other national-level research projects that have already been approved! The three major lunar bases for the Guanghan Palace project have been delayed time and again! The conversion of military technology to civilian use has basically stalled! The tiangong kaiwu project just has a project proposal sitting there—it's probably covered in dust by now..."

"If Lin Mo could concentrate his energy on research, wouldn't this whole mess of projects have already gotten off the ground over the past six months? Commander Shi, don't you agree?"

Academician Huang had always been known for his "daring and bold" nature. Faced with his merciless questioning, Shi Jinghai could only respond with silence. He certainly couldn't say that the main reason was that Lin Mo was such a "hot commodity" who was just too damn useful—he was good at everything, had real skills in every field, and everyone was dying to keep him by their side twenty-four hours a day as a consultant!

Just then, Lin Mo, who had been standing to the side, spoke up. "Academician Huang, every wrong has a perpetrator and every debt has a debtor—don't blame Commander Shi and the others. Many of these things were my own choices."

Lin Mo swallowed the rest of his bun with a gulp of soy milk, wiped his hands, and said with a smile, "Besides, aren't you being too self-deprecating? I've calculated it! Even if I personally took charge of the Kunlong Submarine's R&D, at best I would only be on par with your team's efficiency! Being humble in front of a junior like me really doesn't fit your style!"

Flattered by Lin Mo, Academician Huang, who had still been somewhat angry, felt his mood lighten. He was just about to add a few more words when Lin Mo spoke first.

"Key figures only appear at the final moment," Lin Mo joked. "The Nantianmen Project and the Penglai Project are also facing their final assembly stages; it is indeed time for me to take action personally!"

Upon hearing this, Academician Huang nodded with satisfaction. "That's good. That's exactly what I wanted to hear from you, Chief Designer Lin!"

Lin Mo asked with a smile, "The project timeline for the two major motherships should still have 35 days left, right?"

On the other side of Academician Huang sat Academician Zhou Chenghua—Academician Huang's top disciple and the chief designer of Huaxia's "Ten-Thousand-Ton Destroyer" project—who smiled and reported, "Chief Designer Lin, the Luan Bird has 40 days left in its construction timeline, and the Kunpeng has 41 days."

Lin Mo nodded. "That's still a bit too long. It doesn't matter; with me involved, we can just cut the time in half!"

(There will be another chapter later!)