radicalducati Chapter 48 Finding the Ship
Chapter 48 Finding the Ship
A familiar car pulled up in front of them.
"Welcome to Naval Research Institute 115, Comrade Successor."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Tian Shu."
Lorraine and the others gave a polite reply.
"It seems that the problems you are facing cannot be solved in a short time. Let's sit down and talk it over."
The Tian Shu vehicle turned around and led everyone into the naval research institute.
"Our current location is both an escape route and a dock for modifying ships."
Upon hearing the term "escape passage," everyone was curious, since the ship's passageway takes a considerable amount of time to ascend and descend, and it's not a particularly well-hidden passageway.
"So, Mr. Tian Shu, these walls are hiding escape routes?"
As a special forces elite, Bai Jin keenly noticed the marks on the nearby wall.
"Good, you've observed very carefully."
A thumbs-up icon appeared on the car's screen. A final whirring sound came from the motor, and a large door opened in the left wall.
"Come and take a look. I've noticed that your ship doesn't have any vehicles capable of quickly deploying pivot squads."
"Me?"
Lorraine pointed to herself in surprise, wondering how Tian Shu had discovered her.
"Young man, don't underestimate artificial intelligence. Our role is not just a simple scientific research support system. We are the first and last line of defense for every research institute."
After Lorraine explained the situation to Tian Shu, he followed the car into the escape tunnel.
After passing through an arc-shaped passage, a row of small, fully enclosed, matte black boats came into view.
"The escape boat in front of you is a multi-purpose escape boat designed and mass-produced by our institute."
Tian Shu's proud voice came from the car.
"This model has several variants, but you should only be able to use this one and the landing variant."
"Can this be used as a landing craft?"
Lorraine and the others asked in unison.
"Because this model was designed from the outset for underwater covert evacuation."
"Because of its excellent performance in various aspects and its great potential for upgrading, it was selected by the leadership and became the blueprint for special-purpose boats, which gradually led to the development of various models."
Lorraine let Bai Jin and Ouyang Nian enter the escape pod to experience the size of the interior space, while he discussed the details of the landing model with Tian Shu.
"This space is quite large; it shouldn't be a problem to fit me and Xuan Tie, both fully armed."
Bai Jin didn't bring a horse with him when he got off the gunboat. Now he and Ouyang Nian are standing in the escape boat, enjoying the spacious interior.
"Two lifeboats can fit your entire squad. Wouldn't it be even easier with landing craft?"
"Even with our current ships, carrying two lifeboats is a significant problem."
Platinum was somewhat worried; having two such boats would greatly improve their safety.
"There's no need to worry about that. We're here to solve this problem."
Ouyang Nian kept Bai Jin in suspense and did not tell her how to solve the problem.
"Mr. Tian Shu, so does this landing craft operate from the stern?"
"With the front reinforced and the landing ramps and smoke grenade launchers added to the left and right sides, the casualties of the landing troops can be effectively reduced."
"However, your current small gunboat cannot accommodate two landing craft."
"Hehe, I was just planning to upgrade my ship here."
"Good lad, you've managed to stay calm. Call your companions, let's go inside and talk."
"Ouyang Nian, Bai Jin, come out. We'll talk about it inside the research institute."
Ouyang Nian and Bai Jin stepped out of the lifeboat and, together with Luo Lin, followed the Tian Shu car into the research institute.
The group followed the dock into the research institute.
"Go up to the right and you'll find the shipyard's control room. The control consoles inside are directly connected to the database; you can find any blueprints you need there. You can go up and take a look first."
"Yes, Mr. Tian Shu."
After saying that, Lorraine followed the route indicated by Tian Shu and headed towards the control room.
"You two are welcome to wander around here. I estimate it will take him quite a while to find the blueprints he wants. This little car will follow you. Just call me if you need anything. The map has already been sent to you."
After saying that, the car fell silent, and both Bai Jin's helmet and Ouyang Nian's portable terminal received a detailed map of the research institute.
"Let's go for a walk, maybe we'll see something interesting."
Ouyang Nian said that although she was a craftswoman, ships were still outside her capabilities, so she should look for something useful in the research institute.
......
Lorraine stood in front of the control panel, looking at the wide variety of blueprints with some concern.
"Never mind, let's see what we can fit here first."
Lorraine began setting conditions, limiting the length of the ships to within 60 meters and the width to within 30 meters.
Looking at the still dazzling array of blueprints after the selection process, Lorraine could only add more conditions.
The existing weapons have sufficient firepower, but the firepower density is slightly insufficient, since the two cannons at the front and rear do not have a good angle for salvo firing.
Lorraine selected a larger trimaran from a pile of ship models.
"This looks good; its appearance speaks for itself. Let's check out its specs."
Ghost Striker
[Brief Introduction: A 500-ton-class large unmanned surface combat vessel with a modular design, immense modification potential, comprehensive combat capabilities, and autonomous unmanned combat capability.]
[58 meters in length, 23 meters in beam, 1.2 meters in draft, maximum speed 40 knots, and a range of over 4000 nautical miles.]
[Weapon Systems: Equipped with a universal vertical launch module, rocket module, UAV module, sonar module, stealth naval gun module, and remote weapon station module.]
[Positioning: Vanguard of the ocean-going fleet; long-duration coastal patrol; core of the unmanned combat system]
[Note: The ship is manned.]
Upon seeing the description of the trimaran named Ghost Vanguard, Lorraine's eyes lit up.
It is fast, has strong firepower, long endurance, and enough space. It can also be modified to have the capability to deploy landing craft.
"Mr. Tian Shu, can you manufacture this model?"
Although he learned through the intelligence system that the materials he needed for his upgrade were here, the ship was a bit too big, situated right on the dividing line between a boat and a vessel.
"Good eye. After some modifications, this ship can accommodate all of you. As for the materials..."
"The materials stored here are enough to build about 10 of these things."
Tian Shu stated that the research institute is built in a huge natural underground space, and its material reserves are no less than those of Institute 137.
"If you choose this ship as your new flagship, it's essentially like rebuilding a ship. The construction time will definitely be considerable. Are you sure?"