39: Don't talk nonsense! Aircraft carrier arresting cable? We have never done it.

Chen Huatao paused for a moment, then immediately asked, "Should we surround Julong Steel Factory first, to prevent any news from leaking?"

"Contact the Qinchuan authorities, blockade Julong Steel Factory, and allow no one to leave," Gu Ming said sternly.

The matter of the aircraft carrier arresting cables is of great importance; we cannot let anyone outside the Navy know about this.

"Be polite to the technical staff, and bring them back to me!"

Chen Huatao mistook Gu Ming's reminder for sarcasm.

Chen Huatao nodded heavily. Given the urgency of the situation, he didn't bother to confirm with Gu Ming and left with a squad of armed soldiers.

Grandpa Liu panicked when he saw this; the people in military uniforms had even drawn their guns.

He immediately dialed Ma Quanlin's number, but for the life of him, he couldn't get through.

"Director Ma, answer the phone! Our factory is surrounded by combat vehicles!"

Grandpa Liu was incredibly panicked, while Ma Quanlin and Lu Shenwei had set their phones to silent, preparing to hold a press conference.

Qinchuan Intercontinental Hotel, third-floor grand conference room.

"Chairman, most of the people have arrived; we can begin."

"Why hasn't Director Zhou come?"

"He said he wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety, and they will issue a statement later."

Lu Shenwei nodded. Ma Quanlin cleared his throat: "Thank you all media friends for coming. Since its establishment, Julong Steel has always adhered to..."

[There seem to be quite a lot of people at the scene. I wonder how Julong Steel will fight back.]

[Fight back? Japan has already released a video with solid proof, okay? Julong Steel is definitely a traitorous company!]

[Stop arguing, don't jump to conclusions until the very end.]

Ma Quanlin finished the pleasantries in three to five minutes, and Lu Shenwei took the microphone.

"Hello everyone, I am Lu Shenwei, the Chairman of Julong Steel. Regarding the rumors online that we are collaborating with Japan, they are completely baseless."

[Director Lu is so young; he probably isn't even thirty yet.]

[He's over twenty-five. If nothing goes wrong, he's probably the youngest trillionaire in Dragon Xia.]

"The equity transfer agreement rumored online is forged, and our company's seal and my signature are also fake."

As Lu Shenwei said this, he wrote his name on a blank piece of paper on the spot.

[What kind of calligraphy is that from Director Lu? I've never seen it before!]

[It's agile and fast, the strokes are thin and powerful—thin but not lacking substance. Director Lu is writing in the Slender Gold script.]

[That signature is well-written; you can't master that without three or five years of practice.]

[Comparing the two, the rumored signature online is simply ugly.]

"We have already applied for a handwriting analysis and demand that the so-called Japan company confront us in person."

Lu Shenwei loosened his collar: "A gentleman knows what to do and what not to do. Even if Julong Steel starves to death, it will never have any dealings with Japan!"

[Support Chairman Lu, go Julong Steel!]

[Anyone can say fancy words, but you can know a person's face but not their heart.]

[Demanding a confrontation with Japan now? What were they doing before?]

[This move is called cutting off an arm to survive; Julong Steel really knows how to play the game.]

The internet trolls were frantically steering the narrative, and voices of doubt rose one after another online.

Lu Shenwei pondered for a moment, preparing to release the clarification video.

Suddenly, the conference room door was kicked open, and eight fully armed soldiers walked in.

What are they trying to do?

[What's going on? Why did soldiers suddenly rush in?]

[Is this a rehearsed scene? Julong Steel is impressive; they even got guns involved.]

[Something feels wrong. Look closely at the soldiers' faces; their skin is rough, clearly from years of training in the wind and rain.]

In the unexpected situation, Bai Xiaoying immediately aimed the camera at Lu Shenwei.

"Sister Mu, does the press conference have this segment?"

"I don't understand the situation either," Mu Guchan said, looking bewildered.

Before Lu Shenwei could react, Chen Huatao glanced at the nameplate on the table and said loudly, "Are you Lu Shenwei? Come with us."

Lu Shenwei nodded and asked, "And you are?"

"Take him away!"

Chen Huatao insisted on taking Lu Shenwei away without explanation, and Ma Quanlin grew anxious.

"What are you doing?"

"And who are you?"

"I am Ma Quanlin, the factory director of Julong Steel Factory."

"Factory director? Take him too!"

Chen Huatao acted decisively and shoved both of them into a combat vehicle.

Wang Zizhong led the Julong Steel security team and stepped forward several times, trying to pull them back.

But facing the dark muzzles of the guns, they were afraid.

[Soldiers making arrests on the spot; it's solid proof that Julong Steel is traitorous!]

[Holy crap! The press conference has gone off the rails! How exciting!]

[The Chairman and Factory Director of Julong Steel have been arrested; this is huge fun.]

[You guys don't think about it—a guy in his twenties creating a company with a scale of hundreds of millions? Can there be no trickery in this?]

[It's not the first time Julong Steel has been slammed; the news about them selling off state assets cheaply last time was eventually suppressed.]

The popularity of the live stream skyrocketed, but Bai Xiaoying panicked.

"Sister Mu, what is happening?"

Mu Guchan said softly, "I don't understand either. Let's call Director Zhou first to ask."

When Zhou Wen received the call, he was completely confused.

"What did you say? Lu Shenwei and Ma Quanlin were taken away?"

"Just now, they were taken away in front of a dozen media outlets."

Zhou Wen said calmly, "Don't worry, let me ask about the situation first."

Zhou Wen immediately dialed the Qinchuan Inspection Bureau, but the other party said they didn't know the situation.

Afterward, he asked several units of the Qinchuan Patrol Police, but none of them knew what had happened.

Poor Lu Shenwei and Ma Quanlin were completely bewildered when they were put onto the combat vehicle.

"Can you..."

"Shut up, now is not the time for you to speak!"

Zhong Zheng was still waiting at the entrance; Chen Huatao didn't want to waste any time.

"I recognize you, you are from the Na..."

Lu Shenwei suddenly remembered the person in front of him; wasn't he the one responsible for registering the Navy's tender for steel cables?

Chen Huatao couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Lu Shenwei and ordered the combat vehicle to drive faster.

"Xiao Lu, I think this is the direction back to the factory area."

"Back to the factory? Could it be that something happened at the factory?"

Before the two could mutter two sentences, the combat vehicle braked suddenly.

"Get out of the car," Chen Huatao urged.

Lu Shenwei didn't dare to be careless and pulled Ma Quanlin as they jumped off the combat vehicle.

"Director, the people have been caught."

What's going on? Didn't I tell you to go invite them? How did you end up arresting the experts?

Before Gu Ming could ask, Grandpa Liu rushed forward and said, "Chairman, Factory Director, these are the people who wanted to enter the factory. I tried calling you, but no one answered."

Lu Shenwei tried to remain calm, but inside, he was completely numb.

What is going on?

Dozens of Army infantry fighting vehicles had surrounded Julong Steel Factory completely. The road next to it had even been cordoned off, and in the distance, two squads of sentries were patrolling back and forth.

What? Did Julong Steel Factory commit a capital offense?

"Hello, I am Gu Ming from the Dragon Xia Navy Procurement and R&D Department. They were a bit impulsive just now; please don't misunderstand."

A light "misunderstanding" didn't settle the matter after all. Later, Chen Huatao and Gu Ming received major disciplinary actions for their impulsive recklessness and had to apologize to Giant Dragon Steel Group in public to restore the company's reputation, but that is a story for later.

"Hello, I am Lu Shenwei, Chairman of Julong Steel Factory."

Gu Ming reached out and shook Lu Shenwei's hand firmly, then immediately darkened his face and questioned, "Xiao Chen, I told you to bring them back, so why did you make the atmosphere so tense? Director Lu is a scientific worker and a pillar of the nation. Is this how you respect the great craftsmen of the country?"

Chen Huatao hurriedly apologized, thinking to himself, did I hear wrong?

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Lu Shenwei asked, "What is this for?"

"Is it convenient to go inside and talk?"

"Convenient, very convenient. Grandpa Liu, open the gate quickly; these are honored guests from our Navy."

Grandpa Liu, you are truly bold; you even blocked the infantry fighting vehicles outside the gate.

"Alright."

The iron gate opened slowly, and the huge factory buildings were revealed before everyone.

Zhong Zheng looked around and sighed, "The foundation of an old state-owned enterprise."

"And you are?" Lu Shenwei asked in surprise.

Gu Ming said sternly, "This is Old Zhong. Answer whatever questions he has."

"When was this factory of yours built?"

"In '65. Our steel factory existed since the Third Front Construction."

"'65? An old factory of nearly fifty years, how did you think of making aircraft carrier arresting cables?"

Aircraft carrier arresting cables? We've never made those.

Lu Shenwei looked at Ma Quanlin, and the two looked at each other in dismay.

"Arresting cables? We haven't made those," Lu Shenwei said honestly.

While the group was talking, they arrived at the conference room. Lu Shenwei asked his assistant to pour tea, but Gu Ming and the others didn't drink.

"It's the steel cable that your steel factory bid on. The Navy's tender was for use on aircraft carriers," Zhong Zheng explained.

That super steel cable can be used on aircraft carriers?

Lu Shenwei was stunned. It took him a long time to recover before saying, "We had no idea. There are nearly 200 left in the warehouse; we always thought nobody wanted them and just let them collect dust."

"What did you say? There are 200 left in the warehouse?"

Zhong Zheng was numb, and Gu Ming's worldview was shattered.

The arresting cables that the Navy's major research institutes and affiliated arsenals couldn't produce despite their best efforts—a private enterprise had produced hundreds of them?

"Where are they? Take us to see them quickly," Gu Ming said excitedly.

Lu Shenwei didn't dare to delay, and Ma Quanlin immediately led the way to the old warehouse.

The moment the warehouse opened, Zhong Zheng and Gu Ming were both stunned.

"You made so many arresting cables for the tender? You were quite confident," Gu Ming asked.

Lu Shenwei scratched his head: "We didn't know that the Navy was tendering for arresting cables. This is just existing stock that has been sitting in the warehouse because nobody wanted it."