After heading out of Song Jinning’s cabin, Gu Nianzhi went directly to the naval colonel with the highest rank on the scientific research ship.
“Colonel Liu, Director Song wants to ask you if there are any wetsuits made of special materials, especially insulating material,” Gu Nianzhi asked carefully, trying not to appear suspiciously eager.
Colonel Liu glanced at her, then frowned and said, “Diving suits made of insulating material? What do you want to do with them?”
“You’ll have to ask Director Song. I don’t know.” Gu Nianzhi deferred to Song Jinning to make it appear that she was only making a request on her behalf. She could tell that this colonel was very cautious and didn’t trust others easily. Gu Nianzhi’s current status was merely that of being Song Jinning’s assistant. Song Jinning was the only one who had decision-making authority in such matters. Gu Nianzhi was only acting as the messenger, and she knew her position very well.
Colonel Liu was part of the Marine Corps and consequently, was unfamiliar with the people in Huo Shaoheng’s division. He didn’t even know that Huo Shaoheng was Gu Nianzhi’s guardian. Therefore, he had always been wary of Gu Nianzhi and felt that she was not acting like how an assistant should act.
Gu Nianzhi also knew that he was very suspicious of her. Since she didn’t want to disclose her marriage with Huo Shaoheng to the colonel, she could only do her best to act as an assistant.
Colonel Liu nodded and went to Song Jinning to question her. Gu Nianzhi was then left alone. She stood at the bow of the ship and stared into the distant sea.
The Japanese light destroyers and the Huaxia Empire’s scientific research ship faced each other across the sea. She didn’t know if she was hallucinating or not, but Gu Nianzhi felt the warship’s condescending gaze upon her.
Gu Nianzhi hated the warship’s guts with all her might and gave it a thumbs-down gesture with disdain. She secretly vowed that she would make them pay as soon as she got her wetsuit!
Colonel Liu came out of Song Jinning’s cabin and caught sight of Gu Nianzhi’s childish and immature gesture, and the suspicion he had been harboring about her for a while dissipated. She was merely a kid. He chided himself for doubting a child. When he spoke to Gu Nianzhi again, Colonel Liu had a much gentler and kinder tone. “Little Comrade Gu?” Colonel Liu stood behind Gu Nianzhi and teased her with a smile.
Gu Nianzhi wiggled the corners of her mouth and laughed, then turned to Colonel Liu and said, “Colonel Liu, just call me Comrade Gu, no need to add ‘little’ to it.”
“In my eyes, you are a child.” Colonel Liu said somewhat impressively, “How old are you anyway, 18?”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes widened. “I’m 19! I’m turning 20 in October this year!”
Colonel Liu replied, “It’s only March now.”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t know what to say. Well, she decided not to waste time discussing her age with Colonel Liu any further, so she redid her bun that had been undone by the wind and asked, “Director Song told you, right? Is there an insulating wetsuit?”
Colonel Liu nodded. “Director Song said that we must send people over there to destroy the strong electromagnetic interference, but she worries that the equipment will leak electricity, so we need diving suits made of insulating material to avoid electrocution.”
“Yes, yes. Do you have one?” Gu Nianzhi asked anxiously. “At least 17 of them, actually! I want one, and four others will go with me. There need to be 12 others for those who are trapped at the bottom of the sea.”
The four soldiers who followed her had to place the magnetic field converters in four directions from southeast to northwest, while Gu Nianzhi went to the magnetic field center to place the converters. Although Huo Shaoheng originally had 13 people follow him there, Huo Shaoheng reported that one team member had died in action.
Colonel Liu looked her up and down with a pitiful expression in his eyes, and seeing that while she was not that short, she was fragile and thin, so he asked her dubiously, “Can you do it? Diving requires a lot of physical strength, and performing tasks while diving requires even more physical strength.”
“I can do it fine. Don’t look at me and automatically conclude that I’m a thin weakling. In fact, I’m much stronger than you think!” Gu Nianzhi bent her small arm, anxious to show off her pitifully small bicep to Colonel Liu.
Although Colonel Liu had been worried, he couldn’t help but laugh at Gu Nianzhi’s attempt at a joke. He said calmly, “Well then, I’ll send you four frogman soldiers, and they will listen to your orders.” He patted Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder. “We’re counting on you now, so be careful. We wait for your triumph!”
“Thank you, sir!” Gu Nianzhi could barely contain her excitement. Her feet slammed together as she aligned her feet together side by side and paid a uniform military salute to Colonel Liu. Although she was not a soldier, she had grown up with the soldiers in the Special Operations Forces. Due to her upbringing, many of her mannerisms were very militaristic and soldier-like.
Colonel Liu pursed his lips. “My daughter is only two years younger than you, and she acts rather childish at home. I should let her learn from you.”
Gu Nianzhi shrugged indifferently and said with a smile, “A child that actually has parents is truly fortunate. You should take good care of your daughter. Don’t compare her to other children in front of her. She will most certainly resent you for it!”
Colonel Liu laughed. “I’ll get you an insulating diving suit and gather here in five minutes.”
“Okay!” Gu Nianzhi answered loudly, then returned to Song Jinning’s cabin and said, “Director Song, we are about to leave in five minutes. We expect to reach our destination in about 30 minutes. You can start debugging the synchronized instrument in about half an hour.”
After they installed the magnetic field converter on the buoys, Song Jinning would send a synchronized magnetic field signal so they could start the converter and commence the process of converting the magnetic field into an electric field.
The speed of the process depended on the strength of the magnetic field that needed to be converted, as well as the energy loss during the conversion, so they didn’t know how much time it would take them. All they could do was observe and operate at the same time, so Gu Nianzhi served a crucial role.
Unbeknownst to Gu Nianzhi, Colonel Liu had had a dispute with Song Jinning just now. He also thought that Gu Nianzhi was way too young and had not undergone the rigorous military training that would have qualified her to enter the waters to perform such a difficult and risky task—not to mention the fact that she also had to face the ferocious Japanese frogmen army. It was unbearably dangerous for an untrained young girl of her age.
Song Jinning had also attempted to dissuade Gu Nianzhi, but Gu Nianzhi was more obstinate and bold than she ever imagined. And since it was likely that she would have secretly found a way to sneak into the water even without her permission, Song Jinning had to give in and at least offer her some protection.
All she could say to Colonel Liu was, “Nianzhi grew up with Shaoheng in the Special Operations Forces, so she has a sense of what she should and shouldn’t be doing.”
Colonel Liu now finally understood the connection between the two of them, and therefore refrained from continuing to oppose. Although there were still some concerns, this was the only way, so he agreed to Song Jinning’s proposal.
Song Jinning caught sight of Gu Nianzhi’s cheerful expression, and she adjusted Gu Nianzhi’s collar. “Remember to be careful. In case there are any problems, we would much rather you abandon the operation than sacrifice your life for its success. Nianzhi, I am deeply thankful that you’re willing to go this far to save Shaoheng, but I definitely do not want you to sacrifice your life because of him. Do you understand what I mean?”
Scientists spoke candidly and got straight to the point. Gu Nianzhi liked this frank way of communication very much. She assured Song Jinning. “I will definitely bring Huo Shao back, Ms. Song. Please rest assured!”
Song Jinning closed her eyes and raised her hand. “When you come back, you will call me ‘mother’ instead, alright?”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
“Or call me ‘mother’ now. Regardless of whether or not you end up with Shaoheng in the future, I will treat you like my own daughter.” Song Jinning hugged her and said, “I was never a good mother. Shaoheng was brought up by his grandmother when he was a child, but I can learn to be a good mother now. No matter who you marry in the future, I will treat you as my daughter.”
Even if she married Huo Shaoheng and became Song Jinning’s daughter-in-law, she would call her “mom.” Gu Nianzhi was so touched yet excited that she couldn’t help herself. She hugged Song Jinning tightly and whispered gently in her ear, “Mom…” When the word came out of her mouth, her pronunciation sounded a bit strange. It seemed as if she didn’t have the word “mother” in her vocabulary, and it had just been added in by Song Jinning. The way she said “mom” made her sound just like a baby who had just started talking and was making sounds for the first time.
Song Jinning was even more sorrowful. “You have to take care of yourself.”
After the two said goodbye, Gu Nianzhi came out of Song Jinning’s cabin and went to collect the diving suits made of insulating materials. She took one for herself, then neatly packed the 12 other diving suits. The other four frogmen each carried three with them. Gu Nianzhi carried five magnetic field converters but told the others that they were merely “magnetic field interference meters.” There was actually a real high-power magnetic field interference meter as well, which Song Jinning temporarily brought out to help them navigate.
After the inspection process was concluded, they set off from the back side of the ship. The seawater was very icy, but fortunately, the diving suit was made of insulating material, and it allowed them to be insulated from the cold. Since Gu Nianzhi was wrapped from head to toe, she didn’t feel cold at all.
After the five of them entered the water, they dove deep down, then quickly swam towards Huo Shaoheng. Since they had the help of the high-power anti-electromagnetic interference instrument Gu Nianzhi brought with them, they were not affected by the strong electromagnetic interference on their way there, and they accelerated all the way to the place where the buoy was located in the span of less than half an hour.
Looking at the thin ferromagnetic tubes dangling from the buoy, Gu Nianzhi was astonished and finally understood why Song Jinning said, “Japan has put a lot of effort into this.” These materials were obviously quality materials of extraordinary value.
Near the location of the buoy, Gu Nianzhi’s anti-electromagnetic interference instrument started shaking. It seemed like it was on the verge of bursting. After arriving at the place, Gu Nianzhi increased the resistance to electromagnetic interference and was able to get them five minutes of communication time. She asked a frogman to contact Huo Shaoheng and tell him their plan.
Since the plan was already in motion, Huo Shaoheng and the others needed to divert the attention of those Japanese frogmen. Otherwise, hundreds of frogmen would be swarming the area, and they wouldn’t be able to install anything.
Gu Nianzhi intentionally let the frogman be the one to inform Huo Shaoheng instead of herself because she did not want Huo Shaoheng to know that she was there lest he feel more pressure and distress.
Huo Shaoheng truly had no idea that Gu Nianzhi had come. He knew she was on the scientific research boat, but considering that Song Jinning hadn’t brought other assistants, Huo Shaoheng thought that Gu Nianzhi would be helping Song Jinning in a safe area.
He calmly said to the frogman, “Okay, I will immediately start distracting the Japanese frogman, and you must install the jammer as quickly as possible. Is ten minutes enough? Up to 15 minutes maximum, no more.”
The frogman looked towards Gu Nianzhi and contacted Gu Nianzhi with his communicator. “How long will it take?”
Gu Nianzhi answered him, “Ten minutes will be enough.”
The frogman then told Huo Shaoheng, “Just distract the Japanese frogmen for ten minutes, then we can install the magnetic field interference meter.”
Huo Shaoheng agreed and soon got to work.
After a while, waves started rising beneath the buoys, and the previously calm sea floor was suddenly turbulent.
