Clyde was even more anxious than Zhuang Rui at this moment. After hearing Zhuang Rui's description of the bright prospects, he couldn't wait for the ship to set sail immediately and go to the ocean to search for those shipwrecks or pirate treasures.
"Yes, the personnel on the drilling platform and floating crane will all be under your management, Clyde. I need a captain who understands modern management, do you understand?"
Zhuang Rui nodded. He'd given them all the dates, and now he needed to slap them, otherwise he might find himself unable to control them in the future…
"Boss, as you wish, I think the facts prove that I am fully capable of doing this job..."
As Clyde spoke, he suddenly became very polite and even gave Zhuang Rui a gentlemanly bow. If he had been holding a hat, he would have been a true gentleman.
Zhuang Rui didn't speak, but walked to the construction site. The huge drilling platform had been fully installed and was now in the commissioning phase, with thirty-four workers busy at work.
"Mr. Zhuang, hello, please put on your helmet..."
A middle-aged man saw Zhuang Rui coming and quickly came to greet him.
"Engineer Zhang, you really need to come with us on this voyage, otherwise if something goes wrong, we won't be able to handle it..."
Zhuang Rui took the safety helmet and put it on. This middle-aged man was the chief engineer of the equipment supplier for this project. He was responsible for accompanying the entire process of projects like this, which involved hundreds of millions of yuan.
Engineer Zhang smiled confidently and said, "Of course, Mr. Zhuang, don't worry. Our domestic technology level is no worse than that of foreign countries. Let me explain the working principle of this platform to you..."
Due to its unique nature, half of the platform extends beyond the hull, requiring excellent balance. A drilling platform with a power output of over 700 tons must ensure that the drill pipe remains vertically connected without deviation under the influence of strong winds and waves at sea, which requires very advanced stabilization technology.
Below the platform, four hydraulic cylinders, as thick as tree trunks, can generate more than 800,000 kilograms of thrust, allowing the massive salvage device to penetrate deep into the seabed.
According to Mr. Zhang, this salvage device can lift up to eight times the weight of the world's most advanced salvage ships. It is only with this ferry as a carrier that this salvage device can play such a role.
"Hmm, not bad, we can go out to sea the day after tomorrow, right?"
Zhuang Rui couldn't understand any of this stuff at all; he just noticed that the once luxurious ferry had become unrecognizable.
Engineer Zhang nodded and said, "Of course, I also look forward to seeing this platform play a role..."
"Brother Zhuang, this ship of ours is probably the most luxurious salvage ship in the world, right?"
Peng Fei had arrived at this point, and after joking with Zhuang Rui, he lowered his voice and whispered in Zhuang Rui's ear, "Brother Zhuang, that batch of goods has been loaded onto the ship..."
Chapter 928 Armory
"Peng, when did you get back?"
Before Zhuang Rui could reply, Captain Clyde saw Peng Fei, went up to him, gave him a bear hug, and greeted him.
When Zhuang Rui first brought Peng Fei to the ship, the white crew members still didn't take Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei seriously. These guys were all seasoned veterans, and although they were very respectful to their boss, they were not.
Later, Zhuang Rui lifted an anchor weighing several hundred kilograms with one hand, while Peng Fei used the excuse of sparring with the crew to break the wrists of seven or eight strongmen. As a result, no crew member dared to underestimate the two of them anymore.
Clyde's straightforward temperament got along well with Peng Fei, but Peng Fei had been missing for the past few days, prompting Clyde to ask Zhuang Rui about him several times. Now that he had seen Peng Fei, he was unusually friendly.
"Damn it, you bear, can't you smoke less..."
Peng Fei was pushed away by Clyde; he simply couldn't stand the smell of cigars emanating from the other man.
King Kong, who had come over to join the fun after following Peng Fei, squeezed through the crowd as soon as he saw Clyde wanting a hug. He hugged Clyde like a child, causing Clyde to shout "Help!" This scene made the staff around them laugh. Although King Kong was big, he had a good temper and would sometimes come over to help the workers with some physical work. These people were not afraid of King Kong at all.
Seeing that there were many people around and it was chaotic, Zhuang Rui realized that some things were inconvenient to discuss with Peng Fei. After looking around, he stopped and said, "Engineer Zhang, I have some things to attend to. If you have any questions, discuss them with Captain Clyde, and he will arrange it for you..."
"Okay, Mr. Zhuang, don't worry. As long as the debugging goes smoothly, we'll definitely be able to set sail the day after tomorrow..."
The heavy industry group where Engineer Zhang works attaches great importance to this project, and he dares not be careless in the slightest.
"Boss, don't worry, I will fully cooperate for our ideals..."
Clyde spent nearly twenty years in Macau. He didn't learn much else, but he became fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, which made it very easy for him to communicate with the technicians.
After greeting Clyde and Engineer Zhang, Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei headed into the cabin. Seeing King Kong following behind, they frowned and said, "King Kong, go take Fangfang and Yuanyuan to play. Be careful they don't fall into the swimming pool..."
King Kong is so big that even the deepest part of the swimming pool can't drown him. That's why he loves to carry Fangfang and Yuanyuan on his shoulders to play in the pool. Zhuang Rui has told him to stop several times, but he won't listen.
"Hehe..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui ask it to play with the little guys, King Kong immediately became excited and ran over. ...
The luxury ferry that Zhuang Rui bought was originally a gambling ship used by the gambling king to compete with Yip Hon for gamblers in international waters. The interior of the ship is extremely luxurious. Although more than ten years have passed, the gilded furniture is still glittering and magnificent.
The ship has six decks in total, with the largest one below the deck. Originally a gambling hall, it has been converted into a large, dormitory-like storage room, which is where the ship's hull will be stored after it is salvaged.
The second floor is the restaurant, a nearly 1,000-square-meter space that can accommodate thousands of people at the same time. However, from now on, it will only serve Zhuang Rui and the ship's crew. Originally there were nearly thirty chefs, but now only five remain. Of course, their treatment is much better than before.
The third and fourth floors are all guest rooms, which are used to accommodate guests staying on the gambling ship. Now Zhuang Rui has divided the third floor into crew quarters, and all the staff live on the third floor, including Clyde.
The fourth and fifth floors are Zhuang Rui's private space. In addition to the encrypted direct elevator, the original staircase was replaced with a password door, completely separating it from the floors below.
On the fourth floor, Zhuang Rui performed major surgery, reinforcing each guest room. These rooms are used to house the precious cultural relics that were salvaged. Apart from Zhuang Rui and the cleaning staff, no other crew members are allowed on this floor.
As for the fifth floor, there are three deluxe suites and seven relatively ordinary guest rooms. The three deluxe suites are where Zhuang Rui lives and where he entertains guests. Huangfu Yun and his wife, as well as Peng Fei and his wife, all live on the fifth floor.
Of the other seven cabins, five are for the ship's security personnel, and the other has been converted into a monitoring room. The ship's security monitoring and low-to-medium altitude radar scanning are all conducted in this room.
The security work on this floor was handled by a comrade-in-arms that Peng Fei had recruited from his old unit. Originally, Zhuang Rui wanted to transfer Yang Jian, who was in charge of the museum's security, but after looking at this person's information, he found that this person was even more suitable than Yang Jian.
Peng Fei's comrade-in-arms, Li Zhen, was originally an information security expert. He spent more than two months transforming the ship into a high-tech mobile castle at sea. Of course, Zhuang Rui paid an additional 40 million RMB for this.
There were also eighteen other people, all of whom were retired from the special forces division where Ouyang Lei was the former division commander. They were not only responsible for the security of the fifth floor, but also for the security of the entire ship.
The eighteen people were stationed on the decks and in various floors of the ship so that they could arrive at the scene immediately in case of any emergency.
"Shura, don't rush, there are still a few days before we officially set sail..."
After Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei took the elevator to the fifth floor, they were greeted by Li Zhen instructing the security personnel on the fifth floor.
Since this is a foreign-registered ship, the identities of the crew members on board still require some procedures. These security personnel have only recently boarded the ship and are familiarizing themselves with the environment under Li Zhen's arrangement.
According to Peng Fei, they used to call each other by nicknames when they were in the army, and Li Zhen, who looked refined and gentle, was nicknamed Shura.
Peng Fei had secretly told Zhuang Rui that although Shura was not as good as him in jungle warfare, he was one of the top experts in the country in terms of science and technology, and was even better at handling firearms than Peng Fei.
Furthermore, Shura is also a demolition expert; this guy can assemble a bomb for you even without any raw materials.
Shura was always responsible for providing cover during the retreat after missions abroad, and he never made a mistake. He and Peng Fei were true sworn brothers.
On their first day on the ship, when Xiu Luo and Peng Fei were joking around, they actually used the wood shavings left on the deck by the workers, added something else, and made a time bomb.
"Brother Zhuang, you guys are busy, I'm fine. I've been in the army for so long, I feel uncomfortable if I don't move around..."
Judging from his appearance, Shura was fair-skinned and clean-cut. If Peng Fei hadn't mentioned it, Zhuang Rui would never have known that this guy had more lives on his hands than Peng Fei.
Because he was Peng Fei's best friend, Li Zhen also called him Brother Zhuang, just like Peng Fei. Like Peng Fei, although he came from the disciplined forces, he had a lazy air about him. Only when danger came could you see their true colors.
"Shura, don't be shy here, just let me know if you need anything..."
Zhuang Rui greeted Li Zhen with a smile. Li Zhen had needed quite a lot during this period, and Zhuang Rui had spent money like water. However, he had also made the ship incredibly powerful, so it was finally worth the money.
After greeting Xiu Luo, Zhuang Rui and Peng Fei walked to the door of the innermost room on the fifth floor. There was a fingerprint lock on the side of the door. After Peng Fei entered his fingerprint, the fingerprint lock flipped up, revealing a button lock disc.
After entering twelve numbers, the seemingly ordinary door in front of Zhuang Rui clicked open from the inside.
"Brother Zhuang, this is too much trouble. We have to go through these two procedures every time. I don't know what Shura was thinking..."
This room was converted from the last guest room on the fifth floor. Both the door and the walls were reinforced with alloy and modified according to the standards of an armory of an inland military agency.
Without the password, even with an electric welding and cutting machine, it would probably take several hours to open this door. And the fingerprint and password for this door are only in the hands of Zhuang Rui, Peng Fei, and Xiu Luo.
This room was meant to house the ship's weapons, but it was empty before Peng Fei arrived today. After being tricked by Muta, Zhuang Rui had become more vigilant about his own safety. Upon hearing Peng Fei say that pirates were rampant, he took out a large sum of money and asked Peng Fei to buy defensive weapons.
Zhuang Rui was very curious to know what weapons Peng Fei had bought after disappearing for several days with twenty million US dollars he had taken from him. After all, every man has some desire for firearms.
"Yes, this ship is registered in Panama, so it's usually fine..."
Zhuang Rui wholeheartedly agreed with Peng Fei's words. Although the things placed in this room were somewhat shady, this was a foreign cruise ship, and it was permissible to have weapons and equipment.
For a foreign passenger ship, the deck represents its territory. This means that no matter which country the ship is in, no country has the right to board and search the ship without submitting a diplomatic note.
"Holy crap, you, you're planning to go to war?"
When Zhuang Rui pushed open the door, he was immediately dumbfounded. The room, which was over 200 square meters, had been transformed into an armory, densely packed with all kinds of firearms and wooden crates.
"Damn it, is that a cannon?"
After Zhuang Rui entered the room, he found a thick pipe about 30 centimeters in diameter on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a disassembled cannon barrel, with a cannon carriage placed next to it.
Chapter 929 Absolutely Daring
"Damn, you bought two, not one?"
Zhuang Rui looked closely and realized that the cannons were actually a pair, with two brand-new barrels emitting a faint glow, which made the temperature in the room seem to drop considerably.
Although Zhuang Rui wasn't a military enthusiast, he had once read a book about the firepower of warships during World War II. He knew that although the diameter of the cannon barrel wasn't as large as he had estimated, the shells were at least 100mm, which was already the secondary guns of many small and medium-sized warships.
Although with the development of world military technology, these cannons, which were originally fixed in place, can now be moved, these two behemoths are still quite large and heavy.
Zhuang Rui really had no idea how Peng Fei and the others managed to move this huge thing into the armory. The cannon barrel alone probably weighed several hundred kilograms.
"Hehe, Brother Zhuang, you gave me over ten million, I have to spend it eventually..."
Peng Fei had already anticipated Zhuang Rui's surprise and laughed smugly to himself.
"You should buy something useful. If you equip the ship with these cannons, isn't that just asking for trouble? You'll be unable to enter any port..."
Although Zhuang Rui also liked this behemoth and had the urge to fire a shot at it, he knew that while commercial ships could be equipped with light weapons, having a cannon on board would likely prevent any country from opening its ports to the "Xuan Rui".
"Brother Zhuang, it's alright, I've already thought it through. When we were modifying the ship's lower deck, we left a room on each side of the hull. I had someone change the windows of those rooms so they're normally closed, but when needed, the cannon barrels can be extended..."
Almost everyone from Peng Fei's unit was a weapons expert, and they were adept at equipping themselves with the necessary weapons for various terrains and environments. He had his own reasons for purchasing two 100mm recoilless rifles.
Ships sailing at sea must be equipped with long-range lethal weapons; otherwise, in the event of an emergency, such a large ship would be left stranded and vulnerable to attack.
With these two cannons, they would have a certain deterrent effect on some small and medium-sized warships, and those so-called pirates would be even more vulnerable.
Therefore, Peng Fei focused his main efforts on these two cannons and some other items during this trip.
As for these grenades, submachine guns, and even squad automatic weapons, they are not rare items on the arms market and can be bought without much effort.
"Peng Fei, you're something else, you actually brought two cannons..."
After hearing Peng Fei's explanation, Zhuang Rui thought it made sense. Having these two cannons was always a good precaution. In this day and age, everyone talks about high technology. If they really encountered the Sea King, he might be able to fire a cannon and rout them.
Everyone has a heroic spirit, and Zhuang Rui is no exception. To indulge in the thrill of war while ensuring his own safety is something every man dreams of.
Just as Zhuang Rui finished praising Peng Fei, the armory door opened, and Shura walked in, laughing, "Brother Zhuang, you haven't seen how amazing this kid is yet..."