Chapter 1: The Wolf Pack Tactic is Wrong!

"Look at you all, you can't even outperform an undergraduate. Aren't you ashamed?"

In the office of Professor Zhang at the Harbin Institute of Technology's School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Professor Zhang was furious with the master's students under his tutelage.

The master's students hung their heads low, not daring to breathe a word.

Knock, knock—

"Professor Zhang, did you call for me?"

Just then, a handsome young man wearing glasses appeared at the door.

Glancing inside, he noticed his seniors looking miserable, and Professor Zhang’s expression was none too pleasant either.

His heart skipped a beat. *Damn, bad timing.*

"Dingping is here, come in, come in."

As soon as he saw Su Dingping, Professor Zhang immediately switched to a beaming smile.

Su Dingping walked in, feeling somewhat apprehensive.

"Dingping, in this Seven-University Radar Engineering Undergraduate and Graduate Competition, you took first place again! How many times is this now?"

As he spoke, Professor Zhang pulled out a certificate of merit and an award, handing them to Su Dingping.

He admired Su Dingping from the bottom of his heart.

Having self-studied across disciplines for just over half a year, he had defeated the best undergraduates and graduates from major universities to take first place—how outstanding was that?

Furthermore, in the May Five-University Missile Research and Analysis Engineering Undergraduate and Graduate Competition, Su Dingping had also taken first place. Again, through self-study in a different field.

In just one year, five consecutive championships.

His opponents were all top-tier undergraduates and graduates from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing University, Tsinghua, and others.

He saw Su Dingping’s brilliance clearly. There were plenty of 19-year-old seniors at HIT, but in the last decade, not a second one could be found with such achievements at this age.

"Professor Zhang, it’s because you taught me well," Su Dingping said modestly.

"You’ve been with me for less than a year. When it comes down to it, it’s your own hard work and talent!"

The master's students on the side buried their heads even deeper, muttering quietly, "We're all on the same team, why talk like we're outsiders?"

"What if you are on the same team? Behind closed doors, you are fellow students. Once you step outside, you must compete; each of you must make a name for yourselves! You carry the future of our Navy on your shoulders!"

Professor Zhang glared at them, then shifted his tone.

"The current situation in our territorial waters is becoming increasingly severe. The future path of our Navy... sigh, we old folks are all struggling to find a way out."

Su Dingping stood silently to the side.

Having transmigrated from 2023 back to 1999, he knew the Navy's current predicament all too well. Three years ago, to fend off the U.S. carrier strike group, they had even mounted land-based artillery onto ships.

The decade around 1999 was the most difficult period for the Navy, with wolves circling on all sides. With meager military funding and Western technological blockades, it was incredibly hard for the Navy to develop.

That was why Professor Zhang and the other military experts were under such immense pressure.

"Since you're all here, there’s a topic I need to educate you on. Some misconceptions need to be corrected right now."

Professor Zhang continued.

"Facing the 'Eight-Eight Fleet' that is shaking East Asia, what should our Navy do? How did you answer? With a unanimous 'Wolf Pack Tactics'."

"Mentor, 'Wolf Pack Tactics' isn't wrong, is it?"

"Mentor, when the U.S. carrier fleet came three years ago, didn't those military intelligence experts propose 'Wolf Pack Tactics'? I remember many experts agreed with it."

Eight-Eight Fleet?

Wolf Pack Tactics?

Su Dingping realized what was happening.

For a long time, the Eight-Eight Fleet had exerted tremendous pressure on the Chinese Navy. Beyond its fleet of modern warships, it included the Kongō-class guided-missile destroyers—second only to the U.S.—which were Aegis ships. Meanwhile, their own Navy consisted entirely of non-modernized vessels.

As for the "Wolf Pack Tactics," it was a widely accepted method proposed by military intelligence experts at the time when the U.S. carrier fleet arrived. It involved sacrificing a large number of warships to gain an opportunity to close in and strike the carrier.

But Su Dingping knew this plan had no feasibility.

Just like when the F-22 first flew, a group of military experts proposed that eight J-8s could trade for one F-22, and the simulations said it was feasible. But it wasn't until their own J-20 came out and tested a 17:0 record that they realized how absurdly wrong they had been back then.

Professor Zhang continued.

"Dingping, tell us your answer."

Su Dingping spoke up.

"Wolf Pack Tactics are not feasible."

As soon as these words were spoken, the fellow students looked indignant, and just as they were about to speak, they heard Professor Zhang ask

"Why?"

"Naval warfare and land warfare are two different things. With engagement ranges of tens, hundreds, or even hundreds of kilometers, if you can't hit the target, you can only take the beating. If you can't defend, your ships are destroyed and lives are lost... The gap in warship technology iteration is much larger than you imagine!"

"And so?"

"So, we must spare no cost to break through the Western blockade and build our own modern warships!"

Su Dingping’s words left his fellow students stunned.

Professor Zhang’s expression was complex; a student saw things so clearly, while many military intelligence experts still viewed naval warfare as land warfare.

"If this were two months ago, this matter would indeed be controversial. But now, I can tell you with 100% certainty: Wolf Pack Tactics are not feasible!"

The students' faces all changed.

They hadn't expected Su Dingping to be right; this was vastly different from their previous understanding.

"Mentor, how can that be?" a fellow student asked with a hoarse voice.

"Because of this!"

Professor Zhang took out a photograph.

Su Dingping looked closely and found it somewhat familiar.

"The Bear's Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyer—the 956E. It has arrived."

So it was the 956E.

Su Dingping remembered.

That was the "mascot" that opened the door to the Navy's modernization, known as one of the "Four Vajras" of the Navy, and it was of great significance.

The students' faces lit up with joy.

"The 956E! I heard it’s very expensive!"

"Mentor, we haven't seen you at school for the last two months. Could it be...?"

Professor Zhang said.

"That’s right, it is very expensive. But there’s no choice. No matter how expensive it is, we have to pay it. When our technology isn't up to par, we can't avoid paying the 'stupidity tax'."

Su Dingping remained silent.

Two ships cost nearly 900 million USD, equivalent to 7 billion RMB. One had to remember that the total military budget for the Navy last year was only around 7 billion. This was a loss the Navy had to swallow, even if they hated it.

Professor Zhang continued.

"I went up to see it, and I truly felt the gap. Therefore, we have reached a consensus internally: Wolf Pack Tactics are not feasible."

There was one thing he didn't say out loud.

That was: after studying it for nearly two months, the nine military experts who boarded the ship had absolutely no clue!

The Bear had done an excellent job in anti-reverse engineering; the nine experts couldn't find a single entry point. It was truly despairing.

"It’s not that I want to be harsh on you, but this is a path we must carve out!"

"Throw people at it, throw money at it, throw time at it—spare no cost!"

Professor Zhang’s words were resonant, making the students' hearts swell, but Su Dingping saw the fatigue and helplessness in the professor's expression.

He knew the reverse engineering definitely wasn't going smoothly. The Bear dared to sell it because they were confident that Chinese military experts wouldn't be able to fully grasp the core technology.

After a pause, Professor Zhang continued.

"You will be graduating in a little over half a year. This year's master's thesis project is different from previous years; it requires you to design a future warship for our Navy. Dingping, you must participate too!"

Clearly, he was treating Su Dingping entirely as a third-year graduate student.

"Here is some data you can refer to."

As he spoke, he distributed the materials one by one, passing around the photo of the 956E so the students could see it.

Taking the materials and flipping through them, Su Dingping found they contained partial parameters of decommissioned warships.

He took the photo handed to him by a senior and was just about to examine the 956E in detail when, the moment his hand touched the photo, a virtual panel appeared in his mind.

【Do you wish to perform a technical analysis on the '956E Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyer'?】

【You can obtain core technologies for modern warships...】

A system?

After realizing what it was, Su Dingping felt a surge of joy. The core technology for modern warships—wasn't that exactly what the Navy desperately needed right now?