Chapter 29: Let's Confer a Rank upon Comrade Ding Ping

Li Mingrui and 16 other professors stood frozen in place, clutching their materials, staring blankly at this bizarre scene in the main control room.

The stark contrast between the unruly Lyu Guangjun from this morning and the man before them provided a powerful visual shock.

Soon, Lyu Guangjun noticed Li Mingrui and the others standing at the doorway.

Their astonished gazes seemed to say: *Dean Lyu, you weren't like this this morning.*

Unfazed by the awkwardness, Lyu Guangjun hurriedly waved them over.

"Professor Li Mingrui, come in quickly! What are you doing standing around outside?"

"Ah, right, right."

Li Mingrui directed the group to set their things down, laying out all the blueprints and models they had brought.

The main control room, which was originally quite spacious, suddenly became cramped.

Even the portholes were covered with design drawings.

The remaining 15 professors surreptitiously observed the internal structure of the 956E's main control room.

Unlike Sun Yongguo and the other three, this was their first time boarding the 956E, and they were naturally filled with curiosity.

"That's enough, stop acting like you've never seen the world before," Li Mingrui whispered, nudging the professors.

"Everyone, please sit down. We will be on the 956E for a while, so you'll have plenty of time to look around slowly," Su Dingping said.

"Let's make some progress tonight. Once Captain Zhou returns with the equipment tomorrow, we will use the internal structure of the 956E to give everyone a detailed explanation."

"Now, let's continue!"

"We were just discussing the MP-S electronic countermeasure system on the 956E. Decades ago, we developed the KJ-1 electronic warfare aircraft, but so many years have passed, and we have moved very slowly in the field of electronic countermeasures..."

Although the main control room was crowded and the 19 professors present were practically shoulder-to-shoulder, no one expressed any dissatisfaction.

They had experienced much harsher environments; this was nothing.

Before long, Lyu Guangjun's phone suddenly rang.

Without even looking, Lyu Guangjun quickly cut the call and cast a cautious glance around the room.

Su Dingping continued his lecture uninterrupted, and the other professors were busy taking notes; it seemed as though no one had noticed.

Lyu Guangjun breathed a sigh of relief and immersed himself in the learning once more.

But a moment later, the phone rang again.

He cut it off again.

The crowd remained as usual.

Lyu Guangjun was deeply impressed by the group's dedication.

However, only five minutes later, the phone rang yet again.

This time, just as Lyu Guangjun was about to hang up, Sun Yongguo, who was beside him, spoke up.

"Old Lyu, just answer it! If you don't, the other party will probably keep calling all night."

Lyu Guangjun looked up and found that everyone's eyes were on him.

Clearly, while they had ignored it the first two times, three strikes made a pattern.

Left with no choice, he picked up the phone.

Upon seeing that it was a call from Cheng Yiqiang, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

He was stuck—he couldn't answer, but he couldn't ignore it either.

"Dean Lyu, Dean Cheng seems quite concerned about you," Zhang Gongnong said meaningfully.

"Just answer it, don't let Old Cheng worry," Sun Yongguo added.

With a soft sigh in his heart, Lyu Guangjun answered the call.

However, before he could even speak, Cheng Yiqiang's anxious voice came through the phone.

"Old Lyu, what's going on? Not a single word of news all day! Did that man Sun hold you captive? Don't panic, I'll go find the Chief right now..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into a deathly silence. The expressions on everyone's faces became incredibly strange.

*Did we hold you captive?*

*Weren't you the one refusing to leave?*

*We're the ones who think it's too crowded in here.*

*Ahem—*

Lyu Guangjun cleared his throat to ease his internal embarrassment, then said in a serious tone, "Dean Cheng, I have an unexpected situation here. I'll talk to you later."

"An unexpected situation? Right, Old Lyu, you'd better figure out what Sun Yongguo is up to..."

Before the other could finish, Lyu Guangjun hung up and turned off his phone.

He shook his phone and said, "I'm truly sorry for the trouble. I'm turning my phone off now, so no one will disturb us."

"Let's continue!" Su Dingping said.

Time flew by, and it wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that Su Dingping spoke.

"Today's lesson ends here. If you have questions, discuss them among yourselves when you return; if you can't solve them, you can come to me. Tomorrow morning at 6:00, be there."

With that, Su Dingping stood up and walked out.

Only after Su Dingping had walked far away did Lyu Guangjun say, "Old Sun, this place is a bit small, isn't it?"

"Small? I don't think so. This many people is just right."

"I mean, if there were a few more people, there wouldn't be enough room to sit."

Sun Yongguo put down his notes and looked at him.

"A few more people? Why?"

"Ahem—well, I just think that if there were more people, everyone could gather together and discuss things. It would be more lively."

Sun Yongguo frowned slightly; he sensed something was off.

"Look, Old Sun, the 051B modification failed, and I have extra manpower on my end. How about I call a few people over to join us?"

Seeing that Sun Yongguo was about to refuse, Lyu Guangjun quickly added, "By the way, I still don't even know what that young comrade's name is."

"Su Dingping."

"Su Dingping!"

"You've heard of him?"

"Yes!" Lyu Guangjun said. "Before I went to the 335 Research Institute this morning, I did some brief research. I was very impressed by the members of Zhang Gongnong's experimental group, especially this Comrade Su. He is a talent!"

Suddenly, as if realizing something, he asked hurriedly, "Are these blueprints, including the models, all the work of Comrade Su?"

Sun Yongguo nodded.

Lyu Guangjun looked toward where Su Dingping had been sitting and sighed, "I didn't realize my perspective was so narrow."

Taking a deep breath, he said seriously, "Old Sun, didn't Zhang Gongnong just say he wanted all the detailed data on the shipborne missiles?"

"There's no need to trouble the Chief. I've made the decision: I'll have someone pack it all up and send it over tonight! For all that data, I'll swap out two empty seats! How about it? Just two!"

"I can't make that decision! Comrade Dingping is the person in charge of this project."

As soon as Sun Yongguo finished speaking, Lyu Guangjun said, "Old Sun, help me negotiate with Comrade Dingping! The people from your 335 Research Institute are making great strides, while my people from the 408 Research Institute are still treading water. I'm anxious!"

"If you bring people over, what about Dean Cheng's side? Will he want to bring people too?"

"Dean Cheng? What Dean Cheng? I don't know him. Don't talk nonsense."

"Then wait for my news." With that, Sun Yongguo led Zhang Gongnong to chase after Su Dingping.

Watching their retreating backs, Lyu Guangjun muttered, "Old Cheng, it's not that I won't help you, it's just that there really isn't any more room. I trust you can understand my predicament."

Immediately after, he turned on his phone, preparing to call for reinforcements.

Although Sun Yongguo had not yet given a definitive answer, he had already begun the preparations.

On the way to Su Dingping's quarters, Sun Yongguo suddenly said, "Comrade Gongnong, the Chief gave me a task yesterday. Help me look into how to handle this."

He then gave a general overview of what Xu Dongguo had instructed him to do yesterday.

Upon learning that the application for the First-Class Merit was already being processed, Zhang Gongnong's face lit up with joy.

After all, this was his student; it brought him great honor.

Zhang Gongnong said, "Dean, aren't we just Navy personnel?"

"We?"

Sun Yongguo's gaze drifted between the two of them, and he suddenly realized.

That's right! If they gave Dingping a military rank, wouldn't it be perfectly natural to bring him into the Navy!

This was perfect; the Chief had already given his instructions.