A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 623 Full of martial spirit, if you're not convinced, just challenge me! The stubborn fi

The President Cleveland made a sharp turn along its route, circling around to Manila, where it made a brief stop before heading north again, thus avoiding the convoluted territory.

After all, Taiwan doesn't care about such things anymore. Once, some comrades were returning home from Canada on a cargo ship. When the ship stopped in Taiwan to unload its cargo, all of them were detained.

Mulan was quite disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see Penghu Bay. However, although she didn't see Penghu Bay, she did see an island.

A lush, green island, shaped like a giant bathtub.

However, its shape is quite unique, resembling an isosceles triangle.

Not far in front of the island, a ship flying the bald eagle flag was moored, and the sailors on board were busy pushing a red object onto the deck.

"Firebees!" Mulan put down her binoculars, somewhat surprised. "What are they doing? A test shot?"

Sure enough, this strange-looking aircraft had been fixed to a slanted launch pad by the soldiers.

"Look, there are still people on the island!"

Johnson, holding up his binoculars, spotted a small boat moored in front of the reef, with several sailors carrying large poles and hammering them against the rocks.

"What's the name of this island again? Is this our territory?"

Mulan frowned, then pulled Johnson toward the captain's cabin of the USS President Cleveland.

The first mate on duty saw Johnson's employee ID and didn't dare to cause trouble, after all, the CIA still had a bad reputation overseas.

"First Officer, the US's strength has expanded so rapidly. Not only do we have five military bases in the Philippines, but we're even trying to take over this insignificant little island?"

Mulan tossed her hair, pointed to the nearby reefs, and sighed.

“Oh, madam. What you said earlier is correct, but I don’t see it that way about the latter. This island has ownership rights. These soldiers’ blatant landing on the island is an unjust act, and I cannot condone their behavior!”

Huh? This first mate has some pretty sound values!

Mulan and Johnson exchanged a glance, and Johnson continued:

"Ha, this island is so close to the Philippines, it must belong to them. They've already taken in so many of our soldiers, so taking this island is fine too!"

Haha, who says clear eyes mean a bad brain? Johnson and Mulan are quite in sync.

"NO! What I said is based on facts!"

The first mate took a thick dictionary from the cockpit storage compartment. The two men leaned over to take a look and discovered it was a book titled "The Colombian Lipincot World Gazetteer."

"Scarborough Shoal! A sandbar visible when the water level drops. It's the name given to it by a cargo ship from the Lobster Country after it ran aground and sank. But please note that the dictionary indicates the island opposite belongs to China!"

"Impossible! The Philippines? Do they even admit it?"

"Whether they admit it or not, I don't know, but look at this 'Territorial Sea Baseline Law,' the latest version! It doesn't include this island within its territory!"

Mulan looked at the brand-new book, which had the signature of the Philippine authorities on it, and with a flick of her wrist, she took both books into her hands.

"Strange, why haven't I seen these two books on the market before?"

"Ha, who would buy such technical books? These were even distributed internally by the shipping company to help us understand the division of territorial sovereignty. They're really just trying to keep us out of trouble!"

After the first mate finished speaking, he picked up his binoculars and struck a pose as if to see the guest off.

Suddenly, a box the size of a palm appeared in front of him.

Ok?

His gaze shifted, and the first mate tilted his head, looking at the trademark on the wooden box. The somewhat hastily written trademark actually featured seven medals printed on it.

The first mate's Adam's apple bobbed, and his left hand, which had been holding the binoculars, quietly moved down, using two fingers to measure the thickness of the wooden box.

Perfect score! It's actually 2 centimeters thick!

"First Mate, how about we keep these two books as souvenirs for our journey? I'm sure you're generous enough to grant me this small wish!"

Mulan held the two books to her chest, shamelessly trying to look cute.

"Well, both of these books are internal documents. Especially the Philippines' 'Territorial Sea Baseline Law,' which was only distributed to a few large shipping companies..."

With a thud, another cigar box with seven medals was placed in the first mate's hands.

"Ahem... The weather's been pretty rough lately! The staff on duty aren't even closing the windows properly, how irresponsible! Looks like I need to submit an application to the company to update some paper documents."

The first mate took the cigar box, his beard trembling with laughter, completely ignoring the angry glare the helmsman was giving him.

Fortunately, after Johnson casually handed out a few aluminum tubes of the same brand of cigars, the sailors in the captain's cabin finally showed satisfied expressions, and some were even quite excited.

Why are you so happy?

It's probably because this cigar has a very famous name: the Upmann cigar! Even the current leader of the Bald Eagle covets it!

This cigar is a household name in the cigar country, but what really made it famous was the current leader of the United States.

The bald eagle is preparing to impose sanctions on the cigar-producing country, and their leader even sent people to specifically purchase these cigars before signing the trade embargo.

However, the legendary figure from the land of cigars, the one who was so resilient that he outlived eleven leaders of the Bald Eagle, managed to prevent this leader from buying a single one of these cigars.

Therefore, the price of this Upmann cigar has risen significantly due to this comparison. The price is secondary; the key issue is that you really can't buy one!

Seeing that the first mate had accepted the gift, Mulan's eyes darted around again: "Dear first mate, since it's a travel souvenir, could you stamp it with the Cleveland's seal, like a postmark? That would be perfect!"

"No problem! Beautiful lady, I'll have someone bring the seals to your room shortly. Please make yourself at home!"

It was just a ship's stamp, nothing serious. The stamp was only used on the ticket, so the first mate didn't dwell on it too much.

I was just wondering how many cigars I should give the captain as a token of my respect. A whole box? No, no, that's too wasteful. Two, I guess...

"By the way, First Mate! It looks like that warship over there is about to test-fire that thing that looks like a cannonball. Should we ask about it? If it comes after us, we'll be in real trouble!"

“Yes! Those bastards, last time they fired on a cargo ship from a third-party country, and then they just brushed it off with a casual “intelligence was wrong”!” Johnson pulled out his “employee ID” again to show that he had something to say.

The first mate was also jolted awake. Forgetting about hiding the two boxes of top-quality cigars, he grabbed the radio and started calling frantically.

"USS Navy, USS Navy, this is the President Cleveland. We are preparing to pass through the area ahead. Are you cleared to proceed?"

"We are a US cruise ship! We are a cruise ship with a fixed route! Please ensure the safety of our voyage!"

After an anxious wait, the radio finally transmitted a signal:

"This is the Seventh Fleet Destroyer Squadron, destroyer USS Jokkannati."

The Seventh Fleet! Wasn't it stationed in Yokosuka?! How did it move here?!

Mulan and Johnson exchanged another glance and decided to explore the topic further.

After snatching the communicator, Johnson used his identity as a shield and tentatively asked:

"Dear USS John Connaught, I am a CIA agent. I have a mission to enter Hong Kong. Will the missiles your ship is about to launch pose a threat to my navigation?"

"CIA agents? From the Evergrande Tian base? The two who visited our base?"

After receiving Johnson's affirmative reply, the radio operator on the opposing destroyer's tone softened considerably. Perhaps he knew about their upcoming operational plan. He gave a brief overview of his combat actions.

"Don't worry, this is a Firebee. We're launching it here to send it to southern Vietnam for reconnaissance. Don't worry, it won't overlap with your flight path!"

"Oh, I see!"

After Johnson finished asking his question, Mulan eagerly pointed to the bald eagle soldiers on the small island. Johnson nodded and continued to ask:

"This island belongs to that country across the water, right? Will our soldiers run into trouble if they land on it?"

"No, we're just collecting hydrological data from the surrounding area. Landing on the island is only to gather meteorological information about the surrounding area. Firebees are advanced, but the weather still has a significant impact on them! Oh, and we also informed its affiliated faction about the landing... so you don't need to worry about these minor matters."

Johnson swallowed hard: "No way, how did you guys convince them? They agreed to this?"

"Ha! We don't need their permission. We can come and go as we please. Saying something is just a matter of procedure, hahaha..."

Johnson stared wide-eyed at Mulan, puzzled.

Mulan glared at him fiercely, and Johnson finally realized, "Oh, you mean that bald guy on the island?"

"That's right! Who else could it be but him? Didn't you see I was talking about influence?"

Upon hearing this, Mulan immediately wrote down a message and handed it to Johnson. Johnson glanced at it and asked the most crucial question of his life.

"So, you also believe this island belongs to that country across the way?"

Is it important?

"It's very important; it's related to our money-making plan!"

"Huh?" The person on the other end was puzzled, but for the sake of the green banknotes, they quickly replied: "According to the previous definition, this island does belong to that country! But, we don't recognize them now!"

"but……"

"Even if they are theirs, so what? They don't have any ships coming! Hahahaha..."

"Alright! Call closed! This is the USS President Cleveland!"

"Over! This is the great Seventh Fleet, destroyer USS Jue Connaught!"

After hanging up the communicator, Johnson's young man, still somewhat annoyed by the soldier's last words, was still pondering something.

Mulan acted swiftly, her face dark as she took out the cassette tape from the recorder beneath the radio, stuffed it into her pocket, and left.

"Damn, that's a great answer. Just wait until I catch you, or I'll make sure you get your fill!"

Johnson, who was left to explain later, used the excuse that it was an internal CIA call to justify Mulan's actions.

After the last few aluminum tube cigars were flicked out, everyone in the driver's cab expressed their understanding.

"Uh... USS President Cleveland! USS Connaught!"

Ok?

Johnson turned around and picked up the intercom again: "President Cleveland received, please speak!"

"Your route will pass through the archipelago area. Be careful of Chinese fishing boats! Try to avoid conflict with them!"

"Uh, thanks for reminding me. We're a cruise ship with a fixed itinerary, so we won't conflict with them!"

"No, that's best. The other day, a cruise ship from the Lobster Country got scared by those fishermen..."

Could you explain in more detail?

"Hey, those guys from Lobster Country got cocky and started shooting at those fishing boats..."

"Ouch, did they hurt the fishermen on the other side?"

"No, but it angered them."

"Won't their small fishermen's sampans pose a threat to the tall cruise ships?"

"Although...but...they actually dared to ram you with their own boat...!"

Wow... Such abundant martial virtue?