I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

Workshop No. 1 was as cold as an icebox in the early morning.

With alarmingly dark circles under his eyes, Jiang Ming pushed open the iron gate and slammed four blueprints and a proposal onto the worktable.

"Let's get started."

His voice was terribly hoarse.

Old Sun immediately came over, took out a pair of worn-out reading glasses from the pocket of his canvas work clothes, and put them on his nose.

He carefully picked up the sealing component processing drawing with his rough fingers.

Old Sun's eyes widened at the first glance.

"0.003 millimeters?!"

Old Sun's voice instantly rose eight octaves, like a rooster being choked.

Several young technicians in the workshop were so frightened that they trembled and quickly gathered around to look.

"Engineer Jiang, you've marked the tolerances incorrectly, haven't you?"

Xiao Zhao gasped.

"This is thinner than one-tenth the thickness of a human hair!"

"Our factory's Soviet-made lathes simply can't achieve this level of precision!"

Old Sun stared intently at the blueprints, his facial muscles twitching violently.

"This is ten times more meticulous than the most delicate work I've done in thirty years!"

His breathing became heavy.

But Lao Sun did not back down.

Instead, his large, calloused hands began to rub together excitedly.

This is the kind of fervor that only top artisans show when faced with extreme challenges.

"Dry!"

Old Sun suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes shining with an alarming intensity.

"To encounter such extreme living conditions in this lifetime, even dying would be worthwhile!"

"Give me the blueprints, and I'll grind them down to that level of precision, even if I have to use my teeth!"

Beside him, Wu Hanzhang was holding the exhaust valve modification plan, and his hands were shaking more and more as he looked at it.

"Reduce the spring preload by 40%?"

"Add a flow channel?"

Wu Hanzhang suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Jiang Ming.

"Where did you get your theory from?"

"This is absolutely a daring subversion!"

Jiang Ming calmly took out the oil paper package from his pocket.

He opened the book layer by layer, revealing the dictionary that Chen Zhiyuan had handwritten.

Jiang Ming turned to a hidden page and pointed to the few lines of Russian parameters.

"The original design parameters of the Soviet pumps are all here."

"I deduced it by working backwards from these data."

Jiang Ming lied without batting an eye.

"Plus a little basic fluid mechanics knowledge."

"I calculated it all night, and here's the result."

Wu Hanzhang looked at the dictionary with a mixture of belief and skepticism.

The logic was so rigorous that he couldn't find a single flaw.

"Good lad!"

Wu Hanzhang gritted his teeth and made a heavy decision.

"We'll change it according to your plan!"

"If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!"

With the chief engineer's words, the entire Workshop No. 1 instantly sprang into action, like a machine fully fueled.

3 PM.

Holding the material requisition form, Jiang Ming strode towards the factory's logistics warehouse.

He was going to collect the crucial three kilograms of fluororubber.

At the warehouse window, the chubby warehouse manager returned the order with a look of embarrassment.

"Jiang, I really can't get this material out."

"It was rejected by the higher-ups."

Jiang Ming frowned and looked down.

The material requisition form was stamped with a bright red seal that read "Approval Not Approved".

There was also a line of glaring penmanship annotations next to it.

If unconventional and expensive materials are wasted in the workshop, who will be responsible?

Please submit your application for approval following the complete process!

Signatory: Liu Shouxin.

Jiang Ming's eyes instantly turned cold.

This old fox is clearly using this as an excuse to jeopardize him.

The mission deadline for the anti-interference military vacuum tube was only three months.

If we follow the complete process, just getting reports and signatures from each level would take half a month!

Without saying a word, Jiang Ming grabbed the material requisition form and went straight to the technical department office.

In the office, Liu Shouxin was leisurely holding an enamel teacup, blowing on the tea leaves.

Seeing Jiang Ming walk in with a cold expression, he immediately put on a fake elder's smile.

"Oh dear, Xiao Jiang, why are you so angry?"

"Is it about the materials?"

Liu Shouxin put down his teacup and drew out his voice in a sarcastic tone.

"It's not that I'm blocking you."

"This fluororubber is a rare and precious commodity; the entire factory only has three kilograms left."

"What kind of micron-level processing are you doing in Workshop No. 1? If it all goes wrong, who will be responsible for the loss of state-owned assets?"

"This is a top-secret mission of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense."

Jiang Ming retorted forcefully.

"Can you take responsibility for the delays?"

"Don't try to intimidate me with your big names!"

Liu Shouxin's face hardened, and he leaned back arrogantly in his chair.

"Even top-secret missions must follow rules and regulations!"

"As the deputy director, I have a duty to safeguard the factory's assets!"

"The entire process must be completed; not a single word can be omitted!"

Liu Shouxin was extremely pleased with himself.

What's the use of having amazing skills?

In this third electronics factory, as long as I block the approval process, you won't get a single hair!

At the same time, on the top floor of the factory office building.

The door to the factory manager's office was tightly closed.

Factory Director Zhang sat behind his large desk, a half-burnt Daqianmen cigarette between his fingers.

Thick smoke swirled slowly inside the room.

On the table lay Jiang Ming's file, which was classified as "confidential."

In the file's innermost compartment, a piece of tan kraft paper with the words "Protect this only seedling" written on it stood out starkly.

The hand-drawn red star with a lightning bolt symbol at the end of the signature looked like a blazing fire, making Director Zhang's eyes sting with tears.

In this era, veterans who had experienced the brutal baptism of the underground front held a deep-seated reverence for this symbol.

Factory Director Zhang took a deep drag on his cigarette and stubbed it out hard in the ashtray.

He grabbed the black secure phone on the table and quickly dialed a complicated internal number.

A monotonous beeping sound came from the receiver.

A few seconds later, the call was answered.

"Old comrade-in-arms, it's me."

Director Zhang's voice was very low, carrying a chilling and murderous aura.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a deep voice.

"Old Zhang?"

What prompted you to use this line?

"I want to ask you something."

Factory Director Zhang stared intently at Jiang Ming's photo in the file.

That face kept overlapping with a tragic face from my memory.

"Old Lei, who ran an underground radio station in Shanghai back then, how much of his past can you still find out about his final act?"

The breathing on the other end of the phone instantly became heavy.

"This is a top-secret, confidential file."

"Why are you investigating him?"

"I've discovered a crucial clue."

Factory Director Zhang gritted his teeth.

"This matter may involve the spark left behind by Lao Lei."

"Help me find out the situation as soon as possible."

……

Technical Section Office.

Jiang Ming clutched the returned material requisition form tightly.

The paper was crumpled into many wrinkles, making a slight rubbing sound.

Liu Shouxin arrogantly picked up his teacup and took another sip of water.

"Go back and write your report, Xiao Jiang."

"Young man, don't be so hot-blooded."

Jiang Ming suddenly released his grip, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Deputy Director Liu, you really don't learn your lesson."

Jiang Ming looked at the clown in front of him with a mocking expression, too lazy to utter a single unnecessary word.

He turned around and strode out of the office without looking back.

Since someone insists on courting death, we should choke them.

Then let Old Wu teach him what absolute privileges for military industrial tasks really mean!