It is widely known that the continent of Westall is a land of many small nations.
Here, a country might only have hundreds of thousands of people, or even tens of thousands.
The most absurd thing is that some small principalities have only a few thousand people. That's the population of a single town or village in Great Xia, yet they are considered a nation.
Among them, a small country, not much larger than the Theocratic Papal State and with a population of only around three thousand, was actually included in the US military exercise invitation list.
And to this nation, the US also allocated over thirty million in military funding.
In other words, they purchased the country's participation in this military exercise at a price of ten thousand US dollars per capita.
But that's not the most absurd part.
Even more absurd is that this country is landlocked.
The total number of its military personnel is no more than a hundred... rather than calling them an army, they are more like police officers maintaining domestic security.
The absolute most absurd part of all is that this "army" of about a hundred people doesn't even have a navy.
Their few "military armored vehicles" are actually retired surplus vehicles from other countries, purchased by them and modified from military Humvees.
Meng Hao was directly amused.
How could a landlocked country with a population of three thousand and an army of a hundred participate in a maritime military exercise?
Unless they planned to dismantle their military Humvees, build them into tin boats, and then paddle across?
After having his fill of amusement, Meng Hao shifted his attention back to the computer connected to the underground dock.
Compared to these amusing anecdotes, he was more concerned about when the Angelica submarine would be completely finished and could successfully return to Great Xia.
Although Meng Hao couldn't send messages to the outside world, he could still see some information on Great Xia's internet.
It was clear that the authorities were subtly conveying the attitude of Great Xia's high command to Meng Hao.
They had been waiting for Meng Hao's return.
And Meng Hao's mother had long since regained consciousness... Of course, to avoid alerting the enemy, they hadn't transferred Meng Hao's mother to a high-end hospital. Instead, they discreetly arranged for experts to form a mobile diagnostic team and secretly treated Meng Hao's mother...
Huairong Technology's recent business had undoubtedly been affected. To stabilize the workers' emotions and ensure Huairong Technology didn't go without orders, Great Xia had also provided assistance to Huairong Technology in a low-key manner, one that wouldn't attract attention...
His own family.
Qin Muyan, guarding the stone forest.
And so on, and so forth.
These family and friends whom Meng Hao longed for seemed to be well taken care of.
A warm current flowed through Meng Hao's heart.
The nation had gone to great lengths for him, Meng Hao.
He truly wanted to finish the Angelica submarine immediately and set off back to his homeland.
However, haste makes waste.
Everything had to be planned carefully.
...
Time passed quickly.
The new year was approaching again.
On Christmas Eve.
The entire research center's military base was decorated with lanterns and streamers, filled with a festive atmosphere.
For Westerners, Christmas was equivalent to the Spring Festival in Great Xia.
Within the entire research base, Meng Hao was the most inconspicuous.
As for this, William didn't even come to invite Meng Hao.
It wasn't that the young man didn't know how to behave.
On the contrary, William, who was very keen on getting closer to Meng Hao, knew that Meng Hao must be feeling extremely down at this time.
A stranger in a strange land, how one misses home on festive occasions!
Meng Hao, alone in Australia, must be missing his homeland dearly at this moment.
At such a time, any invitation would be like rubbing salt into Meng Hao's wounds.
Therefore, not disturbing him, and allowing Meng Hao to remain in solitude, was the optimal solution.
Of course, Meng Hao was not that fragile.
Although he missed his homeland terribly, he wasn't so melancholic as to become the male version of Lin Daiyu.
While no one was around to disturb him, and even the sentries at the door had left, Meng Hao locked his room door and pulled open his solid wood desk.
Revealing a hole covered by a blanket underneath.
A thin optical fiber cable was run from Meng Hao's computer, extending downwards at a very inconspicuous angle, all the way to a pit tens of meters deep.
Meng Hao climbed down the mine shaft within the room.
One had to admit, the work rate of these semi-autonomous robots was truly impressive.
For the soft terrain of the beach, these robots dug downwards while simultaneously reinforcing the soil.
There was no collapse or need for rework whatsoever.
Soon, he reached the mine pit.
My goodness.
There was a world of difference here.
A space the size of four or five football fields, supported by steel frames, held a conventionally powered submarine that had already taken shape.
Although Meng Hao had been directing people from the surface to dig holes and build the submarine, this was the first time he was seeing it in person.
These semi-autonomous robots had even used discarded materials around the mine pit to set up numerous floodlights, providing Meng Hao with a clear view.
Under the lights, Meng Hao carefully examined the submarine before him... This Angelica, a conventionally powered submarine, carried Meng Hao's longing for home.
If judged by military standards, this submarine could only be considered a light-class submarine.
However, if viewed on a civilian scale, it was already a behemoth.
An oval submarine, as long as five buses end-to-end and as wide as two buses, was quite visually impactful.
The Angelica, fixed on its steel support frame, was four to five meters high.
Meng Hao originally intended to climb up directly.
As a result, a semi-autonomous robot, from who knows where, pushed over a mobile lift platform.
My goodness.
These robots.
They were excessively thoughtful.
If it weren't for the code he himself had written, Meng Hao would even suspect that these guys had already developed autonomous consciousness... Of course, if Meng Hao could successfully return to Great Xia and connect the central processing units of these robots to the network, after massive data learning, they would eventually develop autonomous consciousness with immeasurable loyalty.
However, these were matters for later.
Currently, Meng Hao was only concerned about how the Angelica submarine was being built.
Following Meng Hao's instructions, these robots moved the mobile lift platform.
Meng Hao, meanwhile, controlled the height himself, inspecting the specific condition of the submarine.
He examined it very carefully and seriously.
After all, this was the vessel that would be responsible for his escape from Australia and his evasion of US surveillance in the future.
It might have to lie dormant underwater for half a month or even longer, completing a journey of thousands of kilometers.
Meng Hao could not joke about his own life.
Judging from the exposed wiring, the extremely smooth weld points, and the fish-scale-like joints, the exterior and interior of this Angelica submarine possessed both modern industrial aesthetics.
"Hmm, for now, all core hubs and system engineering are arranged according to my design..."
"Currently, the outer hull capable of withstanding high-intensity underwater pressure has not yet been enclosed..."
"Before the outer hull is covered, multiple repeated tests must be conducted. Safety must be the top priority..."