When the Chinese naval delegation arrived at the Russian Pacific Fleet base, Mavi and the Russian Navy gave them a grand welcome. "Good morning, Mr. Yuan Kaimin, we meet again," Mavi said.
The "Mr. Yuan Kaimin" he spoke of was the high-ranking naval official who had visited the Black Sea Shipyard in Ukraine two years prior to inspect the Varyag aircraft carrier. He was also the one who made a "lifesaving phone call" to Mavi during the Ukrainian nuclear destruction crisis, allowing Mavi to successfully help Ukraine thwart the European Union's covert scheme. This event also made a lasting impression on the Russian President.
"Haha! Hello, Mavi. It's been about a year and a half since we last saw each other, hasn't it?" Mr. Yuan Kaimin replied with a hearty laugh. His body was still strong and his spirit was high, thanks to the solid foundation he built in his youth.
The Chinese Navy was already indebted to Mavi for his help with the Varyag carrier incident when it was detained by Turkey. Now, Mavi was inviting them to tour Russian nuclear submarines, which was like giving them another big gift. Their relationship had gone from good to great.
"That's right, Mr. Yuan, it's been almost a year and a half. Time really flies," Mavi said with a sigh.
The two of them chatted for quite a while, much to the astonishment of the Chinese naval officers standing behind them. They had never seen their high-ranking leader be so talkative and chat with a young man for so long. The fact that the two spoke different languages, Russian and Chinese, and required a translator the entire time, made it even more surprising.
"Come, Mavi, let me introduce you. These two are our country's nuclear submarine scientists, Dr. Wang and Dr. Li. I'm not afraid to admit that ever since they heard about this visit, they've been so excited they haven't slept well," Mr. Yuan Kaimin joked as he introduced them.
"Hello, Dr. Wang. Hello, Dr. Li. It's a pleasure to meet you both," Mavi said with a smile. In his previous life, as a poor student, he always envied the top students in his class.
After being reborn, he had met many top-tier scientists who were even smarter than the brightest students. This made him realize how unpredictable life could be.
"Hello, Mr. Mavi! It is an honor to meet you!" Just as Mr. Yuan Kaimin had said, Dr. Wang and Dr. Li had been so excited about the opportunity to visit and learn about advanced Russian nuclear submarine technology that they had been unable to sleep for nights.
After all, if you wanted to know who had the clearest understanding of China's nuclear submarine technology, it was these two scientists standing in front of Mavi. They knew the gap between their country's submarine capabilities and those of the United States and Russia was in the double digits.
They knew that if they had to rely on their own research, it would be an incredibly difficult process with no guarantee of success. They would have to take many detours and go through countless failures.
After exchanging pleasantries, Mavi got straight to the point. "Mr. Yuan, the nuclear submarines are ready and docked at the port. Shall I take everyone to see them now?"
Seeing that Mavi was still so direct, Mr. Yuan Kaimin smiled and nodded. "Yes, Mavi. We'd be honored."
With old friends, there was no need for formalities. With the implicit approval of the Russian Navy, Mavi led the Chinese delegation toward the Pacific Fleet base port.
Waiting there were three types of nuclear submarines that Mavi had arranged. He had deliberately brought in three of Russia's most high-performance nuclear submarines for the Chinese delegation to see.
"Mr. Yuan, everyone, the three submarines you see are the Akula-class attack submarine, the Oscar-class cruise missile submarine, and the Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarine, which is currently the largest in the world," Mavi said, listing them off as if they were his own treasures.
The Akula-class was the same type of submarine he had recently sold to India at a high price. The Oscar-class was one of the submarines that launched a surprise attack on the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force during a confrontation in the open seas last year.
The combination of the Akula-class and the Oscar-class was enough to make even the U.S. Seventh Fleet uneasy. After all, nuclear submarines are very difficult to detect when they're submerged in the deep sea, over 400 meters down. Unless they surface for air or launch an attack, a surprise strike is lethal in a war, and no country can deal with it effectively.
As for the last one Mavi introduced, the "Type 941 Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarine," it was even more formidable. It was a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine in the Russian Navy and the largest submarine in the world in terms of size and displacement.
Its main weapon was the new Russian submarine-launched ballistic missile, the P-39. The missile was 16 meters long and 2.4 meters in diameter, could carry 10 warheads, and had a range of 8,000 to 10,000 kilometers.
Later, the Russian Navy would even equip the upgraded version of this strategic submarine with the Poseidon nuclear torpedo, a weapon capable of "destroying the sky, the ground, and the air."
This torpedo was 24 meters long and 1.5 meters in diameter, with a top underwater speed of 100 kilometers per hour and a range of 10,000 kilometers. It could carry a nuclear warhead with a two-megaton TNT equivalent! A single torpedo could trigger a tidal wave that would wipe out an entire city.
Russia built a total of six of these behemoths. However, due to their exorbitant cost and maintenance fees, only one was in service as of 2017. The other five were all mothballed and stored, a great shame.
Looking at the three most advanced, high-performance Russian nuclear submarines in front of them, Mr. Yuan Kaimin, the two scientists, and all the high-ranking Chinese naval officers were deeply moved.
Especially when the massive monster, which was 172 meters long with an underwater displacement of 46,000 tons, surfaced. The sheer size of the Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarine made many of the people present gasp in awe. They truly felt how powerful the Russian military industry was.
To think that they could build such a monstrous underwater beast... This was truly the "fighting nation" at its best.
"Mr. Mavi, thank you so much for this tour!" the two nuclear submarine scientists from the delegation said, expressing their gratitude with great excitement.
For them, these three different types of super nuclear submarines were a priceless treasure, something no amount of wealth could buy.