Chapter 318

Chapter 318: The Moment of Testing the Cafeteria

"Alright! Zack, relay the orders down."

In this situation, Captain Smith shook his head, relieved that he didn’t have to worry about the Chinese expelling all crew members and completely capturing this Los Angeles-class attack submarine; otherwise, the Americans would have to risk open conflict.

The Los Angeles-class attack submarine ranks just below the Seawolf-class and Virginia-class in the U.S. Navy and is the most widely used submarine in their arsenal, holding a crucial position within the U.S. Navy.

"Well done! Dragon Knight! And to the pilots of Training Group 15, you may return to base."

The voice of Captain Yang Hong came through the radio, indicating that the aviation crew’s training mission was complete. The fleet’s high command was just waiting to report back to higher-ups and await new commands.

"Understood, Captain! Everybody, follow my lead and make a right turn. The rest is up to Team One of the anti-submarine helicopter squad."

Lin Mo began a sharp turn, waving to the students on his left.

The five J-15 "Dark Sabre" aircraft circled overhead the Hampton before turning towards the Shilang.

The remaining tasks would be handled by others.

The Hampton, now surfaced, had become a sitting duck.

At this distance, avoiding the submarine’s launch angle, the main guns on the two Chinese frigates, Haijiao and Pocha, could instantly turn the Los Angeles-class attack submarine upside down.

Moreover, two fully armed anti-submarine Z-9 helicopters hovered in the sky, each carrying an air-dropped anti-submarine torpedo with a red head, which would be lethal to the single-hull Los Angeles-class attack submarine.

Even if the Hampton urgently dived at this moment, it couldn’t escape its fate of being sunk within fifteen seconds.

A "cat among the pigeons" exposed to the sun, it was only slightly better than an ordinary soldier, and under the siege of a large army, even the best skills were of no use.

The deck crew waved signal sticks, directing each J-15 "Dark Sabre" to land gracefully on the deck at the rear of the Shilang.

Nearly all J-15 "Dark Sabres" in the hangar of the Shilang were equipped with the "Dragon Saddle" operating system. The original system from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation had nearly been entirely abandoned, and all of the carrier-based aircraft utilized the system developed by Lin Mo, further refined by Shenyang. The operational stability was greatly improved, and many new features that were very useful for the pilots were added, winning the approval of both the instructor team and the trainees.

In summary, the 3 million yuan spent by Shenyang was well worth it, while Lin Mo silently profited tremendously.

Standing on the flight deck, watching his "Dark Sabre" descend into the hangar via the deck elevator, Lin Mo took off his helmet and shouted, "I’ll treat everyone tonight! Aviation crew! Come along!"

"Cut it out!"

The aviation crew trainees and instructors who were enjoying the spectacle on the flight deck scoffed at his words. Two thousand yuan was enough for ten people, but with at least 150 members in the aviation crew, 2000 yuan wouldn’t even cover small portions, just enough for each person to get a boxed meal with two meat dishes and one vegetable.

"Just add a zero at the end!" Lin Mo winked and chuckled, quickly adding.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear on the spacious deck.

"Is that for real?" Major Xu Zhanghang, code-named "Thief," from Training Group 15, suddenly popped up like a thief.

"If I’m lying, I’m a sea turtle!" Lin Mo stretched out his hand to make a turtle-shaped gesture.

"Listen up, brothers from the aviation crew! Instructor Lin is treating us! We have a budget of 20,000 yuan! Hurry up!"

Major Xu Zhanghang wasn’t holding back at all and shouted loudly at the aviation crew members.

Eating at the aircraft carrier’s cafeteria was very affordable, and even if one paid out of pocket, the prices weren’t steep, thanks to state subsidies for shipping. Though far from the mainland, the prices were similar to those in restaurants on the land.

With a standard of at least one hundred yuan per person, the quality and quantity assuredly wouldn’t fall short of high-end restaurants.

The chefs at the aircraft carrier’s cafeteria were undoubtedly skilled, creating impressive dishes with advanced equipment available there.

"Long live Instructor Lin!"

"Long live Dragon Knight!"

"Let’s book the place! Let’s book the place! Notify the cafeteria! Tonight, the aviation crew gets extra food! A standard of 20,000 yuan!"

The flight deck echoed with the cheers of the pilots. After a long day of hard training, the Americans were generously treating them to a meal, which was a rare treat aboard the monotonous aircraft carrier.

These food lovers not only excelled as carrier-based aircraft pilots but could also work as waiters. In no time, several eager aviation crew trainees rushed to the nearby phone to place their orders at the cafeteria, a small task that didn’t require Lin Mo’s concern; someone would take care of it.

"Deck crew! Weapon crew! Come along!" Lin Mo clapped his hands and shouted to the busy deck crew and weapon crew on the flight deck.

Almost instantly, members from the other two groups paused, then smiles spread across their faces.

This wasn’t just a limit of 20,000 yuan; it was a grand treat.

On the aircraft carrier’s flight deck, the most interaction the aviation crew had was with the deck crew and the weapon crew, which could be described as very close relations. Lin Mo’s generosity quickly earned him cheers and enthusiastic thumbs up from both groups.

Such loyalty!

The members of the two groups were completely won over by Lin Mo’s spirit of camaraderie.

"I say, Instructor Lin, you’re really going all out here! Is this really just to cheer everyone up?" Lieutenant Colonel Cang, the deputy captain of the instructor team, approached Lin Mo with a somewhat incredulous expression.

This guy, without making a fuss, was suddenly throwing down such a big sum. Even with the pilots’ decent salaries, this meal must be costing him at least half a year’s wages.

"It’s no big deal! Don’t worry, I can definitely afford this. A standard of 150 yuan per person, eat whatever you like," Lin Mo smiled. If he could afford one lamb, he could certainly afford a whole flock; since he was treating, adding a few more chopsticks didn’t matter.

Lin Mo handled money easily—he had no grasp of how much he actually had, so why would he worry about this?

"Major Xu, help me notify the maintenance crew below to join us!" Lin Mo continued to surprise everyone by including the maintenance crew, which brought the total number of diners up to over four hundred—a group nearly a tenth of the entire ship’s crew.

Hiss! Lieutenant Colonel Cang gasped. Revolution isn’t about treating people to meals; it’s that they simply can’t afford it. It seemed that this young instructor was genuinely willing to spend big for a feast.

This was undoubtedly an impressive gesture; Lin Mo was treating almost a tenth of the aircraft carrier’s staff to a meal, creating quite a stir.

It was a moment to test Lin Mo’s wallet.

Oh no!

It should be a moment to test the chefs in the cafeteria.

Compared to the eagerly preparing four groups making their way to the cafeteria, the Shilang aircraft carrier’s chefs cursed the Dragon Knights, feeling it was an unexpected attack. When had the carrier-based aircraft begun launching airstrikes on the cafeteria?

For a cafeteria serving meals to over 5,000 crew members around the clock, Lin Mo’s unexpected request certainly added a hefty task to their workload.

The cafeteria usually offered a dozen self-service dishes, made in large pots. As long as the ingredients were cleaned and prepped, they could go straight into the machines. Compared to a regular stove, this process was significantly more advanced, resembling a factory-style food preparation assembly line.

There were also large cooking stoves, which didn’t use special spatulas, just common shovels, also known as spades, often used for shoveling snow or dirt, crafted entirely from titanium steel.

Imagine a muddy-faced soldier wielding a large shovel in a massive pot that could almost stew a living person, handling thousands of meals. A cook wielding such a shovel was at least on par with the legendary character Lu Zhishen.

What really made the cafeteria cooks nervous were the special dishes that required additional funds. Occasionally, they prepared slightly more complex dishes to treat the officers on board, but now, Lin Mo’s request would suddenly escalate their workload significantly.

Four hundred people would require over forty tables with ten people at each.

If there was prior notice, it would be manageable with a little preparation, but this surprise attack was concerning.

Ordering food was straightforward; ten to eighteen dishes per table was a manageable task for the order-takers and the cooking team’s chefs. However, the needed ingredients were likely frozen solid or still dirty in the refrigerator.

Customers were considered kings, especially the honorables from the aviation crew, around whom other departments on the entire aircraft carrier revolved. Having just taken down an American submarine, it was time to celebrate—definitely a matter of pride for Tianjin.

More importantly, tonight, the nine on-duty captains from the Shilang would be attending, and of course, that unlucky captain of the Hampton submarine would also be present.

And the deck crew, maintenance crew, and weapon crew would all benefit from this event.

This was a political mission, or rather, a politically involved mission that should not have political ties.

The cafeteria manager immediately issued an evacuation order, and the cooks didn’t even have time to catch their breath before they began bustling about.

Except for one group of cooks who had just finished their shift and were resting, the next group had to report early.

The only relief for the cooking brigade was that they didn’t have to serve everyone all at once; they divided into three groups for meal times, which lightened the pressure somewhat. As long as they organized well, they could handle the demand.

Regarding this sudden situation, the person most likely to complain wasn’t the cafeteria manager but the captain of the supply ship. This grand feast would likely consume a significant portion of the special ingredients on the aircraft carrier, and they would have to return early to the naval base in Hainan for restocking.