The shipyard in Huludao, once a bustling hub of activity, was now a ghost town. The slump in orders had forced many factories to close, leaving thousands unemployed. Among those affected was the factory manager, who had found solace in fishing.
One day, his peaceful solitude was interrupted by a large black vehicle that pulled up to the shore. A suspicious official emerged and asked the manager to join him. To his surprise, the manager of another company was already in the car.
“This is sudden, but we’re heading to Wuhan now,” the official in the passenger seat said, tapping his fingers on a tablet. He explained that a new submarine had sunk at a shipyard in Wuhan and their expertise was needed to investigate the cause.
The factory manager, who had heard rumors about the shoddy workmanship at the Wuhan shipyard, suspected that it was likely an assembly error. When they arrived in Wuhan, he saw the submarine, now partially salvaged, floating at the edge of an inconspicuous dock.
An executive from the Wuhan shipyard approached them and asked if they could estimate the construction time and budget for transporting the submarine to Huludao. He also mentioned that they wanted to move it underwater to avoid satellite detection.
The manager whispered to the other manager, “It seems the government wants to cover up this sinking accident.”
To ensure their cooperation, the manager asked for the cause of the accident. After a tense silence, a group of men in black suits surrounded them. One of them spoke, “Part of the software for the water injection system was made in Japan.”
“Why did you do that?” the manager asked, shocked.
The man replied, “The deadline was approaching. We asked a Chinese company operating in Japan to do the programming, and the Japanese engineers did a good job.”
The factory manager realized the gravity of the situation. The sinking of a nuclear submarine, especially one with foreign-made components, could have serious geopolitical implications. He knew he would be involved in a cover-up that could have far-reaching consequences.
All names of people and organizations appearing in this story are pseudonyms.
Chinese nuclear submarine sunk in the Yangtze River? Beijing remains silent
Comments