Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 409 - 391 Demand

Chapter 409: Chapter 391 Demand

Looking at Green’s reaction, one could tell that this sonar fingerprint was something incredible, an extremely, extremely prestigious item.

So, the question arose.

What is a sonar fingerprint?

"Alright, I tentatively agree to these exchange terms, but I need to consult with a professional to see if the trade amount is appropriate. We’ll be in touch later."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yi immediately asked Green, "What is a sonar fingerprint?"

"A sonar fingerprint is a colloquial term. It refers to the performance signature of submarines during sonar detection. Submarines differ in tonnage, shape, and propulsion methods, so... if you have no understanding of submarines, or even what sonar is, it’s going to be hard for me to explain it to you."

"Is this intelligence valuable?"

"Valuable?"

Green asked Gao Yi back in astonishment, and then said with a sense of helplessness, "Explaining this to a layman like you is really tough. How can the value of this intelligence be summarized as merely ’valuable’? Sonar fingerprints are based on a nation’s naval military strength. They can only be obtained through time, money, and lives. It’s a reflection of a country’s power, a testament to its defense will. It simply cannot be quantified in monetary terms. If you really must put a price on decades’ worth of sonar data, I’d say... one trillion US dollars."

Gao Yi’s eyes widened as he exclaimed in surprise, "How much? You’re joking, right?"

"Joking? To establish a complete set of NATO submarine sonar fingerprints, you would need Type 627 November-class, Type 671 Victor-class, Type 705 Alpha-class, Type 971 Akula-class, Type 945 Sierra-class, Type 885 Yasen-class, a total of four generations, nine types, eighty-three attack nuclear submarines."

Gao Yi slightly opened his mouth in awe.

Guerra continued, "You’d also need Type 667 Delta-class, Type 941 Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarines..."

"Stop, no need to go on."

Guerra spread his hands and said, "That’s just the nuclear submarines. There are also even more numerous conventional submarines, plus research costs, production costs, and labor. Do you think all that, measured with today’s price system, would be worth less than one trillion US dollars?"

"It should be enough..."

"All this, after decades of time, countless entanglements with enemies in the ocean, seeking and chasing each other, numerous stealth and ambush operations, confrontations that could have sparked wars, after many people died, the sonar print features of all NATO submarine models were summarized. You should know, passive sonar is one thing, but activating active sonar underwater is as conspicuous as firing a gun at the enemy. This is, this is..."

Green paused in thought, then said solemnly, "It’s like a military honor roll for the submarine forces, each model’s sonar fingerprint is a medal of the Soviet Navy."

Gao Yi took a deep breath and said, "So 500 million USD is definitely worth it? And there would definitely be buyers."

"You might as well just say Northeastern University outright. Northeastern University would, of course, want to buy it. To purchase decades of Soviet accumulation with 500 million USD, Northeastern University would be laughing in their sleep, probably slapping themselves to see if they were dreaming."

It was obvious Green was more excited than Gao Yi, probably because he understood, which is why he was excited.

It wasn’t often that something could excite a retired old spy this much. In good conscience, the shock of the Soviet Union’s collapse might have been the only thing that came close.

"Very good, I mean, um, excellent."

Gao Yi didn’t know what else to say; whatever Green thought was good had to be good, and he was set on the deal.

Green took a slow breath, then said in a low voice, "The middleman you found is convinced you have ties with Northeastern University, otherwise he wouldn’t have offered these terms for the trade. The reason is simple: Only Northeastern University would buy this information, and it’s only useful if Northeastern University buys it. So, he’s certain you will sell to Northeastern University."

"Why?"

"Because this is something only a Blue Water Navy would need. Take another navy, like Ben’s, or Ah San’s, or even the UK’s, what do they need NATO submarine sonar fingerprints for? To stand against the entire NATO? Do they have the guts to do that? Even if they had the guts, do they possess the strength?"

Green shook his head and said, "Northeastern University Navy has evolved from a Yellow Water Navy, to a Green Water Navy, and now is rapidly becoming a Blue Water Navy. But becoming a Blue Water Navy requires not just a large fleet, but also time to build up. Most of the data in this sonar fingerprint database is outdated, but there are also up-to-date ones. For instance, the United States’ Ohio-class Nuclear Submarines were commissioned in 1981 and are still in service today. Even if it’s just the sonar fingerprints of this type of submarine, Northeastern University wants them! They’re worth 500 million USD!"

"I think... Northeastern University probably has them already, right?"

"Not necessarily, really not necessarily, because discovering and approaching strategic nuclear submarines requires not only technology but also courage, and depending on defense strategies. I can’t explain too much, but you should know, you can’t get these things just because you have the money. Often, you need a bit of luck, too."

Green waved his hand dismissively, a look of helplessness on his face, "Not to mention the sonar fingerprint of the UK’s Vanguard-class nuclear submarines, or France’s Triumph-class Strategic Nuclear Submarines, and there are also the retired ones that Northeastern University couldn’t possibly have collected, like the Redoubtable-class, like Ruby. There are so many, who could refuse? Not for 500 million USD, they’d buy them for five billion!"

Why say so much? Because Gao Yi had to first understand the value of the goods he was about to flip.

It could be reasoned that as long as Gao Yi was willing, he could quote a price of one billion, even eight billion USD, and Northeastern University would buy it without blinking.

To be ruthless, buying it for twenty or thirty billion was also very likely.

Even, truly as Green had said, they’d buy it for fifty billion.

If this stuff really couldn’t be bought with money, then any price could be possible.

Gao Yi wasn’t that ruthless or unprincipled, but he wasn’t about to contribute from his own pocket either.

This was a business, acting as a middleman for once, dealing in secondhand goods.

Add money where money needed to be added, ask the price where a price needed to be asked – it’s good for everyone.

No need to say, he still had to find Mu Tianwen, the same old channel.

Gao Yi called Mu Tianwen again, and before Mu could say anything, he immediately said, "Find your teacher, be quick, it’s a good thing, really good."

Mu seemed quite pleased to be the messenger, he quickly responded, "Okay, oh, my teacher specifically called me yesterday and had a half-hour chat, he was very happy, really happy. Wait a moment, I’ll contact him."

This time the response came quickly; a strange phone number came through.

Gao Yi picked up the call, only to hear Mu Tianwen’s teacher whispering, "Hello, what do you need me for?"

There was no room for pleasantries, not even knowing how to start, Gao Yi had to get straight to the point, he whispered, "A friend of mine wants to sell all the collected submarine sonar fingerprints from the Soviet era up to now, interested?"

Carefully testing the waters, a direct ’no’ was unlikely; they would surely first want to touch base, to judge the reliability of the matter. So, Gao Yi didn’t expect this to be quick.

That’s what Gao Yi thought, so he first asked if the other party was interested, and if they were, then they would continue the talk. If they were not interested, then naturally there was no need to discuss further.

But this time, he was met with a long silence.

Gao Yi couldn’t help saying, "No worries, if not..."

Before Gao Yi could finish his sentence, he heard the person on the other end of the phone gritting their teeth and saying, "I’m freaking in! Yes!"