103: Chapter 103 The Space Carrier Project Officially Launched

"Oh, after they escorted us to the entrance of the Research Institute—well, to be precise, they were escorting it!—they returned to their station."

Wang Xuedong patted the Electromagnetic Kinetic Sniper Rifle in his backpack.

"As for the operation, we had two men wounded. Neither is in life-threatening condition, but... but one soldier might end up with a permanent disability."

Wang Xuedong lowered his head as he said this; they had specifically asked Division Commander Liao about the status of the two injured team members before they left.

Chu Ge and Li Gang's hearts sank when they heard the news. Combat casualties had occurred after all, something they never wanted to see.

"How did they get injured?"

Chu Ge wanted to know the details. As an Academician in a military-industrial unit, he was supposed to serve the military; essentially, he served the soldiers who charged on the front lines.

"That group seemed to be high-level international mercenaries. I heard Division Commander Liao say that several of them were either retired US Navy SEALs or Delta Force operators."

"That's secondary, though. The main thing was our own carelessness. We didn't spot two of the enemy snipers beforehand; they were camouflaged and lying in wait in the woods. Our men were hit by snipers during the firefight."

"One member was hit in the shoulder and might lose an arm. The other survived because of his bulletproof vest, but the vest was still penetrated, causing massive bleeding. Luckily, the incident happened not far from the base, otherwise..."

Wang Xuedong didn't continue. Chu Ge already understood some of the combat details and patted him on the shoulder.

Everyone fell silent after listening, their moods heavy. At that moment, Master Liu came over pushing a small cart.

"Food's here! Four dishes and a soup. Academician Chu, is this enough? If not, just tell me. Don't be polite."

As he spoke, he set several dishes down for Chu Ge and the others, followed by the staple food. Chu Ge looked at the portion sizes.

"Master Liu, where did you get such huge plates? It's enough, more than enough. Those two have already eaten; this is plenty for the three of us."

The plates Master Liu brought out were more like large basins—wide and deep. There were four full dishes, two meat and two vegetable. The soup was quite refined: Winter Melon and Shrimp Soup. Li Gang eyed it several times and silently went to scoop another bowl of rice.

"Haha, a few of these dishes were already prepared. I haven't learned much else at the Research Institute, but my cooking speed has definitely improved. It can't be helped; everyone is so focused on work they often forget the time. I frequently run into comrades looking for food past mealtimes, like this Academician Chu here."

Everyone was amused by Master Liu, and the gloom from earlier dissipated quite a bit. Master Liu chatted with them for a few more minutes before heading back.

Chu Ge began inviting everyone to eat, and Wang Xuedong and Xue Zhikai didn't stand on ceremony.

They were starving. They hadn't really eaten all day, having only had a few bites of compressed biscuits and chocolate. Now that such a table of good food and soup had suddenly appeared, they ignored the dumbfounded look of the beautiful female officer beside them and began to feast ravenously.

"Li Gang, hurry up and eat. What are you doing just holding a bowl of rice?"

Chu Ge glanced at the restless Li Gang and finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Hey, Academician Chu, how would I dare if you don't give the word? Haha, Master Liu is just biased; he saves all the best stuff for you."

"Even good food can't shut your mouth. Since you're eating my food, I'll have to give you some extra work later."

"No... no problem."

Li Gang was munching away, looking nothing like someone who had just eaten. Chu Ge suppressed a laugh.

"Wang Yun, do you want to..."

Before Chu Ge could finish, he noticed Wang Yun was winkingly signaling him. He glanced at the table; uh, the four full dishes from moments ago were already half gone after just a few words from him.

No talking while eating, no talking while sleeping.

Chu Ge obediently shut his mouth and began to eat seriously. He didn't want to come all the way to the cafeteria only to have to go back and eat instant noodles; that would be a bad deal.

Wang Yun looked at her watch. From the moment Master Liu brought the food to the moment these grown men put down their chopsticks, had it even been ten minutes?

Chu Ge didn't eat much. He was currently a pure mental worker and didn't have a large appetite. Setting aside Wang Xuedong and his companion, Li Gang's work involved the process from designing blueprints to creating physical prototypes—a mix of mental and physical labor—so his appetite was naturally greater than Chu Ge's.

"Li Gang, I didn't finish earlier. Do you understand now why I brought Wang Xuedong and the others here and asked about the details of their battle?"

Chu Ge took a breather and continued the previous topic.

"Hmm?..."

Li Gang's wits had likely all migrated to his stomach to help with digestion; he didn't react for a moment.

"Individual equipment. I should have a lead on the materials for the exoskeleton and protective armor. Remember to verify it tomorrow. I'm giving you one month. I want the complete Individual Combat System. The Laser Pistol can be delayed, but I want to see finished products for the other six models in a month."

"Yes! Don't worry, Academician Chu."

Chu Ge wasn't trying to make things difficult for anyone. He regretted not developing this set of individual equipment sooner; if he had, perhaps those two soldiers wouldn't have been injured. The armor from the Military-Industrial System would stop a sniper bullet from Earth as easily as child's play.

Chu Ge was now filled with regret. After parting with the others, he returned to his dormitory feeling depressed. Wang Xuedong and his companion went with Li Gang to hand over the Electromagnetic Kinetic Sniper Rifle. Wang Yun accompanied Chu Ge to the bottom of the building, but the two of them were silent the whole way.

When Chu Ge reached the building, he waved to Wang Yun and went up, leaving her standing there with the wooden-faced guards nearby.

Returning to his dorm, Chu Ge collected his thoughts and dove back into his work.

Chu Ge calculated that checking all the data for the aerospace carrier's weapon systems until the final blueprints were formed would take about two days.

He spent half the night organizing the simpler Electromagnetic Railgun portion. As for the Array Phase Cannon, he decided to talk to Academician Chen first.

The next day, Chu Ge appeared in Old Chen's office early in the morning. He paced around half the office.

"Little Chu, what are you looking for in my office so early in the morning? Did you lose your wallet?"

Old Chen asked with a smile while sipping tea.

"Wallet? Old Chen, I forgot about that until you mentioned it. I don't even know where I threw that black card you gave me last time. I'll have to look for it later."

Academician Chen choked on his tea.

"Little Chu, you need to keep that card safe. There are very few of them in all of Huaxia. Also, I gave you a card with no limit—tell me, have you even used it yet?"

"I have. I spent over 700,000. Now I kind of regret it; I let my old man off too easy."

Old Chen waved his hand, not intending to continue tangling with this blockhead.

"Hehe, Old Chen, the weapon system for the aerospace carrier will be ready within two days. I think we can officially launch the aerospace carrier project."

"No problem. We've all been waiting for you to say those words, Little Chu."

Old Chen stood up abruptly, his eyes full of excitement.

"Yeah. Once the project team is established, I will distribute the corresponding subsystems according to everyone's familiar fields."

"The weaponry plan requires some new synthetic crystals and polymers. I'll have to trouble you with that when the time comes; I really don't know which experts to look for!"

Chu Ge decided to throw this burden off to avoid the headache of picking people.

"I think the project department can set up several Deputy Chief Engineers. You can just let them handle the coordination then, can't you?"

Old Chen suggested tentatively after thinking for a moment.

"The older, the wiser. Fine then, regarding the establishment of the project department, you guys handle it, Old Chen. I have to go back and finish my weapon system."

Having achieved his goal, Chu Ge prepared to slip away.

"Wait a minute, there's one more thing. What's the name of the aerospace carrier? You're the Chief Designer; you should give some input, right?"

"A name? I really haven't thought about it. I'll think about it when I have time."

Chu Ge finished speaking and bolted. Naming things, truth be told, really was a difficult task.