21: Chapter 21 Mech Warrior Project

Magic City.

Cao Bo was eating grapes fed to him by the enchanting girl beside him, his hands roaming restlessly up and down.

"Stop it!"

"Haha."

*Bang!* The room door was suddenly pushed open, and several dusty subordinates burst in.

"Damn it, are you blind? Get out and come back in properly."

"Ah, yes, yes, Young Master Cao."

The group backed out and re-entered.

"Young Master, something's happened! Baldy Jie got shot, and that kid surnamed Chu got away!"

"What?"

Cao Bo shoved the woman aside and stood up abruptly.

His subordinates hurriedly recounted the events to Cao Bo, inevitably embellishing the story—they were just short of claiming AK-47s and rocket launchers had been brought out.

After hearing this, Cao Bo's face turned blue and purple with rage.

These days, there really weren't many who dared to do such a thing. Desperadoes? It didn't seem like it.

From his subordinates' report, Cao Bo keenly sensed that Chu Ge's background was far from simple; those thugs clearly followed his every command.

He wasn't very old and didn't look like an outlaw; he seemed more like a young master from some great family.

"Damn it, I've stepped on a landmine."

"Fine then, that little hussy Dilireba Nazha. I wondered why she was so eager to throw herself at someone; turns out she found herself a powerful backer."

"Go investigate that guy Chu's background. Don't alert him until you find something! Now get out!"

They all bowed and scraped, hurriedly retreating.

"Fine, Chu, I'll take the loss this round. We'll see about this!"

After spitting out those resentful words, Cao Bo violently grabbed the woman beside him and roughly tore her clothes; he needed to vent his anger!!!

Chu Ge returned to H City. Just before getting out of the car...

"Captain Gong, we've become quite familiar. To be honest, I usually pay very close attention to my surroundings."

"You guys are too good; you didn't leave a single trace. I eventually gave up looking, but I could feel that you were nearby!"

"That feeling... it's quite magical!"

Chu Ge had a soft spot for the military and genuinely liked special forces.

"Academician Chu, being able to feel it is already very impressive. It shows you have potential in this area!"

"Hehe, really? I'm starting to feel a bit flattered. And forget about 'Academician' this and that; just call me Chu Ge or Xiao Chu from now on."

"That won't do. It's against the rules."

"I don't care."

"Then, if you don't like that, how about 'Major'?"

"That works!" If Captain Gong hadn't reminded him, Chu Ge would have forgotten he had another identity.

"Yes! Major!"

Captain Gong and the others immediately stood at attention and saluted. Chu Ge returned the salute, and they shared a smile before parting ways.

Chu Ge could sense that with this change in identity, Captain Gong and the others seemed to hold a layer of affection for him beyond their usual respect.

...

After returning home, Chu Ge first reported his 'mission' to Mother Chu, though he deliberately concealed the little incident that occurred.

After reporting, Chu Ge went back to his room and took out his phone.

"Princess Nazha, your humble servant has arrived home safely and is reporting in."

"Mhm, you're quite well-behaved."

"How about you? I mean, with your family..."

"It's fine. My father was quite strict at first, but later even the people watching me were withdrawn. I guess they saw how unyielding this princess is and decided to back down."

"The Princess is mighty; then I can rest easy."

The two chatted for a long time until Mother Chu called him for dinner, and they finally put their phones away.

After dinner, Captain Gong sent over information on the Cao Family from Magic City. Chu Ge glanced at it and ignored it.

In Huaxia's family corporations, there were always a few young master types who were arrogant and domineering; he had long since grown accustomed to it.

This time, it seemed Cao Bo didn't gain anything either, and one of his men was even injured.

Most importantly, they didn't seem to make things difficult for Dilireba Nazha, so Chu Ge didn't press the matter further.

He considered it giving the Cao Family a chance.

As for the future, he hoped that person would learn from this experience...

For the rest of the holiday, Chu Ge fully embraced the standard daily routine of someone on Lunar New Year break.

Sleeping, gathering, drinking, playing cards, then sleeping, gathering, drinking, playing cards—the cycle repeated, and he was incredibly happy...

Of course, amidst his leisure, he also found time to organize the Mecha System report, waiting to return to Yanjing to verify and implement it.

On this day, the sixth day of the first lunar month, Chu Ge's holiday ended.

Mother Chu prepared two large bags of things for Chu Ge; besides the ones for him, there was another bag to take back to his colleagues.

Chu Ge knew his mother's intentions and didn't refuse.

Before boarding the plane, Mother Chu shed tears, which made Chu Xiaowu cry as well. Father Chu hugged them both tightly and waved to Chu Ge.

Chu Ge nodded to his father, turned resolutely, and strode toward the boarding gate.

A few tears fell from the corners of his eyes...

Returning to the Research Institute, Chu Ge found the atmosphere inside was completely different from outside. Everyone was very busy, with no festive New Year feeling at all.

In Huaxia, there are always those who give their all for the future of the motherland. Holidays? In their hearts, every day is precious.

Chu Ge felt ashamed; he put aside the distractions and threw himself into the work ahead.

After returning and learning about the progress of the Prism Towers, Chu Ge decided to let his colleagues follow up on it; he only needed to supervise.

He applied for an independent research base from the Research Institute.

After borrowing relevant experts from Academician Chen, he threw himself into the Mecha System project.

The implementation of the Mecha Project required several teams to work in synchronization.

First, Chu Ge merged several material experts recommended by Academician Chen into one team, with Zheng Jun serving as the team leader.

Their main task was to research, manufacture, and assemble the individual components required by Chu Ge.

All components were made of high-strength titanium alloy plated with a tungsten carbide coating to meet the mecha's external physical defense requirements.

Next, the most important part, the mecha's core—the intelligent system and Energy Core research—was personally led by Chu Ge, with several relevant professors assisting.

Then, the mecha's power energy station, weapon system, and hydraulic system were handled by the newly established Controllable Nuclear Fusion Miniature Application Team of the Research Institute, with Li Gang as the team leader.

Actually, this part was the simplest.

Thanks to Chu Ge's planning, controllable nuclear fusion was already being handled with ease in terms of application.

It was just that the military demand was currently too large, so it hadn't yet been extended to civilian use.

This was also a strategy; Huaxia needed to establish a sufficient generational gap in this field before they could let go without any worries.

After all, extending to the civilian field also meant the leakage of technology.

Finally, Wang Yun was Chu Ge's special assistant, responsible for daily data archiving and communication between the various teams.

After all these assignments were completed, the team leaders began to lead their members.

Following Chu Ge's research report, they carried out experimental data verification and preliminary model manufacturing.

A few days later...

Academician Chen Hua was sitting in his office reviewing the application forms submitted from below.

When he saw the details of the first batch of applications from Chu Ge's department, he took a deep breath.

Just the item for high-purity titanium alloy and top-grade tungsten carbide had a base cost of 1 billion huaxia currency.

And that was just the first batch; there would be second, third, fourth, and fifth batches to follow.

Applications from other relevant teams were still being summarized...

He had a bit of a headache. This wouldn't do; he had to go pluck some wool!

"Director Wu, the Research Institute needs your support!" Old Chen began to use his influence.

"Old Chen, give it a rest. You know that since the year just started, every branch is asking for funds. I don't have that much 'porridge' to go around."

"Besides, your place already gets the most; the other institutes are already complaining!"

"I don't care. Besides, our unit provides protection for the military. Can't you go play some 'Tai Chi' with Minister Long?"

Old Chen wouldn't give up.

"Don't mention him to me. He just called me. The 'Prism Tower Project' is being implemented, with 10 Prism Tower Bases being built simultaneously. It's estimated to require over a hundred billion in investment. He's crying poverty and actually wants to pluck wool from my Ministry of Science and Technology!"

...

"Sigh, then how about I have Chu Ge's mecha project put on hold for a bit?"

"Wait, be more specific. Whose project?"

"Chu Ge's. The 'Mecha Warrior Project'. You have no idea, it's so expensive. Just the first installment..."

"How much do you need? Have the institute file a report; I'll give it the green light all the way!"

"Great, you should have said so earlier! Haha."

Old Chen was a wily old fox.