284: Chapter 284 A Full Load Across the Ocean, the Old Commander's Astonishment

As soon as Da Biao finished shouting, the sound of rapid footsteps came from deep within the passageway. Wei Jianguo ran out, followed by a dozen or so core researchers.

Da Biao pressed the unlock key, raising the heavy metal faceplate. He forcefully wiped the sweat that had built up on his head; his tactical vest was completely soaked with condensation.

Da Biao patted the stasis pod carried on the back of a mecha next to him.

"Old Wei, I brought everything back. Not a single chip of paint is missing. I even hauled that blast-proof door from those foreigners back for the Boss."

Wei Jianguo didn't even pay attention to Da Biao. Panting as he ran, he rushed over, his eyes fixed intently on the three-module heavy master machine that had been dismantled and placed in the center of the plaza.

"Move."

Wei Jianguo shoved Da Biao, who was blocking his way, aside.

His legs went weak, and he slid forward, his knees knocking against the metal floor. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he touched the casing of the master machine.

"Baby…"

Wei Jianguo stared at the machine before him with red-rimmed eyes, tears welling up.

"This craftsmanship, this bearing precision—it's all damn precious. Those foreigners sat on it for thirty years, and we've been struggling on our own for thirty years. The Abyss Consortium keeps it for themselves without using it; what a damn waste of a treasure."

Wei Jianguo suddenly turned around and roared at the researchers behind him.

"What are you all standing around for? Get the non-destructive testing equipment, get the data cables, hook everything up, and run the self-diagnostic program. Get to work, now!"

A dozen or so researchers quickly crowded forward, and various detection instruments were immediately plastered all over the casing of the master machine.

Da Biao leaned against the leg of the mecha and lit a cigarette for himself.

"Old Wei, don't just look at the machine. Look at this door. It's twenty billion dollars worth of titanium-tungsten alloy. If you melt it down, how many radiation-resistant bases could you build?"

Wei Jianguo turned back to look at the giant door, still attached to its reinforced concrete frame, and stood there stunned.

"You actually dismantled it? Did you dig up their entire foundation?"

"Obviously."

Da Biao exhaled a puff of smoke.

"When you raid a place, you have to clean it out completely. Whatever the Boss wants, we can't leave even a single hair behind for them."

Following the sound of leather shoes clicking on the metal floor, Lu Chen, wearing an old black jacket, walked out from the private elevator entrance with Lao Zhou. Everyone in the plaza immediately stopped what they were doing and stood at attention.

Da Biao quickly stubbed out his cigarette and stood at attention.

"Boss."

Lu Chen simply nodded and continued walking forward.

Wei Jianguo hurriedly scrambled up from the floor, wiping his hands vigorously on the corner of his clothes.

"Boss, this master machine is a godsend. With it, the tolerances for those core components of our Great Wall Dome can be pushed to the limit, and work efficiency will increase by at least three times."

Lu Chen didn't even spare a glance at the heavy master machine. He walked straight past Wei Jianguo toward the hundreds of semi-transparent stasis pods arranged neatly to the side. The nutrient solution inside the pods bubbled up constantly, and the faint green light illuminated Lu Chen's calm profile.

"Inanimate objects can be built as long as you throw money at them."

Lu Chen tapped on the outer glass panel of one of the stasis pods.

"The living brains inside these are the one-of-a-kind items that money can't buy."

A pale blue light screen flashed rapidly across Lu Chen's field of vision, and the system panel immediately popped up several new messages.

[Successfully intercepted core assets. Rewarded with 100 million tech points. tech points balance refreshed. Hidden achievement 'Talent Harvester' completed. Unlocked high-level item: Knowledge Neuron Imprint Fluid.]

Lu Chen did a quick mental calculation; his account balance was enough to wage a high-intensity interstellar war.

Lao Zhou ran over from behind, holding a red secure telephone in both hands.

"Boss, it's a dedicated line from the capital. The Old Chief is looking for you."

Lu Chen casually took the receiver and held it to his ear.

Only a heavy breathing sound came from the other end of the line. After waiting for a while, the Old Chief's slightly raspy voice came through the receiver.

"Lu Chen, those four unexploded duds in the Arctic Ocean—was that your doing, you kid?"

Lu Chen pulled out a transparent plastic lighter and lit the cigarette in his mouth.

"They buried the nukes themselves, and they pressed the buttons themselves. My people only went there to pick up the goods."

The Old Chief let out a long sigh on the other end, his voice dropping to a very low volume.

"Regional President Hans has been driven mad. The Abyss Consortium is currently issuing a global warrant for your arrest. What exactly did you take from their bottom-of-the-barrel reserves?"

"A broken machine tool and a door."

Lu Chen exhaled a large cloud of white smoke from his mouth.

"I also happened to bring back over a thousand experts who had been out of contact for a long time. That bunch of people doesn't deserve to use these top-tier brains, and as it happens, my Great Wall Dome project is short on manpower."

A sound of a ceramic teacup hitting the floor and shattering immediately came from the other side of the receiver.

"You said you brought back how many people?"

"Over a thousand."

Lu Chen flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette.

"A few of the foreigners look quite familiar. Lao Zhou just checked the files, and they've won major awards in the past."

The Old Chief was clearly struggling to contain his emotions.

"Good lad, you've just hollowed out their century-long accumulation in one go. As long as this batch of equipment and talent settles in our Jiangcheng, the technical shortcomings of our domestic military industry for the next fifty years can be filled in one breath."

"I'm only responsible for catching them to work on my project; I don't care about anything else."

Lu Chen maintained his calm, emotionless tone.

The Old Chief couldn't help but laugh several times on the other end of the line, his laughter even more pronounced than before.

"Feel free to go all out over there. The higher-ups just finished a meeting. The entire coastal theater military has already entered the highest state of alert, and all strategic nuclear arsenals have entered Level 1 standby. If anything happens, the country will fully back you up."

The Old Chief paused for a moment on the other end, his tone becoming significantly firmer.

"Today, no matter who dares to touch your Jiangcheng, I will wipe out those foreigners even if it means fighting a nuclear war. Your task now is to protect those experts you brought back."

"Thanks."

Lu Chen hung up the phone directly and tossed the red receiver back to Lao Zhou.

Lu Chen turned his head to continue looking at the row of stasis pods placed before him; the life support system had been completely overwritten by high-dimensional energy.

The layer of frost on the surface of the pod was rapidly melting and fading away. Inside the pod in front of him lay a white-haired Russian physicist.

Lao Zhou had specifically checked the files earlier; this person was an absolute authority in the field of global room-temperature superconductivity. The old man's fingers twitched uncontrollably, and his eyelids fluttered back and forth—it was clear he was about to wake up.

Standing to the side, Lao Zhou watched this scene, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Boss, these people are quite arrogant to the bone, and after being locked up for so many years by those consortiums as living specimens, their mental state is definitely not going to be in a good place."

Lao Zhou lowered his voice and continued to report quietly.

"Most of this bunch has been brainwashed by the Western way of thinking, and they are very stubborn. Our factory's 'distribution according to work' management method probably won't work on these foreign intellectuals. If they wake up and start causing trouble or go on a hunger strike, we can't just keep pointing guns at their heads to force them to draw blueprints."

As Lu Chen reached into his pocket, he opened the system mall in his mind and exchanged tech points for a [Knowledge Neuron Imprint Fluid]. A long, thin, transparent glass test tube instantly appeared in his palm out of thin air.

It contained a few sips of a special, ghostly blue liquid. He held the test tube up in front of him, the faint blue light radiating from it reflecting directly into his eyes.

Da Biao curiously leaned in to take a look.

"Boss, is this some kind of new truth serum you got?"

"They don't need to tell us the truth."

Lu Chen watched the Russian physicist inside the glass cover, who was gasping for air and slowly opening his eyes.

"This bunch only needs to provide absolute obedience."

Lao Zhou raised his arm and quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Boss, should I go arrange for some psychologists to come over and provide emotional counseling for them?"

"No need."

There was no extra change in the expression on Lu Chen's face.

He simply reached out and pointed casually at the newly leveled construction foundation beneath his feet.

"Causing trouble? On my turf, let alone a bunch of experts, even if Einstein himself were resurrected from the ground today, he would still have to honestly go down to the construction site and pour concrete for me."