Wasn't the document in Chapter 172 already sent?

Liu Jianguo rubbed his throbbing temples hard with both hands, his cerebral blood vessels pounding.

This wave of exhaustion seeped from his body, penetrating deep into his spirit.

He had just managed to pacify that troublemaker Li Jiajun, and before he could even catch his breath, a heavier burden had been thrust upon him.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The knocking sounded again.

"Come in." Liu Jianguo responded weakly.

Secretary Xiao Zhao pushed the door open, followed by several Old Experts in white coats with graying hair.

The leader was the unit's Chief Engineer, Old Zhang.

These individuals were usually prominent figures in the technical field, but at this moment, they all wore long faces.

"Director Liu."

Old Zhang plopped down on the sofa, took off his glasses to wipe them, and sighed heavily. "We've read the mission statement. This... this is making things too difficult for us."

Liu Jianguo pulled himself together and sat up straight. "Old Zhang, I know there are difficulties. But this is a military order; we have no room to bargain."

"This isn't a matter of bargaining."

Another Expert responsible for the power system spread his hands, looking helpless. "The four-legged intelligent combat platform requested by the higher-ups, in other words, the robot dog, has had its specifications set too high."

He counted on his fingers while complaining, "The dead weight cannot exceed fifty kilograms, yet the payload must reach eighty kilograms. It also needs to be able to run and jump, and adapt to mountainous and jungle terrain. The most absurd part is that servo motor; it requires the volume to be only the size of a fist, yet the torque must be enough to pry open a car."

"Our current domestic motor technology is either too bulky to fit inside, or too weak, causing it to collapse after taking two steps."

Old Zhang added, "And there's the dynamic balance algorithm. Walking on four legs while maintaining the stability of the fire control system on complex terrain—the complexity of this algorithm is just too high. With our current algorithms, the dog walks unsteadily and falls over at the slightest touch."

Liu Jianguo's head ached even more as he listened to the Experts' grievances.

This was the current situation.

Although Eastern Country had caught up in many fields, in these deep waters involving precision manufacturing and cutting-edge algorithms, the foundation was still thin.

"I know, I know it's difficult for everyone."

Liu Jianguo waved his hand, interrupting everyone's complaints. "But Ugly Country's robot dog has already made significant progress; we can't just sit by and watch them crap on our heads when it comes to technology, can we?"

There was a silence in the office.

Everyone was holding back their frustration, but this technological chasm couldn't be bridged just by getting angry.

"Buzz, buzz."

Just as the atmosphere was stifling, the phone on the desk vibrated again.

Liu Jianguo frowned, picked it up, and took a look.

On the screen was the name that made him want to smash his phone: Li Jiajun.

It was a video call request.

"This Little Rascal."

Liu Jianguo's mouth twitched a few times.

He didn't need to answer to know what this kid was up to; he was definitely coming to ask if there was any progress on that security project.

I'm already in a desperate situation here, and you're still adding to the chaos!

Can't you let a person have some peace for a moment?!

A wave of anger surged up, and without thinking, Liu Jianguo swiped his finger across the screen and hung up the call.

"Whew."

After hanging up, he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the urge to curse.

He looked at the Experts, his tone weary but firm. "Alright, stop pulling long faces here. Complaining won't solve the problem. You all go back to the laboratory first and go over those core parameters again."

"I just received the latest technical specification document from the ministry; it's said to reference some advanced foreign data. I'll send it to you right now. Study it against the current data and see if you can find a breakthrough."

Old Zhang nodded and stood up. "Fine, we'll treat a dead horse as if it were alive. Director Liu, hurry up and send it over; we're waiting for the ingredients to start cooking."

The Experts left the office one after another.

The room became quiet again.

Liu Jianguo opened the secure communication software on his office computer.

Although the interface of this software looked similar to WeChat, it used entirely encrypted lines, specifically for internal file transfers.

He found the file named [Technical Parameters and Tactical Indicators for Four-Legged Intelligent Combat Platform] on his encrypted USB drive.

The file wasn't large, but it carried immense weight.

It contained all the military's concepts for the future robot dog, from motor torque to frame strength, from balance algorithms to the dimensions of weapon mounting interfaces, covering every detail.

Liu Jianguo clicked to copy the file.

Opened the dialog box.

Pasted.

Sent.

"Whoosh."

The sound of the file being sent successfully rang out.

Liu Jianguo watched the progress bar complete and felt a sense of relief.

'It's sent.' This thought surfaced in his mind.

The task had been handed down; he hoped there would be some progress.

He closed the dialog box, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

However, less than two minutes passed.

"Beep-beep!"

A new message window popped up on the computer.

It was from Chief Engineer Old Zhang.

[Zhang Weiguo: Director Liu, where is the file? We haven't received it yet? We have a bunch of people here waiting to project it for the meeting.]

Liu Jianguo opened his eyes, stunned for a moment.

"Hmm?"

"I clearly sent it?"

He frowned, sat up straight, and muttered, "Is this crappy network lagging?"

Such an encrypted network shouldn't be that unstable, theoretically.

But he didn't think much of it.

He subconsciously assumed that he must have sent it to Old Zhang just now.

"Alright, alright, I'll resend it."

Liu Jianguo muttered to himself while reopening Zhang Weiguo's profile, executing the paste and send operations again.

[Zhang Weiguo: Received.]

Seeing Old Zhang's reply, Liu Jianguo finally closed the dialog box with peace of mind.

After handling official business, he remembered the Li Jiajun who gave him a headache.

This kid had been too restless lately; he would call or video chat at the drop of a hat, seriously disrupting his work rhythm.

What if he popped a video call over while he was in an important meeting? That would be unacceptable.

"No, I have to make him quiet down."

Liu Jianguo, with a dark face, found Li Jiajun's profile in his contacts.

He opened the settings options.

Checked [Message Do Not Disturb].

After doing all this, Liu Jianguo let out a long sigh, feeling that the world was finally quiet.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the tea that had already gone cold, and thought speechlessly:

'That's better. No matter what kind of madness you're up to, I won't hear it. I'll contact you when I decide what to have you build.'