Chapter 239 You're only now coming up with a reason for co-authoring this?

After hearing Liu Jianguo's deduction about how Curry Country was still helping others count the money they were being scammed out of, and then looking at Li Jiajun's expression—which clearly said, "I am very kind, I am performing acts of charity"—the air in the office became somewhat subtle.

Originally, everyone found Curry Country's stubborn attitude of celebrating a funeral amusing, even a bit gleeful.

But now, after hearing the ins and outs, everyone's gaze toward Li Jiajun changed.

It was the look one gives a devil.

This was too vicious.

Really.

They suddenly felt that Curry Country was quite pitiable.

They not only spent money, put in effort, blew up a rocket, and lost face.

Resulting in the fact that they were still helping the culprit test data, feeling pleased with themselves over signals that didn't even belong to them, thinking they had salvaged some dignity.

This was truly the highest state of being sold and still helping the other party count the money.

Especially when they heard Li Jiajun's remark about "leaving a path for others to retreat, so we can meet again in the future."

Liu Jianguo, the Expert, and the aide, Xiao Zhang, all had their faces twitching uncontrollably at the same time.

You, leave a path for others?

Liu Jianguo felt speechless, wishing he could smack this kid in the face with the file folder in his hand.

You call this leaving a path?

You're just treating them like monkeys!

You're killing them and punishing their hearts, and then dancing on their graves!

That's not how you leave a path!

It's like breaking someone's legs, then giving them a pair of crutches and saying, "Look, I'm so good to you, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to walk."

Isn't this just bullying an honest person?

Although Curry people can't exactly be called honest, this method had truly reached a new level of dirty.

Just as everyone was too shocked by Li Jiajun's shamelessness to speak, the Expert, who had been standing to the side with furrowed brows, seemingly contemplating deeper issues, suddenly raised his head.

His gaze cut through the crowd and landed straight on Li Jiajun.

That look was no longer the appreciation or helplessness from before, but an extremely serious scrutiny.

It was like a strict examiner discovering a huge, principled loophole in a candidate's test paper.

Although the Expert was old, his mind was not muddled in the slightest.

Amidst this joyful atmosphere filled with commercial calculations and tactical deception, he had keenly found a blind spot.

A blind spot that everyone had ignored, but was crucial.

He slowly took off his reading glasses and wiped them gently in his hand. The movement was slow, yet it caused the surrounding atmosphere to gradually cool down.

He remembered earlier.

Just a few dozen minutes ago, right in this warehouse.

Li Jiajun had firmly held his hand and said with a sincere face that he had no interest in entering the system, and no interest in military industry.

He said he just wanted to be a steady private entrepreneur.

He said he just wanted to tinker with some civilian toys he liked in this small, broken factory, to bring laughter to children and joy to the people.

At the time, the Expert felt regretful but respected his choice.

After all, a forced melon is not sweet, and everyone has their own aspirations.

But now.

The Expert's gaze swept over the sketches of Starlink on the table, and he recalled the massive satellite network that the intelligence officer, Xiao Zhang, had just described—one that covered South America and could even withstand electromagnetic interference.

This thing.

No matter how you look at it, it has already far exceeded the scope of civilian use, right?

No ground base stations needed.

Global coverage with no dead zones.

Extremely strong anti-interference capabilities.

It could even survive and network in extreme environments like a rocket explosion.

How is this a toy?

This is clearly a space-based information system capable of affecting the global strategic landscape and even changing the form of future wars!

This is an out-and-out weapon of mass destruction!

If not controlled, if this thing were to fall into the hands of criminals, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, the Expert's expression became incredibly solemn.

"Comrade Li."

The Expert spoke, his voice not loud, but it carried a pressure that could not be ignored.

Li Jiajun, who was feeling pleased with himself and thinking his commercial maneuver was perfect, was stunned by the Expert's serious tone and turned his head.

"Huh? Expert, you were saying?" Li Jiajun blinked, somewhat confused.

The Expert put his glasses back on, his wise eyes staring fixedly at Li Jiajun, and asked word by word:

"Didn't you tell me earlier that you only wanted to steadily make civilian products?"

"You said you had no interest in military industry, and no interest in the national team's projects."

"But."

The Expert pointed to the sky, and then to the mobile phone screen still playing the Curry Country news:

"This thing you've created now."

"This satellite network that can cover the globe, resist interference, and even provide stable communication in that kind of war-torn environment."

"Can this still be called civilian use?"

"This is clearly strategic-level military technology!"

This question struck the soul.

Liu Jianguo and the intelligence officer, Xiao Zhang, nearby also suddenly realized this and looked at Li Jiajun.

That's right!

You kid kept saying you were making toys, making civilian products.

Yet you turn around and create a Starlink even more impressive than Musk's?

Can this be called civilian?

If this can be called civilian, can a nuclear bomb be called a large civilian firecracker?

Facing the Expert's sharp question, and the crowd's gaze filled with scrutiny and the "let's see how you make this up" attitude.

Li Jiajun was stunned.

He was genuinely stunned.

"Um."

"Um, Expert, wait a moment."

Li Jiajun held out a hand, made a pause gesture, and said with a sincere face:

"This, I haven't thought of a reason yet."

"Please let me think, give me a minute, no, thirty seconds is fine."

Silence.

The office was extremely quiet.

Hearing this, the Expert, Liu Jianguo, Xiao Zhang, and even the soldiers at the door, everyone's faces began to twitch wildly.

A wave of speechlessness, like a tsunami, overwhelmed everyone present.

Damn it.

Liu Jianguo almost couldn't catch his breath.

You're making it up on the spot?

The Expert was amused out of anger. He had lived for so many years and had seen countless geniuses and countless troublemakers.

But a weirdo like Li Jiajun, who would righteously say he hadn't finished making up a reason in front of an Expert, was truly the first he had ever seen.

Was this kid really stupid, or was he pretending to be stupid?

However, just as everyone was still in a daze, not knowing how to roast him.

About five or six seconds later.

"Snap!"

Li Jiajun suddenly snapped his fingers, his eyes lit up, and his face revealed that surprised expression of "I've realized it."

"I've thought of it!"

Immediately after.

Under the gaze of the stunned crowd.

Li Jiajun's face, which had been a bit awkward and contemplative, changed instantly.

The speed of that change was comparable to Sichuan opera face-changing.

The previous stuttering and embarrassment disappeared instantly.

Replaced by an expression that was even more innocent, more aggrieved, and even carried a bit of indignant sorrow, as if to say, "How could you misunderstand my good intentions?"

Everyone's faces twitched violently again.

Damn.

Your face-changing is too fast, right?

You were just making a constipated face because you were stumped, how did you become aggrieved in the blink of an eye?

Oscar owes you a little golden statue!

Li Jiajun spread his hands, looking at the Expert with a face full of grievances, his voice filled with the bitterness of being misunderstood:

"Expert, how can you say that? How is it not civilian use?"

"This is purely civilian use!"

"You can't discriminate against it and slap a military label on it just because it flies a bit higher and has a better signal!"

The Expert was a bit dazed by his appearance and subconsciously asked: "Then tell me, how exactly is this thing used for civilian purposes?"

Li Jiajun took a deep breath and began his performance.

He pointed out the window and said emotionally, in a tone full of sentiment and humanistic care:

"Expert, think about it."

"Our country has vast land and abundant resources, with a huge territory."

"However, there are still many remote mountainous areas, vast seas, and desolate Gobi deserts."

"In those places, the terrain is complex, sparsely populated, and the cost of laying fiber optic cables and base stations is too high, or even impossible to lay."

"But, the common people living there, those fishermen stationed on islands, those scientific expedition team members working in the desert."

"They are human too, they have spiritual needs too!"

Speaking of this, Li Jiajun's voice became high-pitched, as if he were truly heartbroken for the suffering of the common people:

"It's so inconvenient that they can't use stable, high-speed internet."

"They want to make a video call home, but it lags; they want to watch the Spring Festival Gala, but it won't load."

"How pitiful."

Liu Jianguo listened, dumbfounded. Although he felt this kid was spouting nonsense, he also felt it kind of made sense.

At this moment, Li Jiajun revealed his true intent, throwing out his suffocating core reason:

"Therefore!"

"My original intention for creating this thing is very simple, very pure!"

"It's just so that they can, anytime, anywhere, without any delay."

Li Jiajun paused and shouted loudly:

"Scroll through TikTok! Watch live streams! Play online games!"

"Let them, after a tiring day, lie on their beds, scroll through short videos, watch those young ladies with great talents—and fair skin—and enrich their amateur cultural life!"

"Let their spiritual world no longer be barren!"

After finishing, Li Jiajun looked at the dumbfounded Expert with a righteous face and asked back:

"Expert, you tell me."

"Isn't this the greatest civilian use?"

"Isn't this serving the people?"

"How can this be called military use? Is it wrong to let everyone happily go online?"

And listening to Li Jiajun's words, the Expert directly...