Chapter 92 Li Gong, come work for us!

Academician Zhang Jingmin shouted, "A result that can truly be used in actual combat!" His voice was full of ecstasy, yet carried a hint of grievance. This cry shattered the atmosphere in the warehouse, which had frozen after witnessing a miracle.

The dead silence on the scene lasted less than three seconds. The awe in everyone's hearts was quickly replaced by other emotions.

Following that was a thought—a very urgent thought that overwhelmed all previous emotions.

"This technology must be used in our project!"

"This young man must be invited to our organization!"

This idea popped into the minds of every Expert almost simultaneously. Their gazes toward Li Jiajun changed instantly; the previous awe vanished, replaced by an undisguised intensity that seemed ready to devour him.

"Comrade Xiao Li!"

The first to break the silence was none other than Academician Zhang Jingmin, who had just been teary-eyed. He stood up abruptly from the ground, not even bothering to wipe the tear stains from his face, lunged toward Li Jiajun in a single stride, and grabbed Li Jiajun's shoulders tightly with both hands again.

In his bloodshot eyes, the previous shock had completely vanished, leaving only a burning intensity. That heat was irresistible, carrying a predatory ferocity.

"No! Engineer Li!" He corrected the address himself, his voice so urgent it cracked. "Listen to me! Don't stay in this small place called Baishui City! It will bury your talent! Come to our Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group! I will stake my reputation as an Academician to apply for the State Supreme Science and Technology Award for you! No! That's not all! We will establish a national-level key laboratory named after you! We'll give you whatever personnel and funding you need; all resources will be tilted in your favor!"

Every word of this carried weight, making the heads of everyone present buzz.

The State Supreme Science and Technology Award? A national-level laboratory named after an individual? This was already the top honor and treatment a scientific researcher in the Eastern Country could ever hope to receive!

...

Li Jiajun was shaken until he was dizzy, his mind blank, and he hadn't clearly heard what the other person was saying. He only felt that the elderly gentleman before him had become a different person; just moments ago, he had been crying his eyes out, but now, he exuded a fanaticism that was frightening.

However, before Academician Zhang Jingmin's words had even fully faded, a resonant voice rudely pushed in from the side.

"What the hell are you doing! Old Zhang, have you lost your mind?"

A person in charge squeezed through. He was wearing a navy uniform, his skin dark, clearly someone who spent years out at sea. He pushed aside an Expert blocking the way and stood on the other side of Li Jiajun.

He glared at Academician Zhang Jingmin with disdain: "Such a good coating, what use is it on those few broken planes of yours? It's simply a waste of a precious resource! This technology is born to belong to our navy! To the vast ocean!"

After finishing, he didn't even give Academician Zhang Jingmin a chance to retort. He turned his head and, in a tone full of temptation, said to the bewildered Li Jiajun:

"Engineer Li, listen to me! Don't listen to those aircraft people and their nonsense! Come to our Naval Equipment Department! Whatever laboratory, whatever award—we will apply for them all for you! Not only that, look at that Type 055 destroyer we just launched, see it? A ten-thousand-ton giant warship! As long as you come, that ship will be your exclusive experimental platform! You can paint it however you want, even paint it pink, and no one will care!"

'Paint it pink? 055? What the heck is that? It sounds like a ship.'

'Wait a minute, is this how you military people poach talent? This is not the vibe I expected!'

This thought surfaced in Li Jiajun's mind; he felt as though he wasn't being surrounded by Experts, but had accidentally stumbled into some large-scale brainwashing session.

"Bullshit! You navy guys only know how to make things big, black, and crude! Do you even know what high-precision, cutting-edge technology is?"

Before Li Jiajun could digest the shock brought on by the pink warship, another full-voiced sound joined the fray.

A bigwig from the Ordnance Group also squeezed over. He was burly, and his voice had a resonant, metallic quality. He nudged the navy person in charge aside, patted his own thick chest, and promised Li Jiajun:

"Engineer Li! Don't listen to them—one flying in the sky, one swimming in the water! If you ask me, the key to victory in future wars lies with us, the big brothers of the Army! Tank stealth is the trend for future land warfare! As long as you come to our Ordnance Group, we will give you a full-strength armored division! An entire division of tanks and armored vehicles, all for you to use as experimental subjects! You can modify them however you want—make them square, round, or flat—we won't say a word against it!"

...

The situation, at this moment, was completely out of control.

If the bigwigs had initially maintained a shred of poise and decorum, now, all pretenses were completely torn away.

This was no longer a technical seminar. This was clearly a large-scale job fair. No, it was far crazier than a job fair; it was more like snatching people at a wet market!

"Engineer Li, the benefits in our aerospace sector are also very good! Consider us; your technology could go into space in the future!"

"Xiao Li! I'm practically your fellow townsman! We're both from Lu Province; you have to help your own people!"

"Move aside, everyone! We're in information warfare! Engineer Li's technology has epoch-making significance for us! Engineer Li, as long as you come, you will be the chief designer of our next-generation battlefield!"

"No, what are you guys from the information sector joining in for?"

This group of national treasure-level Experts and military industry bigwigs, with an average age adding up to several hundred years, were now displaying the fanaticism of fans meeting their idols. They completely abandoned their poise, one after another, scrambling to promise Li Jiajun all sorts of generous conditions.

They promised funding and benefits, or tried to build connections and claim hometown ties, using every means at their disposal.

Li Jiajun was tightly surrounded in the middle; one person pulled his arm, another patted his shoulder, and he felt like he might be torn apart by this group of crazy old men at any moment.

He was completely terrified.

He stood there dumbfounded, his brain having completely stopped functioning, his ears buzzing with words like national righteousness, the future of the nation, and whether one hundred million is enough. He felt like a hot commodity, fresh out of the oven, that the whole world wanted.

'Help me...'

'These old men have gone crazy...'

'Where is Uncle Liu? Uncle Liu, save me! If you don't come to take control soon, your precious treasure is going to be torn apart by them right here!'

Li Jiajun let out a desperate cry in his heart, subconsciously searching for Liu Jianguo's figure in the crowd.

That perpetually stern, sour face now seemed incredibly kind to him.