54: What a great idea

Swallowing, he said, "Please enlighten me, Xu Lao."

"Since you are still suspended, don't go back to your original unit. We happen to be setting up a new department, and you will be in charge of this matter."

"Is that so? What will this department be called?" Chen Dongchao asked curiously.

"National Strategic Propaganda Department!"

Inside the Factory Director's office at Longhai Military Industrial, Tang Ziwei raised her glass with a joyful face, and Wang Shuo and others were gathered around.

"To the young man's creativity, cheers!"

"To the success of today's exhibition, cheers!"

"That's right, Factory Director Xu's idea was absolutely brilliant."

"Yes, those foreign reporters were all stunned, hahaha."

"The Factory Director is truly amazing!"

Everyone raised their glasses one after another, their eyes fixed on Xu Ning.

Xu Ning also raised his glass and said, "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Bang..."

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and everyone's attention was drawn over.

A group of fully armed soldiers burst into the room. As soon as they saw Xu Ning, they immediately stepped forward and restrained him.

"Wait! Who are you people? This is the 316 Military Factory! Where is Battalion Commander Xiao Jianhao?" Wang Shuo shouted nervously.

"We have received instructions that we must take Xu Ning. Please cooperate." The leading soldier responded coldly.

Tang Ziwei wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly stepped forward to stop the soldiers, handing them a pack of cigarettes. "Brothers, we're all on the same side! Can you tell me who gave this order?"

The soldier didn't take the cigarette and coldly pushed Tang Ziwei away with his gaze. "Stop talking nonsense, move aside!"

Xu Ning showed no fear and didn't resist. As he passed by Tang Ziwei, he softly comforted her, "Don't worry, Factory Director Tang, everything will be fine. Wait for my news at home."

He tried to pat Tang Ziwei's shoulder, but he was pushed forward by the soldiers behind him. Their contact was missed just like that. Tang Ziwei stood there stunned, her hand still suspended in mid-air, trembling slightly.

Although Xu Ning spoke lightly, he was actually unsure in his heart. He was making a bold gamble. Soon, he was taken into a car and blindfolded.

After a period of bumping, the vehicle stopped. Xu Ning was escorted out of the car and taken to an unfamiliar place, then pressed down onto a chair. The blindfold was still not removed.

An unfamiliar low voice sounded in his ear, "Sir, the person has been brought."

"Hmm?" Following that was a puzzled voice, "Why did you blindfold him?"

Hearing this voice, Xu Ning's brow furrowed slightly. He felt the voice was very familiar but couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Didn't you say to have him come for 'tea'?"

"I..." The person was clearly a bit annoyed. "I meant to really come for tea! How do you people from the State Security Bureau always interpret things this way?"

"Get lost! All of you, get out!"

After a flurry of footsteps, silence returned to the room. After a while, the blindfold was removed, and that familiar voice sounded again, "Haha, kid, didn't expect it to be me, did you?"

Xu Ning tried to adapt to the sudden strong light. When the glare subsided, he saw the person in front of him clearly.

"Uncle Chao?!" he exclaimed in surprise.

No wonder that voice was so familiar; it turned out to be Uncle Chao, whom he knew.

"Quite surprised, aren't you?" Chen Dongchao said with a smile as he unlocked his handcuffs. "Did you think you were finished? Haha, scaring you is good too, so you don't keep causing me trouble."

Xu Ning regained his usual smile, rubbed his numb wrists, and said, "I was really startled, that's true. I didn't expect to meet like this."

Chen Dongchao picked up his teacup and chuckled, "You little rascal."

"You can't blame me for this. My new subordinates haven't figured things out yet. I just asked them to invite you for a cup of tea."

"And they messed it up." Xu Ning shook his head helplessly. "I was really scared just now."

"Uncle Chao, you know, at that moment I almost thought I was going to end up here."

"Don't mention it. It's all because of you that I was transferred to a new department, specifically to deal with your mess."

"Do you know how much trouble you've caused this time? If those reporters had just left like that, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Xu Ning said casually, "Isn't that just thanks to your excellent guidance, Uncle Chao?"

"You..." Chen Dongchao was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, he had previously encouraged Xu Ning to attract more attention because he felt Xu Ning was too low-key. He had built excellent tanks, but they only circulated between two military regions. Chen Dongchao hoped he could seize this opportunity to obtain a military industry license.

But this kid actually made the whole world aware of Rabbit Country's strength! And what's with that anti-aircraft missile system and exoskeleton equipment?

"Sigh..." He shook his head helplessly, pointing at the chessboard. "Come, let's chat while we play chess."

"Alright, the pawn crosses the river!" Xu Ning picked up a chess piece and moved it forward.

The two began to play chess. After a while, Chen Dongchao spoke:

"Longhai Military Industrial can't be kept anymore. The commotion this time was too big. No matter how I explain it, the outside world will notice this name."

"Mm." Xu Ning responded calmly, as if it were an insignificant matter.

"Huh? You were jumping with anxiety when the military industry license was mentioned before. Why are you so calm this time?" Chen Dongchao asked curiously.

"Since Uncle Chao is telling me this himself, it means there won't be a problem with Longhai Military Industrial," Xu Ning said with a smile.

"Heh heh, you kid, what exactly is in your head?"

"You are truly incredibly smart."

"That is indeed the case." Chen Dongchao nodded in agreement.

"Although Longhai's military industrial project isn't happening, you can continue under a new name. The higher-ups have already given special approval."

"From now on, no matter which factory you go to, employee approval will follow you."

Speaking of this, Chen Dongchao couldn't help but sigh, "The support you've received this time is immense. The higher-ups have high hopes for you."

Xu Ning raised his head and thought for a moment, then suggested, "Let's call it 'Shanhai Industry'."

"This name comes from the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' (Shanhaijing). This way, the products I develop in the future can also draw inspiration from it."

Mentioning this, Xu Ning's eyes gleamed with passion. "I hope to spread our culture far and wide!"

"Shanhai Industry..." Chen Dongchao repeated, "That's a truly great idea!"

"On a side note, there won't be the Four Major Military Groups anymore."

"Because of you, the higher-ups believe the Four Major Military Industries cannot compete with you, but they are also worried that having no opponents will make you lose the motivation to innovate, so they decided to merge them."

"Led by Chairman He Biwei, they hope to catch up to your Shanhai Industry's pace as quickly as possible."

Chen Dongchao picked up his teacup and took a sip, as if he were talking about an ordinary matter.

However, the chess piece in Xu Ning's hand stopped in mid-air. "You must be kidding, Uncle Chao."

"Merging the Four Major Military Groups? That's tens of thousands of people, while we only have a few thousand. The gap is too big."