49: Chapter 49: This is what you call a genius?
Zhao Lixin's outstretched hand froze in mid-air for a moment, but he withdrew it as if nothing had happened.
While a smile remained on his face, he had already labeled the kid in his heart: incredibly arrogant.
"Mr. Dongfang must be joking. We don't have any 'experts' here, just ordinary people working for the country," Director Zhao Lixin replied neutrally, his words perfectly diplomatic. "Our Chief Consultant Jiang is waiting for you in the meeting room. Please follow me."
He stepped aside and made a "please" gesture.
Dongfang Shuo snorted, feeling even more certain that his hunch was correct.
These people were just playing tricks. That so-called "expert" was likely too afraid to see him and had sent these mortals out to waste his time.
However, he still decided to go in and take a look. He wanted to see what kind of game they were playing.
He strode forward, following Director Zhao Lixin inside. Along the way, he kept his head held high, not even casting a glance around. His posture didn't look like someone visiting, but rather like someone inspecting his own territory.
Chief Engineer Wang Heshan and Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo were waiting in the meeting room. They were quite curious when they saw Director Zhao Lixin lead in a young man dressed in traditional clothing.
Dongfang Shuo didn't even give the two old men a proper look. His eyes quickly swept across the simple prefabricated meeting room, searching for something.
He was looking for the "expert" he had imagined.
To his mind, someone who could cause such a stir, even if they weren't a white-bearded old immortal, should at least be a master among masters.
But in this room, besides two old men who looked like engineers and one official, there was no one else.
"Where is the person?" Dongfang Shuo frowned and asked impatiently.
Just as he finished speaking, the door to the meeting room opened.
Jiang Ning walked inside.
She had just come from the factory after checking the circuits of the "All-Things Furnace" and tweaking a few runes. She was still wearing her blue work uniform, with a bit of machine oil on her cuffs. Her hair was casually tied back, and her face was bare of makeup.
Dongfang Shuo's gaze immediately locked onto her.
Then, he was completely dumbfounded.
A woman?
And she looked twenty at most?
Moreover, when he used his Internal Breath to probe her, he found nothing. She was empty, appearing even more ordinary than the two old men beside her.
This was the "Chief Consultant" they were talking about?
Dongfang Shuo's head buzzed. He felt like he was being played for a fool.
He had traveled all this way, building up his anticipation to meet a peerless master. In the end, they had sent such a slip of a girl to fool him?
"Zhao Lixin, is it?" Dongfang Shuo's face darkened instantly. He pointed at Jiang Ning, his voice full of fury. "Is this how you treat your guests? You found a little girl who knows nothing just to amuse yourself at my expense?"
Director Zhao Lixin's heart sank, sensing trouble.
"Mr. Dongfang, you've misunderstood," he quickly explained. "This is the Chief Consultant of our project, Comrade Jiang Ning."
"Chief Consultant?" Dongfang Shuo laughed in anger. "Her? An ordinary person who doesn't even have Internal Breath? Do you take me for a blind man?"
His words were loud and aggressive, causing Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo to explode on the spot.
"Hey! Watch your mouth, kid!" He slapped the table and stood up. "This is our Chief Consultant! Show some respect!"
Dongfang Shuo ignored him entirely, his eyes fixed on Jiang Ning. His gaze was like that of someone looking at an ignorant fraud.
"Little girl, this isn't a place for you. Go home to your mother," he said, his tone dripping with contempt. "Tell the person hiding behind you that my, Dongfang Shuo's, patience is limited. If they don't come out now, don't blame my sword for being merciless!"
The meeting room suddenly went silent.
Director Zhao Lixin, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, and the others were all turning blue with rage. They had seen Jiang Ning's abilities with their own eyes. In their hearts, Jiang Ning was no different from a deity. Now, their "deity" was being insulted to her face by some arrogant kid from who-knows-where.
But Jiang Ning herself didn't react at all.
From the moment she entered, she just stood there, watching Dongfang Shuo make a scene. It felt as if she were watching a child screaming because one plus one equals two.
It wasn't anger or disdain; she simply felt... he was a bit noisy and was wasting her time.
Her unbothered attitude completely set Dongfang Shuo off.
In his eyes, this was definitely an act! She was feeling guilty!
He decided he had to teach these people a lesson and use his strength to force the person hiding in the shadows to show themselves!
"Good, very good." Dongfang Shuo was laughing from sheer anger. He stopped looking at Director Zhao Lixin and the others and stared straight at Jiang Ning. "Since you want to do this the hard way, don't blame me for being impolite."
He stepped forward, and a gust of wind erupted from him, causing the tables and chairs in the meeting room to hum and vibrate.
"Little girl, I won't hurt you today." He put on the air of a senior. "I just want you to see what true power looks like. I'll trade one 'move' with you, so you'll realize there's a world of difference between us."
"If you can still stand after one move, I'll admit you're qualified to speak with me."
He spoke of "trading moves," but in reality, he wanted to knock her down in public, utterly humiliating her and the people behind her.
Jiang Ning finally had a slight reaction.
She looked up slightly, not at Dongfang Shuo, but toward Director Zhao Lixin, and asked:
"Is he always this noisy?"
Director Zhao Lixin was stunned.
"It's a bit of a waste of time," Jiang Ning added. "Can I settle this quickly? There's an experiment at Furnace No. 2 at three this afternoon."
Director Zhao Lixin understood immediately. Looking at the incredibly arrogant Dongfang Shuo, he felt both angry and amused, and even a bit of pity.
He looked at Jiang Ning and nodded solemnly. "Chief Consultant Jiang, you... as you wish. But please... go easy on him."
He was truly afraid that if Jiang Ning didn't hold back, she would wipe out this precious treasure of the ancient martial arts family, which would be hard to explain later.
Having received permission, Jiang Ning turned back to look at Dongfang Shuo, who was nearly bursting with rage.
"Fine."
She only said those two words.
"Let's go outside."
The group walked out to the open space outside the Headquarters.
Dongfang Shuo stood in the middle of the area and began to circulate his full Internal Breath. As he gathered his energy, the air around him twisted, and the sand beneath his feet began to swirl on its own.
He wanted to use his strongest technique to break her spirit in a single move!
"Are you ready, little girl?" He looked at Jiang Ning, who was still calm, and said with a cold sneer, "I'm going to make my move. I'll only use ten percent of my strength, so don't say I'm bullying you."
After saying that, he pushed his energy to the limit.