21: Initial Partnership

The server's chassis fan was still humming, and the holographic projection displayed a simulated data stream of a superluminal engine, with data loaded into the processor still running simulations.

Everyone was gone, and the dust had settled.

Zhao Mingyuan let out a long breath and slumped into his chair, the back of his work uniform soaked with sweat.

"Brother Feng! Please have a seat!" The next second, as if suddenly remembering something, he sprang up like a spring and wiped the only relatively clean synthetic fiber chair in the corner with his sleeve.

Jiang Feng didn't move, his hands still in his jacket pockets, looking like he had settled the deal and was ready to leave at any moment.

"Tea, West Lake Longjing!" Zhao Mingyuan turned and ran to the second floor, pulled out a crumpled tea bag from the refrigerator, then kicked away scattered parts on the floor and found a relatively intact ceramic cup.

When hot water was poured, the oil residue at the bottom of the cup floated up, forming a colorful iridescence.

Jiang Feng felt nauseous at the sight of it.

But he still walked over, though he didn't take the tea.

"The buyer is in a hurry?" he asked indifferently.

"Indeed!" Zhao Mingyuan wiped his sweat, his white teeth flashing under the light: "I don't know who they are, but I know they are generous and ruthless... perhaps too ruthless."

He secretly glanced at Jiang Feng's profile: "Speaking of which... the Hacker Brother Feng found, his cracking method is quite something."

Jiang Feng was calm: "Indeed, this person has some skill, but he's difficult to get along with, very much his own person."

In the corner of the shop, the old cooling unit suddenly made a wheezing noise.

In this awkward silence, Zhao Mingyuan suddenly slammed the table: "Brother Feng! Let's partner up!"

The Robot Dog heard the loud bang of him hitting the table and stood up silently, its alloy tusks opening and closing slightly, reflecting a cold light.

But Jiang Feng just raised his hand, and the Robot Dog quietly lay back down again.

Zhao Mingyuan was stunned. Such a smart Robot Dog; who would believe it wasn't built with advanced AI!

He kept calculating in his mind: 'The hardware platform looks like a police model, but the equipment seems to be for search and rescue, yet the craftsmanship is so precise, the tolerances imperceptible to the naked eye, which makes it look like a military model...'

'Even if the hardware platform costs 100,000, no, I probably can't get it for that. Let's say the hardware platform is 150,000, plus such a smart AI, it feels like a real dog...'

'200,000, 250,000?'

'It's probably still too low. If it could be modified with weapons or something, it might go for 300,000 or 400,000.'

Zhao Mingyuan did some quick calculations and was shocked, looking at Jiang Feng with a bit more doubt.

Jiang Feng waited quietly for him, his gaze calm. When his eyes looked over, Zhao Mingyuan couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end.

Composing himself, Zhao Mingyuan straightened his thoughts and became even more resolute in his plan. Today, he absolutely had to get Jiang Feng on his side!

"Brother Feng, your connections, my connections, your craftsmanship, my craftsmanship!"

Zhao Mingyuan became more and more excited, spitting as he spoke: "Now the tariff war is fierce, and the price of second-hand parts has quadrupled or quintupled! Just that encryption module earlier, through official channels, has already risen to 400,000. If we sell it for around 100,000, won't people fight over it?"

"Especially some black market parts, they're even more exaggerated, having increased nearly tenfold!"

Zhao Mingyuan held up five fingers: "Fifty-fifty split!"

His face was red and his neck thick: "I'll bear the risks, I'll run the channels. You just do the technical work you're best at!"

Jiang Feng raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

"Brother Feng, to be honest, next month there's a batch of parts coming from the Mars colony. Some will go through normal customs, and some can be easily obtained with a little bit of networking."

"Once repaired, imagine the profit? Isn't it better than doing anything else?"

Zhao Mingyuan's voice was full of temptation, just like the agents selling girls in the red-light district.

The noise of the cooling unit suddenly stopped, leaving only the violent hum of the server fans in the workshop.

Jiang Feng's gaze fell on the Robot Dog. This morning, he had half-forced Lin Xiaoyu onto the sky-rail back to her parents' home, then headed straight to the old junkyard, taking the Miniature Galaxy with him.

First, he changed the hovercar's paint job to prevent those Public Security Bureau dogs from sniffing it out.

He then bought a batch of quality scrap, and on the way back, found an abandoned industrial park to give to the Cybrex Warforge, creating another Robot Dog.

Lin Xiaoyu had the "Iron Clad Gold" guarding her, so he named this new one "Gold-Wrapped Silver."

It was also a way to commemorate his irretrievable past.

But this didn't fully solve the problem. He didn't dare to sell the Robot Dogs he manufactured. This time, during manufacturing, he specifically asked the Armory to show him the Robot Dog's underlying code.

It was a tree-like logical structure, completely outperforming existing human AI intelligence.

And most importantly, the code contained the proprietary mark of the Cybrex Warforge.

Although if he sold it to others, he could set system-level self-destruction, there was no doubt that too many secrets were hidden in the universe, and perhaps someone's technology was even stronger than Cyberlex's?

Jiang Feng didn't dare to take this risk. He needed another way to make money, and he also needed other channels to obtain blueprints for exoskeletons, robots, and other types of military equipment.

Zhao Mingyuan was a target he had already set his sights on.

Feigning a moment of thought, Jiang Feng said calmly: "Alright, I do know a few good hands, not just Hackers."

Zhao Mingyuan was stunned for two seconds, then burst into laughter.

He turned and pulled out half a bottle of mixed whiskey and two disposable cups from the cabinet: "To us!"

"To 'Yuanfeng Technology'!" Zhao Mingyuan was extremely excited.

Jiang Feng took the wine glass, looked down at the Robot Dog, and only drank it all once Gold-Wrapped Silver nodded.

It was almost pure alcohol, with a faint flavor of essence and a nauseating aftertaste.

"No 'Yuanfeng Technology,' this is fine as it is. I won't take advantage of you." Jiang Feng bent down, picked up a torque wrench from the floor, and gently rubbed his finger on the torque meter.

"Later," he suddenly said, "I'll need a private workshop."

Zhao Mingyuan was startled, then immediately patted his chest: "No problem, the second-floor warehouse will be cleared out right away!"

"Electromagnetic shielding, encrypted network, Brother Feng, just tell me what you need!" He glanced at the Robot Dog at Jiang Feng's feet and added.

"Guaranteed no surveillance cameras!"

Jiang Feng nodded slightly. He stood up and tossed the torque wrench to Zhao Mingyuan: "Then I'll come back the day after tomorrow. The workshop doesn't need any fancy decorations, just network access and a set of tools."

"But is that enough?"

"It's enough," Jiang Feng said calmly. As he walked towards the door, he casually added.

"Oh, and I need designs for robots and exoskeletons, military-grade preferably. Commercial models produced by the military industry are also fine. It's too expensive for me to buy from that Hacker. If you have connections, can you help me look?"

Zhao Mingyuan's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly, then saw Jiang Feng out: "Okay, I'll make calls right away."

"By the way, is an older model okay?" Zhao Mingyuan asked tentatively.

"I'm buying blueprints to give to someone I know to help me build some self-defense equipment. Model doesn't matter, as long as it's useful. Even if it's not, it can still be modified, right?"

Jiang Feng pushed open the door and laughed heartily, showing no intention of hiding anything.

In the future, he would certainly have more than just Robot Dogs by his side; ideally, three robots in front and three behind.

Such things couldn't be kept secret, so it was better to be a bit more open, half-truth and half-lie, to be more convincing to others.

"That's good, leave it to me!" Zhao Mingyuan nodded vigorously.

"Brother Feng, take care."

Watching Jiang Feng leave, and once the rusty door hinges closed again, Zhao Mingyuan finally truly relaxed, slumping into his chair.

He opened his wristband, scrolled through his contacts, and remembering Jiang Feng's appearance, muttered to himself.

"This guy has changed too much... In any case, he's definitely not just an intermediary."

"I need to think carefully about how to build a good relationship with him..."

"Now is a great time to make money, so I definitely shouldn't fall out with him."

Thinking this, Zhao Mingyuan smiled broadly, his gaze lingering on a contact's label, and he quickly made a call.

"Hello, hey, it's me, Old Zhao!"

"I've got a big order!"