106: Don't call me twenty-six

All these improvements in the civilian Domain came from Prince Zhao’s Tiangong Group, and they were also adopted by the Great Ming military, modifying much of the army’s equipment and greatly enhancing its defensive and offensive capabilities.

If we also consider the impact of the creation and improvement of electronic information System on military operations, it can be said that the importance of Tiangong Group is continuously increasing, and therefore, Prince Zhao’s reputation in both the military and civilian sectors is becoming higher and higher!

Although Prince Zhao does not lead troops in battle and has not reached the Martial Commander Realm, his influence is unique, and no other prince can compare to him in this regard.

This is also why Zhu Ming speculated that he might have intervened in the Dark Night Valley incident.

What Zhu Ming did not know was that Prince Zhao had also been researching the Dark Night Valley incident these past few days, because he knew that there must be a force at work that he did not understand.

So, where did this force come from?

He was most aware of the capabilities of the Great Ming radar surveillance System, as this set of equipment was developed by a division under his Tiangong Group.

It had been less than thirty years since its inception, and it was currently installed in the airports of all base cities above Level 3.

However, the results it displayed were far from what was initially expected; its surveillance range was small, only capable of monitoring the airport and some nearby Domains, and its target identification and accuracy were extremely low, being greatly affected by environmental and weather conditions, often leading to false alarms.

Therefore, this surveillance System has been a constant source of jokes and criticism since its introduction, often even making it to trending topics and becoming a laughingstock for the domestic populace after meals.

This made Prince Zhao almost depressed; why were the surveillance Systems of Snow Eagle Country and Flying Lion Country so effective, while the ones developed by his subordinates were not?

According to what he knew, the radar Systems of Snow Eagle Country and Flying Lion Country could monitor a range at least five times that of Great Ming, and their identification accuracy could reach more than ten times that of Great Ming.

They could be well applied in both civilian and military Domains, which made Prince Zhao very anxious, as he knew that Great Ming was too far behind in this aspect!

However, the people in his current division were simply unable to change this situation, and too few people in the imperial court understood his suggestions, even fewer supported his scientific research.

Many would instead advise him to hurry up and Cultivate, to strive for the Martial Commander Realm, and not to waste time on these useless things…

What a bunch of short-sighted people!

They simply did not know the power of military technology.

In Snow Eagle Country, War Bear Country, and Flying Lion Country, Xuan Energy thermal weapons capable of threatening the Innate period had already appeared; an ordinary person could seriously injure a Martial Ancestor without even Cultivating!

Not to mention those terrifying mechs and gene warriors!

Prince Zhao knew very well that Great Ming had fallen significantly behind in military technology, so he voluntarily took on this heavy responsibility, investing all his financial resources into it, but unfortunately, it was still a drop in the bucket, with the will but not the power…

During this Dark Night Valley incident, he also discovered two things that greatly shocked him.

First, Snow Eagle Country now actually had the ability to change local weather conditions; this was reported by Qi Huaiyi and his team, who also sent over the equipment and items that could change the weather.

These items were currently being researched in a division within Prince Zhao’s building.

The other matter was even more bizarre: how did Qi Huaiyi and his team manage to discover the hidden airport deep in Dark Night Valley in such a short time, identify the fake Xuan Energy cannons that were indistinguishable from the real ones, and the extremely secretive escape tunnels…

Since the report from team leader Wang Weidong was vague about these details, Prince Zhao called him earlier but did not receive a clear reply, only that everything was related to Qi Huaiyi.

So, Prince Zhao changed to contacting Qi Huaiyi, asking him to quickly report all the operation details to him, but several days passed, and Qi Huaiyi did not report anything.

Thinking of this, Prince Zhao could not help but sigh inwardly.

His thirteenth prince really had no sense of presence in the eyes of the Jianxuan Envoy Department; even a Xuanwu Guard captain dared to ignore him, so what could he accomplish?

Without real power, it was truly difficult to move an inch, even for a prince…

Prince Zhao vaguely regretted neglecting the importance of power in the past.

He used to do everything according to his own temperament, without thinking too much, only doing what he liked.

But at this time, he realized that if he had real power, many problems could actually be easily solved, and countless people would rush to help him without him having to worry or exert himself!

“Why not talk to Imperial Father… or ask Prince Rui to help put some pressure on them?” Prince Zhao thought to himself.

Just then, a figure walked into his office and said, “Imperial Brother, what are you thinking about?”

“Twenty-Six? What are you doing here?” Prince Zhao looked up and asked.

“What Twenty-Six? Can you not call me that? I am Prince Dai!!!” Prince Dai said indignantly.

“This… alright, then I’ll call you Little Dai.

What are you doing here?”

“Ah?! I call you Imperial Brother, you should call me Imperial Younger Brother!” Prince Dai snorted.

“Imperial Younger Brother? That’s not good to call.

Others might think I’m calling you Emperor, which would cause misunderstandings.

Little Dai is very good,” Prince Zhao pondered.

“Oh, you seem to have a point.

Little Dai it is then!

What were you thinking about just now?

It must be too boring staying here alone, right?

How about coming with me to a bar to drink, dance, and pick up girls?” Prince Dai said.

“Go, go, go, those are things you kids play with.

I can’t play them at all.

Don’t disturb my research!” Prince Zhao refused.

Prince Dai’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and he exclaimed, “What kids? I’m over a hundred years old, and you’re about the same, alright?

Didn’t you see that the people who go to bars to drink, dance, and pick up girls are all about our age, some even much older than us?

Hurry up, stop researching these useless things…”

“You dare to say that what I research is useless?” Prince Zhao was furious.

“Alright, alright, alright, it’s useful, it’s useful, alright!

But you can’t always be doing research like this.

Look how boring your life is; you need to adjust.

Even if you don’t dance, listening to music is good… Oh, by the way, I recently came across a new song that sounds truly refreshing.

It’s spreading rapidly on mobile video platforms and becoming popular very quickly!” Prince Dai said, pulling out his phone and quickly bringing up a projection to play it…

Prince Zhao initially wanted to stop him, but the moment the music started, he held back.

And this song was exactly “you at the same table” sung by Long Yuan…

“Eh? It’s really good!!! And it’s even played on a Spain guitar!!!” Prince Zhao was surprised, staring at the projection while exclaiming in wonder.

When he traveled and studied in Snow Eagle Country and Flying Lion Country, he often saw people playing this kind of Spain guitar in rural streets and city corners, singing happily as they played.

However, such a scene was rare in Great Ming; he only occasionally saw foreigners performing it.

He never expected to see a Great Ming person playing and singing today, and it was particularly pleasant to listen to…

“Haha, isn’t it good!

Let me tell you, this young man is named Long Yuan, he’s only 16 years old, and he’s from Fengyang County, a Level 3 base city!” Prince Dai introduced.

“Fengyang County? Long Yuan? Why do I feel like I’ve heard that before?” Prince Zhao was startled, but he quickly remembered the report in his hand, which seemed to mention Long Yuan from Fengyang No. 1 High School…

…