140: Chapter 140: Enjoying Top-Tier National Scholar Treatment, the Second Phase of the Southern Heavenly Gate Opens

8:10 PM.

At the Military Science Commission Compound, Expert Apartment.

Su Che finished the last sip of warm black tea from his stainless steel milk tea cup.

The encrypted phone on the table began to vibrate.

The screen displayed the name of Lieutenant General Peng.

Su Che pressed the answer button and turned on the speakerphone.

"The meeting is over," Lieutenant General Peng's voice came through the speaker, carrying a rare sense of relaxation.

"Are there results?" Su Che leaned back on the sofa.

"The Chief made the decision personally," Lieutenant General Peng said, his speaking pace steady. "You have been awarded the dragon country qingtian medal. You are appointed as a Special Advisor for National Science and Technology Strategy, enjoying top-tier National Scholar treatment. A detached courtyard has been approved in the Third Ring, and security will be handled entirely by the Ministry of State Security."

Lin Waner was wiping the coffee table with a rag, and upon hearing this, her hand stopped in mid-air.

The dragon country qingtian medal was the highest national honor.

Su Che placed his empty cup on the table and leaned forward.

"General, that's a high level of treatment," Su Che said into the phone. "So, what's the salary?"

There was a two-second pause on the other end of the line.

"We'll take care of your meals for a lifetime; isn't that high enough?" Lieutenant General Peng scolded with a laugh. "Your head is full of nothing but funding and salary. Also, prepare to bring your father to the capital. The Ministry of State Security will send a special plane to the south tomorrow to pick him up. Your family should enjoy these benefits too."

"I have to ask him about this first," Su Che picked up the phone and turned off the speakerphone. "I know my father's temper."

"Fine, call him first and let me know the result."

The call ended.

Su Che pulled up his contacts and dialed the number saved as 'Old Dad'.

It rang seven or eight times before being answered.

The sound of gunfire from a war drama playing on the television was mixed into the background noise.

"You little bastard, short on money?" Su Pingan's voice was very loud.

"Dad, I'm not short on money," Su Che switched hands to hold the phone. "The country gave me another award."

"What award? Didn't they just give you one at the beginning of the year? What is it this time?"

"The dragon country qingtian medal."

The sound of gunfire on the other end faded as the television was muted.

"What medal?" Su Pingan's voice was a bit unstable.

"The qingtian medal, the highest national honor," Su Che repeated.

"Clang."

A crisp sound of metal hitting the floor came through the receiver; it was the dry tobacco pipe that Su Pingan often held in his hand falling to the ground.

"Che'er... You truly are the pride of our Su family; you're even more impressive than your grandfather! I'm going to the back mountain tomorrow to burn incense for your mother and the ancestors, and tell them that our Su family has produced a dragon!"

"Dad, the country said they'd send a special plane to pick you up to live in the capital," Su Che got to the point. "They've allocated a large courtyard in the Third Ring, with top-tier National Scholar treatment."

There was no sound on the other end of the phone for a full half-minute.

"Little Che," Su Pingan picked up his pipe and tapped it against the sole of his shoe. "Dad isn't going to the capital."

"The courtyard is very big, and there are people to serve you."

"I'm not going. The few acres of land at home have just been plowed, and the chickens and ducks need to be fed every day. I still have to help look after the pig that Auntie Wang bought. If I leave, there will be no one to manage these tasks," Su Pingan said with a firm tone. "I appreciate the country's offer, but I'm not used to living in the capital; it's more comfortable staying in the village. You just keep working hard for the country and don't worry about me."

Before Su Che could persuade him further, the call ended.

Su Che looked at the phone screen, which had returned to the main interface.

He redialed Lieutenant General Peng's number.

"General, my father isn't coming," Su Che said directly. "He can't bear to leave the land and the pigs in the village."

"I guessed as much," Lieutenant General Peng didn't seem surprised. "The older generation finds it hard to leave their homeland. If he won't come, the country will go to him."

"How will you go?"

"Su Family Village will be built according to the highest national standards," Lieutenant General Peng decided. "We will build a two-way, four-lane asphalt road, deploy a dedicated Quantum Communication network across the entire area, and build a Grade-A medical station. The Ministry of State Security will set up hidden sentries there, and the security level of Su Family Village will be raised to the maximum. We will never let the family of a hero suffer any grievance."

"Thank the country on behalf of my father," Su Che changed the subject. "Also, I need to ask you for a small favor. I created a small vertical takeoff and landing logistics drone earlier; help me spread the word that I'm selling it as a package!"

"That's a small matter. I'll arrange it immediately and guarantee that someone will come looking for you tomorrow. I'll hang up now; I won't disturb you and your wife's rest," Lieutenant General Peng said and hung up.

Su Che threw his phone onto the sofa.

Lin Waner had already wiped the coffee table until it was spotless.

She walked toward the kitchen with the rag, her waistline accentuated by her casual wear.

Su Che stood up and followed behind her.

Just as Lin Waner turned on the faucet, Su Che wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

The water flowed with a splashing sound.

Lin Waner turned off the faucet and turned around.

Su Che lowered his head, his breath brushing against the tip of her nose.

After more than a month of working day and night, the two of them hadn't even had time to eat a proper meal together.

Lin Waner's fingers gripped the corner of Su Che's clothes.

Su Che bent down and picked her up horizontally.

Walking out of the kitchen, Su Che reached out and turned off the living room lights.

Only a sliver of warm yellow light filtered out from the bedroom.

The night breeze blew past the window lattice.

Clothes fell onto the carpet one by one.

Body temperatures overlapped.

Everything was understood without words.

...

The next day at 10:00 AM.

Outside of the Pangu Laboratory, in the No. 3 reception room.

Su Che sat on the sofa with a glass of plain water in front of him.

Opposite him sat a middle-aged man in a suit, the famous president of Suda Logistics, Nie Haifeng.

Qin Lan stood behind and to the side of Su Che, acting as security.

"Engineer Su, you said you had technology to transfer, so I took a red-eye flight to get here overnight," Nie Haifeng placed his hands on his knees, his attitude extremely respectful.

Su Che pushed the tactical tablet in his hand across the table.

"A small vertical takeoff and landing logistics drone," Su Che began. "It has a payload of fifty kilograms, a range of two hundred kilometers, can withstand force-eight winds, and is purely electric-driven. The most crucial part is the biomimetic hydraulic deformation drive technology; it doesn't need a runway to take off or land, and can land on any balcony."

Nie Haifeng picked up the tablet and quickly flipped through the data.

The more he read, the straighter his back became.

"Withstand force-eight winds? A fifty-kilogram payload?" Nie Haifeng looked up. "Competing products on the market with a payload of over twenty kilograms don't even have a range of fifty kilometers."

"Those are the ones on the market," Su Che picked up his water glass. "This is an exclusive authorization package for the blueprints and control system."

Nie Haifeng put down the tablet and crossed his hands.

"Engineer Su, name your price."

"A fifty million buyout fee, plus a five percent dividend on the mass production profit of each unit," Su Che stated the numbers.

Nie Haifeng didn't even try to bargain.

"Deal," Nie Haifeng took a seal from his briefcase. "I'll have someone draft the contract immediately, and the fifty million will be transferred to your personal account this afternoon."

Su Che nodded.

The dimensionality reduction strike of military-to-civilian technology was just that simple.

The leftover technology from the luan bird aerospace fighter, when placed in the civilian market, was enough to overturn the entire logistics industry.

Just earning some pocket money to improve their lives.

After signing the documents, Nie Haifeng returned them with both hands and respectfully exited the reception room.

...

2:00 PM.

Downstairs at the Expert Apartment.

Five black bulletproof Hongqi SUVs were lined up.

Qin Lan, wearing a black tactical uniform and a communication headset, stood next to the lead car.

More than a dozen fully armed Ministry of State Security special agents were moving luggage into the cars behind.

Actually, there wasn't much luggage.

Aside from a few clothes, there was only the black metal box that had contained the fragments and the milk tea machine.

Su Che held Lin Waner's hand as they walked out of the apartment building.

Qin Lan opened the back door of the lead car.

"Advisor Su, please get in," Qin Lan changed her address.

Su Che got into the car, and Lin Waner followed.

The door closed, and the thick bulletproof glass isolated the sounds from outside.

The motorcade started and drove out of the Military Science Commission Compound.

Along the way, there were two police cars leading and following, and they were given green lights at every intersection.

Half an hour later.

The motorcade drove into a quiet hutong within the Third Ring.

Hidden retractable road barriers were set up at both ends of the hutong, and two seemingly ordinary box trucks were parked by the roadside, with miniature radar antennas mounted on their roofs.

The motorcade stopped in front of a vermilion gate.

Qin Lan got out and opened the door.

Su Che and Lin Waner stepped out.

Two plainclothes guards stood on either side of the gate, standing straight.

Pushing open the gate, inside was a three-courtyard siheyuan.

With blue bricks and gray tiles, two towering ancient locust trees were planted in the courtyard.

The main house, side rooms, study, and climate-controlled garage were all fully equipped.

The underground security facilities were configured according to the standards for high-ranking officials, with blast-proof layers, independent communication base stations, and backup power supplies all fully installed.

"This will be your exclusive residence from now on," Qin Lan walked in the front to introduce it. "The security team works in twenty-four-hour shifts, and a housekeeper and chef are on standby at all times."

Lin Waner looked at the scenery in the courtyard, her footsteps very light.

Su Che walked to the stone table in the center of the courtyard and reached out to touch the surface.

"Quite spacious," Su Che gave his assessment.

...

8:30 PM, the study of the new home.

The military-grade encrypted terminal sat on the rosewood desk.

Su Che sat in the large chair, looking at the bank text message confirming the fifty million deposit.

The money had arrived.

He threw the phone onto the desktop.

The ten-thousand-ton verification version of the luan bird had already completed global deterrence, and the rules on Earth had been reset.

But there was still something in the sky counting down.

In his mind, that familiar mechanical voice suddenly sounded.

[Ding! Detected that the first phase of the Nantianmen Project (Foundation and Verification Platform) has been fully achieved.]

[Global anti-hegemony goals realized, Earth's technological resources integrated.]

[System prompt: Nantianmen Project Phase II — Interstellar Strategic Expansion, officially initiated.]

[Warning: The countdown for the high-dimensional cleanup program continues.]

Su Che leaned back in the chair.

The blue and white panel faded from his consciousness.

The second phase had begun.

He tapped on the rosewood desk.

The real interstellar war machine had only just begun.