98: Chapter 98 The Old Companion's Rebirth! This wheelchair is illogical!
In the conference room, after Su Che finished saying, "Build a brand new engine."
Lieutenant General Peng was the first to react. He didn't ask about feasibility; he only asked one question.
"How long will it take?"
"I need to earn some extra money first."
Su Che turned off the projector and closed his laptop.
"Extra money?"
Lieutenant General Peng frowned. The situation was critical, yet he was still thinking about extra money?
Su Che didn't explain; he just looked toward the corner at Academician Wu Mengda, who had been silent the whole time.
Academician Wu Mengda sat in that old, worn-out wheelchair, his hands resting weakly on the armrests, his eyes dim.
The news of the embargo was a devastating blow to an old expert like him who had spent his entire life working in engineering applications.
"Academician Wu Mengda," Su Che walked over, "it's time to replace your wheelchair."
Academician Wu Mengda was stunned for a moment, looking up at Su Che, somewhat confused.
Su Che crouched down and tapped the creaking metal frame of the wheelchair.
"The noise is too loud; it affects your ability to think."
...
That afternoon.
At the "Kaitian" base, a backup mechanical workshop had just been cleared out.
Lieutenant General Peng personally led a team to drag the main body of the embargoed five-axis linkage machine tool from Germany inside, using an electric cart like they were hauling a dead beast, and dumped it in the center of the workshop.
Beside it, a mountain of scrap metal, scavenged from every corner of the base, was piled up.
Academician Qian Zhenhua, President Liu Qianghua, and several heads of the core R&D team followed them over.
They wanted to see exactly how Su Che intended to "grow" an industrial system.
As it turned out, Su Che completely ignored the machine tool and headed straight for the pile of scrap metal, rummaging through it.
"This titanium alloy drive shaft is not bad; it can still be used."
"Oh, aviation aluminum scraps? Good stuff."
He was like a scavenger hunting for treasure in a junkyard, clanking and clattering as he pulled out a pile of materials.
Lieutenant General Peng's mouth twitched, and he turned his head to ask Deputy Director Qin beside him.
"Old Qin, are you sure his brain isn't fried?"
Deputy Director Qin shook his head. He now had a blind trust in Su Che.
"General, let him tinker."
"Anyway... the situation couldn't get any worse."
Just then, Academician Wu Mengda was pushed by his assistant to the entrance of the workshop.
Su Che's eyes lit up when he saw him, and he waved.
"Academician Wu Mengda, you've come at just the right time. Let me take your measurements."
He took a tape measure and, with a serious expression, measured Academician Wu Mengda, recording data such as arm length, leg length, and sitting height.
Academician Wu Mengda didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Little Su, don't waste your time on an old man like me."
"Focus on the important work."
"This is the important work."
Su Che put away the tape measure and clapped his hands.
He took a portable industrial terminal out of his silver briefcase and operated it quickly.
Soon, a pale blue light screen projected into the air, forming a complex 3D design drawing.
It was a... chair?
The design was extremely sci-fi, with smooth lines and a futuristic feel. There were no wheels at the bottom, only a hovering base.
"Academician Wu Mengda, go to the break room and have a cup of tea first."
"Come back in an hour to pick up your new ride."
After saying this, Su Che put on his protective goggles, grabbed a plasma cutting gun, and walked toward the pile of scrap.
All the experts present gathered around the 3D design drawing, whispering to each other.
"Is this... a hovering chair based on an Anti-gravity platform?"
"No, look at its energy circuit design; it seems to use magnetohydrodynamic technology."
"And this material ratio—is he planning to synthesize special alloys on-site using scrap metal?"
Academician Qian Zhenhua pushed up his glasses and leaned in closer.
He looked at the dense parameters on the drawing, becoming more and more alarmed the longer he looked.
Every structure and every piece of data was precise to the extreme, completely exceeding the scope of existing ergonomics and materials science.
This wasn't a design drawing at all.
This was a product manual from the future!
One hour.
For the experts outside the workshop, it was a long, agonizing wait.
For Su Che inside the workshop, it was a process of fluid, effortless creation.
He didn't use any large-scale equipment.
Cutting, smelting, shaping, assembly...
All the processes were completed using the seemingly ordinary tools in his hands and the technical modules he had previously redeemed from the system.
He used the plasma cutting gun to dismantle the "corpse" of that German machine tool. He threw the core Krupp special steel into a makeshift electromagnetic furnace to smelt it together with the scrap titanium alloy and aviation aluminum.
His movements didn't look like industrial manufacturing; it was more like an artist creating a sculpture.
[Ding! Detected that the host is executing a side mission. Redeeming related auxiliary technologies is eligible for a 20% discount.]
[Redeemed [Lightweight High-Strength Memory Alloy Formula], consumed skill points: 100 points.]
[Redeemed [Micro Intelligent Attitude Control Module Design Drawing], consumed skill points: 100 points.]
[Redeemed [Bionic Neuron Connection Control Scheme], consumed skill points: 150 points.]
In his mind, skill points were being consumed rapidly.
In the workshop, that sci-fi chair was taking shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.
One hour later.
The workshop door slowly rose.
Su Che took off his protective goggles, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and pointed to the work behind him.
"Done. Let's call it a day."
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on it.
In the center of the workshop, a silver-gray chair was quietly hovering.
It was about ten centimeters off the ground, with a matte metallic luster throughout. There were no visible welding or assembly marks on the surface, as if it were a naturally formed work of art.
The entire workshop was so quiet that one could hear heartbeats.
The lid of the thermos in Lieutenant General Peng's hand dropped to the ground with a "clatter."
Academician Qian Zhenhua leaned on his cane, his hand trembling uncontrollably.
"This... this is..."
"Academician Wu Mengda, your new wheelchair."
Su Che walked over, helped Academician Wu Mengda up from the old wheelchair, and had him sit on the hovering chair.
"Want to try it?"
Academician Wu Mengda was a bit nervous, gripping the armrests tightly.
He felt as if he were sitting on a cloud—light, yet incredibly stable.
"How... how do I operate it?"
"Use your brain," Su Che said.
He gently attached two metal patches to Academician Wu Mengda's temples.
"Think about moving forward, and it moves forward. Think about turning, and it turns."
Academician Wu Mengda was skeptical, but he silently muttered in his heart: Move forward.
"Whoosh—"
The hovering chair slid forward silently, smooth and stable, and surprisingly fast.
"Ah!"
Academician Wu Mengda was startled and instinctively wanted to stop.
The hovering chair instantly braked in place, not moving a muscle.
He tried thinking "turn left," and the chair nimbly carved out an arc.
Thinking "move backward," the chair moved slowly backward.
A look of childlike surprise and excitement slowly appeared on Academician Wu Mengda's face.
He threw away his cane and took his hands off the armrests, like a child who had just learned to walk, "driving" freely around the empty workshop.
He even controlled the chair to easily clear a step.
The whole process was quiet, smooth, and full of the texture of a sci-fi movie.
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
Is this a wheelchair?
This is practically a personal flying vehicle from a sci-fi movie!
Lieutenant General Peng walked up quickly, circled the hovering chair twice, and reached out to touch the cold metal shell.
"Kid, this thing... what's the principle?"
"A little bit of Anti-gravity technology, a little bit of Brain-Computer Interface technology, and a little bit of new material technology."
Su Che said it nonchalantly.
In his mind, the system's notification sound rang out right on time.
[Ding! Side mission [An Old Friend's Rebirth] completed!]
[Mission Evaluation: Perfect! You have not only given Academician Wu Mengda a new pair of legs but also given him wings to chase his dreams!]
[Mission Reward: 800 skill points.]
[Current accumulated skill points for the host: 2450 points.]
Success!
Su Che's gaze turned to the two expensive options in the system panel that he couldn't afford before.
[Auxiliary Technology: Atomic-Level Directed Energy Deposition Technology Scheme]
[Redemption Points: 1500 points (after 50% discount)]
[Auxiliary Technology: Quantum Field Constraint Forming Force Field Construction Drawings]
[Redemption Points: 1000 points (after 50% discount)]
Skill points, still a little short.
Su Che frowned slightly.
Just then, Lieutenant General Peng suddenly grabbed his arm, his eyes burning.
"Su Che, can this thing... be mass-produced?"
His voice was trembling.
What he saw was not a wheelchair.
What he saw was a personal flying vehicle, a battlefield unmanned transport platform, and a future where the Dragon Country Army had grown wings!
Su Che looked at Lieutenant General Peng's excited face, then looked at Academician Wu Mengda in the distance, who was having the time of his life, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind.
He raised his head and gave Lieutenant General Peng a meaningful smile.
"General, mass production is possible."
"However, I have a condition."