Chapter 56: Zhulan’s Satellite Program

"Mr. Zhu?" Mo Long watched as Zhu Lan killed the group from the Delta so decisively, frowning. He'd opposed Zhu Lan's previous departure, and now, things felt far from simple.

"Is there something you need?" Zhu Lan raised his head to look at Mo Long, his face utterly expressionless, cold as ice.

Mo Long swallowed his words, gazing at Zhu Lan in silence for a moment.

"Our orders from above are to investigate this place thoroughly..."

"What does that have to do with me? You do your job, I do mine. When my part is over, I’ll naturally explain everything to those above."

Mo Long was taken aback, then gave a wry smile. He’d always known Zhu Lan was difficult to handle, but he hadn’t realized just how impossible he could be.

Kong Yan stood up and quietly moved to Zhu Lan’s side.

"Let’s go!" Seeing Kong Yan’s composure, Zhu Lan knew she had successfully infiltrated the system. With her skills, there was no need to stay here any longer; it was time to see what this base truly held.

"Captain, are we just letting him leave like this?" Mo Jiao watched Zhu Lan and Kong Yan depart, wanting to stop them, but Mo Long held him back.

"Zhu Lan’s affairs are none of our business. Let’s contact our superiors and see what they say."

"Alright." With Mo Long’s words, Mo Jiao had nothing more to say and turned to lead his team towards the supercomputer.

Zhu Lan and Kong Yan left the control center, heading deeper into the base.

Having breached the control center, they now possessed the base’s map.

From what the map indicated, the true core of the base lay five levels below.

However, according to the control center’s data, the site had been evacuated a week ago, and a huge volume of information had been taken away.

"Damn it, what a useless bunch!" Discovering this base, yet letting all the data be taken without anyone noticing—Zhu Lan was speechless at the incompetence of the military. Of course, he knew such a feat would have been impossible without inside help.

"But what does any of this have to do with me?" Zhu Lan suddenly realized.

The next day, Zhu Lan was found by military personnel. By the time they discovered him, he had already fainted, with Kong Yan guarding him.

Regardless, Zhu Lan was taken to the hospital.

A few days later, when Zhu Lan awoke, he said nothing. With the matter of Fantasy Technology, he was permitted to leave.

He took a military plane back to the city.

He had barely settled in when Luo Guoqiang arrived—almost as if one foot had just stepped in the door and the next moment his guest appeared.

They sat in silence. In fact, there were four people in the office: Zhu Lan, Kong Yan, Luo Guoqiang, and Li Hongjin.

Li Hongjin had brought a computer with him today, and both he and Luo Guoqiang were in full military dress, rather than the civilian clothes Zhu Lan had seen them in before—one a lieutenant general, the other a major general, both ranks prominently displayed.

"The higher-ups have decided not to hold you accountable for this incident. Consider it compensation for these past weeks."

Zhu Lan sneered. "Oh? Is that so?" Both he and the military believed the Japanese base contained valuable secrets. Over two hundred special forces soldiers had died there, and what was the result? They’d been played by the Japanese. There was nothing inside except monsters; no research materials, not even samples of the original virus or gene enhancement serum. The research facilities were found, but all data and raw materials had been taken by the Japanese.

And the military had known nothing at all.

The base's records alone would fill at least ten trucks, and the helicopters found on the upper levels—over a dozen, all armed—were a bitter sight. How had they gotten in?

The military was now conducting a thorough internal purge, and with the base empty but for monsters, Zhu Lan’s departure was no longer an issue.

Luo Guoqiang gave a bitter smile. He’d anticipated this outcome.

"You know as well as I do that the games played above are not for us to decide. Still, they’ve arranged some compensation for you."

"Should I be thanking you for that?"

"Zhu Lan, what’s that supposed to mean?" Li Hongjin slammed the table, staring at Zhu Lan.

"Hmph. Out with it—what do you want?"

Zhu Lan was entirely unmoved by Li Hongjin’s threat and bluntly asked why the two had come to see him.

"Here’s the situation: When you left Mo Xie, we intercepted a transmission. It used quantum communication technology, and the other end was that base." As Luo Guoqiang spoke, he smiled at Zhu Lan.

Zhu Lan’s face darkened, and he glanced at Kong Yan.

Kong Yan merely looked innocent.

Zhu Lan rolled his eyes. You’re a robot—why pretend to be innocent?

"What does that mean?" Zhu Lan relaxed a little, less confrontational.

"Previously, we only knew you excelled at gene research. We didn’t expect you had such expertise in communications as well. We’d like to take a look, make an assessment."

Zhu Lan could only shake his head. "Fine. Come with me." He understood the authorities had let matters drop because they had their eyes on his abilities; he’d have to show them something.

He led Luo Guoqiang and Li Hongjin to his small residence and down into the basement.

Zhu Lan nodded to Kong Yan.

Slowly, a robot rolled out from the side.

"What’s this?" Both Luo Guoqiang and Li Hongjin were stunned by the tracked robot.

"This is another of my research products: the -004 model robot."

As he spoke, the -004 robot demonstrated its abilities.

Chopping vegetables, sweeping, cooking, cleaning—it could do it all.

"And what does this have to do with us?" Luo Guoqiang was puzzled. How did a household robot concern the military?

"Wait. This could easily be modified for military use, couldn’t it?"

Zhu Lan nodded, made a gesture, and a device descended from above.

"Look here—this is my strength-testing setup. This is a crossbow, a mechanical one. Its destructive power is no less than that of a sniper rifle."

Whizz—

An arrow shot out, striking the robot’s body.

It penetrated several centimeters and stopped, the shaft still quivering, emitting a low hum.

"This..." Luo Guoqiang finally understood.

"This is the latest material-made household robot. Originally, I intended to surprise everyone with it at the press conference the day after tomorrow. Its processing power is a hundred times greater than any robot on the market. If necessary, it could be modified for military use. Unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately what?"

"Unfortunately, the chip cost is still too high. Each unit costs fourteen million—far beyond what ordinary people can afford. The appearance also needs modification. Even for the military, even with cost reductions, I doubt the country would consider using something that expensive."

Li Hongjin nodded. Fourteen million could buy several tanks or planes; investing that in an unproven robot was out of the question for the authorities.

"In short, just like the earlier gene serum, it’s a half-finished product, far from ready. I meant to show it off just to attract attention before rolling out other products."

"Other products? You didn’t just bring us here to see this robot, did you?"

"Of course not."

At this point, Kong Yan handed over a miniature device.

"This is the simplest quantum communication device, designed to enhance real-time connections between a future army of robots and the mainframe. But—"

Li Hongjin took it and examined it, but couldn’t make sense of it.

Then he heard Zhu Lan’s "But—" and rolled his eyes. "Let me guess: another defective product?"

Zhu Lan nodded sheepishly.

Hmph, everything I make is complete—except what I show you!

"There’s no need for me to explain the uses of quantum communication. My version requires a brand-new receiver—existing ones can’t handle it. Unless it’s connected to military satellites, it won’t work perfectly. Even then, only a custom-built quantum communication satellite could achieve optimal results."

"A new satellite? You’re not feverish, are you?"

Zhu Lan gave a wry smile. "Originally, I planned to wait until the gene optimization serum hit the market. With enough funds, I’d build a satellite factory and ask the state to launch my quantum communication satellite. I estimate the market would be enormous."

Luo Guoqiang and Li Hongjin were both stunned by this.

Building satellites? As a private company?

Impossible—even in America, let alone China.

In China, all satellite manufacturing was done by state-owned enterprises, in strictly confidential facilities. And here was Zhu Lan, daring to dream of building satellites.

Naturally, Zhu Lan noticed their expressions.

"Does it seem like I’m delusional?"

"It’s not merely a fantasy—it’s a pipe dream. Just voicing such an idea is crossing the state’s bottom line. I honestly don’t know what to say to you." According to Li Hongjin, the moment Zhu Lan voiced this, he could have been arrested. But given Zhu Lan’s status, and with the higher-ups having just promised him more benefits, it was hard to say.

Luo Guoqiang was speechless. Satellite manufacturing—Zhu Lan’s research really did leap around.

"Don’t tell me you actually have the ability to make satellites. If you do, I’ll believe the state could colonize Mars."

Zhu Lan’s expertise was in genetics, and now he wanted to build satellites? Impossible. The fields were worlds apart.

Zhu Lan nodded, then shook his head. "Is making satellites so difficult?"

Luo Guoqiang and Li Hongjin both smiled wryly. Difficult?

China had started from scratch, and through generations of effort, had become a spacefaring nation. Were they not intelligent? They were, immensely so. Did they lack talent? Not at all. Was there a shortage of resources? The state had poured in all it could, and though that wasn’t much, with the nation’s support, they’d gone from nothing to launching Dongfanghong in a few decades. In the realm of satellites, China had shocked the world.

With no Soviet aid, no precision equipment, everything made by hand, China spent over twenty years, starting from zero, to launch its first satellite—a feat that stunned the West and laid the groundwork for successful ICBM tests afterward.

The difficulty of satellite manufacturing, no matter the nation or level of support, could hardly be overstated.