Chapter Sixty-One: Azure Base

That was exactly it—Zhu Lan knew that although many traces had been erased, they could still be found. Zhu Lan understood that among the staff at Fantasy Technology, quite a number had been placed by the state. By the time Kong Yan took over, Zhu Lan was even more thoroughly aware of these people's existence.

But since these individuals had done nothing to harm the company, Zhu Lan left them alone. After all, they worked for him and did so diligently, so he had no reason to interfere further. Some, having worked at Fantasy Technology for a while, had access to the equipment in the biotechnology division. Anyone with expertise would naturally recognize the value of such devices.

Now, after Chairman He’s remarks, Zhu Lan understood. His equipment was under embargo, and the approval for the satellite program was entirely to gain access to this kind of technology.

“Is there a problem?” Chairman He asked.

Zhu Lan shook his head. “It’s just too rushed.”

“No matter, we have plenty of time.”

Zhu Lan could only nod helplessly.

Since Zhu Lan raised no objections, Li Hongjin and the others didn’t dwell on the issue, but instead requested to see the 002 model robot.

Zhu Lan set the matter aside for now and led them back to the basement. After a more comprehensive look at the 002, when asked about the cost, they could only leave with some regret.

Kong Yan had estimated that if they wanted to mass-produce the 002, an entire production line would have to be refitted, and a new plant for chip fabrication would be necessary. Even disregarding costs, the retrofitting and assembly alone would take years to complete.

More importantly, the cost was an obstacle. If the 002 were adapted for military use, the outer shell would need to be reinforced, raising manufacturing expenses. Combined with the price of weaponry itself, the military potential was high, but so was the cost.

Li Hongjin had inquired, and Zhu Lan only gave a vague estimate of forty million.

This was Kong Yan’s calculated figure, which Zhu Lan deliberately inflated by ten million.

Upon hearing this, the two of them had nothing more to say; they simply took a few photos and videos before leaving.

After a busy day, it was already afternoon. Zhu Lan grabbed a bit to eat, returned to the office, and called everyone for a meeting.

“Let’s start with a report on today’s issues,” Zhu Lan said, looking directly at Yu Dongming as soon as everyone was seated.

“Boss, this morning we apprehended thirty-four individuals attempting to enter the company under the guise of journalists. They’ve all been handed over to the public security bureau.”

Zhu Lan nodded. “The security department did very well today—no mistakes at all. But don’t think this means your job is about to get easier. From now on, your work will be even more critical. You’ve seen what happened today. If you need anything, or any equipment, tell me and I’ll do my best to provide. But you must guarantee the company’s security at all costs!”

“Yes, sir!”

“To be honest, today’s press conference was a failure. Although I expected it, facing this failure still pains me.”

“But Boss, didn’t we achieve our objectives? In that sense, wasn’t the conference a success?”

Zhu Lan shook his head. “No. I never intended to unveil the 002 model—it should have been the 004. But the journalists wouldn’t let go of the gene optimization serum issue. If we don’t give a clear explanation, things will get troublesome. We could find ourselves facing not just commercial spies, but national ones from countries like the United States as soon as tomorrow.”

Everyone frowned at Zhu Lan’s words.

Indeed, since the gene optimization serum, Fantasy Technology had never been free of commercial espionage. In just half a year, they had apprehended one hundred and forty-seven suspected spies, all handed over to the public security system, with seventy-six deported. In a port city, these numbers wouldn’t raise eyebrows, but in this city, it was staggering.

“If that’s the case, Boss, we need to standardize our statements. Otherwise, those journalists will be a real headache.”

“Yes, that’s why you’re all here.”

“Pass the word down—no one is to disclose any information about the robots to outsiders.”

“Huh?” They had expected Zhu Lan to discuss the robot’s technical details, not issue a gag order.

“This is a state secret,” Zhu Lan said sternly, leaving no room for dissent.

As senior staff, they were well aware of Fantasy Technology’s dealings with the military. Once matters involved state secrets, there was no room for schemes.

“One more thing: I won’t be attending tomorrow’s agency rights summit.”

“What? Boss, if you don’t go, I’m afraid those people won’t cooperate.”

Hearing Lan Tianxin’s words, Zhu Lan fell silent, then nodded. Indeed, at tomorrow’s summit, executives from many world-renowned companies would be present. If he didn’t attend, Lan Tianxin alone would never be able to hold them. Even if he did attend, it might not be enough.

“Alright, I’ll go tomorrow.”

Lan Tianxin and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief. They knew how vital this summit was. If Zhu Lan didn’t show, no one knew what to do. Tomorrow’s deals could reach into the billions—no one else could make such decisions.

“Anything else?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“If not, get back to work,” Zhu Lan said and was the first to leave.

Watching Zhu Lan go, the others shook their heads wryly. They were long accustomed to his capriciousness, and so they simply gathered their things and left.

Entering the elevator, Zhu Lan pressed his fingerprint, and the elevator sped into motion.

Soon it stopped, but the doors didn’t open. Instead, the elevator began moving sideways. When the doors finally slid open, a vast plaza stretched out before Zhu Lan.

An infrared scanner swept across his body. Only when the red warning lights turned green did Zhu Lan proceed forward.

This was Azure Base, the secret facility under construction.

On the ground above, a small building was connected by a special, large door—actually an elevator. The elevator would first descend eighty meters underground, then move laterally into Azure Base. The whole passage was monitored by intelligent systems; the exit scan was just the final safeguard against mimicry techniques that might fool the system.

In fact, the checks began upon entry, but the system wasn’t yet perfect. More comprehensive measures would be implemented once construction was complete and more equipment was installed, making the process much less cumbersome.

“Boss, welcome to Azure,” Chitu called out, flying over.

Zhu Lan merely nodded and walked to the railing, gazing down.

A cavernous space, the size of two football fields, had been hollowed out. From above, it was a massive construction site, with over a hundred robots at work. Yet, for such a vast base, a hundred robots were far too few.

There was no helping it; the production capacity was limited, and without more sophisticated equipment, mass-producing engineering robots was impossible.

To obtain such equipment, even with the fantasy system’s loosened restrictions, was still too difficult. The entire assembly line stretched over three kilometers—far beyond the limits of Zhu Lan’s mental capacity.

Thus, he could only materialize the engineering robots one by one.

But now Zhu Lan no longer needed to create complete robots—just damaged ones. Kong Yan and Chitu would salvage usable parts and reassemble them into new robots.

This method allowed Zhu Lan to create more units; he could only produce five functional engineering robots per day, but thirty damaged ones. Of those, seven or eight could be repaired, and the remaining parts were used in base construction.

The engineering robots Zhu Lan chose were modeled after machines from several space-age films. Technologically, they weren’t much ahead of Earth, but in terms of materials, they were far superior, designed for work in outer space where materials had to endure extreme conditions.

Much of the base’s construction didn’t use materials purchased from reality. Azure Base was simply too vast, and anything unusual about the inflow of large amounts of building materials would arouse suspicion, especially since Fantasy Technology was already so conspicuous.

Apart from a few small essentials, which Kong Yan acquired through various channels, most ordinary materials were materialized by Zhu Lan himself from the world of film.

In a warehouse-like area, Zhu Lan sat in a chair; before him, space rippled and twisted endlessly.

Bags of cement appeared out of thin air.

Soon, the entire three-thousand-square-meter warehouse was stacked high with them.

The most used materials in Azure Base’s construction were cement and steel rebar. These two were the ordinary materials Zhu Lan materialized the most.

Fortunately, cement was easy to produce—it was simply a mix of limestone, clay, and other basic substances, with no energy component, making it the simplest task for the fantasy system. Zhu Lan could materialize nearly ten thousand tons of cement a day if he did nothing else.

Rebar was trickier—it was iron, which contained energy, albeit in small amounts, so it still counted as an energy material. Zhu Lan had to spend much more time materializing rebar, but the sheer quantity needed for Azure Base was overwhelming. He could only produce a little each day. Still, since the number of engineering robots was limited and construction progressed slowly, Zhu Lan had enough time to gradually accumulate the necessary materials.

PS: I don’t celebrate Lantern Festival here; the real feast is on the sixteenth day of the lunar month. It’s nearly the end of the month—if my health checkup in two days goes well and my condition is stable, I’ll consider updating more frequently starting on the first. This book has dragged on a bit too long, and I feel guilty about it!