301: Chapter 300 Mysterious Equipment

Beijing.

General Zheng looked at the phone with its screen still lit on the table, his expression deep and solemn.

A few minutes later, he picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

With almost no delay, the call was connected instantly.

"Chief."

A cool, clear voice came from the other end of the line.

"It's me."

General Zheng nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Arrive at my office within ten minutes. Bring the list of retired personnel."

The voice on the other end was loud and meticulous.

"Yes!"

...

On the other side.

Instructor Duan Chengwu also looked at the phone that had already been hung up. After a long while, he let out a soft breath and put the phone away.

The goal he wanted had been achieved, but this result did not make him feel happy.

Instructor Duan Chengwu looked up at the grey-white building, which had become somewhat dark due to the fading daylight. The doorless and windowless openings looked like an abyss waiting to devour people.

He did not know how many people would be dragged into the quagmire he had chosen for them.

He also did not know how many people would lose their lives because of this, turning into nameless heroes who could not even have a photo on their tombstones, only their names.

A choice?

Instructor Duan Chengwu smiled with relief.

In life, where are there so many choices?

As long as one believes it is right, one must walk all the way to the end.

Until... there is no way left to go.

Now he only hoped that his choice would allow him to walk further on this road.

Apart from that, he had no other choice.

Perhaps... he had never really had a choice to begin with.

...

Shancheng.

Yunsheng Equipment Factory.

Shen Yan was operating his equipment listlessly, somewhat distracted.

Nearly a week had passed since Wang Shuo took over Yunsheng Equipment Factory.

Over the past week, many major events had occurred at Yunsheng Equipment Factory.

The first, of course, was the renaming of Yunsheng Equipment Factory.

With a stroke of Wang Shuo's pen, Yunsheng Equipment Factory was officially renamed First Equipment Factory, codenamed 113. Its nature changed from collective ownership to mixed ownership, and they, the workers, went from being glorious state-owned enterprise employees to private enterprise employees.

The second matter, of course, was the issue of the workers' retention.

After this whole ordeal by the new boss, nearly a third of the workers had left. The factory, which originally had over four hundred people, was now struggling to support itself with fewer than three hundred people left. Even their old factory manager and nearly half of the management team had chosen to resign. The only thing that surprised Shen Yan was that the old factory manager's favorite, Zhou Ping, had suddenly transformed into the acting factory manager of the new factory, responsible for managing the entire factory's production and operations.

Whether there was some unspeakable benefit exchange in this, no one knew.

Of course, those who stayed were not without gains.

Although the compensation received by those who left was very high and enviable, the treatment for those who stayed was not bad either. Basically, everyone's base salary had increased by about one thousand, and the new boss also promised to distribute ten percent of the factory's profits as dividends to everyone.

This meant that the more they worked in the future, the higher their income would be. Of course, the premise was that the products produced had a market.

But this was also the thing that worried Shen Yan the most.

The factory had stopped production for nearly a week.

Moreover, even if equipment was produced, it was not necessarily going to have a market.

Previously, the factory could barely survive because there were procurement orders from the military. Although the share allocated was not much, the military procurement, even just a little bit leaking through their fingers, was enough for them to make a profit and survive.

The performance and quality of such products became secondary issues.

But now it was different.

The military's orders had been cancelled, and the supply channels for raw materials had also been cut off. The factory was now in a state of complete distress, relying entirely on the funds brought by the new boss to support it.

It was said that Acting Factory Manager Zhou Ping had already gone to Donghai City to find a way to solve the raw material problem, but Shen Yan did not hold much hope for this.

Even if they could produce normally now, the price and quality of the finished products might not necessarily have an advantage in the China market. The military might not necessarily adopt their own equipment, and sales channels were still a problem.

Military equipment, in the current environment in China, where else could it be sold if not to the military?

Engage in exports?

Shen Yan felt it was very unreliable just thinking about it.

Without income, there was no profit, no dividends, and no bonuses for them.

These were minor issues; more importantly: without income, the factory would become a leech that kept sucking blood until it drained the new boss dry.

And the measures most bosses would take at this time were almost certain, which was... layoffs.

So... was he about to be unemployed?

Shen Yan was slightly dazed, not understanding why the situation had suddenly become so serious.

Just as he was about to sort out the logical relationship of this matter from the beginning, the outside of the workshop suddenly became noisy.

A worker ran into the workshop panting and said loudly, "They're here! Factory Manager Zhou and the others are back! There are so many cars! They are all trailer trucks!"

Cars?

Shen Yan was slightly stunned, then followed the crowd out of the workshop.

Sure enough, at the factory gate which could be seen at a glance, trailer trucks pulling heavy cargo boxes wrapped in tarpaulins were driving into the factory area one by one.

Counting slightly, there were as many as a dozen.

And at the very front of these vehicles, beside a black commercial vehicle, the newly appointed Acting Factory Manager Zhou Ping stood in front of the car door with a smile, saying something to several people in blue and white clothes who had just gotten off the car.

His attitude seemed somewhat respectful.

Shen Yan keenly noticed that beside each of these people in blue and white clothes, a spherical object was floating.

If it were just one spherical object floating, it wouldn't have made him pay too much attention, but the problem was that a similar spherical object was floating beside every person in blue and white clothes.

Two wings were spread out, making a slight buzzing sound, and the scene looked strange yet harmonious.

"Who are these people? What are these things?"

"You don't even know this? How long have you not been online? You don't even recognize the zero egg?"

"zero egg? A Drone?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, come, let me popularize the zero egg for you properly. This is not some Drone..."

...

Listening to the exclamations of his colleagues in his ears, Shen Yan slightly collected his mind. When his gaze swept across the face of one of the people in blue and white, he was suddenly stunned.

"This is..."

Shen Yan opened his eyes wide as he looked at the person, murmuring: "Jiang Jun?"

He couldn't believe his eyes. He observed carefully—the nose, eyebrows, eyes, and that iconic slightly chubby square face. Apart from the calm expression on his face, it was indeed the Jiang Jun who had joined the factory with him.

Unlike him, Jiang Jun loved Weapon design, but had no talent for operating processing equipment. So after joining the factory, he went straight to the research institute. It was said that he even apprenticed under a mentor with a high professional title.

It was a pity that the famous Weapon design expert passed away due to illness last year, and the project he had prepared for a long time was cancelled because of this. For this reason, he had specifically gone to comfort Jiang Jun.

But shouldn't he be working at the factory's research institute?

Why was he with Factory Manager Zhou? And wearing this strange uniform?

Why did Factory Manager Zhou seem to be fawning over him?

If you don't understand, you have to ask. Shen Yan silently brushed past the crowd and walked towards the Acting Factory Manager and Jiang Jun and the others.

At this time, Factory Manager Zhou had already been surrounded by other employees in the factory. He scanned the employees and said with a smile to Jiang Jun and the others standing next to him:

"Boss Wang is truly amazing. You have only been gone for a few days, and you have been reborn. It surprises me."

"Factory Manager Zhou is too polite."

Wang Jie also said with a smile.

He could pretend to be cold and maintain a profound posture according to the requirements when dealing with others, but there seemed to be no need to do so in his own factory.

"It's not politeness, I really admire Boss Wang."

Zhou Ping smacked his lips, thinking of the scene he saw in Donghai City.

He did not expect that this Wang Shuo who took over his factory was the boss of the Artificial Intelligence company that was making a huge stir on the internet and had become popular.

No wonder he had such strong capital at a young age. According to the pre-sale volume of the zero egg, taking out tens of millions or hundreds of millions was like child's play, right?

Coming back to his senses, Zhou Ping glanced at the trailer trucks that had parked in the loading and unloading area and asked: "I don't know what instructions Boss Wang has for sending you here this time?"

Originally, according to the plan, he could return to Shancheng directly after signing the procurement contract after arriving in Donghai City.

But just when he was on his way back, he was told that someone needed to accompany him.

Then, he waited for as many as ten trailer trucks and Wang Jie and others.

"Instructions, I dare not claim."

Wang Jie waved his hand: "The first rule Boss Wang set for us is not to participate in the factory's business activities except for technical support. These matters are entirely up to you, Factory Manager Zhou."

Looking at Wang Jie's sincere eyes, Zhou Ping breathed a sigh of relief.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried. Although he didn't have much pursuit for the position, if he could be a factory manager, who would want to go back to being a technical staff member?

Even if it was the head of the technical department in charge of the entire factory's logistics, it was not as comfortable as the position of factory manager.

The smile on his face became more enthusiastic, and Zhou Ping said with a smile: "Almost forgot, you are all people from the headquarters' scientific research department now. You are still so young, you will have a bright future."

Wang Jie shook his head slightly and smiled: "I will accept Factory Manager Zhou's kind words."

Then he said again: "Our task this time is very simple: to guide the workers to replace some of the outdated equipment and establish a new equipment production line."

Wang Jie pointed to the dozen or so large trucks behind him.

"The equipment inside is the first batch of equipment supported by Boss Wang for us, all of which are brand-new equipment manufactured by the equipment manufacturing plant under the Chen Group."

Zhou Ping nodded slightly.

In his heart, he couldn't help but sigh. This is truly a big move. This is a big move that he and the old factory manager had looked forward to for so many years but never realized.

Just these pieces of equipment alone are estimated to be worth tens of millions.

Wealthy people are indeed bold.

Thinking of the hard days he had lived before, that was no life for a human. He wished he could split a dollar into several pieces to spend. The annual profits were almost all invested in the bottomless pit of the research institute.

Even so, he didn't see their factory come up with anything good.

Now it's good. The research institute has been incorporated by Frontier Technology, the factory has ushered in new equipment, and staff treatment has also been improved. People's hearts are very stable, and everything is moving in a good direction.

"These devices are all pre-installed with the latest Mark I System. There is no problem with the functions. As for the precision, it is enough for the time being."

"This is the equipment list. Factory Manager Zhou, please take a look. If there is no problem, please sign for it."

Wang Jie took out a document from somewhere and handed it to Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping took it, looking at the items listed on the list, his hands trembling slightly. He raised his head and asked, barely calm: "Excuse me, can I wait until the unloading is finished before checking and signing?"

"Of course you can."

Wang Jie nodded and said: "Please arrange for personnel to unload the goods as soon as possible, Factory Manager Zhou. Please be careful when unloading. They are all valuable things."

As he spoke, he pointed to the several trailers in the distance again.

"Inside there are the raw materials that Boss Wang entrusted me to deliver to Factory Manager Zhou. This time they have been transported together, enough for the factory to use for two months."

"That's great, that's great."

Zhou Ping was so excited that he couldn't speak, and sighed: "Thank Boss Wang for me. If it weren't for Boss Wang, our factory would really be finished."

"I will definitely convey it."

Wang Jie nodded.

"There is one more thing."

Jiang Jun, who had been standing next to Wang Jie pretending to be cold, suddenly said: "Please ask Factory Manager Zhou to send a few people to assist us in unloading the things on the last truck in advance. There may be equipment we need inside."

"No problem."

Zhou Ping nodded gently, smiling, and waved his hand towards the surrounding crowd: "You, you, and you, you few, go help the headquarters engineers unload the things."

Where the finger pointed, several people came out one after another.

One of them had a handsome face, and his light blue mechanic suit was stained with a few blobs of oil.

It was Shen Yan who had just walked into the crowd.

Jiang Jun, standing next to Wang Jie, swept across Shen Yan, his eyes slightly brightened.

"Shen Yan."

"Jiang Jun."

The two smiled at each other. Jiang Jun patted Shen Yan on the shoulder, nodded slightly, and then waved to the few people selected: "Let's go, help us move things down. The sooner we finish the work, the sooner we can go back."

A group of people immediately set off towards the last trailer truck.

The distance was not far, and they arrived soon.

The few people were all young men, and their movements were extremely deft. In a few strokes, they removed the fixation and pulled open the tarpaulin covering it.

As the tarpaulin slid down, the things loaded on the flatbed truck were immediately revealed before their eyes.

There was nothing surprising about the front of the vehicle; it was bundles of Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber cloth material, stacked neatly and fixed on the base in a very orderly manner.

What was really puzzling was the rear of the vehicle.

These were several wooden boxes stacked together.

About one meter seventy or eighty in height, but the thickness was only about forty Centimeter.

They were firmly fixed on the flatbed truck by four ropes, and there was no buffer material between the boxes.

Untying the fixing ropes, Shen Yan and the others lifted a box.

It was not as heavy as imagined when they held it, feeling at most about forty or fifty jin.

Several people were a bit strange.

These were the mysterious equipment in Jiang Jun's mouth?

Seeing that Shen Yan and the others had already moved the boxes down, the number was just right, exactly five.

"Jiang Jun, what exactly is this?"

Shen Yan came to Jiang Jun's side and asked strangely.

He originally thought it would be a tough battle, but it ended so hastily, which made him even more curious.

The others also gathered around the boxes, looking curiously.

"I don't know." Jiang Jun shook his head slightly: "This is the thing Boss Wang gave us before we set off. I don't know the specifics either. Wang Jie, what do you think it could be?"

Wang Jie also shook his head gently.

"Forget it, no matter what it is, it must be useful for our mission, otherwise, Boss Wang wouldn't need to specifically instruct it."

Jiang Jun said, picking up the pry bar that had been prepared on the side.

"Open it and you will know. I hope it's good stuff, otherwise, we'll have to work until the day after tomorrow. I don't want to delay the zero egg exam. This time, no matter what, I have to pass the level three authorization exam. Otherwise, it would be too shameful."

Speaking of the exam, the other three members who had been standing on the side without speaking also showed a trace of heat.

Wang Jie quickly said: "Hush, have you forgotten Team Leader Han's requirements?"

Jiang Jun hurriedly lowered his voice, just inserting the pry bar into the gap of the wooden board, and exerting force gently. A corner of the wooden box lid was immediately pried open. Continuing to exert force, only a loud "pop" sound was heard.

The wooden box lid... broke into two pieces.

Jiang Jun was staggered by his own strength, almost failing to maintain his expert image, and blurted out a swear word.

When he stood firm again, he found that everyone was silent, eyes staring straight at the inside of the wooden box.

What happened?

Feeling a bit strange in his heart, Jiang Jun also cast his gaze at the things in the wooden box, and a silver-white light flashed across his eyes.

When he saw the things in the box clearly, he was stunned on the spot, and a huge exclamation popped up in his mind:

"Holy... crap!?"