377: Chapter 376 Suspension?

The story of the carrot and the stick has been going on for thousands of years. Since the dawn of humanity, people have constantly fallen for this seemingly simple ploy, whether they were high-and-mighty emperors or ordinary peddlers and foot soldiers, without exception.

This only proves one point: human greed is consistent; the only differences lie in the magnitude of the temptation and the cost of implementing the scheme.

The old men exchanged glances, and the one in the center said, "Leave this matter to you. The investment affairs can be handed over to Maple Leaf Group."

"It cannot be Maple Leaf directly," Zhi Shu said, shaking his head slightly. "Maple Leaf Group is too large, and it has long-standing friction with Chen Group. Wang Shuo might very well reject the investment for this reason."

"To ensure the smooth progress of the plan, I will go to Hanzhong City myself this time."

The old man frowned slightly and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

"Wang Shuo is just a small fry. The people behind him and the Chinese Government are the keys to the plan we are formulating."

Zhi Shu revealed a confident smile. "I am going to meet this Wang Shuo to see if it is possible to win him over to our side. Through him, we can slowly erode the research team behind him. By then, regardless of whether the plan succeeds or fails, we can guarantee a profit."

The old man was silent for a moment before saying, "Mind your limits. We are not the only ones eyeing the Frontier Technology Artificial Intelligence code; The Freemasons, the Restoration Alliance, and even some leading enterprises within China are all involved. Once Frontier Technology is incorporated by the Chinese Government, they will move to seize it. Now is not a good time to win over Wang Shuo."

"Balance?"

Zhi Shu smiled faintly. "I understand. I will not break this fragile balance."

"I hope you can keep your word."

The old man took a deep look at Zhi Shu and hung up the communication.

The small room in the villa fell into silence. Zhi Shu sat quietly on the sofa, lost in thought. After a long while, he suddenly sneered.

"Stupid."

Zhi Shu raised his head and looked at the screen that had already gone dark.

"Too many wolves and not enough meat. If one doesn't take risks... how can one achieve their goals?"

...

Hanzhong City, Storage Center.

Wang Shuo stood in front of the test platform, carefully fiddling with a device in front of him that looked extremely intricate.

The device was not large, appearing as a ring-shaped object made of several nested rings. It was covered in dense, engraved patterns. Looking closely, one could see a pale silver metal filament embedded in every carved groove.

At this moment, under Wang Shuo's control, several mechanical arms extended their slender metal limbs, skillfully wrapping layer after layer of pale yellow metal wire around the inner ring.

Wang Shuo carefully observed the process, and when the wire wrapping was complete, he promptly operated several mechanical arms to move forward and perform synchronous welding.

Two metal filaments were pulled out from inside the device and connected to a power source that had been prepared on the side.

Seeing that this massive project was nearing its end, Wang Shuo couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Zero, how is the establishment of the compression theoretical model coming along?"

"It is currently being established, sir."

Zero replied, "The basic technical reserves applied to this device do not have ready-made prototypes; they need to be constructed synchronously. It is eighty-seven percent complete."

Wang Shuo nodded. "If this is successful, add the data parameters into the theoretical model for adjustments and complete the construction as soon as possible. In the future, all compression parameters will be calculated through this model, with output data precise to the thousandths place."

"Understood, sir."

Ten minutes later, the welding was complete.

A ring-shaped artifact, about twenty-five centimeters in diameter with three nested layers, appeared before Wang Shuo, resting quietly on a tray.

The entire body shimmered with a faint light. Without any decoration, the artifact looked like a piece of art that simultaneously exuded both ruggedness and exquisiteness.

Wang Shuo nodded in satisfaction. It was not easy to build this thing, and the appearance really didn't matter. As long as the theory was successful, there would be plenty of time to optimize the design.

"Zero, connect the power and start the test."

A slight humming sound rang out, but the artifact remained motionless.

Glancing at the power meter and confirming that the current was being input, Wang Shuo frowned slightly. "Zero, increase the power by twenty percent."

This time, the artifact trembled slightly.

Wang Shuo's eyes lit up. "Zero, continue to increase the power!"

The amplitude of the artifact's trembling slowly increased.

Wang Shuo watched intently. Beside him, a mechanical arm holding a camera quietly acted as an automatic tripod.

The power output continued to rise.

1000W, 1200W, 1400W...

The moment the data reached 3000W, the disk on the tray jolted violently, and then, like an erupting rocket, it shot straight up to the factory roof under Wang Shuo's stunned gaze.

"Bang!"

"Clatter!"

The sound of the impact and the sound of it falling came almost simultaneously.

Wang Shuo stared blankly at the empty tray, only snapping out of his daze when a mechanical arm, from who knows where, picked up the fallen disk and placed it back on the tray.

"Zero, give me the data!" Wang Shuo shouted.

"Sir, according to estimates, the device's instantaneous power consumption was 3200W, voltage 36V, instantaneous speed exceeded 80 kilometers per hour, the vector direction was consistent with the simulation calculations, the thrust direction was normal, the operating status was normal, the wear and tear was normal, and it was not completely damaged after the impact..."

A series of data points were transmitted. Wang Shuo carefully examined the ring-shaped device on the tray, seeing that apart from some bumps on the surface, there was no other damage; the filaments embedded in the disk and the metal wires wrapped around the inner ring remained intact.

"The quality is not bad," Wang Shuo smiled faintly.

This was to be expected. While these external rings looked like metal—and indeed were metal—to ensure the superconducting coils could function at their maximum potential, these rings were made of a non-magnetic metal alloy.

Just for the ratio of this metal alloy, he had spent no less than three days experimenting.

Theoretical research, physical fabrication, continuous experimentation.

It had taken over a month, but Wang Shuo had finally managed to create the finished device before him. Now, the hope of success was right before his eyes.

Reconnecting the power cord and setting the device in place, Wang Shuo said, "Zero, proceed with the second experiment. Continue testing with 36V voltage and slowly increase the power in units starting from 3000W."

"Understood, sir."

The power instantly reached 3000W, and the ring-shaped device began to tremble. Everything was the same as before, which allowed Wang Shuo to relax his raised heart.

This thing was quite sturdy; after such an impact, not only was the exterior not significantly damaged, but there was also no internal damage whatsoever.

The power was slowly increased in units of 10, and the amplitude of the device's trembling grew larger and larger.

When the power reached 3080W, the entire ring was like a spinning top about to stop, swaying gently in the tray, with the collisions with the tray emitting a continuous, subtle "clatter-clatter-clatter" sound.

Increasing the power by another 10W.

Wang Shuo saw the device in the tray tremble and lift off from the tray; although it was only a hair's breadth, Wang Shuo keenly noticed it. Wang Shuo couldn't help but hold his breath.

The power was increased again, to 3100W.

The ring-shaped object in the tray trembled slightly, and all the trembling immediately vanished, as calm as if it had never trembled at all.

A strange sensation emerged from around the device, as if a pair of invisible hands were supporting it, slowly lifting it away from the support surface and suspending it in mid-air!