191: Chapter 191 You call this a "casual action"?

Lin Yuan looked down, his gaze falling on the metallic-sheened hard drive in his palm.

This unassuming little object contained data sufficient to make the entire science fiction film industry The Other Side of the Ocean collectively lose its composure.

They spent billions making movies, hiring top-tier visual effects teams, and using the most advanced CG technology to construct a sci-fi-filled superhero fantasy on the screen.

Audiences would sit before the screen, watch it, and sigh, "So cool," or "So advanced," before walking out of the theater to go back to laying bricks or heading to work.

The dream ends, and it remains just a dream.

But now.

This sci-fi dream that originally belonged The Other Side of the Ocean was about to wake up on the soil of Xia.

Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. In his mind, he pictured the expressions of those The Other Side of the Ocean when they saw the Xia version of "Iron Man" ascend into the sky. The dark, scheming curve of his lips deepened bit by bit.

Afterward, he calmly unzipped the black canvas bag beside the table, tossed the hard drive in casually, and zipped it back up.

...

The next morning.

Xishan Base, heavy manufacturing workshop.

Lin Yuan, with the black canvas bag slung over one shoulder, entered through the immensely heavy sealed gate.

A wave of scorching metallic heat hit his face, mingled with the sharp, high-pitched whine of high-frequency cutting tools skimming across alloy surfaces.

Inside the high-vaulted factory, heavy cranes shuttled back and forth, and gantry cranes slid with a roar along overhead tracks, precisely feeding tons of raw materials into each production line.

Countless top-tier CNC machines operated simultaneously, spindles spinning at high speeds, while coolant poured like a torrential downpour onto the contact points between the cutting heads and the workpieces, kicking up large clouds of milky-white mist.

Further away, the mouths of the special electric arc smelting furnaces glowed a dull red, the heat radiating such intense warmth that one could feel it from a great distance.

The entire workshop was buzzing with intense activity.

Engineers and technicians in protective suits worked intensely on every production line, with calls over walkie-talkies rising and falling in succession, weaving into a chaotic yet orderly industrial symphony.

Shen Changhe, wearing a hard hat and clutching a walkie-talkie, stood on an elevated platform to one side of the workshop.

He shouted at the top of his lungs into the walkie-talkie:

"Is the precision milling process for that batch of divertor bases on Line 3 finished yet?! If it's done, get them to the inspection area immediately!"

"Don't stop Line 4! The second batch of molybdenum-tungsten alloy materials will be here soon, preheat the molds!"

After yelling, he put down the walkie-talkie, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and prepared to go down from the platform to monitor another line.

A glance from the corner of his eye.

At the workshop entrance, a figure wearing a Zhongshan suit, carrying a black canvas bag on his back, and walking at a leisurely pace, was just entering from outside the gate.

Shen Changhe's eyes lit up instantly.

He took the stairs two at a time, running down the high platform with a loud clattering on the metal stairs, heading straight for Lin Yuan.

"Academician Lin, you're here!"

Shen Changhe's voice remained booming. Despite the heavy dark circles under his eyes, he was in a state of extreme excitement, his eyes shining.

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded, his gaze sweeping across the busy workshop.

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

"No problems! Everything is going smoothly!"

Shen Changhe answered crisply and clearly, then opened the floodgates, beginning to report the specific manufacturing progress to Lin Yuan.

"Academician Lin, the enthusiasm of everyone in the entire workshop is ridiculously high right now!"

"After all, the test results for that first batch of special armor materials for the mecha shocked everyone. Good heavens..."

"Tensile strength, yield limit, fracture toughness—every single data point far exceeds the limits of existing industrial-grade armor, some even several times over!"

"With this batch of materials as a foundation, everyone is working with such vigor."

"Who isn't looking forward to the completion of the Chengying Mecha?"

Lin Yuan listened, a flash of appreciation in his eyes, and nodded slightly.

"That's good. Everyone has worked hard. This progress really exceeds expectations."

Hearing this, the wrinkles on Shen Changhe's old face smoothed out, clearly pleased.

But he quickly waved his hand, speaking with emotion.

"We daren't be slow!"

"Didn't I hear you say the other day that the Controlled Nuclear Fusion project at the Institute of Atomic Energy is almost finished?"

"Not only has the optimization of the energy gain factor reached its final step, but the grid-connected trial operation has also entered its final stage."

"They are almost done over there; how could we at Xishan Base dare to drop the ball at such a critical juncture? Wouldn't that make us sinners of Xia!"

Shen Changhe said this, patting his solid chest heavily, his tone full of confidence and undisguised pride.

"Judging by current efficiency and progress."

He held up three fingers, showing them to Lin Yuan.

"Three days at most!"

"After three days, all the parts required for the eight hundred Chengying Mecha will be one hundred percent manufactured and ready, and we will officially enter the final assembly stage!"

"Very good."

Lin Yuan nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this.

"Thank you for your hard work, Chief Engineer Shen."

Assembly could begin in just three more days.

This was the terrifying execution power that the state machine of Xia could unleash upon the world once it poured all its resources into something without reservation.

Shen Changhe felt very comfortable after receiving the compliment.

But before his smile had completely faded, his gaze drifted involuntarily toward the black canvas bag on Lin Yuan's shoulder.

He blinked, a look of deep confusion appearing on his face.

Half a month ago, Lin Yuan had come over carrying this very bag, slammed five hard drives onto the table, and thrown the entire set of technical specifications for the Chengying Mecha in their faces.

However, the blueprints for the mecha had clearly already been distributed, and every production line was manufacturing parts according to schedule.

They were on the verge of entering the final assembly stage.

What was the meaning of bringing this bag today?

Shen Changhe's gaze lingered on the canvas bag for two seconds. It felt as if hundreds of ants were crawling in his heart, and finally, he couldn't help himself.

"Academician Lin, I see you've brought this bag again today..."

He carefully weighed his words and asked tentatively.

"So, what's inside it today?"

"Could it be... something new for other projects under the south heaven gate project?"

Lin Yuan shook his head and chuckled softly upon hearing this.

He casually took the canvas bag off his shoulder and placed it, with an extremely nonchalant gesture, on an empty metal workbench nearby.

"Swish—"

The zipper opened.

Following that, he took out the matte black encrypted hard drive and proceeded to speak.

"It's not something from the south heaven gate sequence."

"However, it does have some origins related to the Chengying technology system."

Upon hearing "not from the south heaven gate sequence," the confusion on Shen Changhe's face didn't fade; instead, it deepened.

Lin Yuan looked at his baffled expression and didn't keep him in suspense any longer.

"Inside this is a set of technical specifications for the implementation of a man-portable battle armor."

"While I was pushing forward with the Chengying Mecha during this time, I also took the heavy mecha architecture and miniaturized and integrated it."

"Modeled after Iron Man, I just happened to put this together."

When Shen Changhe heard the words "man-portable mecha," he was stunned for a moment.

Man-portable mecha?

His mind quickly conjured up an upgraded version of exoskeleton armor, or perhaps some sort of miniaturized Chengying reduced in volume for special operations.

Regarding Lin Yuan casually creating a man-portable version after coming up with a five- or six-meter-tall heavy mecha, Shen Changhe was surprised, but given the previous groundwork, he found it reasonable.

As for the sentence that followed immediately after, "modeled after Iron Man"...

Shen Changhe's two gray eyebrows knitted tightly together, his face full of bewilderment.

Iron Man?

Is this some new military industrial code name?

The older generation of military industry titans had spent most of their lives buried in blueprints and workshops; where would they find the time to watch those popcorn sci-fi movies made The Other Side of the Ocean?

He didn't have much of a concept for this term.

However, Shen Changhe hadn't reacted.

A young researcher who happened to be passing by, the moment he heard Lin Yuan's words, widened his eyes completely, unable to suppress his inner shock, and blurted out in exclamation:

"Holy crap, Iron Man!?"