Zhong Yun sat in the luxury car dispatched by Zhong Pingjiang, chin resting in his hand, lips pursed, a look of distraction on his face as he replayed the feeling from earlier.

After a long moment, he shook his head, driving the intoxicating scene from his mind, sinking deeper into the soft seat. He rubbed his temples hard.

He couldn't quite figure out what had just happened; how he could have suddenly been overcome by animalistic urges and nearly assaulted Xiao Ruo. His self-control had always been sound; how could he have acted so brutishly today?

Thank goodness he hadn't actually assaulted her. Thinking of this brought a wave of relief. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't know how to face Yun Qi. If the girlfriend he’d worked so hard to win back slipped away just like that, there would be no place for him to cry.

As for the seductive words Yang Tianlie had spoken, he had filtered them out entirely. Though they occasionally echoed in his ears, he was firm in his resistance against that temptation.

Zhong Yun didn't believe that a woman like Yun Qi would turn a blind eye to her man fooling around outside.

Undeniably, Liu Yunqi held the most important place in his heart. No other girl could compare. Suddenly, a pair of amber eyes flashed across his mind...

Zhong Yun felt a jolt of alarm and immediately suppressed that thought forming in his heart.

It must be that the supplements he’d been taking recently were too potent, causing this internal heat. Zhong Yun intentionally and unintentionally shifted his thoughts elsewhere. Seventeen years old—truly the age of surging blood and vigor. It seemed he needed to keep a good distance from Xiao Ruo in the future, yes, and maintain distance from other beautiful young women. If something like what just happened occurred again...

Perhaps, when he got back, he should ask Xiao Ling to crack open a few adult websites for him?

His mind was swirling with scattered thoughts. The shuttle finally stopped in front of the Zhong Corporation building, and Zhong Yun alighted. First, he would deliver that pot of soup to his parents.

After what had happened, even though there was no substantial physical contact between them, the thin layer of clothing hadn't made much difference. Afterward, Xiao Ruo had immediately covered her face and fled back to her room.

Feeling ashamed to face her, Zhong Yun collected the soup and left the house alone in the shuttle.

Zhong Pingjiang was quite surprised. Although his son was picky, he never stepped foot in the kitchen. How could he suddenly think of making them soup?

“Did you cook this?” Opening the preserved lunchbox, a thick plume of fragrant white steam billowed up, assaulting his nostrils.

“I don't have that kind of skill,” Zhong Yun laughed, twitching his nose. He thought, Xiao Ruo’s standard isn't bad; I never knew she could make soup before.

“It was Xiao Ruo, wasn’t it?” Mentioning Xiao Ruo brought visible delight to Zhong Pingjiang’s brow, which only made Zhong Yun feel guiltier. If Dad found out how I molested her, would he whip me?

“You drink slowly; I’m heading to the R&D department first.” Zhong Yun quickly slipped away.

“Go call your mother over too,” Zhong Pingjiang called out. Zhong Yun pretended not to hear and slipped out the door.

Walking toward the R&D department, he thought that he probably shouldn't go home for the next few days; he needed to lay low for a while. Otherwise, his parents would surely see something amiss, and then he would be in deep trouble.

Arriving at R&D, Huang Jian was already waiting for him. The moment he saw Zhong Yun, he rolled up his sleeves. “You need to strip parts? I’m all ready.”

Despite being the Vice Minister of the Zhong Corporation’s R&D department, Huang Jian still wore his usual grubby yellow work uniform, looking just like an ordinary laborer.

Hearing him, Zhong Yun couldn't help but feel amused. He recalled that more than a year ago, when Zhong Yun needed to dismantle several large pieces of equipment to build a ‘Qifa Wave’ instrument to save the ‘Crystal Glaze Rose’ that Yang Siqing possessed, Huang Jian had vehemently objected. Now, he was eager to act as the vanguard of disassembly. This huge contrast in attitude made Zhong Yun sigh inwardly.

Zhong Yun had been the one to bring Huang Jian into the Zhong Corporation. At that time, the corporation was just starting out and lacked prestige, naturally failing to attract top talent. When Huang Jian, a B-grade Mechanic, was recruited, Zhong Pingjiang was overjoyed and entrusted him with crucial responsibilities.

Huang Jian joined because of Zhong Yun. The ‘Zhong-Shi Stabilizer’ had mesmerized him, a man who had spent his entire life dealing with machinery. Zhong Yun, in turn, needed a trustworthy and capable mechanical expert to help him perfect some of the process issues. They instantly clicked.

When registering the patent for the ‘Zhong-Shi Stabilizer,’ Zhong Yun even included Huang Jian’s name as an assistant.

Huang Jian was now an A-grade Mechanic.

“Our statuses are different now; how can we do something so crude?” Every time Zhong Yun saw the simple-minded, stubborn Huang Jian, he couldn’t resist teasing him.

Huang Jian scratched his head, chuckling sheepishly. He was too excited. During the negotiations in the Presidential Office, he wasn't interested in the cooperation details, but the four technologies mentioned repeatedly had stirred his soul intensely. Just by hearing their names and some cooperation details, he could already roughly guess what they were, filling him with immense excitement. Being able to participate in the development and research of such epoch-making technology was the greatest dream of his life.

Just then, a middle-aged man in a formal suit, probably in his forties, walked over. Seeing Zhong Yun, his eyes lit up. “You must be Zhong Yun. Everything is prepared.”

This was Jia Suli, the Minister of the Zhong Corporation’s R&D department. Besides holding the title of A-grade Mechanical Engineer, he had joined the department later and was also Zhong Pingjiang’s university classmate. However, the reason Jia Suli earned Huang Jian's genuine respect and conceded the position of R&D Minister was not just his outstanding professional ability but also his high skill in winning people over.

Being addressed with a respectful term by an elder made Zhong Yun a bit uncomfortable. “Manager Jia, just call me Xiao Yun.”

Jia Suli smiled faintly. “The capable lead the way. With your skill level, you’re more than qualified to teach me. Age doesn’t hold much significance for us researchers.”

Saying anything more would be overly affected. Let him call him what he wished. When one’s status reaches a certain height, one must always adapt to the different gazes of those around.

The purpose of Zhong Yun’s visit to R&D was to create physical prototypes of those four technologies and submit them for the President’s review; only then would the specific aid truly arrive. If Zhong Yun hadn't produced the physical items within a week, the Zhong Corporation would have faced severe embarrassment.

The R&D department was located three full floors underground in the building, making it the largest department in the Zhong Corporation. But if the thousand B-grade and three hundred A-grade engineers from the National Academy of Sciences arrived later, this space would seem too small.

Zhong Yun didn't need to worry about this issue; the President would handle it for him. Now, he just needed to devote himself wholeheartedly to manufacturing the physical items.

As soon as he left the Presidential Office, Zhong Yun had drawn up a list and asked his father to send people to purchase supplies. To save time, everything he bought this time was off-the-shelf components. Since he had already made his move, there was no need to conceal anything further.

He was quite satisfied with the Zhong Corporation's efficiency. In such a short time, almost everything he needed to buy had been procured. The rest awaited the President’s transfer.

The first thing Zhong Yun began constructing was the ‘Spatial Remote Sensor.’ It could be built using existing equipment. Before he had the ‘Manual Assist Device,’ he had already built an ultra-simplified version. Although Xiao Ling broke it after less than ten uses, at least it functioned. This time, he intended to build a formal version, which required some specialized equipment.

Zhong Yun requested only Huang Jian as his assistant, sending everyone else away. Before the formal aid arrived, he didn't want these technologies leaking, even though the probability of leakage was minimal. He didn't want to take the risk.

Huang Jian was an excellent assistant; he could complete assigned tasks quickly.

The formal version of the ‘Spatial Remote Sensor’ required over a dozen core components, none of which could be found ready-made in Dawa; they had to be fabricated.

They spent over eight hours just to manufacture four prototypes.

After packaging them, Zhong Yun personally handed them over to the Presidential Office personnel who were waiting. The Presidential Office had dispatched an entire mecha squadron—a massive contingent—to guard these four ‘Spatial Remote Sensors,’ illustrating the degree of their concern.

The ‘Spatial Remote Sensors’ safely reached the Presidential Office, where a crowd of experts awaited to begin testing the four devices.

The results greatly satisfied the President and the cabinet members. After appraisal by the nation’s top scientists, these four ‘Spatial Remote Sensors’ were not only superior in performance but also compact and portable, unlike the current bulky models.

The President nodded and immediately ordered three of them sent to the Ministry of Military Supplies, while the remaining one was taken by the scientists to a pre-arranged laboratory. Shi Jinfan would not put all his eggs in Zhong Yun's basket. He gathered the country's most outstanding experts in communications to see if they could crack this technology.

Less than three hours after the ‘Spatial Remote Sensors’ were sent off, a large shipment of top-tier equipment, absolutely unobtainable on the open market, was moved into the Zhong Corporation offices. Following the equipment came one hundred B-grade engineers and ten A-grade engineers.

Whether it was the ‘High-Strength Alloy,’ the ‘Energy Amplifier,’ or the ‘Stealth Mecha,’ the Zhong Corporation’s existing laboratories could not meet the necessary specifications. Both the equipment and the personnel fell short of Zhong Yun’s requirements. The more advanced the technology, the more outstanding equipment and talent it demanded.

Manufacturing the ‘High-Strength Alloy’ wasn't the issue; the machinery to create it was the major problem. Dawa’s smelting equipment simply couldn't meet the standards.

Therefore, Zhong Yun first had to construct an entirely new smelting apparatus. This apparatus required several components unavailable in Dawa, which in turn required vast support from entirely new technologies spanning several fields, all without pre-existing theoretical backing...

Thus, for Zhong Yun to create the ‘High-Strength Alloy,’ the very first step was to write hundreds of entirely new theoretical frameworks...

P: The next chapter will be quite late; brothers who have work tomorrow should not wait up.

Recommending a book, a Star Trek farming novel, The Sky Civilization: Transforming ancient tribal strongholds into domed fortresses of the cosmic era. From initial bean planting and cattle raising to later cultivation of star fruit and rearing winged dragons, striving to depict a magnificent, vast scroll of cosmic cultivation.