A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

As the two messengers, Lao Wang and the other two soldiers, rode their sidecar motorcycles and disappeared into the night, Lao Wang's face darkened completely.

"Damn it... these days it feels like some people are getting more and more out of control and less and less disciplined?" Old Wang was going around in circles like a donkey pulling a millstone, not even bothering to read the IEC travelogue.

"Your organizational structure and project affiliation in Jiangxia are clearly under the jurisdiction of the First Ministry of Machine Building and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. Your relationship with our base is one of cooperation, at most you're a 'guest'. No matter how 'important' his internal naval 'studies' are, they have no say in your affairs! What is this? Forcing a cow to drink water? Or do you think you're young and easy to manipulate, and want to 'correct' you as well?"

Jiang Xia didn't express any opinion, but just held his head and wondered if this could be considered the little tiger's backup plan.

Now that you've made your move, wouldn't it be a disservice to this era of waving red flags if I didn't respond?

Wait a minute... isn't this level of underhanded tactic a bit too low-class?

The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is?

Before Jiang Xia could figure it out, Old Wang finally stopped, spat, and said, "No, this can't be left like this. If you really don't want to go tomorrow, I... I'll think about it and see if I can find a way to help you cancel."

Just as Jiang Xia was about to ask him what his solution was, the phone on the table suddenly rang, its sharp ringing particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Jiang Xia waved to Old Wang and walked straight over to pick up the receiver: "Hello, it's me."

A fast-paced, slightly excited voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh? Really? Tell me more?"

Seeing that Jiang Xia was quite interested in starting a long conversation, Lao Wang thoughtfully handed Jiang Xia his usual notebook to him, helped Jiang Xia close the small partition in the phone booth, and returned to his desk to start deep in thought.

Help Jiangxia decline this clearly overstepping-the-limit "study" opportunity?

Administratively, Jiangxia is under the dual management of the Research Institute and the First Ministry of Machine Building, but fundamentally it is under the jurisdiction of the General Armament Department and the Science and Technology Commission. Theoretically, the Navy cannot reach out to them. However, since the other party dared to issue the notice, they probably had already prepared their excuses, such as "all personnel of the base" and "unifying thinking". If they resisted, they would only give the enemy grounds for criticism.

Should I talk to a high-ranking person I know within the Navy?

Judging from the lights in the hall that have been burning all night, and the messenger's words "all night," it's likely that the naval commanders who actually have a say are currently stuck in the discussion of the "four firsts" and can't get out of it.

Should we hasten our retreat back to Beijing tomorrow?

That would give others a handle to use against him, and it would also make his own brother lose face for no reason!

Believe it or not, as long as Jiang Xia runs away tomorrow, the label of "lacking collective consciousness" will be pinned on Jiang Xia's head all the way from Dalian to Beijing!

Yes, Old Wang is also wondering if this is the work of that little tiger.

"This is difficult..." Old Wang muttered to himself, feeling like he was punching cotton. The other party was using a "legitimate scheme," using a high-sounding banner and following a formal notification procedure. If you insisted on opposing it, you would be accused of "not cooperating" or "having ideological problems."

Yes, that's the rule within the system: everything must have a legitimate reason and follow the correct procedures.

Just like the ancestors of the Han Dynasty, if they wanted to wage war against the Western Regions, they always had to send envoys to negotiate first. Only when the other party made a "disrespectful" move or created some "friction" could they legitimately send troops.

The "all-staff learning" program that the deputy commander is currently implementing is clearly a formality, but he uses the pretext of "correcting the direction" and follows the procedure of "superior orders." As long as no one can break out of this procedure to refute it, no one can stand up to it.

But if one were to actually attend, it would be tantamount to acknowledging the legitimacy of the other party's overreach of authority. Moreover, it is conceivable that there would be no substantive content at the meeting, only endless empty statements and sleep-inducing repetitive lectures. For someone like Jiang Xia, who is in charge of technology and every second counts, this would be a huge waste and torture.

Old Wang felt like his head was about to split open...

The night deepened without us even realizing it.

The salty wind from the Bohai Bay blew through the half-open window, bringing with it the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore.

The scattered lights still burning in the base appeared as dim, yellow stars against the thick, dark blue sky. Occasionally, the orderly, light footsteps of patrolling soldiers would approach and then recede, further emphasizing the solemnity of this massive military facility.

Time seemed to stretch out by the boundless night and the rhythmic sound of the waves, each second heavy and carrying the coolness of the sea mist as it flowed slowly.

After finishing the call, Jiang Xia walked straight back to his prototype "Big Yellow II" machine, which was hidden by a screen, and sat down. His fingers began to tap rapidly on the keyboard, and the screen's dim blue light reflected on his somewhat strange face.

Old Wang awkwardly approached, a hint of apology in his voice: "Um... kid, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and... I really don't have a good solution for this right now. They set the rules, and they're the ones wielding the stick. But don't worry, I'll go back right now, and even if it costs me my face, I'll have to talk to the old leader! We can't let them run wild like this!"

"Asking for help? It's useless." Jiang Xia didn't even look up, his tone indifferent. "Didn't you see that there were naval bigwigs among those who studied overnight? They're all following procedures. Unless you can break out of these procedures, it's a waste of effort to come to them."

Old Wang was taken aback. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that it made perfect sense. His anger flared even more, but he had nowhere to vent it.

"Then... there's really no other way? Are we really going to suffer like that first thing tomorrow morning?"

Jiang Xia paused his typing, turned around, a strange smile appearing on his face, and pointed to the briefing on the IEC meeting on the table:

"Well...maybe there is a way. But before that, Brother Wang, don't get too worked up. Look at how our comrades in Geneva deal with those even more unreasonable and despicable provocations. The bald eagles are directly trying to pin the 'academic plagiarism' label on Jinzhen's head."

"Sometimes, the key to breaking the deadlock doesn't necessarily have to be found within the game itself. Look at how others have overturned their opponent's chessboard when they were in dire straits."

"Tsk! If you don't want me to see the words on your screen, just say so..."

"You know now, why aren't you moving? If this gets out, you'll really get punished!"

Old Wang shrank back; it was the first time he'd ever heard the silly kid emphasize secrecy so much. He hurriedly moved the screen back over to Jiang Xia, then refused to look at her again.

Jiang Xia checked the time and casually set an alarm.

Keep in mind that the time difference between Darian and Geneva is more than seven hours, so a short rest is still possible.

The first intercontinental network communication?

This is something that could be included in a history textbook!

I'm really looking forward to it!

Hey, wasn't the first call at 7 AM? Who chose that time slot? Seriously...

It resonates with me perfectly!