Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Jiangnan Base City, Mingyue Community.

In the basement of a villa, the huge space had been largely transformed into a workshop, resembling a factory that processes precision equipment.

A handsome young man was standing in front of the workbench, his hands moving rapidly across the control panel.

Suddenly, a bell rang, and the boy paused involuntarily.

At the other end of the high-strength alloy glass, a fist-sized part being processed burst into sparks, rendering this optical instrument worth tens of millions of yuan unusable.

"You'd better have a good reason! Otherwise, I'll switch partners for the next product!" The young man answered the call with a disgruntled expression, his tone aggressive.

The financial loss of tens of millions is secondary; the key issue is that he had been working on this project for a whole month, only to fail at the most crucial stage.

"Jiang Chen, you can't do this! The conditions our military has always offered you have been the most favorable, and our cooperation has always been very pleasant!"

On the screen appeared a man in military uniform with gray hair, who was none other than Li Dawei, the supreme commander of the military in Jiangnan Base City and a war god.

Seemingly not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer, Li Dawei quickly changed the subject: "It's like this, your friend Luo Feng got into a conflict with a martial artist's family member today and was arrested..."

"Luo Feng?"

Jiang Chen was taken aback, only then realizing that the period during which he was in 'seclusion' coincided with the beginning of the original story.

I glanced at the date; it was already July.

From the college entrance examination to the conflict between Luo Feng and Zhang Haobai's henchmen, which resulted in Luo Feng being sent to a detention center.

A lot has indeed happened during this period.

However, compared to when he first discovered that this was the world of "Swallowed Star" and cautiously tried to befriend Luo Feng in hopes of getting on his good side in the future, Jiang Chen now sees these so-called "things that can affect a person's life" as nothing more than trivial matters that are not worth paying attention to at all.

Of course, since the person in question is Luo Feng, his best friend in this life, he still needs to pay attention.

"I remember, in the original story, Zhang Haobai seemed to have found someone in the detention center to teach Luo Feng a lesson?" Jiang Chen tried hard to recall the contents of the original story and casually said, "Hey, Commander Li, can you do me a favor and arrange a single room for Luo Feng?"

"Just a single room? You don't need to release him?" Li Dawei asked in surprise.

"Mm." Jiang Chen nodded without explaining.

That night in the detention center was a crucial opportunity for Luo Feng to awaken his spiritual power and undergo a pivotal transformation, so Jiang Chen naturally didn't intend to disturb him.

However, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, Jiang Chen still made some arrangements through his relationship with Commander Li.

After all, Luo Feng isn't even a martial artist yet; he's too weak.

"Okay, I'll let them know."

Li Dawei agreed, but showed no intention of hanging up.

Jiang Chen understood that for the commander of the Southern Military Region and the highest-ranking military commander of the Jiangnan Base City to personally call, it certainly couldn't be for the sake of caring about a trivial matter like a high school student's fight.

Having collaborated with them several times before, Jiang Chen knew their purpose without even asking.

"How are the things I gave you last time?" Jiang Chen deliberately brought up the previous collaboration.

"It works great, it works so well!" Li Dawei exclaimed repeatedly. "The special alloy you provided only needs to be 30 millimeters thick to withstand the frontal attacks of most Lord-level monsters. Its defensive power is extremely strong! Although it cannot compare with the top alloys currently available, it has significant advantages in terms of weight and cost. In particular, its cost and production capacity make it very suitable for large-scale equipment use. We have already decided to replace the corresponding armor on helicopters, tanks, and other vehicles on a large scale."

After saying that, Li Dawei cautiously probed, "Jiang Chen, you haven't made any moves in a long time. Do you have any new good stuff?"

Jiang Chen said irritably, "There is a project I was working on that was almost finished, but your call interrupted it. The most critical core component broke down, so I can't test it and have to redo it. So, once it's finished, if it's suitable for military use, I'll contact you."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault! Here's what we'll do: once you're done with this busy period, I'll treat you to a meal!" Li Dawei didn't mention at all that it was Jiang Chen who had asked him to take care of Luo Feng, Wei Wen, and a few other friends during his seclusion; he just kept apologizing.

"We'll talk about it later." Jiang Chen's mind was still on the future plot development, and he had no interest in chatting with Li Dawei any further.

Luo Feng's awakening of spiritual power means that in three or four years, Earth will officially make contact with the vast universe.

The word "universe" carries a heavy weight in Jiang Chen's heart.

Moreover, this is not an ordinary universe.

It is a vast world with a complete cultivation system, countless incredibly powerful beings, and an extremely high upper limit of combat power.

After a brief moment of distraction, Jiang Chen quickly regained his composure and said to Li Dawei, "Commander Li, I'll leave Luo Feng's matter to you. Once this project is tested and achieves the expected results, I'll contact your military again. However, the price will remain the same as always, it won't be cheaper."

Since the awakening of the system a few years ago, the Chinese military has become Jiang Chen's most important partner.

On one hand, Jiang Chen knew the special nature of this world and wouldn't be too concerned about the benefits on Earth, since they would all be the same to others. He might as well give them to the country where he felt a strong sense of belonging.

More importantly, the cooperation between the two parties was quite pleasant. The other party showed sufficient respect and importance to Jiang Chen as a 'researcher', and did not show any disrespect for Jiang Chen because of his age.

“Understood. Regarding the patent fees, we will provide a reasonable price after a detailed evaluation. You can choose between a buyout or a revenue-sharing arrangement.” Li Dawei had no objections: “Then I won’t bother you any longer. Please feel free to contact us anytime if you need anything.”

In just three years, Jiang Chen has contributed a total of three technologies to cooperate with the military.

Although the military paid a heavy price, it gained a significant boost in strength.

Even the wealthiest and most central base city, the capital, has almost wiped out the monsters in the surrounding vast areas because it has the largest share of the new equipment, and is now planning to move into the wilderness and establish a new urban area.

If Jiang Chen hadn't insisted on staying in Jiangnan, he would have been invited to the capital long ago and would have enjoyed the best treatment there.

With these factors in mind, Li Dawei, the commander in charge of the Jiangnan base city, naturally attached great importance to Jiang Chen, fearing that Jiang Chen might leave Jiangnan if he became unhappy.

Moving to a different city is incredibly difficult for ordinary people, but for a 'high-end talent' like Jiang Chen, it's a piece of cake—a single phone call is all it takes.

After hanging up the call, Jiang Chen glanced at the memo on the main screen of his workbench, then subconsciously looked at the locked door, and muttered to himself, "System!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the scene in front of Jiang Chen suddenly changed!