Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Inside a modestly luxurious conference room in Yangzhou.

Accompanied by Lu Gang, Jiang Chen shook hands with Li Dawei, who represented the military.

On the table are three copies of the contract, which have been signed and stamped. They will be kept separately by Jiang Chen, the military, and the senior officials of Jiangnan Base City, who will act as the notary.

"I have a feeling this will be a very pleasant collaboration, just like before," Jiang Chen said with a smile, putting away his copy of the contract.

This collaboration has brought Jiang Chen greater benefits than any previous one.

The Ripper rifle's excellent performance, especially its armor-piercing capabilities, makes it highly anticipated to be effective against heavily armored monsters.

Even the basic version, which can only hunt Beast General-level monsters, can give humans a strong ability to clear out large numbers of monsters once they have enough equipment.

The enhanced version, capable of hunting lord-level monsters, would allow the military to sweep away ruined cities teeming with monsters, gradually expanding the base city's territory outwards.

The military paid a very high price to acquire this weapon, demonstrating their sincere commitment.

In addition to a one-time licensing fee of up to 10 billion, the military also needs to pay Jiang Chen 'patent dividends' of one million for the basic version and ten million for the enhanced version for every [Ripper] rifle produced.

Jiang Chen didn't care whether the military kept these firearms for its own use or sold them to foreign countries.

However, in accordance with the military's usual practice, they would not keep such a good thing, which could greatly improve the efficiency of warriors in hunting monsters and increase their survival rate, to themselves.

After satisfying its own equipment needs, selling to others is a logical next step.

Of course, the price may not be cheap, since the budget is also very tight.

“As agreed, Mr. Jiang, you need to help us establish a production line with sufficient capacity and train a group of qualified engineers,” Li Dawei emphasized the military’s demands.

“Of course.” Jiang Chen nodded.

Jiang Chen still has 'professional ethics' when it comes to doing things for money.

"I've already sent you the production line design plan and the engineers' training manual via email. If you have any questions, Chief Engineer Chen can contact me anytime." Jiang Chen looked at a middle-aged man next to Li Dawei.

The middle-aged man, surnamed Chen, is the chief engineer of the "Tearer" project. He has remarkable abilities and rich experience in the fields of mechanics and electromagnetism.

In terms of cutting-edge knowledge, he is not even on the same level as Jiang Chen, let alone some top professors and scholars.

However, in terms of turning 'theory' into 'practical application', Chief Engineer Chen is one of the top talents on Earth in this era.

"I might bother Mr. Jiang quite often in the future," Chief Engineer Chen said with a forced smile, clearly indicating that he wasn't very good at dealing with people.

However, this kind of personality is quite common among technical personnel.

"You'll handle the main work; I'll just be responsible for solving some difficult problems," Jiang Chen said with a smile, showing no intention of getting to work immediately.

Chief Engineer Chen only had a general understanding of the "Ripper" and hadn't had time to look at the detailed technical data sent by Jiang Chen, so he couldn't offer any substantial insights.

Let's wait a while, until Chief Engineer Chen has a preliminary understanding of these technical documents, before we study in detail the site selection, construction plan, and so on for the first production line.

"The first licensing fee is 10 billion. Do you want cash, or some special treasures?" Li Dawei looked at Jiang Chen and said, "There are some special materials, treasures, etc., which are not sold to the public in principle, but if you need them, I can make the decision to give you a certain share. It even includes the special gene drug that the HR Alliance has just developed and has no side effects."

Jiang Chen would definitely not use the gene-editing drugs commonly available on the market, which are not only expensive but also significantly damage a person's potential.

Even if Jiang Chen himself was willing, Li Dawei would not agree.

An eighteen-year-old advanced warrior, a genius with strength approaching that of a general, is of extremely high value even without considering his scientific intellect.

But those treasures that can enhance your strength without any side effects are another matter entirely.

Before the cooperation with [The Ripper] was confirmed, Jiang Chen, despite having money, could not buy treasures of this level.

However, after the cooperation with [The Ripper] was finalized, Li Dawei clearly valued Jiang Chen more, opening up some special resources that money couldn't buy to Jiang Chen.

"Oh? What do you have?" Jiang Chen felt a little tempted.

Although Earth is currently just an indigenous civilization that can't even leave its home planet, the planet's unique characteristics mean it still has many valuable things.

Even the most precious ones are beyond Earth's current reach.

However, some "common goods" from extraterrestrial civilizations also have considerable value to Jiang Chen now.

For example, 'Spirit of Plants and Trees', 'Wood Crystal', etc.

"Here's the list." Li Dawei took out his tablet, pulled up a list he had prepared beforehand, and handed it to Jiang Chen.

Clearly, he also hoped that Jiang Chen would exchange for more treasures, rather than taking away a large sum of cash directly.

The one-time licensing fee of tens of billions is nothing; the key is the subsequent patent fees, which can accumulate into an extremely large sum.

A single gun can generate millions or tens of millions in dividends; if ten thousand guns are manufactured, the profits would be tens or hundreds of billions.

If the entire army were to be re-equipped, how much patent fee would Jiang Chen have to pay?

Jiang Chen's desire for so much money makes no sense.

Paying with valuables is actually the best option for both parties.

Jiang Chen took the tablet and looked at the list displayed above.

The name, type, function, and price are clearly labeled.

However, to Jiang Chen's dismay, he did not see any treasures of the level of 'Spirit of Plants' or 'Wood Crystal' on the list.

At most, they are artificial "treasures" like "water of life" and "dragon's blood".

Although it has considerable value, Jiang Chen doesn't have much faith in the current level of technology on Earth.

They say there are no side effects, but who knows if there are side effects that can't be detected in tests?

Moreover, with Jiang Chen's current strength, he cannot unleash the full potential of something like 'Dragon Blood', so he can only keep it for now after buying it.

Seeing Jiang Chen struggling with his decision, Li Dawei misunderstood and thought Jiang Chen was struggling with the price. He smiled and said, "There's no need to worry about the price. I can make the decision to provide Mr. Jiang with an interest-free loan, as long as it's deducted from the subsequent patent dividends."

"Five hundred billion?" Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately thought of the new project he was currently promoting.