Citroën Machinery Company

Inside the luxurious carriage, Uncle Cai leaned closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with obvious apprehension.

"Young man, take my advice, don't mess with Shengtian's students and Citroën Machinery's employees."

The snowflake brooch, Citroën Company —it seems their influence is greater than I imagined.

Now is not the time to make contact. If we take the initiative to go to their door now, we probably won't get the core secrets.

We still need to go through established families to act as intermediaries.

Shisui showed no outward expression, simply nodding in response to the nervous Uncle Cai, indicating that he understood.

In the homeland of Academic Cliques, there are only two possibilities for a tech company to wield such influence.

Either they are in cahoots with the Academic Clique.

Either they have the resources to establish themselves here.

As for why they were excluded as vassals of the Aristocratic Faction, it's quite simple.

Because the Aristocratic Faction themselves cannot establish a foothold on Academy Island, or even in Mao City.

Let alone helping outsiders.

However, in either case, with his current strength in the Profound Realm, he is not yet capable of engaging in conversation with them on the same stage.

He murmured softly, "Still too weak."

Uncle Cai, who had just sat up straight, vaguely heard Shisui's voice, so he leaned closer again.

"What? You were speaking too softly, I didn't hear you."

"Nothing."

Shisui shook his head, deliberately feigning fatigue, and fell silent.

Having been a tour guide for a long time Uncle Cai was very good at reading people's expressions and quieted down upon seeing this.

Silence fell inside the carriage, with only the rumbling of its wheels as it traveled along the wide, smooth road.

"Tap tap tap..."

The sound of dense, rhythmic footsteps echoed through the brightly lit corridor.

The sources of the sounds were either carrying documents or reports, or samples or finished products.

Numerous Citroën Machinery Company employees, dressed in matching white uniforms, hurried about.

They each have their own jobs and are each busy with their own lives.

On either side of the corridor they passed through, the walls had been replaced with reinforced glass—a type of transparent glass that had undergone a secondary processing and incorporated Psychic Energy.

Through the entire glass wall, you can see the Citroën Machinery Company's production workshop.

Whenever Xu Xing focused his attention on the workshop, he was amazed by Citroën's rapid development.

Various machines gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the lights, making the production process almost semi-automated.

At the same time, it also makes the overall style of the workshop completely different from anywhere else in the outside world.

Standing on the other side of the glass can even give you a disorienting feeling of traveling through time and space.

"Chief Engineer Xu?"

"It's alright, let's go. We'll discuss the rest back in the office."

"OK."

Xu Xing withdrew his gaze, no longer lingering, and took his assistant into the elevator next to him, leaving the corridor.

"Ding! We've reached the sixth floor."

The elevator came to a stop, and as the arrival announcement sounded, the metal barriers slowly retracted to both sides.

Xu Xing took the lead, stepped out of the elevator, turned left, and headed straight for his office.

He always acts decisively, so he takes long strides, and his assistant has to jog to keep up with his pace.

A moment later, the two arrived at a simply decorated office.

Apart from a potted green ivy by the window, the entire office was dominated by gray and white colors.

Even the enormous bookshelves covering an entire wall had their contents uniformly designed for security reasons.

The entire wall is a uniform pure gray, making it impossible to distinguish between different colors.

Click.

The assistant gently closed the door and then locked it from the inside.

"Continue."

"Okay, Chief Engineer Xu."

"Currently, the R&D department has found a new direction in solving the problem of purification losses in Coagulated Blood Crystal materials."

The assistant handed over a stack of documents in a sealed file bag at the opportune moment.

"Since the newly deployed crystallization production equipment has not yet transmitted any usage data, the next phase of testing has not officially begun."

"In addition, we are running out of experimental materials."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xing raised his hand, interrupting his assistant's report.

"Let them discuss the materials issue with the logistics department themselves."

"OK."

"Continue."

"The higher-ups instructed us to expedite the production of Warship Thruster, and at the same time, they ordered an additional batch of Psychic Energy Barrier."

"That concludes the message that was delivered last night."

Xu Xing tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a barely audible "tap-tap" sound.

He recalled the intelligence he had received earlier that Moonwhite Shoal had lost a brand-new model of equipment.

He narrowed his eyes behind his square-framed glasses and gave the order in a cold voice.

"Production of the Warship Thruster can be accelerated; we can use the previous generation model from when the contract was signed."

"Also, have someone allocate a production line from the line handling the Bo Xi Family's orders to the higher-ups."

"Yes."

"Go down."

The assistant respectfully backed to the door, bowed, and then turned and left the office.

The door closed again, and the office fell silent once more, as if no one was there.

"Whoo--"

The driver pulled the reins, and the carriage came to a smooth stop.

Shisui pulled open the carved lacquered wooden carriage door on the side and nimbly jumped down from the carriage.

Zhang Juncai followed behind him, holding onto the door frame as he got down.

He stood a step behind Shisui and asked respectfully.

"Boss, how about it? Would you like me to come in with you?"

"Are you allowed in?"

"That's for sure! I'm a graduate of this place!"

Shisui glanced at the magnificent gate of Shengtian Public School, then looked at Uncle Cai's white shirt with its yellowed collar and wrinkles.

Uncle Cai naturally noticed his disbelieving expression, but he didn't care. Instead, he took a step forward and bowed slightly to the side, guiding Shisui.

"Boss, please. I'll show you my connections right now!"

Then, Shisui saw Uncle Cai lead him to the main entrance of Shengtian Public School, and without stopping, turn directly into a side path.

This unassuming path paved with ordinary stone slabs is clearly well-maintained.

Although weeds grew rampant outside the road, the small plot of land belonging to the stone-paved road was exceptionally clean.

After passing through this short, narrow passage, you'll soon see a much more unassuming little door.

This is clearly the side entrance; although not as ornate as the main entrance, it exudes a more understated luxury.

The stone statues guarding the gate are so lifelike that they seem to be real people petrified here.

Suddenly, as if sensing a prying gaze, Shisui looked up and met the eyes of one of the stone statues.

But nothing happened.

Is it just an illusion?

"Boss?"

"It's alright, let's go."

Shisui withdrew his gaze and continued forward with Uncle Cai.

They passed the stone statues holding long spears and with iron chains around their waists, and knocked on the side gate of Shengtian Public School.