"Duh... burp... duh..."
Guo Yi opened his mouth and unconsciously blurted out a few words.
Afterward, Guo Yi flushed, utterly unable to bear the silent atmosphere.
With a woebegone face, he looked to Elder Zhou and the others for help.
Yet Elder Zhou and the others still shook their heads at him, smiling with encouragement.
Guo Yi broke out in a cold sweat, turning his head once more to look at the crowd below.
A homebody who was unaccustomed to socializing and had never interacted much with people suddenly stood in front of thousands.
Looking at those gazes, he always felt exceptionally awkward, entirely ill at ease, and subconsciously wanted to escape.
Right now, Guo Yi was exactly like that.
Taking the stage had already exhausted his courage, and standing on it now, his mind was truly completely blank, completely not knowing what to speak about.
As for why he could chat without barriers with Elder Zhou and the others, one reason was that they shared a common language, and the second was that they communicated in private, not in front of a massive crowd waiting for him to give a speech.
At the same time, Guo Yi had always regarded Elder Zhou and the others as idols.
In front of idols, a homebody going wild could transform into a terrifying ancient giant beast.
As for facing Ostrich and the others, it was because Guo Yi had spent some time getting along with them first via the communication channel.
Moreover, amidst Ostrich's boisterous personality, Guo Yi blended right in while bickering with him.
Only after that could he face them and communicate without barriers, and Guo Yi even dared to prank them.
So Guo Yi was truly helpless at this moment, even faintly regretting coming here.
How comfortable it was staying in his original place, free and unconstrained...
Why did he act so foolishly and come here to suffer through a speech?
It was a pity that he was already forced onto Mount Liang, the drawn bow had no turning back, and there was nowhere to run.
In the end, Guo Yi's brain short-circuited, he gritted his teeth, his face flushed red, and he shouted to everyone, "Hel-hello, my name is Guo Yi... uh... let's just leave it at that for now..."
Having finished, Guo Yi didn't look back, didn't say goodbye, and bolted straight toward his dorm room with his head down.
Elder Zhou looked at Guo Yi's retreating figure, torn between laughter and tears: He really is in such a wretched state.
However, the only comforting thing was that Guo Yi had managed to finish a sentence in the end.
He hadn't failed to say a single word before turning and running.
And Shi Dafan chuckled as he poked Ostrich: "Look at Little Ding-dong, is he just like an ostrich.
Covering his face as if thinking others couldn't see him either... haha.
He's having his turn at this too!"
"Ostrich Ding-dong!?"
Meanwhile, He Zhijun also looked helplessly at Guo Yi's retreating figure, shook his head with a smile, and then walked up to the stage: "Alright, dismiss. Free time.
Wait for notifications regarding subsequent work arrangements."
The crowd dispersed in twos and threes, everyone chatting and laughing as they discussed that shy leader.
No one sneered at him, and even less looked down on him; everyone simply hadn't expected Guo Yi to be unexpectedly so shy.
The future might prove quite interesting...
--
Guo Yi's dormitory.
Because of his status, a single room had been arranged for him.
A small single room: a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a washroom.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
The entire space could still seat seven or eight people if crowded.
Compared to other shared dormitories, it could be considered a luxury dorm.
Because of this, four people walked together to Guo Yi's dormitory.
He Zhijun, Elder Zhou, Old Huang, and a female secretary wearing an office-lady outfit yet looking heroic and spirited.
As for the others, they wandered off individually for now to admire this sci-fi-filled factory everywhere.
"Screech..."
The door to Guo Yi's dorm opened, and the four of He Zhijun took one look to see Guo Yi buried entirely inside his quilt like an ostrich.
"Alright, stop being shy."
He Zhijun held back a smile and patted Guo Yi's body.
Guo Yi whipped off the quilt, his face completely red, sweat beads still welling on his forehead, and questioned He Zhijun with displeasure: "Why did you suddenly want me to give a speech in front of so many people?
Can't you say it in advance!"
Watching Guo Yi's expression of righteous indignation, He Zhijun nonchalantly retorted, "If I told you in advance, would you have gone up?"
"..." Guo Yi was taken aback, then cried out to Elder Zhou with a wronged expression, "Elder Zhou~"
Elder Zhou looked at Guo Yi's expression, which held helplessness mixed with entanglement, and entanglement mixed with helplessness, and said speechlessly, "Alright, stop struggling with it.
You'll have to face it sooner or later, you'll get used to it after a while."
"..."
Hearing Elder Zhou's words, Guo Yi instantly wilted like frost-bitten eggplant.
"Ha~"
He Zhijun smiled again, then put away his smiling expression and said solemnly to Guo Yi, "Back to the main point.
You are the leader here, and everyone is waiting on you for the upcoming production plans and work schedules!"
"Ah?" Guo Yi looked bewildered, pointing at his own nose and asking them, "Wait, didn't I come here to do research?
How come everyone else's arrangements are also my responsibility?"
"It's not that everyone else's arrangements are entirely up to you." He Zhijun shook his head and explained to Guo Yi, "I'm in charge of the personnel for the space battleships, mechs, and those exoskeleton armors.
Elder Zhou will handle research-related matters.
This is Old Huang, and he manages logistics.
He's in charge of the personnel for manufacturing mechs and space battleships.
As for this is Gao Linlin, the head of the secretariat here, responsible for your public and private chores, special liaisons, and so on.
Simply put, as long as it's not something under our purview, you can look for her.
Each of us will help you manage a portion.
However, the general direction is commanded by you, so you need to give us general plans for the corresponding parts.
Only then can we make more detailed arrangements according to your plan."
Guo Yi furrowed his brows and thought for a moment: "Uh, you mean I just need to provide the broad strokes?"
"Mhm."
Hearing He Zhijun's words, Guo Yi slammed his fist into his palm and, without even thinking, rapidly arranged: "Then that's simple, the personnel for the battleships and mechs can just start classes.
Elder Zhou and the others can get the research menu from Doggie and research whatever catches their eye.
As for, uh, Old Huang, you just arrange the production of the mechs and battleships."
Afterward, Guo Yi glanced at Gao Linlin, his face turning red, and he hesitatingly asked in a low voice, "Can I come to you for physiological issues too?"
"..."
Gao Linlin clenched her fists, sneered, and then said to Guo Yi, "Let me introduce myself.
I previously belonged to the Special Operations First Line Combat Team, serving as team leader.
So you need me to help you resolve your physiological needs? No problem.
However, there is only one way I will help you resolve it.
That is dragging you onto the combat ring for hand-to-hand combat, letting you vent your excess hormones and energy on the ring!"
Guo Yi hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head as he hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. Can you help me contact someone who can help me resolve it?
Like a female adult film actress from a certain island nation...
That's my dream!
Besides, you can't beat me either... and I don't hit women..."
"..."
The atmosphere grew silent once more.
Meanwhile, He Zhijun, Elder Zhou, and the others looked at the two young people before them with smiles, practically lacking only melon seeds to munch on.
You can't blame them for watching the show; they all knew Guo Yi was just all talk with a daring heart but no actual nerve.
As for Gao Linlin, coming from a special operations background, she was thoroughly proficient in micro-expressions.
Through careful observation, it was very easy to tell what kind of personality someone had.
Not to mention she had also read the personality analysis report on Guo Yi.
So Gao Linlin knew Guo Yi wasn't intentionally flirting with her.
However, this didn't mean she would agree to help Guo Yi realize his terrible dream: "Keep dreaming~"
"..."
Guo Yi scratched the back of his head, momentarily not knowing how to continue chatting with Gao Linlin, and could only laugh dryly as he looked at He Zhijun and the others.
He Zhijun twitched the corner of his mouth and helplessly bailed Guo Yi out: "Alright, cut the joking, let's talk business."
Then, he continued asking Guo Yi, "Regarding your arrangement just now, I want to ask, who is going to teach the space battleship personnel?
Xiao Geng and the others can help you teach mech piloting, but what about the space battleships?"
Following that, Elder Zhou also asked, "Since you want to go into space, which research items have the highest priority?
And furthermore, ones we can actually help you research!"
And after Elder Zhou finished asking, Old Huang didn't wait for Guo Yi to answer, continuing, "Production is no problem, the question is how to produce?
We aren't you; we don't understand a single thing about how to manufacture battleships and mechs..."
After Old Huang spoke, Gao Linlin immediately chimed in as well: "You don't need to worry about the salaries of the factory personnel, but purchasing other supplies all costs money.
Therefore, you need to allocate funds for each department.
My personal suggestion is to prioritize the areas you need the most and are most critical!"
Hearing the four people's questions, Guo Yi twitched the corner of his mouth, increasingly regretting coming here!