Striving for Research

"Little Aunt, is Chen Qingyi all right? What did the doctor say?"

Seeing how haggard his little aunt looked, Chen Feng felt saddened as well.

"My daughter's life isn't in danger for now, but the doctor said..."

"What did the doctor say?"

"The doctor said my daughter might not be able to keep her legs."

Upon hearing that, Chen Feng's father and grandfather were struck as if by a bolt from the blue.

"How could this happen? She's only around twenty. Why did she have to suffer something like this?"

"Where's that damned drunk driver? Have they caught him?"

"What good would catching him do? My daughter's legs won't come back."

Chen Feng silently listened to everything they discussed. Natural disasters and Man-made Disasters were things no one could predict. A young girl of around twenty had lost both her legs just like that—what kind of blow would that be to her life?

"Little Aunt, how much will the treatment cost?"

"You don't need to worry about the treatment costs. I know what you're thinking, but we should be the ones to bear those expenses."

After hearing this, Chen Feng's father immediately took his little aunt's hand and spoke earnestly.

"Don't force yourself. We'll help you solve this."

After saying that, Chen Feng's father took him to pay the bills. Once they had settled all of his little aunt's expenses, they returned to her side. She was in great pain, but there was nothing she could do except stand outside the ward and look at Chen Qingyi's haggard face.

"I wonder when she'll recover."

"It shouldn't take too long. The doctor said her life isn't in danger. It's just that her legs need to be amputated; there's nothing else wrong. Better alive than dead. I've come to see that clearly."

After chatting with his little aunt for a while, the topic shifted to Chen Feng. To them, Chen Feng's achievements filled them with pride.

However, Chen Feng felt that despite everything he had done, it was still far from enough. He had to develop the Human Prosthetic Limb as quickly as possible. Only after it was produced could Chen Qingyi be given a new life.

His Human Prosthetic Limb was ergonomically designed. It could even be more beautiful than Chen Qingyi's original legs.

He was very confident about that. Although it would not move as nimbly as real legs, it was still better than having none at all, and it would look completely natural.

"All right, Little Aunt. Try not to worry too much. We'll head back for now, and I'll come visit you again tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to his little aunt, Chen Feng returned to his factory. During this period, he would have to work overtime to get this done.

Back at the factory, Chen Feng was no longer as laid-back as usual. He immediately took out the blueprints for his Production Line and studied them relentlessly, trying to figure out how to create a Human Prosthetic Limb identical to ordinary legs.

When Liu Qiuya saw how hard Chen Feng was working, she became curious and walked over to ask him.

"Boss, what happened? You went home once, and now you've become like this. Did your grandfather give you a scolding?"

Chen Feng shook his head and spoke to Liu Qiuya as he sketched.

"It's like this. One of my cousins was in a car accident, so I have to hurry up and make the Human Prosthetic Limb."

"She was in a car accident? Did she have her legs amputated?"

"Yes."

"That's really heartbreaking. Still, don't be too sad. Once you make this thing, you'll be able to give her a new life, right? I believe in you, Boss."

Liu Qiuya did not trust anyone else; she only trusted Chen Feng. Chen Feng truly had remarkable abilities. Whether it was his own capabilities or those of the team behind him, Chen Feng had a unique kind of magic about him.

Day after day passed. The Rising Star Program continued to expand, and their Production Line was being enlarged as well.

Recently, Professor Zhang had brought some people over for an inspection. They were full of praise for the factory and equally full of praise for Chen Feng. In their words:

"Young man, your future is limitless. China needs talents like you."

Those words were truly the highest praise, but they were still far from enough for Chen Feng. If they knew that he was researching a new technology, they would be utterly shocked.

Half a month later, Chen Feng's cousin Chen Qingyi had fully recovered. He planned to visit her soon and comfort her as much as possible.

That day, he found Liu Qiuya and told her something.

"Expand the Production Line by a few more lines. Our Virtual Helmet equipment has already reached its production capacity limit, so there's no need to keep expanding that Production Line. If we continue, we might end up with excess capacity."

"Don't worry, Boss. I've already stopped building Production Lines. Our next task is to sell all the goods in storage. Our capital has now accumulated to one billion."

One billion was still nowhere near enough for them. A new Production Line alone required at least eight hundred million in investment from Chen Feng.

Producing the Human Prosthetic Limb was far more complicated than Chen Feng had imagined. Aside from purchasing special alloys, he also needed to buy industrial raw materials. On top of that, the equipment costs were quite expensive.

The main issue was machinery, which gave him a tremendous headache. Much of the machinery could only be purchased overseas.

There were domestic options too, but their coverage was not as comprehensive. Although they were world-class in certain fields, some areas still lagged behind foreign products and required imports.

"Take eight hundred million out of that one billion and invest it. I already told you—start production now. We need to establish a Production Line as soon as possible so we can bring this product to the public. This is a product that can truly benefit humanity."

More than once, he had imagined the world of Cyberpunk. Once his Human Prosthetic Limb was available, disabled people could use it. If they wished, they could even leave the metal exoskeleton exposed, giving it a genuine Cyberpunk style.

However, such people were a minority. His product was not meant to actively modify the human body, so most people would still choose a bionic appearance to avoid strange looks.