A message appeared on Origin Company's official website.
"Xiaoke will soon make a dazzling return!"
Below it was a countdown showing that ten days remained.
The moment this news appeared, it immediately shot to the top of the trending charts.
Its meteoric rise left many celebrities in the dust. One male star who had always wanted to trend was so angry he nearly coughed up blood.
Tieba, Weibo, Facebook...
One social media platform after another was endlessly discussing Origin Company's intentions.
Xiaoke's fans also left messages on the official website, pledging to support Xiaoke. Her Weibo was likewise flooded with praise and questions.
After all, the Origin Accelerator's irreplaceability and Xiaoke's thoughtfulness had won over countless fans.
Support Xiaoke! Support Origin Company!
Such slogans began flooding the major platforms.
There were also people predicting Origin Company's downfall. After all, under such suppression, an ordinary company would have collapsed long ago.
Yet everyone was united on one point: they were all guessing how Origin Company would overcome this crisis. Not only netizens, but major software companies and even many countries were quietly watching Origin Company's every move.
However, Chu Feng was far too mysterious, and there was no way to learn anything about him. The internet remained full of heated discussion, but there was not a single reliable piece of news, while rumors flew everywhere.
Chu Feng found it fascinating. It was even more exciting than reading a novel. There really were so many talented people out there.
As time passed, the discussions did not die down. Instead, the buzz grew even hotter, and countless self-media outlets joined in for the spectacle.
Then 361 Company dropped a bombshell by releasing the contract it had previously finalized with Chu Feng.
This made countless onlookers sigh, "The world is changing too fast. I can't keep up with the times."
The directors of 361 Company were also engaged in heated debate, with opinions divided. The company's stock price rose and fell wildly, nearly giving everyone a heart attack.
Fortunately, Zhou Hongwei withstood the pressure from all sides. Whenever anyone sold 361 Company shares, Zhou Hongwei and Chu Feng bought them up, and their stakes continued to grow, though no one knew about it.
On the fifth day, a ten-thousand-ton container ship quietly arrived at Hailing's container terminal.
After learning what equipment and personnel Chu Feng would be transporting, Director Chen nearly had his eyes pop out. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he immediately reported it to his superiors.
The higher-ups had also received the customs declaration documents and attached great importance to them. They directly dispatched a military tugboat to escort the container ship all the way to the terminal.
Academicians from the various branches of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also arrived with their assistants.
When Hailing City's mayor, Shen Weimin, received instructions from above, he was so shocked that he could not close his mouth for a long while. Since when had Hailing become such a prized destination?
Not daring to delay, Mayor Shen hurriedly mobilized every resource he could to ensure the academicians' safety. They were national treasures. If anything happened to even one of them, it would be an enormous loss to the country.
The academicians had come from all over the country, and Hailing Airport did not have enough flights. So they gathered in Jinling and directly chartered several buses over.
Jinling did not dare let its guard down either. To put it bluntly, if something happened to those buses, the country's entire scientific research establishment would be instantly crippled. Many research fields would come to a halt. Could anything possibly go wrong?
Police cars led the way and escorted the academicians to Hailing. Hailing also deployed additional personnel to receive them. Gao Wenhui, director of the Hailing City Public Security Bureau, personally took charge, arranging the vehicle routes and security along the way.
At ten in the morning, the academicians all arrived in Hailing. Yet none of them rested or went to the hotel arranged by the mayor for a meal. They all headed to the terminal to wait.
When the mayor received the news, he did not think much of it and went to the terminal ahead of time to make preparations.
Upon arriving at the terminal, he spotted Chu Feng and hurried over.
"Mr. Chu, you've really made quite a scene."
Before Chu Feng could even greet him, the mayor's opening left him utterly confused.
"This? Mayor Shen, what do you mean?"
"Isn't it because of the equipment you're bringing in? When the academicians from the various branches of the Chinese Academy of Sciences heard about it, they rushed here overnight and will arrive soon. We also need to make security arrangements. Please forgive any inconvenience this may cause you, Mr. Chu."
Mayor Shen spoke politely to Chu Feng.
"You're too polite, Mayor."
Without saying much more to Chu Feng, he called Gao Wenhui over and told him to arrange the security measures.
Seeing the terminal locked down by special police, Chu Feng was a little dumbfounded. Wasn't this a bit excessive?
In truth, Chu Feng could not understand the anxiety in those academicians' hearts.
When they received word that such equipment would be shipped into the country, none of them could sit still. If some research projects had not required people to remain behind, even more would have come. The equipment being transported this time was simply too advanced and unbelievable.
Five buses pulled up in succession. A group of rather elderly people stepped down from them. They were presumably academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Younger people stood beside them, likely assistants or doctoral students from the academy.
The man at the front had a head of white hair, yet he was full of vigor and looked remarkably healthy. Refusing his assistant's support, he walked straight toward Chu Feng and the others.
"May I ask which one of you is young friend Chu Feng?"
His powerful voice was heard clearly by everyone present.
Everyone looked toward Chu Feng. Chu Feng did not stand on ceremony and stepped forward, giving the elderly man a slight bow.
"Hello, I'm Chu Feng."
Perhaps not expecting Chu Feng to be so young, the elderly man sighed with feeling.
"Hello. My name is Lu Yongxiang. It isn't too much for me to call you young friend Chu, is it?"
Hearing the old man introduce himself, Chu Feng was somewhat surprised. This was a heavyweight figure among China's scientific researchers: an expert in fluid power transmission and control, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, an academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences, former president of Zhejiang University, and former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He had devoted his entire life to China's scientific research. Now, for the advanced equipment Chu Feng had provided, he had disregarded his aged body and traveled all the way to Hailing. How could Chu Feng not be moved?
These people were the backbone of China, the foundation that allowed China to stand tall in the world. It could be said that without people like Old Lu, China could not have developed so rapidly.
Zhang Cunhao once said, "The country's needs are the direction of my research!"
Generation after generation of scientific researchers had built the country's future with their youth and sweat.
"I wonder whether the equipment young friend Chu spoke of is real?"
Perhaps feeling that he had been too abrupt, Old Lu added somewhat uneasily, "Even if only half of it is real, that would be enough?"
The other academicians said nothing, but their fixed gazes clearly showed that they too were waiting for Chu Feng's answer. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
Looking at the white-haired Old Lu before him, Chu Feng suddenly felt his eyes sting.
"Don't worry, Old Lu. Not a single piece of equipment is missing, and even better equipment will be brought in later!" Chu Feng said decisively.
Chu Feng's assurance made Old Lu and the other academicians beam with delight, even excitement. Old Lu's face flushed red with agitation, frightening the assistant beside him so much that his expression changed. The assistant repeatedly urged him not to get too excited.
"It's fine. I'm happy today. Young friend Chu's contribution has been a tremendous help to the country. If you ever run into trouble in the future, come straight to me. I'll back you up!"
Old Lu's words made everyone nearby change expression. That was no small promise. Though Old Lu had stepped down, who would dare refuse to show him respect?
Chu Feng had just received a golden ticket that could save his life. It was easy to imagine that as long as he did not betray the country or commit some other unforgivable crime, he could basically do whatever he pleased.
Old Lu had his own plans as well. Chu Feng was so young, yet he could obtain such excellent equipment. Though it was nominally Chu Feng's own, it would not be unreasonable for the country to borrow it, would it?
Chu Feng had actually prepared for this long ago. The equipment had been intended for national use from the start. But things freely offered were never valued; only what belonged to others was considered good. He could only resort to this strategy.
The mood among the crowd turned fervent. While everyone was still talking, Alita came over.
"Boss, we received notice that the ship will arrive in ten minutes."
"Good. Arrange for it to berth as soon as possible."
"Yes, I'll make the arrangements right away!" Chu Yun immediately went to carry out the order.
"Old Lu, esteemed academicians, the equipment will arrive in ten minutes. However, unloading will take some time. How about everyone resting for a while first?" Chu Feng intended to let the academicians rest before anything else.
"Yes, yes. Esteemed academicians, the journey has been exhausting. Why not rest for a while and have a meal before inspecting the equipment?" The mayor also chimed in from the side.
July weather was already beginning to turn hot, and today was clear and sunny, with the temperature steadily rising. Old Lu and the academicians were already quite elderly, and after such a bumpy journey, if anything happened to them, no apology could possibly make up for it.
"It's fine. Let's sit in the terminal office first. Everyone can eat something simple. Back when we were doing research, we often could not even fill our stomachs. We would drink some water and keep working. Life is so good now, so what is there to be dissatisfied with? Besides, until we see the equipment, we just can't put our minds at ease..."
"That's right. We can wait."
"Old Lu is right. How can this little matter even count as a problem?"
The academicians all declined the suggestion to rest and headed into the office instead.
More than a dozen academicians sat in a single conference room. Just saying it aloud would be enough to scare people to death.
Even the mayor and party secretary could only sit at the very end, yet they were perfectly content. This was something they could brag about for the rest of their lives.
Today's target had been met. Time to keep stockpiling chapters. Updates won't stop; I can't promise much else, but the thirty-day achievement is no problem. Please support with recommendations and bookmarks.
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