Amid pleasant scenery stood a vast villa with an ancient, classical charm.
In the villa's main hall, a dignified middle-aged man dressed in a traditional Chinese suit sat in a grand armchair. Two men stood before him—one looked to be in his early forties, while the other was around twenty-eight. The older man wore a stern expression, while the younger one resembled him by seventy percent and was rather handsome. Anyone could tell at a glance that they were father and son.
And indeed, they were father and son.
Behind them stood a group of middle-aged and younger men in suits, each holding blueprints and studying them.
The man seated in the grand armchair was Long Dingkun, the head of the Long Family. Before him stood his eldest son, Long Yingxuan, and his eldest grandson, Long Chenxuan.
The people studying the blueprints were scientists cultivated or heavily recruited by the Long Family. If Long Fei had been there and seen the blueprints they were examining, he would definitely have recognized them as things he had drawn during his childhood.
When Long Fei was young, he had drawn numerous pictures of fighter jets, tanks, military vehicles, and individual weapons. He had even written down related technologies for some of them.
Long Dingkun, who had kept his eyes closed, slowly opened them and asked, "How is the research going?"
Long Yingxuan motioned for the person in charge to speak.
A balding scientist in a green suit stepped before Long Dingkun, bowed, and replied, "Family Head, around half of these drawings are merely drawings, with no related theories or technologies written down. The remaining half contain theoretical designs, technologies, and so on."
"Hmm. Are there any drawings and design technologies for that thing called Gundam MS?"
"Family Head, there are indeed drawings of the MS called Gundam, and they are exactly the same as the Gundam photos we have seen. However, there are only drawings and no design theories whatsoever."
"Hmph." Long Dingkun let out an angry snort.
The balding scientist lowered his head, not daring to make a sound.
"What about the other blueprints that have designs? How much more advanced are they compared to current technology?"
"Reporting to the Family Head, they are at least twenty years ahead of the equipment currently in service with our nation's military. Even the latest technology being researched by Feichi Military Science Company under the Long Family is slightly inferior."
"Heh." Long Dingkun gave a cold laugh and said with a mocking expression, "Who would have thought that so many scientists under the Long Family, each among the best in the country and holding several doctoral degrees, would produce things inferior to what a child designed? Wouldn't people laugh themselves to death if this got out?"
Though the balding scientist's old face reddened, he still spoke honestly. "Family Head, there is no denying that we have indeed lost to your grandson. If you can bring him back, I am willing to give him my position as chief scientist. I would even be willing to take him as my master."
The three generations of Long Dingkun's family all frowned. None of them had expected their chief scientist, Han Xuyang, to willingly admit defeat before Long Fei. Han Xuyang had always been proud and reserved, yet he had actually declared that he wanted to become Long Fei's disciple.
Long Dingkun regretted not treating this grandson well back then. If he had been kinder to him earlier, all those advanced technologies would have belonged to the Long Family.
"Fine. We can discuss my grandson later. Since there are no Gundam design technologies, are there design technologies for other MS units?"
Han Xuyang perked up and immediately answered, "Yes. There is the Cyclops series. Although the MS called Zaku and Saku only have drawings without any written technology, one Cyclops MS called Geon has related technical designs, including blueprints for its armaments. What is especially notable is that its power is driven by batteries."
"How does our latest Jianhong MS compare with this MS called Geon?"
Han Xuyang did not answer. Instead, he called over a younger scientist. "Little He, tell them about this Geon MS."
"Based on our current research, its speed, responsiveness, and defensive capability are all superior to the Jianhong MS."
Long Chenxuan asked, "Can we manufacture one for testing immediately?"
"With Feichi Military Science Company's current technology, there will be no problem developing it according to the blueprints."
"Grandfather, then let's test it immediately."
"Mm, good."
At that moment, Long Huijuan arrived in the villa's main hall. Seeing the family's scientists studying her nephew's blueprints, she was filled with fury.
Long Huijuan walked before her father. After greeting him, she directly slapped Long Chenxuan across the face.
Long Chenxuan covered his struck cheek. Long Yingxuan frowned, feeling extremely displeased, but because his younger sister was favored by their father, he did not dare rebuke her.
"Juan'er, why did you hit your nephew?"
"Dad, you already promised me that I could personally handle Little Fei's affairs. Yet your eldest son and eldest grandson dared to harass Little Fei's home and even tried to seize his things. If Little Fei finds out, he will never let us off."
Long Dingkun glanced at his daughter and asked, "But have you made any progress in the past month or so?"
Long Huijuan was momentarily speechless.
"Since you have made no progress, why not let your elder brother and eldest nephew help you?"
"Help? Is that what you call helping? Acting like thugs to steal someone else's things—and even stealing from your own relative! Your actions are holding me back. Little Fei's matter cannot be rushed. What you are doing is not only dragging me down, but will sooner or later plunge the Long Family into irreversible ruin."
Long Yingxuan spoke up. "Little sister, how are we holding you back? We are helping you, and we are acting for the Long Family's benefit. How could this possibly plunge the Long Family into irreversible ruin?"
"Acting for the Long Family's benefit? What you are doing is merely chasing petty gains right in front of you. You are picking up sesame seeds while throwing away a watermelon."
Long Chenxuan said, "Aunt, how is this some petty gain? This is clearly an enormous benefit. We are helping Long Fei hand over his contribution. When the time comes, he will be a great contributor to the Long Family. Everyone in the Long Family will be grateful to him and acknowledge him as one of us."
Shameless. That was Long Huijuan's assessment of her nephew's words.
"Enough, Juan'er. It has already been done, so stop fussing over it. You have been running around for some time too. Go get some rest." After saying that, Long Dingkun closed his eyes.
Long Huijuan shook her head and said as she walked away, "One day, you will regret what you did today."
As Long Huijuan left the main hall and headed back to her room, an elegant, noblewoman who resembled her by seventy percent called out gently, "Juan'er."
"Mom."
The noblewoman was Yang Ruoxi, the mistress of the Long Family.
"Juan'er, are Kui'er and the others all right?"
"Mom, they're fine."
"It's because Mom is useless. I have no ability to protect your third brother's children."
"Mom, don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault."
"If Mom's family had not fallen into decline, I might have been able to restrain them somewhat."
Before Yang Ruoxi's family had fallen into decline, although the Yang Family was not as powerful as the Long Family, it was still not to be underestimated and held some influence within the Long Family.
Yang Ruoxi had always felt deeply guilty toward her son Long Yingxuan. Back then, for astronomical profits, her husband had arranged a marriage between a young lady of the Xu Family and her third son. However, Long Yingxuan already loved a girl from an ordinary background and refused his father's arrangement.
Because of this, father and son had a huge argument.
Long Huijuan had especially loved and clung to her third brother since childhood. Back then, after watching him quarrel with their father, she saw him leave the Long Family.
Later, her third brother married her third sister-in-law. Not a single member of the Long Family attended his wedding, nor did any of them offer their blessings. Only she and her mother attended, and her mother had secretly brought her there.
Later, while her third brother was starting his business, her mother asked her own family to secretly lend him a hand.
Her third brother's family only kept in contact with her and their mother. They never attended the Long Family gatherings or their father's birthday. Only on her and their mother's birthdays would her third brother's family return to the Long Family to attend their birthday banquets.
When her third brother and third sister-in-law died in an accident that year, her mother's family had happened to fall into decline. Her mother's standing in the Long Family had become insignificant, and she was unable to attend their funeral. At that time, only Long Huijuan could go and help Long Kui handle the aftermath of their parents' deaths.
Their father did not care at all. He had always held a grudge over the astronomical profits lost when her third brother rejected the arranged marriage.
"Dad still resents Third Brother for rejecting the marriage he arranged, and he has even taken out that resentment on Third Brother's children."
"Your father does not actually hate the loss of those astronomical profits that much. He places great importance on social standing and matching family backgrounds. Your third sister-in-law came from an ordinary family, but your father could have reluctantly accepted that. However, she worked at a nightclub and a massage parlor to earn money because her parents were seriously ill. Your father simply could not accept a woman from an ordinary background who worked in such industries as a daughter-in-law of the Long Family, nor could he accept the Long Family's descendants having such a mother."
"..." Long Huijuan had no response. Quite a few wealthy and influential families used her third brother's children to mock the Long Family, ridiculing them for taking such a daughter-in-law.
Long Huijuan knew very well that although her third sister-in-law had worked in those industries for her parents' sake, she had always kept herself clean and had never sold herself. The Long Family, including her father, knew this as well, but the other wealthy families did not care whether her third sister-in-law had remained chaste. They only wanted to use the matter to ridicule the Long Family.
Yang Ruoxi could only sigh at this.
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