You Want to See Nuclear Weapons? What's So Hard About That?

Whether it was him or his supervisor, Michael Hasen, they could both be considered invisible figures throughout LLNL Laboratory.

Either he could choose to copy lower-tier technological items, such as the high-precision in situ transmission electron microscope from the materials engineering laboratory at Duke University. Those usually awarded around two or three thousand Achievement Points.

Or he could only wait quietly for the right opportunity to arrive.

After thinking it over and over, he still could not find a better solution.

"Don't rush. The more anxious I get, the more useless it'll be," Lu Ze murmured.

It seemed that copying high-level technological items would still be a long and arduous journey.

The copy attempts would not disappear just sitting there. If he got too impatient, he might expose some flaws, and that would be more trouble than it was worth.

After clearing his mind, Lu Ze slowly walked along the laboratory town's streets, taking in the little town before him.

As the location of LLNL Laboratory's headquarters, nearly all of the town's tens of thousands of residents lived their lives around it. A river ran directly between the two, serving as a dividing line.

Just as Lu Ze was getting familiar with this unfamiliar environment,

someone nearby suddenly caught his attention.

A girl with elfin eyes stood there in a pure white dress, her waist-length black hair falling behind her. A section of her fair forearm was exposed as she bit her finger and stared intently at the names on the coffee shop's menu. The image was striking, like a dancer from some distant land.

Seeing someone with a skin tone similar to his own in this foreign country put Lu Ze much more at ease.

However,

the situation she was currently facing did not seem very good.

"Hello, I'd like this medium mocha." The girl blinked and pointed at the coffee in the middle.

"Sorry, miss. Our coffee sizes are medium, large, and extra-large. That's a large mocha."

"I want the medium one here," she said in a soft, childish voice. It was clearly the cup in the middle—how had she said it wrong?

"Sorry, that's the large size. This is the medium!" The server politely pointed to the cup on the far left to correct her.

"..."

Listening to their inexplicable conversation, Lu Ze's face filled with question marks. "Good lord, Starbucks abroad plays this game too?"

Seeing that the girl was practically about to slap herself in frustration, Lu Ze quickly stepped forward and stopped her. "Sorry, give her a large mocha with sugar and milk."

He took the coffee from the server and handed it to her.

She had said it already—this was the large one! Why was this woman being so dense?

"Hello, Lucy... I'm Lu Ze. We met earlier," Lu Ze said with a smile, extending his hand.

He happened to know this beautiful girl. Professor Hasen had introduced her at the laboratory earlier, and he vaguely remembered that her name was Lucy.

He had initially assumed that, like him, she was an Asian of East Asian descent. Yet she was actually a native-born Eagle Sauce citizen. With that face, a stunning blend of Eastern and Western features, there was no way Lu Ze could forget her.

She smiled in response. "Hello, I'm Lucy Hill."

However, looking at Lu Ze's outstretched right hand, Lucy quietly muttered, "Uh... would it be bad to shake with my left hand?"

Seemingly realizing this, she solemnly put down the coffee clutched in her right hand. Only then did their hands lightly touch.

"..." Lu Ze.

It was just a handshake. Was there really a need to be so serious? It was not some ancient ceremony.

Seeing her adorably spacey demeanor, Lu Ze could not understand how it matched her breathtaking appearance at all.

Only then did Lucy remember who the person before her was. "I remember you. You're the Great Xia graduate intern who just started today, right?"

A hint of delight blossomed in her eyes.

Lu Ze smiled. "That's right. At first, I thought you were from Great Xia too, just like me."

After all, that face was simply far too deceptive.

If she learned a few more Chinese phrases, no one would doubt her if she claimed to be from Great Xia.

"I'm used to it. Ever since I was little, strangers have always thought I was from Great Xia." Lucy sighed.

Although minorities made up nearly forty percent of Eagle Sauce's population, while white people accounted for only around fifty-five to sixty percent, most of those minorities were Black or Latin American.

Someone with black hair and a complexion like hers was more often assumed to be from Great Xia.

Lucy did not elaborate further on the subject. She probably could not finish telling that story even after a whole day.

"Thank you for helping me out just now. Like you, I'm one of Professor Hasen's students."

"You're welcome. It was nothing, just a small favor."

Lu Ze had a very good impression of the girl before him.

It was not merely because of the superficial reason that Lucy was exceptionally beautiful. Lu Ze appreciated her inner beauty even more.

Unlike many Eagle Sauce people, who often approached social interactions with strong ulterior interests or placed extraordinary importance on class distinctions, she did not.

Whether someone was from Great Xia, a poor region of Latin America, or a Black man from Africa, she could treat them politely without any prejudice.

No matter what she truly thought inside, being able to manage even that much on the surface was already rare.

Even at Eagle Sauce's top Ivy League universities, all kinds of subtle discrimination still existed. Back when Lu Ze was at Duke University, many people who heard that he was from Great Xia practically looked down on him with their noses.

"Still... studying under Professor Hasen probably won't be easy for you." Lucy took a sip of coffee and frowned.

She had never been someone with much guile. Whatever came to mind, she said.

"This isn't a good choice for you," Lucy added.

Although she did not know why Lu Ze had chosen Professor Hasen, it definitely was not a good choice.

Professor Hasen ranked near the bottom throughout LLNL Laboratory. There was no real future in following him. If Lucy herself had not been content to coast along and simply finish her degree, she would have chosen another professor as her supervisor long ago.

"True enough." Lu Ze gave a bitter smile. "Forget participating in any core projects. Even getting up close to some advanced technology is difficult."

That was also what troubled him most at the moment. Supervisors at LLNL Laboratory were not people you could change whenever you wanted. Even where you were assigned was up to them.

He did not know whether the laboratory had an EUV lithography machine, but there were certainly plenty of top-tier technological items here. Unfortunately, he had no chance to get near any of them.

He had already prepared himself mentally. So long as he saw an item worth more than six or seven thousand Achievement Points, he would copy it without hesitation.

Lucy pursed her lips. "What's there to see in that stuff? Don't tell me you want to go inside and tour the place?"

"I really do. As long as I can take a look and touch it, that's enough." Lu Ze nodded. As long as he could touch it for five seconds, that would be enough.

"What's so hard about that?" Lucy gave him a strange look.

"Isn't that hard??"

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