"That would be great. I've been looking forward to it." Lu Ze smiled, a trace of excitement hidden in his eyes.
The B-2 Spirit bomber—its name alone was the unattainable dream of countless people.
Given the chance to copy such a high-tech item, he naturally had no reason to hesitate.
"Lucy, are we going in the morning or the afternoon?"
He was in no rush and slowly finished the noodles in his bowl.
He did not even need to ask about the exact time. After all, both Lu Ze and Lucy had some reputation in the world of slacking off, so naturally they would not do something that would "ruin their reputations."
They would obviously only go to the maintenance center during work hours. Were they supposed to go after work?
"Ten o'clock. We can get back in time for lunch."
Lucy thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I heard they're serving taro pie today. We can't miss it."
"I'm done." She set down an extra-large bowl and elegantly wiped the oil from her lips.
Although Lucy ate incredibly quickly, her table manners were those of a proper lady.
"Alright." Lu Ze nodded and began clearing the dishes, silently thinking to himself.
For Great Xia, which would be more useful—the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer technology or the B-2 bomber technology? Lu Ze wondered.
If Great Xia had to make a choice, the answer would undoubtedly be the latter.
After all, judging from its development timeline alone, the Arleigh Burke-class, which had entered service in the 1990s, was already standing at the edge of its era.
It was a remnant of the old age, a ship with no place in the new world of the twenty-first century.
Aside from having fewer vertical launch cells, the Type 052D missile destroyer Great Xia was building held advantages in almost every other area. Not to mention that, only a few years after accumulating experience from building the Type 052D, Great Xia had developed and launched the "invincible" Type 055 10,000-ton destroyer.
Who would have thought that a missile destroyer could displace more than ten thousand tons? Worse still, it had been outrageously loaded with hypersonic anti-ship missiles like the YJ-21. It was a bona fide carrier killer.
Traditional missile destroyers like the Arleigh Burke-class had long since been directly eliminated.
It could be said that Great Xia's development speed in destroyers over the next decade would likely exceed the entire world's imagination.
Possessing Arleigh Burke-class destroyer technology might only make Great Xia's research direction a little clearer. It would not make that much difference.
But the B-2 bomber was different. As a stealth strategic bomber, even more than a decade later, it remained the only aircraft of its kind in active service anywhere in the world. Even Great Xia's H-20, which had been in development for years, had yet to reveal any information related to its maiden flight, let alone enter formal service.
Part of the reason was that large drones had replaced a considerable portion of the long-range stealth strategic bomber's functions. In many ways, drones were even more practical, cheaper, and easier to mass-produce. Another part was that Great Xia had extremely high technical requirements for the H-20.
But no matter how one looked at it, the technology of a successfully developed B-2 bomber was immensely significant to Great Xia. It could help the H-20 project avoid many detours.
And opportunities to get close to a B-2 bomber are far rarer than opportunities to get close to an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
With that thought, Lu Ze made up his mind. It's decided, then. The B-2 bomber!
There were only a handful of B-2s in the entire world, scattered across various air force bases. Getting close to one was no simple matter.
LLNL National Laboratory had finally received a B-2, yet it would only be there for five days of maintenance before flying back.
Who knew when he would have another chance to encounter one? No matter what, Lu Ze could not let it slip away. He could always visit a destroyer during the next Navy open day.
At ten-thirty in the morning, the sun hung high in the sky as noon approached, and the heat was almost unbearable.
LLNL National Laboratory, outside the entrance to the maintenance center's storage area.
"Lu Ze, let's hurry inside."
Lucy fanned her sun-reddened cheeks with her hand. "It's too sunny."
Although California in May was not particularly hot, the sun could absolutely strip a layer of skin off someone. Leaving the house without sunscreen was practically suicidal.
"I should have brought a parasol." Lu Ze apologetically handed her several wet wipes.
If Lucy's skin, smooth as congealed cream, got tanned, he would feel terrible.
The two said nothing more and walked straight inside.
The entire storage area was still piled with a dazzling assortment of weapons and equipment. Among the latest batch of equipment that had just been placed in storage were several new items Lu Ze had never seen before.
AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft.
Stryker wheeled combat vehicle.
*...*
Lu Ze did not spend much time admiring these new toys. All his attention was focused on the enormous object in the distance.
The several hundred square meters around it had been completely cleared, leaving only that single piece of equipment parked steadily in the center.
It was that B-2 bomber.
Lu Ze chuckled. "No wonder people say Eagle Sauce got this flying saucer from aliens. It really does look like one."
Its appearance was almost entirely unlike that of any aircraft currently on Earth.
Its triangular outline and extremely flattened structure made it look less like an aircraft at first glance and more like a fish or an unidentified flying object.
But that only confirmed the saying: for military equipment, looks were combat power. What good-looking weapon was merely for show?
The better the design looked, the harder it hit!
"Lu Ze, we only have five minutes this time, and we can't enter the cockpit."
"The reason things are so urgent this time is because—"
Lucy was about to explain when Lu Ze waved a hand and interrupted her. "Five minutes is enough."
In his view, Lucy being able to bring him here alone to inspect this B-2 bomber for five minutes was already an unbelievably excessive privilege.
Even someone like Michael Hasen, a professor at the laboratory, might not be able to casually enter this area, much less bring someone in for a leisurely tour.
Lu Ze had been curious about Lucy's identity as well. He had never heard of any LLNL National Laboratory executive named Hill.
But since she did not want to reveal it herself, why ask too many questions?
Under Lucy's gaze, Lu Ze slowly walked up to the bomber and lightly touched its black outer shell. A peculiar sensation traveled through his palm—cold and hard.
He began silently counting down five seconds in his heart. Five, four...
In an instant, a screen of light appeared before his eyes.
[Current technological item: B-2 stealth strategic bomber.] [Achievement Point value: 50,000.] [Please select whether to copy.]
Fifty thousand Achievement Points? That enormous number was beyond his expectations.
He had originally estimated that it would only be around one or two times the value of the F-22 fighter jet.
It must be because of its rarity and value. That's why this B-2 bomber is worth fifty thousand Achievement Points, he quickly guessed.
The B-2 bomber's technological sophistication could not possibly be five times greater than that of the F-22 fighter jet. That much was obvious without much thought.
But considering that the F-22 fighter jet had a production run approaching two hundred units and cost two hundred million US Dollars each, it simply could not compare with the B-2 bomber.
Using the mobile gacha games from Lu Ze's previous life as an analogy, the F-22 could only count as an SR card, while the B-2 had been classified by the System as SSR-tier. Naturally, its Achievement Point reward had risen dramatically.
The thought flashed through his mind.
Yes. Lu Ze did not hesitate in the slightest and decisively chose to copy it.
[Current technological item, B-2 strategic bomber, successfully copied!] [Reward: 50,000 Achievement Points, complete B-2 strategic bomber technical design blueprints, physical item (stored in inventory).] [System Space inventory: B-2 strategic bomber, F-22 fifth-generation heavy air-superiority fighter jet ×2, Boeing 777-300ER, ...]
Five minutes quietly passed.
"Lucy, let's go."
Lu Ze felt incomparably satisfied. "I'm treating you to a big meal today. No cafeteria."
"Then let's go to that newly opened French restaurant. I heard its foie gras is good." Lucy's eyes lit up.
Just as she had expected, as long as she took Lu Ze to see high-tech equipment, she would get a fancy meal afterward.
"Sure!" Lu Ze nodded. Today, he was going all out!
Several hours later.
Great Xia was still in the dead of night, yet a room at the Great Xia Academy of Sciences remained brightly lit.
Two elderly men sat stiffly in their chairs, each with a military overcoat draped over his shoulders to keep warm.
"Elder Zheng, Dean, you should go get some rest first. I can keep watch here with the others."
Liu Zhixue looked at them worriedly. "If anything unusual happens, I'll notify you immediately."
As a middle-aged man in his forties and not yet fifty, he could still hold on for a while.
But Zhang Yuli and Zheng Lixing were both over sixty. Staying up late was not merely harmful to their health.
"It's alright. We'll rest soon." Zheng Lixing lightly waved his hand and drank cup after cup of tea to stay awake.
"Old Zheng, let's get some rest first."
Zhang Yuli felt a little dizzy and tried to persuade him as well. "Little Liu is enough to watch this place. It's only for a while. It's not like you can't wait."
After saying that, he directly dragged stubborn little old man Zheng Lixing into the nearby lounge for a proper rest.
Ever since Zheng Lixing had learned that the Mysterious Organization was preparing a surprise gift, he had barely eaten or slept, constantly waiting for the next email to arrive.
If he kept staying up like this for several more days, the surprise might not arrive before the shock did.
After they had slept fitfully for an hour, suddenly—
"Dean, the new email has arrived." They seemed to hear the voice by their ears. The two immediately opened their eyes and entered the signal-shielded room.
"Old Zhang, hurry up and verify it." Zheng Lixing looked tense and could not sit still.
"Am I not already going as fast as I can?"
Zhang Yuli sat in front of the computer, rapidly verifying security command after security command.
In less than a minute, he logged into the email backend, and a new message instantly popped up.
[There was a small accident in this plan, so the surprise we prepared for Great Xia may be even bigger this time!] [We brought you the technology that our organization failed to obtain last time.]
The expressions of all three men changed drastically upon seeing the message.
"The technology they didn't get last time? The technology the Mysterious Organization mentioned last time seemed to be..." Liu Zhixue swallowed, his face full of shock and disbelief.
"They couldn't have really gotten the B-2 bomber technology, could they?"
Zheng Lixing's heart pounded violently. "That's just... too absurd."
No matter how he had guessed what surprise the Mysterious Organization was preparing, he had never considered this possibility.
Was this thing really so easy to acquire?
Even Eagle Sauce itself might not be able to produce it smoothly now, let alone steal the complete set of technology.
"Although I also think it's impossible, but..." Zhang Yuli did not continue.
He would never have believed anyone else, but when it came to this "Mysterious Organization," Zhang Yuli truly believed them!
He decisively typed out a reply.
Great Xia greatly looks forward to this surprise and will still provide your side with the corresponding compensation.
Everyone in the room stared intently at the screen, waiting for a response from the other side.
At that moment, every passing second felt unprecedentedly long.
After quite a while, the Mysterious Organization's reply arrived.
[Is this technology surprising enough? How much compensation do you think it is worth?] [B-2 "Spirit" strategic bomber technical design blueprints!] [B-2 fighter jet manufacturing process and materials analysis.] [Detailed technical blueprints for the General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofan engine.] [B-2 stealth coating alternating high-frequency material (AHFM) synthesis formula and preparation methods.] [...]
In an instant—
"It really is B-2 bomber technology?"
Zheng Lixing said in stunned disbelief, "They really got their hands on this technology?"
Good heavens, explain what the hell a surprise was? So this was the surprise!
The Mysterious Organization had really gotten hold of the complete B-2 bomber technology?
(Combined chapter. The next chapter should be around six or seven tonight.)
Before you continue