Boundless Love; B-2 Bomber, Am I Hallucinating?

Boundless Love; B-2 Bomber, Am I Hallucinating?

It was exactly the same as the previous three times.

The screen was packed with densely stacked compressed files, every single one of them frighteningly large.

After a long silence, Zhang Yuli mechanically selected one of the compressed files and started the download.

The progress bar leapt forward rapidly. If the Great Xia Academy of Sciences had not been using a dedicated network directly connected to Great Xia's bandwidth servers, downloading this one compressed file alone would have taken quite a while.

Liu Zhixue pointed at the screen for a long time before saying in shock, "They really got the complete B-2 bomber technology?"

"And it was this easy... How long has it even been?"

Liu Zhixue remembered that only two days had passed since the Mysterious Organization had sent an email saying it had a "huge surprise" for Great Xia.

Was this really stealing technology? Why did it feel as easy as going home for dinner?

None of them had ever doubted the authenticity of even a single piece of the technology. Such suspicion would have been an insult to the Mysterious Organization.

"It seems we still greatly underestimated the Mysterious Organization's capabilities."

Zhang Yuli sighed in amazement. "Calling this divine and all-powerful would be entirely fitting."

When he had used "divine and all-powerful" before, it had merely been a way to express how unbelievable it felt.

But now, when he used those words, he truly felt that perhaps only immortals could possess such methods.

Calling the B-2 bomber Eagle Sauce's most closely guarded secret would not have been an exaggeration. There were only slightly more than ten of them in existence compared to nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Eagle Sauce had even dismantled the B-2 bomber production line. There would absolutely never be another one in the future, so calling it out of print was perfectly fitting. Unlike the F-22 fighter jet, it was still being produced and even upgraded through new iterations.

Its rarity was no less than that of any of Eagle Sauce's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, yet the Mysterious Organization had managed to obtain the complete technical blueprints from Eagle Sauce?

The difficulty of that was beyond anything ordinary people could imagine.

It might have required infiltrating every link of the entire B-2 bomber development team, from the top brass to the lowest level. What terrifying means were those?

"Old Zhang, stop standing there marveling." Zheng Lixing, who was standing nearby, complained, "The Mysterious Organization is still waiting for our reply."

"How much do you think the complete B-2 bomber technology is worth in 'compensation'?"

"This..." Zhang Yuli was instantly at a loss for words when he heard that. "I have no idea either."

Who the hell knew how much B-2 bomber technical blueprints were worth? The development funding alone had cost more than forty billion US Dollars.

And that was more than forty billion US Dollars from the seventies and eighties. How many times would that amount have inflated by 2009?

After thinking for a moment, he typed out a reply.

'We are extremely satisfied with this huge surprise. How much "compensation" does your organization want? We can meet any request.'

"How much money? Let them name the price themselves." Zhang Yuli took a sip of the tea at hand and let out a long breath.

This time, he still did not quote an exact price.

The reason was the same as the previous two times. He was not afraid of naming too high a figure; what he feared most was the Mysterious Organization finding the compensation too little.

Therefore, whatever amount they wanted, Great Xia would definitely pay it as long as it could afford it.

Even if they directly asked for ten or twenty billion US Dollars, Zhang Yuli would not blink. He would immediately report it upward for the highest-level approval of fund transfers, then send the money to them by whatever designated method as quickly as possible.

"That method is appropriate," Zheng Lixing agreed.

Now, all they could do was wait for the Mysterious Organization's reply.

A few more minutes passed before a new email finally arrived.

[I do not want cash or any other equivalent compensation. I still hope Great Xia will pay in another way.]

'May I ask what method? As long as it is within Great Xia's capabilities, we will spare no effort.'

After sending his reply, Zhang Yuli frowned and muttered, "Another method of payment?"

"Could it be like last time again? Build another thousand schools in Northwest Province?"

"More schools? What Northwest Province currently lacks even more are teachers." Zheng Lixing shook his head. "Even if we built several thousand more, or even more than that, they would not be useful right now."

When it came to basic education, building schools could only solve part of the immediate problem.

Even though Great Xia had already improved teacher benefits in Northwest Province, it was one of the least developed provinces. Many teachers still had to work in mountainous areas, and recruitment was not as easy as people imagined.

The subsidies were indeed substantial, perhaps even comparable to salaries in many second-tier and first-tier cities. But when there were not even proper roads, much less any entertainment, could they expect every teacher to be a saint without desires? That was obviously unrealistic.

In the long run, they still had to cultivate local teaching resources for healthy and sustainable development.

Soon, the email replied.

[I believe this B-2 bomber technology can be exchanged for five billion US Dollars in "compensation."]

'Great Xia has no objections. Five billion US Dollars is completely acceptable.' Zhang Yuli swiftly typed out a response.

Five billion US Dollars for B-2 bomber technology? He was willing to make a deal like that a hundred times, until Great Xia's foreign exchange reserves had been completely emptied.

"It seems the person speaking with us now is the controller behind the Mysterious Organization," Zheng Lixing guessed.

"Most likely. The pronoun used in the email has changed again." Zhang Yuli nodded in agreement.

They had previously kept using "they," but when it came to the crucial matter of compensation, it had changed to "I."

That fit ordinary logic. No matter how one looked at it, this was not something that could be left to subordinates. It had to be negotiated personally.

Then—

[I hope Great Xia will use the five billion US Dollars to establish a student subsidy program for all primary and secondary school students in Northwest Province.]

[Provide partial reductions or free accommodations, meals, clothing, and other necessities.]

[The full amount will be used for a short-term plan expected to last five years.]

[In the future, this program will become a long-term plan and be implemented nationwide.]

"Hiss... A subsidy program for every primary and secondary school student in the entire province? And only for five years?"

Zhang Yuli sucked in a sharp breath.

Although he had vaguely guessed what the Mysterious Organization wanted to do, he had not expected its resolve to be so astonishing.

That was five billion US Dollars—thirty-five billion yuan in total—all used to support primary and secondary school students in Northwest Province?

"Old Zhang, if I remember correctly, Northwest Province only has a little over six million primary and secondary school students in total, right?"

Zheng Lixing quickly calculated the exact figure. "Thirty-five billion over five years means an average subsidy of nearly 1,100 yuan per person per year?"

"That really is no small amount."

Given Great Xia's current prices in 2009, an average subsidy of three yuan per day was already very considerable. Pork was generally only a little over four yuan per jin now.

That money would be enough to ensure many children could eat meat and drink milk for breakfast and lunch every day, with quite a bit left over.

'What method should we use to provide this assistance?' Zhang Yuli did not say much else and merely replied.

After all, this assistance could not possibly continue to be provided under Great Xia's name. Otherwise, the other provinces would certainly have objections.

Northwest Province needed subsidies, but did other underdeveloped provinces not need them as well? Even Great Xia's southern provinces had vast underdeveloped regions.

The other provinces would not know that all of this had been exchanged for the Mysterious Organization's "compensation." They would only think Great Xia was being unfair.

Therefore, this time, they had to have a legitimate justification.

The reply came quickly.

[Then say that the funds were donated by an "enthusiastic citizen," and call it the "Enthusiastic Citizen Student Subsidy Program."]

Seeing that line in the email—

"Pfft. Does the Mysterious Organization have some special obsession with the name 'enthusiastic citizen'?" Liu Zhixue twitched his lips.

As he recalled, had they not also asked him to call them an "enthusiastic citizen" during their first contact?

Still, judging from its actions these past two times, the Mysterious Organization truly deserved that title.

'We will draft a plan as soon as possible and implement your requested measures at the fastest speed.'

After replying, Zhang Yuli sat in his chair and sighed. "It seems the leader of this Mysterious Organization has deep feelings for Northwest Province, perhaps even a great fondness for all of Great Xia."

"We simply have not done enough, allowing these people to suffer."

Did the education authorities not know that many students in Northwest Province lived in hardship? Even Zhang Yuli, the president of the Great Xia Academy of Sciences, knew perfectly well.

It was not that they did not know; they simply could not manage it. Northwest Province's annual education budget was only a little over three billion yuan, and many rural teachers were paid only once every half year or so. How could they provide subsidies?

And how many impoverished mountain areas and impoverished counties were there across all of Great Xia? Could they neglect one for the sake of another?

"It will get better in a few more years." Zheng Lixing patted his shoulder. "Once fiscal revenue rises, there will naturally be money for subsidies."

Great Xia's fiscal revenue was not high to begin with. Being able to sustain nine-year compulsory education was already the limit of what it could bear.

After all, besides education, was scientific research not important? Was support for development across every industry not important? Were road construction, major military projects, and defense spending not important? Every one of them mattered, so Great Xia had to budget carefully for every one of them.

But the Mysterious Organization did not have such concerns. After all, this "compensation" was its own money, and Great Xia would not object no matter how it chose to spend it.

"Liu, go notify the highest authorities first." Zhang Yuli thought for a moment, then added, "I'll prepare a proposal over the next day or two and submit it, then we'll implement it according to the Mysterious Organization's requirements."

"Yes, President." Liu Zhixue nodded and immediately strode out of the room.

As the Special Secret Group's external liaison, he was responsible for communicating both upward and downward.

Watching his figure gradually disappear, Zheng Lixing suddenly remembered something. "Old Zhang, what should we do with this B-2 bomber technology?"

As they had said before, the B-2 bomber was simply too expensive.

Even if Great Xia gritted its teeth and could build one, it probably could not afford to operate one in its current state. With only four hundred billion yuan in annual military spending at most, what B-2 bomber were they supposed to play with? Which air force unit could afford to keep such a living ancestor?

Both of them understood that perfectly well.

"Now that we have the technology, not researching it is definitely not an option." Zhang Yuli paused. "But we do not necessarily have to develop a B-2 bomber."

"Oh? You mean?" Zheng Lixing's eyes lit up. "The H-20 that is being prepared for approval?"

Zhang Yuli nodded. "We can take the best from it and make up for our shortcomings. That way, the H-20's development time will be greatly shortened, and the unit production cost can be controlled."

"It is time for the H-20 project to be formally approved."

Absorbing the B-2 bomber's strengths to develop Great Xia's H-20 project was the best choice.

"Then I need to notify Duan Fei right away."

Zheng Lixing narrowed his eyes, smiling broadly. "If he hears this news, he'll probably jump three feet into the air."

In Changan, Institute 603, commonly known as Xifei—

This was one of Great Xia's major research and manufacturing bases for bombers, transport aircraft, civilian aircraft, and more. Many bombers, including the H-6, had been developed by Institute 603.

At this moment, in the middle of the night—

A somewhat thin middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses had just been awakened by an urgent phone call, leaving him with a completely dazed expression.

"Elder Zheng, what did you say? What bomber?"

He suspected he had not heard clearly just now. Otherwise, how could something so absurd have happened?

"Duan Fei, hurry to Yanjing." Zheng Lixing's voice brimmed with excitement. "This concerns not only the H-20 bomber, but also the B-2 bomber. Take a special plane over immediately."

"???"

Duan Fei suspected he had gotten up too suddenly and was hallucinating. Otherwise, why had he suddenly heard the name B-2 bomber?

Maybe he should sleep a little longer? This dream was strangely exciting.

(PS: The author is not from Northwest Province, so stop guessing. It was simply the best entry point at the time, which was why I chose that place. Later developments will definitely be nationwide as well, but it has to happen gradually, just like national poverty alleviation efforts—they have to solve things one place at a time.)