Ke Feijia's Busyness

Chapter 12: 1.12 Chapter Ke Feijia's Busyness

Wei Keng knew that Ke Feijia's work was much busier than his own. The five groups of personnel who arrived in this spacetime zone were operating on different historical timelines.

In the historical timelines where Wei Keng's group was located, Shenyang, Soviet Russia, and the Western Alliance all existed. As for Shenzhou? It was not certain. For example, in another historical timeline, there was the "Heavenly Dynasty," and the leading group was called the "Central Revolutionary Alliance." Ke Feijia's research on meson-macro particles was not just for his own plane's business; he also bore the task of "sharing data with companions on other historical timelines."

Supernatural technology! This was also a commonality among the historical timelines that this batch of traversers had arrived in.

When the Spacetime Management Department determined that this region had strange phenomena, they had to determine how many spacetime dimensions these phenomena spanned. This was to cut out this spacetime zone, originally classified as an Adjacent Plane, and reclassify it as a Near Plane.

On Wudang Mountain, surrounded by green pines, on a helipad with a Tai Chi symbol, Ke Feijia cupped his sleeves in a bow, and three Taoist priests were invited onto the plane.

The "invitation" here was not easy. In addition to renovating the entire Hall of True Warrior, a scripture library with full electronic search capabilities was built for Wudang Mountain. At the same time, to show his sincerity, Ke Feijia personally copied the Dao De Jing and other Taoist classics forty-nine times, word for word, and fasted for seven days before Emperor Zhenwu. Only then could he cooperate with these enlightened Taoist masters, or rather, seek their guidance. The preparations Ke Feijia made beforehand already made him a lay disciple of Wudang, and he had to call them Uncle-Masters and Senior-Uncles when meeting them.

In the laboratory, using various precision human measurement equipment, they measured the meson-macro particles within these True Qi possessors. Then, armed with the data, they consulted these Uncle-Masters and Senior-Uncles on whether the plan could be used to continue seeking the Dao.

"Supernatural" was actually a modern term. Due to Shenzhou's long history, there were early ancient texts even on blacksmithing and iron smelting. Therefore, those with awakened supernatural abilities also left behind their divine powers in classics such as Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism to varying degrees.

So, from today's perspective, Ke Feijia's research could draw upon a large number of classics to plan his approach and, in line with cultural traditions, find those with supernatural abilities to conduct experiments in a conventional manner.

Conversely, in the West, the cultural lineage had been broken several times, and Monotheism had extremely low tolerance for the unusual. There had been several large-scale witch hunts in history. For a long time, a small number of supernaturals had to hide in dark corners, unable to openly discuss Qi cultivation and the art of longevity with ancient rulers like Chinese Taoists.

After entering the technological era, they acknowledged the objective existence of supernatural phenomena. However, these foreigners acknowledged something from a modern perspective; they would not overturn ancient actions.

There was no other way. If they were to thoroughly overturn all of history, what chaos would ensue? It was like how modern Western human rights were meant to showcase their modern civilization. Could they go back to the era of colonial expansion and talk about massacring Native Americans and trading Africans? Wouldn't that be equivalent to criticizing their own civilization as worthless?

Western philosophers also evaluated themselves: "All history is contemporary history."

The core element of Western civilization's competitiveness in the industrial age, "maintaining cruelty," was based on the ability "to calmly sever ties with the past emotionally, to merely label the past from an observer's perspective, not to impose one's current morality onto ancient times for deep experience, and to objectively summarize."

Therefore, "supernatural" in the modern Western scientific community was a system developed in modern times!

This was cleanly separated from ancient witchcraft in terms of historical connection. They would only admit that it was observed by modern scientific equipment and might have drawn inspiration from ancient witchcraft phenomena, but they would never say it was the modern version of ancient witchcraft.

In the East, if certain ancient things were not acknowledged within their respective fields, then one could not inherit them in the present day.

In the West, they would not admit that what they were doing now inherited from the marginalized branches oppressed by Monotheism. They would only say that this was a great discovery by their current civilization, representing the civilized world, and thus they had no "burden of sin." In fact, some of their current methods were, to some extent, the same as ancient ones, but as modern people, they were negligent "without knowing."

The current supernatural research field in the West involved finding people to "sacrifice for science." Their research methods were much cruder than Ke Feijia's discussions with major sects on "how to flourish."

Regarding the various accidents that might occur in modern supernatural research departments in Europe and America, Wei Keng was not yet aware of them in Shenzhou. However, according to intelligence gathered from Western news, there had recently been frequent incidents of "mentally ill individuals causing destruction with firearms" and "gas pipeline explosions" in the Alps in Europe and Lincoln County in southern Nevada in North America. Oh, Wei Keng also paid extra attention to a town called "Tanabe" in Shenyang.

In the blink of an eye, it was the summer of March, Western Calendar 1969.

When some of the apprentice programmers in the Information College of the Industrial Park could already design simple programs, and some outstanding individuals had shown their potential for this hair-losing profession.

The "idle" Wei Keng received a notification from Ke Feijia. His research project required his help. Wei Keng understood this "help" as "loading supernatural abilities himself" and happily went over.

This transmigration, Wei Keng's position was a safe one; he could honestly be a capitalist.

But the chair he sat in was also a position within this layout. The capital in his hands was enough to move the world—but it was a bit unsafe.

Inside the van heading towards the Lingyuan Microphysics Laboratory, Wei Keng leaned back on the reclining chair, adjusted his cap, and said in a drawl, "With superpowers plus capital, can one conduct business safely?!"

In the superpower experimental site, Wei Keng felt he had overthought things.

"Greetings, Daoist Master!" Before meeting Ke Feijia, Wei Keng first obsequiously greeted the Daoist priest beside him. However, this Daoist priest merely gave a perfunctory "Layman" in response to Wei Keng and said no more. This left Wei Keng, who was eager to seek the Dao, quite embarrassed.

To the Daoist sect, Wei Keng had neither the aptitude nor the family and career. Furthermore, he was too worldly. His eager desire for superpowers was too obvious. To seek the Dao, one should at least carry water up the mountain for a year or two to demonstrate one's character.

The true teachings of the Daoist sect were not for Wei Keng, at least not for now.

Ke Feijia looked at Wei Keng's somewhat unwilling expression and smiled. In his opinion, this was normal. It was normal to lack composure when encountering the magical abilities of the Near Plane for the first time during a transmigration. Ke Feijia made a gesture indicating "let's get down to business now" and asked Wei Keng to follow him.

Ke Feijia led Wei Keng to an armored vehicle. After the armored vehicle drove out of the base, it merged into a convoy. At the same time, on the screen of Wei Keng's armored vehicle, scenes from other compartments within the convoy appeared. These compartments also contained people holding discussions.

Ke Feijia introduced to Wei Keng, "This is Bai Jingqi, also known as Shopkeeper Bai, the technical director of the Huining Mechanical Design Research Institute under the Fenghou Group."

Fenghou Group executive: "Patriarch Wei, it's a pleasure. You are known for being low-key within the circle. If Mr. Ke hadn't introduced us, it would have been truly difficult to meet you."

Ke Feijia reminded him that the upcoming experimental site was provided by the Fenghou Group.

After Wei Keng politely responded to the Fenghou Group's management, he looked at the heavy vehicles and fully armed soldiers in the convoy on the external screen. He quietly asked Ke Feijia, "Are we going to the armed testing ground base?"

Ke Feijia: "Yes."

After passing through the testing grounds for a few minutes, a Dragon Flame Individual Mech was being tested. It was fully mechanized, with shoulder cannons mounted on the rear, capable of locking onto targets based on the helmet's visual targeting system. Currently, this set of equipment was a product developed by the Suhu Joint Industrial Group. Such equipment could greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of new recruits.

The clanking sound of its pop-up cannon and the impact of the rapid-fire guns on the targets made Wei Keng look at it a few more times.

Bai Jingqi introduced: "To our north is a fully militarized country like Soviet Russia, so we must arm ourselves to the teeth with technology."

Ke Feijia added, "However, the price is too high now, and the military has not yet decided on large-scale procurement."

Bai Jingqi: "Experimental equipment is developed to cope with future production conditions. In recent years, the technology of electronic hardware has been rapidly improving."

Wei Keng nodded as if he understood, and Ke Feijia communicated to Wei Keng through the system: "The Fenghou Group is showcasing its strength to you."

Wei Keng: "Huh? Oh." He appeared nonchalant.

Wei Keng knew that Fenghou's display of the Dragon Flame individual combat system was a warning to him: Fenghou had sufficient technical reserves in the field of individual mechanical equipment, and the Luoshui Group should not compete in this area.

However, Wei Keng had already decided. Apart from aviation, vehicle, ship engines, and electronic control design, Luoshui would maintain cooperative relations with the military in electronic components. His family's mechanical manufacturing would gradually transition towards civilian use. He would cultivate the market and build an internal circulation. He would no longer engage in internal competition with other groups for military orders. Wei Keng had already controlled his family's investments and quietly acquired equity in the White Dove Intelligent Workshop, preparing to enter the civilian drone market.

Wei Keng's current goal was to seize the leading position in the software industry.

In the future, these heavy industries must ensure sufficient intelligence in their equipment, requiring design in operating systems and other aspects. Luoshui will then cooperate with them.

Wei Keng remarked casually, "The technical indicators for new military equipment are getting higher and higher. Our factory is currently developing a new generation of lithium batteries, as well as supporting electric bicycles and clean energy buses."

The Fenghou Group administrator felt like he had punched into a wall of air, finding it a bit uninteresting.

In the testing ground, sealed by the security system on the fourth floor of the Fenghou Group's large base.

Wei Keng saw this large mechanical facility. He suddenly stood up, a surge of interest in his blood.

Wei Keng: "Is this a mecha?"

What Wei Keng saw was a large humanoid mecha, twenty meters tall, with exposed metal joints and mechanical muscles not yet covered by armor.

A vehicle drove over, and a lift slowly extended to the cockpit behind the mecha's back. Ke Feijia, carrying a wine bottle, climbed up. After entering the cockpit, he placed the bottle on the mecha's shoulder platform.

Watching Wei Keng from the side, he suddenly thought of something: "Wait, how do you electronically control this thing?"

With a click, a glass cover like a crystal coffin lid descended. Ke Feijia in the cockpit raised his hand, and almost in perfect synchronization, the robot raised its hand. The movement was precise, and not a drop of the wine bottle on its shoulder spilled. Wei Keng opened his mouth: "I really don't know how it maintains balance."

The mecha stood up, as agile as a human.

Through the broadcast, "Take two steps forward," "Take two steps back," "Turn around," this heavy monster completed each command.

Then, it stood on one leg, tilting twenty degrees to maintain balance, all of which were also completed, and the bottle on its shoulder did not fall.

Wei Keng fell silent, staring intently at the mecha, trying to find the control circuitry. The balance system controlling the movements of the seventy-plus tons of humanoid steel exceeded the current technological capabilities.

A few minutes later, the cockpit opened. Ke Feijia came down and said to Wei Keng, "Curious, aren't you?"

Wei Keng nodded.

Ke Feijia raised his hand, True Qi flashing in his palm. A thought flashed through Wei Keng's mind, and he understood. He asked, "Meson-Macro Particle!"

Ke Feijia: "You guessed correctly."

True Qi, this is a miraculous energy. For hundreds of years, Jianghu Swordsmen leaped high and walked on walls. But in the Firearm Era, even the fastest sword couldn't match a bullet. A top-tier master who had practiced internal energy for over twenty years could often be ambushed by unscrupulous youths with pistols. Unless one reached the Innate Realm, where True Qi could form a shield. But even such masters couldn't withstand the suppression of a nation's military might.

So, is Martial Dao truly useless? One must be flexible in thought. A flesh and blood body cannot withstand steel, so one must control steel. True Qi masters possess the ability to perceive the slightest sound within a hundred meters. They can even close their eyes and be sensitive to the slightest movement of any plant, insect, or leaf around them. This indicates that True Qi can provide perception and control signals.

Ke Feijia's design, Meson-Macro Particle sensing, photoelectric components, and direct connection to the six thousand synchronization devices of the large machinery. When the meridians of the human body are connected to the artificial meridians of the combat machinery, this large artificial combat machine gains practical combat value.

Half the price of modern equipment is in its electronic control. Therefore, the optimal value of ancient martial arts in modern times is to match the derived control force of Qi sensing with suitable industrial weaponry.

After completing the experiment, Ke Feijia explained the areas that needed improvement for this type of equipment to the Fenghou Group personnel. Their discussion involved many industrial details. Wei Keng was excluded. However, Wei Keng could listen to the entire conversation through the system's side-channel access permissions granted by Ke Feijia.

Throughout the entire process, it seemed as if Wei Keng was just there to make up the numbers. But the Fenghou Group didn't see it that way. After Ke Feijia finished discussing all the technical details, he left with Wei Keng.

Bai Jingqi frowned, watching Wei Keng and Ke Feijia leave in the same car.

A technician beside him couldn't help but voice his confusion first: "Young Master, for the Golden Armor Guard Project, we should be fully responsible for the mechanical technology aspects, while the Southern Style Museum is responsible for the control and sensing components. So, why was the helmsman of Luoshui Group invited this time?"

This Fenghou Group executive glanced at the technician who spoke: "This is not something you need to worry about."

Meanwhile, Wei Keng and Ke Feijia's armored vehicle stopped halfway on the roadside. The two temporarily got out and found a quiet spot.

Ke Feijia patted Wei Keng's shoulder. A surge of True Qi vibrated through Wei Keng's body from his shoulder, signaling Wei Keng to take off his jacket. He unhurriedly destroyed the listening device on the third button.

Ke Feijia: "Your mental state is being measured. After the measurement is complete, the system will tell you how to connect your mind and Qi according to Daoist principles, allowing for slow Qi cultivation." His words were meant to tell Wei Keng not to rush; superpowers would come.

Wei Keng nodded, then shifted the topic to the 'Po Jun Golden Armor': "Is the threshold for using this equipment very high?"

Ke Feijia: "Meson-Macro Particle, sufficient cycles of oscillation must be completed before the component can exhibit stable signal conversion. In other words, one must have at least ten years of cultivation to sense internal Qi, and their True Qi can then be used. Therefore—" he looked at Wei Keng.

Wei Keng: "I know, in the future, we will still rely on relevant chips and automated systems for assistance."

Ke Feijia: "Yes, you continue with your progress."