"Our... retired scientists?!" Commander Hu eyed him warily.
These people were national treasures. They might be old, but their minds still held a wealth of knowledge!
"Yes, the retired scientists who are so old they can barely walk. For example, astrophysicist Yu Zhou, geologist Li Sishi, mechanical dynamicist Liang Guang, biologist Zhou Dong, mathematician..."
Nie Yun reeled off the names of leading authorities in various disciplines across the country, all around eighty or ninety years old, as though listing his most prized possessions. He named fifteen or sixteen in a row, spanning all sorts of disciplines and fields.
As their energy waned, most of these people had gradually left their research posts and faded from the scientific community, spending their twilight years in state-provided retirement homes.
They were truly national treasures, but youth was fleeting, and the reaper of time was slowly drawing closer.
"What do you want them for? These people have rendered distinguished service to our country. We will never use them as bargaining chips!" Commander Hu answered firmly.
"Don't misunderstand, Commander Hu. I'm not a human trafficker. I value these senior scientists' research capabilities and want to recruit them into my Research Institute!"
"Recruit them? Don't joke, Mr. Captain. Never mind this many, our country wouldn't let even one of them go abroad! Besides, you know they're so old they can barely walk. How could they still conduct research?" Commander Hu remained wary.
We don't even know who you really are. Who knows how they'd be treated on your turf! We absolutely cannot allow the nation's scientific knowledge in their hands to fall into outsiders' hands!
"Heh heh, you know we possess advanced Human Enhancement Technology, don't you, Commander Hu?" Nie Yun asked with a mischievous grin. Yes, it really was a "mischievous grin"!
The words "Human