My Friend Picked It Up

The old professor glanced at the dilapidated fishing boat Nie Yun had arrived in and sighed.

He had initially been skeptical when a major corporation like the Chu family offered a high price for him to appraise a shipment of suspected nuclear fuel, but now it seemed it was nothing more than a joke.

With a dark expression, he shook his thermos, which emitted a clinking sound of metal colliding, suggesting the presence of uniform, small metallic particles.

His face darkened further; based on his years of research experience, this was absolutely not the sound that uranium ore would make! He had clearly been duped.

"Professor Fang, is there a problem?" Ye Min asked, noticing the old professor's sour expression.

"Hmph! Judging by the sound, the purity of this uranium is quite high—it's even in a metallic state. I never expected your side to have obtained refined enriched uranium. This truly is an eye-opener for an old man like me! Heh!" Professor Fang sneered.

Nie Yun looked at Professor Fang with surprise. He hadn't expected the man to be able to identify enriched uranium just by shaking it and listening to the sound. He was truly worthy of being a professor-level figure!

"Professor Fang has a sharp eye! I am impressed!" Nie Yun said, speaking the truth.

But Professor Fang didn't appreciate it. He glared at Nie Yun, let out a cold "Hmph!", and walked toward the inner cabin with his hands behind his back, swaying with every step, to test the sample.

Watching Professor Fang's retreating back, Ye Min couldn't help but ask Nie Yun, "Is this really nuclear fuel?"

"It's real! Didn't you just hear the old professor? He is definitely a trustworthy expert!" Nie Yun said with certainty.

Ye Min simply covered her face with her hand, not wanting to deal with him anymore. Had he not seen the sneer on Professor Fang's face when he left?

Deep down, she didn't believe such an absurd thing either. She began to wonder how she should comfort the old professor when he came out fuming, hoping he wouldn't get so angry that it affected his health.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed.

Half an hour passed.

"I say, this old professor is too slow. Could he be a fraud?" Nie Yun turned his head and began to question Professor Fang's professionalism.

Who was it that just said he was a trustworthy expert? Ye Min rolled her eyes.

In order to "safely" develop nuclear power, Nie Yun had studied atomic energy knowledge extensively. By browsing massive amounts of technical literature and relevant forums, his level was not inferior to that of a top-tier professor. Naturally, he was very familiar with the testing process, which should have taken no more than ten minutes.

Before Ye Min could retort, Professor Fang finally emerged.

However, unlike his arrogant, head-held-high demeanor from earlier, he was now carefully cradling the "thermos" with both hands, wearing an expression as if he had seen a ghost. He shuffled over step by step, seemingly terrified that the vibrations from walking might trigger some dire consequence.

"Li... little brother, please take good care of this!" Well, he had even started using honorifics.

Nie Yun took the thermos nonchalantly and stuffed it into the empty plastic bag he had brought with him, which had "Blue Sky Supermarket" printed on it.

As a side note, this was exactly how he had carried it over.

Professor Fang looked at the Blue Sky Supermarket plastic bag with a constipated expression.

"Professor, what are the test results?" Ye Min asked, noticing the strange look on the old professor's face.

Professor Fang took a few deep breaths to calm himself before speaking in a bizarre tone.

"This little brother has indeed brought exactly one kilogram of high-purity enriched uranium!"

"Hiss~" Ye Min gasped.

"Could the test be wrong?" she asked uncertainly, as this was simply too incredible.

"I thought the same thing at first, so I tested it three times, and the results were the same every time! And what's even more shocking is that the concentration has reached an incredible 90%!" Professor Fang dropped the bombshell!

Of course, Ye Min, being a layperson, was confused. Was 90% very high?

Seemingly seeing her confusion, Professor Fang explained with a strange expression, "Theoretically, 93% highly enriched uranium is enough to build nuclear weapons! Which means, if this stuff is refined just a little bit more..."

Ye Min: "..."

She turned her head and stared at Nie Yun in shock. If she had previously believed that his friend who could summon warships might actually be able to get some uranium ore, she never would have imagined it would be something of this caliber.

One only had to think about it to know how precious this was. If some small nations or terrorists found out, they would move heaven and earth to obtain it, even if it meant starting a war!

"How much is this worth?" Ye Min asked, knowing that Nie Yun was here to sell it.

"How much is it worth?" Professor Fang looked at Ye Min with dissatisfaction. Could this be measured in money? To some countries, this was the capital for their rise!

"If you sold this to North Korea, they would pay over ten billion, conservatively estimated! And I mean in US dollars!" the old professor added quietly.

"Hiss~" Ye Min couldn't stop gasping this time.

Her first reaction was: Damn! This kid is actually this wealthy! Should I try to cozy up to him?

"Little brother, may I ask where this came from?" Professor Fang asked cautiously.

"This..." Nie Yun racked his brain, trying to come up with a decent excuse.

Found it? That excuse seemed to have been used to death!

"My friend found it!" he said decisively!

Professor Fang: "..."

Ye Min: "..."

Last time it was you finding gold coins, this time it's your friend finding nuclear fuel. Could you have a little more creativity? Please, find a decent excuse!

"I understand! I understand! How could such a thing be leaked easily? Little brother is truly capable. Um, this old man has a presumptuous request. I wonder if little brother would be willing to agree?" Professor Fang rubbed his hands together with a fawning smile.

Professor Fang, who had always been known for being rigid and strict, was actually making such an expression. If his students saw this, their jaws would absolutely hit the floor!

"Professor, what are you saying? If it's something I can do, I will certainly agree!"

"Could you sell some of this highly enriched uranium to our Atomic Energy Research Institute? Not much, just 5 grams!" Professor Fang looked at Nie Yun with a hopeful expression.

Although their Atomic Energy Research Institute did receive some uranium ore allocated by the state for experimental materials, uranium was already scarce domestically, and with more and more nuclear power plants being built, the shortage problem was becoming increasingly severe.

Furthermore, even if they were allocated some, it was only low-grade uranium ore; how could they possibly get their hands on such high-purity enriched uranium! The experimental value of this stuff was equally immeasurable!

"Oh, that? Since you've asked, then of course it's no problem! I have already fully entrusted the Chu Group to handle this batch of goods for me. You can discuss the specific price with the Chu Group. I've already agreed on the terms with them, so as long as they agree, I have no objections on my end!"

Nie Yun naturally believed in leaving professional matters to the professionals, so he simply washed his hands of the affair.

"Young man, are you saying that the entire kilogram of goods has been handed over to the Chu Group to handle?" Professor Fang caught an important piece of information.

"That's right! Here! Since the appraisal results are out, Ye Min, please hand this over to Xiaoxiao for me!" Nie Yun handed the Blue Sky Supermarket to Ye Min.

Ye Min took it in a daze, then finally reacted, exclaiming in shock: "You... you're just giving it to me like this? Don't you need any collateral or anything?"

One had to realize this was worth tens of billions of dollars; was he just giving it away so casually? His movements were as natural as a woman at a vegetable market handing someone two cucumbers.

"Hey, what kind of collateral would I need! Xiaoxiao is the daughter of my old man, my little sister! I trust her absolutely! Her word is my word; even if she gave it all away, I wouldn't have any objections!" After saying this, Nie Yun clapped his hands, turned around, and jumped onto his Sea Wolf.

He waved his hand and shouted, "Give my regards to Xiaoxiao and her mother!"

Professor Fang and Ye Min stood there blankly, watching the Sea Wolf chug away while emitting black smoke, speechless for a long time...