Pack Them Up and Take Them Away!

"Yikes—"

"So you mean everyone in your laboratory wants to jump ship?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator. Ling Zichen added in a soft voice, "Anyway, almost the entire laboratory is backing me now... including Director Li. They all said they wanted to come along. I haven't agreed yet. I wanted to ask for your opinion first."

Mo Yuan rubbed at his hair, feeling a headache coming on. Good heavens, he had only wanted to recruit an assistant for himself. How had he attracted so many people?

He leaned back against the chair, his fingers tapping the edge of the desk again and again.

"Tell me first. How many people do you have over there?"

"Fourteen, including me... They're all researchers from the Radiant Tang Sect Soul Guidance Artillery Shell Research Center. Their fields cover magic array design, material analysis, energy conversion, and structural mechanics. Each of them has experience with at least two mature projects." Ling Zichen's tone had quickly recovered from the flustered state she had been in earlier, and she reported at lightning speed. "The director of our laboratory, Old Li, is the most senior person on our side. He's been working for nearly thirty years, and his research into energy conversion is even deeper than mine."

After hearing that, Mo Yuan no longer hesitated. "All right. Have them prepare the handover materials. I'll give you an address in three days. Just come over together."

Ling Zichen froze for a moment. "You mean you're taking all of us?"

"Of course."

Mo Yuan had nothing to agonize over. He was getting an entire mature research team for free. Why wouldn't he take them?

At least on the surface, this research center operated under the banner of the Radiant Tang Sect. Although everyone knew that the Radiant Tang Sect was the Tang Sect's publicly operated front company, there was still a layer between them. He could package this as a job change.

Even if Zang Xin came knocking later, he would still have an explanation.

The other end of the communicator fell silent for a moment. Then Ling Zichen's voice came through again, carrying a hint of barely perceptible lightness. "I understand. In three days, I'll bring everyone over."

She ended the call.

This laboratory had also been her home for a long time. She had long since regarded it as home, and she had deep feelings for the people there. Otherwise, she would not have risked herself back then to synchronize with the out-of-control Positive Source Feedback Array.

Now that she could jump ship together with everyone, she was very happy inside, even though she did not show it.

Mo Yuan put down the Soul Guidance Communicator and stared silently at the files on the terminal for a moment. Then he changed the "Number of Laboratory Team Members" from "1" to "14."

It had indeed exceeded his expectations, but if he could take over an established, mature team like this, everything that followed would go much more smoothly. He only needed to redefine their research direction. The cost of integrating them would save him far more effort than recruiting people from scratch.

Moreover, although these people were changing jobs, they were fundamentally attracted by his advanced technology. From that perspective, they were actually quite loyal. In any case, he was not lacking in advanced research directions or projects.

Over the next three days, Mo Yuan did several things.

First, he contacted Gu Yuan to confirm whether one floor of the auxiliary building beside the main factory in the eastern industrial district could be set aside as temporary offices and laboratory space for the new team. Emergency renovations began soon afterward.

Second, he organized all the project materials currently in his possession and sorted out three directions that could be launched immediately.

Molecular Reconstruction had already entered the mass-production stage, so it did not require the core team to invest too much effort. Keeping two people on technical support and follow-up optimization would be enough.

The prototype of the Miniature Spatial Energy Storage Core was still in the design stage. That part needed a dedicated team to follow up on it, but there was no need for all fourteen people to throw themselves into it. He could see who was interested when the time came and make the arrangements afterward.

As for the rest, he could first hand the direction of "Positive Source Soul Guidance Array Optimization" over to Ling Zichen. This was the field she was best at, and the papers in Mo Yuan's hands only covered the theoretical portion. The subsequent engineering verification needed someone to put it into practice.

The Miniature Spatial Energy Storage Core was merely an energy-storage technology. If the Source direction could be made to work, he would not need to trouble himself with developing higher-level energy technology.

After all, Source technology already represented the final stage of Soul Power. To advance any further, he would either have to research the completely unsampled Divine Power or Immortal Spirit Energy, or study the Imaginary Energy he himself used.

But he had not even fully figured out Imaginary Energy himself. How could he use it for large-scale power supply?

As for the third matter, he sent Chen Xinjie a brief message: "The laboratory team is in place. The first version of the Energy Storage Core prototype should be ready within two weeks."

His purpose was very simple: get the other party to transfer funds, and see whether he could squeeze a little more out of him.

The other side replied with only one sentence: "Received." There were no unnecessary words at all.

However, a military grant was soon deposited into the laboratory's account.

Mo Yuan was quite satisfied. A client who did not meddle in other matters and could transfer money so readily was a dream client for who knew how many people.

On the morning of the fourth day, Ling Zichen arrived at the main factory in Mingdu's eastern suburbs with fourteen people, as promised.

Mo Yuan stood at the entrance and gave the newcomers a quick look.

Ling Zichen was naturally at the front. Behind her followed a middle-aged man with graying hair but a ramrod-straight back. He was probably Director Li.

Behind him were several researchers who looked to be anywhere from their twenties to their fifties.

The group carried equipment cases of various sizes, and some even held portable testing instruments. It looked as though they had directly packed up everything they owned in the laboratory and loaded it onto a vehicle.

"Damn, did you dismantle the entire laboratory? Why did you bring so much equipment? Are you trying to make sure Zang Xin comes over and kills me?" Mo Yuan took a few steps forward and spoke to Ling Zichen in a low voice.

Ling Zichen rolled her eyes. "Oh, relax. We bought all of this ourselves. We didn't spend a single copper of the Tang Sect's money. Old Cao and Old Zang won't say anything."

"Fine, fine, fine. You're amazing." Mo Yuan gave Ling Zichen a thumbs-up.

If he remembered correctly, in the original story, Zang Xin and Cao Dezhi had raised this woman as their own daughter, hadn't they? Their little padded jacket had started leaking air already.

Their resident bomb maniac, Ling Zichen, clearly did not consider this a problem. She stepped aside and introduced the people behind her. "This is Director Li. He specializes in energy conversion on our side. Those over there are the structural design team, and over there..."

She quickly rattled off a series of names and fields. Mo Yuan nodded as he committed them to memory.

Then he took them to the fourth floor.

This floor had already been cleared out in advance, and new workbenches and basic laboratory equipment had been installed.

The rooms were divided into open areas, with movable partitions separating the different functional zones. The left side was the magic array engraving area, the center was the material analysis area, and the right side had been left open for large equipment.

Ling Zichen looked around without finding fault. She merely nodded.

"It's still rather bare-bones, but there was only so much time. Making do for now isn't impossible."

Mo Yuan did not argue with her. Instead, he turned to face everyone in the room. "First, let me make a few things clear. One, I'm not going to completely overturn your previous research directions, but they need to be brought in line with our overall goals here. Ling Zichen will take charge of the Positive Soul Guidance Sequence Optimization Group, while Director Li will be responsible for the experimental verification of energy conversion. Everyone else will be divided into groups according to your original specialties. We'll decide the specific groups after you become familiar with the facility. Two, material requests can go directly through an independent internal channel, with no need for external approval. Three, I hope you can keep the projects in your hands confidential."

"Does anyone have any objections?"

After speaking, Mo Yuan's gaze swept over every person present.

Naturally, no one objected. Confidentiality requirements were about as commonplace as requirements got.

"All right, then. Everyone, come sign a confidentiality agreement."

As he spoke, Mo Yuan took out a stack of agreements.

The group lined up and came forward. After reading the agreements and confirming that they accepted the terms, they signed their names one after another.

Seeing this, Mo Yuan nodded.

Of course, he was not a fool. Although he believed his technology was enough to make these scientific fanatics sufficiently loyal, he had still taken precautions.

In fact, the agreements were illusions created by the Mimetic Fenghuang Down. Everyone who signed one had a restriction placed on them, ensuring that he could keep the overall situation under control.

Of course, he was not some old bastard who spent every day peeping at the entire village through a crystal ball. He would not casually rummage through other people's memories, either.