Grandpa, will sharks obey your commands?

"Dad, when exactly is Grandpa coming back?"

"Uncle, didn't Grandpa say he'd take us to Egret City to see the ocean once summer vacation started?"

Zhang Jun had lost count of how many times the two children had asked him that question.

Whenever they saw him, the two little ones were bound to ask something along those lines, repeating themselves day after day. They were even more aggravating than the monk Tang Sanzang in A Chinese Odyssey.

He was starting to feel like staying away from home.

"How many times have I told you? Grandpa went away to take care of something very important. He won't be back so soon."

"But..."

"No buts. I offered to take you, but you wouldn't agree. You insisted on waiting for Grandpa to come back, so if you're going to wait, you need to be patient. Understand?"

"Okay." Wenwen nodded, looking terribly hurt.

Lele didn't look any better.

Seeing their sad, disappointed faces, Zhang Jun couldn't help feeling a little sorry for them.

Dad, oh, Dad, why did you tell them about something before you were sure you could do it?

Fine, you told them, but at least come out and explain it yourself.

Every single day, they come pestering me instead.

"Dad, why do you always have to make things so difficult?"

"What did you say?"

"Dad! You... you... when did you get back?"

Zhang Jun looked utterly embarrassed. He hadn't said a single bad word about Zhang Hongxing in over a month, yet the moment he couldn't resist complaining, his father appeared in person.

"Dad, did you do that on purpose? Were you waiting nearby?"

"Grandpa!"

"Grandpa, you're back!"

Zhang Jun's two remarks finally caught the attention of the children, who had already walked some distance away. The moment they saw Zhang Hongxing, they ran over without hesitation.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, where did you go? Why were you away for so long? Boo-hoo..."

"Grandpa, we missed you so much."

The two little ones hugged Zhang Hongxing and burst into tears. Though they had only spent a few short months together, their bond with him had already grown very deep.

"My little darlings, don't cry. This time it was Grandpa's fault. I let you down."

"Grandpa, we thought you didn't want us anymore. Boo-hoo..."

"Silly children, how could Grandpa ever stop wanting you? I had something very important to do, and that delayed my return. I promise it won't happen again."

It took a long time to soothe the two children before they finally calmed down.

Afterward, he carried them back inside, one in each arm.

Even at bedtime, the children insisted on sleeping with him, as though afraid he would leave in the middle of the night.

"Grandpa, will you still take us to Egret City to see the ocean?"

Before bed, Wenwen lifted her head and asked Zhang Hongxing. On his other side, Lele said nothing, but looked at him with equally expectant eyes.

"Of course. How about we set off tomorrow?"

"Yay! Grandpa's the best! We're going to see the ocean!"

"Grandpa, when we go to see the ocean, can we swim in it?"

Lele asked curiously, but before Zhang Hongxing could answer, Wenwen spoke up from the other side.

"Lele, there are big sharks in the ocean! Children can't swim in it, or the big sharks will eat us."

"I'm not afraid of big sharks! Grandpa's so powerful that even big sharks have to obey his commands."

Lele spoke with complete confidence.

Wenwen, however, wasn't so sure.

"Grandpa, will big sharks really obey your commands?"

"Would you like big sharks to obey Grandpa's commands, Wenwen?"

"Of course! If big sharks obeyed your commands, we could ride them out into the ocean and have a look. The ocean looks so beautiful underwater in movies."

"Grandpa, can you take us to see what's under the ocean?"

"Of course. As long as my darlings want to go, Grandpa will take you."

"Yay... Grandpa's going to take us riding on big sharks!"

The two little ones kept cheering while Zhang Hongxing watched them with a smile. He hadn't seen them in so long that he was in no hurry to make them go to sleep.

And while Zhang Hongxing was enjoying time with his family at home.

News that the Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train would soon begin trial operations was quietly released, appearing simultaneously on the official government websites of Xinzhou City and Nanping City.

There was no press conference, and no media outlets were notified.

Calling it a quiet announcement was no exaggeration.

Yet despite that, the news took the entire internet by storm in an incredibly short time. Before dawn the next day, it had already spread beyond Xia City to the rest of the world.

Big Goose News: Shocking! The bullet train route from Xinzhou Station to Nanping Station will be closed for seven days—and this is why!

First News: The Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train puts Xia Kingdom's technology at the forefront of the world.

Qiandu News: What will the arrival of the Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train bring to Xia Kingdom, and what advantages does it offer over bullet trains?

Cherry Blossom Country Daily News: Is Xia Kingdom's Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train real or fake, and what course should Cherry Blossom Country choose for its future?

America World News: Xia Kingdom makes an unexpected move, attempting to intimidate the world with technology that exists only on paper.

Goddess Country Free Press: The Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train—Xia Kingdom couldn't build one even with another 200 years!

Compared with the media reports, some believing the news and others dismissing it, the think tank members in countries hostile to Xia Kingdom were the ones facing a real headache.

Based on past experience, Xia Kingdom's government would never post anything it wasn't certain of on an official government website. Even if the Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train sounded somewhat unbelievable, they had no choice but to face it.

Cherry Blossom Country was in the most uncomfortable position of all.

Unlike Korea and Monkey Country, which played both sides, Cherry Blossom Country had hitched itself entirely to America's war chariot.

Now that Xia Kingdom had suddenly risen to prominence, they would be the first to suffer.

At that moment, Cherry Blossom Country's prime minister practically wanted to commit seppuku.

But what was done was done. It was too late to back out now, so they could only steel themselves and face it.

Other countries that already enjoyed good relations with Xia Kingdom, or shared the same enemies, sent their congratulations one after another.

Some particularly close allies even called the Grand Elder directly and asked to attend the trial run.

A head of state was willing to come in person just to witness a train's trial run.

That alone showed just how influential the Nuclear-Powered Maglev Train was.

The Grand Elder immediately extended a warm welcome in response to these requests.

Upon receiving the news, Huang Sheng immediately reported the latest developments to the Shimen County Research Base. Even after receiving their affirmative response, he couldn't resist heading straight to the base himself.

He intended to accompany them to the site and oversee the work until the train was ready for its trial run.

The railway from Xinzhou Station to Nanping Station was approximately 280 kilometers long. Under the previous plan, trial operations were to begin before October 1, but now, with international attention focused on it.

The schedule would have to be accelerated to guard against any unexpected developments.

Fortunately, the train's levitation and movement relied primarily on equipment installed on the train itself.

As for the track, they only needed to install a fixed guidance device every kilometer.