We Just Agreed to Cooperate, and You're Already Defecting Abroad?

Seeing Liu Mu looking through Chen Feng's information, Director Hu, who was in the car, could not help asking curiously:

"He's so capable at such a young age. What university did he graduate from?"

Liu Mu looked at Chen Feng's information and said in surprise:

"He graduated from an ordinary university. He lost his parents when he was young and only had an aunt. After graduating, he started a business on his own, and in less than two years, he founded Xingfeng Mining."

Hearing this, both Director Hu and Li Busheng looked surprised.

"No wonder he's so composed. It seems his family circumstances made him that way," Li Busheng remarked.

Liu Mu continued, "He's a good person, too. A few months ago, he donated to a disaster-stricken area, and he did it anonymously. He's a caring young man."

Hearing this, Director Hu and Li Busheng both nodded.

Liu Mu put the information away and said, "My people checked the factory grounds and didn't find anything. Old Hu, your earlier judgment was probably wrong."

Director Hu nodded. "Perhaps I was wrong."

Director Hu was the director of a basic materials science research institute. His research had led him to believe that Blazing Sun Iron might not be a synthetic material at all, but an entirely new, unknown metal.

That was because seventy percent of the material inside Blazing Sun Iron was something they had never seen before.

Since Liu Mu's people had checked the factory grounds, that meant his judgment had been wrong.

If Xingfeng Mining had really discovered a new metal, there would have to be mining and transportation records. It could not have been processed without a trace.

Now that nothing had been found, it could only prove that Chen Feng had been telling the truth.

Li Busheng, who was sitting beside him, glared at Director Hu:

"You wanted to press Chen Feng about this just now, didn't you? I'm warning you, don't do that."

"The country needs talented people. No matter how he came up with it, we shouldn't interfere, or people will point fingers at us behind our backs and say we stole someone else's work."

Director Hu smiled wryly and said:

"Old Li, how could I possibly steal someone else's research? I was just curious."

Li Busheng snorted.

"Whatever the case, we can't interfere with Chen Feng. I've already reported him to the higher-ups as a key talent to nurture. Later, I'll have him listed as a member of our institute. From then on, he'll be one of ours."

At this, Director Hu immediately objected.

"No! How can he be listed under your institute? He has to belong to our materials science research institute!"

The two began arguing in the car.

Liu Mu sat beside them, watching quietly without a word. He knew what they were arguing about.

Once tanks made with Blazing Sun Iron became widespread in the military,

Chen Feng's name would become famous too. If Chen Feng belonged to a research institute or academy, that institution would gain a boost to its reputation as well.

Researchers these days cared a great deal about their reputations.

Just then, Liu Mu's phone rang. He answered it and listened for a while, his expression turning grim.

Li Busheng and Director Hu stopped arguing and looked at Liu Mu.

Liu Mu said gravely:

"I just got word that Chen Feng booked a flight to Eagle Sauce for tonight."

"What? We absolutely can't let him go!" Director Hu blurted out almost instinctively.

They had only just finished discussing their cooperation with Chen Feng, and now he was going abroad. It was hard for Director Hu not to read into it.

After all, the loss of talented people was a particularly serious problem in Dragon Country.

Companies in Eagle Sauce often offered high salaries to lure technical personnel away from the country.

He had seen it happen too many times.

"Nothing's certain yet. I'll call and ask him first." Liu Mu dialed Chen Feng's number.

The call went through quickly.

"Little Chen, what are you going abroad for in such a hurry? You're even leaving overnight."

Liu Mu had to ask, because Chen Feng's behavior was so unusual.

When Chen Feng heard from Liu Mu on the phone, he immediately realized that Liu Mu and the others might have misunderstood.

"I'm going abroad to meet a few friends. They've all made some achievements in the field of metals, and I'm going to discuss some things with them."

Chen Feng made up an excuse. He could hardly say he was going abroad to buy guns.

"I see. It's not very safe abroad, especially in Eagle Sauce. Be careful, and if you run into trouble, call me anytime."

Liu Mu did not ask any more questions.

"All right. Don't worry, sir."

The call ended shortly afterward.

Director Hu immediately demanded:

"Old Liu, why didn't you stop him?"

Liu Mu smiled and said:

"He's free to go abroad. If he's going to take part in an academic discussion, am I supposed to stop him? Old Hu, you've gotten on in years and worry about this and that. Young people should be allowed to go out and do things."

"I'm a soldier. I don't think about as many things as you do. If you always imagine the worst, how can you get anything done?"

"If I forcibly stopped him from going abroad now, wouldn't everything we did before have been for nothing? Would Little Chen still trust us?"

Liu Mu's words left Director Hu speechless.

Across the ocean, in Eagle Sauce.

After getting off the plane, Chen Feng headed straight for a black market in Eagle Sauce.

Many cities in Eagle Sauce had black markets, where all kinds of guns and other prohibited goods were sold.

Chen Feng could not buy a gun through legal channels; he had no way to get a gun license.

He took a taxi, and after a bumpy hour and a half on the road, he arrived at the black market.

The black market was on the outskirts of the city. Chen Feng had been there several times before.

Each time, he had bought handguns and ammunition.

The black market had been set up by a gang, and anyone entering had to pay a fee of one hundred dollars.

When he reached the entrance to an alley, several tattooed Black men were standing guard there, smoking.

When the Black man in the lead saw Chen Feng approaching, he smiled.

"Chen, welcome, my friend!"

The man shook hands with Chen Feng.

Chen Feng responded in fluent English:

"Jack, long time no see."

Jack was a low-ranking gang leader Chen Feng knew, and Chen Feng was something of a regular customer.

Jack led Chen Feng into the alley, talking as they walked:

"Chen, do you need bullets again this time? We've got plenty of stock this time."

Regular customers like Chen Feng generally did not have to pay the entrance fee upfront. They could pay it along with everything else once the transaction was complete.

Chen Feng smiled faintly. "Besides bullets, I also need some more powerful weapons this time."

Hearing this, Jack immediately smiled.

"No problem. Whatever you want, you can buy it here."

Jack was very courteous to Chen Feng because he was one of his few steady customers.

He was a steady customer because Chen Feng had bought guns and ammunition from him many times without anything going wrong.

His other customers had either been killed or arrested.

Steady customers like this were his favorite.

Jack then led Chen Feng through the alley to a bar.

Inside a private room in the bar, Chen Feng saw seven or eight people, all foreigners.

They each gave Chen Feng a glance but said nothing.

Jack poured Chen Feng a drink, then pulled him over to sit down.

They were all prospective buyers. They would have to wait until there were around ten people before being taken to choose weapons.

That had always been the rule here.