The Scholars' Annual Conference

In the afternoon, Su Ming went to the diamond production base.

A cacophony of machinery roared as red-hot metal billets were ejected from the furnace, gripped by robotic arms, and fed into the stamping press. Heavy dies fell repeatedly with a dull thud.

Soon, components took shape under pressure, their edges still carrying a dark red residual heat.

On the other side, a cutting machine is running at high speed, pulling the semi-finished gun barrel out of the rifling.

On the assembly line, workers are assembling the receiver, barrel, stock, magazine catch, and firing mechanism in sequence.

Su Ming walked to a parts box, reached inside, and picked up a bolt with abbreviations of English letters and numbers printed on it.

He paused slightly.

This reminded him of the "M168.8" bolt he first summoned when he used "Summoning of All Things".

Su Ming looked at it for a moment, then stuffed the bolt into his pocket.

The workshop manager's expression immediately tightened, and he hurriedly stepped forward.

"President, is there something wrong with this screw?"

Su Ming waved his hand.

"It's nothing, just a keepsake."

The person in charge didn't understand, but still granted the request.

Afterwards, Su Ming, Beianqi, and Newman carefully analyzed the product problems exposed during the morning's training exercise and summoned the necessary equipment to resolve them.

With the connection established between the two "Plane Boundary Nexus", Su Ming's "teleportation" ability was also restored.

All we need to do is bring the equipment from Earth to the vicinity of Earth's "Plane Boundary Nexus".

****

Thanks to the assistance of the "Work from Home Group," Su Ming's work pressure has decreased significantly.

A large number of technology experts continuously provide the most professional analysis and assistance, saving him a lot of trouble.

In the afternoon, Su Ming returned to his office in Radiant Holy City, even leisurely sipping a glass of juice.

However, new problems always arise, Su Ming pondered in his mind.

For example, in Taya right now, there is a severe shortage of qualified technical personnel who can participate in industrial production.

Outside the window, the city is filled with a festive atmosphere.

The streets were bustling with people, colorful flags fluttered in the wind, and the sounds of bells and Choir drifted from the direction of the church.

Su Ming suddenly thought of his parents.

He checked the communication bandwidth of the Other Shore System and finally gave up the idea of making a video call.

Currently, most information disseminated bilaterally is first identified as text and data, and then AI is used to reconstruct voice, images, and behavior, thereby saving data volume.

On the one hand, the technology of the Other Shore System itself urgently needs further research and improvement.

On the other hand, the cost of using Taya arrays to keep spatial rifts open for extended periods is very high.

Therefore, we should keep it to a minimum to reduce consumption.

"How are things with my parents?" Su Ming asked.

"That's good," Jin Rongjia replied. "We've arranged for a 'body suit' to call your parents periodically."

Video, mailed gifts.

The conversation between the two was actually first recognized as text before being sent.

It sounds like a voice call, but it's actually the backend system playing a voice command.

"Don't be too friendly with them," Su Ming said. "It would be terrible if they found out he's not their son."

A biological child wouldn't be this attentive!

"Don't worry, we checked your past records and habits, and we've replicated it one-to-one," Jin Rongjia replied. "With professional actors and a real-time CG team, the service is very reliable."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming felt a mix of emotions.

"In the script, you've already been exonerated," Jin Rongjia continued, "But I still owe someone a favor, so I'm currently stationed overseas. It's tough, but the pay is pretty high."

"This 'overseas' thing is really 'overseas'," Su Ming remarked.

****

A communication request has been initiated; it is an intra-plane communication.

Su Ming answered the call, Zijin's image appeared on the screen.

This one has much higher resolution.

Since the satellites are all owned by the company, the bandwidth is practically sitting idle.

Zijin was wearing an academic gown with a badge bearing the exclusive title of Bay Owl pinned to her chest, suggesting she had just finished attending some event.

"Good afternoon," Su Ming said with a smile. "How was your day?"

Zijin took off her coat and tossed it onto the chair, revealing a thin sweater underneath.

This made Su Ming somewhat envious—today's fieldwork had made him sweltering in the heat.

"Very good." Zijin held up three fingers. "I pulled this much."

Three?

"Don't underestimate me!" Zijin smiled smugly. "Thirty Mystery-Peering Scholar and Great Scholar have agreed to join us!"

The title of "Mystery-Peering Scholar" is awarded only to those with considerable expertise in their field. A "Great Scholar," on the other hand, requires a substantial body of research output to be recognized.

Su Ming raised an eyebrow. This is quite good!

****

The place where Zijin is located is about to host the annual meeting of the Supreme Knowledge Association, and a large number of scholars arrive every day.

She went there personally, her purpose being to lure the most outstanding individuals into joining the Final Bone Mad Machines.

"Don't dig too hard, or the Supreme Knowledge Association will have something to say," Su Ming said with a smile.

"Isn't your 'cutting off our supply lines' ruthless?" Zijin rolled her eyes at him.

The two are absolutely birds of a feather.

The host country for this "Supreme Academic Annual Conference" is Sea Clearing Kingdom, which borders the Northern Continent Province.

The venue was originally the capital of the Sea Clearing Kingdom.

Su Ming arranged for Ainuobia and the King of the Sea Clearing Kingdom to have a rather "friendly" negotiation.

Sea Clearing Kingdom was just an ordinary country, not small in size, but it would never dare to offend First Sunrise, who was at the height of his power.

Of course, Su Ming didn't press him too hard.

He contributed 500,000 gold coins as sponsorship.

The affairs related to the gathering of the highest scholars will continue to be handled by the Sea Clearing Kingdom.

However, as the absolute sponsor, Su Ming's request to hold the annual meeting in a "designated" venue became an acceptable thing.

For example: Corona City, the administrative center of the First Sunrise Republic Northern Continent Province!

****

There was a knock on Zijin's door.

Katharine walked in carrying an adorable "baby girl" dressed in colorful clothes.

Su Ming didn't pay much attention at first glance.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small Tuanzi.

Su Ming felt that it wasn't unacceptable that Yise was dressed up as a forest-themed girl when she was a child.

Katharine tucked the little Tuanzi into Zijin's arms and then moved closer to the video feed.

"You're wearing short sleeves? I'm so envious," Katharine said, looking at Su Ming in the picture.

"That's a good idea," Katharine quickly returned to the main point, "Use this annual meeting to showcase the rapid restoration of stability and vigorous development of the First Sunrise Republic within its jurisdiction."

"And you've expanded the scale," she continued.

Su Ming made many adjustments to this year's Supreme Knowledge Association annual meeting.

For example, a large number of supporting activities.

Renowned scholars will give lectures in turn, there will be sales of inexpensive, high-quality academic books, exhibitions of the latest alchemy techniques, and large-scale trade fairs for magical materials.

He turned what should have been an annual meeting for academics into an unprecedented grand event.

Compared to the unintentional occurrence of the Monthly Fasting Day in the glorious city, this was Su Ming's deliberate act.

"I can sense that this has obvious diplomatic benefits for us," Katharine said. "Various trade organizations also have more confidence in us."

Holding a grand event is a way to demonstrate strength.

Given First Sunrise's potential and development, his image will naturally be established sooner or later. But with a major battle imminent, Su Ming doesn't want to wait.

Therefore, he adopted a direct catalytic approach.

"I need to attract high-level intellectuals from the Taya Plane," Su Ming said, "To make them dare to work for us, and be happy to work for us."

"Currently, all production bases, laboratories, and engineering teams need these highly educated individuals to fill their positions," Zijin explained.

The construction corps on Earth can solve some of the problems, but Taya still needs a sufficient number of technical personnel.

At the very least, it requires a group of well-educated people with strong learning abilities to fully advance the work.

Katharine found it strange.

"These past few days you've only been recruiting leading figures in academia, what about ordinary scholars?

"I've already taken their advisors away, so why would I worry about the rest not coming?" Zijin said matter-of-factly.

"That's true."

****

The little Tuanzi landed in Zijin's arms and was initially quite quiet.

He opened his round eyes wide, first looking curiously at Su Ming on the screen, then looking down and patting Zijin's chest.

Then the little Tuanzi's expression froze, and it burst into tears.

Katharine could only bring him back and pat him on the back to comfort him.

Su Ming covered her mouth and laughed, but was glared at fiercely by Zijin.

"When are you two having a baby?" Katharine asked casually. "It's time you two experienced what formula and diapers are like."

"You'll have to ask my wife's opinion," Su Ming said.

"Hey, I never agreed to marry you!" Zijin corrected him angrily.

Su Ming chuckled, "Dream on. I have no intention of letting you escape."

Zijin snorted but didn't refute further.

Katharine didn't stay long before leaving with the somewhat fussy little Tuanzi.

After closing the door, Zijin walked in front of the camera.

"Were you serious just now?"

"Well----"

Su Ming, then decided to answer truthfully.

I haven't really thought about it yet.

"Raising children feels like a long way off—I still feel like a child myself."

Upon hearing this, Zijin showed a surprised expression.

No—I meant marriage.

Now it was Su Ming's turn to be confused.

"We're getting along pretty well, aren't we?" he asked tentatively. "Is the topic of marriage making you a little unhappy?"

Zijin immediately shook her head.

"Su Ming, I like you very much."

She spoke very seriously.

"I just haven't thought about these things much."

"So, were you formally asking me just now?"

Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not really, not formally."

Now that we're a couple, this topic is bound to come up, right?

Upon hearing this, Zijin breathed a sigh of relief, but inevitably felt a sense of loss as well.

She composed herself.

Please give me some time to think about this.

Su Ming nodded. "Of course."

Zijin thought for a moment, then said, "If you can understand that I'm not ready yet, we can talk more about this topic."

"I don't find it offensive."

"Okay," Su Ming replied.

He picked up the juice.

"Actually, we probably didn't have much time to think about this before the Plundering Clock was over."

"That's true." Zijin sighed softly.