...

From Guan San’s introduction, Gao Neng began to understand the layout of the Celestial King Group’s buildings.

The massive circular building in the very center was the R&D center, primarily responsible for technical research and overcoming difficult problems. It was the core department.

The eight smaller circular buildings on the outside were eight different manufacturing plants, each running an assembly line with its own specialized division of labor.

Led by Guan San and Fang Tangtang, Gao Neng entered the central R&D center.

As soon as they walked in, two female receptionists in professional attire greeted them. They guided the three to a private elevator, which took them directly to the eighth floor of the research center.

"Alright, you two may go," Guan San said, waving a hand at the two receptionists.

"Yes, President Guan!" The two receptionists immediately withdrew.

Guan San then personally led Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang toward an office in the center, its entrance flanked by two guards. A metal plaque hung above the door.

Chairman’s Office.

The two guards saw Fang Tangtang and Guan San and opened the door without announcing them.

Gao Neng walked inside.

Before him was a reception room filled with all sorts of sculpted models. The walls were adorned with calligraphy and ancient paintings by famous masters.

A middle-aged man dressed in white was also standing in the reception room.

With just one glance, Gao Neng sensed a powerful aura from the man. It was a unique presence, different from that of a soldier—it felt much more bloodthirsty.

"Uncle Bai, is Grandpa inside?" Fang Tangtang was quite polite to the middle-aged man.

"The Master is waiting for you inside." Uncle Bai forced a smile for Fang Tangtang, then nodded at Gao Neng before opening the inner office door.

This time, Gao Neng and the others didn’t need to go in.

Because an old man with graying temples had already walked out. It was hard to judge his age from his appearance alone, as his complexion was quite ruddy.

However, based on Fang Tangtang’s age, Gao Neng guessed the old man was around sixty or seventy.

"Grandpa, Tangtang missed you so much."

"Did you miss me, or did you just want an excuse to run out and play? Sigh... you’re getting more and more mischievous. I thought military academy would have tamed you a bit!" the old man chided affectionately. Then, his gaze shifted to Gao Neng. "You must be Gao Neng, right? Tangtang has mentioned you. Very good. It’s great to see such drive in a young man!"

"Hello, Grandpa Fang!" Gao Neng greeted him.

"Mm, ’Grandpa Fang’ is good. It feels close. How about some tea first?"

"Okay." Gao Neng didn’t stand on ceremony.

After being brought here, he had already guessed that Fang Tangtang wanted the Celestial King Group to invest in him. However, he hadn’t expected to be brought directly to the chairman of the Celestial King Group, Fang Yuan.

"Heh heh, let’s have some black tea, then. Guan San, go brew that packet of black tea Old Jiang gave me last time," Fang Yuan said with a gentle nod.

"Yes, Master."

After some pleasantries.

The black tea was soon ready.

Gao Neng picked it up and took a sip. He didn’t know anything about tea, but after tasting it, he found it didn’t have much flavor. ’But Fang Tangtang’s family is so rich, the tea has to be good, right?’

"How is the tea?" Fang Yuan also took a sip, then looked at Gao Neng with a smile.

"To be honest, I don’t know much about tea, but I don’t think it tastes very good." Gao Neng shook his head, seeming a bit blunt. But he truly couldn’t taste what was so special about it.

"Hahaha... Interesting. I didn’t expect Tangtang’s judgment to be so sharp. Guan San, bring another pot of tea," Fang Yuan said, his laughter clearly much happier this time.

"Yes, Master."

A moment later, a new pot of black tea was brought in.

"Little Neng, try this one," Fang Yuan said, his form of address changing.

"Mm." Gao Neng nodded again and took another sip. This time, the tea was much better, with a faint, fresh aroma. "This one tastes much better."

"Good. In that case, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries and get straight to business. I hear from Tangtang that you can build an Electromagnetic Cannon?" Fang Yuan wasted no more time and went straight to the point.

"I can," Gao Neng answered truthfully.

Although he had never done it before, he had a 100% success rate. Saying he couldn’t would be a lie. ’One has to be honest. If I’m awesome, I have to say I’m awesome.’

’Otherwise, it’s just being hypocritical.’

"If that’s the case, then let’s put it to the test. The Celestial King Group primarily manufactures equipment for the Military Department. Generally, it takes three senior Manufacturing Masters about ten days to half a month to process and complete one Electromagnetic Cannon. Since you’ll be building it alone... I’ll give you two months."

"Two months?" Gao Neng’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Is that too short? Hmm... you’re still young, so you should be given some room to grow. Let’s make it three months. As long as you can build it, I’ll do as Tangtang said and invest 80 million in your workshop for an 80% stake," Fang Yuan said after a moment’s thought.

"Grandpa Fang, you misunderstand. I don’t think it’s too short. I think two months is a bit too long..." Gao Neng said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"Too long?" Fang Yuan was taken aback for a moment. "Don’t tell me you can build it in one month?"

"Even a month is a bit long. I think we’ll know the result in about three days," Gao Neng explained.

"Three days?!"

"Yes. If I build an Electromagnetic Cannon within three days, you invest in me. But I don’t want 80 million... because..." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Little Neng, wait a moment. Did you just say you can build an Electromagnetic Cannon in three days?!" Fang Yuan cut him off before he could finish.

’I should be able to, right? I want to try.’ In his heart, Gao Neng wasn’t 100% sure either. Although the second page of his system stats said 100%, he really didn’t know how to calculate the specific time required. ’But since we’ve made a bet, I have to give it a shot, don’t I?’

’Besides, I can manifest energy.’

’With energy manifestation, I should be faster than some senior engineers, right? After all, I can manifest some parts directly.’

"..." Fang Yuan fell silent.

It wasn’t just him. Even Guan San, who was standing to the side, was giving Gao Neng a strange look. At the very least, the trust from before was gone.

As for Fang Tangtang, she couldn’t help but stand up.

"Gao Neng, what nonsense are you spouting? How could you possibly build an Electromagnetic Cannon in three days? It’ll be fine if you can just build it in two months!"

"Well..." Hearing this, Gao Neng had already figured out the problem. ’Under normal circumstances, it’s impossible to build an Electromagnetic Cannon in three days, right?’

’But I don’t have two months to dilly-dally!’

’I only have three days!’

’No...’

’I only have two and a half days left!’

"Grandpa... Gao Neng doesn’t really know much about manufacturing yet. He just crashed a few classes at the Manufacturing Academy. But he can manifest energy, so his speed at manifesting parts should be a bit faster than a normal person’s." Fang Tangtang spoke up again, a hint of a wheedling tone in her voice as she looked at Fang Yuan.

"Heh heh, alright, alright. Young people are always a bit hot-headed. It seems I was being a bit short-sighted. He can manifest energy? That’s really something... In that case, one month!"

"Grandpa Fang, you can give me as much time as you want, but in three... no, two and a half days, I will build an Electromagnetic Cannon for you. But I have one condition. I can’t give you 80% of the shares. The most I can give is 49%. I must have controlling interest in this workshop. That’s the only way," Gao Neng replied, gritting his teeth.

"..."

Silence.

Fang Yuan’s gaze was fixed on Gao Neng’s face. After a moment, he smiled. "It’s good for a young man to be greedy. However, 80 million for only 49% is a bit..."

"Grandpa Fang, you misunderstand my meaning. I meant I’ll give you 49%, and your investment is actually..." Gao Neng felt that Fang Yuan might have misunderstood something.

"It’s fine. 49% it is. Guan San, go get the partnership agreement," Fang Yuan said with a wave of his hand, showing no intention of haggling with Gao Neng.

"Yes, Master." Guan San nodded, quickly entered the office, and returned a moment later with a share investment agreement.

"Here is the share investment agreement. 80 million Alliance Coins, not a single coin less. As for the percentage of shares, you can decide whether it’s 49% or 20%. But I have one condition: you have to add another person to the list of partners." Fang Yuan produced the investment agreement and pointed to a clause.

"What condition?"

"Just have Shen Ning’Er join as a shareholder," Fang Yuan said directly.

"Shen Ning’Er?"

"That’s right. Vice Commander Shen’s granddaughter, Shen Ning’Er. We all know about your relationship with her. As long as you can get her to join your workshop, forget 80 million—I’ll even invest 100 million!"

"Grandpa Fang, you..." Gao Neng wasn’t stupid.

Fang Yuan’s meaning was already crystal clear. He didn’t believe Gao Neng could build an Electromagnetic Cannon in two and a half days. The investment wasn’t for him; it was for Shen Ning’Er.

"Gao Neng, you just need to get Shen Ning’Er to sign this agreement. As for the money, we can transfer it to you immediately..." Guan San added, seeing that Gao Neng was silent.

"That won’t be necessary, Grandpa Fang. I came here to earn the Celestial King Group’s investment through my own abilities. As for any cooperation between you and Ning’Er, I don’t want to get involved. Also, if you don’t trust my abilities, don’t worry about it. It’s no problem if you don’t invest in me." Gao Neng stood up.

He wanted to complete the mission.

But he couldn’t complete the mission this way.

’If worst comes to worst...’

’If I can’t complete the mission, I’ll just be 100 million in debt.’

’I’ll just have to be more careful on the battlefield, kill enemies, and earn merit. It’s not like there are no other options. Who knows, a corpse might fall from the sky—I might just stumble upon the body of an alien Strongest and make a few hundred billion.’

’A man has to have a dream, after all!’

"Grandpa! Didn’t we have a deal? The bet was whether Gao Neng could build an Electromagnetic Cannon... By doing this now, you’re making Tangtang very angry! How could Sister Ning’Er possibly sign this kind of agreement? It’s just a matter of a few tens of millions. So stingy! Hmph!" Fang Tangtang couldn’t sit still any longer, her lips pouting slightly.

"Hahaha, alright, alright. You can have these tens of millions to make friends, how about that? Fine, if you don’t want to sign the agreement, we won’t sign it. Guan San, take Gao Neng to handle the paperwork and transfer the funds directly." Seeing Fang Tangtang’s expression, Fang Yuan finally broke into a smile. He waved his hand again, signaling for Guan San to take Gao Neng away.

"Gao Neng, let’s go." Fang Tangtang finally brightened up and pulled on Gao Neng, ready to leave.

"Wait. I can’t accept this 80 million like this!" Gao Neng didn’t move.

"Why not? Grandpa has already invested in you. You’ve won the bet, and your Merit Points... I don’t want them anymore, okay? Let’s go, Gao Neng!" Fang Tangtang didn’t understand.

"I want to earn this investment with my own strength, not through connections... Grandpa Fang, I want to try. If I can’t build the Electromagnetic Cannon in two and a half days, I won’t take a single cent of this 80 million," Gao Neng said, shaking his head.

"You really want to try?" Fang Yuan’s brow furrowed.

"Yes. I believe I can do it," Gao Neng said with a serious nod.

"Fine. We’ll do it your way. Two and a half days. I’ll have someone prepare the materials for you. If you have any requests or need assistants, you can ask." Fang Yuan didn’t seem to want to discuss it further, but he still didn’t refuse Gao Neng.

"I only have one request."

"Oh? And what’s that?" Fang Yuan picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Can you give me a manufacturing blueprint for the Electromagnetic Cannon?" Gao Neng stated his request. Without the blueprint, he couldn’t use his skill...

’So, this really was a request.’