"Since when did the Federation have someone like you who doesn't respect his superiors!"
The director of the third department of the Shell Motor Corporation Research Institute held the rank of colonel. He sat on the chair in his office and scolded loudly. He looked at the ordinary-looking assistant researcher in front of him and thought about how he was stopped by this person at the entrance of the laboratory yesterday. His heart was filled with anger because his authority was being challenged.
"From today onwards, you are transferred to the logistics department." The director looked at Xu Le with contempt. The way he used his authority to toy with his subordinates made him feel much better. He threw the documents in his hand at Lu Zhou and scolded, "You'll see how I'm going to play you in the next few years!"
Xu Le picked up the personnel transfer documents from his feet and opened the folder. He found that he had been transferred out of the laboratory area and his next office was not far from the parking lot.
From a researcher to a handyman, there was no doubt that this was a humiliation and a heavy blow. However, his expression was very calm. This calmness made the director feel that something was wrong.
Last night, Zou Yu had already helped him analyze the situation. Although he had the agreement between Old Professor Shen and the Nutshell Mobility Company in his hands, and could prevent those people from entering Old Professor Shen's laboratory, his people were still under the jurisdiction of the Nutshell Research Institute and the Department of National Defense. With just a personnel transfer order, those people could drive him to the edge of the area, deprive him of his authority, and make him unable to approach the laboratory again.
If he couldn't get close to the laboratory, then he naturally couldn't stop those people from entering the laboratory.
Xu Le silently closed the folder. He didn't look at the director. He casually saluted him and walked out of the office.
Walking in the quiet corridor, the doors of the laboratories opened one after another. The researchers who usually didn't care about the outside world and only knew how to do research all stood at the door. They looked at Xu Le with a complicated expression as they watched him leave. They didn't know the inside story. They only knew that Old Professor Shen's last assistant had offended the company's top management and had been sent away at this time. He was also a researcher. A feeling of sympathy for the death of a rabbit pervaded the entire corridor.
Xu Le did not pay attention to the sympathetic gazes of these people. He lowered his head slightly and walked towards the end of the long corridor. Even when he passed by the door of his laboratory, he did not stop at all. A few fully armed military police had already taken control of the entrance of the laboratory. If he wanted to rush in now, what awaited him would most likely be bullets.
The people at the Federal Academy of Science obviously needed Professor Shen's research results. However, if those people didn't want to attract attention, they would definitely wait until a few days after he left the laboratory. After the whole thing had died down, they would find a way to enter the laboratory. In other words, Xu Le still had some time, but the time was too short, and he had not thought of how to steal the huge database in the laboratory.
The security checks at the research institute were extremely strict. Every researcher who entered and left had to go through three scans. The Federation's current high-end storage devices might be able to transfer the data from the research institute's database, but they definitely wouldn't be able to pass the scans.
…
…
The next day was Professor Shen's funeral. The location of the funeral was chosen at the Milky Way Public Cemetery on the outskirts of the capital. When black cars in twos and threes slowly drove along the mountain road to the cemetery, the late spring sky suddenly started to rain. The raindrops pattered, moistening this world that was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.
Xu Le held a black umbrella and silently stood behind Professor Shen, blocking the cold rain from the sky for him. His eyes calmly scanned the crowd beside the grave.
Although Professor Shen had long been away from the academic center of the Federation, he was still a Nebula Award winner. He had a very high reputation in the academic circle. Now that he had passed away, whether or not they had forgotten his existence, many people still chose to send him on his last journey.
The people attending the funeral wore dark clothes, most of them black, with a small white flower pinned to their chests. Under the cold rain in late spring, and against the cold mountain behind the cemetery, it revealed a sad and solemn feeling.
Xu Le's right hand firmly held the handle of the umbrella, not letting a single drop of rain fall on Professor Shen's shoulder. This old professor was sad about the death of his father, and he had to deal with so many things. He was mentally exhausted to the extreme.
The heavy black coffin was slowly lowered into the deep grave. Xu Le narrowed his eyes and looked at the coffin. His gaze seemed to penetrate the thick coffin lid and saw the respected old professor, whose face was full of age spots. In the end, he had accompanied him to smoke a cigarette.
At this moment, Xu Le's heart was even more peaceful and calm. Although until now, he still did not know how to protect Professor Shen's wisdom and prevent it from being stolen by those shameless academic authorities after his death, he knew that he had to do it. Otherwise, he would not be able to face the old man in the grave and himself beside the grave.
When Professor Shen knew that Xu Le was revising the design of the electron jet and had made great progress, he had warned him of the risks involved. However, the old professor himself probably did not expect that he would die faster than the doctor had expected. He was actually unable to protect Xu Le until the successful creation of the new generation of mecha.
Xu Le retracted his gaze and scanned the people around the grave with a slightly scrutinizing gaze. Some of them were sincere, while others were pretending to be sad. Professor Shen, who was under his umbrella, would not pay attention to this, but he had to. The three major military academies had all sent representatives, especially the dean of the First Military Academy.
However, the board of directors of the Shell Motor Company had only sent an honorary director. What made Xu Le feel even colder was that for Professor Shen's funeral, the Federal Academy of Science had actually only sent an office director as a representative. That bald fatty was obviously just a small figure and did not show any respect at all.
It seemed that the rumors that Zou Yu had said were true. Professor Shen had left the Federal Academy of Science in anger a few decades ago, and the relationship between the two had always been extremely cold. All of this might be related to the unwarranted plagiarism incident.
The director who had assigned Xu Le to the logistics department was exceptionally active today. There were many important people from the three major military academies. He acted as if he had done countless things for Professor Shen in these past few years.
There was still no dirt. The director glanced at the foot of the mountain from time to time, as if he was waiting for someone to arrive. Xu Le's eyes narrowed. He saw three black cars earlier than the rest of the people in the cemetery. They were driving along the mountain road towards the cemetery. He did not know who was sitting in the cars.
The black cars stopped at the entrance of the cemetery. As if to show respect, they did not drive directly towards the cemetery. A few people who looked like government officials surrounded two middle-aged men in the middle. They walked towards the cemetery. The crowd around the cemetery was slightly disturbed, and then moved aside to make a path for them.
The identities of these two middle-aged men were worth the wait of everyone present.
After the President's scientific advisor shook hands with Professor Shen, he stood beside the cemetery and read the President's handwritten letter to everyone with a heavy and nostalgic expression. He praised Professor Shen highly for his important role in the development of mecha for the Federation many years ago.
Xu Le narrowed his eyes and looked at everyone's expressions in the drizzle. He knew that the so-called funeral was just another form of communication, but when he thought of the old professor's body in the cemetery, he always hoped that this kind of communication would end quickly.
The President's scientific advisor was naturally the most respected person present, but Xu Le did not pay attention to him. He only used the corner of his eyes to size up the high-ranking officer beside the scientific advisor. The high-ranking officer who was not wearing his military uniform today.
That person was about 50 years old. His hair was white, his face was heavy and determined, and his eyes were calm and powerful. Although he was wearing civilian clothes, he still gave off the unique aura of a soldier.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Zou Yingxing. He was born a technocrat and had been promoted since the General Equipment Base. He had been promoted two ranks consecutively from the Deputy Director of the Logistics Department to the Deputy Minister of National Defense. According to internal news in the capital, if Senator Pabre successfully became the President, this person would undoubtedly be the only candidate for the position of Minister of National Defense.
Deputy Minister Zou had been dealing with the equipment of the federal military all his life. Naturally, he had a close relationship with the academic community represented by the three military academies and the Nutshell Mobility Company. Today was the day of Professor Shen's funeral. The federal military would certainly send a representative with great influence. It was only natural that he would show up.
Xu Le glanced at Deputy Minister Zou from the corner of his eyes. He remembered that when the deputy minister shook hands with Professor Shen, he had also looked at him from the corner of his eyes. His mood became a little strange. The other party must have already known who he was, and the child in Zou Yu's womb …
He had speculated many times that he would meet Zou Yu's father, but he never would have thought that it would be at a funeral.
…
…
After reading Mr. President's handwritten letter, the scientific advisor whispered a few words with Professor Shen and expressed his personal sympathy. Only then did he take off the white flower on his chest and gently put it into the grave.
When there was a beginning, there was an end. The people who attended the funeral threw the white flower on their chest into the grave. There seemed to be a layer of white snow floating on top of the black coffin.
The scientific advisor left first. The funeral gradually came to an end. Deputy Minister Zou, who represented the Federal military, did not leave. He and the dean of the First Military Academy were whispering something somewhere in the cemetery.
Xu Le held an umbrella and accompanied Professor Shen to return the greetings to the people. Suddenly, he tightened his grip on the umbrella and slowly turned his head.
He saw that somewhere in the cemetery, there was only Deputy Minister Zou under a tree. The other party was looking at him coldly. There was a hint of scrutiny in his cold eyes.
Xu Le narrowed his eyes. He did not impolitely look at this important person. Instead, he lowered his head and whispered a few words in Professor Shen's ear. He handed the umbrella to Professor Shen and then walked under the tree in the drizzle.
The director of the research institute, who had just sent the scientific advisor away, was about to seize this rare opportunity to get closer to Deputy Minister Zou. However, he suddenly saw the young assistant, who he had a very bad impression of, walking toward Deputy Minister Zou. He could not help but stop for a moment. Endless doubts arose in his heart.
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