Several people walked out of the room. Chen Xiao was the one leading the way, with Zhang Xiaotao standing shoulder to shoulder beside him. She was holding Chen Xiao's arm tightly in her arms, and her head was practically pressed against Chen Xiao's shoulder.
Mr. Zhu followed behind with a worried look on his face—he hadn't received the money yet, and the big spender seemed to have forgotten about it.
Chen Xiao regained consciousness and felt a little embarrassed being held by Zhang Xiaotao. His arm was tightly held in the girl's arms, and he could clearly feel her full and soft breasts pressing against the side of his arm. He couldn't help but blush. He hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Okay, Zhang Xiaotao, I'm fine. You, you, cough cough, you don't need to hold me like this."
"No!" Zhang Xiaotao shook her head like a rattle drum, not only refusing to let go, but actually hugging her even tighter.
Helpless, Chen Xiao could only pull her along as they walked out. Just as they entered the courtyard, they came face to face with Old Master Xiao and the others!
Old Master Xiao had met Chen Xiao before, and when he saw Chen Xiao actually walk out of the house, he was stunned. He opened his mouth, let out a "Yi" sound, and stared at Chen Xiao in surprise.
Chen Xiao was initially at a loss, but when he stepped outside into the courtyard, the old man was still looking at him with such a strange expression, so he couldn't help but frown: "Old man, is there something you need?"
Old Master Xiao's expression grew increasingly strange. He asked in surprise, "You...you're Chen Xiao. Don't you recognize me?"
Chen Xiao's expression shifted: "You know my name?!"
Old Master Xiao opened his mouth, but narrowed his eyes, staring at Chen Xiao with surprise and suspicion.
Chen Xiao was thrilled to have encountered someone who recognized him again, so he wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by. He quickly released Zhang Xiaotao, nodded politely to the old woman, and said courteously, "Grandma, I'm sorry, I've recently developed a strange illness, and my mind isn't quite right. I can't remember many things. Do you... really recognize me?"
Grandpa Xiao blinked and stared at Chen Xiao, but found that Chen Xiao's eyes were clear and did not seem to be lying.
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through his mind. Suddenly, the old man burst into laughter, a hearty laugh filled with joy and delight. He exclaimed loudly, "Fate! Fate! This truly is fate!!"
As he spoke, the old man took two steps forward, almost touching Chen Xiao, put his arm around Chen Xiao's shoulder, and patted him a few times forcefully: "Kid! Enough with the nonsense, hurry up and call me 'Grandpa'!!"
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The Pentagon, United States.
The minister absentmindedly flipped through a document in front of him, his cup of coffee beside him untouched. He held a pen in his hand the whole time, but didn't write a single word on the document.
In fact, he spent a full ten minutes looking at the document, but he didn't absorb a single word.
In the huge office, the guy sitting on the sofa was clearly the source of the minister's current mental turmoil.
"All right!"
The minister finally put down his pen, closed the document, and gave up on continuing the stalemate.
He spoke up: "I don't understand, sir."
"Please call me Lei Hu." Lei Hu smiled as elegantly as ever, revealing two rows of clean, even teeth.
“Thunder Fox… a strange name.” The minister muttered, but he still accepted the other party’s request: “So… Mr. Thunder Fox, what exactly do you want from me?”
"First of all, I am very grateful to the Minister for taking the time out of his busy schedule to receive such an uninvited guest as myself." Lei Hu stood up and bowed gracefully. His movements were not at all like those of a nobleman who was inviting a lady to dance at a ball, rather than the Minister of Defense of the world's largest country.
"I'm just curious what you and the guys behind you want to say to me," the minister snorted. His forehead was deeply wrinkled, his brows furrowed tightly, like the king of the forest, his forehead forming the Chinese character for "king." In fact, many of his political enemies called him "Tiger" behind his back.
The minister's eyes were sharp, and over the years, his gaze remained as sharp as ever, without losing its edge with age—just like when he was a young, staunch hawk officer serving at Guantanamo Bay!
"I find it strange that you self-proclaimed non-human beings are always in cahoots with those lunatics at NASA!" The minister's tone was laced with mockery and sarcasm. "And I know that there are quite a few members of Congress willing to cheer you on! You can even speak directly with the president at the White House. I'm curious, what is it about a stubborn old man like me that you're trying to win over?"
“I know that many people in the upper echelons of the US government, like you, harbor deep prejudices against groups like ours.” Lei Hu seemed to ignore the mocking look and sarcastic tone in the other party’s eyes, and his voice remained calm and composed: “In your eyes, Mr. Secretary, we are probably a bunch of freaks, or rather, a bunch of terrorists who have mastered nuclear weapons.”
"At least Bin Laden is much more lovable than you! At least Bin Laden wouldn't come to my office to threaten me," the minister scoffed.
"But terrorists won't protect America, they won't help America," Lei Hu continued with a smile.
"Protect America?" The minister clenched his fist slightly. "Protecting America is the duty of the U.S. military!"
"What if we encountered a crisis similar to the one Japan is facing now?" Raihu smiled.
The minister remained silent.
After a moment, he raised his eyelids again, his eyes sharp as knives, staring intently at Lei Hu: "I hate you! Sir! To put it more bluntly, I hate you and the organization behind you! I even hate all 'guys' like you. You are not controlled by the laws of this world, you are above the world! This is something I have never tolerated! Only those lunatics at NASA would cooperate with people like you!"
"But at least NASA has benefited," Lei Hu said calmly. "Without our cooperation, the development of America's satellite orbital weapons would have been delayed by at least thirty years! Without our help, the US military's space technology would have been set back by twenty years! Without our help... Your Excellency, the most advanced weapons you currently possess would not even exist."
"This is the only reason I still tolerate your existence in our country." The minister made no attempt to hide his attitude: "You control some members of Congress, influence the president through certain channels, and have a grip on NASA, but don't even think about extending your reach into the military!"
"We had no such intention."
Lei Hu smiled, took something out of his pocket, and gently tossed it onto the sofa: "This is a small gift."
The minister frowned.
"We have absolutely no designs on the military. To put it bluntly, we don't need to possess more military power!" Lei Hu's voice finally took on a hint of aggression: "Since we can help the United States develop those weapons... then we can possess more and better ones! Mr. Secretary, what we value is you as a person, and the group of people behind you who share your political views. You have considerable influence over American politics. And coincidentally, we need that influence. Oh, by the way, to use a popular term... you and your companions are called 'hawks.' Heh, I like that title, but I believe we are not your enemies."
"In a few days, a secret bill will be passed. We hope that you and your companions will show a positive attitude towards it. Your Excellency, this is not an attempt to bribe us, but a collaboration. I can make you a guarantee and promise: after this bill is passed, we will cooperate with your country more deeply. And the content of this cooperation is... this gift I brought contains a specific plan and report... I believe you will be interested."
After speaking, Lei Hu bowed, then calmly took his leave, pushed open the door, and quickly left.
The minister sat there for several minutes, pondering, before standing up and going around the desk to pick up the object from the sofa.
This is a miniature storage device with a storage capacity at least a hundred times larger than the miniature storage devices currently used by the military, and it is also much more efficient.
Clearly, this is a new product, bearing the NASA logo, so it's probably another new thing these guys are developing in collaboration with NASA.
The minister had seen this device before at a military supplies procurement meeting. He knew how to use it and quickly and skillfully opened the projection port. The device, which was only the size of a regular USB flash drive, soon emitted a projector image, and images appeared on the wall, with page after page of pictures rapidly unfolding...
"Regarding the establishment of District 58, codenamed 'Angel' District. Regarding the artificial human troops, the plan to replace human beings in the future... Ninth generation organic artificial mechanical body test report, detailed evaluation of the Xth generation spacecraft..."
The minister's eyes revealed a deep shock!