Chapter 375: Chapter 375: The Background of Divine Technology
âLu ChengâanâŠI met him a few times in the early years. We had some interaction, but weâre not very familiar.â Upon hearing this name, Mr. Feng nodded, seemingly lost in his memories. After a moment of silence, he shook his head, âHeâs a pitiful man.â
Gao Yao was taken aback, a bit confused. He didnât expect to get such an answer. In his eyes, the founder of Divine Technology, Lu Chengâan, should be a life winner!
Moreover, with the size of Divine Technology, the job opportunities it created, and the various new technologies it developed, it should have made significant contributions to society, the country, and even all of humanity.
However, Xiang Kun immediately thought of Lu Chengâanâs family and the rumored tragedies of his wife and child.
As expected, Mr. Feng continued, âWhen he was starting his business, the company just got on track, and then his wife fell ill and died. Not long after, his only son became paralyzed. No matter how well the company does or how smoothly his career goes, nothing can make up for that pain.â
Xiang Kun keenly detected from various physical feedback from Mr. Feng that his mood seemed somewhat downcast. Mr. Feng himself said that he was not well acquainted with Lu Chengâan and even not considered a friend. Obviously, it was not likely that he would have much emotional reaction to his sorrow. But Xiang Kun remembered that on the way, Tang Baona said that her grandmother had died long ago, and the relationship between her grandparents was very good. So when this topic was mentioned, Mr. Feng might have thought of himself and projected his feelings.
However, others obviously wouldnât be so sensitive to notice that. Yang Zhenâer immediately asked curiously, âGrandpa, is all the research done by Divine Technology over the years really for resurrecting his wife and curing his son?â
Even though Yang Lao San often argues with Xiang Kun and loves to boast, she is quite âwell-behavedâ and polite when facing elders. Because of her good relationship with Tang Baona, she started calling Mr. Feng as grandpa after meeting him a few times.
Tang Baona would often say that if Yang Zhenâer were reincarnated in ancient times, she would certainly be a sycophant.
Upon hearing her question, Mr. Feng couldnât help but chuckle, âWhere did you hear this kind of gossip?â
âI heard many people saying so.â Yang Zhenâer replied, âGrandpa, did Chairman Luâs son get cured?â
Actually, on Christmas Eve last year, at Tang Baonaâs family gathering, they once discussed various topics about Divine Technology and the Lu family behind the scenes. This was because Yang Zhenâerâs classmate, Qin Ping, was having a hard time deciding whether to accept an offer from Divine Technology at the time.
Although they had abundant information at that time, most of it was second-hand, coming from the elders of the family or veterans in the industry. Naturally, these couldnât compare to first-hand information from someone like Mr. Feng, who had personally been in contact with Lu Chengâan and knew people from the Lu family.
Mr. Feng replied, âI donât know whether his son was cured or not, but I guess he most likely hasnât been cured yet. Otherwise, there should be some news from his relatives and friends. This is a joyous event, thereâs no reason to hide it.
âI know that there are many rumors outside, saying his son was harmed by the competitors of Divine Technology. People say the hardship Lu Chengâan has endured for over a decade was all for revenge, but itâs all nonsense. I am very clear about the reason his son was paralyzed. The kid just fell down the stairs by himself; it had nothing to do with anyone else.
âAs for the technology developed by Divine Technology, it may not necessarily have been Lu Chengâanâs original idea. It could be that the authorities suggested it.â
Tang Baona exclaimed in surprise, âGrandpa, do you mean Divine Technology is actually a state-owned enterprise?â
âDivine Technology is definitely not a state-owned enterprise. What grandpa means is that the authorities have a great influence on the technological development and research direction of Divine Technology. They probably provide some supports that we donât know about, right?â Tang Baoting said.
But Gao Yao was puzzled, âAre you saying that Divine Technology collaborates with the authorities on some projects, Grandpa? Many private enterprises have such collaborations, which seem quite normal, donât they?â
Mr. Feng said, âDivine Technologyâs cooperation with the government is much deeper than what it appears on the surface. I found out about this inadvertently in the past. The officials collaborating with Divine Technology are very high-ranking. As for their exact ranks, identities, and what they are doing specifically, you all donât need to concern yourselves with it. Just understand that the advanced tech that Divine Technology is working on isnât simply because Lu Chengâan wants to bring his wife back to life and cure his child.â
But even though he said this, the grandchildren became even more fervently engaged in the conversation about the secrets behind âDivine Technologyâ after hearing Mr. Fengâs revelations.
Tang Baoting guessed, âCould it be the military? Things like mechanical exoskeletons seem to have potential military applications.â
Gao Yao immediately countered his fiancĂ©e, âIf the level of cooperation was only this, it wouldnât be that big of a deal. Our military has been working with private enterprises to procure and develop various military products for a long time now. According to Grandpaâs words, the collaboration between Divine Technology and the government is even deeper. Could it be that they are liaising with overseas parties for some exchanges and collaborations, so using private enterprises is more convenient?â
Yang Zhenâer added with a sense of awe, âNo wonder Chairman Lu has been so low-profile these past years. Not even his relatives or friends have seen him much. I suppose itâs because his cooperation with the government is somewhat sensitive?â
Tang Baona looked worried, âGrandpa, is it okay for you to be telling us all this?â
Mr. Feng laughed helplessly, âDonât overthink, itâs not as complex and mysterious as youâre imagining. These arenât exactly top-secret matters that canât be mentioned at all. The reason few people know about this is because neither Divine Technology nor the government have intentionally publicized it, and no one has delved deeply into it.â
Xiang Kun silently listened from the side, not interjecting much. The questions he wanted to ask had mostly already been raised by Gao Yao and Yang Zhenâer. Some of the questions, even if not asked, could be inferred from Mr. Fengâs other responses.
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The most significant and important information he obtained was that Divine Technology has a very close relationship with the government, and the officials liaising with Divine Technology are of a very high rank.
This subconsciously led Xiang Kun to speculate that the cooperation between Divine Technology and the government might be related to the search and research on mutants.
After all, based on the mutant samples heâs encountered since his own mutation, mutants have been appearing for at least a decade, and come in all sorts of variants. Itâs impossible for the government to be completely ignorant of this.
However, when he thought about his past experiences, Xiang Kun realized there were some issues with this hypothesis.
If the government really wanted to secretly research mutants, why would it rely on a private enterprise? Even if this private enterprise has strong technology and solid strength, it still doesnât make sense.
Moreover, according to the information he had gathered through various channels beforehand, whether it was Fang Pingfang, Zhou Rui, Mijoe, or other researchers and staff in Divine Technologyâs secret department, none believed that they were doing things for the government. They were even worry about being harassed by the government during their confrontation with the mutated big bird near Wushu Mountain. Their use of advanced drones was also extremely cautious.
The various conversations between Mijoe and Mr. Liang were also not like talks with government officials. Mr. Liang didnât seem to be a government person at all.
Also, when he had observed the Divine Technology personnel monitoring Guo Tianxiangâs clinic and residence while purportedly working for a âsupernaturally fastâ courier company in Yangcheng City, it further undermined the idea of Divine Technology being a front for government research on mutants.
Perhaps the government is not even aware of the research on mutants conducted by Mr. Liang and others within the secret department of Divine Technology. The cooperation between the government and Divine Technology might be in other areas, while Divine Technology and Mr. Liang are secretly conducting related research and investigations.
But if that was the case, what about the governmentâs alleged department for research and investigation of mutants? Given the frequency and duration of the mutantsâ appearances, itâs impossible for the government to be completely unaware of the existence of mutants.
Just looking at the mutants Xiang Kun has encountered, any of them have significant research value. If the government knew about the existence of mutants, there is no reason for it not to prioritize it.
Plus, based on what he knows, there are several secret research bases run by âDivine Technologyâ spread across the country. Each base is quite large and is staffed by top-notch researchers. Itâs impossible for the authorities to be completely oblivious to this and just let it be.
All in all, there are contradictions and inconsistencies in every conjecture.
After chatting for a while, they said goodbye to Mr. Feng at around nine oâclock and prepared to head home.
Similar to their arrival, Xiang Kun followed Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Erâs car, planning to visit their home. They intended to chat about a newly updated game version, plus the details of their upcoming collaboration with Zhang Qian, representing Xiang Kun.
However, after getting home, Tang Baona checked her phone and said: âLiu Shiling asked me if Iâm free to video chat. She wants to show me some of her drawings.â
âWhoâs Liu Shiling?â Yang Zhen Er asked puzzledly.
Xiang Kun had mentioned his plan to teach Liu Shiling how to paint to Tang Baona a couple of days ago, and she had agreed. She had already held a video chat âclassâ with the little fatty girl yesterday and had even assigned her âhomeworkâ.
However, Yang Zhen Er had been staying at her own home for the last two days and was unaware of what had been happening with Liu Shiling.
âRemember the little girl who lived in 706 next to me? I asked Nana to teach her painting. Letâs video chat with her first. Children need to go to bed early. We can chat more later,â said Xiang Kun.
When the QQ video chat connected, Liu Shiling, who was far away in Star City, was startled by the instant appearance of three heads on her iPad screen. Her little face trembled slightly, causing her to pull her iPad back.
After a second, when she recognized who the three heads on the screen were, she relaxed a little and greeted: âHello, Uncle Bald! Hello, Beautiful Sister! Hello, Grilled Chicken Wing Sister!â
Because Yang Zhen Er only squeezed half of her face into the frame, Liu Shiling assumed she was Xia LIbing, whom sheâd chatted with a few times before.
Yang Zhen Er turned to Tang Baona in surprise and asked: âWhy sheâs calling you Grilled Chicken Wing Sister?â
Tang Baona chuckled impatiently: âWell, arenât you going to accept âBeautiful Sisterâ? Youâre really something! âGrilled Chicken Wing Sisterâ is clearly addressing you! Yesterday, Liu Shiling called me âBeautiful Sisterâ.â
Yang Zhen Er was taken aback: âWhy would I be Grilled Chicken Wing Sister? That doesnât make senseâŠâ
Xiang Kun laughed and explained: âGrilled Chicken Wing Sister is Old Xia. Because Old Xia promised to treat her to grilled chicken wings. She must have mistaken you for Old Xia.â
In the video chat, Liu Shiling also quickly nodded: âIâm sorry, sister. I confused you with another person!â
âNo problem. Look at me. what would you like to call me?â Yang Zhen Er pushed Xiang Kun and Tang Baona to the side to occupy the center of the screen and fixed her hair, maintaining a friendly smile.
Seeing the adorable little fatty girl slightly dazed and unsure, Yang Zhen Er gently coaxed: âLetâs see, Iâll give you three options. One is Pretty Sister, the second is Good-Looking Sister, the third is Ms. Fairy Sister. Pick one, my dear little Lingdang sister.â
Tang Baona felt like facepalming, while Xiang Kun chuckled: âLingdang, you can call her Old Yang Sister or Old Three Sister.â
âCome on! Xiang Kun, scoot over! Donât teach bad habits to kids!â Yang Zhen Er forcefully shoved Xiang Kun to the side.
âLingdang, donât mind that crazy sister. Come on, show me your drawings?â Tang Baona quickly took the phone and said to Liu Shiling.
Then Liu Shiling held up her drawings to the camera, which were based on images that Tang Baona had sent to her for practice.
Seeing the drawings, Tang Baona couldnât help but go blank.
âLingdang, why does this duck have so many wings? And⊠what are these circles on its belly?â
Although the little fatty girl doesnât seem to have much talent in drawing pictures, the âhomeworkâ Tang Baona had assigned was simple, and she should have been able to copy the images without any problem.
But unexpectedly, she had drawn eight pairs of wings on a small duck, plus several mysterious circles on its belly.
The little fatty girl explained: âA little duck canât fly with just one pair of wings, so it needs more to rise. The circles on the belly are eyes. They can see small fish and shrimp underwater when it swims.â
Tang Baona felt relieved. It was a good thing the extra wings werenât for grilling.
She didnât discourage the little fatty girlâs excessive embellishments. The creativity of a child should be encouraged. So, she taught her how to arrange the multiple pairs of wings more intuitively, how to draw eyes and how to distribute them on the duckâs belly to look more appealing and balanced.
After half an hour of painting class, at Yang Zhen Erâs request, they reversed the roles and had the little fatty girl teach them how to flip coins.
Watching the girl, whose hands were much smaller than theirs, flip coins with such agility, speed, and skill, left both of them feeling shocked and envious.
Originally, the chubby, adorable girl, who was slightly naive, suddenly seemed a bit cool when flipping coins, inexplicably handsome even.
However, the way the little fatty girl flipped coins was not suitable for adults. Despite trying for a long time, both of them did not just fail to improve, but instead regressed, forgetting the techniques they had learned previously.
But this exchange made the little fatty girl more familiar with the two sisters and increased the warmth in their conversation.
Around ten oâclock, before ending the video chat, the little fatty girl said goodbye: âGoodnight Uncle Bald! Goodnight Beautiful Sister! Goodnight, Old Fairy Sister!â freeweÉnovel.cĂžm
âOld Fairy?â Staring at the already ended video chat on her phone, Yang Zhen Er was stunned while Xiang Kun and Tang Baona couldnât help but burst into laughter. Clearly, the little fatty girlâs nickname was corrupted by Xiang Kun!