Pukou District, Xiangshan High-Energy Laboratory.
Zhuge Yao walked out of the research institute, shaking his head:
"I didn't find the information you wanted, just a bunch of irrelevant data, probably used to throw people off the scent."
Wang Chuhong sighed and said:
"The Duke anticipated this. When the news of that person's disappearance came out, the government suspected that the court had already predicted our intelligence sources and was thus relocating the corresponding data. Whether it's a smokescreen or real, it's now impossible to confirm."
"An anti-warship superweapon... Does such a thing really exist?" Zhuge Yao laughed. "I thought the Jingwei was invincible."
"There's no such thing as invincible," Wang Chuhong said softly. "Before the demon catastrophe, the empire had at most four warships: Jingwei, Fenghuang, Luanniao, and Qiyu, each guarding different regions: the vast sea, the southern seas, Persia, and the central plains."
"In the mid-catastrophe period, the empire redeployed the four ships back to the central plains, and within a month, three were destroyed by demons... You think the ship's shield technology is invincible, but against demons with shield-breaking abilities, it's just a slightly bulkier target."
"Shield-breaking abilities," Zhuge Yao chewed over the term. "Does the Jiankang court have such capabilities?"
"Too many technologies were lost after the catastrophe," Wang Chuhong shook his head. "Borrowing the Zheng family's shield technology, probably only Lu family's high-energy particle spear technology could break it. If the Jiankang court restored this technology, they wouldn't be hiding in their shells taking hits."
Zhuge Yao fell silent, his expression strange.
During the civil war, the Jiankang court, suppressed by warships, could only hide within static shields. But on a larger scale, wasn't it humanity itself hiding and taking hits?
In the past, warships equipped with dynamic shield generators were easily destroyed by demons. Now, humans have only restored static shield technology, while demons... probably haven't stood still.
So, is the northern expedition really likely to succeed?
"Anyway, assuming the Jiankang court is indeed restoring high-energy particle spear technology, we'll need to be on guard." He said absentmindedly.
"Yes, and the current head of the Lu family," Wang Chuhong smiled. "Whether it's technology or supernaturals, the Duke has countermeasures in place, so we don't need to worry too much."
........
Cheng Jinyang slowly woke up in bed, groaning with a headache.
It took about six hours to recover from the all-nighter. Looking outside, it was already dark.
Oh no! Today's family duties must still be undone!
He instinctively started to get up, but then thought he would be staying up late again tonight anyway, so it didn't matter if it was delayed a bit... Then he realized the blanket was heavy.
Looking again, he saw Miss Cui sitting by the bed, her upper body lying on him asleep.
If Miss Qingqing had a standard oval face, Cui Jinqi's face was slightly rounder at the cheekbones, making her less seductive but more sweet and cute.
Like Miss Qingqing, she had a ponytail, but with extra hair strands left on both sides of her face (to make her face look smaller). Her features were softer, her eyes more open, lacking Miss Qingqing's lively and spirited charm, looking more like a gentle lady from a noble family.
Well, Miss Qingqing was from a humble background, whereas Miss Cui was nurtured by one of the five great families... So where did her mischievous and deceitful nature come from?
Cheng Jinyang pondered for a moment, suddenly realizing that Cui Jinqi probably had some painful past too, just like Ah Zhi, Miss Wang, Qingqing, and Xiao Wangshu.
He even had an illusion: if he went back to sleep now, he might not dream of Wujiang Town again.
Maybe he'd enter the Cui family's land, entering Miss Cui's memories.
But he certainly wouldn't do that. Morally speaking, passive dreaming was unavoidable, but knowingly and deliberately prying into someone's scars, Cheng Jinyang couldn't do something so despicable.
I am a man of seven feet, able to bear much, how could I be so vile?
Of course, from a practical standpoint, the team was almost complete, and there really was no place for "antimatter annihilation."
Antimatter annihilation, due to its enormous power, can currently only be used in cutting-edge physical research.
For instance, requiring ultra-high instantaneous energy power, previously done with underground nuclear explosions, which were risky and hard to clean up afterward.
But with antimatter annihilation, controlled energy release can be done in a laboratory's vacuum magnetic confinement environment... Other than that, it's probably only for battlefield self-destruction.
Cheng Jinyang even had a wild thought. If the war really reached the brink of defeat, the Jiankang court might drop the head of the Cui family above the Jingwei, using human bomb tactics...
However, in the nightmare, this ability is quite useless. If she self-destructs, taking out the enemy along with everyone else, how are we supposed to absorb the blood energy from the demon corpses?
Sorry, Miss Cui, we really aren't suitable. You should just focus on being a lady of the Five Great Families!
It was as if Cui Jinqi sensed Cheng Jinyang's internal complaints, for she slowly woke up from her sleep.
Only then did she realize the awkwardness of her current position. With a loud "waa," her face turned red as she sprang off him.
Oh no, how did I fall asleep while watching him? And even ended up lying on top of him!
"Um... I..." she stammered, "I was going to help you to bed, but you were so groggy that you suddenly grabbed me and wouldn't let go, insisting I sleep with you!"
Cheng Jinyang: ???
Young lady, this isn't just lying; it's outright slander!
"That's right!" Embarrassed and annoyed, Miss Cui decided to stick to her story, regardless of the consequences. "I couldn't get away because you held me down, and then you knocked me out on the bed... So, what do you plan to do to compensate me?"
Cheng Jinyang paused, realizing she was indeed lying, then smiled and said:
"Sorry, sorry, I must have been really out of it then. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you."
"Mm-hmm." Cui Jinqi feigned anger and nodded, "As compensation for ruining my reputation, you should answer me..."
She was about to seize the opportunity to ask him about the unusual bloodline fluctuations she felt during his sleep when Cheng Jinyang, pretending to be serious, said:
"Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the Qinghe Cui family to propose marriage. Please, Miss Cui, rest assured."