War of Intelligent Machines

Chapter 31: The Mysterious Company

Chapter 31: The Mysterious Company



One day, Jiang Yuecheng was at his desk in the department, researching information, when his phone rang.

“Is this Jiang Yuecheng?” a gentle voice asked from the other end.

“Yes, this is him. Who am I speaking with?”

“I’m from the confidential office. Could you come by the office for a moment?”

“Sure, when would be a good time?”

“Right now would be fine. Can you come to the director’s office?”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yuecheng quickly tidied up his desk, asked for leave from Section Chief Sun, and made his way to the research institute’s confidential office.

After passing through the security checkpoint, he found the director’s office on the second floor and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and a smiling middle-aged man politely extended his hand. “Come in, Yuecheng! Someone wants to meet you.”

The man led Jiang Yuecheng into a small meeting room and pointed to a thin man with glasses sitting inside. “This is Director Wu. You two can talk.”

The man then turned and left, closing the door behind him. The door made a muffled sound as it shut.

Jiang Yuecheng noticed that the door to the small meeting room was heavy metal, and the walls seemed to be made of metal as well. Could this be one of those rooms designed to block electromagnetic waves?

He began to realize that the conversation might be highly sensitive.

At this point, only Jiang Yuecheng and Director Wu were in the room.

Director Wu politely stood up to shake hands with Jiang Yuecheng, then sat down and got straight to the point.

“I’ve come specially from Yan Jing to ask you to participate in a rather special task.”

Hearing the words "special task," Jiang Yuecheng’s nerves immediately tightened.

He subconsciously straightened his back and fixed his eyes on Director Wu, causing the atmosphere in the room to grow more serious.

“Don’t be nervous, Xiao Jiang,” Director Wu said, motioning to the cup of water in front of Jiang Yuecheng. “Why don’t you take a sip of water first?”

“Thank you!” Jiang Yuecheng picked up the cup and took a sip.

“We’re looking for someone who is skilled in robotics, has a fighting spirit, and is young and capable. After a thorough selection, your research institute recommended you to the organization.”

Director Wu continued, “You’ve probably heard that many people are building floating islands in the open seas. The situation is getting more and more complicated, and many of these islands have become havens for criminals, growing in an uncontrollable direction.”

“Mm…” Jiang Yuecheng nodded immediately, recalling his two previous dangerous kidnappings to floating islands in the open sea.

“We know you’ve been kidn*pped to floating islands twice, so you’re no stranger to the situation out there,” Director Wu added with a slight smile.

“From the intelligence we’ve gathered, a group is currently using business as a cover to plan an armed separatist movement on the floating islands.”

“Oh?” Hearing this, Jiang Yuecheng realized that this group’s activities might extend beyond the jurisdiction of the law.

“Many people around the world might have similar ideas, but the core members of this group are not ordinary. They are quickly accumulating capital through both legal and illegal businesses, preparing for their next steps.”

“Oh…” Jiang Yuecheng thought about his time working at Hong Zhiyuan’s company and suspected that Hong Zhiyuan’s company might be one of these kinds of organizations.

“The most critical issue now is that the sea areas where these floating islands are located are our busiest maritime routes. If their plan succeeds, it will cause significant problems. Not only will it threaten our navigation, but it will also disrupt our economic and social order. So, we need to take action before they grow in scale to undermine them.”

Director Wu continued, “To address this, we’ve formed an organization to deal with them, operating under the guise of a company. We want you to join this company. Are you willing?”

Director Wu’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Jiang Yuecheng, as if telling him, “Here’s your chance to make a name for yourself. Let’s do this together!”

“I’m willing!” Jiang Yuecheng stood up without hesitation and said firmly.

At that moment, he reflected on what Director Wu had just described.

He thought of how his mother had to disappear for her own safety, living in a dark, isolated room; he remembered his own near-death experiences after being kidn*pped multiple times. Everything seemed to be connected to this group of bad people.

Now, with the support of a powerful country behind him, he finally had the opportunity to fight directly against these enemies. How could he back down? For his mother, for himself, and for their shared home, he would do whatever it took—no matter the dangers, even if it meant walking through fire.

Later, after leaving the northern Tibetan base, Jiang Yuecheng temporarily moved with his grandmother and Oma to Shuangqing. They rented a house in the northern district of Shuangbei.

Just a few days after settling in, Jiang Yuecheng received a text from Director Wu asking him to meet someone in the southern suburbs of Shuangqing.

Following the address, he arrived at an unassuming courtyard in the mountains on the outskirts of Shuangqing’s southern suburbs. A female assistant led him into a small meeting room.

An elderly man, around sixty years old, with white hair but a sharp mind, was waiting for him.

“Please sit!” The elderly man smiled kindly. “I’m Cao Guojun, Cao as in the character from 'Cao Cao.'”

“Hello, Mr. Cao!” Jiang Yuecheng quickly stood up and gave a respectful nod.

“Yuecheng, it’s truly unfortunate about your mother. Please accept my condolences.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cao.”

“Yuecheng, I’m sure Director Wu has told you that our mission is very challenging and complex. It’s likely that conventional methods won’t be enough, so we need bold young people like you who are willing to think outside the box.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Cao.”

“Our core team has mostly been selected, and for now, you’ll be in charge of the research and development side—this is your area of expertise.”

“Oh… Mr. Cao, what exactly are we developing?”

“Robots.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuecheng was confused. The enemies were causing chaos at sea, so how could developing robots help in dealing with them?

Mr. Cao seemed to sense Jiang Yuecheng’s confusion and explained, “Our opponents have factories and research centers on the sea, and their main product is robots. They use underhanded methods to lower costs and make huge profits. However, it’s not yet the right time to destroy their factories and research centers in international waters. They’ve tied up a lot of international capital, and there are many forces—some even nations—helping them.”

“For now, the most feasible way to deal with them is to cut off their access to illegal labor. At the same time, we’ll use their tactics against them by building our own floating islands at sea and competing with them by creating similar products. Of course, to avoid international issues, our company will be registered in an island nation, and we’ll conduct research and production on these floating islands. You’ll be in charge of the R&D side for now.”

“Oh…” Jiang Yuecheng nodded, feeling that he understood a bit more, although many questions still lingered. It seemed his task wasn’t the dangerous, action-packed kind he had imagined, but rather more related to his expertise in R&D.

So he asked, “Mr. Cao, developing products takes time. Won’t this delay the bigger plan?”

Mr. Cao paused for a moment after hearing Jiang Yuecheng’s question, then replied in a calm and slow tone, “The development isn’t the focus; the struggle is the focus.”

“Struggle?” Jiang Yuecheng was a little confused. Was it development or struggle? How exactly were they going to fight?

Mr. Cao understood Jiang Yuecheng’s thoughts and laughed. “This is urgent, but we can’t rush it. The situation in international waters is complicated, so we need to take it step by step—being proactive, but also steady and cautious. If we’re not careful, it could escalate into an international dispute, which is why we’re preparing for a long-term struggle.”

“Oh… I think I understand. We know they’re causing chaos, but we can’t rush in. We’ll develop while fighting, preparing for a prolonged battle!”

“Hahaha… Exactly! A long war! Have you read the works of the old masters? You’re talking about protracted warfare, haha!” Mr. Cao was pleased with Jiang Yuecheng’s quick understanding and laughed heartily.

“I’ve only read a few of his articles,” Jiang Yuecheng said a little shyly.

“Alright, then,” Mr. Cao changed the subject. “Please prepare a proposal for the research institute. We’ll start small—just a few people. We’ll gradually build it up. The location will be temporarily set in the capital of the Liyar Islands, and once the floating islands are ready, we’ll move everything there.”

“Liyar?” Jiang Yuecheng had never heard of it before.

“Yes, Liyar…” Mr. Cao explained, “We have good relations with them, and it’s not too far from the mainland. It’s a place where we face fewer restrictions, and the risks are easier to control. You should visit Liyar in the next few days, stay for a while, and learn more about the local situation.”