Chapter 85: Material Laboratory |
Several hours after Chen Chen had finished the meeting with Anthony, Qian Wenhuan phoned him.
"Boss, I found a Material Analysis Laboratory on the more advanced side, it's right in the industrial area."
Qian Wenhuan sounded overjoyed. "I took a look inside. X-ray diffractometer, metallographic microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, electron probe microanalyzer, and various other equipment. It's well-equipped. There are also three expert personnel that should be available for hire."
"Alright, send the address to Cheng Cao. I'll be there in an hour or two," Chen Chen replied.
After hanging up the call, Chen Chen booted up the computer again and began searching for a movie online.
Unlike the previous movies he had put into the USB drive, this time, he planned to use a comedy – Men in Black: International.
The movie debuted in 2019. It was considered to be a spinoff version. However, the setting was the same as the first three, it was about a pair of partners fighting aliens to save the earth.
After clicking the download button, Chen Chen became a little uncertain.
The thing was that the Men in Black series was technically a Marvel movie, only it was different from the other IP.
Even though the logic and structure of the movie was fairly realistic and did not involve any form of magical or supernatural entities, Chen Chen was not sure if Men in Black would be approved by the USB drive.
If it could not work, then the idea he had would go up in smoke.
Fortunately, after half an hour when the download was completed, Chen Chen was able to easily insert it into the USB drive by dragging the file over.
"Phew!"
In that case, he would be able to proceed with the next step of his plan.
Chen Chen immediately started the movie and dragged the progress bar to the frame where Agent H had his hand raised.
He held a silver-white metal rod in his hand.
With a gentle scoop, the silver-white metal rod instantly appeared in Chen Chen's hand.
Chen Chen weighed it in his hand. The silver rod was on the heavier side weighing above 100 grams. It was shaped like a pen with a cap on the end of it that can be clipped onto a shirt. The only difference was that it was significantly thicker than a regular pen.
Chen Chen tried to press down on the cap and heard a click. The metal rod popped up immediately, revealing three round buttons on the part facing Chen Chen. On the section in front, a LED light was turned on automatically, emitting a faint light blue ray.
The three buttons were labeled year, month, and day accordingly. At the bottom part, there was a tiny selection for hours and minutes.
Chen Chen wanted to click it to give it a try but gave up on the thought when he remembered he had no sunglasses on.
This titanium alloy rod was the memory eraser in Men in Black. The Interstellar Immigration Bureau in the movie used this tool to maintain the order and stability of human society.
He pressed back down on the section that popped up, following a smooth click the metal returned to its previous pen-like shape.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
At this moment, there was the sound of knocking coming from the door. Cheng Cao followed immediately after. "Boss, are we leaving now?"
"Coming." Chen Chen thought for a moment before clipping the memory eraser on the pocket of his shirt. He then stuffed the Gantz Suit into a suitcase before leaving the room with it.
"Cao, do you know of any place that sells sunglasses? Even better if it's the kind that prevents electromagnetic radiation."
Cheng Cao, "?"
…
Half an hour later, Chen Chen arrived at the building of the laboratory. Before he could get out of the car, Qian Wenhuan was one step ahead and opened the door for him.
The person in charge of the laboratory came to him and passionately shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen. Thank you for your funding our laboratory. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything."
The person in charge of the laboratory was a white man and looked to be in his forties. He seemed to be of half Germanic and half Slavic descent and spoke fluent English.
"Only the basic necessities." Chen Chen smiled politely and led the way in.
"Oh right, I don't need too many staff in the laboratory during this period. I heard you have three experts on material science. Just having them stay will do."
"Will it do?"
The person in charge questioned, "I'm not sure what material you want to conduct tests on. Even though only three of my staff have expert qualifications, the other staff's experience is nothing to sneeze at either."
"I'm afraid I can't tell you too much about it. The tests I want to conduct is a business secret. The fewer people involved, the better." Chen Chen pointed out.
"You must forgive my manners." The man nodded. "In that case, I'll turn off the surveillance systems to prevent details of your experiment being leaked."
"Greatly appreciated."
After they entered the laboratory building, the person in charge informed the counter, "Inform all the staff that they'll be given leave for a week. Also, have Knoch, Passadin, and Pitken meet me in my office."
"It's alright, I'll meet them myself." Chen Chen did not want to waste time and headed right in.
"Ah, Mr. Chen…" The person in charge was briefly taken aback before he quickly caught up to Chen Chen.
Shortly after, they arrived in the interior section of the material laboratory which incorporated a duplex structure. When Chen Chen pushed open the main door, he was greeted by the sight of the gigantic research hall. Dozens of researchers dressed in large white lab coats were walking around occupied with their tasks.
"Pretty decent environment for research." Chen Chen nodded and appraised, "Must've spent a lot for this laboratory."
"Of course. The Namibian officials borrow our equipment now and then. If not for us, they probably won't even be able to analyze basic materials."
The person in charge laughed heartily. His spite for the country was easily spelled out in the tone of his laughter.
Chen Chen did not dwell on the topic.
They were now standing on the observation deck hung above. There was a suspended ladder beside them that would lead them to the section below. Following the ladder to the lower level would officially bring you to the interior section of the laboratory.
Within a moment, the person in charge had given leave to the other members of the laboratory. He then introduced the three experts to Chen Chen.
The three men were Knoch, Passadin, and Pitken. They were all above fifty years old. Knoch was a German while Passadin and Pitken were both French.
"Should any of you three choose to remain here to provide your assistance, my boss is willing to hire you at the flat rate of 3000 U.S. Dollars per day."
Naturally, the task of negotiation was entrusted to Qian Wenhuan. He quickly added with sincerity. "I know that for the three of you at this point in your career, this isn't a very significant sum. However, it's quick cash at the end of the day, isn't it? We guarantee that the working hours will not exceed twelve hours each day and if anything were to go wrong with the experiments, we'll take full responsibility for it."
The three of them exchanged a glance with each other. The German called Knoch spoke sternly, "3000 U.S. Dollars you say, that's a considerable sum equivalent to a week of my income. I can't speak for the other two but as for me, I'm willing to provide my assistance."
"He's right, I'll take it as well." Pitken nodded his head in agreement. "The contract I signed here is about to expire as well. If your company is hiring, you can put me into consideration."
"Ahem!" The person in charge standing beside them coughed sternly.
"I'm fine with it too." The white-bearded Passadin took the offer without a hint of hesitation.
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