Seeing that Lin Lan had no intention of pursuing the past any further, not only did Senior Sun Xing breathe a sigh of relief, but the man at the center of it all, Tian Ming, broke down in tears, full of gratitude as if he were about to kneel before Lin Lan.
"Don't kneel. I'm warning you—focus on real scientific research from now on, and stop messing around with things you shouldn't.
We'll let the past go, but if there's a next time, you'd better watch your head."
After motioning for Tian Ming to get up from the ground, Lin Lan deliberately spoke with a more serious tone.
"Mr. Lin, please rest assured! I will dedicate myself to scientific research from now on and will never betray your great generosity..."
Only after receiving Tian Ming's firm and sincere promise did Lin Lan turn to Sun Xing and said with a hint of humor:
"Old Sun, surely you're not going to have us standing out here in the wind forever?"
"Ah, that was my oversight. Mr. President, ladies, please—this way."
Only then did Sun Xing realize that everyone had been standing in the cold for quite a while.
He gave an awkward smile and invited Lin Lan and the others to step inside the walled compound of the Science and Technology Institute.
"This is your first time visiting, Mr. President. Allow me to give you a brief overview of how our institute is organized."
As they walked through a series of white buildings, Lin Lan listened as Sun Xing introduced the various divisions of the institute.
"This is the aboveground research area. These buildings primarily house research in energy, agriculture, industry, medicine, biology... all areas closely tied to civilian needs."
"Sixty percent of all patented technologies in the Orland United States originated from our institute.
You could say that our achievements owe everything to the excellence of our research staff."
"Look—those farms and fields outside the rear wall are the agricultural research and testing zones."
As he spoke, Sun Xing pointed toward the back of the buildings.
In the distance, Lin Lan saw a vast area covered with transparent greenhouses, filled with lush vegetation inside.
Even further away were structures resembling livestock farms—presumably experimental facilities for animal husbandry.
He also noticed quite a few researchers in white lab coats passing by them.
Some were hurrying into buildings with folders and document bags in hand, while others stood in small groups, engaged in heated discussions, so focused that they didn't even notice the newcomers.
Although these buildings seemed old and in disrepair—perhaps even long overdue for maintenance—Lin Lan could sense a pure scientific atmosphere from the demeanor of the researchers.
It was like an untouched sanctuary, untainted by worldly concerns.
Lin Lan nodded in approval. This, he thought, was the true foundation upon which Orland was built.
He had originally thought that after the Siren Catastrophe and the coup by the Zhu Hai Consortium, Orland had abandoned genuine research institutions.
But now it seemed that, as one of the most powerful nations in this alternate world, the Orland United States still retained its deep reserves of strength.
Soon, guided by Sun Xing's commentary, Lin Lan and his group entered the central and only building in the institute that was taller than six stories.
Once inside, Lin Lan saw that the first floor was filled with researchers working behind glass partitions in labs, engaged in their respective projects using sophisticated instruments.
When they entered the elevator, Sun Xing selected the B1 level and, looking at Lin Lan with pride, said:
"Mr. President, now we're getting to the real heart of things—welcome to our underground Cube Technology R&D Zone."
"The underground area focuses on high-tech research including ship equipment development, cube energy development and application, and military mech modification."
Hearing the pride in Sun Xing's tone, Ägir's eyes showed a flash of disdain, but Lin Lan's curiosity was piqued.
He was indeed curious to see how far Orland had progressed in their research on pseudo-Wisdom Cubes.
When the elevator doors opened, a completely different scene from the floors above was revealed.
Under the bright white lights stretched a wide, spotlessly clean corridor.
As they stepped into the corridor, Lin Lan saw through the transparent glass walls on both sides a large collection of weapons.
More precisely: real naval guns, carrier-based aircraft, torpedoes, and rows of combat mechs.
Dozens of researchers in white lab coats were operating these mechs, using various unfamiliar instruments to perform scans and other analyses on the weapons.
But it was clear that the space was still quite limited, and the total number of weapons was not large.
Some areas weren't even fully renovated, with exposed dirt still visible.
"I must admit—the Wisdom Cube is the most powerful and complex energy medium I've ever seen in my life. The energy it contains far exceeds any known limit."
"Now let Xiao Tian explain the rest to Mr. President."
After marveling at the energy within the Wisdom Cube, Sun Xing turned to Tian Ming, who had been silent the whole time.
"Mr. Lin... I'm sure you're aware that the Wisdom Cube was first discovered and announced by the Navy Department of the Eastern Continent."
"They built facilities and used Wisdom Cubes to create powerful shipgirls capable of resisting the Sirens. Only then did Orland finally gain the strength to fight back."
Tian Ming paused here and glanced nervously at the girls behind Lin Lan.
He truly hadn't expected the shipgirls to radiate such overwhelming presence—their eyes alone seemed capable of killing.
After receiving a contemptuous golden-eyed glare from Ägir, Tian Ming quickly looked away and continued:
"But we soon discovered that the Wisdom Cubes had many more functions beyond just producing shipgirls."
"For example, we could retrofit large weapons into shipgirl-compatible armaments. And more importantly, the immense energy they contain—please allow me to refer to it as Cube Energy."
"Cube Energy can solve the issue of mech power cores taking up too much space."
"I can state with confidence that as long as we are provided with enough Wisdom Cubes, we can replace all existing known energy sources—except petroleum—with Cube Energy."
"In fact, Cube Energy could lead Orland into an entirely new era."
"However, the deeper we researched, the more we realized that Wisdom Cubes don't appear to be naturally occurring. They seem more like something artificially manufactured..."
Lin Lan listened to Tian Ming's analysis without changing expression, but inwardly, he was surprised.
Because what Tian Ming said was exactly right.
Whether pseudo-Wisdom Cubes or genuine ones, they were all "finished products" created by the Sirens and their makers—those who possessed true cube technology.
According to records in the game's main world archives, the technology to produce Wisdom Cubes was originally derived from meteorites that had fallen from space in the first world where Sirens and shipgirls were created.
Humanity in that original world had developed cube technology and Cube Energy to a peak level of mastery.
In fact, it was highly likely that the Sirens' ability to create experimental worlds was inherited from those original human creators.
Lin Lan had never expected the Orland United States' Science and Technology Institute to be capable of extracting Cube Energy.
They might even be able to completely replace traditional energy in the future, integrating cube technology into both military and civilian applications.
Wouldn't that be a full-scale energy revolution, just like in the original world...?
As the thought crossed his mind, Lin Lan suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
He was struck by a terrifying realization.
All the Wisdom Cubes in the Orland United States currently came from the Sirens—they had deliberately handed out pseudo-Wisdom Cubes.
But did the Sirens truly know that Orland's researchers had the capability to extract Cube Energy and study cube technology?
If the Sirens knew all that, yet still gave the pseudo-Cubes to Orland's Navy Department—
Then isn't it possible that what the Sirens really wanted... was to push this alternate world's Orland United States onto the same developmental path as the humans of the original world—their creators?!
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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