"Alright. Do your best"
Chen Mo patted Zhao Qiang on the shoulder, then as if he suddenly remembered something, added, "Oh right, Zhao Qiang, from now on, no one is allowed near the restricted areas of the nuclear power plant. You'll need to assign extra patrols daily. Things might be a bit tough for you during this period, but once the new surveillance system is installed, your team won't have to work so hard."
"Boss, that's my duty." Zhao Qiang was a bit surprised. The surveillance system at the plant was still pretty new, so there was no real need to replace it. He asked, "Boss, you want to redo the surveillance system?"
"That's right," Chen Mo nodded.
"But the plant's surveillance is still new. Is it really necessary?" Zhao Qiang questioned.
"I'm the boss. I decide," Chen Mo replied firmly.
The surveillance absolutely had to be replaced. Whether or not Deqiu's system was good wasn't the point—the key issue was that Chen Mo didn't trust him.
He needed to set up a completely blind-spot-free system that Red Queen could take over, so he could monitor every inch of the nuclear power plant at all times.
"Understood," Zhao Qiang nodded. There was nothing more to say—if the boss said to change it, then change it. As an employee, it wasn't his place to question. Plus, he had a gut feeling that this boss was different from the previous one. Following him might lead to something great.
"No more chatter. Take me to inspect the generators."
Chen Mo waved his hand. His top priority now was to check whether the power generation equipment was intact and still functional. If anything was broken, it needed to be repaired immediately. He wanted to harness as much energy as possible to power up his abilities.
"Alright."
"The eastern section of the plant houses the nuclear area, but due to an earlier incident, it's no longer operational. Most of the equipment in there is broken. The western section is the thermal power plant, which is still intact, though most of the machinery is shut down—maybe only half of it is still usable."
As they walked, Zhao Qiang briefed Chen Mo. He was very familiar with the entire layout, having patrolled it countless times—he could probably navigate with his eyes closed. He also knew which machines were functional: if something hadn't run for a long time, it was likely broken.
Chen Mo toured the nuclear section first, then the thermal power area. What he saw confirmed that the plant's condition was worse than he had expected.
The nuclear part was basically a complete loss. All the equipment was damaged, the nuclear material was gone, and the reactor core had serious issues.
Restarting nuclear generation would require reapplying to the proper authorities, purchasing new nuclear material, and rebuilding the reactor core. Not to mention, acquiring nuclear materials was no small feat.
As for the thermal section, half the equipment was out of commission. The remaining generators could only produce about 10,000 kWh a day—a very small amount. Most thermal plants produce hundreds of thousands of kWh daily.
I knew something was fishy with this plant.
Otherwise, how could such a large piece of land be sold so cheaply? Still, at least some of the thermal generators still worked. That was something.
Chen Mo mentally noted the names Deqiu and the British United Group—he'd be settling the score later.
"Boss, are you disappointed in the plant?" Zhao Qiang asked, glancing at Chen Mo.
"A bit, yeah. But it's fine," Chen Mo nodded.
"Why? With so much broken equipment, doesn't that make you a sucker?"
"Because… I'm not telling you."
Chen Mo shook his head.
You think I bought this plant just for power? My real aim is to build a research base for Black Domain Technology.
You think that's my goal? Actually, I need the electricity—to secretly reroute the energy for my ability's power-up.
You think charging up is my final goal?
No.
The truth is, I want to extract items from movies.
You think I'm playing on the first level, but I'm already at the second. Think I'm at the second? I'm in outer space.
Chen Mo's eyes settled on the big red power switch next to the generator cluster. He felt a surge of emotion and decisively slammed his palm down on the switch.
In an instant.
A loud mechanical roar echoed through the room. The machines kicked into gear, thermal fuel began burning, and the giant electric meter nearby spun like a turbine.
It meant the massive generator was producing electricity.
There was still some thermal fuel left—enough for about a month.
And it was fully automated, unlike the complex operations required for nuclear power.
This made things much easier for Chen Mo.
Thinking this, he got excited. Whether or not he could charge his ability, whether he could pull items out of movies—all depended on this moment. Just as he was about to start the charging process, he noticed Zhao Qiang was still nearby. He frowned.
"Zhao Qiang, wait outside. Guard the door. Don't let anyone come in or approach the power room."
Zhao Qiang gave Chen Mo a deep look. Though he thought the request was odd, he had come to realize his boss was assertive and decisive—someone who didn't need his advice. He simply needed to obey.
So…
Without another word, Zhao Qiang left the room and even thoughtfully shut the door behind him.
Once Chen Mo confirmed he was alone, his heart began to race with excitement.
It was finally time to charge up.
But…
Even though he was thrilled, he didn't let it get to his head—he still followed basic safety protocols.
He first destroyed all the cameras inside the generator room, then locked the doors and windows. He also covered the windows with opaque stickers to block any visibility.
Only then did he feel secure.
He opened his ability panel and looked at the information displayed.
[Host: Chen Mo]
[Ability: Reach into Movies (limited to sci-fi films only; does not include fantasy, horror, etc. The closer the technology to real life, the easier it is to retrieve.)]
[Item: Super AI "Red Queen" (already bound to host; eternally loyal).]
[Remaining Item Retrievals: 0 (needs recharging)]
[Current Energy Level: 0.3%]
[Ding~ Detected available electrical energy nearby. Begin charging now? Yes/No]
Chen Mo focused on the energy percentage. After two or three days, it had slowly increased to 0.3%.
Still way too slow.
Now let's see how much this thermal power can boost the "Reach into Movies" ability.
"Begin charging now," Chen Mo said calmly.