The war was raging on at a high intensity at every fortress. Not only was Fortress One’s commander replaced, but the beasts were arriving in larger droves, and stronger ones as well. Although the Federation had already requested every major city nearby to send reinforcements, it was still difficult to move troops en masse. One must understand that some people had never set foot outside their own cities in their lifetime. 

While the friends were chatting away about the current situation, Xiang Ning’s communicator rang. He glanced at it and was surprised to see that it was Dong Qianyi. He excused himself, then walked aside to accept the call. 

“Master, what’s up?”

“Hehe, I won’t talk about what happened yesterday. Come to Fortress One’s research facility first, use the card I gave you,” said Dong Qianyi. 

“Huh?” Xiang Ning was very confused. What? Research facility? There’s a lab?

“None of that nonsense, just hurry up,” Dong Qianyi impatiently said. 

Xiang Ning nodded, knowing that it was something urgent from his tone. Anything that could make a Great Prodigy so impatient must be something major. His master was probably currently in the fortress, too. He just wondered where Dong Qianyi was when he was at Marsh City three days ago. It looked like he was at the fortress. 

Xiang Ning grabbed a slice of bread and said, “One of the higher-ups is looking for me, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Then he hurried off. No one thought it was odd. 

He followed a map that Dong Qianyi had given him, walking through the main hall deeper into the building. Taking out the card his master gave him, he entered a room filled with wooden crates and an elevator. He entered, then pressed the button for basement 5. 

The elevator was transparent, so he could see the scenery outside. Xiang Ning was in awe of the scale of the fortress as he saw the giant glowing core that powered the fortress, with countless robots performing various tasks and running along tracks. There were only a few humans present for regular maintenance and checks. 

Basement 1 was where he directly passed the giant core. Ten people joining hands wouldn’t be able to wrap around its circumference, connected as it was by gigantic tunnels that forked in all directions across the level. Even a Beast King would be afraid of the sheer power that was contained in the gigantic core. 

The area it took up was more than ten thousand cubic meters. Xiang Ning could feel that if the energy core exploded, it would be as powerful as half an atomic bomb. The fortress would be nothing but ash. 

Very quickly he arrived at basement 5. The place was much brighter than he expected, very futuristic-looking, and filled with more than a hundred white-robed people scurrying about. Xiang Ning, in his black casual clothing, stood out like a sore thumb and attracted a lot of attention. 

“Who’s that?” 

“None of your business, hurry up and complete this calculation, I need your results!” 

“He looks really young. Whatever, what was I doing? Pass me that.” 

“I think I’ve seen him before….” 

“He isn’t an intern, is he? I hope they don’t assign him to me.” 

Various comments flew about but they were all quickly dismissed. These were true workaholics that might not even see the sun more than a few times a year. They were true laboratory campers.

While Xiang Ning was popular in the outside world, the people in this lab were fully dedicated to scientific research, so it wasn’t odd that they didn’t recognize him. 

Xiang Ning didn’t explore, merely quietly stood in a corner, waiting. He knew that there were rules in the lab. Very quickly, a familiar face appeared. “You’re here too?” 

“Why, am I not allowed to be here?” Alia appeared before Xiang Ning, grinning. She pushed her black-framed glasses back, put her hands in the pockets of her robe and said, “Follow me. I look forward to seeing your face when you see this.” 

Xiang Ning cocked an eyebrow. He always had a strange, indescribable feeling around her.  But he followed her anyway. This time, they drew more attention. First, Alia was a very attractive lady. Second, they knew that Alia was working with Dong Qianyi. So this kid was going to meet Mr. Dong? But they didn’t think much of it. How nice it is to be young.

After passing through a few doors, they arrived at a lab about three hundred square meters in size. Opposite Xiang Ning was a piece of glass instead of a solid wall, and he saw a much larger space beyond. 

There was a super battleship in the space. He hurried forward because it looked familiar, and while he was deep in thought, Dong Qianyi’s voice came from behind him. “What, you don’t recognize it?” 

“It’s… the Chaos?” he gasped. 

“That’s right. The Chaos is almost completed. We just have to finish the engine, the most critical component.” Dong Qianyi and Chen Tianhua both arrived by his side, looking at the gigantic battleship. His tone was filled with pride and anticipation. 

“Master, are you guys here to ask me to conduct research? Although I’m actually injured, I’ll recover really quickly.” Xiang Ning saw that both Great Prodigies were there, but never would he have imagined that they had managed to quietly move the battleship here. 

Dong Qianyi knew what the kid was thinking from his face and chuckled, “The Federation isn’t as simple as you think it is. If it actually does.… Whatever, you aren’t up to standard yet, it’s useless telling you about it. I wanted you here because I have a task for you.” 

Xiang Ning rubbed his head and followed Dong Qianyi to the bridge. A man walked out of a side room—someone Xiang Ning wasn’t surprised to see, and had even guessed that he would see.

“Uncle Zhao! Still waters run deep!” Xiang Ning laughed. 

“I haven’t seen you in a year, and you’ve become so smart-mouthed,” Uncle Zhao guffawed. He looked at Xiang Ning with pride in his eyes. He’s a diamond in the rough.

“Hehe, I’ve got to thank you this time, Uncle Zhao, or I really might not have returned alive.” 

“Hmmph. Your talent really is unprecedented. Say, you’re going to be eighteen soon, right? What do you think of my granddaughter?” Uncle Zhao stroked his beard, grinning. 

Xiang Ning was speechless. “Wait, first, I have a girlfriend. Second, you have a granddaughter? We’ve never even met!” 

“Sigh, times have changed! Everyone’s more open-minded. You have such great genes, so you should work harder and contribute more to the Federation, right?” Uncle Zhao said with a straight face, as if what he had said made complete sense. 

Everyone fell silent. 

Is that a new harem member for MC? Old Zhao's Granddaughter?