I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World

Coro Island, near Future Building, located on the northeast corner of the island was a high tech park. The place represented the origin of the most advanced technology of Xin.

It was also the area on the entire Coro Island with the highest security. The gates and walls were guarded with soldiers wearing kinetic skeletons supported by the patrol of Hummingbird drones. The gates were scanned in not by ID cards, but rather retina recognition. The security level there was only second to Jiang Chen’s mansion located at the north end of the land, slightly higher than the Presidential Palace of Xin.

But even with the high security, you won’t feel the suppression of a high-security zone walking inside the high tech park. Other than the patrol teams outside the wall, the Hummingbird drones were usually hidden inside the “drone hives” waiting for an order. Only when the alarm is triggered would they fly to the alarm source.

The people who listen would lay flat on the ground, the people who don’t listen would be dropped by rubber bullets, the people with weapons…

Would be made into sieves.

Inside the high tech park, there was no military zone or restricted zone. But rather some areas, people were unpermitted to enter without the right permission.

For example the Nano material lab 200 meters out of the Future Building. The egg-shaped building was built two months ago and in service just last week. The primary research project was Nano material with graphene as the central component.

The permission level there was only second to the CEO office of Future Group subsidiaries. Other than the scientists that worked there, there was only a handful of people in the Future Group permitted to enter.

The lab cost 140 million US dollars; the lab was currently the one that burned the most money in Future Group.

Although it was burning through cash, compared to the other Nano material labs around the world, the 140 million US dollars was very cost friendly. Some of the equipment cost millions with a ridiculous maintenance fee.

And the reason why Future Group’s lab saved money was that of the industrial 3D printer Jiang Chen brought back so that most of the high precision equipment could be manufactured by themselves. As well as the Graphene Composite Cutting Bed he brought from Zhao Chenwu a long time ago along with the resources related to the applications of Graphene that all provided substantial help to the lab.

The scientists here may not be comparable with the most leading experts around the world, but the technology they knew of was the most advanced in the 21st century.

They were standing on the shoulders of Jiang Chen.

When Jiang Chen arrived at the lab, the lab director in a white lab coat was standing with other employees beside a humongous equipment and nervously conducting an experiment on Nano material. Some people were adjusting the equipment, some were recording data, some were making observations… a total of eleven scientists, none were extraneous.

The director of the lab’s name was Lu Yuan, male, 47, previously an academician at Central Research Institute’s physics department. The man had black hair, and the straightened body looked sharp without any signs of aging, he looked like he was 30 something.

It was not easy to hire him to be the director. The researchers in Hua had mediocre income, but at the academician level, especially in material science where it is connected to national defense, the benefits are not low at all. Based on what Lu Yuan said, including benefits, it was around 2 million a year…

But Jiang Chen offered a salary of 10 million a year.

Facts proved over and over again, as long as the hoe hit the right spot, a wall will always collapse (1). But what really attracted the old professor to bring his most outstanding students to come to Xin was Jiang Chen’s promise of “non-bureaucratic and free research environment” and “most advanced research equipment”, as well as the most tempting “technical information from Future Group”.

Of course, a confidentiality agreement was necessary. Since he was in Xin, Jiang Chen naturally won’t let him go easily.

Jiang Chen quietly stood in the hallway outside of the lab and looked at the scientists working on the equipment. It was not until the experiment was over did he finally walk inside.

“How are the results?”

“Very ideal.” Lu Yuan patted the experiment data in his arm and exclaimed, “I finally understand how fearsome Future Group’s research ability is.”

“Could I interpret this as you’re complimenting yourself?” Jiang Chen said in a joking tone.

[Aren’t you a part of Future Group’s “research ability”?]

Lu Yuan laughed and passed the data to his assistant, told him to summarize the data, and then looked back at Jiang Chen.

“To be honest, I feel pity.”

“Pity?” Jiang Chen asked.

“That’s right.” Lu Yuan nodded and sighed lightly, “Throw away the hypes, we successfully produced the first 15-inch single-layer graphene in Hua by chemical vapor deposition and successfully fabricated a 7-inch graphene touchscreen. But a high-strength graphene cable like this, I never thought I could see this in my lifetime… With this, the space elevator in novels and movies could become a reality.”

Inside the apparatus, inside the middle of the lab, a hair-thin graphene strand was connected between two metal poles, and the strand of hair was the subject of the experiment. Just then, they tested the graphene’s durability to withstand different gas pressures and gas compositions, the results were extremely pleasing.

“Space elevator is our next strategic focus. I can tell you this now.” Jiang Chen smiled.

“If Central Research Institute has a lab like this, even without the resources, give us at most ten years and this ‘strand of hair’ will be born in Hua….” Lu Yuan exclaimed before he shook his head.

There was no purpose to say this. The price he had to pay to enter this lab was a confidentiality agreement with Future Group, and it did not permit him to leave Xin within ten years.

Jiang Chen only scoffed at Lu Yuan’s exclaim.

[Obviously, half of the equipment came from the mid-22nd century, the most critical resources are all technologies from the 22nd century!]

Of course, Jiang Chen could only think in his mind without blurting it out. His explanation for the technical resources was acquired from commercial methods without providing a more specific explanation.

“Therefore, what’s there to feel pity about?” Jiang Chen smiled.

“Pity that it is Future Group that conquered this problem, not Central Research Institute.” Lu Yuan looked at Jiang Chen while slowing stating it. “To be honest, the institute discussed you before. But no one thought that other than artificial intelligence and virtual reality, you would have so much more to offer.”

Jiang Chen laughed without commenting on this question. Then he asked rhetorically, “Then do you think without such a broad stage, Future Group would be Future Group?”

Lu Yuan heard the question and finally couldn’t hold in the question that bothered him for so long, “are you not willing to contribute to your home country?”

“Of course I’m willing.” Jiang Chen said frankly, but before Lu Yuan was able to continue, his words took a sharp turn and erased the unrealistic thought out of Lu Yuan’s head, “I won’t preach everything I know.”

(1) There is no man you can’t headhunt as long as you’re willing to pay the price.