I built an armada.

His face was plastered with the sincere smile of a business partner, and he carried an expensive luxury fruit basket and a custom-made top-grade tea box, but inside he felt like he was being fried in oil. Last time, when he tried to probe for information to recruit someone, Su Dingping deftly deflected his attempt, and the Great Chief's furious order felt like a death warrant.

"Major General Su! Engineer Guo! Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Tang Ping tried his best to make his voice sound uplifting and warm.

"Dragon Star Lights Up the World!"
This is Longxia's pride! I saw the news abroad, and those old guys on Wall Street were practically crying with fear!

Su Dingping had just finished an internal technical assessment meeting. He looked a little tired, but his eyes were calm and undisturbed.

"Mr. Tang, you're too kind. Please have a seat. We're still in the testing and optimization phase; it's just the first step in a long journey."

His demeanor remained calm.

After exchanging a few pleasantries and presenting the gifts, Tang Ping finally couldn't resist testing the waters and carefully changed the subject.

"Major General Su, this time you've not only broken through technological barriers, but you've completely overturned the entire landscape of physical energy! I heard that the Great Chieftain on the Eagle's side was furious about this, smashed his own collection in anger, and even said..."

He paused deliberately to observe Su Dingping's reaction, then put on a sincere and open-hearted expression.

"They even spread rumors that they would 'invite' you over no matter the cost? And... the conditions they offered are simply unimaginable!"

Su Dingping picked up his teacup, blew on the tea leaves on the surface of the water, glanced indifferently at Tang Ping, and seemed to smile slightly at the corner of his mouth.

“An invitation? I’m a sentimental person and I’m attached to places. The land and water of Longxia nurtured me, and the people of Longxia taught me to think. I should naturally give back my skills to the land that gave me birth and raised me.”

His tone was very calm, without the slightest hesitation, as if he were stating a basic fact such as 1 plus 1 equals 2.

"As for going to other people's places... Mr. Tang thinks, what can I do there? Teach them how to make the fusion reactor even more explosive?"

His words carried a barely perceptible hint of cold sarcasm.

Tang Ping's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the "poaching" strategy was completely blocked, with no hope whatsoever. Cold sweat beaded on his back, but his smile remained unchanged, and he nodded vigorously instead.

“Well said! Major General Su’s integrity is as firm as a mountain! We admire you! Since your mind is so resolute, then…”

He changed the subject and finally revealed his true purpose.

"As a joint strategic investment partner, our Tang Group, or rather, representing the broader international cooperation resources behind me, is also one of the supporting forces of the 'Longxing' project. We are naturally full of confidence and interest in the further development of the project."

He leaned forward slightly, his tone sincere and pragmatic.

"I wonder if Major General Su has any plans to release the core data? Even... just some of the core operating principles and measured parameters? This is crucial for us to assess future cooperation directions and to secure more international resources... Of course, the right to use all the data is entirely under your control!"

This is the bottom line! If we can't get the person, we must get the stuff! Especially the schematics of the core modules that Su Dingping designed and improved!

The secret of "Dragon Scales"!

How is that abnormal magnetic confinement capability achieved?! Just a tiny bit of it is enough to shake up the entire situation!
The atmosphere instantly became subtly tense. Guo Xueyun, standing next to Su Dingping, frowned imperceptibly, her eyes filled with vigilance.

Tang Ping's eating habits are starting to become unsightly.

He is using the pretense of "joint research and development" and "shareholder status" as a fig leaf to forcibly demand money!

Su Dingping remained silent for a moment. Tang Ping could clearly hear his own heart pounding like a drum.

He's gambling! Gambling that Su Dingping still values ​​the "spirit of contract"! Gambling that Longxin Lab needs a continuous influx of "external resources"!
However, Su Dingping put down his teacup, and his calm, almost indifferent gaze finally focused on Tang Ping's face, with a penetrating scrutiny.

"Mr. Tang wants the core data?"

He didn't even use a word like "think about it" or "do some research."

"Yes……"

Tang Ping nodded with difficulty, trying his best to maintain a smile.

"It's also for the better long-term development of the entire project..."

Su Dingping nodded. Just as a glimmer of hope ignited in Tang Ping's heart, he heard the other party continue speaking with perfect clarity.

"You can have it."

"Wh...what?!"

Tang Ping almost doubted he had heard correctly! An overwhelming, unparalleled joy nearly overwhelmed his reason! Was luck truly on his side?!
This went so smoothly!
Su Dingping seemed oblivious to the astonishment and elation on his face, and continued to speak in a calm and straightforward manner, as if discussing an ordinary transaction.

"But the laboratory has just completed the first verification run of 'Longxing', which cost a huge amount of money."

A very real bottleneck lies before us—a shortage of raw materials.

His gaze was sharp, looking directly into Tang Ping's pupils.

"In particular, the reserves of deuterium and tritium fuels, which are indispensable for fusion reactions, are far from sufficient to support the next stage of massive engineering verification and large-scale operational testing experiments."

"so."

Su Dingping's tone carried an unquestionable "rule".

"If you want to obtain the core data package of 'Dragon Star', including but not limited to key structural design logic, optimized magnetic field coupling model, high-temperature stability control principle, and application report of new materials... trade it for fuel."

"High-purity deuterium and superconducting tritium extracts".

Su Dingping clearly uttered two words that are as precious as gold to the nuclear industry, and then added a seemingly more ordinary but actually more far-reaching name for an isotope raw material.

"And industrial-grade protium isotope source materials! The more the better! Whenever we have enough for the first batch of deliveries, we can unlock some of 'Dragon Star's' non-military core databases for you to access."

This isn't a "gift," it's a "transaction"! And they've specified a price!
boom!
These words struck Tang Ping like a thunderclap!

The fleeting elation on his face froze instantly, turning deathly pale! Trading the very fuel of nuclear fusion for the core secret they'd been dreaming of! And… it even included something as seemingly ordinary as "protium"?! What did Su Dingping know?!

What did he figure out?!

A chill ran down Tang Ping's spine and instantly spread throughout his body! Had his identity as "Night Hawk" been exposed?! Had the other side been fishing all along?!
This is not a transaction at all, but blatant extortion and confrontation! Trading national strategic energy for national cutting-edge technology!
This...this is like the coldest, most shameless exchange of interests! He could almost see the Great Chieftain's ferocious, roaring face!

Looking at the pale face and the doubtful expression in his eyes, Su Dingping calmly took a sip of tea and then issued a de facto "eviction notice".

"I have prepared the detailed list and requirements, and I will have my assistant give it to Mr. Tang to take back later. Once you have thought it through, you can contact the laboratory's logistics department at any time to discuss the specific handover method and time."

He stood up, and his calm demeanor and the imposing presence of someone who had just received the rank of major general created an immense, invisible pressure.

"The technical team will now conduct the next stage of the fault simulation and demonstration meeting. Mr. Tang, please proceed."

You are being asked to leave!
Tang Ping was like a lost soul, holding the thin yet incredibly heavy list of material requirements, and left the prestigious white building of the Dragon Heart Laboratory in a daze.

Once inside the trunk of his understated luxury car, Tang Ping immediately pulled out his highest-level encrypted satellite communication module. His face was ashen, and his fingers trembled with fear and suppressed anger as he relayed Su Dingping's conditions verbatim to the other side of the ocean.

This time, in the grand conference room at the very top of the Eagle Tribe's power pyramid, there was no loud crashing of a glass, nor any angry roar. Tang Ping was met with a deathly silence that lasted for half an hour.

Half an hour later, the highest-level command, delivered in a cold, synthesized electronic voice, came through clearly.

"Nighthawk".

"Conditions...accepted."

"Special order from the Great Chief."

'If this pile of junk stones can be exchanged for the key to open that door... it's worth it!'

"The target fuel list has been issued, and the highest-level 'Star Beacon' has been activated for emergency procurement and transportation worldwide!"

"Execute immediately!"

The priceless deuterium-tritium enriched fuel, tightly controlled by major global powers, along with astonishing quantities of protium isotope raw materials, have begun to be transported through clandestine and efficient channels.

Like river water gathering into streams, it was plundered, packaged, and loaded onto disguised giant transport planes at any cost, and sped urgently and with a gambling spirit toward Longxia—the place where the "Dragon Star" rose in the east.

As those special alloy sealed containers, covered with various "chemical" labels, were unloaded under the cover of night into the depths of the heavily guarded raw material storage warehouse specially set up by Longxin Laboratory, their cold metal shells seemed to still retain the greed, unwillingness, and frantic madness of a last-ditch effort from thousands of miles away.

The night was as dark as ink. Several specially modified, heavy-duty radiation-proof sealed transport vehicles, as thick as iron cans, silently slid into the deepest isolation storage area of ​​the Longxin Base under strict armed escort.

The cold beam of the searchlight swept across the side of the vehicle, clearly revealing that the huge metal tanks were covered with harmless labels such as "special industrial catalyst" and "non-radioactive experimental consumables".

The car door opened heavily, and Su Dingping personally led the inspection team inside.

His expression was calm, but his eyes held a subtle, sharp glint as he scanned each sealed jar as if appraising rare treasures. Through his special gloves, he gently tapped the cold metal shell of one of the jars, producing a dull, resonant sound.

"The quantity is correct, purity report..."

The technical director in charge of logistics quickly checked the newly received encrypted wireless data packet, his voice low and filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Preliminary sampling shows that the purity of the deuterium-tritium fuel is... 99.99%! That's almost the ceiling for purification! And the protium raw materials... the purity is also astonishing! Major General Su!"

"This...this pile of stones..."

He couldn't continue. These were the precious cornerstones that would allow the entire Longxia fusion technology roadmap to leap forward for decades! They were the lifeblood burning in the nuclear fusion reactor!
"Ah."

Su Dingping only made a short nasal sound, his face still displaying the calm and composed expression of an engineer, as if he were simply signing for a batch of ordinary screws.

"Unload and store the goods. S-level isolation warehouse, 24/7 two-factor authentication plus physical lockdown, Sentinel system with full access."

He paused for a moment, then added.

"Enter the subject name into the logistics database... use Logistics Department - Strategic Reserves - Special Minerals Type X".

An extremely ordinary, even somewhat perfunctory code name conceals the gold beneath that is enough to make the world tremble.

He turned around and looked at Tang Ping, who was trying hard to maintain a businessman's smile but was actually stiff all over, with fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead in the cold night wind.

"Mr. Tang, you always keep your word. The fuel has arrived, and you can now review some of the technical data for Longxing."

Su Dingping's voice was calm and even carried a rare hint of "warmth." "Come with me. Engineer Guo, you come too."

Tang Ping's heart pounded wildly as if gripped by an icy hand, a mixture of fear and greed coursing through him.

He forced a smile, suppressing the trembling in his fingertips.

"Major General Su is decisive and efficient! I admire him! I truly admire him!"

His gaze involuntarily swept over the heavy, dark green tanks that were still being carefully hoisted. These were things he had obtained by using up half his life's connections, navigating countless extremely dangerous gray routes, and bearing the pressure of the Great Chieftain like a thorn in his side!
The group entered a newly built, extremely secure, independent document review room next to the core experimental area.

The walls here are made of multiple layers of electromagnetic shielding and acoustic insulation materials, and the access control system even incorporates a live iris scanner that Su Dingping personally encrypted.

The interior was unusually simple, with only an extremely long metal table, a few floating sensor chairs, and a solitary encrypted data hard drive dock on the table with an unusually complex interface.

Su Dingping personally inserted a special silver-gray hard drive bearing the Longxia military emblem and the core encryption logo of the "Longxing" project into the base.

As a finger glides across the tabletop, the table instantly lights up, projecting a huge holographic model filled with geometric structures and obscure data—the overall architecture of the "Dragon Star" stellarator device!
Although it is only a "partially demilitarized core database," the sophisticated structure, extremely complex energy channels, dizzying superconducting magnet array layout, and layered cross-section of the internal vacuum cavity are all revealed...

Its level of precision, logical rigor, and especially the constraints it contains that far exceed the current mainstream understanding of plasma physics, are enough to leave any expert in awe and breathless!

Although Tang Ping was not a top scientist, his business intelligence instincts told him that the value this thing contained was enough to drive the entire international physics community crazy!

"This...this is simply...art! The art of physics!"

Tang Ping's voice was dry, filled with deliberate, fervent admiration. His gaze seemed glued to the holographic projection, greedily scanning every corner, as if trying to etch the structure into his mind with his eyes.

His heart pounded in his ears. Mission!
His primary objective! Get this! Take it at all costs!

Su Dingping ignored his performance and said calmly.

"You are free to browse and review the relevant structural descriptions and brief explanations of the non-parametric operating principles, but you may not copy them. Your time limit is three hours." (End of Chapter)