50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 283 Disguised Messenger
The day agreed upon by phone was a weekend morning. Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei) visited Professor Meng with valuable gifts, as was customary.

When he arrived, he was in a Nissan that he had just bought a few days prior.

This is a common habit among ordinary people: upon arriving in a new city, they immediately buy a new car to show off their wealth.

At the same time, he bought a car made in his own country, which indirectly promoted Nissan cars.

At the same time, the expensive gifts he bought were Japanese cosmetics and exquisite high-end robot toys, the images of which were also from Japanese anime.

In fact, island nations do not have such strict regulations, but island nation merchants consciously promote Japanese-made products and take pride in it.

Almost all island nation merchants consciously promote each other's products, a practice that is itself quite alarming. No wonder island nation merchants can travel all over the world in this era.

Upon arriving at Professor Meng's home, Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei) was greeted by Professor Meng's wife, Ms. Ai Wen.

Professor Meng takes pride in being Chinese, so naturally he doesn't have a good impression of island nations.

However, since Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei) requested an audience with standard etiquette, he could not rudely refuse. He could only meet him briefly to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Professor Meng received Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei) in his study. The two spoke in English, but Qiu Yuanzhong's English always had a Japanese accent, which was quite strange.

"Professor Meng is a top scholar at Caltech. I'm in the materials business and I've heard of his reputation for a long time."

“In our university courses, there is even a class dedicated to Professor Meng’s contributions to materials science.”

"I am incredibly excited to finally meet you in person."

"You flatter me. I've only achieved a little bit of success, I wouldn't dare say that."

Professor Meng is human too. When he receives compliments, he can't keep a straight face; a smile unconsciously appears on his lips.

“I should have come to visit earlier, but my family business cannot be left unattended, and my children are not yet grown up and can share my burdens. I am very ashamed that I am only coming to visit today.”

As Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei) finished speaking, he unconsciously bowed again. Professor Meng, who was also meeting a Japanese person for the first time, quickly stopped him.

"It's nothing. Adults naturally prioritize family and career, and personal hobbies have to take a backseat. We're all like that."

Professor Meng then had to comfort Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei).

"The company has been in decline for the past two years, simply because someone has been holding my business hostage, and I haven't been able to resolve the issue."

"Oh? What kind of problem is it?"

"They have a crucial material that I absolutely have to use, but they're asking for an ever-increasing price. Even if I manage to compromise this time, they'll definitely still be able to control me in the future."

"I urgently need a new type of material to produce key components that can replace the other party's. That's why I came here specifically to ask for help."

Qiu Yuanzhong (Sun Zhiwei) then stood up again and bowed to Professor Meng:
"Professor Meng, please help me. I am willing to offer $20 as a reward for your help."

"I am also willing to cover all the R&D costs. Once successful, the intellectual property rights of the material will belong to you, and I only need a perpetual license agreement."

This collaboration is risk-free for Professor Meng, and the benefits are substantial enough that he would not refuse it if he stayed in the United States.

However, he had already decided to return to his home country, so he naturally couldn't accept the commission.

Just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly noticed a line of Chinese characters written in tea on the table:

"Hello Professor Meng, I'm here from China to pick you up. My name is 'Di Ting'."

"Please pack your belongings within 24 hours and prepare to leave. Do not disclose your departure to anyone." "If you agree, please decline this cooperation, and I will use this as a reason to arrange another visit."

Professor Meng looked up at Sun Zhiwei and received a slight nod and a smile in return.

He composed himself and then said, "I'm sorry, I haven't been feeling well lately and haven't been in the mood for research. You may need to find someone else."

"Please consider it. There's no need to refuse immediately. Trust me, I will give you a proposal you can't refuse."

"Alright, I'll think about it." Professor Meng then served tea to see the guest out.

Sun Zhiwei didn't press the matter, and regardless of whether Professor Meng agreed or not, he kept the gifts and said he would visit again next time.

The FBI agents eavesdropping in the car outside didn't see anything wrong with it.

After Sun Zhiwei left, Professor Meng accidentally knocked over the teapot on the table, wiping away the water-written words, and was then scolded by his wife.

After returning to the hotel and confirming that no one was following him, Sun Zhiwei began the next phase of his operation.

I contacted Professor Meng today. He has two days to prepare. They have agreed on a meeting time, which is 12:00 AM tomorrow night.

That evening, Sun Zhiwei climbed out of the hotel window and went to a park near Professor Meng's home.

In the park, he found a secluded grove of trees and began digging a tunnel.

The straight-line distance from here to Professor Meng's house is less than 500 meters. It took him half an hour to clear a passage leading to Professor Meng's basement.

Only one wall remained unbroken, so he disguised a tunnel leading to the exit before going back to sleep.

The next day, Sun Zhiwei began running around the city in search of a suitable vehicle.

With his exceptional lock-picking skills, stealing a few cars would be a piece of cake. He didn't even bother choosing specific vehicles, opting instead for four-seater pickup trucks.

This type of passenger-cargo vehicle has a high market share in North America, which is also why he chose a pickup truck.

He chose several underground parking lots as transit points between Caltech and Long Beach.

A pickup truck will be parked at each transfer station as a means of transportation for passengers.

These stolen cars will be stored in his spatial storage space first, and he will only take them out to replace the stolen cars when he needs to pick someone up.

He didn't want his car to be stopped by the police before he even arrived; that would be embarrassing.

He had already found out that a large gambling ship would pass by Los Angeles in three days. After picking up its guests, the ship would sail to international waters and stay at sea for three days before returning.

The most dangerous time was on the road from Caltech to Long Beach. If they were discovered too quickly, they could be intercepted by the FBI halfway there.

After spending a day arranging transportation and buying four tickets for the gambling ship using a fake identity, Sun Zhiwei rushed back to Caltech.

Before midnight, Sun Zhiwei arrived at the tunnel outside the basement wall of Professor Meng's house.

Using his spatial awareness, he confirmed that the three FBI agents on surveillance were tired. He then secretly sprinkled a small amount of sleeping pills into their coffee.

Before long, the three FBI agents on duty that night fell asleep one after another.

(End of this chapter)