You promised to build cars, so why did you go into the military industry?

July 2009, Milbrook Test Range, London, England.

A dark cloud covered the once sunny Britain, and soon, torrential rain poured down, turning day into night.

"Li Ran, for safety reasons, I need to stop the vehicle that is being tested on the off-road track." The voice of Milbrook manager Ike Turner came from behind Li Ran.

Standing at 1.75 meters tall, Ike Turner walked to Li Ran's right side, looked up at Li Ran who was slightly taller than him, with a slender figure and striking eyebrows, and subconsciously tensed his back, trying to make himself appear taller.

As the manager of the Millbrook Test Site, he had seen far too many arrogant designers who attempted to challenge the majesty of nature with their shoddy designs.

Facing the silent Li Ran beside him, Ike Turner thought that this yellow-skinned monkey from the East was probably terrified by the sudden change in the weather outside.

He didn't believe that the test vehicles developed by companies from the automotive industry desert, companies whose names he'd never even heard of, could safely weather this dangerous period.

Reaching out to turn on the microphone, Ike Turner cleared his throat, preparing to call for a halt.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a hand on his left shoulder, followed by a tremendous force that pressed him down, interrupting his words.

"Old Ike, God says, the test continues."

Li Ran's calm yet powerful voice rang in his ears.

Among the seated employees around them, the two of them standing stood out.

Frozen in place, Ike Turner felt as if countless employees were staring at him from behind, making him feel like he was being pricked by needles.

He then tried to speak again, but Li Ran reached out and turned off the microphone first.

"God said, the test continues!"

Ike Turner turned his head and stared intently at Li Ran, his breathing heavy.

As a true old-fashioned gentleman, Ike Turner had his own set of rules when dealing with customers; after all, even the King wouldn't turn his back on the pound.

But how dare a yellow-skinned monkey from an industrial desert call himself God?

This is an insult to a gentleman!

It is a provocation against faith!

It is blasphemy against God!

"Rumble..."

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, its blinding white light momentarily illuminating the command center before plunging it into darkness, followed by the sound of a transformer exploding on a distant mountaintop.

"Easy! Easy!" Li Ran reached out and pressed down on Ike Turner again.

The transformer explosion and the sudden darkness sent a chill down Ike Turner's spine.

Feeling the enormous disparity in strength between the two sides, Ike Turner felt deeply uncomfortable as his shirt, soaked with cold sweat, clung to his back, forcing himself to calm down.

Soon, the backup power system supplied power, and the command center was restored to power.

Li Ran and Ike Turner exchanged a silent glance, tacitly agreeing not to mention stopping the test again.

The rainstorm came quickly and went quickly.

As the dark clouds dissipated, the already soft and difficult road became even muddier.

Fortunately, the test vehicle completed the test safely without any problems.

He glanced casually at the document handed to him by an employee; the key data perfectly matched Wang Bing's calculations.

Li Ran handed the document to Secretary Guo, who had just arrived, for safekeeping.

"The final payment will be transferred shortly." Li Ran stood up and left, gesturing for his secretary to follow closely. Turning back at the door, he said, "Old Ike, aren't you going to do something for me?"

Upon hearing this, Ike Turner stiffened, his lips tightening: "Congratulations. Congratulations."

On the way back, the capable and beautiful Guo Shuyan rarely praised anyone:

"Boss, you're so cool! I've been fed up with those arrogant foreigners for ages, this feels so good!"

Sure enough, the compliments from a beautiful woman were much more pleasant than putting on airs in front of an older white man.

Li Ran stroked the stubble on his chin and squinted his eyes:

"Really? I also think I looked really cool just now."

"Heh!" Guo Shuyan, who was half a step behind, curled her lips and subtly rolled her eyes.

-----------------

Two months later, in Gaolu Town, Linjiang County, Jiangyang City, Sichuan Province, United Industrial Manufacturing Plant.

The upgraded production workshop has officially started production.

As the first engineering prototype rolled off the production line, a voice rang in Li Ran's mind. This was the second time he had heard the system's voice since he was reborn back in 2009.

As for the first time? That was right after he was reborn.

[Milestone: "Exquisite Little Toys (Part Six)" has been achieved.]

[Exquisite little toy: Design and build your own car, any type of energy.]

[Talent characteristics are now available; please view them yourself.]

[Rewards issued: 1 Spirit Jade for Rank B talents, 5 Spirit Jades for Rank C talents.]

Li Ran was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the successful production of the first engineering prototype would achieve such an accomplishment.

What a pleasant surprise! And the achievement rewards are quite generous.

They gave him a B-grade talent spirit jade worth ten million and five C-grade talent spirit jades worth a total of five million.

More importantly, something new called "talent characteristics" piqued Li Ran's curiosity even more.

With a thought, one's own characteristics come to mind.

[Gratitude: When your employees receive salaries from you that are far higher than (at least five times) the market rate, their admiration for you is heartfelt, and they keep your secrets completely confidential. (Refresh)]

A monthly salary of 3,000 won't earn you loyalty, but 30,000 will. — Li Ran

Li Ran scratched his head: "When did I say that in what life? It's so damn philosophical."

Excellent! As long as you offer five times the salary, you won't have to worry about talent betraying you.

What if our competitors dare to send in corporate spies?

"A white horse? Hmph! I'll make sure he never comes back!" Li Ran thought to himself.

My consciousness swept over the gray refresh button, and a message came through.

It requires completing five side quests to unlock, and each refresh requires consuming at least one Talent Jade of the corresponding level.

He then called his secretary, Guo Shuyan, and the two went to the production line together.

On the way, Li Ran mentally reviewed Wang Bing's characteristics.

[Peach and Plum Blossoms in Spring Breeze: When you are a leader, your employees will be more enthusiastic about learning and will definitely gain something; your employees are less likely to break through their own intellectual limits, but their talent level will at most be on par with yours. (Refresh)]

I've met many geniuses, and I think you are too. —Wang Bing

"I've hit the jackpot!" That was Li Ran's first thought. With this feature, there would be no shortage of usable talent, at least for the time being.

In the long run, under Wang Bing's leadership, every employee can reach their own limit, and there is even a chance to break through it.

Think of how much money you can save on buying talent gems!

Suppressing his excitement, Li Ran began to examine the characteristics of Wang Bing's deputy, Zhang Chengyuan.

[A flash of inspiration: During research and development, there is a relatively high probability of obtaining a breakthrough inspiration at a key juncture, enabling the project's results to surpass the current level of the times; there is an extremely low probability of obtaining a disruptive theoretical breakthrough, opening up a completely new research direction. (Refresh)]

Inspiration is like cleavage; you can always squeeze some out. — Zhang Chengyuan

That's quite a statement, but Zhang Chengyuan's characteristics perfectly match his role as the head of R&D for the three-electric system.

Li Ran was filled with anticipation for their upcoming meeting.

Li Ran glanced at his secretary, who was focused on driving her electric scooter, and tried to assess Guo Shuyan's character, but ran into a wall:

[Those without a Grade B or higher Talent Jade cannot view their traits.]

Well! It seems that Lin Yu, who is in charge of the hybrid system, and Su Qing, who is in charge of intelligent information, will not be able to see the features either.

Li Ran resisted the urge to attach the B-grade talent spirit jade he received as a reward to Lin Yu or Su Qing.

The company's future direction is still unclear, and it is facing some financial constraints due to the need to develop new cars. This thing cannot be wasted.

In front of the production workshop.

At this moment, Wang Bing, the nominal chief designer of the SU7 at United Industrial Manufacturing Plant, was inspecting the production workshop with the industry's employees.

Wang Bing, engrossed in his work, only realized that Li Ran and Guo Shuyan had quietly arrived beside him after being reminded by those around him.

Upon meeting Li Ran, who was inspecting the production workshop, Wang Bing introduced him as follows:

"Due to objective limitations, the Xingnian and Tianshu systems are currently only in their initial stages."

Therefore, this engineering prototype was only equipped with a limited version, but its level of intelligence is still ahead of almost all mass-produced models on the market.

At the same time, it is equipped with a Xinghui hybrid power system and Kuiheng three-electric system, which have reached the ultimate level of technical completion under current industrial conditions.

I can say with great confidence that in terms of battery life and energy consumption, none of them can compete.

By the way, in order to meet the high safety requirements, we chose lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material for the power battery.

It is precisely because of the high safety of lithium iron phosphate batteries that we have even achieved an external discharge of 220 volts and 16 kW.

The relevant patents have been registered with Zhao Jing's assistance.

The following proposal was then put forward:

"Mr. Li, there's no time like the present. This car is already in mass production, it's time to give it a name that's been announced to the public. It's not good to keep calling it SU7."

Looking around, Li Ran noticed that the employees' eyes were full of light.

Li Ran said, "I have long harbored lofty ambitions, so let's name it 'Lingyun' (Soaring Clouds)."

Glancing at Secretary Guo taking notes, Li Ran watched the vehicles driving on the stress-relief section of the road and continued:

"Everyone has worked hard during this time!"

Two things: First, all employees' salaries will be increased fivefold. Second, shifts will be arranged, with employees taking turns to rest, while awaiting the completion of the engineering prototype testing.

Before he finished speaking, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

"Mr. Li is very generous!"

"President Li will never die!"

"President Li gave birth to eight children in one pregnancy!"

Amidst the chaotic cheers, Li Ran boarded the first Lingyun SU7 to roll off the production line.

After personally driving around the test track for a while, Wang Bing, in the passenger seat, gave a detailed introduction to the Lingyun SU7.

Having gained a thorough understanding of the vehicle's performance, Li Ran returned to his office and called Guo Shuyan over:

"As is customary, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, will host an international auto show from November 24 to 30 this year, and applications for slots must be submitted at least three months in advance."

Perfect timing! The Lingyun SU7 is already registered with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and I've also obtained the relevant intellectual property rights certificates. I'll organize the relevant documents later and submit them before leaving get off work.

In order to ensure that we can successfully apply for an exhibition slot, we need to find a way to build some reputation before the exhibition starts.

What do you think about us spending money to hire various online and offline media outlets to conduct real-world tests and debunk the claims?

"Huh? Why not just give it to the organizers?"

"Huh?! This works?! Do you have any connections?" Li Ran asked, somewhat surprised.

"Why not just call the investment promotion hotline and ask for sponsorship? Why worry about not being able to spend the money?"

"Sir, you are truly my Zhang Liang!" Li Ran clapped his hands. "I'm entrusting this matter to you!"

Li Ran was met with a glare.