American comic: From Beijing with Love, starting with a mutant.

Director Wang, watching the three leave, put his hands behind his back and said, "Da Vinci."

Da Vinci puffed out his chest: "Director, are you about to approve the second phase of research funding for the Cell Harmony Coexistence Guidance Device?"

"First, wipe the plunger marks off my desk."

Leonardo da Vinci adjusted his glasses and sighed, "Science is always misunderstood first."

"If you say another word, I'll slam you down on the table and wipe you clean!"

Leonardo da Vinci clutched the plunger tightly and slipped out of the medical room.

Ling Lingqi.

"Here I am!" Stephen Chow stood at attention.

"You did a good job this time."

"Chief, since you've put it that way, then my newspaper..."

Noticing that Director Wang had raised his right leg, Zhou Xingxing quickly changed his tune: "That cell phone application form! I'll complete the signature process later!"

"You're smart to know what's good for you."

With a "bang," the door was kicked open.

The young staff member was panting heavily from running, his shoulder bumping against the door frame.

"Chief! Something terrible has happened!"

"What's the panic? Bureau 749 isn't a marketplace; even if the sky falls, you should knock on the door first."

The clerk, leaning against the doorframe and panting heavily, exclaimed, "Director Chen from the research institute is here!"

Director Wang was stunned.

"Which Director Chen?"

"That Director Chen who dared to slam his fist on the table and yell at people during the financial review meeting just to secure funding!"

"What's he doing here?"

"He heard about Comrade Polaris's abilities yesterday and drove to headquarters overnight to ask you for him!"

He said that such talent shouldn't be wasted in the ordinary placement process! He also said that anyone who dares to stop him is hindering the country's progress!

Polaris leaned against the corner, his brow furrowing slightly as he heard his nickname.

Stephen Chow leaned closer, looking at her with a smile: "You're quite popular, aren't you!"

"Is this funny?"

"Of course it's funny!"

Stephen Chow's smile vanished: "The director of the research institute drove all night to snatch you away! Don't worry, anyone who wants you will have to ask you first if you're willing."

"Of course, I also need to ask if I, the person in charge of the overseas talent introduction project, agree."

Director Wang let out a cold snort through his nose.

"And then there's me, the bureau chief."

"Yes, and our bureau chief too."

Zhou Xingxing nodded: "He's usually stingy, short-tempered, and likes to resolve personnel disputes with scissor-like tactics, but he's protected by his organization when it comes to protecting his own."

Director Wang's eyes widened.

"Can you please compliment someone without subtly implying your own agenda?"

"Genuine reviews are the most touching!"

The group left the medical room and headed towards the conference room.

"Chief."

As they walked, Zhou Xingxing asked, "Is this Director Chen short-tempered?"

"A little younger than me."

"That's alright," Zhou Xingxing nodded. "At least they can reason with you. If they were older than you, they'd be a firecracker!"

"Enough with the nonsense. Watch your mouth when you go in. Director Chen is the backbone of the research institute, and he's in charge of key national projects."

"I understand, I understand! People who handle key projects usually have a strong temper too."

Director Wang ignored him and walked quickly.

We arrived at the conference room.

A middle-aged man was sitting at the table.

He looked to be in his forties, with messy hair and wearing black-rimmed glasses.

He wore a white shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, and his face was covered with drawings and data reports.

Hearing the noise, he looked up and his eyes locked onto the North Star.

His gaze was direct and undisguised.

"Director Wang, I'm not here to kidnap anyone! I'm here to discuss cooperation!"

"cooperate?"

Director Wang pulled out a chair and sat down: "Director Chen, your approach to cooperation is quite unique. You immediately said that Comrade Polaris is of great use to your research institute?"

Director Chen pressed his finger on the drawing.

The blueprint at the top is spread out and takes up most of the desktop.

The surface is covered with drawings of straits, immersed tunnels, artificial islands, shield tunnel shafts, seabed faults, and pipeline corridors.

A long list of technical parameters is displayed next to it.

Polaris couldn't understand the labels, but she could understand Director Chen's gaze.

That look in his eyes was strange.

Like a carpenter seeing the finest wood, or a chef seeing the best Wagyu beef.

Burning and greedy, but without malice.

Stephen Chow leaned closer to Polaris: "Don't be afraid, he doesn't want to draw your blood."

"So what does he want to do?"

Zhou Xingxing glanced at the blueprints and sighed deeply.

"Something even scarier than drawing blood..."

Polaris's gaze sharpened.

"He wants you to work overtime!" Stephen Chow said with a pained expression.

The North Star remained silent.

"Director Chen, let me make this clear first. Comrade Polaris has just returned to China and hasn't fully recovered. The organization is initially considering sending her to Jiuquan to participate in the work related to the recovery and precision landing of the heavy rocket."

Director Chen pushed up his glasses: "Jiuquan is certainly important! Aerospace is important, rocket recovery is important, I acknowledge all of that."

Director Wang's brow relaxed slightly, only to hear Director Chen retort directly: "But the Qiongzhou Strait crossing is equally important!"

Stephen Chow reached for the blueprints: "A cross-sea passage? A bridge? A tunnel? Or a combination of bridge and tunnel?"

Director Chen's gaze shifted to them: "You're the legendary Ling Lingqi?"

"That's me!" Zhou Xingxing stood up straight: "Head of the Overseas Special Talent Introduction Project! Temporary staff with the work of a permanent employee, but long-term oppression in expense reports.

"You don't need to say the second half of the sentence," Director Wang said expressionlessly.

Director Chen ignored this nonsense and pushed the blueprints forward.

"The Qiongzhou Strait has an average depth of over 40 meters and a maximum depth of over 100 meters. The hydrology is complex, typhoons are frequent, and there are many geological fault zones on the seabed, making the docking of immersed tunnels extremely difficult."

"Traditional construction methods require large floating cranes and positioning systems, as well as deep-water operation teams for seabed mapping and long-term monitoring. They also have to deal with problems such as ocean currents, sediment, subsidence, and typhoon windows."

"A single section of the steel immersed tube weighs tens of thousands of tons. The splicing error must be controlled within the millimeter level."

"Millimeter level?"

The toad-man stretched his neck: "If my anchor hole is three centimeters off, Old Liu will scold me."

Stephen Chow shoved his head back down: "They're building with 10,000 tons of building blocks, you're digging a hole in a ravine."

"I'm also one of the top ten model workers..."

Director Chen stared at the North Star, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"Her abilities are simply divinely chosen! If the data isn't exaggerated, she could even directly alter the entire engineering logic!"

"She can use a magnetic field from a barge to smoothly lower an 80,000-ton immersed tunnel section to the designated location on the seabed."

"It can also detect the distribution of metal pipelines, embedded components, steel reinforcement structures, and abnormal minerals within a range of 100 meters on the seabed through magnetic field disturbances. This helps prevent faulting and construction accidents from the outset!"

"She can also participate in the full life-cycle structural health monitoring of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. She is more sensitive than any sensor to cable fatigue, nodal stress, and microcrack propagation."

Director Chen became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his fingers trembling: "Director Wang! This is a rewriting of the national infrastructure technological roadmap!"

"With Comrade Polaris, we can avoid taking ten years of detours!"

"Don't try to intimidate me with that!"

Director Wang slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "She's a person, not equipment!"

Polaris's eyelashes trembled.

"She just had a physical exam yesterday; she's anemic, severely malnourished, and has suffered from chronic traumatic stress!"

Director Wang stared at Director Chen: "The lab has kept her locked up for a year! Blood tests, imprisonment, and threats. They only just convinced her we weren't another lab. And you come here today and immediately try to pressure her with this major project?"

"What? You guys have higher priority than others?"

Director Chen panicked and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "That's not what I meant!"

"So what do you mean?"

Director Wang leaned forward: "You immediately said 'priority allocation for critical purposes.' Did you ask her if she was willing? Did you consider her recovery period? Have you prepared psychological support and living arrangements?"

Director Chen was speechless when asked the question.

He subconsciously looked towards the North Star.

Polaris was also watching him, its eyes completely unmoved.

After a moment of silence, Director Chen softened his tone: "Comrade Polaris, I apologize for my wording just now."

"I don't want to treat you like a machine."

"I've spent my whole life dealing with reinforced concrete, so I'm not very good at talking, sorry! But to me, someone who can safely place a 10,000-ton structural component is just too important!"

"If you are willing to participate, we will provide you with expert status, a formal contract, a recuperation period, special medical care, and a psychologist. The workload will be jointly assessed by you and the medical team."

"If you don't want to, I won't kidnap you."

The meeting room was completely silent.

At this moment, Stephen Chow raised his hand: "Let me say a few words!"