A Maybach on a rainy night? Talk to my Levadin!

Oh no! Zhao Zizhan's heart skipped a beat.

He hurriedly tried to explain, but before he could utter a word, Surtr grabbed his collar. Her grip wasn't strong, but it carried a powerful aura, forcing Zhao Zizhan to lower his head slightly and meet her gaze, his eyes fixed on her pale pink kitten eyes.

"So you listen up!"

Surtr's voice rose a few decibels, her tone unusually serious, "I know that you don't just have one person in your heart, but countless infected people, every single person suffering on this land. I also know that countless people will be infected by you, attracted by you, admire you, support you, and even... fall in love with you."

When she said the last two words, her voice softened noticeably, as if afraid of being overheard. She lowered her head slightly, her hair falling beside her cheeks, concealing the redness in her eyes, and softly added, "I'm no exception."

yi ling yi er er ba san ling jiu ba

Zhao Zizhan's heart skipped a beat, as if he had been hit hard by something.

Before he could recover from this sudden confession, Surtr continued, "But! I won't let go! You remember this! From today onwards, you're under my protection, Surtr. You hear me?"

Zhao Zizhan looked at her, feeling all the blood rushing to his head, his mind blank, and could only blankly reply, "I heard you."

When Surtr saw that he agreed, he nodded slightly, released his hand from his collar, paused for a moment, and then, as if he suddenly remembered something, reached out to straighten his wrinkled collar. His movements were a little clumsy, but they were filled with a rare tenderness: "Um... like this."

After saying that, as if afraid that she would show her weakness if she stayed any longer, she quickly left Zhao Zizhan's side and rushed towards the door, opening it in a flustered manner.

"Ouch!"

As soon as the door opened, a figure tumbled out from behind it—black hair and big cat ears—who else could it be but Huang?

She staggered to her feet, her face still showing embarrassment she hadn't had time to hide. Brushing the dust off her clothes, she forced a laugh and tried to smooth things over: "Oh, what a coincidence! You're in the dorm too? Hahaha, I was just about to head back too. Look at you suddenly opening the door, it startled me so much I fell! Hahaha… Well, I'll be going now!"

As Huang tried to slip away, Surtr expressionlessly turned his head, his gaze sweeping towards the corner of the passageway behind the door—there, Scout was squatting on the ground, pretending to study the pipes next to him, muttering to himself as if to cover up: "Wow, these pipes are so pipes... the material, the routing, they're so professional..."

There was even one person peeling plaster off the wall while facing it.

Surtr didn't say anything, just gave them a cold glance, then strode past them and headed straight for the end of the corridor.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zizhan, still reeling from the conversation, rushed out after Surtr as she left, calling after her retreating figure, "What about Lungmen...?"

"go with!"

"Oh"

Zhao Zizhan slowly turned his head and immediately saw several familiar figures crowding around the corner of the corridor and the door of the room—besides Huang and Scout, who had just been caught, there were also several colleagues with whom he usually got along well, peeking out with their eyes full of undisguised gossip.

Are you all here on official business?

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of people, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, hurriedly waved their hands and shook their heads like rattles, afraid that he would misunderstand them: "No, no!"

"Are you suggesting I invite you to stay for dinner?"

"No, no, no, we're just passing by, we'll be going now," Scout quickly laughed twice, grabbing Huang, who had gone the wrong way, and trying to leave quickly.

The others quickly echoed, saying "We're leaving too" and "Let's talk next time," following Scout and Huang hurriedly towards the other end of the corridor, their steps as fast as if they were running for their lives.

Soft whispers of discussion drifted over.

First came Scout's voice: "I knew something was going to happen! I'd felt something was off between them for a while, and today I finally caught them red-handed!"

What did you hear when you peered through the door?

Huang mumbled somewhat unsure of himself, "I didn't hear it very clearly either. The door was pretty soundproof. I only vaguely heard words like 'love' and 'protecting,' but I didn't hear the whole thing..."

"Didn't you say Felin's hearing was excellent? How come you're so useless!"

Huang immediately retorted, unconvinced: "How can you blame me? It's all Kroos's fault for making the house too soundproof! What does it have to do with me? Besides, wasn't it Scout who said he heard some noise first and called us over? You should ask him, not me!"

"Stop this nonsense. To be honest, Surtr really didn't do things right. This Ziwei Star is still just a child. He rushed things too much..."

"How can we not be anxious? Talulah is waiting outside, and if we don't hurry, the soup will all be gone!"

"So what are they doing now...?"

"They're a perfect match, a match made in heaven. Why are you objecting? Hurry up and leave, or you might offend the Purple Star and get upset, even taking away the candy they gave us. You'll regret it then!"

"Oh dear, yes, yes, yes..."

Zhao Zizhan stood there, touching his chest which had just been straightened, and the smile on his face gradually widened.

The anime/manga sister is still too authoritative...

PS: I went to a pet expo yesterday and had a blast petting cats, dogs, snakes, and geckos.

Book recommendation session.

This book is by a beautiful girl author; you can ask her for JK (high school girl) books and just say that I recommended it.

Chapter 208: Seeking Sponsorship

I never expected that my anime sister would have such a personality.

If you're like this, what kind of Sigma man am I supposed to be?

Let's just accept this life of being kept by a woman; it's our Zhao family's destiny.

The sudden joy was like a candy that suddenly exploded, so sweet that Zhao Zizhan's mind was still buzzing.

As a result, Zhao Zizhan was immersed in this euphoric and somewhat excited mood for the entire day.

This feeling persisted until Zhao Zizhan arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant.

Pushing open the heavy oak door, warm yellow light streamed through the crystal chandelier, falling on the dining table covered with a snow-white tablecloth. The air was filled with the rich aroma of butter, truffles, and wine, and the exquisite silver cutlery gleamed softly under the light.

"It seems Consultant Zhao has recently encountered some good news? He looks radiant, as if he hasn't seen you for three days..."

When he met with Angers, the old man keenly noticed the joy on Zhao Zizhan's face.

"Ah? Is there any?"

Zhao Zizhan paused for a moment, then subconsciously touched his face. "It's alright, hahaha..." He chuckled dryly, his gaze drifting involuntarily to the table in front of him—pan-fried truffle foie gras, French-style baked snails, basil lamb chops, bouillabaisse, duck confit, and beef stew with wine.

"I originally intended to invite you to afternoon tea today; if we were to have dinner, I should have sent you a formal invitation."

Angers gestured for him to sit down, and a waiter promptly pulled out a chair for Zhao Zizhan. "However, I think as a Chinese, you should be more comfortable with this kind of setting than with scones and black tea on a three-tiered shelf."

Angers gestured "please," his eyes filled with a gentle smile: "You probably haven't had dinner before coming over, have you? The head chef of this French restaurant used to work at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, and he's quite good. I wonder if it suits your taste."

Zhao Zizhan smiled and pulled out a chair to sit down, his tone relaxed: "As long as it's not British food, it's fine."

"It would be rather impolite to serve fish and chips to someone at a formal meeting."

Upon hearing this, Angers chuckled softly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out. "As for other British dishes... let's just have fish and chips."

Upon hearing this, even the waiter standing nearby couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

Ace strode to the side of the room, dressed in a black combat suit. His eyes quickly scanned every corner of the restaurant, from the doors and windows to the guests at the next table, not missing a single detail. He then stopped, put his hands behind his back, and began to guard his surroundings like a silent statue.

Zhao Zizhan noticed that Angers' gaze was on Ace, so he explained, "This is my colleague, temporarily in charge of my security. After all, the project I'm working on right now is quite important, so it's always good to be extra cautious."

"I can understand, this gentleman looks very professional."

Angers withdrew his gaze from Ace. Although he was 130 years old, he was still one of the strongest dragon slayers in the world. But the security chief of Zhao Zizhan in front of him was just standing there, like a sharp blade sheathed in its sheath. Even without being drawn, the hidden intimidation put great pressure on Angers.

This person is very strong, extremely strong, even frighteningly strong.

Anyone else would probably be wondering right now—where did this suddenly appearing powerful figure come from? What is his background? Could he be a huge threat? With such a person suddenly appearing around Zhao Zizhan, is his behavior still under control?

But not Angers.

He picked up his glass and took a sip, his gaze returning to Zhao Zizhan, the turmoil in his eyes gradually subsiding. Ace's identity and strength were unimportant to him; what mattered was whether their goals aligned.

As long as the target is dragons, those monsters lurking in the darkness that threaten humanity, that's enough.

Zhao Zizhan had every reason to stand on the same side as him; they both wanted to fight against the Dragon Clan and protect what they cherished.

That's enough. As long as it can bury all the dragons, he will do it without hesitation, even if it requires sacrificing himself.

Zhao Zizhan cleared his throat, breaking the brief silence: "Ahem, well, let's talk about our new aid conditions, so as not to waste this delicious meal."

"well……"

Angers smiled and nodded, put down his wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and showed a serious expression. "I have carefully reviewed the new cooperation plan. I must say, whether in terms of concealment, practicality, or long-term development, this cooperation plan is quite good."

"It can both conceal those research projects that need to be kept secret in your country, avoiding detection by unnecessary forces, and also produce tangible results in the open, making the progress of the projects legitimate. As the principal of Kassel College, I seem to have no right to refuse this proposal—after all, it is of great benefit to both of us."

Zhao Zizhan remained unmoved by Angers' praise, because such remarks are usually followed by a "but".

Sure enough, as soon as Angers finished speaking, the plot twist came as expected: "However, I am a little interested in the brand new project in this new collaboration. Could you please give me a detailed introduction to the new material?"

Zhao Zizhan smiled, and with a slight twist of his wrist, he precisely forked a piece of beef coated in sauce with a sharp steak knife and slowly put it into his mouth.

"The principal truly has a keen eye; he saw the key point at a glance."

"That's right, we've discovered a completely new material."

"I named it 'carbon'."

Zhao Zizhan leaned forward slightly, his eyes showing a hint of seriousness. "This new material, developed using carbon as its core raw material, has great application prospects in the fields of construction and light equipment."

"Most importantly, it possesses the dual characteristics of being extremely lightweight and having ultra-high strength. High-purity carbon bricks are nearly 30% lighter than commonly used aerospace aluminum alloys, while their impact resistance is more than twice that of titanium alloys."

"My initial plan is to test the applicability of this material in extreme industrial environments like F1."

“I see,” Angers nodded slowly.

"Could you show me this new material?"

Zhao Zizhan's description made him vaguely think of the second-generation dragon scale that was parked on his own school campus.

"Of course, you're our God of Wealth!"

"Shall we set off now?"

"Finish your meal before you leave, don't waste food, Principal."

PS: Damn it, why isn't Poor Bear still broadcasting? He just arrived in Guangzhou and ran into a super typhoon. I feel like Earth Online is targeting me.

Chapter 209 Equipment Department.

Zhao Zizhan took Angers to his old base.

This old warehouse has been almost completely renovated, and its structural strength is top-notch. The most eye-catching feature is the metal folding door that occupies one-third of the front of the warehouse. The door panel is covered with intricate patterns, and the edges are inlaid with silver sealing strips. Even when it is closed, you can vaguely see the electronic lock indicator light flashing at the hinge.

Many nearby residents have come to watch. Some guessed it was an armory, while others said it was a high-tech secret project being carried out there.

The small warehouse that Zhao Zizhan's mother arranged for him is now not only handling local R&D tasks but also connecting with logistics materials from another world. The storage space and security level here are insufficient and can hardly keep up with the R&D needs. The business will have to be fully launched in the new base.

This small warehouse will gradually be transformed into a temporary living area in the future.

However, it is still standing guard until its last shift.

As he spoke, Zhao Zizhan turned and walked to a metal cabinet inside the workbench. He opened the cabinet door and carefully took out a black box. He placed the box on the workbench and slowly opened it, revealing a palm-sized black brick inside.

The surface of the bricks has a delicate frosted texture. When you touch them lightly with your fingers, you can feel a warm coolness, which is completely unlike the coldness of ordinary metal.

“This is it,” he said, picking up a brick that was much smaller than a red brick.

Angers took the carbon brick and examined it carefully in his palm. The brick was much lighter than he had expected, the surface was flawless, and the edges were cut extremely neatly.

Carbon bricks are considered the cornerstone of Terra's basic industry.

Since the advent of the Industrial Age, astonishing new materials have sprung up all over Terra like mushrooms after rain.

Carbon, as an important material in mobile urban building units, determines the strength of the building material by its content.

"This is it?"

"Yes, that's it."

He took the carbon brick from Angers, gently placed it on the weighing instrument, and pressed the start button. A series of data quickly appeared on the screen, and Zhao Zizhan pointed to the screen and explained each point.

"Density 1.5-1.6 g/cm³, tensile strength above 6000, elastic modulus 325, Vickers hardness (HV) above 2800, demonstrating excellent performance in multiple fields."

"We will then conduct further strength tests at the new base. If needed, Principal, you are welcome to visit."

Carbon bricks are just basic industrial materials in Terra, but they can cause quite a stir in this world. Of course, they can't be a Kassel-exclusive product. There are many fields that new materials can be applied to. With the performance data of carbon bricks, whether it is high-strength building components or core components of precision instruments, they can be upgraded. They have great potential in this world.

Even so, Zhao Zizhan hasn't even taken out the D32 steel, which is extremely strong, almost indestructible, and also has extremely high conductivity. If he were to bring that out, Angers would go crazy!

Angers looked at the carbon spinning wheel in front of him and asked with a smile, "I don't think that's a place for an outsider like me to visit. Would it be convenient for me to take one back for testing? After all, you know I'm not an expert in materials science, so I'll have to rely on the experts at the academy to study it properly."

"Of course, but our cooperation agreement..."

"Haven't we already reached an agreement?"

Angers smiled and asked in return.