Chapter 13 Losing Orders

Luo Xuan sized it up for a while and said disdainfully, "The technology is crude, there's no secrecy, it's very easy to deduce the blueprints."

"Then it's up to you. As long as you complete this mission, we'll poach you from the Logistics Department, giving you better treatment and authority."

Luo Xuan smiled with satisfaction. After the last unfair treatment, he felt more and more that the Logistics Department had no future. Why was Han Xiao specially recruited, while he could only grind away at his qualifications? So, he prepared to switch his allegiance to the hardliners and transfer to the Research Department.

As long as he entered the upper echelon's sight, his future would be bright. Sooner or later, he would also obtain Han Xiao's treatment.

Cracking the folding combat knife was an opportunity to showcase his ability. Luo Xuan attached great importance to this. He still felt resentful that he failed to crack the Light Mechanical Arm last time and had always been unconvinced. He couldn't ask for anything more than being able to "compete" with Han Xiao this time.

...

Since he had his own independent mechanical workshop, Han Xiao moved out of the repair shop and lived the single life he had missed for a long time. In name, he was still an employee of the repair shop, sharing the daily orders of the repair shop for Lu Qian.

Due to the previous misunderstanding, the no-meeting mode of getting along made Lu Qian a lot easier.

"Chi..."

Opening the smelting furnace, high-temperature steam sprayed out. Han Xiao, wearing high-temperature-resistant work clothes, used iron tongs to clamp out pieces of red-hot, long, strip-shaped steel billets from the furnace.

Under the existing conditions, Han Xiao had two methods for manufacturing blades. One was normal smelting, heating the steel billets, and then forging them repeatedly on an anvil, gradually grinding them into shape. The second was to heat the steel billets to red-hot in a high-temperature furnace and use equipment to press them, directly stamping out the blade shape in one step. The two methods had their own advantages. The former was naturally fine workmanship, while the latter was more efficient and could be mass-produced.

The selling point of the folding combat knife was portability and concealment. Han Xiao didn't pursue manufacturing famous knives and chose the more efficient direct stamping.

These steel billets were all from the Thirteenth Bureau's inventory, and the quality was excellent. Han Xiao sprayed the steel billets with chemical materials to remove oxides, and then calcined them once. Then he put the red-hot steel billets on the stamping lathe and started the equipment.

In the midst of booming impacts, the steel billets took shape, turning into sharp blades.

Then Han Xiao carried out the key folding process. This was a delicate job that required the use of chains and magnets, but Han Xiao was familiar with it.

Before long, a batch of ten folding combat knives was freshly baked.

Repeatedly manufacturing the same kind of machinery also reduces experience. Manufacturing experience does not disappear like assembly experience, but fluctuates within a very low range. Using equipment to complete mechanical manufacturing will reduce experience as appropriate. After the mechanical system reaches a high level, they all have to assemble their own production lines and lathes to mass-produce parts on assembly lines. Han Xiao has not yet reached this stage. Some parts still need to be polished or purchased.

Each folding combat knife created grants 100-200 experience. The folding combat knife blueprint level has been raised to lv2, and the attributes of the finished product are slightly increased.

Han Xiao took off his high-temperature-resistant clothing, wiped the sweat from his forehead, counted the batch of combat knives, and completed several more orders.

Feeling very pleased.

At this moment, the phone rang with an old-fashioned ringtone. Li Ya Lin was calling.

"It's bad. All the special agents who placed orders before are requesting to cancel their orders."

Han Xiao was stunned. "What happened?"

"The Research Department has deduced the blueprint for the folding combat knife and has submitted a report to higher-level leaders, requesting that the Research Department's seal be affixed to it, and has released news that mass production will soon be implemented and supplied to various departments." Li Ya Lin's tone was frustrated.

The Research Department valued performance and wanted the ownership of the invention of the blueprints. Supplying equipment was free, so although the agents despised the Research Department's behavior, they also normally canceled their pre-orders from Han Xiao.

The batch of folding combat knives he had just created were unsalable.

Han Xiao's eyes flickered. He didn't expect that the Research Department would really dare to steal from their own people's business. Due to the special nature (crudeness) of the folding combat knife, confidentiality measures were superfluous. Han Xiao had a hunch that duplicates would appear, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly. The current profits in hand were still far from his expectations.

Although the folding combat knife would be saturated in the future, it could still bring him a lot of benefits at this stage, but the Research Department's intervention cut off his financial path.

If he chose to hand over the blueprint, he might be able to increase his faction contribution, but he would also lose his source of experience. The Research Department's forced seizure of the blueprint obviously did not count as his contribution.

This was hindering his growth in many ways.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, dialed Feng Jun's number, and said in a deep voice, "Do you know what's going on?"

Feng Jun sighed and said, "The Research Department really dares to do this. Although the higher-ups haven't approved the Research Department's report, they've already started mass-producing folding combat knives."

"Tell me the details."

Feng Jun had no choice but to say it again. Han Xiao remembered the names Krat and Luo Xuan.

"What did the Research Department say?"

"They haven't made any statements."

Han Xiao's face was calm. As expected of the hardliners, they didn't even bother to explain to him, the owner of the blueprint. The subtext was that he should swallow this bitter pill. He just didn't know how Old Gao's conservatives would react.

This time, the Research Department acted without authorization, and the higher-ups obviously wouldn't be kept in the dark. The reason why they hadn't approved the Research Department's report for so long was probably to test his attitude. If he chose to take a step back, would the Thirteenth Bureau's policy towards him become more and more aggressive in the future?

"The hardliners want to squeeze and beat me, and the conservatives tend to cooperate with me in a friendly manner. The higher-ups can't unilaterally support the Research Department. As long as I make a big fuss and don't cross the bottom line, the higher-ups will also compromise and compensate me to a certain extent. There's a lot of room for maneuver in this matter."

Suddenly, Han Xiao's eyes lit up. Perhaps this was an opportunity to seize advanced knowledge!

Advanced knowledge was regarded as confidential by Xinglong and strictly controlled. Han Xiao had been troubled by how to complete the advanced mission. Wasn't this a good opportunity to use the topic to his advantage?

A simple plan gradually took shape in his mind.

"Taking my things, aren't you afraid of getting burned? If I don't trick you into making a mess, you'll really think I'm easy to bully."

...

Research Department.

The Minister's secretary said, "Hehe, thanks to you this time. You truly are the ace of the Logistics Department."

Luo Xuan smiled faintly, concealing his smugness.

"The Minister values you very much and has already requested your resume from the Logistics Department and entered it into the database. You've been transferred to our Research Department."

"I wonder what my benefits will be..."

"The Minister specifically instructed that you lead a work group independently and that your authority be raised another level. As long as you do a good job, the higher-ups will notice you sooner or later."

Luo Xuan smiled with satisfaction, and then asked, "I heard that Han Xiao is valued by the higher-ups. Will there be any trouble?"

"Don't worry, I know a little inside information. Han Xiao can only swallow his anger."

The secretary recalled what the Research Minister had said with confidence:

"Han Xiao has to rely on the Thirteenth Bureau's protection. If he wants to live, he won't dare to make trouble!"