Liu Yun, nicknamed “Little Ant,” was banished to the unfamiliar Republic of China by a divine being for spouting nonsense. He happened to end up on a Japanese steamship. It was the third year of China’s War of Resistance, and in Europe, Hitler had just become Führer. Just as he was feeling terrified and helpless, he encountered a strange little alien ant. As the ants grew and their ambitions soared, they sent shockwaves through the industrial, military, and spiritual cultivation sectors of the Republic of China, transforming a nation where the people were struggling to survive into a vibrant and colorful society. The Japanese Emperor was forced to issue an edict, proclaiming himself the most peace-loving emperor. His most valiant Imperial Army would rather march into Southeast Asia to challenge the Anglo-American allied forces than face the little ants.
Chapter 28: Joint R&D
Chapter 27: Joint R&D “Hey, dear Liu,” seeing that the two old foxes weren’t falling for the bait, von Falkenhausen had no choice but to lay his cards on the table. “How about two million gold marks?” "Pfft!" Both men nearly spit out their tea at the same time. Even though Minister Kong had seen plenty of money, he wasn’t much better than Grand Tutor Pang—they were both taken aback by von Falkenhausen’s offer. “Building a factory in Xikang is highly confidential, but the place is simply too backward, the transportation is inconvenient, and it’s too close to India.” India—Fackenhausen immediately thought of Britain and shook his head regretfully. Minister Kong promptly offered a new suggestion. “As for secrecy, Wuhan isn’t a bad option either. It has the foundation of the Hanyang Arsenal, the convenience of water transport on the Yangtze River, and is deep in the interior. We can have the army encircle it on all sides—not even a fly could get in.” Grand Tutor Pang’s eyes darted about, ignoring Minister Kong’s warning. “Your Excellency, Xikang is unsuitable. Hmm, Western Sichuan County would be fine—the key is that it’s the Doctor’s hometown.” Western Sichuan—the young leader’s hometown. Falkenhausen seemed somewhat taken with the idea. Grand Tutor Pang immediately pulled out a map of China—one originally intended to persuade the Executive Yuan to advance the process of establishing Xikang as a province, but now it had turned out to be a stroke of luck. He pointed out the location of Western Sichuan County on the map. It was indeed far from India, yet only about 200 kilometers from Chengdu. Deep inland and lacking railways, with only a few roads and waterways, it had no industrial base, but its secrecy was indeed excellent. Underdeveloped and deep inland—it was indeed suitable for research. The poor transportation made it impossible to bring in large equipment, so large-scale production was out of the question; only preliminary research-based production was feasible. Such a thankless task—the Nanjing government wasn’t stupid; would they really agree? Falkenhausen began to hesitate.
