Chapter 147: A Hundred Billion Loan

The Central Intelligence Agency launched a full-scale investigation into Fantasy Technology. Because of the Arc Reactor, Fantasy Technology officially came under the direct scrutiny of the U.S. CIA. As the investigation deepened, however, the CIA discovered that Fantasy Technology had already been on their watchlist for a long time. It was only due to the inaction of certain corporations that obstructed the agency's inquiries that Fantasy Technology was only now entering the CIA's line of sight.

Not only the CIA, but Russia, NATO, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and numerous other nations also incorporated Fantasy Technology into their investigations. If the earlier genetic optimization fluid was merely a mountain of gold, the emergence of the Arc Reactor prompted many countries to elevate their attention toward Fantasy Technology by several levels.

The Arc Reactor represented new energy. Since the oil crisis, nations without exception had increased their investments in alternative energy sources, though seemingly without much success. In truth, that was due to obstruction by the oil magnates; had it not been for them, cleaner electrical energy would have long since replaced oil. The practical application of electrical energy had already matured some seven or eight years ago, yet what was the result? To this day, the application of electrical power globally accounted for less than eight percent, while oil energy dominated at eighty percent.

The world's few major oil tycoons controlled global economics—this statement was not the slightest bit exaggerated. Should any one of them wish to target a particular nation, they could mobilize over a trillion dollars at a moment's notice. Such a massive injection of capital could cause even the American economy to recede for over a decade.

Meanwhile, the two major American oil companies, the three major Middle Eastern oil companies, and the three major European oil companies directly controlled over seventy percent of the world's oil reserves. Whenever any single one of them lifted a finger, the entire world would tremble.

And now, the Arc Reactor stood as the embodiment of new energy.

Countries heavily invested in oil, like the United States, had no wish to see the advent of new energy because it would disrupt the petroleum market. For other nations lacking substantial oil reserves, however, new energy represented a shackle-breaking liberation from petroleum dependency, as well as a pathway to join the ranks of advanced nations.

Regardless, the appearance of the Arc Reactor caused quite a few countries to start plotting.

At Fantasy Technology, another military convoy arrived, though this time smaller in scale.

Unlike the previous occasion, there were no escort helicopters.

Because of the incident involving Lan Tianxin, the Ministry of State Security had heightened Laicheng's security alert level. Through administrative jurisdiction and authority, they practically overhauled Laicheng's entire security force. The police officers were no longer those who idled away their days; a police chief was directly parachuted in from Yanjing, and all ordinary police personnel were required to undergo retraining. Those who passed stayed, while those who failed were demoted to county or township police stations in outlying areas.

The People's Armed Police contingent was completely replaced by a fresh batch of demobilized veterans, equipped with the latest riot vehicles and individual combat weapons.

Zhu Lan made no polite gestures either, directly donating two helicopters to the Laicheng government. Funded entirely by Fantasy Technology, the helicopter model was designated as the A109.

Both aircraft were placed under the management of the Laicheng Special Police. In addition to police and armed police forces, the coast guard fleet was expanded from the original three patrol vessels to eight, operating in conjunction with the coastal patrol units of regions S and SR to jointly manage the maritime territory.

Laicheng's development this year could rank among the top ten nationwide.

Because of Fantasy Technology, the government alone had replaced over twenty officials, spanning every department: police, armed police, firefighting, healthcare, and so on—changing almost month by month.

In numerous matters, Fantasy Technology had also made tremendous contributions to Laicheng. Over the past half-year, the value of equipment donated by Fantasy Technology to Laicheng's public sectors—including healthcare and public facilities—exceeded forty million.

Currently, Fantasy Technology had begun negotiations with the Laicheng municipal government to replace the city's trash cans with more advanced, intelligent models.

Under the preliminary commitment, Fantasy Technology would purchase all the land in the northern suburbs. The terms offered by Fantasy Technology included not only the twenty-billion purchase price but also the replacement of all public infrastructure for Laicheng. This item alone required Fantasy Technology to disburse a massive renovation fee exceeding two billion.

"Elder Xu, Commander Luo, we meet again!"

"You rascal, you're doing well!" Elder Xu stepped out of the vehicle and looked approvingly at Zhu Lan.

Zhu Lan nodded. "Elder Xu, please come inside!"

Elder Xu nodded and walked into Fantasy Technology.

Kong Yan set down the tea and quietly withdrew.

"I suppose you already know. The situation you are facing now is far from simple!"

Zhu Lan waved his hand dismissively. "What of it? Haven't I managed just fine these past six months?"

Elder Xu smiled with relief.

"You handled the sinkhole incident exceptionally well. The higher-ups offered high praise for your actions, and we are well aware that you suffered heavy losses!"

Zhu Lan fell silent.

Heavy losses?

Of course they were heavy!

The scrapping of the Arc Reactor alone resulted in losses exceeding two billion. Furthermore, the neutralizers were almost entirely ruined; a single neutralizer cost forty million to build, meaning five of them totaled two hundred million, not to mention other components and parts. This incident cost Fantasy Technology over three billion. Moreover, because multiple manufacturing schedules were interrupted, certain production processes had to be completely overhauled. In terms of economic loss alone, Fantasy Technology's deficit this approaching nearly five billion RMB.

"The state will not treat anyone who has helped us unfairly. I've come this time representing the state to deliver compensation to Fantasy Technology!" Elder Xu finished and fixed his gaze on Zhu Lan.

Zhu Lan's expression remained calm as he quietly met Elder Xu's eyes.

"State your demands! Whatever the state can fulfill, we will satisfy to the utmost of our ability!"

Zhu Lan smiled faintly. "I need palladium, more palladium!"

Elder Xu showed no surprise and nodded. "I can agree to that. The state cannot give you too much, but half a ton is our limit."

Zhu Lan smiled. Half a ton was enough. One had to know that Zhu Lan had dispatched Qite to scour the globe for half a year just to acquire 0.3 tons of palladium, at a cost exceeding five hundred million US dollars.

"The number of personnel from the engineering corps is too small. I want to accelerate the War Club project a bit!"

Xu Dezheng furrowed his brow. "Is it still not enough?"

Zhu Lan shook his head. "At the current pace, the first phase of construction won't be completed until at least next September. I want the first phase finished by next April. Sheng Tang no longer has sufficient manpower to spare for this, and I don't want outsiders involved because of confidentiality. The engineering corps is the best choice."

Elder Xu frowned. "I'll see if I can muster and dispatch some more engineering corps personnel to you!"

Because Sheng Tang Real Estate was tied to Fantasy Technology, its annual revenue reached over eight times that of the previous year. However, the consequence was that Fantasy Technology kept initiating new construction projects, leaving Sheng Tang Real Estate desperately short of manpower. Recruit? There was no time left. Sheng Tang Real Estate relied on quality to secure its footing in the provincial real estate sector and expand northward.

Aside from Fantasy Technology's projects, Sheng Tang Real Estate had over thirty building complexes under construction across numerous cities, leaving them completely stretched for staff.

After consulting with Fantasy Technology, Sheng Tang Real Estate had subcontracted portions of the work, but not just any real estate company could undertake such projects. First, they needed adequate certification, specifically senior construction credentials. Second, they required a solid reputation—for instance, houses previously built by the company had to be exceptionally well-known in a given locality.

These two criteria alone disqualified ninety percent of real estate firms. Furthermore, any real estate company taking on Fantasy Technology's projects had to have a spotless background with no anomalies.

Three months prior, Sheng Tang Real Estate had opened up subcontracting, but only four real estate firms passed Fantasy Technology's screening. Even among those four, the volume of work they could actually handle was minimal, doing virtually nothing to aid Fantasy Technology's overall construction schedule.

"Anything else?"

Zhu Lan shook his head. "Nothing else!"

"Really nothing?" Elder Xu looked at Zhu Lan in surprise.

He had expected Zhu Lan to seize the opportunity to present a laundry list of demands, but it was just these two?

Zhu Lan shook his head. "Really nothing. The palladium alone can resolve any problem I currently face."

Elder Xu nodded. "Truly nothing else?"

Zhu Lan pondered for a moment. "If there is one thing, there is indeed. I just don't know if the higher-ups will agree!"

Elder Xu wore an expression that said, *I knew it would come to this.* "Speak!"

"I hope to obtain a second loan—a loan larger than the current one!"

"A loan?"

"If I recall correctly, you just took out a fifty billion loan recently, didn't you? Is that still not enough?"

Zhu Lan gave a wry smile. "Fantasy Technology's expansion project alone requires forty-five billion in funding, and those funds need to be disbursed after the new year. As for the previous fifty billion, combined with the company's internal funds, the remainder is currently less than forty billion. With the War Club, Chenwen Port, Happiness District, and so on, next year's projected need is at least eighty billion!"

"Moreover, due to production volume constraints, increasing the output of the genetic optimization fluid has become imperative!"

"How much do you want?"

Zhu Lan took a deep breath. "One hundred billion!"

Elder Xu frowned. "Are you certain?"

Zhu Lan nodded solemnly. "That's right, one hundred billion!"

Luo Guoqiang was thoroughly shaken. One hundred billion! That was enough to build three aircraft carriers, or roughly an entire modern naval fleet.

Elder Xu gave a wry smile. "You certainly know how to open your mouth!"

Zhu Lan waved his hands helplessly. "What can I do? Who asked me to take on such a massive enterprise?"

Elder Xu did not refuse outright. One hundred billion was a vast sum, but in Elder Xu's eyes, it was merely a pile of numbers.

Never mind one hundred billion; if corresponding benefits could be secured, what did ten trillion matter?

The Arc Reactor—as long as it succeeded, China would master a new energy technology distinct from nuclear energy, along with robotics technology. According to researchers' findings, model robots were superior in many aspects to the A-model robots the state was currently researching. With modifications, a new class of weaponry could be born.

Quantum communication technology, satellite manufacturing technology, virtual network technology, intelligent computer technology, and so on, not to mention the War Club. Every single one of these elements was critically important to China. Perhaps earlier, Xu Dezheng would have flatly refused, but after Fantasy Technology publicized the Arc Reactor and triggered global attention, one hundred billion was no longer an impossibility.