The Owl Dragon Empire · Imperial Military Industry Research Academy, Institute No. 1
The Imperial Military Industry Research Academy, as the name says, was devoted to research in military industry.
And Institute No. 1 was the very foremost institute within it.
It lay in the Owl Dragon System,
and beside it was the Owl Dragon's largest industrial park.
It could be said that any idea here, or any military-industry plan, could be put into production immediately.
And in Institute No. 1 of the Imperial Military Industry Research Academy, standing where there was a porthole, one could see the T6 Steel Star City No. 1 in the distance.
At this moment a shuttle slipped quietly into the hangar of Institute No. 1 of the Imperial Military Industry Research Academy.
The institute's Chief Engineer's office
Chief Engineer Annie leaned back on the sofa with her feet up on the desk, sucking on a duck neck, with a glass of iced cola at her hand.
Not far off, the hottest show of the moment was playing.
"Chief Engineer, this… this is the latest manufacturing plan." At this point the angel assistant came in.
Seeing Chief Engineer Annie in the office in such an idle pose, her face wore an expression of the strangest kind.
Chief Engineer Annie now was simply a different person from the Chief Engineer Annie of before.
All this change had begun with His Majesty the Emperor's reappearance.
From then on,
Chief Engineer Annie never worked overtime, and in any rest time she would absolutely not say a single word about work.
Several times Chief Engineer Nana had had to take her by the ear and force her to get some work matters done.
Still, it had to be said that Chief Engineer Annie's technical gifts were extremely strong; even without overtime, she could still work with the other departments and complete the original work tasks on schedule.
Only, the Chief Engineer Annie of now seemed still more… idle.
Annie finished gnawing the duck neck in her mouth and glanced at the time beside her. "One minute thirty seconds till work time. When the time comes, then report your work to me."
The angel assistant stopped short, and could only stand there with a helpless face.
The minute and a half soon came round.
At once the angel assistant said, "Chief Engineer, this……"
"Wait a moment; I'm off to the restroom. I ate too much just now." Annie held her hand over the belly she had conquered, stretched, and was about to go out the door and turn left to the restroom next door for a paid sit on the toilet.
But before she could get out the door, a figure bumped into her.
Annie, who had been walking head down watching her show, clutched her head and said in pain, "Who is it……"
The instant she looked up, Annie froze.
She saw Zhao Chen before her.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." The angel assistant beside her at once made her obeisance, delight in both her eyes.
"Mm." Zhao Chen looked at the angel assistant and nodded slightly, then looked at Annie before him.
He pointed at the time. "It's work time now; where are you off to?"
"I… I… I was going to see how everyone's production plans below were coming along." Annie said it with a somewhat guilty conscience.
As she spoke, Annie made to slip around him.
But Zhao Chen pressed his hand down on her head outright, then took her by the scruff and turned her a full 180°, and sent Chief Engineer Annie back to the chair at her desk.
"I've looked at those production plans; there's nothing wrong with them."
"Th… that's good, then." Annie sat in the chair with a guilty conscience; meaning to change the subject, she at once looked at Zhao Chen with a fawning smile. "How is it Your Majesty has come in person? I heard the fighting at the front has only just ended, hasn't it? There must be a great many matters waiting for Your Majesty to deal with?"
Zhao Chen sat down on the sofa beside her and said coolly, "I've handed all those matters to the people under me. They're more professional than I am."
"That's true; you always say to leave professional things to professional people," Annie chimed in at once.
Then Annie looked at Zhao Chen and asked, "Then what brings Your Majesty to the Academy? If there's anything you need to tell us, you can just say it over a comm. There's really no need to make the trip in person."
"It's nothing; this time I really do need to make the trip in person," Zhao Chen said coolly, looking around.
Annie's heart gave a lurch.
Every time Zhao Chen came to the door, it was never anything good.
If it wasn't drawing up a new production plan, it was a new warship to be put into production.
These beyond doubt all added to her workload.
Perhaps guessing what Annie was thinking at this moment,
Zhao Chen said coolly, "Rest easy; this time there really is a new warship to be put into production. But I'll see to the matters concerned myself, and the later stages can go to Iris. You won't have to take charge of that."
Hearing this, Annie let out a long breath of relief.
But her mouth still said politely, "Actually, I'm very happy to help too. If Big Sister Iris has anything she can't handle, I can help."
"Since you say so, then I'll hand the work I have in hand to you." Zhao Chen looked at Annie with a smile.
At once Annie froze; then she moved her eyes away, fiddled with her fingers in front of her, and said in a small voice, "Then… now I think of it, I have a lot of work in hand to deal with right now. My assistant just came to talk to me about work. Isn't that right, Nicole?"
The angel assistant Nicole was taken aback, and said without thinking, "Yes, just now I was going to tell the Chief Engineer about some work……"
"All right, all right. These matters won't be your charge." How could Zhao Chen not know what the little lass Annie was thinking?
This time, too, he truly had no intention of handing the production plan task for those new warships to her.
"I'll stay here for a while, and settle the production plans for those new warships with your sister Nana and with Iris," Zhao Chen said, rising.
Stay for a while?
Annie seemed to sense something; she said at once to the angel assistant Nicole, "Nicole, did you hear? His Majesty is staying for a while; go and arrange a Chief Engineer's office for His Majesty at once. If I remember right, on the south side of the Academy there's an office……"
The angel assistant Nicole looked at Chief Engineer Annie with a strange expression.
For the place Chief Engineer Annie spoke of was indeed an office.
But it was as far from Chief Engineer Annie's office as south sky from north sea within this Imperial military industry research institute,
right at the two farthest ends.
"No need. I saw an office right next door just now; next door will do." Zhao Chen pointed at a wall beside them.
Annie's face froze, and on it could plainly be seen a look as though she had eaten bitter melon.
But very soon she still squeezed out a smile. "That's fine too. Nicole, go and tidy it up at once."
This time Zhao Chen did not stop Nicole.
But he put forward one requirement.
"Nicole," Zhao Chen called.
"Your Majesty." The angel assistant Nicole looked respectfully to His Majesty the Emperor.
Zhao Chen turned and rapped on the wall before him that divided it from the office next door.
"Have someone knock this wall out first. Make the whole office bigger and more open," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes," the angel assistant Nicole answered.
And Chief Engineer Annie at this moment wore a look of utter collapse; if this wall were knocked out,
wouldn't the two offices be joined into one?
Then, when she wanted to slack off, or take a paid sit on the toilet, wouldn't she never get the chance!
"Your Majesty, that is, I……" Annie still wanted to fight for one gleam of light for her fine life to come.
But at this moment even that gleam of light seemed pinched out by a certain large hand.
"You stay right here. I have something else to discuss with you. You needn't take part in the building plans for the new warships. But after that, I mean to set up our own production of quasi-T7, or rather T7-technology-grade, warships. I'll need you to work with me on that." Zhao Chen looked at Annie.
"I… I… I understand." Annie now seemed turned to stone from head to foot.
The fine life she had only just got back into her hands was now gone entirely.
Nooo~~~
Annie felt as though she had sunk down onto the floor, reaching out toward an endless fine life, trying to catch hold of it.
But behind her, Zhao Chen, with a devil's horns, was watching it all with a sinister smile, like a giant holding the feeble Annie in his hand.
It had to be said that the angel assistant Nicole got things done very efficiently indeed.
In ten-odd minutes
the wall between the two adjoining offices had been taken out, and the place where it had been taken out had even been coated with new wall material,
with not the least trace to be seen of the demolition.
At the same time, the office next door, which had not been in use, had now had every piece of equipment needed installed,
enough in the main to meet all Zhao Chen's work needs to come.
Zhao Chen looked at it all in satisfaction, and looked approvingly at this angel assistant Nicole. "You get things done well. You're called Nicole, aren't you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor. I come of the Holy Angel line; I was a starship engineer within the Holy Angel line to begin with. Later, because the Angel Race joined the Owl Dragon Empire, and I was very interested in Owl Dragon-line warships besides, and the Owl Dragon Empire was recruiting within the Angel Race's borders at the time, industrial talent among them, I tried my luck, and never thought I'd be taken on outright. And I've had the great good fortune to become Chief Engineer Annie's assistant! Your Majesty the Emperor, and the several Chief Engineers, have always been my idols."
Idols?
Zhao Chen glanced at Annie, sprawled over her desk beside him like a corpse.
This one?
An idol?
"You're very good, and very gifted too. I'll be working here for a while from now on. You'll serve as my assistant as well." Zhao Chen naturally had this angel assistant Nicole's file.
She was not only Chief Engineer Annie's assistant, but in charge of a great many building plans besides.
If the other Chief Engineers' assistants were excellent, this Nicole was more excellent still.
Part of the reason was even owing to Annie.
For Annie would toss a great many matters to Nicole to take charge of.
Above all in the time since Zhao Chen's return, nearly every task that needed going out to oversee on the spot in person had been given to Nicole.
And Nicole had shown her own professionalism, and carried out every task given her in full.
It had been a kind of test and an improvement of her own skills.
That too was why Zhao Chen would have Nicole serve as his own assistant as well.
"It's a great honor. Whatever the arrangement, Your Majesty has only to give the word!" Nicole could hardly contain her excitement.
To become His Majesty the Emperor's assistant was something Nicole would not have dared dream of.
As everyone knew, the industrial blueprints for every Owl Dragon-line warship now in service within the Owl Dragon Empire had been supplied by His Majesty the Emperor.
And His Majesty the Emperor's technical ability in this field the several Chief Engineers had all witnessed with their own eyes; some engineers who had had dealings with him owned themselves outdone.
One could imagine what an honor it was to be at the side of such a figure.
Very soon Zhao Chen was deep in his work.
And with the wall gone, Annie could not very well slack off openly on her side either, for Zhao Chen's desk and hers actually faced each other, only a few dozen meters apart.
Even so, it gave Annie the feeling of being watched all the time.
She did not dare be the least bit careless.
But as time went on,
Annie's little schemes still bubbled up; she put on a start of surprise, and a tool dropped from her hand to the floor.
"Oops, dropped something." Annie gave a cry, and hopped down from her chair.
Ten-odd seconds later, Annie sat back down in her chair holding the thing.
A few minutes later, something else dropped.
"How did it drop again?" Annie put on a helpless look and hopped down from her chair again.
After a few rounds of this,
Annie sat in her chair well content, dealing with the matters in hand.
"Hic~."
She could not help letting out a full burp.
She felt a little thirsty.
Annie knocked another thing onto the floor.
"How did it drop again?" Annie said, blaming herself, and hopped down to the floor again.
In the moment the desk hid her body, she at once brought a big bottle of cola out from under the desk, held it in both hands, tipped her head back and poured it down her throat.
Glug glug glug
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly a voice came from beside her, without warning.
It gave Annie such a fright she shook all over.
"Cough cough cough…" In an instant the drink in Annie's mouth sprayed out, and her nose was full of it too.
Having choked on it, Annie could not stop coughing.
She coughed till the tears came.
It was a good while before she recovered.
Annie raised her head and looked reproachfully at her little sister Nana, standing beside her.
"I was only drinking a little water," Annie muttered in a small voice.
"Drinking a little water? Then what are these?" Nana, with no ceremony at all, pulled out the whole heap of snacks from under the desk.
In a moment they were piled into a little mountain.
Now Annie had been caught red-handed with the goods.
"His Majesty is working with you, and you're here slacking off!" Nana pointed at Zhao Chen, working at his desk in the 'next-door' office,
and looked at Annie, heartbroken.
Annie raised her head somewhat shamefaced, and looked at Zhao Chen in the office next door.
In an instant her eyes went wide.
For she saw Zhao Chen pull out a spicy gluten strip and stuff it into his mouth.
"He… he… he's eating too!"
Nana frowned and turned her head to look at His Majesty's side; His Majesty the Emperor was still bent over his work, with countless figures on the several electronic screens before him.
"His Majesty eating spicy strips? I think you've eaten so many spicy strips that everyone looks like a spicy strip to you. All these snacks of yours are confiscated!" Nana turned back and fixed her eyes on Annie.
In an instant Annie's eyes went wide: her kingdom!
At that moment she saw Zhao Chen opposite bring out a bottle of some drink or other and take a sip,
his eyes turned toward Annie's side, looking thoroughly pleased at her misfortune.
Annie opened her mouth, not knowing what to say……
Baby's heart is bitter……