Chapter 110: An Even More Bizarre Dream

After successfully bluffing Fatty Jiang, Yu Chengmin’s mood lifted. She wondered who Fatty Jiang was going to meet if he wasn't planning to report to his superiors. Unable to come up with any answers, she looked at her computer and decided it was time to lock the stable door after the horse had bolted.

She pressed the intercom button and said, "Come in."

There was no response.

Seeing the desk outside was empty, she walked out and grabbed the first person she saw. "Go and drag Little Ma here."

"He went to the restroom," the staff member replied.

"He’s in there playing mobile games, thinking I don’t know. Go drag him out. You see how he acts all jittery, carrying around so many phones, as if he’s actually busy with important business." With those instructions, Yu Chengmin went back inside.

The staff member was filled with envy and resentment. So, Boss Yu knew everything! She had already caught the kid, yet she was so lenient with him? Unbelievable. What kind of talent did that bastard actually have? It wasn't like he was well-endowed or especially skilled in bed; Boss Yu was famous in the circle for being immune to such tricks.

"Little Ma, Boss Yu wants you back to work," someone shouted at the restroom entrance shortly after.

Just then, Longze Meishu wandered by and chimed in, parrot-fashion, "Little Ma, Boss Yu wants you back to work."

Little Ma was so startled that his phone slipped out of his hand and into the toilet. He fished it out, rinsed it with some hand soap, sniffed it to ensure it was passable, and then decisively put it away before exiting the restroom.

Back in the office, Yu Chengmin pointed at the computer. "Take it away. It’s yours to deal with now."

Little Ma asked curiously, "You don't need it anymore?"

"Do I look like someone who would be crippled just by losing one computer?" Yu Chengmin crossed her arms.

"So, have you returned Zhou Dongyun’s computer to her yet?" Little Ma asked.

Yu Chengmin paused, realizing she had forgotten again. "My bad, my bad. Make sure you take care of that, and come find me for the money later."

Little Ma took the computer and sat at his workstation to observe it for a while, but it was useless—there was no sign of the "Sword Demon" returning. It seemed he would have to ask Han Siyi for help.

Before the end of the shift, Yu Chengmin grabbed her bag to leave. Passing Little Ma’s desk, she turned back and said, "I don’t suppose you want to keep tinkering here, so you can head out early too. I won't be around later."

Little Ma packed up her laptop and called it a day.

When he returned home, Feng Chenchen was out. Han Siyi’s foot didn't hurt as much, but she was still in the recovery phase.

Little Ma tossed the laptop to her. "This is a friend's computer. It’s having some issues. If you have the mind for it, help her install some useful security software and patch the system vulnerabilities."

Han Siyi looked flattered, assuming this was a test or a trial; after all, he was a grandmaster himself. It seemed he just couldn't be bothered with such "trivial matters."

She nodded eagerly. "No problem. You’ve helped me so much; I’ll handle these little things for you from now on." She added, "These systems built by the Indians have too many flaws. Besides, merchants only care about profit and target the masses. You have to crack the system before you can modify the components and mechanisms. Your friend doesn't have an issue with that, right?"

"If I don't have an issue, she doesn't," Little Ma said. "In any case, even if a low-level operator like you handles it, it won't make things any worse."

Han Siyi felt a vein pop in her forehead but couldn't retort. After all, "he" was the one speaking—he truly had the credentials to say such things. Otherwise, a titan like Zhou Dongyun wouldn't have called for him.

Coincidentally, Han Siyi needed something to do so she wouldn't feel guilty about overstaying her welcome. Otherwise, she would be too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

She continued, "The workload will be quite heavy. I don't usually use this kind of system, so I don't have a ready-made version. I don’t trust or like the versions others use, so it will take some time, but I’ll do it as quickly as I can."

"It’s fine, I’m not in a rush. Quality takes time, don’t embarrass me." Little Ma added, "I’m going to get some rest."

Han Siyi suspected he was a lecherous, sleazy man, but she couldn't exactly flirt back in her injured state, so she lowered her head and started working.

He had been feeling sleepy lately, and after pulling an all-nighter last time without a chance to catch up on sleep, he collapsed onto his bed and drifted into a dream.

The dream was bizarre. He seemed to be flying in the clouds. No, he looked left and right—he was sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet.

Holy crap, he took a look; it was an F-16 cockpit. He felt like he was flying fast and impressively, but a surge of anger rose from his heart. Encountering an air combat situation, he slammed his fist against the instrument panel and cursed, "What a piece of junk!"

*Beep-beep—*

He didn't know if he was locked on or about to crash, but things began to spiral into chaos. It felt like a nightmare. People with spiritual insight subconsciously know when they are dreaming; they don't want to wake up from a good dream, but they try to wake up quickly from a nightmare to avoid the "tragedy." That is called subconsciousness.

In that state of awareness, just before the crash, Little Ma jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.

He didn't know the meaning of the dream. Had someone been using their power again? Had some force field opened, causing the Great Demon King to enter quantum entanglement with him once more?

Following this line of thought, he realized his brain felt fuller than before, and the memories became clear: The F-16 was indeed a piece of junk, and Lockheed and Boeing were also under the sway of the Great Demon King. The F-16 project was a major scam, never intended to provide the American Air Force with a good fighter; it was just a money-grabbing scheme by the Great Demon King’s father, an old drunkard.

Pilots might want a good plane, but that was never the goal of the Department of Defense or the budget committee politicians. The military served politics, and the politicians at the time served the old drunkard. That was the true origin of the F-16 project. Because the greed was so outrageous and the problems so numerous that the military was up in arms, the public outcry grew, and events gradually spiraled out of control, leading to dissent within the political circles and the family itself.

Then, under the premise of "a slap and a candy," the F-22 project was born. It was a project with integrity, full of substance for the time. It was initiated early, but they couldn't get it right for years. As a youth, the Great Demon King, like those children unwanted by their families who wanted to prove their worth, was constantly trying to show off and prove himself to his kin.

So, Ma Shihong designed the ace propulsion system for the F-22: the F119. It was a masterpiece of sincerity. At that time, similar systems from the Yakovlev Design Bureau had a thrust-to-weight ratio of less than 7. But the kid’s design reached a mystical parameter of 1.03—a perfect solution to all the problems of the F-22’s complex flight control system. That was the "toothpaste" the Great Demon King left for Pratt & Whitney as a child.

Of course, those bastards eventually got drunk again and went back to producing "toothpaste." Later, when the Great Demon King stopped participating in such affairs, they launched the seemingly impressive F135, which was also just toothpaste. It was still built on the F119 architecture; the thrust was off the charts, but the technology had actually regressed, and the high-speed performance was abysmal.

The Great Demon King in his childhood knew nothing of power. In fact, because the F-22 was too "honest" and didn't serve the interests of the profiteers and politicians, the project was axed after only a hundred-plus units were produced. It didn't stop there. Because the young Great Demon King was so outstanding, he was suppressed even more ruthlessly by his family. Almost every project he touched was killed; whatever field he entered, it was suppressed into the ground.

Reflecting on this, Little Ma was stunned. What was the Great Demon King trying to express this time? Was it a warning, or just a random fragment of memory surfacing?

After thinking for a long time, he realized it was all for nothing. He couldn't figure it out. Regardless, there would be a way when the time came, and with that, Little Ma went back to being carefree.

By the time his nap ended, it was evening. He went downstairs to find Han Siyi tapping away at the computer like a coding dog. The "femme fatale" seemed to have a good attitude and was working exceptionally hard. She had a great figure and looks, and while he didn't feel much about her personality, she had a certain beauty when she was immersed in her work.

Little Ma seized the opportunity to sneak up behind her, hoping to see if there was any "fringe benefit."

Han Siyi sensed him and became a bit excited; she stopped typing, looking as if she were waiting for him to move closer.

Just then, the couple they hired came out and shouted, "Dinner is ready!"

They looked at the two of them with an expression that screamed, "I caught you in the act." They were definitely undercover agents, small spies arranged by Feng Chenchen specifically to make life difficult for Little Ma.

Han Siyi couldn't help but feel disappointed, but it wasn't appropriate to say anything. She couldn't act too casual for now, so she smiled and stood up. "Time to eat. What are you still thinking about?"

That was how it went since his rebirth; almost every potential benefit was interrupted by an accident. He didn't know what kind of curse it was, but he resigned himself to his fate.