From Dr. Meng Ji, Chen Gu had already figured out the habits of these researchers. To them, nothing was more exciting than achieving results and uncovering true secrets.

Of course, those who masqueraded as academics merely to gain power and benefits were not, at their core, pure researchers.

After some haggling, Chen Gu secured a considerable "consulting stipend" and the right to use the laboratory's various research resources to a limited extent.

Chen Gu agreed to bring his Combat Rooster to assist with some experiments when the laboratory needed it.

There was one condition: no harm would come to the Combat Rooster.

Once the terms were settled, Chen Gu went to see his pet, which gave him a start. In just a week, it had grown significantly, already reaching sixty to seventy meters. It wouldn't be long before its size exceeded a hundred meters.

Upon seeing its owner, the Combat Rooster happily shook its head and wagged its tail, hopping around erratically, constantly rubbing against Chen Gu and roaring.

This was only because its owner was a professional; an ordinary person would have been sent flying with a single nuzzle…

Chen Gu played with it for a while, then took the Combat Rooster to assist the graduate students with some tests.

The graduate students all grinned like foxes who had stolen chickens, whispering amongst themselves. Little did they know, Chen Gu, with his keen senses as a professional, heard everything.

This group of graduate students has great ambitions, Chen Gu thought. Taking advantage of their advisor's absence, they plan to use the Combat Rooster's special traits to achieve a major breakthrough! They might even get a step ahead of their advisor!

Chen Gu exclaimed in admiration, "You rebellious lot, well done."

Then, around three in the afternoon, Chen Gu placed the Combat Rooster into the Dimensional Prison Ring and left the headquarters building with it.

The Combat Rooster could sense that this place was entirely different from before, and it could vaguely sense its owner's presence. Therefore, it remained calm inside the Dimensional Cage, unlike its previous agitation.

The graduate students had thoughtfully prepared a large amount of "food" inside the cage space, consisting of various precious metals. The Combat Rooster's happiness index kept rising as it alternated between eating and sleeping. With no need to fight and no pressure from competitors, its body quickly swelled like an inflating balloon.

Without a car, Chen Gu had to resort to using public transportation, cutting a rather pitiable figure. However, he didn't head straight home.

While on the maglev train, Chen Gu opened the interstellar network and began searching for information on the An Family.

There wasn't much information available online. Large families like theirs routinely engaged in public relations to scrub any leaked secrets unsuitable for public knowledge.

As for "noble family" gossip, which might seem embarrassing, they didn't mind it remaining online for the commoners to gossip over.

From this superficial information, Chen Gu learned that the An Family's influence in the energy sector was formidable, and politicians with ties to the An Family all held positions in energy-related departments.

Now that he had a clearer idea, Chen Gu continued his search and quickly uncovered some of the hidden information he sought.

Afterward, he changed his destination and took the maglev train to a high-end commercial district on Capital Star—a floating island of Capital Star.

Due to Capital Star's immense population density, a law had been passed hundreds of years ago establishing access levels for certain areas. This floating island, for instance, had an access level of "Distinguished."

But, in the name of "fairness" and to avoid discrimination, the maglev train, a public facility, still had a station on the floating island.

To Chen Gu, this seemed like a futile attempt to conceal the obvious, yet reality is often so fantastical, he mused.

By the time the maglev train reached the station preceding the floating island, Chen Gu was the only passenger left.

On Capital Star, citizens of "Distinguished" rank would, under normal circumstances, almost never take the maglev train.

This floating island was also the maglev train's final destination. It offered significantly more open space compared to ground level, making it quite suitable for train dispatching and management.

Chen Gu stepped off the train and looked up. Coincidentally, the place he was heading to was right at the station exit.

It was a large composite material building, beautifully designed to resemble a sailboat cutting through the waves at sea.

A sign at the entrance read: "An Energy Nuclear Car Experience Store."

Chen Gu walked in. His Lightning Edition "Xuanwu Mark III" had been destroyed, and he needed a new car.

At the store entrance stood four salespersons in sapphire blue business suits, adorned with metallic name badges. There were two men and two women: the men were tall and handsome, the women slim and beautiful. All possessed outstanding appearances—a rarity even in an era where looks could be readily modified through various means.

However, as Chen Gu approached, the four salespersons merely offered a lukewarm, "Welcome," and remained standing still. No one took the initiative to greet Chen Gu or introduce him to the cars inside.

They stood at the entrance, having watched Chen Gu walk out of the train station with their own eyes.

Even if being on this floating island proved Chen Gu's citizen level had reached the "Distinguished" tier, the gap between that status and affording the expensive An Energy nuclear cars was still insurmountable.

They had seen plenty of people who had just attained the "Distinguished" level wandering about, visiting places they previously couldn't access just to broaden their horizons.

As salespersons, they excelled at "reading people"; they could tell at a glance which customers entering their store were just browsing and which were serious about making a purchase.

And they weren't wrong—Chen Gu really wasn't there to buy anything.

Chen Gu didn't mind. It would be nice to be warmly received, but he wasn't bothered by the lack of attention. Having lived two lives, he certainly wasn't the kind of immature youth who'd feel "slighted" at the drop of a hat and want to enact some "don't underestimate the poor young man" cliché.

Chen Gu entered the store and casually browsed the displayed information.

An Energy nuclear cars were not ordinary civilian maglev vehicles. Their presence in this location indicated that ordinary citizens could not purchase such cars.

At the very least, one needed to be of 'Expert' rank, Chen Gu deduced.

The core power of the vehicles came from the An Energy Group's patented nuclear engines. Each was similar in size to an ordinary engine but possessed performance comparable to a small starship's core reactor.

With such formidable energy backing, the car could generate an energy shield, making its safety features superior even to those of his previous Lightning Edition "Xuanwu Mark III."

The Lightning Edition "Xuanwu Mark III" had been specially customized for the dignitaries in the Council of Elders, but none of those prominent figures would own just one car.

The Lightning Edition "Xuanwu Mark III" was originally a product from Tao Industrial intended to curry favor with these dignitaries, who would also own many other vehicles, such as nuclear cars.

They would choose different cars for different occasions.

Some An Energy nuclear car models were even equipped with energy rapid-fire guns capable of "defensive counter-attack" in case of an assault.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.