Chapter 106: Saving Li Fu

Over a dozen black cars sped down the road, their destination clear: the nearest airport. Everything had been meticulously planned; the moment Li Fu arrived, a plane would be ready to whisk him away.

As the core scientist behind China's "Divine Arrow" aerospace fighter, Li Fu’s importance could not be hidden from the Americans. With their formidable intelligence capabilities, they quickly realized that it was Li Fu’s involvement that had allowed China to develop the aerospace fighter in just a few short months.

The aerospace fighter, powered by plasma propulsion, could travel freely between the earth and space. Since acquiring this technology, China had aggressively initiated a new space race. Every day, these fighters shuttled massive amounts of supplies into orbit. China’s "Tiangong" space station grew at an unimaginable rate, soon surpassing the International Space Station, and had begun launching numerous probes toward the moon to pave the way for the 2019 manned lunar landing.

The true threat of the aerospace fighter went beyond China's rapid expansion into space. Capable of reaching speeds ten times the speed of sound, these fighters could traverse the globe with ease. Despite the United States possessing the world’s most powerful military, they found themselves helpless against such technology. A squadron of a dozen such fighters would be enough to completely dismantle the American military apparatus. The balance of power had shifted; in the escalating space race, China’s advantage was insurmountable.

An aerospace fighter's flight cost was negligible—merely electricity and compressed liquid air—making it safe, convenient, and capable of constant operation. In contrast, the United States and other nations were forced to rely on expensive, risky rocket launches that cost tens of millions of dollars each.

Beyond the aerospace race, Li Fu’s Fuyun Technology Group had recently released a virtual machine. This technology, based on bio-sensing, posed a massive threat to the traditional electronics industry—the bedrock of the American economy. Fearing for their economic future and desperate to secure these two key technologies, the Americans had been forced to orchestrate this kidnapping.

In China, kidnapping Li Fu would have been impossible. However, in Western Europe, the Americans operated with the support of local authorities. They had even deployed signal-jamming equipment to prevent Li Fu from calling for help. What they did not know was that Li Fu possessed the "Seed of a Super Civilization." Through his AI, Xiao Ying, Li Fu had been feeding real-time intelligence—the number of vehicles and personnel—to the Chinese embassy the entire time.

Inside the car, Samuel and the driver sat in front, while Li Fu held Wang Yun in the back. As they neared the suburbs and the airport, a thunderous explosion suddenly erupted ahead. The lead cars were flipped, and a heavy truck blocked the road. Sniper fire rang out, precision-targeting the tires and drivers of the motorcade. The car carrying Li Fu was spared, clearly to ensure his safety.

"Damn it! How did they know? How could they know our every move?" Samuel roared, panicked. "Request support immediately!"

Seeing his team decimated by hidden snipers, Samuel pointed his gun at Li Fu. "My apologies, Mr. Li, but it seems I must use you as a human shield."

As the surviving agents engaged in a fierce firefight, a group of operators in tactical gear closed in. Samuel, desperate, commanded the driver to launch a rocket and deploy smoke grenades to obscure the snipers. "Hold on for five minutes! Our helicopter is coming!"

Just as Samuel prepared to fire the car’s roof-mounted heavy sniper rifle, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. He collapsed, unconscious, as did his driver. This was the work of Li Fu’s nanobots, deployed via Xiao Ying to neutralize them and prevent further casualties.

The black-clad rescuers reached the car, quickly extracting Li Fu and Wang Yun. Despite their confusion as to why the captors had suddenly fainted, they didn't waste a second. Li Fu was escorted back to the Chinese embassy.

The ambassador acted swiftly. Recognizing that the embassy was no longer safe, he arranged for Li Fu and Wang Yun to be smuggled out of the country through special channels. After several days of travel, they were finally returned safely to China.