Chapter 534: License (Part 1) (Patreon)

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Colonel Liu Nianyuan, upon hearing this, exchanged a glance with Sun Long.

Then, with a smile on his face, he nodded and said, "Mr. Sun, please go ahead!"

Sun Cheng lifted a cup of melon seed tea and took a sip. He had recently developed a liking for this slightly bitter green tea. In the past, under the influence of Ye Qi, he used to keep a piece of candy in his mouth while working, studying, or thinking because the sweetness of the candy lifted his spirits and was believed to enhance his productivity to some extent.

Recently, he had adopted another person's habit and had grown accustomed to this slightly bitter green tea.

Sun Cheng didn't pay much attention to tea before. Whether he was drinking it himself or serving guests, he used to be quite casual about it. However, since his new assistant, Lin Meng, took office, she had made him rethink his approach.

His new assistant was not only highly competent in her work, but she also completed all the tasks assigned by Sun Cheng perfectly. In fact, she often proactively helped him identify and rectify any flaws or oversights.

Lately, she had started to influence Sun Cheng in his personal life as well. It seemed to be an unwritten rule for executive assistants in the country that they also acted as personal assistants. Many companies, including corporations, equated the roles of a CEO's assistant and a personal assistant.

For instance, starting from the beginning of the month, Lin Meng had been responsible for procuring tea and beverages for Sun Cheng's office and arranging the furniture in the office. She had even recently requested funds from the finance department when Sun Cheng was away on a business trip to Shen Cheng, and she used the money to purchase two sets of formal suits for him. The reason she gave was that Sun Cheng's previous attire was too casual, and the clothing Ye Qi had bought for him, including the suits, were more suitable for casual wear at home. They could potentially invite criticism in formal settings.

Putting down his tea cup, he looked at Liu Nianyuan and said with a hint of seriousness, "We, Cybertron Technology, want to apply for a Defense Military Industrial Contractor License, preferably the second level."

Since the Xinhai Revolution, the defense industry in Xia Country had been primarily managed by state-owned enterprises for a long time. It wasn't until the 1970s and 1980s, with the arrival of Xia's honeymoon period with the United States, that they started experimenting with targeted reforms and introduced some private capital and a limited number of foreign companies.

After decades of experimentation and development, all domestic defense industry products in Xia Country now required a Defense Military Industrial Contractor License issued by the government to be manufactured. These licenses were categorized into five levels, with the first level being the lowest and the fifth level the highest. Currently, only state-owned enterprises held the fourth and fifth-level licenses.

Private enterprises in Xia Country could apply for a maximum of a third-level license, which covered products such as special steel, electronic devices, and some light weapons. Foreign companies in Xia could only obtain a second-level license at most. However, after the turn of the 21st century, Xia Country had not issued any licenses to foreign military companies for many years.

According to Sun Cheng's research, the products purchased by Xia Country from several European and American military companies were mainly new types of products like bulletproof vests, pistols, police sniper rifles, and special riot control vehicles.

Overall, the country was very cautious when it came to the defense industry.

Cybertron Technology Group had recently acquired New Sea Technology, which held a soon-to-expire first-level Defense Military Industrial Contractor License. This license authorized them to provide storage equipment to defense research organizations, defense units, and even the military. The license had a duration of only two years, making it the shortest among Defense Military Industrial Contractor Licenses.

Colonel Liu Nianyuan had obviously done his homework before coming, and upon hearing Sun Cheng's mention of wanting a first-level Defense Military Industrial Contractor License, he immediately thought of New Sea Technology, which had recently been acquired by Cybertron.

With an intense gaze fixed on Sun Cheng, every move he made was closely observed.

So, even though Cybertron Technology had not officially disclosed the acquisition of New Sea Technology, many people in the government already knew about it.

Colonel Liu Nianyuan smiled and nodded, "Mr. Sun, is this for New Sea Technology? The storage equipment produced by Cybertron Technology meets the standards for defense procurement, both in terms of cost and quality. I remember New Sea Technology's license is set to expire in November this year, so it might be possible to renew it then."

Sun Cheng knew that Colonel Liu Nianyuan had misunderstood his intentions, so he shook his head and said, "You've misunderstood me. I want to apply for a second-level license."

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of companies in Xia Country with first-level Defense Military Industrial Contractor Licenses. The requirements for technology and confidentiality were not particularly high for this level. They were responsible for supplying various daily necessities for the millions of troops in Xia Country, including food, medicine, canned goods, military uniforms, and boots, among other products.

The second-level license that Sun Cheng wanted would allow them to venture into the field of military products, such as several domestic companies responsible for producing various special vehicles for the military.

"A second-level license?" Sun Long asked, this time having understood clearly. He saw that Colonel Liu Nianyuan seemed to be deep in thought and decided to interject, "Mr. Sun, as far as I know, Cybertron Technology's main business is related to storage products, and a first-level license should be sufficient for this category of products."

He emphasized the words "Cybertron Technology," hinting at something.

Whether it was the two photolithography machines purchased by the National Asset Management Bureau in the past or the equipment list brought by the Equipment Department this time, all the products involved were cutting-edge equipment strictly controlled for export by foreign countries. To avoid any mishaps in this special procurement channel, Xia Country was unlikely to keep it hidden.

Sun Long's question was clearly aimed at confirming the true intentions of Sun Cheng's backers.

"Please wait a moment," Sun Cheng said as he got up and retrieved a specially customized laptop from his office to bring to the meeting room. After booting it up and fiddling with it for a while, he opened a foreign video website.

He positioned the laptop's display screen towards the two of them and then clicked on one of the videos.

The video was from a corporation in the United States called "Boston Dynamics" and had a duration of only two minutes and forty-three seconds. It showcased an engineering team from the corporation measuring a mechanical exoskeleton device.

"You must be familiar with this company," Sun Cheng said with a smile.

"【Boston Dynamics Corporation】 is a technology corporation focused on research in mechanical exoskeletons and robots, owned by the search giant Google. Because the technology related to exoskeletons is still in its early stages worldwide, even the corporation that claims to have the most advanced mechanical exoskeleton technology, 【Boston Dynamics Corporation】, has not been able to commercialize its products due to various unresolved issues. Therefore, compared to mechanical exoskeletons, 【Boston Dynamics Corporation】's robots are much more famous internationally. The three robots

they introduced a few years ago, the Big Dog, Cheetah, and Flea, gained high recognition, especially from some branches of the U.S. military. Although, in Sun Cheng's view, they were not much different from toys."

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 535: License (Part 2)