“Piece of cake. This thing isn’t even well made; plus, it’s not encrypted.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you. If you can figure out the blueprints, I’ll pull you over into our department. Of course, your position will be higher.”

Luo Xuan’s eyes lit up. Since his debacle over the mecha arm, he had started to feel that he did not have a future in logistics.

If he could gain the favor of the higher-ups again, he would definitely be able to surpass that blasted Han Xiao!

…

Back at the workshop, Han Xiao had moved into the new building for convenience sake.

The arrangement brought Lu Qian some relief as things were still awkward between the pair.

“Whoosh.”

Hot steam gushed out as Han Xiao, who was wearing a heat-resistant suit, opened the furnace lid. He proceeded to use a pair of iron tongs to pick up a piece of glowing hot metal from within.

For now, there were two options available to Han Xiao for making the Retractable Knives—molding or stamping.

While both methods had their own advantages, the latter allowed for mass production with a higher success rate, so Han Xiao favored it.

The selling point of the Retractable Knife was its concealability. Since practicality was more important than the quality of craftsmanship, Han Xiao did not bother to put much detail into making them.

The metal sheets that he used for stamping were provided by Division 13, so they were top grade. Han Xiao had polished the metal sheet with a chemical spray before putting it into the furnace. After taking it out of the furnace, he set it under the stamping machine. Of course, he still had to carry out a few more steps before the knives were complete.

Each Retractable Knife gave him 100-200 experience, and the level of the blueprint itself had been increased to Lv. 2, giving the final product a slightly higher quality.

When he was done, Han Xiao stepped out of the heat-resistant suit and wiped the sweat off his brow. After examining the newly made knives, he proceeded to work on some workshop orders.

Midway, Han Xiao’s phone rang. He picked up his phone to see that it was Li Ya Lin.

“Something bad has happened! All the agents want to cancel their orders!”

“What happened‽” Han Xiao was shocked by the news.

“The research department has reverse-engineered the Retractable Knife, and they announced that they will proceed with mass production very soon and make it available to everyone!”

Although everyone could see how blatantly underhanded the research department was being, since they were going to be provided with free Retractable Knives, it was only natural for them to want to cancel their orders with Han Xiao.

The Retractable Knife’s profitability had run its course.

Han Xiao sat in deep thought. He had not expected the research department to be so brazen. Although Han Xiao had already known that something like this would happen, he did not expect them to take action so fast.

While giving up the blueprints voluntarily would earn him some faction reputation, he would not be able to earn any experience.

In any case, they were putting a dent in Han Xiao plans to get stronger.

Han Xiao picked up his phone to make a call to Feng Jun.

“I assume you’ve heard?” he asked in a low voice.

Feng Jun sighed.

“The research department is really too much. The higher-ups haven’t even given them permission, and they’ve already leaked that they will mass produce the Retractable Knife.”

Han Xiao frowned.

“Fill me in on the details.”

Feng Jun proceeded to tell Han Xiao about Korat and Luo Xuan.

“Has the research department given an official statement?”

“Not yet.”

Han Xiao’s face darkened. Looks like the research department did not even intend to give him an explanation.

How the research department dared to act was one thing, but the higher-ups definitely understood exactly what was going on. Han Xiao speculated that the reason they had not granted or denied the research department permission yet was to test how he would react. If he let the research department trample over him, it could be the green light for them to stop playing nice with him.

Of course, that was an extreme line of thought.

The top brass definitely won’t side with either faction. As long as I don’t push things too far, they will have to act accordingly and compensate me.

A thought suddenly occurred to Han Xiao.  This could be my chance to obtain advancement knowledge!

However, as advancement knowledge was top secret, it would not be so simple to just mention it casually.

A plan began to formulate in Han Xiao’s mind.

Rob me in broad daylight? I’ll teach you all that I’m not that easy to bully!

…

In the Research Department…

“Heh heh. Well done, well done.” The research department’s head secretary was full of praise for Luo Xuan.

Luo Xuan smiled plainly, but in truth he was suppressing his delight.

“The department head thinks highly of you. We’ve already requested all the necessary information and documents from the logistics department. You can already be counted as our staff.”

“What about the… promotion?”

“The department head specifically instructed that you will lead your own team. Your clearance will also be raised. Keep up the good work and there will be nothing to worry about.”

Luo Xuan’s smile widened.

“I heard that Han Xiao is valued highly by the higher-ups. Will there be any problem?” he asked.

“Relax, I have inside information. There is nothing he can do.”