Chapter 72: A Sniper Who Doesn't Understand Exoskeletons Is Not a Good High School Student

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“Mr. Li, Mr. Liu, Chief Engineer Zhang, Director Bai...”
Wang Kailun recited the names of each person as he led them toward the meeting room.
Though he hadn’t even freshened up yet and seemed in no state to receive guests, he knew exactly who these people were. For them, etiquette paled in comparison to the importance of technology.

“Why have you all come here, and in the middle of the night at that?”
As he asked, Wang Kailun was busy filling paper cups with hot water for everyone.
“There’s no need to bother with that. We didn’t come here for hot water,” Chief Engineer Zhang stopped him, set his cup on the table, and pulled him into the group. “What’s the story with the materials you sent us last night?”

As soon as Zhang broke the ice, the others couldn’t hold back either, and questions erupted from all sides.
“That’s right—can the Vanguard really be modified like that?”
“What about the battery? Do you really have that technology?”
“If the combat support system can meet the conversion criteria, the Vanguard would finally be usable!”
“By the way, who exactly is this Zhou Shu? Why haven’t we heard of him in our circles before?”

The barrage of questions came at Wang Kailun like a hail of laser fire, making his head pound.
He’d only gone to bed at four o’clock, and his mind was still foggy.
Checking the time, he raised his hands and said, “Gentlemen, distinguished guests, it’s seven in the morning. You’ve all traveled through the night, and it must have been exhausting. The cafeteria just opened—how about we eat while we talk? At least get something warm in you to shake off the fatigue.”

“Since everyone’s here, I’ll make sure you get all the answers you need!”
Hearing his suggestion, the group didn’t object. After all, they had spent the night poring over the materials and rushing here, so fatigue was setting in. They barely warmed their seats in the meeting room before heading en masse to the cafeteria.

Only his assistant stood there, holding two cups of hot water, uncertain what to do next.
A female colleague passed by, and the assistant blurted out, “Xiaomin, would you like some hot water?”
Xiaomin just stared wordlessly.

Meanwhile, on the way to the cafeteria, the conversation didn’t stop.

“Xiao Wang, the combat support programming in that conversion plan is incredibly thorough. There’s no need to crack any code—just input a few key values and it’s ready to go.”
“That’s right. The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene armor won’t be a problem either. Just need to tweak the old molds a bit, so our department’s task is probably the easiest.”
“Upgrading the servos shouldn’t be an issue either. According to the plan, we can boost performance by 20%. Actually, we just developed a new type of servo, but haven’t reported it yet. Wonder how it’d perform in this application?”
“Our biggest concern is the battery. We’re still working on graphene batteries, but the continuous CVD production and product yield issues, not to mention the transfer method, are still unresolved. Does Zhou Shu have a solution? If not, the battery is still a huge bottleneck.”

By the time they entered a private room in the cafeteria, the various institutes and research teams had finished sharing their concerns. Now all they awaited was this genius engineer named Zhou Shu to clear up their doubts.

On this matter, Wang Kailun truly didn’t know how to begin, because the reality was... somewhat different from what these experts imagined.
He was at a loss for words, but with their relentless questions, he had no choice but to be honest.

“Actually, Zhou Shu isn’t from our technical department. He’s a newly recruited apprentice monster hunter, training as a superpowered sniper.”

“What?”

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“A sniper?”
“A sniper who actually understands exoskeletons?”

At Wang Kailun’s revelation, everyone was stunned. So the assistant wasn’t exaggerating—Zhou Shu really was a sniper.
They didn’t think Wang Kailun was making a joke; there was simply no occasion for that now.
But after the initial shock, they began to console themselves.

“Well, a sniper isn’t a bad thing. Frontline fighters understand equipment issues best—especially since Comrade Zhou Shu is a superpowered individual.”
“Right. Old Li here used to be a frontline soldier himself. He improved the machine gun based on field experience and that’s how he was recommended for further study.”
“Exactly! And just now Old Li said snipers wouldn’t know exoskeletons, but that’s not true. Why shouldn’t a sniper understand exoskeletons?”

They chuckled and joked, retracting their earlier skepticism.
After all, an inflexible mind has no place in technology, and frontline personnel often have high success rates when it comes to modifying equipment.

Although the connection between snipers and powered exoskeletons was admittedly... rather tenuous.

Wang Kailun explained further that Zhou Shu had a particular passion for powered exoskeletons, often visiting the armory to study the first-generation Vanguard suit.
Most importantly, Zhou Shu’s superpower stemmed from a psychic mutation, which not only granted him supernatural sniping abilities but also allowed him to learn at an extraordinary pace.

This eased their concerns.
A passionate, inquisitive mind, combined with talent—
There it was, the perfect profile.

Enthusiasts love to immerse themselves in self-study and exploration. With Zhou Shu’s aptitude, even as a soldier, a few years—or a decade—of focused research could yield significant results.

But after all that, Wang Kailun had thoroughly piqued their curiosity.

“So where is Comrade Zhou Shu? Isn’t he at work yet? Bring him to breakfast! We have so many questions for him.”

Checking the time again, Wang Kailun figured Zhou Shu ought to be awake by now. He decided to give one last word of caution: “Zhou Shu is a rare talent, very young, and our office has high hopes for him.”

Everyone burst out laughing, their tone easy and relaxed.

“We love meeting talented young people. Bring him in for a look.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not here to poach anyone from your Monster Suppression Bureau.”

Relieved, Wang Kailun promptly called Zhou Shu over.

Yet when Zhou Shu arrived, everyone was left speechless.

He was so incredibly young!

A handsome, spirited youth, yes—but with such a baby face...

Was this what they called a childlike face?

And as Zhou Shu looked around the room, he recognized quite a few of them.

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For example, the elderly Mr. Li Decai, who wore many hats—one of which was doctoral advisor in mechanical engineering at the Imperial University of Science and Technology, and a professor emeritus at that.

After Wang Kailun introduced everyone, Zhou Shu greeted them one by one, while the others couldn’t help but guess his age.

What was behind that youthful face?
Thirty?
Forty?
At the very least, he had to be in his late twenties—surely no younger!

Then they heard Zhou Shu say to Li Decai, “Professor Li, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My first choice for university is Imperial Tech. Although my intended major is different from yours, it’s an honor to meet a teacher from Imperial Tech here.”

Ah, understood!
So, he was a graduate student in his late twenties, hoping to pursue a doctorate at Imperial Tech.

Not bad at all—truly a young talent with a boundless future.

Some of them began thinking about their own alma maters. If only they could recruit Zhou Shu to pursue his doctorate at their own universities—that would be even better.

Such a prodigy right in front of them—it would be a shame to let him slip away.

As for their earlier claim not to poach talent?
But Zhou Shu was still just a student, planning to apply for a doctorate! Introducing a school didn’t count as poaching.

Li Decai, shrewd as ever, saw through their thoughts at once and said with a laugh, “Actually, it doesn’t matter if your major’s a bit different. You can absolutely apply to mine. I’ll talk to the school and make sure you’re my student!”

What a move—Old Li was openly pulling strings!

But instead of excitement, Zhou Shu’s face showed only confusion.

“Professor Li, does the university still let you supervise undergraduates?”

Li Decai, momentarily caught off guard, replied, “No, these days I only supervise doctoral students. I don’t have the energy for...”

He paused, sensing something off. “Wait, Zhou Shu, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean, I’m only taking my university entrance exams this June, Professor Li.”

“University... entrance...”

“You haven’t even graduated high school?”

“You’re actually a high school student?”

“Unbelievable. He’s not just young-looking—he’s truly young!”

PS: Many thanks to Bubble Luo for the reward, and please vote~