"Alright! Your Uncle Zhang happens to be visiting family right now. I'll invite him over for dinner tomorrow. If the thing you make turns out to be useful, I can ask him to connect with the military."
After thinking it over for a moment, Ethan's father said this thoughtfully.
The "Uncle Zhang" he mentioned was one of his old classmates who had joined the military years ago and was now a mid-ranking officer in the armed forces.
When it came to military-related projects, Ethan's father knew he couldn't provide much direct help, but he could at least try to reconnect with an old friend.
"Let's build the thing now. Tomorrow, I'll give it to your Uncle Zhang and have him take it back to the base for evaluation. If the weapon works, we can simply turn it in officially. That way, we've got nothing to hide."
"And you'll get that honorary title you wanted," he added with a chuckle.
To him, it wasn't about trying to manipulate the situation. As long as they cooperated with government protocol and kept everything above board, there shouldn't be any problems. Their family had always lived by the law—there was no need to worry unnecessarily.
"Perfect. I just need people to recognize me as a 'genius,'" Ethan replied firmly.
"…"
After spending so many years labeled as a screw-up, it was clear Ethan was desperate to prove himself.
His father didn't say anything else. Instead, he rolled up his sleeves and personally broke down the technical drawings Ethan had provided. He separated the schematics into ten groups and saved them across ten USB flash drives, dividing the components to make the project less suspicious.
"Stay out of the way for a bit. I'll get someone to manufacture the parts. And don't go causing any more trouble!"
His father shot him a side-eye and muttered with a blend of annoyance and concern.
Of course, deep down, he still had his doubts about whether Ethan's designs were even feasible.
But the sheer level of detail in those blueprints had impressed him so much, he couldn't help but take them seriously.
"No problem. I'll head home for now. Oh, and tomorrow, when you give the prototype to Uncle Zhang, make sure he knows the performance won't be optimal. The materials used in your factory just don't cut it for serious firearms. You need specialized steel to bring out the full potential."
In short, he didn't think highly of the factory's inventory.
While the machinery there was adequate for basic precision tasks, the materials were far from ideal for upgrading something like an M4-style rifle. The performance was bound to be lacking.
Still, the weapon he was building had been optimized using the Huaqiangbei system—meaning its functionality would be pretty close to that of a real gun. It might even rival standard-issue weapons in some ways. Compared to something like the domestic QBZ-95 rifle, it wasn't necessarily inferior.
"You're looking down on my factory now, huh?"
His father shot him a faux-angry glare.
Honestly, the structure of firearms isn't all that complicated. Compared to modern electronics—smartphones, computers, televisions—they're actually pretty simple.
With the right tools, even older models can be replicated. Firearms like those in the AK series are famously easy to manufacture due to their straightforward design.
Of course, you still need complete and precise schematics. But if you've got those, the rest isn't rocket science.
Recently, there had been talk on the internet about 3D-printed plastic guns. Some folks overseas had managed to produce functioning firearms using just a home 3D printer.
Even though they were made from plastic, they had all the parts of a real firearm. With live ammunition, they could be just as lethal as standard pistols. It had caused quite a stir internationally.
Fortunately, domestic internet regulations blocked access to those designs. Only a handful of tech-savvy individuals were able to download the schematics from overseas sources. That meant the trend hadn't spread locally—yet.
It just went to show how attainable this sort of thing had become.
While Ethan's father's factory wasn't particularly large, it had all the necessary equipment. There was no major issue with manufacturing basic firearm components. The real limitation, just as Ethan said, was material quality. That mostly affected durability, handling, and weight—not basic function.
"…"
Ethan rolled his eyes and didn't bother arguing. He simply walked off, satisfied.
He'd already achieved his goal. Guns were just the beginning. The real plan involved launching far more advanced technologies in the near future. For that, he needed a credible identity—something like "weapons development prodigy" had a nice ring to it.
This whole visit to the factory had been a way to give his dad a heads-up, to ease him into what was coming. He didn't want to scare his parents when he started introducing things like an Iron Legion or a super soldier serum down the line.
Uncle Zhang's involvement was actually a stroke of luck. Ethan had been struggling with how to establish military connections—and now fate had handed him a potential pathway.
Granted, Uncle Zhang didn't hold a very high rank, so any progress would take time. But for Ethan, time wasn't an issue.
"Tony hasn't even become Iron Man yet," Ethan thought to himself. "Actually, if I remember correctly, he was just captured by terrorists three days ago."
That meant Tony Stark was still being held in a cave in the Middle East and wouldn't escape for another four days.
Once Tony returned to the States, he'd still have to clean up some corporate messes and only then start prototyping the Iron Man suit. Even if he started building the Mark II immediately, it would still take days.
Which gave Ethan plenty of time.
He could spend the next few days studying other technologies, analyzing data, and expanding his knowledge base.
The Huaqiangbei system was incredibly powerful—it could reverse-engineer existing technologies and help develop new versions. The AI assistant, Xiaoai, already had a massive archive of scientific knowledge.
Cellphones, computers, cars, luxury vehicles, weapons—you name it.
Each of these categories had enough tech behind it to build an entire fortune. Which is why Ethan wasn't worried about needing to profit off weapons manufacturing.
He had enough tech at his disposal to reshape multiple industries. He didn't need to sell arms to make a name for himself.
"It's just a shame there aren't any tech expos happening right now…" he sighed.
If there were, Ethan could've quietly acquired countless technologies just by attending.