Chapter 181 The subscriber you have dialed is temporarily unavailable

At three in the afternoon, Lin Xi received a message from Qin Yu.

Not wanting to disturb her work, he hadn't called and instead sent a WeChat message directly.

Third Brother: "I've arrived at the airport."

Lin Xi happened to be coordinating with her domestic colleagues and saw the message right away. She exited the work window to reply.

Soon, she immersed herself back into her work.

For this exhibition, the goal was naturally far beyond simply letting others see and understand Feiyun. Lin Xi had another mission: to observe and study the technologies of other companies.

Of course, the information that could be gathered with the naked eye was limited, but at the very least, it provided an understanding of how far rival companies had progressed in optimizing their products.

At four-thirty in the afternoon, Lin Xi returned from visiting other companies and exchanged information with Engineer Li and Engineer Wang.

"FK really caught me off guard this time."

Lin Xi took a sip of water and asked, "Are you talking about that robot of theirs named Kate?"

Engineer Wang nodded. "There hadn't been any news about it before. Clever fellows, quietly pulling off something big."

"I saw it yesterday." Lin Xi put her insulated mug back in its place. "Their robot looks rather unremarkable in appearance, but after watching the demonstration yesterday, it certainly has quite a bit of strength."

"You said it." Engineer Li, who had accompanied Engineer Wang earlier and witnessed the scene, couldn't help marveling, "It lifted a box weighing several catties directly. For now, although there are still issues, overall, the technology is already leading the world."

"The most dazzling exhibit at this convention is definitely this FK robot. It's bound to cause quite a sensation both domestically and internationally over the next couple of days, though there is still plenty of room for improvement."

Engineer Li echoed, "That's right."

The three of them sat down in their chairs, wanting to chat further.

"The flexibility is far too poor." Lin Xi casually sketched a diagram on a piece of paper and showed it to them. "When I watched it yesterday, from bending over to standing up, and then walking with the box and putting it down—the transitions weren't smooth enough. The programming is still stiff."

"Mhm, it's still a semi-finished product." Engineer Wang had noticed it too. "To achieve smooth operation, this technology alone will probably require several more years of research."

Engineer Li said, "I actually find myself wondering if their robot will ultimately succeed."

Engineer Wang glanced at him sideways. "Why worry about what they're doing? We should focus on our own research. Who knows, maybe we can overtake them on a curve and come out even further ahead."

"That's not the forte of our First Department." Engineer Li shrugged, his gaze sweeping past Lin Xi. "You folks in the Second Department should put in more effort."

Engineer Wang rolled his eyes. "Though I hate to admit it, I suppose your First Department has its strengths as well. We could try collaborating on subsequent developments."

When Engineer Wang said this, he kept his eyes fixed on Lin Xi.

The target of his hint was exceptionally clear.

The latter lifted her eyes to look at him and curved her lips. "I have no interest in that direction for the time being."

Lin Xi echoed Engineer Li's exact words, "You folks in the Second Department should put in more effort."

"..."

Engineer Wang took a deep breath. *Don't get angry, don't get angry. There's no point in getting upset with these wooden blocks who only understand academic research and nothing about practical application.*

"Is it raining outside?"

The roof panels continued to emit a rattling sound, and Lin Xi assumed it was raining.

She had checked the weather forecast earlier and saw no rain scheduled for this time—the weather truly changed at the drop of a hat.

"It's not rain, it's hail." A passing foreigner pointed outside and gestured with his hands. "They're this big. The roofs of our cars parked outside have already been dented in."

"No wonder I kept hearing that continuous noise. I thought the rain was just coming down too hard," Engineer Li remarked.

Engineer Wang snapped back to reality. "Crap, is our car okay?"

While the two men were preoccupied with discussing the car, Lin Xi remained silent throughout.

The two men argued back and forth about whether they should go out and take a look, finally deciding to consult the "senior leader" for her opinion.

"Engineer Lin..."

"What are you looking at?"

Lin Xi shifted her gaze away from her phone and shook her head. "Nothing."

"What were you guys just talking about?"

"I was telling Engineer Wang, should we go outside and check on our car?"

At these words, Engineer Wang and Engineer Li turned their heads synchronously toward Lin Xi, waiting for her verdict.

One second, two seconds... a full minute passed, and Lin Xi gave no response.

"?" Engineer Wang nudged her shoulder.

Engineer Li frowned. "What are you doing?"

Lin Xi had been momentarily lost in thought and snapped back, looking at them both. "Sorry, you guys were..."

Engineer Wang was utterly speechless. "We asked if you wanted to go outside and check on the car! Our car! There's still some equipment inside it."

"Alright." Lin Xi rubbed the space between her eyebrows and stood up. "I'll go take a look."

"..." Engineer Wang hadn't meant for her to go herself; he was merely soliciting her opinion.

Seeing her stand up and start walking toward the exit, Engineer Wang was dumbfounded.

"Hey, wait, no, I... I should go?"

The figure ahead walked briskly toward the exit without looking back, as if she hadn't heard a word he said.

Astonished, Engineer Wang turned his head to look at Engineer Li. "I didn't say anything harsh just now, did I? What's her deal?"

"Something feels off..." Engineer Li also found it strange. He put down the items in his hand and stood up. "I'll follow her and check."

Seeing this, Engineer Wang couldn't sit still either and hurried after them.

Under the eaves of the entrance, Lin Xi found herself unable to take another step forward.

She had thought the foreigner's description earlier was an exaggeration, but coming out to see it for herself proved otherwise.

This was the first time she had ever seen hailstones the size of chicken eggs; some of the larger ones on the ground were nearly the size of her fist.

"Good grief." Engineer Wang was startled upon coming outside as well. "We're not going to be able to go back tonight."

Forget the cars and equipment; whether they themselves could make it back safely was a question.

"Forget it, let's not look anymore. Let's go back inside."

Lin Xi gave a soft hum. "You guys go on in, I need to make a phone call."

Engineer Li wanted to say something, but Engineer Wang reached out and pulled him back.

Once inside, Engineer Li asked him what that was about.

"Look at her state of mind—she's definitely troubled. Let's wait until she finishes her call."

Hearing this, Engineer Li figured it made sense.

Only...

He looked Engineer Wang up and down, finding it rather miraculous. "You've actually started caring about people now."

Especially since that person was Lin Xi.

Engineer Wang averted his gaze. "I just don't like chatting with you people."

Knowing it in your heart is enough; did you really have to spell it out?

How annoying.

---

At the doorway, Lin Xi stepped back a bit, turned around, and dialed Qin Yu's number.

At this hour, Qin Yu should have already boarded his flight.

Yet in weather like this, takeoff was far from guaranteed.

The ringtone chimed continuously until the call automatically disconnected. Lin Xi frowned and tried dialing once more.

From initial anticipation to nervous helplessness—

It had taken less than three minutes.

Worried that he might already be on the plane under these circumstances, Lin Xi contacted someone else to obtain the phone number of Qin Yu's assistant.

Surely not *both* of them would fail to pick up...

"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

Hearing those words, Lin Xi felt her heart sink. Externally, she maintained a calm composure, but the hand holding the phone was trembling involuntarily.