Break out of the courtyard

Zhang Heping's words initially surprised Zhang Bei, Zhang Yi, and other young people, making them reflect on whether their behavior over the past few days had affected the training of those mainland teenagers.

The American boy only realized that Zhang Heping had rejected him in Chinese after being reminded by the team translator, but there was nothing he could do about it.

As Zhang Heping entered the computer room in the corner, the group of teenagers once again entered the virtual learning dream.

"Someone dismantled our exoskeleton armor!"

As soon as the group appeared, a boy exclaimed in surprise.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw that the shed that was originally used to cover the exoskeleton mecha was gone, and the exoskeleton mecha under the shed had become a pile of disassembled parts.

A teenager picked up a piston rod and said angrily, "It must have been those foreigners who did it!"

Some people looked around, searching for the seven foreigners, but they only saw Pierre, a French boy, riding a tricycle and transporting a load of materials.

Someone came forward to inspect the parts, wanting to reassemble them.

Zhang Bei and Zhang Yi called the group of young people aside, ignoring the exoskeleton mecha, and started discussing their future.

"It's the same problem as the day before yesterday!" Two straws seemed to be breaking between Zhang Yi's brows. "Our intervention has interfered with the training of these gifted young people!"

"Geniuses don't need to be taught!" a female scarecrow with a small red flag bearing the name Xu Ning on her head murmured. "What Consultant Zhang might want to train is the self-learning ability of these gifted teenagers!"

Zhang Hu glanced at the few foreign scarecrows huddled together in the library and casually said, "No need to think about it. Adults and children can just separate and do their own thing."

“These past few days, we’ve shown them around the library, factory, and warehouse. Now, let them complete the tasks on their own,” Zhang Bei said, watching the boy scarecrows fiddling with their parts.
"I'll go build a ladder and see what books are on the upper floor of the library. You can do as you please!"

Seeing Zhang Bei head towards the factory, Zhang Feng followed closely behind and casually chimed in, "Finally, I don't have to be a nanny anymore. I'm going to the library to read too!"

"What should I do?" Sixteen-year-old Zhang Nuo pulled her fifth brother Zhang Long, who also wanted to go to the factory, and for a moment they didn't know what to do.

Zhang Long laughed and said, "You're a genius girl, you can go and play with them. We won't go, so as not to affect Dad's training plan."

Seeing that his cousins ​​from his third maternal uncle's family had clearly expressed their opinions, Zhang Yi made a decision: "We'll also go to the library to look up information. If these students have any questions, we'll have them come to the library to find us."

As Zhang Yi, Luo Yi, and their group went to talk to the teenagers, Zhang Hu said to the remaining dozen or so rich second-generation scarecrows, "If you don't want to stay here to read, you can go back and tell your families that we're not going to take care of those teenagers anymore; they're all doing their own thing."

"Brother Tiger, we agreed yesterday to build a few more exoskeleton mechs for fighting," He Peng, a grandson of the He family, said with a smile, then looked at the other rich kids.

Because Zhang Nan and Zhang Nian didn't come again, several rich kids didn't show up yesterday.

After Zhang Hu said that, many more rich kids wanted to leave.

It's not that they aren't curious about virtual dreams, but after leaving this learning dream, they can go to the virtual dream lecture hall to apply for the Nanjing Fall game and enter the dream to fight the Japanese!

Sure enough, while the people in the real library were wondering why the five men and three women had left the learning pod so quickly, the eight young men and women walked toward the door chatting and laughing.

"Are we going to that police station again to look for the gun this time?"

"We'll see how it goes! I heard that the game in the lecture hall is reset every three days. If we go in now, the gun in the police station might not still be there."

"3 days, 5x speedup, that's 15 days of dream time. It seems the difficulty of the virtual dream game 'Nanjing Falls' hasn't been fully unlocked yet!"

These eight people were all second-generation rich kids from Hong Kong Island. They only caught the attention of Mr. Hua, Director Wang, and others, who then ignored them.

……

The capital city, the tobacco bureau.

"Old Li! I have to say, your white cigarettes are really good!" An old man wrapped in a military overcoat was holding a plain white cigarette without any markings, puffing out smoke.

Director Li Guodong, who was reading a newspaper behind his desk, casually remarked without looking up, "Have I been giving you less of these lately, or what?"

"You came to block my door first thing in the morning, and when I asked you what you wanted, you wouldn't say!"

"I was just thinking of saying this!" The man, who looked to be in his fifties, held his white cigarette to the ashtray, flicked off the ash, and said slowly, "I'm just afraid you'll misunderstand and it will affect our friendship!"

"Affect my ass!" Li Guodong shook the newspaper and said irritably, "At most, I'll give you fewer packs of cigarettes in the future, so your wife won't always say I'm ruining you with cigarettes!"

"Speaking of which, the first cigarette I ever smoked was one you stole from a Japanese soldier's corpse!"

"Hehe!" The old man seemed to be recalling memories, his laughter tinged with bitterness. "Er Gouzi found the lighter. What a pity! This young man survived that battle, but he couldn't withstand the infection in his wound!"

"Old Liu, what is it?" Li Guodong put down his newspaper, stood up, picked up his teacup, and stared intently at his old comrade-in-arms on the sofa.

Old Liu took a deep drag on his cigarette, then stubbed it out in the ashtray and exhaled a puff of stale air. "I've been asked to ask you to persuade your sister-in-law's family not to go to Hong Kong Island this Chinese New Year!"

Li Guodong didn't respond. Instead, he brought the teacup to his lips, tactically stalling for time to ponder the meaning behind his old comrade's words and the person behind them.

However, before he could make up his mind, the landline on his desk rang, interrupting his train of thought.

When he answered the phone, he was surprised to find that it was his sister-in-law, Tan Fang, on the other end.

"Your principal talked to you two and told you not to go to Hong Kong Island?" Li Guodong frowned as he looked at Lao Liu, who had lit another cigarette, wondering who was pulling strings behind the scenes and trying to distance them from the Zhang family!

Tan Fang on the other end of the phone corrected, "It's not that we're not allowed to go, but we're just suggesting that we don't go to Hong Kong Island and could consider spending the Lunar New Year in Shenzhen!"

"What are your thoughts?" Li Guodong hadn't grasped the situation and couldn't offer advice at this moment.

“We think this is a bit strange, and we’d like to ask my brother-in-law to help us analyze it. Should we go through Xiaoying and tell her mother-in-law about this, and ask if something has happened recently?” Tan Fang lowered her voice considerably, probably because she didn’t want others to hear.

Li Guodong frowned, thinking of the trouble his sister-in-law's in-law, Zhang Zhaodi, had caused before, her current position in the Shenzhen Health Bureau, and some news from Hong Kong. He said, "At noon, you call Xiaoying to my house. I'll take Changxing back, and we'll talk about it then."

After hanging up the phone, Li Guodong lit a cigarette and sat down on the sofa.

The two old men sat in silence for a while until someone knocked on the door to report on their work, at which point Old Liu took his leave.

Li Guodong had been waiting for Lao Liu to say who had entrusted him with the task, but the other party had not said so for a long time. He knew that the other party had been hesitating for so long because he wanted to convey a message to him. This matter was very troublesome!
As for who commissioned him, that's not the key issue, nor is it something we should be asking right now.

If Lao Liu could speak, he would have said his name right away.

So when Lao Liu didn't say anything, Li Guodong didn't ask. Instead, based on their years of tacit understanding, they silently conveyed and accepted some information that couldn't be said openly.

……

At the canteen of Heping College in Shenzhen, Ma Xiuzhen, as usual, came to the canteen to pick up the vegetables and meat she had pre-ordered, and then chatted with some retired elderly men and women about everyday matters.

However, when she casually mentioned that her third son wouldn't be coming home for the Spring Festival this year and that only her eldest grandson might be coming back, the voices of the old men and women around her fell silent.

"Miss Ma, has Consultant Zhang been very busy lately? He hasn't even had time to come back for the New Year?"

"No matter how busy you are with work, you still have to take care of your family, don't you agree?"

"Work is never-ending, and you should take a break at the end of the year. Don't overwork yourself."

A group of old ladies started gossiping again, and Ma Xiuzhen replied helplessly, "I heard he's busy with some research and can't leave during the Spring Festival."

"Since he can't leave, we can only stick to our original plan and go to Hong Kong Island for the Lunar New Year!"

The voices of the elderly men and women around paused again, clearly not expecting Ma Xiuzhen to overturn her previous decision to stay in Shenzhen for the New Year.

Just as everyone was wondering how to respond, Ma Xiuzhen picked up her vegetable basket and said goodbye.

The news that Zhang Heping would not be returning for the Lunar New Year and that Ma Xiuzhen had decided to continue spending the holiday in Hong Kong Island quickly reached Secretary Chen, and then reached the ears of Elder Hua, who was in Hong Kong Island.

Hua Lao was also helpless about this. Through his observation over the past few days, he realized that Zhang Heping had indeed been busy with the brain-computer interface server at the library.

Although he didn't understand what Zhang Heping was busy with, judging from the fact that Zhang Bei and Zhang Long couldn't help, what he was busy with must be something serious.

So, after thinking it over for a while, Mr. Hua finally discussed it with Director Wang and decided not to interfere with where the Zhang family would spend the New Year.

However, Zhang Heping's decision not to go home for the New Year, not to stop the Genius Training Camp, and not to interrupt the Virtual Dream Classroom experience requires careful consideration.

The teachers and assistants who lead the teams can explain their absence by saying they are too busy with work, but the more than one hundred mainland teenagers in the talent training camp who don't go home need to be communicated with their families one by one.

……

The capital, the Tan family.

When Chang Xing got off work at noon, he went home with his uncle, the bureau chief, and happened to see his mother-in-law, Tan Fang, leaning against the phone that his father-in-law, Tan Zhou, was holding in his right hand, listening to someone talking.

“Okay, I understand!” Tan Zhou said in a deep voice, “If there is an opportunity, I will mention to Consultant Zhang that our school is short of a library.”

After hanging up the phone, Tan Zhou met his brother-in-law Li Guodong's questioning gaze, shook his head and smiled helplessly, "Now they want us to go to Hong Kong Island for the Lunar New Year again. I really don't know what these people are thinking!"

"Dad, who called just now?" Chang Xing's sister-in-law, Tan Tan, asked. "Did they say whether I could go or not?"

"Who else could it be but the principal?" Tan Zhou put his phone in his pocket and said, "Although the principal didn't mention you, he used phrases like 'your family can go to Hong Kong Island for the Lunar New Year,' which clearly means he allows you to go."

Changxing really wanted to say that his maternal grandmother hadn't invited his aunt's family, but that was clearly not the right thing for him to say.

He wasn't worried about these people's expenses. Not to mention that his third uncle was the richest man in Hong Kong, the annual rent for the floor his third uncle gave them was enough for them to enjoy themselves in Hong Kong for a few days.

“Tell me about this from beginning to end!” Li Guodong put down his briefcase and sat down on the large sofa in the middle of the living room with an air of authority.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Tan Ying, dressed in bulky clothes, came in.

Tan Ying took off her coat, revealing a white sweater stretched taut by her pregnant belly, and greeted everyone as she entered the room.

Then, she sat down next to her husband Changxing and said, "Isn't that strange!"

“When I went to work this morning, my curator talked to me and said that Shenzhen Peace Hospital is a good choice. He suggested that I go to Shenzhen Peace Hospital during the Chinese New Year to check the development of the fetus.”

"Then, around lunchtime, the curator came up to me again, said that Hong Kong Island Peace Hospital was also good, and then left!"

Li Guodong and Tan Zhou exchanged a glance, and then Tan Zhou began to recount what had happened to him and his wife that day.

……

Shenzhen, Health Bureau.

"Deputy Director Zhang, have you heard?" An elderly man in a black suit blocked Zhang Zhaodi's way after get off work and said with a smile, "This morning, Hong Kong Island Peace Hospital used virtual reality equipment to revive a person in a vegetative state!"

"Who told you that, Director?" Zhang Zhaodi stopped and asked with a hint of doubt, "This clinical trial has only been going on for two days, and there are already results so quickly. Could it be a coincidence?"

The old director chuckled and stepped aside, walking with Zhang Zhaodi towards the stairwell. "The relevant treatment records are published on the official website of Hong Kong Island Peace Hospital. Deputy Director Zhang can take a look when you have time."

"In addition, during the Spring Festival, Deputy Director Zhang met with Consultant Zhang. Please give him my regards and ask if it is possible to conduct this kind of clinical treatment trial in our Shenzhen hospital."

"And regarding the production of related treatment equipment, could we also locate the production in Shenzhen? Our bureau will definitely help them secure the best land and relevant preferential policies!"

“I will definitely pass on these words to the director!” Zhang Zhaodi first solemnly agreed to the two matters, and then joked, “Director, would you consider giving me an early leave so that I can communicate about these two matters?”

"No holiday!" The old director put his hands behind his back and laughed, "However, you can go on a business trip to Hong Kong to investigate this technology for treating vegetative patients. If you can bring the technology back to the country, that would be a great achievement!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaodi gradually lost her smile, as if she had figured out the purpose of the old director's visit.

There was a moment of silence between the two, until they walked out of the office building. The old director pointed to the female bodyguard playing on her phone in Zhang Zhaodi's car and said, "Should we give your sister a driver's position?"

“No need! She’s too playful and spends all day on her phone!” Zhang Zhaodi smiled and then said, “Director, I’ll hand over my work over by phone later, and then I’ll go and discuss the technology from Hong Kong this afternoon.”

"However, I'm not sure if we can import it. I've heard that virtual reality devices still have many flaws and involve a lot of security technology."

"Therefore, I plan to first try to conduct clinical trials for the treatment of vegetative state patients in Shenzhen, and then try to build a factory to produce medical equipment."

The old director smiled and said, "Deputy Director Zhang is very methodical. I'm sure you can get these things done according to your plan. I'll be waiting for good news in Shenzhen!"

After saying goodbye to the old director, Zhang Zhaodi got into the driver's seat of the car, and with the female bodyguard in the passenger seat who had put down her phone, she drove towards the Peace Academy.

The personnel changes in the capital and Shenzhen were actually within Zhang Heping's predictions.

When he didn't directly refute his mother Ma Xiuzhen's question about where to spend the New Year, but instead asked his mother to discuss it with his two sisters, the debate over where to spend the New Year began to tilt in Zhang Heping's favor.

The mainland's desire for Zhang Heping to return to Shenzhen for the Lunar New Year is simply to strengthen his sense of belonging to the city and, incidentally, to allow him to spend the holiday with some acquaintances and improve their relationships.

However, when Zhang Heping clearly stated that he couldn't go back for the New Year due to important matters, those who had ideas were left helpless... (End of this chapter)