Break out of the courtyard

When Zhang Heping and his group arrived at the neurology ward, they happened to see Zhang Bei and several bodyguards packing up brain-computer interface equipment.

"Dad, another person in a vegetative state has just woken up!" Zhang Bei said with a smile as he looked at the visitor.

Zhang Heping responded lightly, then asked his eldest son Zhang Bei and his bodyguards to wait outside, while he led a group of medical staff into the ward.

The news of the second vegetative patient waking up has been reported to Zhang Heping by Director Xue of the Department of Neurology via text message. Zhang Heping's trip here was not only to invite Director Zhao to have New Year's Eve dinner, but also to check on the physical condition of the clinical trial patients.

The two patients who had regained consciousness were moved to the same ward to facilitate subsequent treatment and various examinations.

After examining the two patients who had regained consciousness, Zhang Heping led the others to the top of Victoria Peak.

In February, the evenings on Hong Kong Island are cool with temperatures in the teens, much warmer than in the capital.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Heping and his group returned to Renheyi Community, they saw a group of men, women, and children dressed in light clothing, with their sleeves rolled up, gathered around a table making dumplings on the flat ground outside the villa.

Two brick stoves were set up next to it, with two large, bright silver antimony pots on them, the lids of which bounced occasionally.

"He's back! Time to make dumplings!" Ma Xiuzhen had been keeping an eye on the direction of the community gate. As soon as she saw her son return, she immediately told the others to pour dumplings into the large pot.

When Tang Ming and Zhang Bing saw Elder Hua and Elder Zhao approaching, they immediately stood up to greet them.

After greeting the others, Ma Xiuzhen wiped her hands on her apron and then approached Director Wang.

"Dad, I'll take these biological brains back to the basement first." Zhang Bei said, then called on Zhang Long, Zhang Yi, Chang Qing, and the others who were making dumplings with helpless expressions to help him carry the boxes and take the brain-computer interface equipment to the villa's basement without the bodyguards accompanying him.

Seeing that the dumplings were in the pot, Zhang Heping sat down at the table in front of his two brothers-in-law and casually asked them about their plans for the day.

Chang Xing's father-in-law, Tan Zhou, although he was the grade director of their school and usually wouldn't back down when giving assemblies to thousands of students, was now sitting quietly to the side like a primary school student.

"Director Tan, relax!" Zhang Heping said with a smile. "Three members of your family work at the school, and I also have a position at Heping College, so we're all in the education system, and we're relatives too. There's no need to be so formal!"

Tan Zhou smiled and nodded, but the polite words that were on the tip of his tongue remained unspoken.

On the contrary, his wife Tan Fang was more shameless, chattering away about gossip from their school.

Based on this, Zhang Heping speculated that she brought her eldest daughter Tan Tan and her family of three, as well as her elder sister Tan Fen's two grandsons.

Zhang Heping wasn't complaining about the large number of people. Whether there were 3 people or 300, it didn't matter. Just like the 14 members of Zhang Yi and Luo Yi's brain-computer interface research team, who were currently busy making dumplings and trying to impress others.

"Uncle!" Tang Lie, the 52-year-old nephew, came up with a shameless grin, just like he had more than ten years ago. "Today we accompanied our great-uncle to experience the Nanjing Fall game, and we felt that the characters in it were becoming more and more realistic!"

"Does this mean that the biological brain server is constantly improving itself and is not far from being launched on the market?"

The great-uncle Tang Lie mentioned was Zhang Bing, who was sitting next to Elder Hua, and was Zhang Heping's father.

"It's still early!" Zhang Heping grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the fruit plate and gestured for his nephew to sit on the chair next to him.

Tang Lie was accompanied by Tang Qiang, You Daren and other members of the Tang family. When they saw that Zhang Heping was willing to talk to them about brain-computer interfaces, they all found chairs and stools.

Tang Qiang, Zhang Heping's 49-year-old third nephew, stood behind Zhang Heping, massaging his shoulders as he asked, "Uncle, back when you had my brother work on the Famicom, you weren't as meticulous as you are now."

"Could you tell us why you are not selling brain-computer interface devices to the public?"

“It will kill people!” Zhang Heping casually explained: “Putting aside the fact that those biological brain servers cannot be mass-produced yet, just the fact that ordinary people use brain-computer interfaces for a long time will not only deplete the body’s nutrients, but may also cause them to fall into a coma due to overuse of their brains, or even suffer from neurasthenia and sudden death.”

……

While Zhang Heping was chatting with someone, the two sisters, Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandi, who were making dumplings together, were whispering to each other.

"Sister, do you remember the New Year's Eve when we first arrived in the capital?" Zhang Pandi carefully pinched the dumplings one by one and then neatly placed them on a plate.

"How could I not remember!" Zhang Zhaodi glanced at her third brother, Zhang Heping, with a touch of emotion. "I still can't forget the taste of the paste from that night!"

"What I can't forget is the taste of dumplings from the Liu family next door!" Zhang Pandi said calmly. "I was thinking at the time that the saying 'a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative' is pure nonsense. They cooked so many dumplings next door, but they never gave us a single one!"

Zhang Ting, the second daughter, leaned over and whispered, "Mom, is the Liu family you mentioned the one Liu Haizhong is from?"

"Hmm!" Zhang Pandi responded, then turned to stare at her second daughter, Zhang Ting, and asked with a frown, "Why are you asking this?"

Suppressing her resentment, Zhang Ting whispered, "After my third uncle's application for the Lifespan 120 Potion was opened up, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui came to my workplace and blocked the door."

"They said they wanted me to help them cut in line for medicine, but judging from their attitude, if I didn't help them, it would be like I was the murderer who killed them!"

Zhang Pandi paused in her dumpling-making, her brows furrowing even deeper. "Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"

"After the incident, our company's security guard called the police, and they took those people to the police station," Zhang Ting explained.

"The next day, the police came and told me that those people had written a guarantee promising not to harass me again, so I didn't take it seriously."

"I was reminded of the Liu family next door when you mentioned them earlier, so I just asked about it casually."

Zhang Pandi's brows relaxed when she realized her second daughter hadn't suffered any loss. "Ignoring them was the right thing to do; there aren't many good people in that courtyard!"

……

Director Wang was taken by Ma Xiuzhen to make some dumplings. He had just started talking to the people around him when his cell phone rang.

After wiping her hands on Ma Xiuzhen's apron, she took out her phone and realized it was a video call from her husband.

As Director Wang clicked the green connection button, he quickly walked towards the edge of the dam.

"Old Li, what's wrong...?"

Grandma! When are you coming back?

"Grandma, we miss you. Didn't you say you'd be back today?"

"Grandma, we came to celebrate the New Year with you too. We wanted to give you a surprise, but you didn't come back!" Wang Sumei watched as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren eagerly popped up in front of the phone, and she was overwhelmed with emotions and speechless.

A moment later, Wang Sumei's current husband, Li Ming, appeared on the screen and asked with concern, "It's so late, haven't you gone back to the hotel yet? Have you had dinner?"

"We're making dumplings here in Heping!" Wang Sumei said, turning the camera to the rear camera and pointing it at the people on the plain. "The dumplings are already cooking, we'll be eating soon!"

"The more people, the better, it'll be lively!" Li Ming said with a smile, then asked, "Can you spare some time to go back to Shenzhen in the next few days? Your family hasn't seen you in a long time and wants to have a reunion dinner with you."

“This…” Just as Wang Sumei hesitated, Zhang Heping, who had noticed the commotion, got up and walked over.

"Uncle Li!" Zhang Heping took the phone from Director Wang, switched to the front-facing camera, and said with a smile, "After we finish eating dumplings, I'll send someone to take Aunt Wang back to Shenzhen. Remember to open the door for her!"

"That's great!" Li Ming knew why Wang Sumei was in Hong Kong. Although he resented Zhang Heping for going to Hong Kong again, he also knew that it involved many complicated issues, so he spoke very politely, "Heping, on behalf of the whole family, I wish you a thriving career and a happy and fulfilling family life!"

Zhang Heping smiled and said a few auspicious words before handing the phone back to Director Wang. "Aunt Wang, let me get you a bowl of dumplings first, then I'll arrange for a driver to take you. We can talk about anything else the day after tomorrow."

After speaking, Zhang Heping went to the large antimony pot, chatted with his aunt Liu Ting, who was in charge of cooking, and then took the first bowl of dumplings and delivered it to Director Wang, who had just finished a video call.

Zhang Heping handed over the chopsticks and said with a smile, "Aunt Wang, I didn't give you extra dumplings. You can eat some more at home when you get back."

Ma Xiuzhen asked in confusion, "Is Director Wang going home later?"

“Uncle Li has already made video calls to a bunch of his grandchildren urging him to come back. What are you doing staying here instead of going back?” Zhang Heping said, beckoning two bodyguards over.

Then, Zhang Heping served each of the two bodyguards a bowl of dumplings, telling them to finish eating and then take Director Wang back to Shenzhen.

When Mr. Hua heard the commotion, he wanted to say something, but when he heard that Director Wang's grandson and granddaughter were making a video call, he suppressed his thoughts, got up and went over to say a few words to Director Wang, telling her that she didn't need to rush to Hong Kong Island, and that it wouldn't be too late to come over together after the Xie twins returned from their visit.

As a result, Director Wang and his two bodyguards were the first to leave the venue that night.

Mr. Hua's family also arrived in Shenzhen, but he had spoken with them by phone beforehand and was not pressured by them.

Even so, Mr. Hua received many New Year's greetings and calls tonight.

While Old Zhang wasn't paying attention, his uncle Ma Zhiyi quickly took the wine glass in front of him and took a small sip under the table.

Seeing Zhang Bing's gaze, Ma Zhiyi made a shushing gesture, then handed the wine glass back to Old Zhang under the table, and said in a low voice with a grin, "Dumplings and wine, the more you drink, the better!"

Zhang Bing glanced helplessly at the half-empty bottle of liquor in his hand and advised, "Hang in there for a few more months. Once you're better, I'll have a few more drinks with you!"

"Hehe!" Ma Zhiyi chuckled somewhat sheepishly, "Seeing you all enjoying your drinks, I couldn't resist!"

"After my right leg recovered, I did crave alcohol for a while," Zhang Bing said, shaking his head helplessly. "But whenever I thought about the discomfort of having a limp, I resisted the urge. I couldn't let Heping's treatment go to waste."

"Mmm!" Although Zhang Bing wasn't lecturing, he still managed to get Ma Zhiyi to quickly promise that he wouldn't drink alcohol during his treatment.

Ma Zhiyi's act of secretly drinking alcohol was actually seen by many people around him, but everyone believed in Zhang Heping's medical skills and did not take it seriously.

After everyone finished eating the dumplings, it was time for snacks, fruits, and other treats.

When Wei Chunqiao and Zhu Chengguang brought over the fireworks, the children from both neighborhoods gathered around and, under the supervision of adults, began setting off fireworks in the open space.

Amidst the flickering light, Elder Hua, Director Zhao, Zhang Zhaodi, Chang Sheng, Tan Zhou, and others took a car down the mountain and returned to the Peace Hotel.

As midnight struck on February 10th, large fireworks burst across the sky above Victoria Harbour, illuminating most of the island…

The next morning, after sending out red envelopes, Zhang Heping rushed to the Heping College Library.

While the five genius teenagers of Meisu were still asleep, their entourage, having heard the news, also wanted to follow them into the learning pod to check the materials in the dream library.

Unfortunately, the bodyguards waiting outside wouldn't let them through, saying they weren't qualified at the moment!

When Zhang Heping arrived at the library, he saw the Soviet intelligence agents, disguised as his entourage, shouting loudly at him.

As a result, Zhang Heping ignored them and completely disregarded the group.

Although Zhang Heping didn't care about others entering the Dream Library to look up information, he didn't let just anyone in.

Once the library reopens, the only people who will be able to go in and read books, besides students from the Peace Academy and employees of the Peace Group, will be borrowers whose identities have been verified.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Genius Training Camp continues.

Since the flight device mission assigned earlier had not been completed, Zhang Heping did not assign any more missions to the group of teenagers, nor did he interfere with them asking their teacher for advice.

The teachers leading the group were quite self-aware, or perhaps they had the sense to do so, and instead of taking the teenagers to work on the flying devices, they joined the research team and offered advice to the teenagers.

Zhang Heping continued his data entry work, while Hua Lao spent the entire morning in the learning cabin without speaking to Zhang Heping about anything else.

Unable to find the person in charge of the Peace Group and the Land, Sea and Air Company, the Japanese islanders sent people to wait outside the library, hoping to strike up a conversation with Zhang Heping.

That said, the main reason why the Japanese islanders have been hesitant to comment on the attack is to establish communication channels with Zhang Heping or the Peace Group.

Having communication channels will allow them to find opportunities for cooperation in the future.

If things continue as before, with the Peace Group secretly harboring hostility, there will be no cooperation, let alone even the most basic dialogue.

The reason why the Japanese islanders are so desperate to get in touch with the Peace Group is not only because of the key factor that the Lifespan 120 drug is being supplied free of charge in mainland China, but also because of the brain-computer interface technology that Zhang Heping is currently researching!
They had previously hired a large number of mercenaries from India and South Korea. However, after Zhang Heping led his men to approach each of those mercenary teams, those mercenaries who had met Zhang Heping once developed symptoms of split-brain syndrome.

Although many tests showed that they did not have split-brain syndrome, the Japanese islanders did not play by the rules and directly tricked several mercenaries into conducting experiments.

After the Japanese islanders performed craniotomy on the mercenaries and carefully examined their brains, they arrived at a shocking conclusion:

Zhang Heping can destroy the internal structure of other people's brains from a distance!
This guess is crazy, but it's very close to the truth!
Therefore, the Japanese islanders resorted to even more frenzied attacks, hoping to verify whether Zhang Heping had mastered that terrifying technology through the corpses of their own people.

Unfortunately, Zhang Heping used a "borrowed knife to kill" approach to deal with the recent attacks on the Virtual Dream Classroom... (End of Chapter)