Break out of the courtyard

Chapter 943 Uncertainty from Elder Hua

After being rejected by Zhang Heping, Hua Lao first went to Western Sichuan with Qian Lao to verify whether the blueprints Qian Lao had memorized were similar to the internal structure diagram of Ruomu's brain-computer interface.

As Mr. Qian expected, the structural diagram left by Zhang Heping could indeed be found in a similar area on the internal structure diagram of Ruomu's computer.

However, the structural diagram left by Zhang Heping is more like some basic units, while the internal structure diagram of Ruomu's brain is more complicated and confusing.

It’s like the huge difference between a millimeter-scale chip and a nanometer-scale chip!

After leaving Western Shu with his men, Elder Hua stayed in Shencheng for another day.

They first looked at the brain images of the three brain-dead people from Yue Island, and then went to the underground laboratory at No. 201.

To verify the authenticity of the gold masks in the laboratory, Hua and his team not only had the experts in the laboratory cut open three gold masks, but also had them replicate the gold mask making steps from three days prior.

As for Zhang Heping's instruction to the experts in the laboratory not to disclose the matter before he left, it naturally became empty talk with the intervention of the experts brought by Hua Lao from Western Sichuan.

These people worked for an entire afternoon and an entire night, and finally had to agree with Mr. Qian's speculation that Zhang Heping might have developed a Ruomu brain-computer.

To be precise, it should be an extremely simple entry-level Wakaba computer.

If this speculation is true, then this entry-level Ruomu brain-computer will greatly advance the research on the Ruomu brain-computer at the Sanxingdui underground base.

You know, although they have been researching Ruomu brain-computers for decades and have considerable practical experience in the application of Ruomu brain-computers, they have not even crossed the threshold in the production of Ruomu brain-computers.

And the golden mask that Zhang Heping took away is most likely the lowest point of this threshold!

After reaching this conclusion, Hua Lao held a video conference with the capital and decided that Hua Lao would go to Hong Kong first to verify the authenticity of Zhang Heping's golden mask before discussing anything else.

Hua Lao wanted to bring a set of information about the Sanxingdui underground base. Officially, he wanted to exchange it for the brain-computer interface diagrams left by Zhang Heping. Privately, he was considering that Zhang Heping was someone who would respond to gentle persuasion but not force.

By showing up empty-handed, Elder Hua already guessed that things might not go smoothly afterward!

After all, the capital had repeatedly refused to grant Zhang Heping the authority to the Sanxingdui underground base because of the threat of mental power from Ruomu's brain-machine transformation.

Of course, in addition to the mental threat, there is also the issue of Zhang Heping's escape to Hong Kong, his capitalist attributes, etc.

Coupled with the fact that the Zhang family returned to Hong Kong in anger because of the power grid shares issue, as well as their overseas investment trends in recent months, it is not difficult to see that the Zhang family is very emotional.

But there are many things that he is helpless about...

After arriving in Hong Kong Island with Director Wang, Hua Lao first went to the Peace Hotel to meet with the inspection team led by Zhang Zhaodi and the members of the Hong Kong Special Commissioner's Group to which Zhang Pandi belonged.

Afterwards, he inquired about the follow-up of the attack three days ago, and then took Director Wang and the Zhang sisters to the Peak on Hong Kong Island.

What was surprising was that when they arrived at the gate of Renheyi Community, they were told that Zhang Heping and his family had not yet gotten up!
To be exact, except for the little guy Zhang Hao, no one else in the Zhang family got up!
Because of Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandi, although Elder Hua and Director Wang were able to enter the community smoothly, they were stopped by the bodyguards at the entrance of the Zhang family villa and not allowed to enter.

Even Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandi's efforts to help were of no avail. Finally, it was the Tang family next door who stepped in and invited them to the villa next door, thus saving them from the embarrassment of sitting under the parasol.

"Old Tang, what's going on with the Heping family..." Old Hua looked at Tang Ming, encountering this situation for the first time, and for a moment he didn't know how to continue asking.

“We’re not quite sure either!” Tang Ming told the nanny to cook more food, then turned back to Hua Lao and the others and said, “They didn’t go out after dinner last night.”

"A little later, Heping brought Xiaohao over, saying that the family wanted to sleep in today, but they ended up sleeping in until now."

"Uncle Tang!" Zhang Zhaodi asked worriedly, "Are Heping and Ah Xin healthy?"

When talking about illness, Tang Ming fell silent and glanced at his wife Xu Jiefeng.

This action immediately made the sisters Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandidi feel anxious, and Director Wang's heart also skipped a beat.

However, Elder Hua seemed to have thought of something, and became even more concerned about the golden mask that Zhang Heping had taken away!
"He shouldn't be sick!" Xu Jiefeng said uncertainly, "I just heard from Xiaohao that Heping and the others each drank a bowl of Chinese medicine last night. Since Xiaohao didn't want to drink it, we sent him here."

traditional Chinese medicine?

The two Zhang sisters and Director Wang became suspicious, because with Zhang Heping's treatment skills, he rarely prescribed Chinese medicine for others, let alone the situation where the whole family was taking it.

"Could it be a medicinal food?" Zhang Pandi suggested a possibility, mainly because she couldn't believe that her third brother Zhang Heping's family was all sick.

"It's possible!" Xu Jiefeng nodded. "If they really are sick, even if they don't go to the hospital, they should at least let us know."

After a while of discussion, it was dinner time before they knew it.

Because of the arrival of Elder Hua and others, Tang Ren and Tang Qiang canceled their social engagements and rushed home for a meal to build relationships.

The Tang family was halfway through their dinner when Xiaoqi Zhang Nuo suddenly walked in yawning.

"Xiao Nuo, what's wrong with you? You've been sleeping for a whole day and night, and you're still not awake?"

"Xiao Nuo, are your parents awake yet?"

"Xiao Nuo, what are you guys having for dinner? Do you want to come over and eat with us?"

Before Zhang Nuo could greet the people in the room, Xu Jiefeng, Zhang Pandi and others stood up and surrounded Zhang Nuo, asking him questions.

"We are cooperating with my father to do an experiment. We can't say anything else now!" Zhang Nuo rubbed his eyes and yawned again. According to the words they had agreed on last night, he blocked all the questions with one sentence.

After she greeted Mr. Hua, Director Wang, and others, she explained her purpose: "My dad asked me to come and see if Xiao Hao has finished eating."

Although everyone was puzzled about what experiments Zhang Heping was doing on his family, seeing that Zhang Nuo was just tired and showed no signs of illness, they stopped asking and planned to find an opportunity later, without rushing.

Seeing that Elder Hua and Director Wang were getting up, Tang Ming hurriedly stood up and advised, "Don't rush! Don't rush! Heping and the others haven't eaten yet. It's not too late for you to go over after you've finished eating."

Tang Ren also advised, "Eat first, then go over. Otherwise, you'll have to watch them eat. How embarrassing!"

Zhang Nuo ignored the adults' words. When she saw her younger brother Zhang Hao leave the table, she took Zhang Hao and said goodbye. She went home and briefly told him about the situation here.

Not long after, Zhang Zhaodi, Zhang Pandi, and Director Wang entered the Zhang family home, while Old Hua was still dealing with Tang Ming next door.

After Zhang Heping's family finished eating their fried egg noodles, and while his children were playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would wash the dishes, Old Hua, blushing, came over to find Zhang Heping with Tang Ming and Tang Ren.

Because Tang Ming and Tang Ren were there, Elder Hua didn't rush to talk about the mask and instead stayed at the Zhang family's house.

He wanted to stay here for one night so that he could communicate with Zhang Heping at night.

However, not long after, Tang Xin, Chen Shuting, Zhang Bei, Zhang Nan and others finished drinking a bowl of Chinese medicine, said goodbye one after another and went upstairs to sleep.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Heping stood up and dismissed them, saying, "Mr. Hua, Aunt Wang, you should go back to the hotel and rest. We can talk about other things tomorrow when I feel better!"

After he finished speaking, Zhang Zhaodi and Zhang Pandi stood up in unison.

The eldest sister Zhang Zhaodi asked with some concern: "Heping, is that experiment of yours dangerous? Be careful not to hurt yourself or your family!"

"Don't worry!" Zhang Heping stood up to see them off, saying comfortingly, "The experiment is complete."

Zhang Heping didn't explain much. He sent the people out the door, watched them get in the car and leave, then turned around and walked back.

On the way back, seeing Wei Chunqiao coming over, Zhang Heping hurriedly waved at him, indicating that he should take his people back and didn't want to talk to him about those trivial matters.

Last night, because of the insistence of several girls in the family, Zhang Heping let them try on the golden mask in the basement, considering that they could not bear it.

Despite the lessons learned from Zhang Bei and Zhang Hu, Zhang Nan, Zhang Nian and others were still attracted by the novel feeling of releasing mental power after putting on the golden mask for the first time, which caused them to spend a few more seconds.

However, they had put two ropes on the mask in advance, one tied to the lamp holder on the ceiling, and the other was given to Zhang Heping to pull.

With Zhang Heping pulling the rope to control the time of wearing the golden mask, Zhang Hu's coma did not occur again.

Seeing this, Tang Xin and Chen Shuting also tried on the golden mask.

Then, the whole family started sleeping in.

Even if they slept for a day and a night, they still underestimated the brain energy consumption caused by the external release of mental power.

To this end, Zhang Heping put the research and development project of nutrient solution specifically for nourishing the brain on the agenda.

The next morning, Mr. Hua and Director Wang went to the top of Victoria Peak again.

They breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Zhang Heping had gotten up for his morning exercise, as they were genuinely worried he might have done something wrong. What outsiders didn't know was that Zhang Heping had decided to reduce the time he spent idling with his mental energy skills, limiting it to no more than one hour a day. He expected to reach the pinnacle of this skill by the end of the year.

In this way, he doesn't have to worry about fatigue caused by excessive brain power consumption, and he can also take time to study brain nutrient solution, design the second-generation brain-computer interface, etc.

When Hua Lao arrived, Zhang Heping was having breakfast on the plain, listening to Wei Chunqiao and the others report on the aftermath of the attack.

After briefly finishing up with Wei Chunqiao and the others, Zhang Heping got up and went to greet Elder Hua and Director Wang.

"You two come here so early. Have you had breakfast?" Zhang Heping greeted them with a smile.

Director Wang smiled and said, "We came here hungry, thinking the food here is good."

"You all know what good things I have here." Zhang Heping led the two of them under the parasol and said with a smile, "This morning I had glutinous rice porridge with some lotus seeds, lilies, and white fungus."

As he was speaking, Zhang Heping waved to the nanny and asked her to bring two bowls of porridge.

"Peace, is your group really planning to blacklist Han Island, Yue Island, and Yin Island again?" Old Hua didn't state his purpose directly, but instead asked about a recent hot topic.

The day after the attack, the Peace Group issued a notice to Japan, South Korea, India, Vietnam and Taiwan, limiting them to 24 hours for a response.

Both Japan and Taiwan responded promptly, denying any involvement in the attacks and urging the Hong Kong government to severely punish all perpetrators.

Japan and Taiwan also erased all information about their agents involved in the case, as if the arrested Japanese and Taiwanese had never lived in Japan or Taiwan at all.

Although their idea was good, Zhang Heping was not interested in those cannon fodder.

He was waiting, waiting for Xiao Ke to agree to his pledge of allegiance!

Then, we can take advantage of the situation to deal with the ambitious people who fanned the flames behind the attack!

"Does Mr. Hua think there's something wrong with what I did?" Zhang Heping asked instead of answering.

Upon hearing Zhang Heping's question, Elder Hua sighed inwardly, "Things can never go back to the way they were."

If this had happened in the past, Zhang Heping would have given him and Director Wang a long lecture without even having to think about it.

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Elder Hua shook his head and said, "I just want to ask what will happen to the mineral resources you invested in on Indian Island?"

“Just sell it to another company!” Zhang Heping casually suggested a solution and then flipped open the newspaper next to him.

Seeing that Zhang Heping hadn't touched his bowl of glutinous rice porridge, Hua Lao guessed that he was waiting for the nanny to bring over the porridge so that he could eat with them, so he temporarily stopped asking about the golden mask.

Not long after, two nannies brought out glutinous rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and two eggs.

Zhang Heping put down his newspaper, said "Whatever," and then ate his breakfast.

Not long after the three of them started eating, Chen Shuting came out yawning, greeted Zhang Heping, Elder Hua, and Director Wang, and then left with a group of bodyguards.

Then, Zhang Nan and Zhang Nian came over to ask if they could go out. Zhang Heping told them to put on the positioning necklaces and then let them out.

"The blast-proof and bulletproof vehicles manufactured at the Wucheng branch are of good quality!" Zhang Heping said to Old Hua, who was still peeling eggs beside him, as he watched the two girls leave with bodyguards.

"If it weren't for the protection provided by these vehicles a few days ago, it wouldn't have been enough to just blacklist them!"

Zhang Heping spoke calmly, but Elder Hua sensed the murderous intent in his voice. He just didn't know if Zhang would use that golden mask to kill again, which was the biggest headache for him and his superiors.

During the war, Hua Lao also killed people with a gun, but he did not object to Zhang Heping's attitude towards the enemy.

However, Zhang Heping's reckless pursuit of revenge makes him seem uncontrollable and unstable.

Old Hua tentatively said, "Since those people have been arrested by the Hong Kong police, the Hong Kong courts will naturally give the corresponding punishment. You don't need to waste your energy on this matter."

Zhang Heping stood up and said calmly, "It's only because I went to Shenzhen that day that the Hong Kong police had nothing to do with it!"

After speaking, Zhang Heping picked up the newspaper and walked straight towards his villa.

Seeing Zhang Heping walk away, Director Wang whispered to Old Hua, "Heping has already let the Hong Kong police arrest people, why are you still arguing about this?"

"Didn't you want to ask about that mask? Just ask directly, don't beat around the bush. I've been listening to this, and it feels like a waste of time."

Old Hua sighed inwardly and stood up; he too longed to ask directly.

But having come empty-handed, he really wasn't confident he could persuade Zhang Heping to hand over his technology to the country as selflessly as before.

As the saying goes, whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get cut.

Mr. Hua followed into the villa and, after receiving a hint from Tang Xin on the sofa in the living room on the first floor, went straight to the study on the second floor.

In the study, Zhang Bei, Zhang Feng, Zhang Long, Zhang Hu, and Zhang Nuo were all sitting at the middle desk looking at documents. Even five-and-a-half-year-old Zhang Hao was sitting on the side with a comic book in his hand. Surprisingly, no one was playing computer games.

Looking at the large desk on the right, Zhang Heping is wearing a headset, as if he is having a video conference.

Hua took a look and found that the images on the computer monitor were all experts and professors from the Biological Gene Laboratory Building of Shenzhen Peace College. He then took a chair and sat down next to them, waiting quietly.

After assigning the task of developing the brain nutrient solution, Zhang Heping left the video conference and then joined the video conference with Peace Aerospace.

After asking about the location of the Mars probe, he listened to a report from the other side about the launch progress of the Longevity 5 spacecraft and the exploration results on the moon.

After finishing his business here, Zhang Heping joined a video conference hosted by the Space-Based Computing Center.

With the initial formation of the space-based computing network, space-based early warning systems and satellite monitoring centers have also been incorporated into this network.

Therefore, there are quite a few people in this video conference room, and the departments involved are quite diverse.

"The training on weapons data should be the responsibility of the military aerospace force. What difficulties are you facing, Xiao Zhou?"

As soon as Zhang Heping asked the question, Elder Hua hurriedly stepped forward and said, "The relevant weapons have been approved, and we will issue a notification to them in two days."

Zhang Heping glanced at Hua Lao, listened to the voice in the earpiece finish speaking, and then repeated the message Hua Lao had just given.

"Everyone, just like us humans, the space-based computing network is not born knowing everything. We need to continuously train it with data and teach it how to do things."

"Today, we use the data from one more missile to train it, so that we can intercept one more missile in the future and be hit by enemy missiles one less time."

"Whether we can rely on space-based computing networks to assist space-based early warning systems in intercepting all incoming weapons and equipment in the future depends on the joint efforts of everyone here!"

After the meeting ended, Zhang Heping looked at Hua Lao and said, "There's still a video conference with Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group."

"It's alright, you go about your business!" Old Hua replied with a smile, not feeling neglected or ignored, but rather feeling quite pleased with himself.

As long as Zhang Heping is still in charge of domestic projects, it means that there is still room for maneuver in many things.

After Zhang Heping finished dealing with the issues at Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group, he took off his headset and explained to Hua Lao, "I have a lot of things to do here, so I won't be able to go to Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group next month."

"I heard you've already made all the arrangements, so it's fine if you don't go," Old Hua said with a smile. "But what are your plans regarding Wucheng Shipping Company?"

"There is no budget for clearing the Yangtze River waterway in China in recent years. If an aircraft carrier is built there, it will probably only be able to stay on the riverbank."

"Do you want to go to war lately?" Zhang Heping picked up his teacup, moistened his throat, and then said to the thoughtful-looking Elder Hua:
"We don't want to fight, nor do we want to be bullied by foreigners. Let's just flex our muscles at home and let them know that we have the capability to build aircraft carriers."

"Moreover, after the aircraft carrier is built, we also need to consider the training of the ship's crew, the maintenance and upkeep of the aircraft carrier, and logistical support, among other things."

"It's impossible for us to be able to command an aircraft carrier and sail the seas as soon as it's built. There are still cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and other weapons and equipment that haven't been built yet?"

"This process will take at least seven or eight years, don't you think?"

Hua nodded and smiled, "When I was in the capital for a meeting, I heard that many people shared the same thoughts as you. It seems I was overthinking things."

After they finished speaking, there was a brief silence between them.

Then Hua Lao asked, "Peace, may I try on the golden mask you made?"

……

(End of this chapter)