Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 274 California Trip Continued
Just as He Yuzhu returned to the parachute landing site, he suddenly noticed flashlight beams and human voices below, heading directly towards the laboratory.

"We've been discovered? No, the alarm didn't go off!" A thought flashed through He Yuzhu's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

His guess was correct; the ground security was indeed alerted by the sound of the helicopter, but it was too short a time, so they also inquired with the radar monitoring team.

The answers they received were similar; they couldn't determine whether someone was just passing by or had landed on the outskirts. So they sent people to search the area outside the factory, but naturally found nothing.

After searching the outside, it was time to check the inside. He Yuzhu came out just as they were about to inspect all the important places in the factory.

"Routine inspection? No, we need to leave quickly. The helicopter is probably unusable." He Yuzhu used his night vision goggles to assess the situation and came to a conclusion, because he saw that the anti-aircraft machine gun had been set up.

He moved quickly in the darkness in another direction from the factory, towards the internal test flight runway area!
He saw the plane take off during his reconnaissance.

He ran halfway to the base when the alarm sounded, followed by a loudspeaker shouting: "Warning! Warning! Level 1 alert! Level 1 alert! Core area compromised! Core area compromised! Search the entire plant! Search the entire plant!"

"Attention, there are many enemies. Repeat, there are many enemies!"

Perhaps because the scene inside was too shocking, the loudspeaker did not announce the extent of the damage, but they estimated that at least several dozen people had entered.

Hearing the alarm, He Yuzhu quickened his pace, and a few minutes later the runway appeared before him.

The huge hangar doors beside the runway were closed, and there were patrols outside; they were now on high alert.

Because this is not a core area, they are just a little more vigilant than usual.

He Yuzhu crept over, took out several guards with his military dagger, and then pushed open the hangar door.

Inside the hangar, under the dim light, several uniquely shaped, all-black behemoths sat quietly.

They have slender fuselages, sharp noses, huge delta wings, and unique twin tails, like three strange cigars, one large and two small, connected by steel.

"SR-71 'Blackbird' high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft!"

He Yuzhu's eyes flashed with a sharp light. This was an unexpected surprise. He hadn't gotten it from the monkey, but he didn't expect to find it here, and there were three of them!
He Yuzhu glanced at them, put away the two that were probably being maintained after the test flights, and then put on his flight suit and climbed onto the one that looked to be in the best condition.

"Whoosh—!" The deafening roar of the engine starting up was deafening as the plane slowly drove out of the hangar and onto the runway.

"Blackbird, Blackbird III, this is the control tower! Please respond! Repeat! Blackbird III, please respond!" came the call from the control tower.

He Yuzhu ignored it completely. The Pratt & Whitney J58 engine of the SR-71 burst out with amazing thrust, and the heavy black giant bird began to accelerate wildly along the runway!
"Blackbird III, stop what you're doing immediately! This is not a warning, repeat, this is not a warning!" The people in control tower were getting anxious.

He Yuzhu even heard a voice: "Stop it! Stop it at all costs!"

Unfortunately, all the ground security personnel had gone to the core area, and there was no one here at all. The black fighter jets, with a deafening roar, tore through the night sky and pierced the heavens!

"Target launched! Target launched! Heading 270! Altitude rapidly increasing!" reported the ground radar monitor.

"Quickly, connect to NORAD! An intrusion and hijacking of a fighter jet has occurred at the Yellow River Plastics Factory! The target has been confirmed as an SR-71! Request their scramble to intercept it!" This was the order from the commander in the ground command center.

After a series of calls, a subordinate came to report: "Commander, Edwards Base and Vandenberg Base nearby! Fighter jets have been scrambled to intercept them!"

What was deployed?

"F4 Ghost and F15."

"Hopefully they can catch up. Have the other intruders inside the base been found?" The commander was clearly very knowledgeable about the aircraft's performance. Although the SR-71 had been in service for many years as a reconnaissance aircraft, it was still the fastest aircraft currently in service.

"Report: No, they seem to have vanished into thin air, along with two technicians and one of our men."

"FK, what kind of enemy have we encountered?"

"Commander, should we continue searching?"

"Continue, search outside the factory as well, deploy helicopters."

"Yes."

Two F-15 Hawks and two F-4 Phantoms took off from two different bases and chased after He Yuzhu in the direction he had left.

Ten minutes later, in the cockpit of the SR-71, He Yuzhu gripped the control stick tightly, feeling the slight vibrations of the aircraft as it flew at supersonic speeds.

The radar warning receiver beeped sharply, and four rapidly approaching lights were clearly displayed on the screen.

"They've arrived so quickly!" He Yuzhu sneered.

Although the SR-71 was extremely fast (over Mach 3), it had no weapons (not even a cannon), so it certainly couldn't fight any incoming aircraft.

He glanced at the altimeter: 20,000 feet (about 6000 meters).

"Looks like I'm going to have to take a risk. Hopefully, I'll be lucky!"

The enemy aircraft is getting faster and faster! The radar lock-on warning sounds are becoming more and more urgent!

"We can't wait any longer!" He Yuzhu made a decisive decision.

He slammed the control stick, and the massive SR-71 plunged downwards at an astonishing angle! Its speed surged instantly! At the same time, he decisively shut down the engine's afterburner!
With the immense thrust lost from afterburner, coupled with the acceleration from the dive, the SR-71's speedometer swung wildly to the right, instantly breaking Mach 3! The aircraft began to glow red due to intense friction with the air (thermal barrier phenomenon)!
The sudden, unconventional extreme dive and high speed left the pilots of the four fighter jets that had rushed over completely bewildered.

Is this an attempt to commit suicide?

Then, on their radar screen, the SR-71's signal instantly became extremely weak and difficult to lock onto—the high-speed dive and thermal barrier severely interfered with the radar beam!
"Target is diving! Extremely fast! Radar signal weakening! Loss of stable lock!" an F-15 pilot urgently reported to base.

"Follow it! It can't keep diving forever!" the command came over the communication channel.

"Yes."

However, just as several fighter jets sped up to catch up, He Yuzhu had already descended to an altitude of 8,000 feet (approximately 2400 meters)! The aircraft's speed reached Mach 3.2!

"It's now!"

He slammed the throttle to the floor, shutting off the engine completely! The deafening roar abruptly ceased, leaving only the piercing shriek of the high-speed airflow tearing through the aircraft.

The SR-71, having lost power, continued to dive downwards like a heavy meteorite due to its immense inertia, but its speed began to decrease rapidly due to air resistance!

Altitude: 6000 feet (approximately 1800 meters)! Speed: Mach 2.5!

Altitude: 4000 feet (approximately 1200 meters)! Speed: Mach 1.8!

Altitude: 3000 feet (approximately 900 meters)! Speed: Mach 0.9!

The overload warning for the airframe was still blaring, but the speed finally dropped to a range that the ejection seat could theoretically handle (the actual ejection envelope is usually higher than this, but at this point there was no other choice)!
Without hesitation, He Yuzhu grabbed the ejection handles on both sides of the seat with both hands and pulled upwards with all his might!
"boom--!"

The massive explosive bolt blew the cockpit canopy off instantly! Immediately afterwards, the rocket-assisted ejection seat propelled him like a cannonball, shooting him out of the out-of-control, pitch-black fuselage!

Even though He Yuzhu's physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people, the violent impact and rotation caused him to faint for a moment, and the powerful overload pressed him firmly onto the seat.

The seat's built-in stabilizing parachute opened with a "bang," barely managing to steady his tumbling body and counteract the inertia of his high-speed descent.

A few seconds later, at an altitude of about 2000 meters, the seat-to-human separation device was activated! He Yuzhu was violently ejected from the seat, and the main parachute burst open in the night sky with a "bang"!

The moment he broke free, the out-of-control SR-71 "Blackbird," with a mournful whistling sound, like a giant bird with broken wings, continued to plunge into the dark earth at a steep angle!

At an altitude of tens of kilometers away, on the radar screens of four pursuing fighter jets (two F-15s and two F-4s), the faintly flickering dot representing the SR-71, caused by its dive and heat barrier, suddenly disappeared when the altitude dropped rapidly to about 2000 meters!
"Target signal lost! Repeat, target signal lost!" The lead pilot of the F-15 reported urgently, his voice filled with disbelief.

"What? A confirmed crash?" came the question over the command channel.

"Unable to confirm! The signal disappeared suddenly! Too low altitude, too fast speed, it might be... a crash!" The pilot stared at the blank radar area, below which lay the inky black night and undulating mountains.

"Visual search! Decrease altitude! Now!" the commander roared.

"Sir, it's dark now!" the lead pilot of the F-15 said helplessly.

"FK, you continue onward and confirm whether it has crashed. Report the location where the target disappeared, and I will have the nearest ground troops search for it."

"Yes, Sir!"

The four fighter jets immediately pushed off the stick and swooped down, like four owls pouncing on their prey, speeding toward the approximate airspace where the signal had last disappeared.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast they flew, they couldn't keep up with the speed of a plane crash. By the time they reached the location, they could only see flames rising from a certain spot, and they had no way of determining whether it was caused by a plane crash.

However, they still reported their location.

"Fire sighted! Unconfirmed whether it has crashed! Location XXX, repeat, location XXX!"

"Let's return to base!"

"Yes, we'll return to base immediately!"

Several kilometers away from the explosion site, in the deeper, darker wilderness, a parachute was silently descending.

He Yuzhu gripped the control straps tightly, controlling the direction of the parachute, and scanned the blurry terrain below with his night vision goggles.

He didn't want to jump into any weird or strange place. He had shaken off the fighter jets, but he might still have to deal with a ground search.

Avoiding areas with dense lights and heavy traffic, the parachute carried him towards a dark area.

The terrain below gradually became clear in the night vision goggles—no longer a pure wilderness, but a relatively flat area with the outlines of low factory buildings seemingly visible at the edges.

"Is this... the edge of the industrial zone?" He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat.

The parachute eventually carried him to a sparse thicket of bushes, just a few dozen meters from a quiet factory road.

He quickly folded up his umbrella and looked around warily.

But soon, he noticed the unusual nature of the area—on several huge factory buildings not far away, there were huge English signs painted on them, which were barely visible even in the night: **Hughes Helicopters**!
"Hughes?" He Yuzhu searched his memory carefully, and then a name jumped out at him: "Apache!!!"

His heart skipped a beat! This was a golden opportunity!

He didn't know what stage Hughes Aircraft Company had reached in developing the armed helicopter prototype, but since he was already there, he couldn't leave empty-handed, and his hands were itching to get his hands on it.

Since the decision had been made, it was time to investigate. After going around in circles, He Yuzhu discovered that although Hughes Company also had security, its level of security was worlds apart from that of a top-level secret base like the Weasel Factory!

Moreover, the nearby military should have focused their attention on the crash site of the SR-71Z, and no one should have paid attention to this area, nor would they have expected him to be so bold as to commit another heist.

An opportunity! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

He Yuzhu acted immediately without the slightest hesitation.

He blended into the night, moving quickly along the shadows of the factory perimeter wall. The Hughes company's walls weren't high, and the barbed wire wasn't nearly as formidable as that of the Weasel factory.

He easily vaulted over and landed at the edge of an empty test flight area.

The factory area was not deserted, but the patrols were noticeably sparse, and the guards' gazes and the conversations on their walkie-talkies were clearly focused on the firelight that illuminated the night sky in the east.

"Did you hear that on the radio? There's been an explosion over Burbank! It sounds like something fell down!"

"I heard there was a huge commotion! It must be chaotic over there..."

"Mind your own business. The higher-ups have ordered increased patrols; don't let anyone sneak in while things are in disarray..."

He Yuzhu avoided the main roads and lights, using the shadows and parked equipment as cover, and quickly moved towards the large hangar deep inside the factory area, which looked like the core R&D and assembly area.

The hangar door was half open, and bright lights shone from inside.

"Check the flight control system again. There can't be any mistakes during tomorrow's test flight!" An engineer-looking man was directing several technicians as they busied themselves around a uniquely designed helicopter.

The helicopter was entirely dark green, with a distinctive tandem two-seat cockpit on top of its long, narrow fuselage, weapon hardpoints under its short wings, and a unique cross-shaped tail rotor—it was the prototype of the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the YAH-64!

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected to be so lucky and run into an Apache helicopter that was ready for test flights!
He Yuzhu took out a silenced pistol from his spatial storage and aimed it.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

With two soft sounds, the guard at the door fell to the ground silently. He quickly put the body into his spatial storage and slipped into the hangar.

"Who are you?" The people inside noticed He Yuzhu, who was dressed entirely in black and wearing a black mask.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" He Yuzhu didn't have time to waste with them.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!"

Three helicopters were parked in the hangar: two YAH-64 prototypes and one OH-6 "Little Bird" reconnaissance helicopter.

The corner was piled with all sorts of tools and equipment.

He Yuzhu stepped forward, swept his hands across the ground, and the three helicopters, along with all their equipment, tools, and spare parts, vanished!
He turned and left the hangar, heading straight for the nearby research and development building.

The building's access control system was just a regular magnetic card lock, which he easily pried open.

In the core laboratory on the third floor, several massive computers were running, their indicator lights flashing rhythmically.

Design drawings and flight data records were scattered on the control panel.

He Yuzhu quickly flipped through the documents and confirmed that these were the original code and aerodynamic data of the Apache's flight control system.

He directly put all the equipment and blueprints on the entire control panel into the space, not even leaving the design boards on the wall untouched.

In the end, he simply cut off the power and took the minicomputer away as well.

As soon as he went downstairs, before he even stepped outside, he heard hurried footsteps and voices!
"Strange, why aren't the hangar guards responding to our calls..."

"Go and see for yourself!"

"We need to make sure nothing goes wrong during the test flight tomorrow."

"It's not like it's the first test flight, what's there to be nervous about? This is just a minor adjustment."

He Yuzhu darted behind the door, a military dagger appearing in his hand.

As the footsteps drew closer, He Yuzhu flicked his wrist, and a flash of cold light appeared!
A security guard coughed up blood from his throat and collapsed, convulsing.

Before the people behind him could react, a second military dagger had already pierced his heart!
He Yuzhu collected the two corpses and quickly left the building where the laboratory was located.

Ten minutes later, Hughes' alarm finally sounded.

Meanwhile, He Yuzhu had already climbed over the wall and disappeared into the night.

He traveled swiftly westward, avoiding main roads and choosing to venture into the wilderness.

Before dawn, He Yuzhu arrived at an abandoned quarry on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

He was simply lost, but the terrain here is complex and sparsely populated, making it an excellent hiding spot.

He entered a partially collapsed mine shaft, and only after confirming it was safe did he have time to inspect his harvest.

Inside the space, two YAH-64 prototype aircraft, one OH-6 reconnaissance aircraft, a complete set of research and development equipment and materials were neatly arranged.

With the addition of the F-117 model, design data, and two SR-71s obtained from the Weasel Factory, the gains from this operation far exceeded expectations!

"It's time to retreat." He Yuzhu took out the civilian clothes he had prepared beforehand, put them on, put all his combat uniform and equipment into his spatial storage, and then put on makeup. Unless you looked closely, you definitely wouldn't recognize that he was an Asian.

He walked to the nearest highway, boarded a long-distance bus to Los Angeles, and blended in unnoticed among the early morning commuters.

After the bus entered downtown Los Angeles, He Yuzhu got off and went to Chinatown.

Three days later, at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

He Yuzhu, using the alias "Philip, Park," passed through security and boarded a flight to New York.

His luggage was simple, consisting of only a briefcase containing a few unimportant business documents.

As the plane climbed, he looked out the window at the vast desert below.

Somewhere, the wreckage of the SR-71 should have been recovered by the military, while the Marder and Hughes must be in a state of chaos right now.

But none of this mattered to him anymore.

We've acquired the core technology. The next step is to finish things up in New York and then return to Hong Kong to digest and absorb it.

"Sir, would you like a drink?" The flight attendant's sweet voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Orange juice, thank you." He Yuzhu smiled.

"Ok."

He Yuzhu took the orange juice handed to him by the flight attendant and sipped it gently.

The sweet and slightly sour, orange-flavored liquid slid down his throat, but his thoughts drifted further away—the laboratory in Hong Kong, the laboratory in Singapore, the follow-up plans in North America… a grand strategy was gradually taking shape in his mind.

The plane flew through the clouds, and sunlight streamed through the window onto his calm face.

Manhattan, New York.

When He Yuzhu returned to his office at Dongda University, Allen's team had already made a breakthrough in the acquisition negotiations.

“Boss, you’re finally back. We’ve secured the patent for AMC’s four-wheel drive system, and the price is 15% lower than expected,” Allen reported. “The negotiations with Xerox for their GUI technology have run into some resistance. They seem to have sensed something, but Mark has found an alternative—a startup called ‘Little Giant’ that has a similar graphical interface patent and is asking for only a third of Xerox’s price.”

“Very good.” He Yuzhu nodded in satisfaction. “Proceeding according to plan. In addition, we plan to establish a new offshore company specifically responsible for technology integration and further research and development.”

“Understood. There’s one more thing…” Allen lowered his voice, “Attorney Wilson said that the Gambino family has completely withdrawn from New York, and our construction site has not been disturbed anymore. However… the FBI doesn’t seem to have given up, and they’ve recently been investigating the flow of funds through several offshore companies.”

He Yuzhu's eyes turned cold: "Let Wilson handle it. If necessary, we can throw out some smokescreens to guide them to investigate the TACO family; their hands aren't clean."

"Yes."

After Allen left, the office phone rang.

"Boss, this is Wilson. I have two pieces of news: First, the new CEO of the Grand Hyatt has been chosen. He's a tough guy named Jack Webber, a former Marine who has worked in PMC and managed hotel chains. Second, it seems the FBI has started keeping a close eye on us again."

He Yuzhu was silent for a moment: "Have you investigated Weber's background?"

“I checked, and it’s not entirely clean,” Wilson said bluntly. “But I tested him, and he really only cares about money. I hinted at the potential ‘security risks,’ and his exact words were, ‘I’d run a hell operation if the money’s right.’”

“Use him.” He Yuzhu made a decisive decision. “As for the FBI, let them investigate. You should not contact them proactively in the future. Continue to use the old methods.”

"Yes, boss."

After hanging up the phone, He Yuzhu took out a notebook with addresses in Seattle, Detroit, and Tucson.

He Yuzhu sighed: "Looks like there's no chance. We made quite a fuss."

However, he also told himself that he couldn't be too greedy. He couldn't even digest what he had now, and he didn't have the ability to make a quick buck. This was North America.

A few days later, news came from Wilson that the FBI had withdrawn, and He Yuzhu knew that the situation in California had escalated.

So he gave his subordinates an order: all companies should hire locals, and key positions should be held by their own people. Companies that are all Chinese are too conspicuous.

The people below actually knew this, but since He Yuzhu hadn't spoken up before, they hadn't dared to bring it up.

A month later, "Boss, this is the final batch of technical data handover list." Allen placed a copy on He Yuzhu's desk. "AMC's four-wheel drive system patent, Little Giant Company's graphical interface technology, and the turbocharging technology obtained from Michigan have all been completed through offshore companies, and there are no legal issues."

Where are all the documents?

"It will take a few more days for the handover."

"Send it to this address after you receive it." He Yuzhu picked up a sticky note from the table and wrote down an address.

"Boss, why don't we set up a lab or factory here?"

“We have our own car factories and laboratories, and you’ve been working in North America for so long in the computer field. Do you think we have an advantage here?”

“Understood!” Allen said.

"Also, are you guys planning to stay here, or go back?"

"If the boss still wants to acquire other companies, we will stay. If not, we feel that we cannot make full use of our abilities here."

"Hmm, let me think about it. You can go now."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)