Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

The roar of machinery echoed in Special Laboratory No. 001, and the air was filled with a scorching yet alluring smell of metal cutting.

The M1320 grinding machine, which Su Zheng had personally "modified," was now operating slowly under Zhao Ming's control, like a sophisticated monster.

The sparks that fly out at the moment the grinding wheel comes into contact with the special alloy steel pipe are not chaotic, but rather present a highly regular streamlined shape, as if constrained by some invisible force field.

Su Zheng stood to the side, arms crossed, eyes focused.

To outsiders, this was just a routine grinding process.

But in Su Zheng's eyes, which had opened the "Eye of Truth," the world before him was a completely different sight.

Countless pale blue data streams intertwined in the air, constructing a real-time 3D model of the gun barrel before us.

Every feed of the grinding wheel, every micrometer change in the inner wall of the gun barrel, and even the distortion of the material's microcrystalline lattice caused by frictional heat, were all displayed on his retina without reservation.

"The feed rate is reduced by 0.02 mm, and the coolant flow rate is increased by one level."

Su Zheng suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but precisely penetrating the roar of the machine.

Zhao Ming carried out the order almost instinctively without any hesitation.

He had reached the point of blind faith in his master's skills.

Although he couldn't see why they needed to reduce that insignificant 0.02 millimeters, he knew that his master's eyes were sharper than the most precise micrometer.

"Sizzle—"

As the final step was completed, the grinding wheel slowly retracted.

Zhao Ming turned off the power, carefully measured the data with calipers, and then his eyes widened and he gasped.

"Master... the allowance... the allowance is zero?!"

He looked at the reading in his hand in disbelief.

In this era where even a "micrometer" is considered high precision, producing a workpiece with "zero tolerance" is simply a miracle.

"It's not over yet."

Su Zheng didn't show much excitement. He stepped forward and gently stroked the cold surface of the gun barrel with his fingers:

"This is just rough machining. The real core is the rifling inside and the subsequent heat treatment. Okay, the machine is too hot. Let it cool down for twenty minutes. People should also take a break."

Maintaining the high-intensity operation of the "Eye of Truth" for an extended period caused Su Zheng to experience a slight stinging sensation in his temples.

He waved his hand, signaling the excited Zhao Ming and the other two technicians to organize the data first, while he turned around, pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the laboratory, and walked out.

Outside the gate is a secluded corridor in the factory area.

Because this area is designated as a military restricted zone, not only does no one dare to approach it on ordinary days, but even the factory's broadcasts become barely audible here.

The corridor was quiet, with only the rustling of the old poplar leaves outside the window in the wind.

Su Zheng walked to the ventilation opening at the end of the corridor and lit a cigarette.

I took a deep breath, the pungent smoke swirled in my lungs, and when I exhaled it, it took away some of the fatigue in my mind.

His gaze swept aimlessly across the dead corners of the corridor.

There was a metal trash can there, which was usually used to hold some household waste from outside the laboratory.

Because of its remote location and the fact that the signboard was only recently put up, the buckets were almost empty.

However, the moment Su Zheng's gaze inadvertently swept across the edge of the trash can, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Um?"

In the lingering light before the "Eye of Truth" had completely closed, a highly unnatural "structural highlight" flashed in the shadows at the bottom of the trash can.

That is the system's instinctive capture of "non-natural industrial creations".

Su Zheng paused slightly, the fingers holding the cigarette between his fingers.

He didn't go over immediately, but instead, as if nothing had happened, he leaned against the window and smoked, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over that corner again.

This time, he saw it clearly.

Lying in the dust at the bottom of the trash can was a black fragment the size of a fingernail.

For the average person, they would definitely mistake it for some kind of plastic waste or scrap metal.

But in Su Zheng's mind, the original model of this fragment instantly materialized—

The high-strength polycarbonate shell has precise mold injection marks on the edges, and traces of special lubricating oil remain on the inside.

This is not a material currently used in domestic industrial production.

These are fragments of the shutter assembly from a miniature camera!

Moreover, judging from its structure, it looks very much like a spy camera from the Hans-Guo brand!

Su Zheng's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm.

He slowly finished his last puff of cigarette, threw the butt into the trash can, bent down, and seemingly casually fiddled with the trash, but in reality, he swiftly pinched the fragment in his palm before turning and walking back to the laboratory.

"Zhao Ming".

As soon as he entered, Su Zheng quietly called Zhao Ming to a corner.

"Master, what's wrong? Is there a change in the next step?" Zhao Ming asked, holding his notebook, ready to take notes.

"Put the notebook away."

Su Zheng's voice was low and chilling, "I'm asking you, who's responsible for the cleanliness of this corridor?"

Zhao Ming was taken aback. Although he didn't understand why his master suddenly asked this, he still immediately replied:

"It's Old Liu from the logistics department. He's the quiet, slightly hunchbacked old man. After this area was designated as a restricted zone, the logistics department said they hadn't had time to assign a dedicated security cleaner yet, so he's temporarily in charge of the corridor."

"Old Liu..."

Su Zheng narrowed his eyes, and an image of a figure always with his head down, silently sweeping in a corner with a broom appeared in his mind.

"Go check his schedule, and also how often he's been coming to clean lately."

"Master, what happened?"

Zhao Ming's heart skipped a beat when he saw Su Zheng's serious expression.

Su Zheng opened his palm, and the black fragment gleamed with a cold light under the lamp.

"Someone has planted eyes in our doorway."

Ten minutes later.

Chief Wang of the Security Department arrived at the small conference room in the laboratory, his brow beaded with sweat.

Looking at the shard Su Zheng had placed on the table, the old scout, who had come from the battlefield, turned ashen-faced.

"Damn it! These rats actually dared to sneak in here!"

Section Chief Wang slammed his fist on the table, making the teacup vibrate loudly.

"Engineer Su, I'll take some men to seal off the logistics department right now! Arrest that old Liu and interrogate him! I refuse to believe we can't get him to talk!"

As he spoke, he turned and was about to rush outside.

"Stop right there," Su Zheng coldly ordered him.

"Section Chief Wang, making arrests is easy. But what if we arrested the wrong person, Old Liu? Or what if arresting him cuts off his connections?"

Su Zheng's fingers tapped lightly on the table:

"The fact that this piece of debris was in the trash can indicates that their equipment malfunctioned or was damaged in a rush. Now they're more nervous than we are, and they want to know if we found it."

"Then...then are we just going to watch like this?" Section Chief Wang was so anxious that his veins were bulging.

"Of course not."

Su Zheng's lips curled into a cold smile, like a hunter spotting his prey.

"Since they want to see, then we'll give them something to see."

He stood up, walked to the drawing table, and pulled out a blank sheet of paper.

Brush brush!

The pencil flew across the paper.

In no time, a complex mechanical structure diagram appeared on the paper.

Even a layperson could immediately recognize this as the core spindle structure diagram of the M1320 grinding machine.

Every line on it is incredibly professional, and every annotation is spot-on.

But Zhao Ming, standing to the side, glanced at it and frowned: "Master, this...this parameter is wrong! This heat treatment hardness rating...if we do it this way, the spindle will break as soon as the speed goes up!"

"That's right."

Su Zheng blew on the graphite powder on the paper, a sly glint in his eyes:

"This is the 'bait' we prepared for them."

"Truth and falsehood, reality and illusion. An expert could tell at a glance that this is a good thing, but he would never guess that I moved the decimal point one place for him."

Su Zheng did not lock the blueprint in the safe, but "casually" pressed it under a pile of discarded documents, only revealing a corner with the word "Top Secret" written on it.

Then, he plucked a hair from his head and gently tucked it between the drawing and the table.

After doing all this, Su Zheng clapped his hands.

"Section Chief Wang, pass the word that half of the sentry posts around the lab will be removed tonight. Tell the soldiers that if they see anyone loitering around nearby, they should pretend they didn't see them as long as they don't enter the core area."

"Zhao Ming, you'll have to work hard tonight and keep an eye on things in the monitoring room."

"I want to see just how hungry this fish is tonight."

……

Night falls.

The Red Star Steel Rolling Mill was shrouded in silence.

The lights in Laboratory 001 were turned off long ago.

The corridor was pitch black, with only the light bulb at the end emitting a dim yellow glow.

Zhao Ming squatted in the monitoring room, staring intently at the scene facing the blind spot in the corridor.

Although the current surveillance equipment has blurry images and static, he still dares not blink.

Time passed by, second by second.

Just when Zhao Ming thought he wouldn't get anything tonight, a dark figure suddenly appeared in the frame.

The figure was hunched over, holding a broom and a dustpan, moving slowly and mechanically.

It's Lao Liu.

He swept the floor slowly, as usual.

But when he swept the trash can in that blind spot, his actions suddenly changed.

The previously sluggish movements instantly became nimble.

Instead of emptying the trash can into the dustpan, he pressed himself almost against it, pulled a flashlight from his pocket, held it in his mouth, and quickly groped around the inside and bottom of the trash can with both hands, as if searching for some lost and important item.

After searching for a full five minutes, it seemed like they had found nothing.

Old Liu seemed somewhat unwilling to give up. He took out a rag from his pocket and wiped the inside and outside of the trash can, even the gaps in the base, over and over again.

Only when the tin bucket, which had been covered in dust, was polished to a shine and reflected the light in the dim light did he straighten up, look around warily, and then resume his hunched posture, slowly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

In the monitoring room, Zhao Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

The usually honest and even somewhat dull Lao Liu suddenly displayed such agility and professionalism that it was as if he were a completely different person.

The next morning.

The first thing Su Zheng did upon entering the laboratory was to look at the trash can.

"Master."

Zhao Ming, sporting dark circles under his eyes, spoke with excitement in his voice, "Last night..."

"No need to say anything more."

Su Zheng waved his hand, looked at the trash can that was almost too clean, and then glanced at the drawing on the table, which, although in the same position, had no longer the hair that had been stuck in the gap.

The fish has taken the bait.

"Has Section Chief Wang notified them yet?" Su Zheng asked.

"The notification has been given. Section Chief Wang said that plainclothes officers have been arranged to keep a close eye on Lao Liu."

"it is good."

Su Zheng walked to the window, looking at the gradually bustling factory area outside, his gaze deep.

"This is just the first thorn. Once it's pulled out, it will definitely bring out a whole string of malignant tumors."

"Zhao Ming, get ready to work."

"As for catching the rats... the real show is just beginning!"