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

On a weekend morning, the wind was biting cold and the sky was still pitch black.

The courtyard was quiet; most people were still having sweet dreams in their warm beds.

Su Zheng, however, was already dressed and quietly pushed his bicycle out the door.

Last night, Chief Wang from the factory's security department sent word that they had sent someone to follow Old Liu for three days, but the old guy was as slippery as an eel.

Every day, besides sweeping the floor, she goes home to sleep. Her only "hobby" is wandering around the pigeon market. She is completely undetectable.

Su Zheng was not surprised by this.

After all, the fact that Lao Liu was able to infiltrate the factory for so long without being discovered proves his ability.

Since ordinary tracking methods don't work, we'll have to resort to some other means.

Laboratory No. 001.

Su was sitting at the drawing table, twirling a pencil in his hand, with a clean sheet of drawing paper in front of him.

"Master, if you're going to set up bait, you don't need to give them anything real, do you?"

Zhao Ming stood to the side, watching the lines gradually take shape under Su Zheng's pen, his eyes filled with worry. "If the design drawings for this rifle get leaked, then our secrets will be..."

"The real thing?"

Su Zheng chuckled lightly, tapping the paper heavily with his pen. "In the eyes of experts, this is called 'truth.' But in my eyes, this is called 'a death trap.'"

He was drawing up a formula sheet for "high-strength gun barrel alloy steel".

The proportions of various elements, such as carbon, manganese, silicon, chromium, and nickel, are precisely marked in the table.

If someone knowledgeable in metallurgy saw this, they would surely exclaim that it was a genius design.

According to this formula, it is theoretically possible to produce a super alloy with 30% higher strength than similar Soviet products.

"Did you see the nickel content?"

Su Zheng pointed to one of the data points with the tip of his pen, "12.5%."

"I saw it."

Zhao Ming nodded. "Is there any particular reason for this?"

"In normal alloy steel, the nickel content does indeed improve toughness. But..."

A sly glint flashed in Su Zheng's eyes. "If you take another look at the sulfur content next to it, I've labeled it as 0.005%. That's the standard for extremely low sulfur steel."

"However, in the smelting process section, I deliberately added a step of 'high temperature and long-term heat preservation'."

"It's like cooking."

Su Zheng gave an analogy: "You put the best meat and the best seasonings together, but you turn the heat up to the maximum and simmer it for three days and three nights. What will the result be?"

"Is it burnt?" Zhao Ming asked tentatively.

"It's not just burnt."

Su Zheng sneered, "At high temperatures, nickel and trace amounts of sulfur form a low-melting-point eutectic. This substance is embedded in the grain boundaries of steel, and it's not visible under normal circumstances. But once this gun barrel is made and put on the battlefield, the first bullet fired..."

Su Zheng made an explosion gesture, "Bang! The barrel will shatter like glass. Anyone who uses this barrel will be crippled, if not killed."

Zhao Ming felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the seemingly perfect blueprint, as if it were a death warrant.

"This is 'logical self-destruction'."

Su Zheng blew on the eraser shavings on the paper. "Only the most top-notch metallurgical experts, through rigorous calculations and experiments, can discover the trickery in this blueprint. But for those so-called 'insiders' who only know how to steal blueprints or have only a superficial understanding, this is priceless."

After finishing the last stroke, Su Zheng took out a small bottle from the drawer, which contained a pale yellow powder.

"This is developer powder."

He dabbed a little with a cotton swab and gently applied it to the edges and lining of the drawing. "You can't see it normally, but it glows under UV light. And if you get this on your hands, it won't wash off for three days."

After doing all this, Su Zheng glanced at the clock on the wall.

12 o'clock noon.

"Zhao Ming, proceed according to plan."

"yes!"

……

12:10 PM.

Everyone in the lab went to the cafeteria for lunch.

Zhao Ming locked the door last.

As usual, he checked the windows, then walked to the safe and prepared to lock the "bait blueprint" inside.

Just then, his colleague's voice called from the corridor: "Zhao Ming! Hurry up! We're about to sell out of braised pork today!"

"Here it comes!"

Zhao Ming looked very flustered. He hurriedly stuffed the blueprints into the safe, then closed the door and turned the combination lock.

But in the instant he turned it, his finger seemed to "slip".

Click.

The cabinet door appeared to be closed tightly, but this was just the sound of the mechanical latch popping out; it wasn't actually locked.

It can be opened with just a gentle pull.

Zhao Ming seemed completely unaware, grabbed his lunchbox and rushed out of the lab, making sure to lock the lab door behind him.

But what he didn't know was that at the very moment he turned to leave, Old Liu, the janitor at the end of the corridor, was holding a broom, staring intently at his retreating figure.

The laboratory door was an explosion-proof door, so Lao Liu naturally couldn't get in.

But Lao Liu doesn't need to go in.

He only needed to confirm one thing: the "housekeeper" in charge of the keys and passwords had indeed been "rash" at noon today.

The rest can be left to more professional people.

1:30 PM.

Su Zheng and Zhao Ming returned to the laboratory on time.

The first thing Su Zheng did upon entering was not to open the safe, but as usual, he walked to the drawing table, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of water.

Then, his gaze seemingly casually swept over the handle of the safe.

The handle was originally horizontal, but now... it's tilted downwards by less than 5 degrees.

This is an extremely minor detail; it would have been impossible for someone like Su Zheng, who is exceptionally sensitive to mechanical structures, to notice it.

He put down his teacup, walked to the safe, and gently pulled it open.

The cabinet door opened.

Zhao Ming, standing behind, turned deathly pale instantly.

This wasn't acting; he was genuinely terrified.

Because he knew very well what that meant.

"Master..."

"Shhh."

Su Zheng put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.

He put on a pair of white gloves and carefully took the drawing out of the cabinet.

The location of the drawing has changed.

When he left, the corner of the blueprint was aligned with the screw inside the cabinet.

Now, the drawing has been shifted outward by about 1 millimeter.

Someone has tampered with it.

Moreover, he is an extremely cautious and highly professional person.

He may have even worn gloves or used tweezers in an attempt to photograph the blueprints without leaving fingerprints.

Su Zheng took out a portable ultraviolet lamp from his pocket and shone it on the blueprint.

No fingerprints were found.

"A master." Su Zheng's lips curled into a cold smile.

The other party was very cautious and did not touch the area coated with developer powder directly with their hands.

However, despite their meticulous planning, the other party did not anticipate that Su Zheng's "developing powder" was not merely applied to paper.

Su Zheng turned off the UV light, turned around and walked to the handle of the safe, then turned the light back on.

Several clear fluorescent fingerprints were clearly visible on the lower edge of the metal handle!

"He wore gloves while flipping through the blueprints, thinking he was absolutely sure. But when he opened the cabinet door, to test if it was locked, he subconsciously reached out and pulled the handle."

Su Zheng's voice carried a chill, "Moreover, he wasn't wearing gloves at that time. Or rather, he only put on his gloves when he went into the cabinet to get the blueprints."

"Zhao Ming, go and call Section Chief Wang here."

Su Zheng stared at the glowing fingerprint as if it were the bloodstains left by prey.

"The fish has taken the bait."

……

Ten minutes later, Section Chief Wang looked at the fingerprint and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Consultant Su, what do we do now? Extract fingerprints and compare them across the entire factory?"

"No rush."

Su Zheng shook his head. "Fingerprint comparison is like finding a needle in a haystack. Besides, now that he has the 'formula,' his next step will definitely be to give away this 'gift.'"

"And the location for delivering the gift will almost certainly be in Pigeon City!"

"Should we keep a close eye on Lao Liu?" Section Chief Wang asked.

"There's no need."

Su Zheng shook his head: "Given the enemy's cautious nature, there's a high chance they won't use Lao Liu!"

"If keeping an eye on Lao Liu is useless, then the clues have gone cold now, haven't they?" Section Chief Wang frowned.

"Yes, then we've all worked for nothing, Master?" Zhao Ming said with a regretful expression.

"It wasn't a wasted effort."

Su Zheng smiled slightly, walked to the window, and looked at the bustling factory area outside, his gaze deep:

"In fact, sometimes being overly cautious is also a weakness."

"What do you mean, Master?" Zhao Ming was completely confused.

Section Chief Wang also looked over with a puzzled expression.

"What I mean is, given the cautious nature of these enemy agents, once they obtain such important high-tech blueprints, they would never pass them on through multiple intermediaries."

"So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the person who made the contact will be an important figure among them."

"That makes sense!"

Section Chief Wang's eyes lit up, but he quickly raised a question:

"But how do we know their rendezvous point? After all, apart from Lao Liu, we know nothing about the enemy members."

"Isn't this fingerprint there?" Su Zheng smiled slightly.

"But Master, didn't you just say that doing this would easily alert the enemy?" Zhao Ming asked in confusion.

"How can you spot a snake if you don't cut the grass?"

Su Zheng asked in return:

"However, we don't need to go through the trouble of comparing them one by one. We just need to let everyone in the factory know that the high-tech blueprints have been suspected of being leaked, and then control the entrances and exits of the steel rolling mill."

"There's no need for a thorough investigation. Just find the right balance—a balance that seems rigorous to the average person but terrible to a professional."

"But Engineer Su... we have at least several hundred workers in our factory. With so many people, a rough screening wouldn't be enough to identify enemy agents!" Section Chief Wang raised his question.

"Leave the judging of people to me."

Su Zheng smiled mysteriously.

Indeed, if it were someone else, identifying the other party without careful investigation and without being able to identify enemy agents would be nothing short of a fantasy.

But Su Zheng, who has the eye of truth, is different.

"Alright, since you're confident, Engineer Su, I'll get started on the preparations!"

Although Section Chief Wang didn't know how Su Zheng had such confidence.

But since Su Zheng has spoken, he will definitely do as he is told.

......

At 5 p.m., the steel rolling mill's announcement signaling the end of the workday came on time.

Normally at this time, the workers would have already flocked to the gate. But today, a long line had formed at the gate.

All the security personnel were mobilized and a checkpoint was set up at the main gate.

"What are you doing? Checking my household registration?"

"I heard that something important went missing from the factory, so they're doing a routine check."

"What's so important that you're making such a big fuss?"

"What else could it be? The technical blueprints for Fitter Su's 001 lab are missing! Chief Wang of the security department is furious; he was just cursing in Workshop Two!"

"No wonder..."

The workers were talking about it.

Standing on higher ground, Section Chief Wang shouted in a loud voice, "Don't push! Open your bags! Open your lunchboxes! Cooperate with the inspection!"

Section Chief Wang's performance was worthy of an Oscar. His face was full of anxiety and agitation, as if he were truly flustered because he had lost something.

However, the inspection, though seemingly rigorous, was actually quite sloppy.

The security personnel were making a lot of noise, flipping through the items, but their main purpose was to check for any large pieces of iron or copper.

For hidden places like cotton-padded coat pockets and shoe uppers, they would just rummage through them a couple of times and that would be it.

This inspection, which was all bark and no bite, allowed some of the tense people in the team to quietly breathe a sigh of relief after their initial panic.

Su Zheng did not stand in a conspicuous place.

The guardhouse was dark and unlit.

He moved a chair and sat in the shadows behind the window, holding a cup of hot tea in his hands. Through the fogged-up glass, he coldly watched the moving crowd outside.

Beside him, Zhao Ming's palms were sweating with nervousness as he stared intently out the window: "Master, with so many people, can we really find them? What if..."

"There's no 'what if'."

Su Zheng's voice was calm and without any ripples.

He gently blew away the foam on the surface of the teacup and took a sip.

"Buzz".

Deep within Su Zheng's pupils, a faint blue light, visible only to himself, suddenly shone, then rapidly spread, covering his entire field of vision.

[The Eye of Truth, fully activated.]

[Current mode: Biometric monitoring + structural imaging.]

In an instant, the once noisy, colorful world completely changed in his eyes.

The clamor of voices fades away, the colors disappear, and in their place lies a cold world composed of countless lines, data, and points of light.

The crowd outside the door now appeared to Su Zheng as a series of semi-transparent biological models.

"Heart rate, blood flow rate, muscle tension, body surface temperature distribution..."

Countless streams of data cascaded down before his eyes like a waterfall.

"The guy in the black cotton-padded jacket had three scrap copper valves hidden in his left pocket and a heart rate of 90. That's because he's guilty of stealing public property. He's not the person we're looking for."

"The one wearing the dog-skin hat, with two white steamed buns in his pocket, probably borrowed from the cafeteria, heart rate 85, nervous but with wandering eyes, can be ruled out."

"The guy pushing the bicycle had a homemade scraper stuffed into the steel pipe of the handlebars. That's a nuisance, but it's unrelated to the blueprints, so we can rule him out."

Su Zheng's gaze swept quickly across the crowd like the most sophisticated radar.

Everyone who passes through the checkpoint is exposed to his "God's eye."

Eliminate them one by one.

They were sifted through one by one.

until……

A middle-aged man wearing blue overalls and black-rimmed glasses pushed a slightly worn bicycle to the checkpoint.

Engineer Liu from the technical department.

Liu Dehai.