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

Night falls.

The dark green GAZ-69 jeep, like a silent steel behemoth, lay quietly at the gate of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

The car body gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the streetlights.

At this time of year, the front yard is always the liveliest place. Yan Bugui would stand guard at the door, keeping track of who bought meat and who brought gifts.

But today, the front yard is deathly silent.

The windows of Yan Bugui's house were tightly closed, and even the curtains were drawn shut. Only the occasional shadowy figures moving through the gaps indicated that the people inside were not asleep.

"Old man, did Su Zheng... really bring the car back?" The third aunt lowered her voice, her tone trembling slightly.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Yan Bugui was startled and quickly covered his wife's mouth, saying, "Are you trying to kill yourself? That's a car with a red license plate! How dare you talk about that?"

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses, his expression extremely complex. There was envy, there was jealousy, but most of all—fear.

As a primary school teacher, he was better at assessing situations than anyone else in the department.

First-class merit. Special commendation. Jeep. Gun license.

These words combined signify that Su Zheng has completely transcended the realm of "ordinary people." He is no longer the neighbor Xiao Su who can be schemed against and ostracized, but a "special figure" representing the will of the state.

"From now on, whenever you see Su Zheng, bow down!"

Yan Bugui sternly warned the children, "Anyone who dares to provoke him again, don't blame me for breaking your legs! Our Yan family is scheming, not courting death! We should avoid this kind of battle between gods like this!"

Zhongyuan, Yi Zhonghai's house.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Sha Zhu sat at the table, silently drinking his wine. Qin Huairu sat beside him, her eyes red-rimmed, clearly having just finished crying.

"Uncle, is it really impossible to control Su Zheng anymore?" Sha Zhu slammed his wine glass heavily on the table, his eyes still showing resentment, but mostly helplessness.

Yi Zhonghai puffed on his pipe, and his face looked exceptionally old in the swirling smoke.

"Tube?"

Yi Zhonghai gave a wry smile. "Zhu Zi, haven't you figured it out yet? They're like dragons in the sky now, while we're just mudfish in the ground. Once the dragon flies to the heavens, do you think it cares what the mudfish think?"

"In the past, we could use grand principles like 'respecting the elderly and caring for the young' and 'neighborly mutual assistance' to pressure him. But now?"

Yi Zhonghai pointed outside the door, "They represent the nation! The Ministry of Industry! You try to reason with them about morality? They'll talk about the law! You try to reason with them about neighborly relations? They'll talk about national interests!"

"What about Liu Haizhong and Xu Damao..." Qin Huairu asked cautiously.

"The two of them?"

Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly, "They brought this on themselves. Don't they know what the situation is like now? They still dare to provoke Su Zheng? Let me tell you, from now on, in this courtyard, Su Zheng's words are law. If he tells us to go east, we absolutely cannot go west."

"For the sake of our 'advanced courtyard house' title, and for the sake of our own peaceful lives... you all better keep a low profile!"

Yi Zhonghai gave his final summary.

That night, all the "beasts" in the courtyard fell silent in the face of absolute power.

There was no more scheming, no more provocation, only deep awe and the instinct for self-preservation.

This is a case of dimensional reduction attack.

When the gap in strength becomes large enough, so-called conspiracies and tricks become laughable, like a joke.

……

The backyard, Su Zheng's house.

Only a dim, yellow table lamp was lit in the room.

Su Zheng sat in a wicker chair, toying with the Type 54 pistol he had just received. The dark muzzle gleamed with a cold metallic sheen under the light.

"System, activate panoramic monitoring."

[Ding! The Eye of Truth has switched to wide-area alert mode. Coverage range: radius 200 meters.]

Su Zheng closed his eyes.

In an instant, a three-dimensional diagram of the entire courtyard house appeared in his mind.

He "saw" Yan Bugui scolding the children, and he "saw" Yi Zhonghai smoking silently. These reactions were exactly what he had expected.

Suddenly, Su Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly.

In his Eye of Truth, a red, unusually active point of light appeared.

It was a figure dressed in black, moving as nimbly as a wildcat, silently creeping towards them along the backyard wall.

Professionals.

Moreover, he was holding a tubular object, which was probably a sleeping powder or a blowgun.

Su Zheng's lips curled into a cold smile as he was about to get up.

But he immediately sat back down.

Because at the edge of his field of vision, two green dots that had been silent suddenly moved.

The two points of light remained hidden in the shadows of the roof of the adjacent side room, breathing at an extremely low rate. Without careful scanning, they could even be mistaken for roof tiles.

"People from the National Security Bureau..."

Su Zheng muttered to himself, "It seems the ministry is serious this time."

Since someone else is doing it for us, let's just watch the show.

Su Zheng lit a cigarette and leaned back leisurely in the wicker chair.

……

Two o'clock in the morning.

The night was dark and the wind was high.

The agent codenamed "Blackwater" scaled the wall and landed nimbly on the roof of Su Zheng's house.

He is very confident.

As a long-time undercover agent, he had absolute confidence in his skills. To him, a mere courtyard house was like his own backyard.

He pulled a thin tube from his waist and quietly extended it through the crack in Su Zheng's bedroom window.

As soon as you blow a puff of smoke in, the person inside will sleep like a log, completely at your mercy.

however.

Just as he was about to insert the tube...

A chilling sensation suddenly swept over me from behind.

His instincts as a professional agent made him suddenly roll forward.

"brush!"

A jet-black dagger grazed his scalp, severing several strands of hair.

"Who?!"

Blackwater was terrified.

He turned around abruptly and saw two men in Zhongshan suits with expressionless faces who had blocked his escape route.

They didn't speak, their eyes as cold as if they were looking at a dead man.

No nonsense.

Two men in Zhongshan suits attacked simultaneously. One on the left and one on the right, their coordination was so perfect that they seemed like one person.

Take him down! Chokehold!

Blackwater was also a skilled fighter; he threw down the pipe in his hand, drew his dagger, and prepared to fight to the death.

"when!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

But two fists can't fight four hands.

It took less than three moves.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

Blackwater's right arm was broken off, and the dagger clattered to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a strong hand pressed down hard on the back of his head, slamming his face heavily onto the roof tiles.

"Bang!"

The tiles shattered.

Blackwater felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and almost fainted.

But before he could scream, a rag was stuffed into his mouth.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

Fast. Accurate. Ruthless.

This is the power of the state apparatus. For this level of security, catching a spy is as easy as catching a mouse.

"take away."

One of the men in a Zhongshan suit said in a low voice.

Just then.

"Squeak—"

The door downstairs opened.

Su Zheng, wearing a coat and holding a teacup, slowly walked out.

He looked up and saw the three "uninvited guests" on the roof.

The two men in Zhongshan suits paused for a moment. They thought they had moved extremely quietly, and since they were on the roof, the people below shouldn't have heard them.

"Director Su."

One of the men in the leading suit reacted very quickly, immediately letting go and jumping off the roof.

He landed steadily in front of Su Zheng and snapped to attention with a standard military salute.

"National Security Bureau, Special Operations Team, codename 'Falcon.' Ordered to carry out security mission codename 001!"

Falcon's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a steely edge: "We've disturbed the commander's rest; please discipline him!"

Su Zheng took a sip of tea, his gaze sweeping over the spy on the rooftop who was being held down like a dead dog.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Su Zheng said calmly, "The person isn't dead, is they?"

"Reporting, sir! The suspect has a fractured right arm and a mild concussion; he is under control! Preliminary assessment indicates he is a member of the enemy's 'Blackwater' operations team!"

At this moment, the lights in the front yard and the middle yard came on again.

Although the fighting was brief, the final sound of shattering tiles still alerted the neighbors.

"What happened? Was there an earthquake?"

"The noise seems to be coming from the backyard!"

Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, Yan Bugui, and the others hurriedly ran to the backyard, wearing their clothes.

When they rushed through the moon gate, everyone was frozen in place by the sight before them.

Su Zheng stood calmly in the center of the courtyard.

Standing before him was a man in a Zhongshan suit exuding a murderous aura.

Even more terrifying is what's on the roof.

Another man in a Zhongshan suit was carrying a bloodied, lifeless man in black, jumping off the roof like a chick.

"Bang."

The man in black was thrown to the ground with a thud.

"This...this is..."

Yi Zhonghai was so frightened that his legs went weak.

Although he was inexperienced, he could tell that the aura emanating from these people (except Su Zheng) was definitely not that of ordinary people! It was the aura of someone who had truly seen blood and killed people!

"This is... the person secretly protecting Su Zheng?"

Yan Bugui's hand, which was adjusting his glasses, was trembling.

He had previously only guessed that Su Zheng's identity was unusual, but now, the facts were laid bare before him.

Even while you sleep, there are experts of this caliber guarding the roof!

This isn't a technical advisor; this is clearly the nation's giant panda!

"What are you looking at?!"

Falcon suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd like a blade.

Yi Zhonghai and the others felt a chill on their necks and instinctively took several steps back.

"Don't you know about the confidentiality regulations?! Anyone who doesn't want to be in the office for questioning, get back here!"

The falcon's cry carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Yes, yes, yes...we'll leave right away! We'll leave right away!"

Yi Zhonghai felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and he grabbed Sha Zhu and Yan Bugui and ran away.

too frightening.

This courtyard will truly be a forbidden area from now on. Even a single glance will fill me with dread!

After all the neighbors had left.

Su Zhengcai walked up to the spy.

He crouched down and hooked the agent's chin with his finger.

"Go back and tell you to go online."

Su Zheng's voice was very soft, only the agents could hear it, "If you want to touch me, send your old devils in person. Sending these small fry to their deaths is pointless."

The agent stared wide-eyed in horror.

He wanted to speak, but his mouth was gagged, and he could only make muffled sounds.

"Take it away."

Su Zheng stood up and waved his hand, "Don't dirty my yard."

"yes!"

With a wave of his hand, Falcon and his two men hoisted the agent and disappeared into the night like ghosts.

They come without a trace and go without a trace.

The courtyard fell silent again.

Only a few drops of blood on the ground proved that what had just happened was not a dream.

Su Zheng stood in the courtyard, looking at the starry sky above.

This is true national power.

With this protective shield, he was finally able to act freely and do that earth-shattering thing.

"system."

"Exchange for 'High-Precision CNC Machine Tool' blueprints."

"Now that the V12 has been built, it's time to give this country's industry a fresh start."

……

In the room.

Ye Xinyi stood by the window, watching Su Zheng's tall and straight back, her eyes sparkling.

She hadn't slept at all, and was holding the spare gun Su Zheng had given her.

But she didn't go out.

Because she saw those who were protecting Su Zheng.

"You really are... a national treasure."

Ye Xinyi murmured softly, a proud smile playing on her lips.