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

The morning sunlight shines on the courtyard at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

On this day, the atmosphere in the courtyard was unusually harmonious.

Gone was Xu Damao's sarcastic tone, gone was Liu Haizhong's bureaucratic manner, and even Sha Zhu's loose tongue was tightly shut. Everyone who saw Su Zheng leave wanted to beam with joy and respectfully greet him with "Good morning, Director Su."

Last night's scene not only shocked the birds, but also broke the backbone of everyone in this yard.

Su Zheng got into the jeep and sped away amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of his neighbors.

……

Interrogation room, Security Department, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

Located underground within the factory grounds, this place is perpetually shrouded in darkness, and the air is thick with a mixture of musty and bloody odors.

"Did you confess?"

Su Zheng pushed open the door and entered, placing the breakfast he had brought on the table.

Falcon sat in a chair, wiping the blood from his fingers. In the interrogation chair, the agent codenamed "Blackwater" was slumped, his eyes glazed over, clearly having endured a night of "professional treatment."

"It was a tough nut to crack, but it still broke."

Falcon said coldly, "He's just an executor. His online codename is 'Old Ghost,' and we've always been in contact through a single, dead email address. But..."

"But what?"

"Last night's operation failed. According to their emergency plan, he must go to the pigeon market in the south of the city at noon today and leave an evacuation signal at the used book stall. Otherwise, 'Old Ghost' will realize something is wrong and immediately flee."

"The Pigeon Market in the South of the City..."

Su Zheng's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had been to that place. It was a melting pot of all sorts of people, a veritable den of iniquity.

"Our people are already deployed in Pigeon City," Falcon said. "Once that 'old devil' shows his face, he won't be able to escape."

"No."

Su Zheng shook his head. "Old Ghost has been able to lie low for so many years without being caught. His sense of smell must be better than a dog's. Your men smell too strongly of soldiers. As soon as you enter a place like Pigeon City, you can smell them from two miles away."

Falcon paused for a moment. Indeed, they were rigorously trained soldiers. Their upright posture and sharp eyes might be able to blend in with ordinary people, but in Pigeon City, full of seasoned veterans, they certainly stood out.

"What does the commander mean?"

"I'll go."

Su Zheng's lips curled into a playful smile. "Perfect timing, it's been a while since I've been out shopping."

"No! It's too dangerous!" Falcon refused decisively. "Your safety is the most important thing! That's a mass grave, what if..."

"There's no 'what if'." "Besides, I was the one who caught the spy last time."

"and……"

Su Zheng pointed to his eyes, "In this world, no disguise can fool me."

……

Noon.

Pigeon Market in the South of the City.

Although it's called a "morning market," it's located in a remote area and is a hub for black market transactions, so there are people here all day long.

The shouts of vendors selling secondhand clothes, reselling grain coupons, fortune tellers, and selling miracle cures rose and fell, amidst billowing dust.

Su Zheng changed into an inconspicuous old work uniform, wore a tattered felt hat, put his hands in his pockets, and mingled in the crowd.

He was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, inconspicuous.

But in his view, the entire pigeon city has become a huge data model.

The Eye of Truth is opened.

[Spectral analysis: Initiated.]

[Bio-radar: Activated.]

Countless streams of information flashed before his eyes.

"Ten meters ahead, there's an old man selling sweet potatoes. He's hiding a boning knife in his sleeve, probably for self-defense. Threat level: low."

"The blind fortune teller on the left, his eyes aren't blind at all behind his sunglasses. He's peeking at that woman's wallet. Threat level: low."

Su Zheng's gaze swept quickly across the crowd, finally settling on an inconspicuous used bookstore in a corner.

The stall owner was an old man who looked to be in his sixties, with gray hair and wearing a dirty sheepskin coat. He was huddled against the wall, sunbathing, looking like he hadn't woken up yet.

In front of him were several tattered thread-bound books and some antique fragments of unknown authenticity.

It looks ordinary.

But under Su Zheng's "Eye of Truth," every detail about the old man was magnified infinitely.

"The thick calluses on the webs of my hands are the marks left from long-term use of a short gun."

"Even though I was dozing off, my neck muscles were constantly tense, ready to spring into action at any moment."

"Most importantly..."

Su Zheng's gaze pierced through the old man's dirty sheepskin coat.

Hidden in the lining of the coat was a palm-sized Browning M1906 pocket pistol, and a tube of... potassium cyanide poison needle.

"I've found you."

Su Zheng's lips curled slightly.

He didn't rush to make a move, but instead strolled leisurely to the bookstall like an ordinary idler.

"Sir, how much is this copy of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'?"

Su Zheng squatted down and picked up an old book with a missing cover.

The old man lifted his eyelids, his cloudy gaze sweeping over Su Zheng.

"50 cents."

His voice was hoarse, exuding a cold indifference that kept people at arm's length.

"Isn't it a bit pricey?" Su Zheng said with a smile, trying to bargain. "This book is in such bad shape, how about Sanmao?"

"Buy it or don't, it's up to you." The old man turned over, seemingly unwilling to pay any more attention.

Su Zheng wasn't angry. As he flipped through the book, he said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I heard things weren't peaceful in the city last night. Apparently, quite a few people were arrested."

The old man's fingers stiffened slightly.

Although it only lasted for a moment, it was as clear as slow motion in Su Zheng's eyes.

"Young man, stop meddling in other people's business," the old man said coldly. "If you want to buy a book, pay up; if not, get lost."

"I want to buy it."

Su Zheng put down his book and took out a banknote from his pocket—a five-yuan note with a folded corner, which was the contact token provided by "Blackwater".

He gently placed the money on the bookstall.

"But the thing tucked inside this book is a bit hot to the touch."

Upon seeing the folded banknote, the old man's pupils suddenly contracted.

That's an emergency evacuation signal!

Without any hesitation.

The old man sprang up from the ground as if propelled by a spring. His previously cloudy eyes instantly sharpened to the point of being as keen as a hawk's, and his right hand darted into his robes with lightning speed.

fast!

Incredibly fast!

An ordinary person, or even a regular police officer, wouldn't be able to react in time.

Unfortunately, he encountered Su Zheng.

"Snapped!"

A slender hand, as if it could foresee the future, precisely gripped the old man's wrist.

Like iron clamps.

The old man's hand had barely touched the gun handle when he could no longer move it even an inch further.

"you……"

The old man was shocked and, with a flick of his left hand, sent several poisoned plum blossom needles flying straight toward Su Zheng's front door.

"A trivial skill."

Su Zheng didn't even turn his head, he just turned slightly to the side.

"Boohoo!"

The plum blossom needle flew past his ear and embedded itself in the earthen wall behind him, its end still buzzing.

next second.

Su Zheng's wrist suddenly jerked.

"Snap!"

The sickening sound of bones cracking.

The old man's right wrist was dislocated.

"what!"

The old man screamed in agony, but his ferocity far exceeded that of ordinary people. His right hand was useless, yet he opened his mouth and bit down on his collar—where a poison sac was hidden!

Suicide squad!

If exposed, commit suicide immediately!

"Want to die? Did you get my permission?"

Su Zheng snorted coldly, and with his other hand, he transformed his palm into a knife and slashed hard at the old man's jaw joint.

"Click".

Dislocated jaw.

The old man's mouth was wide open, the venom sac right next to his teeth, but he couldn't bring himself to bite down.

This series of actions happened in the blink of an eye.

From the moment Su Zheng made his move to the moment he subdued the old man, it took less than three seconds.

Before the people around could even react to what was happening, they saw the old man who was usually half-dead selling books being pinned to the ground by the young man like a dead dog.

"Don't move! No one is allowed to move!"

At this moment, several seemingly ordinary passersby suddenly sprang into action, pulled out handguns, and took control of the scene.

It was Falcon and his team.

"take away."

Su Zheng dusted off his hands and stood up.

Falcon strode over and looked at the old man on the ground, whose joints had been dislocated and whose face was full of despair. His admiration deepened.

"Commander, with your skills... it's a real shame you're not a special forces instructor."

"Everyone has their own area of ​​expertise."

Su Zheng smiled and said, "I still prefer building machines."

……

That afternoon.

Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, 001 Research Institute.

The capture of "Old Ghost" was like a key that completely unlocked the enemy's network of spies in Beijing.

Based on his confession (under the interrogation aided by the Eye of Truth, no secret can be hidden), the National Security Bureau launched a swift operation, dismantling three contact points and arresting more than a dozen undercover agents.

With this, the external threats against the Red Star Steel Mill and the "Spark" project were completely eliminated.

Su Zheng sat in his spacious and bright office, listening to Falcon's report, and nodded slightly.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Sir, this is what we should do." Falcon saluted. "In addition, the ministry has decided to raise your security level by one level. From now on, in addition to our Falcon team, there will be an armed police squadron stationed around the research institute."

"Um."

Su Zheng did not refuse.

He is not just an individual now, but the hope of the nation's industry. Protecting him is protecting the future of the country.

After seeing the falcon off.

Su Zheng stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window, new factory buildings are rising from the ground. They are the expanded final assembly workshops built to produce the "Spark" sedan.

"The flies outside have been swept away."

"The internal termites have also been removed."

Su Zheng took a deep breath, his gaze becoming intense.

"Now it's time to sprint at full speed."

"system."

【exist. 】

"Retrieve the complete drawings of the 'Five-Axis CNC Machine Tool'".

Su Zheng's lips curled into a wild, arrogant smile.

V12 is just the beginning.

The real industrial revolution has only just begun.

……

at the same time.

Siheyuan.

The atmosphere in the courtyard house has become somewhat eerie.

forecourt.

Yan Bugui was wearing his reading glasses and holding a meeting with the children.

"Listen up, all of you! From now on, come straight home after school and don't wander around outside! Especially the backyard, that's off-limits! Anyone who dares to go near there, don't blame me for disowning them as my son!"

Intermediate People's Court.

Sha Zhu squatted by the door washing vegetables, sighing as he did so.

"Sigh...life is getting more and more boring."

Qin Huairu walked over, glanced in the direction of the backyard, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Pillar, do you think... it's time we changed our way of living?"

"Change our way of life?" Sha Zhu was taken aback. "How?"

"We can't get close to Su Zheng anymore." Qin Huairu bit her lip. "But we can't just drift along like this forever. I'm thinking of... going to night school to learn some skills."

"Learn a technical skill?"

Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu as if she were a monster. "Sis, are you running a fever? How old are you?"

"What's wrong with your age?"

A hint of resentment flashed in Qin Huairu's eyes. "Su Zheng was able to become a director and a hero through his skills. Although we can't compare to him, at least... we can't be seen as 'beasts' who only know how to scheme anymore, can we?"

Sha Zhu fell silent.

Looking at Qin Huairu's face, which was no longer young but still stubborn, he suddenly felt that the world had really changed.

Su Zheng's jeep, his first-class merit, and that gunshot completely changed everything.

In this turbulent era.

Some people ride the wind and transform into dragons.

Some people are stuck in their ways and become a laughing stock.

While gazing up at the dragon, many others finally began to wonder if they too should try to... climb out of the mire.