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

Late at night, at a special military station in Northwest China.

There was no station name here, and it couldn't be found on a map. There were only two rows of heavily armed soldiers, nailed to the platform, with a sentry post every five meters.

A green train, without any markings, sat silently on the tracks. All the windows were drawn with thick black curtains, and the engine spewed white steam, like a giant beast poised to pounce.

"Code name 'Heart', loading complete."

A colonel saluted Su Zheng, "Dean Su, the special train is ready to depart at any time."

Su Zheng nodded, his gaze falling on the special carriage located in the middle of the train.

It was a bulletproof carriage made entirely of welded steel plates. Inside was a lead canister weighing half a ton.

Inside the lead container were fist-sized spheres of highly enriched uranium (U-235), which they had extracted from thousands of tons of uranium ore over the past few years by tightening their belts.

That is the soul of the atomic bomb.

It is also the hope for the entire Chinese nation to stand tall.

"Set off."

Su Zheng boarded the train.

"Waaah—"

A long whistle pierced the night sky. The train slowly started moving and entered the vast Gobi Desert.

……

Inside the train carriage.

Su was sitting next to the huge lead jar, holding a book in his hand, but he wasn't reading it.

His "Eye of Truth" remained open, scanning everything around him.

"Dean Su, have some water."

Section Chief Wang (formerly the head of the security department of the steel rolling mill, now transferred to the base) handed over a military water bottle, saying, "We'll be traveling for two days and two nights. You should rest for a while; we'll keep an eye on things."

"I'm not tired."

Su Zheng shook his head, but his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Old Wang, have you checked the road conditions ahead?"

"It's been checked," Section Chief Wang assured, patting his chest. "There are militiamen on guard every kilometer along the route, and the railway bureau's patrol vehicle just passed by ten minutes ago. It's absolutely safe."

"Yeah?"

Su Zheng put down the kettle, stood up, and walked to the connecting area between the carriages.

Through the observation window, he looked at the dark railway tracks ahead.

To the average person, there was nothing there.

But in Su Zheng's "Eye of Truth," there is a strange heat source under a railway bridge three kilometers ahead.

That's human body temperature.

And there's more than one.

"parking."

Su Zheng suddenly said.

"What?" Section Chief Wang was stunned. "Dean Su, this is a special train! It absolutely cannot stop unless there are special circumstances! And this is an uninhabited area..."

"I told you to stop the car!"

Su Zheng's voice was icy cold: "There are people three kilometers ahead, under the bridge."

Section Chief Wang's expression changed instantly.

He knew Su Zheng too well. This young man never spoke ill of others. Back when they were catching enemy spies at the steel mill, Su Zheng relied on this almost intuitive keenness to drag out those deeply hidden rats one by one.

"Emergency stop!"

Section Chief Wang grabbed the walkie-talkie and roared, "All personnel, prepare for battle! There's an situation ahead!"

"squeak--"

A screech of brakes filled the air. The train slid along the tracks for hundreds of meters before finally coming to a stop two kilometers from the bridge.

"First Company, disembark and stand guard!"

"Second Company, outflank the bridge!"

As the train doors opened, countless fully armed soldiers surged out like a tide, quickly seizing the high ground on both sides of the railway.

Su Zheng did not get out of the car.

He opened the long, rectangular wooden box he carried with him.

Inside, there lay a uniquely shaped rifle.

"Dark Night" changed.

This is a sniper rifle that he personally modified during his time at the steel mill. After several upgrades, it has now been fitted with a high-precision optical sight taken from a U-2 and a heavy barrel hand-forged from special steel.

Effective range: 1500 meters.

Precision: swatting flies.

Su Zheng set up his gun and looked at the bridge in the distance through the scope.

Although it was late at night, everything in the distance was clearly visible with the help of the low-light night vision device (also made by Su Zheng).

Under the bridge pier.

Several dark figures were lying there, holding what looked like explosive charges, and were placing them on the railway tracks.

"He's one of Lao Gui's men."

Su Zheng sneered.

Those persistent ghosts.

Since Su Zheng raided the steel mill, the remaining enemy agents went underground. Knowing they couldn't win in a direct confrontation, they resorted to these underhanded sabotage activities.

Although the news of this "heart" delivery was top secret, nothing stays hidden forever. Especially when you're dealing with the intelligence networks of two superpowers.

"Trying to blow up the bridge?"

Su Zheng adjusted his breathing and placed his finger on the trigger.

"2100 meters away."

"Wind speed 3 meters per second."

"Correction amount 0.5 mils."

This distance is well beyond the range of a regular sniper rifle.

But in Su Zheng's hands, as long as something exists in this world, there is no target he cannot hit.

Because he doesn't need to estimate.

The Eye of Truth has already calculated the perfect ballistic curve for him.

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot rang out.

Under the bridge, the dark figure who was planting explosives had his head explode like a watermelon.

The explosive charge in his hand fell to the ground and rolled into the riverbed.

"There's a sniper!"

The remaining few shadowy figures were terrified and immediately sought cover.

"Bang!"

The second shot.

A guy who had just poked half his head out was instantly blown off his head.

"Over there! Two kilometers away!"

The remaining enemy agents were practically going crazy. Two kilometers? What the hell is that gun? It's an artillery shell!

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

The leader of the dark figures shouted and turned to disappear into the reeds on the riverbank.

"Trying to leave?"

Su Zheng's lips curled into a cruel smile.

He quickly pulled the bolt and loaded a new bullet.

The bullet's warhead was also specially made. A trace amount of white phosphorus was added to the core.

Armor-piercing incendiary bomb.

"Bang!"

The bullet whistled through the night sky, spanning two kilometers, and struck the leader's...backpack with pinpoint accuracy.

The backpack contained spare detonators.

"boom--!!!"

A fireball rose into the air from the reeds.

The violent explosion not only blew the leader to pieces, but also set off a fire in the reed marshes, forcing the remaining enemy agents to have nowhere to hide.

"Take them alive!"

At this moment, Section Chief Wang's Second Company had already surrounded the enemy.

The rest of the battle was a foregone conclusion.

Under the sight of hundreds of submachine guns, the enemy agents, their faces burned and covered in soot, obediently raised their hands.

……

Ten minutes later.

The train restarted.

Section Chief Wang ran back to the carriage, covered in sweat, carrying a captured explosive charge in his hand.

"Dean Su, this is too close!"

Section Chief Wang was still shaken. "That was TNT! A full twenty kilograms! If we hadn't stopped, we would have driven straight onto the bridge..."

He dared not think any further.

If even one rail is blown up, the train will derail. That uranium sphere, only the size of a fist, although protected by a lead container, cannot withstand such a blow.

If it leaks... it will be an ecological disaster.

"Have you gotten results yet?" Su Zheng wiped the gun clean and put it back in the box.

"The results are in."

Section Chief Wang gritted his teeth, "It was a mission given by 'above' (implying the intelligence agency of a certain superpower). They said that if we could stop this train, everyone would get a gold bar, plus a green card to go abroad."

"snort."

Su Zheng snorted contemptuously, "What use are gold bars if you're dead?"

He looked out the window.

The firelight illuminated the night sky.

"Old Wang, pass on my orders."

"Hang those prisoners at the back of the cart."

"Huh?" Section Chief Wang was stunned. "Hanging...on the back of the car?"

"right."

Su Zheng's voice was as cold as a devil's, "Let those rats still watching from the shadows along the way see this."

"This is what happens when you reach out for something."

"Anyone who dares to touch our atomic bomb, I'll chop off their hand."

"No matter which hand it is, or how far it stretches out."

……

The train continued its rapid journey across the wasteland.

After this "killing the chicken to scare the monkey," the rest of the journey went surprisingly smoothly.

All the ambushes and sabotage that might have existed seemed to have vanished overnight.

This is the deterrent power of absolute force.

Two days later.

The special train slowly pulled into the underground dedicated platform of Base 504.

General Zhang and the old professor, who had been waiting for a long time, were moved to tears when they saw the intact lead can being unloaded from the car.

"Finally...we've finally arrived."

The old professor stroked the cold lead canister as if he were caressing his own child. "The heart has arrived. Our Miss Qiu has finally developed a heart."

Su Zheng got out of the car, his face full of fatigue, but his back was still straight.

"Dean Su, thank you for your hard work!"

General Zhang stepped forward and solemnly saluted.

"It's not hard work."

Su Zheng returned the greeting, saying, "I just picked up a few bedbugs on the side."

He glanced at the lead canister.

"The most dangerous part is what follows."

Su Zheng's tone became serious, "Although the uranium sphere has arrived, there is still one last step needed to fit it into the explosive lens."

"What?" the old professor asked.

"Critical experiment".

Su Zheng slowly uttered these four words.

The expressions of the key experts present changed instantly.

Critical experiments have a more descriptive name in the nuclear physics community—

"Stroke the dragon's tail."

This means determining various parameters of a chain reaction by gradually approaching the critical mass. It's like trying to touch the tail of a sleeping dragon.

I touched it lightly, but there was no reaction.

If you touch it too hard, the dragon will wake up and swallow you whole.

Throughout history, the number of scientists who have sacrificed their lives while conducting this experiment is too many to count on two hands.

"According to the procedure, we need to slowly bring the two halves of the uranium sphere together until the neutron counter reaches its peak value, and then quickly separate them at that moment."

Su Zheng explained, "This process is entirely done by hand. No machine can replace that feel."

"If your hand shakes even slightly..."

Su Zheng did not continue speaking.

But everyone present understood.

With a slight tremor of the hand, the two halves of the uranium sphere come together instantly, reaching a supercritical state.

That was a miniature nuclear explosion.

Although the amount is small, it is enough to produce a lethal dose of radiation, causing the operator to die painfully within a few days.

"I'll do it."

The old professor suddenly said, "I'm too old, I've lived enough. I'll do this job."

"No!" General Zhang immediately objected. "You are a national treasure! We can't take the risk!"

"Then who should come? Let those young people come?" the old professor glared. "Their children are still young! They have bright futures ahead of them! What am I, an old man, afraid of?"

"Stop arguing."

Su Zheng interrupted them.

He took off his gloves, revealing his long, steady hands.

"This job is something only I can do."

"Su Zheng!" Ye Xinyi cried out anxiously, "You..."

"I like it."

Su Zheng looked into her eyes, his gaze gentle yet firm. "Do you believe me?"

"I..." Ye Xinyi's eyes reddened.

"I'm confident."

Su Zheng smiled and pointed to his eyes, "I can see where the dragon's tail is. It can't bite me."

"and……"

Su Zheng turned around and looked at the lead can.

"I brought this back, so it's my turn to put it on the sedan chair."

"Let's prepare the laboratory."

"Tonight, I'm going to test this dragon's temper."