Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

The television screen was displaying incredibly clear, color images. The color saturation and smoothness of the picture far surpassed those domestic televisions that were still struggling with black and white static, a whole era ahead.

"Their electronic component integration is at least twenty years ahead of ours." Pei Yihong gritted his teeth, his voice filled with a deep sense of powerlessness, but his pen did not stop, still frantically recording the television's appearance parameters and heat dissipation hole layout.

Lin Yang walked into the middle of the crowd with his hands in his trench coat pockets.

"See that? This is the opponent you're facing at the negotiating table."

Lin Yang's voice sounded particularly cold in this supermarket filled with capitalist materialism.

"They don't need guns to conquer us. They only need to put these goods in front of you to destroy your will. You think you've made a profit on those joint venture contracts you signed? In their eyes, you're nothing more than using the country's land and labor to help them produce these cheap consumables for their shelves!"

Lin Yang pointed to the endless stream of cars outside.

"Our goal isn't to envy the size of their supermarkets or the amount of meat they have. It's to figure out what kind of industrial machinery supports their vast material empire!"

"Let's go! To City D! To see their steel heart!"

The next morning.

The delegation's special plane landed in D City, the heart of heavy industry in Country M.

This is the world's leading automotive industry and the cradle of heavy machinery.

Thanks to Lin Yang's advance planning and the high public relations expenses, General Dynamics, one of the three major automotive giants in the United States, agreed to allow this delegation from the East to make a half-day "visit".

Of course, this tour is limited to the outer assembly workshop; the real core technology area is kept absolutely secret.

They were received by Mr. Smith, a senior vice president of General Dynamics.

Smith wore an expensive custom-made suit, had blond hair and blue eyes, and wore a standard, insincere professional smile. His eyes revealed a condescending arrogance, as if he were looking at a group of poor relatives who had come to beg for alms.

"Welcome to the pinnacle of modern industry, guests from the East," Smith said through a translator, in a slightly exaggerated tone. "I hope the roar of our machines here won't frighten you."

Faced with this veiled mockery, several high-ranking domestic officials looked rather grim, but since they were on someone else's turf, they could only suppress their anger.

Lin Yang gave Smith a cold look, ignoring his pleasantries, and spoke directly in fluent London English with a strong military accent: "Mr. Smith, there's no need for pleasantries. We're short on time, let's go straight to Assembly Workshop No. 1."

Smith was taken aback, clearly not expecting the leader of the Chinese delegation to speak such fluent English and have such a commanding presence. He toned down his arrogance and gestured for them to proceed.

The moment the delegation stepped into the No. 1 final assembly workshop.

Pei Yihong's breath caught in his throat.

The entire workshop was as big as several football fields. But what was frightening was that there were hardly any industrial workers to be seen!

There wasn't the kind of massive crowds and shirtless people wielding sledgehammers that you see in China.

Instead, a fully automated production line stretching hundreds of meters long was installed.

On both sides of the assembly line stand dozens of massive robotic arms, each three meters tall. These bright yellow industrial robots, like tireless steel giants, precisely grasp the heavy car chassis under computer program control, performing perfect, seamless welding!

Blinding welding sparks burst in mid-air, and the robotic arm operates at an astonishing speed, with an error of no more than 0.1 millimeters for each movement.

A brand-new car, from sheet metal to finished product, is assembled at an appalling speed amidst the emotionless roar of the machines.

"This...this is a fully automated CNC production line?"

A deputy general manager in charge of heavy industry, his legs trembling, gripped the railing tightly. Looking at the nimbly rotating robotic arms, he thought of the slow-moving workshops back home still using manual welding.

This is not a difference in human strength at all; it is an absolute dimensional reduction of the physical body by technology!

Pei Yihong had rushed to the front of the cordon without anyone noticing.

He practically pressed his face against the glass railing, staring intently at the joint drive shaft of the robotic arm. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands were unconsciously scratching at the glass.

"Servo motor...it's definitely a high-precision AC servo motor...and their hydraulic transmission system, how could its size be reduced to such a small size?" Pei Yihong muttered to himself as if he were possessed, his notebook filled with data symbols that ordinary people could not understand at all.

Smith walked over to Lin Yang, looked at the dumbfounded Chinese officials, and his arrogant smile reappeared.

"Mr. Lin, this automated welding system is the core technology that our group developed over five years at a cost of 500 million US dollars."

Smith, holding a cup of coffee, said in a flippant tone.

"I've heard that your country is currently making a big push to attract foreign investment. To be honest, you have the world's largest and cheapest labor force. You don't need such complex automation at all. You just need to be responsible for tightening screws, assembling tires, and doing the simplest manual labor, and that's enough. Isn't that right?"

These words were like a sharp knife, piercing the hearts of every Chinese official present.

This is blatant contempt. In the eyes of Western capitalists, China will forever only be fit to be a low-end sweatshop, forever only fit to follow behind them and pick up scraps!

The high-ranking officials were trembling with anger, their fists clenched, but looking at the despairing industrial divide before them, they couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.

Lin Yang turned his head.

He looked at Smith's superior face, his eyes showing no anger, only an extreme coldness as if he were looking at a dead man.

Lin Yang reached out and casually picked up a heavy-duty wrench covered in engine oil from a discarded engine waiting to be assembled next to him.

Smith was startled and instinctively took a half step back. The foreign bodyguards behind him immediately nervously reached for their waists.

"Mr. Lin, what do you want to do?" Smith asked warily.

Lin Yang ignored him.

He took the heavy wrench and strode over to the fully automated robotic arm that Smith was so proud of.

Through the glass railing, Lin Yang's wrench slammed down without warning onto an emergency stop button on the edge of the glass!

boom!

With a dull thud, a piercing alarm instantly blared throughout the entire assembly workshop.

Dozens of robotic arms, which were operating at high speed, came to an abrupt stop with a piercing screech of hydraulic brakes, as if their nerves had been severed in an instant!

The entire roaring workshop instantly fell into a deathly silence.