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

Night falls.

Inside a business hotel in downtown Munich.

Due to limited funds, the inspection team booked the most ordinary floor of the hotel. The carpet in the corridor was somewhat worn, and the air was filled with a musty smell from years of lack of sunlight.

Lin Yang's room was at the very end of the corridor.

The main lights in the room were not on; only a dim wall lamp was lit.

Lin Yang sat on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. Shen Yan was quickly organizing tomorrow's schedule beside him.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The door was knocked on three times rhythmically, two long knocks and one short knock.

Shen Yan's expression hardened, and he immediately got up and went behind the door. He looked through the peephole and then quickly turned the lock.

A woman dressed in an expensive custom-made trench coat, a black wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses slipped into the room like a ghost.

She took off her hat and sunglasses, revealing a capable, cold, and fiercely ruthless face.

It was Lou Xiao'e who had secretly arrived in the Western Continent half a month in advance as the chairman of "Yuanyang International Trade Group" to make arrangements.

"Godfather." Lou Xiao'e locked the door, walked quickly to Lin Yang, bowed slightly, and spoke with undisguised respect and fervor.

"Sit down." Lin Yang opened his eyes and pointed to the sofa opposite him.

After Lou Xiao'e sat down, she immediately took out a thick, top-secret business intelligence document, entirely labeled in foreign languages, from her crocodile-skin briefcase and handed it to Lin Yang with both hands.

"Godfather, you're incredibly insightful. The internal economic structure of Hans Country is rotten to the core."

Lou Xiao'e's voice was crisp and capable, revealing a ruthlessness forged in the bloody battles of capitalism.

"On the surface, their heavy industry expo was a resounding success. But in reality, the two largest industrial giants in Hanswehr—the Bavarian Heavy Machinery Group and the Rheinmetall Group—are facing a life-or-death crisis of broken cash flow."

Lou Xiao'e pointed to several key data points on the intelligence report, her eyes gleaming.

"Because of the sudden tightening of monetary policy in the United States, export orders in Europe have plummeted. The Bavarian Group's three large assembly plants on the outskirts of the country are now piled high with unsold heavy CNC machine tools and commercial truck chassis. Workers have only received half pay for two consecutive months, and the union is planning a nationwide strike."

"Their CEO, Mr. Weber, is currently in a state of panic. He desperately needs a large influx of foreign exchange cash to fill the loan gaps with the banks. If he doesn't clear out the inventory quickly, the Bavaria Group will face the risk of bankruptcy and restructuring by the end of the year!"

As Lin Yang looked at the glaring financial deficit figures, his cold smile deepened.

"Good, very good." Lin Yang tossed the intelligence report onto the coffee table and tapped his fingers lightly on the surface.

"That's the Achilles' heel of capitalism. When there's overproduction, they'd rather dump milk into the river than lower prices. But as soon as you offer a new, big enough cake, they'll throw themselves into your noose like starving wild dogs."

Lin Yang turned to look at Shen Yan and decisively gave the order.

"Shen Yan, inform the conference organizing committee for tomorrow: all the scheduled whirlwind factory visits are cancelled!"

"Tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM, in the main exhibition hall of the Expo, we will hold a press conference on behalf of our National Commission for Modern Reform and Development, directly targeting the entire European continent, to announce the 'Investment Promotion and Mega-Procurement of the Eastern Special Economic Zones'!"

Shen Yan was stunned for a moment, then gasped.

"President, such a large-scale press conference might be obstructed by the Hansinian government if we haven't communicated with them beforehand. Moreover, those arrogant Western journalists will definitely swarm us like flies, asking all sorts of tricky and malicious questions to make things difficult for us!"

"That's exactly what I want—for them to make things difficult!"

Lin Yang suddenly stood up, and an aura of domineering confidence burst forth, instantly filling the entire small room.

"If we don't slap their arrogant faces hard in public, if we don't dump the enormous pie of a billion people in the East on their faces, these haughty capitalists will never lower themselves to beg us!"

Lin Yang looked at Lou Xiao'e: "Xiao'e, after the press conference tomorrow, the president of the Bavaria Group, Weber, will definitely be unable to contain himself and will come to me. Use the foreign ownership status of the Oceanwide Group to tip him off. Tell him that the Eastern delegation holds a full five billion US dollars in foreign exchange for procurement!"

"Fifty billion US dollars?!" Lou Xiao'e was also shocked. She knew the extent of China's foreign exchange reserves; this was an astronomical figure that would drain the country's coffers.

"Don't be afraid. That's bait." A glint of unfathomable calculation flashed in Lin Yang's eyes. "As long as he dares to come to the negotiating table, I have a way to make him not only send over the machine, but also obediently pack up the core technology blueprints as a free gift!"

The next morning.

The main exhibition hall of the Munich International Heavy Industry Expo.

This is a massive glass-domed building, its area comparable to several football fields. Inside, it's bustling with activity, as industrial giants from around the world showcase their most advanced machinery.

Meanwhile, a temporary press conference hall set up in the center of the exhibition hall was packed with reporters from major media outlets in the Western Continent.

The cameras, long and short, were set up densely.

Special correspondents from the Hans' "Muchon Daily", the Gallic "Le Figaro", and even the British Empire's "The Times".

The reason they gathered here like sharks smelling blood is because this morning, the Eastern delegation dropped a bombshell—they would announce a groundbreaking plan here that could reshape the industrial landscape of Asia.

It was exactly 10:00 AM.

The side door of the press conference room was pushed open.

Lin Yang, dressed in a perfectly tailored black Zhongshan suit without a tie and with the collar slightly open, walked steadily and powerfully onto the stage.

Pei Yihong and Shen Yan followed behind him, one on the left and one on the right, like two guardian deities, their expressions solemn.

As Lin Yang sat down in front of the microphone in the center of the stage, a blinding storm of flashes erupted from the audience. The sound of countless shutter clicks was like a dense machine gun barrage.

Lin Yang did not prepare any prepared remarks.

He placed his hands on the table, his deep, cold gaze sweeping calmly over the group of arrogant, curious, and malicious Western uncrowned kings below the stage, like an emperor reigning supreme.

"Dear journalists."

Lin Yang's voice was deep and resonant, amplified by the microphone and echoing throughout the hall. Without using a translator, he spoke directly in fluent English, imbued with a strong sense of martial prowess.

"On behalf of the Committee for Modern Reform and Development of Eastern Countries, I extend a formal invitation to the industrial sector throughout Europe."

"We have designated a national-level special economic zone with a total area of ​​over 500 square kilometers along the southern coast. There, a fully tax-free bonded policy is implemented, and the freest capital inflow and outflow settlement is allowed. At the same time, we have brought a cash purchase list of up to five billion US dollars, aimed at comprehensively upgrading our country's heavy equipment manufacturing industry."

"Today, this door is officially open. This train to the greatest wealth explosion of the next century is about to depart."

As soon as Lin Yang finished speaking, a collective gasp of surprise rippled through the audience, followed by a huge commotion.