With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

The next morning, Jiang Zhiyu arrived at the central conference room on time.

Old Gao sat alone at the end of the long table, a map of Sandu'ao and a stack of intelligence materials spread out in front of him. His eyes were dark-rimmed, and his ashtray was full of cigarette butts, clearly indicating he hadn't slept well the night before. Seeing Jiang Zhiyu enter, he pointed to the chair opposite him.

"sit."

Jiang Zhiyu pulled out a chair and sat down, not beating around the bush, "Old Gao, he said on the phone that he had something important to discuss."

Her gaze swept over the map spread out on the table, and her brow furrowed slightly. "Has something happened at San Du'ao?"

Old Gao pushed a stack of materials in front of her, "Take a look for yourself."

Jiang Zhiyu flipped through the document; it was quite a large-scale operation, detailing everything from mercenary infiltration and posing as tourists to bribing fishermen and using sonar on research vessels. After reading it, she closed the document, her expression unchanged, and said indifferently.

"I see."

Old Gao raised his voice, "You know?"

He stared intently at her. "Aren't you worried?"

Jiang Zhiyu leaned back in her chair, her tone calm, "Being anxious won't solve anything."

She pushed the materials back, sat up straight, and said, "Mr. Gao, I have an idea, but I need your approval."

"Tell me, you always have ideas that no one else has thought of."

"They want to see what's inside Sandu'ao, right? Then let them see."

Old Gao rubbed his temples. "What do you mean?"

"Disguise Sandu'ao as a research base for highly poisonous plants and chemical defense drugs."

As Jiang Zhiyu spoke, she lowered her head and touched her fingernails, as if she were talking about something extremely simple.

"The poisonous weeds and miasma barriers on the outer perimeter have always existed, and it's true that fishermen have been poisoned when they get close. We don't need to make up anything new; we just need to provide a reasonable explanation for these phenomena."

Old Gao tapped his fingers twice on the table, but did not interrupt her.

Jiang Zhiyu looked up and continued, "I'll first take away all the equipment in the harbor—aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, destroyers—leaving nothing. Then you can call Commander Qian and have him send a group of people from the lab over. We'll build a proper research institute for poisonous plants and chemical defense on the shore, plant real poisonous plants nearby, set up experimental equipment, and raise some experimental animals. Those people want to see it, right? We'll invite them to. Academic exchange groups, foreign trade delegations, even foreign journalists—as long as their reasons for applying are legitimate, we'll arrange visits for them all."

Seeing that Mr. Gao was listening attentively, she picked up her water glass, took a sip, and continued speaking.

"What they saw was a base growing highly poisonous plants, animal experiment data, and the surrounding area of ​​poisonous weeds that no one should approach. What they couldn't see was the cleared harbor and underwater area. After they'd seen it all, taken photos, written reports, and confirmed that this place was indeed used for poison research, I would put the equipment back."

Upon hearing this, Old Gao's brows relaxed somewhat, but he immediately thought of another question.

"What happens after the equipment is put back? What about their sonar detection?"

"I'll handle this."

Seventeen immediately spoke in her mind, "Host, you can use your wood-type ability to cultivate a network of roots, forming a dense plant root barrier underwater in the harbor. This will both interfere with sonar signals and connect with the surrounding poisonous plants, making the entire area appear as if no one dares to approach because of the poisonous fog. The sonar will only reflect back chaotic plant signals, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Jiang Zhiyu nodded and explained Seventeen's plan to Elder Gao.

Old Gao's eyes lit up after hearing this. He remained silent for a while, then picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put the cup down with a determined look in his eyes.

"I've put Qian Weiguo in charge of the research institute. The research focus will be on extracting medicinal components from poisonous plants and developing chemical defense agents. It can't all be fake; we need to produce something real, even if it's slow."

Jiang Zhiyu nodded, "That's what I think too. A half-truth, half-deception is the most effective cover. Many of those poisonous herbs do have medicinal uses. If Commander Qian's people can extract the effective components, this will become a legitimate research unit, and no one will be able to find fault with it."

"There's one more thing," Jiang Zhiyu's tone turned serious. "The people in this unit need to be investigated more thoroughly. Coming to Sandu'ao at this critical juncture, we can't let any more rats slip in."

"Don't worry about that, I'll personally give the instructions. You're so thoughtful, aren't you?"

"Mr. Gao, please don't flatter me."

Old Gao's lips curled slightly, then he asked, "When do you plan to make your move?"

"The sooner the better. I'll go to Sandu'ao today, collect the equipment first, and then coordinate with Lu Zhenting and Qian Weiguo. Setting up the research institute will take at least two weeks. During these two weeks, the harbor will be empty. Have Qi Zhenhai evacuate everyone to the caves to tackle the other problems first."

"Okay, I'll call Qi Zhenhai right now."

......

That afternoon, Jiang Zhiyu arrived at Sandu'ao.

Lu Zhenting and Qi Zhenhai were already waiting at the command post. Lu Zhenting's expression was not good; seven men had infiltrated to the outer perimeter of the harbor before being discovered, and as the battalion commander, he was largely to blame. Qi Zhenhai, on the other hand, looked excited; he knew there was going to be a big operation as soon as he heard Jiang Zhiyu had arrived.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't waste any words and explained the plan from beginning to end.

Qi Zhenhai was the first to jump out, "Take away all the aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines? What if they take advantage of this opening to attack?"

"The harbor's been cleared out. What will they see when they storm in? An empty sea and a patch of poisonous grass?" Jiang Zhiyu rolled her eyes at him. "You think they're here to seize territory? They're here to find out what's inside. An empty harbor is worth less to them than a harbor full of ships."

Qi Zhenhai thought about it and realized that it made sense, so he stopped talking.

That evening, Qian Weiguo arrived and went straight to the point, "I've almost finished arranging things at the research institute. The extraction of medicinal substances from poisonous plants is a research area with inherent value, and I happen to have a few phytochemists on my end who can be transferred over. The experimental equipment and animal samples will arrive within three days."

Lu Zhenting then asked, "What about personnel?"

"Before the visit, all crew members and military personnel changed into civilian clothes or white lab coats," Jiang Zhiyu said. "Everyone on the warships evacuated to caves, and a sign reading 'Research Institute Logistics Support Department' was hung outside the camp. Patrol teams were replaced with security guard uniforms, visible posts were reduced, and hidden sentries were doubled. Several small transport boats remained on the harbor, painted with the 'Sandu'ao Botanical Research Institute' logo."

Qi Zhenhai clicked his tongue. "Director Jiang, what's wrong with your brain?"

"Stop flattering me." Jiang Zhiyu stood up. "I'll pack up the equipment tonight, and you can start setting it up tomorrow. Professor Qian, hang up the institute's sign first. The lab needs to look proper; it shouldn't look like a makeshift setup."

Qian Weiguo patted his chest confidently, "Don't worry, I'm a professional when it comes to building labs."

That night, after Jiang Zhiyu and everyone else had evacuated the harbor, she stood alone on the dock.

The night at Sandu Bay was quiet. The seawater gently lapped against the anchorages, and distant searchlights swept rhythmically across the surface. The aircraft carrier and two nuclear submarines lay silently in the deep water, while the destroyer and frigate were moored in the inner bay, their gray hulls resembling sleeping behemoths under the moonlight.

Jiang Zhiyu stretched out her hand, unleashing her spatial abilities. With a thought, the aircraft carrier was the first to be taken into her spatial storage. A huge whirlpool was left on the sea surface, bubbling and gurgling. Next came the nuclear submarine; the two black behemoths sank silently into her spatial storage, leaving barely any whirlpools underwater. The destroyers and frigates were also taken away in turn, the entire process taking less than ten minutes.

The sea was completely empty, with only the deserted dock and a few buoys swaying with the waves remaining.

Jiang Zhiyu activated her wood-based supernatural ability, her spiritual power spreading along the harbor's coastline. The poisonous weed barrier that had already taken shape on the outer perimeter began to grow wildly, with vines and shrubs spreading into the harbor at a visible speed, their roots digging into the reefs and soil, their poisonous leaves rustling in the night wind. She also deliberately planted several rows of tall, poisonous trees around the dock and along the shore, their dense canopies so that from the sea, only a dense forest could be seen, obscuring everything else.

Underwater, she fostered a dense network of roots, and enormous vines swayed in the water, especially at the opening directly opposite the open sea, where she wove the vines into a massive mesh, layer upon layer, blocking it. Sonar signals coming from the outside would be scattered into a cacophony of noise by countless bubbles and plant fibers as they passed through the mesh, undetectable by any metal casing.

Jiang Zhiyu clapped her hands. "Let's go check on Qian Weiguo's progress."