Siheyuan: I, Shazhu, started out as an army and became a general.

Beijing, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

In late autumn, the factory area was desolate with fallen leaves, just like the steel rolling mill in recent years, exuding a chill.

Due to outdated technology and chaotic management, Director Yang was also dismissed.

Several large orders were snatched away by sister factories in the south, causing widespread anxiety.

The atmosphere in the third workshop was so oppressive it was almost palpable.

A large group of workers were gathered in front of an old-fashioned open-hearth furnace. The one in the lead, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles, was none other than Yi Zhonghai, an old man who was once very successful and a level eight fitter.

He stood with his hands behind his back, staring intently at the firelight in the stove, his brows furrowed in worry.

"Old Yi, it's...it's failed again?" The workshop director was sweating profusely, stamping his feet in anxiety. "This is the experimental steel that the higher-ups specifically requested! If we can't refine it, our factory's performance evaluation for this year will be completely ruined!"

Yi Zhonghai sighed and threw the long pole in his hand to the ground with a clatter.

"Director, this isn't a matter of skill! This formula is too bizarre! It needs to withstand high temperatures, be tough, and even add rare earth elements... Our old furnace simply can't maintain that temperature!"

Beside him, Uncle Liu Haizhong, with his large belly, held a hammer and spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Exactly! The higher-ups are giving nonsensical orders. This kind of high-tech stuff, is it something our old factory can handle? I think it's just a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for us working class!"

"Shut up!" Yi Zhonghai glared at him.

Despite his tough talk, Yi Zhonghai was actually quite insecure inside.

Since that "troublemaker" Sha Zhu left a few years ago, the compound has become quiet, but his life has become more and more stifling.

Without Sha Zhu's help, Qin Huairu's family became a bottomless pit. She cried poverty and played the victim every day, forcing him to slowly spend his retirement savings.

Right now, his prestige in the factory is declining day by day. If he can't even get past this technical hurdle, he'll have nowhere to put his face as an eighth-grade worker!

"That's because you're completely useless."

A cold voice suddenly rang out at the workshop entrance without warning.

Everyone shuddered and turned around abruptly.

A group of men in military overcoats strode in.

The guards on both sides were heavily armed, their eyes like knives, and they directly blocked the factory's security personnel from entering the gate.

The leader was a burly man with shoulders as broad as a wall. A pair of sunglasses covered most of his face, but his aura was so heavy that it made people feel suffocated and forget to breathe.

This isn't human, it's like the Dragon King has returned to his throne!

Factory Director Li followed beside him like a submissive wife, bowing and scraping: "Sir, this...this is our best workshop, and that's our key technical worker, Master Yi..."

The "leader" casually took off his sunglasses.

A resolute, stern face, etched with the harshness of the desert, was revealed.

In an instant, Yi Zhonghai's eyes almost popped out of their sockets!

Liu Haizhong slammed the hammer in his hand onto his foot with a loud bang, making him yell in pain and squat down, clutching his foot.

In the corner, Qin Huairu, who was moving steel ingots, was frozen in place. Her hands went limp, and the heavy steel ingots grazed her calves and fell to the ground, almost ruining her legs!

Stupid... Stupid Pillar?!

No! That's not right!

The man before him wore a crisp major general's overcoat. Although he had no medals on his chest, the murderous aura he exuded, as if he had crawled out of a pile of corpses and been tempered by mushroom clouds on the Gobi Desert, made Yi Zhonghai feel his soul tremble.

Where is this the same carefree guy who used to toss the wok in the kitchen?

This is clearly a fierce tiger patrolling its territory!

"He...He Yuzhu?" Yi Zhonghai's throat was dry, and he called out in a trembling voice.

He Yuzhu's gaze swept across the entire room, finally landing on his face. His eyes were completely expressionless, as if he were looking at a roadside rock that was in his way.

"Director Li," He Yuzhu turned to look at Li Huaide, who was sweating profusely, "this is the technical backbone you were talking about? He can't even read the furnace temperature curve, and he estimates the color temperature with the naked eye?"

"Are the requirements for becoming a Grade 8 skilled worker really that low these days?"

"This..." Li Huaide was sweating profusely.

He didn't know what He Yuzhu had gone through in the past few years, but this was a "big shot" whom the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense had directly sent a letter to specifically request to receive!

"He Yuzhu! What do you mean?!" Liu Haizhong, his ego kicking in, clutched his foot but still tried to put on airs, pointing at He Yuzhu's nose and yelling, "Don't think you're so great just because you wear a leather jacket! I'm your second uncle! Old Yi is a nationally recognized level eight worker, what do you, a cook, know about steelmaking?!"

He Yuzhu smiled.

His laughter sent chills down your spine.

He didn't speak, but simply tilted his head slightly.

The guard behind him stepped forward with lightning speed, and cleanly and decisively smashed the butt of his gun down on the finger pointing at the person in the bangs!

"Snap!"

"ah--!!!"

Liu Haizhong's pig-like screams echoed throughout the workshop. He clutched his deformed fingers and immediately knelt on the ground.

The air in the entire venue seemed to have been sucked out instantly.

"Shut up." He Yuzhu uttered two words indifferently, as if he had merely crushed an ant.

He walked to the control panel, picked up the notebook that Yi Zhonghai had thrown down, flipped through two pages with disgust, tore it off, and threw it directly into the blazing furnace.

"Rubbish."

Yi Zhonghai trembled with rage, his old face turning a deep purplish-red: "He Yuzhu! You...you're insulting our working class!"

"This formula is flawed from the start! The equipment is inadequate too! If you're so capable, why don't you try it yourself?!"

"Shall I?"

He Yuzhu took off his military overcoat and casually tossed it to Lin Wanqiu behind him.

He rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing several shocking scars on his forearms.

[Ding! Host detected returning to familiar territory, facing technological provocation!]

[Check-in successful! Location: Workshop 3, Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill!]

[Rewards: God-level Metallurgical Intuition, Industrial Control Aura (increases equipment efficiency by 50% within range), Nanoscale Temperature Control Hand!]

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly."

He Yuzhu walked to the control panel, didn't even glance at the instrument panel, and directly reached out and grasped the several scalding hot key valves.

What is meant by master-level skill?