Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

The next morning, the technical department of Hongxing Machinery Factory was bustling with people.

Everyone was discussing the personnel allocation for the weapons research teams one and two.

Wang Yiwei, carrying an enamel mug, pretended to chat casually and approached the old technician, Lao Li.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Master Li, do you think there's a chance we'll get into the weapons research group this time?"

"I heard that's a core department."

Old Li didn't even look up, shook his head, and said firmly, "It's doubtful, far from it."

"The team that was selected consisted entirely of experienced and highly skilled technicians from the factory."

"I heard there's only one spot left, and it's highly likely to go to Master Wu."

"He's a senior technician, highly skilled and experienced; no one can compete with him."

A cold glint flashed in Wang Yiwei's eyes, but he remained outwardly calm, nodded slightly, and silently stepped aside.

He knew in his heart that he had to complete the order given by Li Yichuan, and if Master Wu blocked his way, he would have to disappear from the world.

Meanwhile, in the office of the second weapons research group, Li Yichuan was recruiting group members in an orderly manner.

He deliberately selected all the top-notch and most experienced staff members in the department to be included in the second group.

The original intention was to force a team to be unable to recruit enough players, thus creating an opening for Wang Yiwei.

But to his utter surprise, the factory placed great importance on military projects.

They had to pull in a group of experienced technicians to fill the gaps, and the team was almost full, with only one spot left.

Li Yichuan stood by the window, looking down at the factory area below, a sinister smile curving his lips.

If the soft approach doesn't work, then we'll have to use the hard approach.

Those who block the way shall die.

As soon as the afternoon bell rang, Mr. Wu from the technical department walked out of the machinery factory gate carrying an empty lunchbox and humming a little tune.

He was overjoyed, thinking that the last spot in his group was secured.

He was able to participate in military research and development in the future, completely unaware that several cold, sinister gazes had already locked onto him from the shadows.

Just as we turned into a quiet, narrow alley, two dark figures suddenly darted out.

A rag smeared with sedatives was forcefully pressed against his mouth.

Before Mr. Wu could even cry for help, his body went limp and he instantly lost consciousness.

The two men stuffed him into a sack, carried him onto a tricycle parked at the alley entrance, and covered him with a rag.

They pushed the cart shakily all the way towards the abandoned warehouse in the suburbs.

Inside the warehouse, dust filled the air and the atmosphere was stale.

Yi Zhonghai, shirtless, his muscles taut, sweat rolling down his back, was gritting his teeth as he did push-ups.

"Ninety-nine...one hundred...one hundred and one!"

During this period, Li Yichuan's men subjected him to hellish training.

They also provided meat at every meal and fed them to their hearts' content, transforming their once withered and frail bodies into strong and robust ones.

The timidity of the past was gone from his eyes, replaced by a numb ruthlessness.

He gritted his teeth and practiced hard every day, just so that one day he could kill those people in the courtyard.

"Clang"

The warehouse's iron gate was violently pushed open.

A bulging burlap sack was thrown heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

Yi Zhonghai stopped what he was doing and looked up.

The instructor beside him gave him a cold glance and raised his chin: "Hang it up. From now on, this is your sandbag. Hit it for a full hour, no stopping!"

Without saying a word, Yi Zhonghai stepped forward, tied the sack to the frame, and hoisted it high.

With a command given, he clenched his fist and smashed it down on the sack like a madman!

One punch, two punches, ten punches...

His fist quickly broke and bled, but he was completely unaware.

He continued to throw punches wildly, kicking with his legs when his arms became sore and numb, until he was completely exhausted, his legs were trembling, and he could barely stand.

"stop!"

The instructor gave a stern shout.

Yi Zhonghai slumped to the ground like a lump of mud, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

The sack was lowered, the rope was untied, and a face covered in blood, bruised and swollen, was revealed.

Yi Zhonghai squinted and his heart skipped a beat.

There was actually a person inside. When I was hitting it, I only felt something rough on my hand; I never expected it to be a person.

And this person looks somewhat familiar.

"This is Master Wu, a technician from Hongxing Machinery Factory," the man delivering the sacks said coldly.

"A machinery factory?" Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a moment, then realized that it was the old steel rolling mill!

The man covered in blood in front of me is Lao Wu from the technical department!

A chill ran down his spine, but there was no pity in his eyes.

Just as he was stunned, a pistol was thrown at his feet with a "clatter".

The spy's voice was devoid of any warmth, like it came from hell: "Kill him, drag him out and bury him."

Yi Zhonghai lowered his eyes, looking at the cold pistol at his feet, without the slightest hesitation.

He bent down, picked up the gun, and aimed it at the dying Mr. Wu on the ground, his eyes filled with malice.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three gunshots rang out, making the warehouse vibrate.

Mr. Wu's body twitched a few times before he stopped breathing completely, and blood spread across the ground, a shocking sight.

Yi Zhonghai dropped his pistol and grabbed Master Wu's ankle.

They dragged it like a dead dog toward the weeds outside the warehouse.

A long, glaring trail of blood was left on the rough ground.

The next day, Chen Bin called roll in the technical department: "Old Wu, Old Wu!"

Seeing that no one responded, he had no choice but to choose another person. He looked at him and called out, "Wang Yiwei!"

"exist!"

Wang Yiwei quickly raised his hand and spoke.

He deliberately stole it last night and changed his name to the front of the roll call.

It was also bolded and highlighted.

Seeing that everyone had been called, Chen Bin said to Su Wanqing, "Section Chief, I'll take everyone to the third floor first."

Su Wanqing nodded.

After Chen Bin and his men left, Su Wanqing asked the person next to her, "Who is this Old Wu? Didn't he come today?"

Old Li also looked puzzled and said, "Old Wu is just an ordinary technician in our department, but he's very skilled."

"And he's meticulous, but nobody saw him today."

"Logically, he shouldn't be late. He was bragging to me yesterday that he could be selected for the weapons research group."

"I understand the situation. You can go ahead and get back to work."

After Su Wanqing finished speaking, she walked out, sensing that something was wrong.

"Knock knock knock!"

Lin Weidong was organizing technical documents when there was a knock on his office door.

"Enter!"

"What brings you here?" Lin Weidong asked Su Wanqing as she entered.

"I discovered a problem today," Su Wanqing said as she sat down on the sofa in Lin Wei's office.

"What's the problem?"

Then Su Wanqing told him about Lao Wu from the technical department not coming to work.

Lin Weidong frowned and said, "Have someone from the factory office take two security guards to check what's going on."

"I feel there's something strange about this."

Su Wanqing nodded upon hearing this.

After a brief moment of tenderness, Su Wanqing opened the door and left.