I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

The kneeling and kowtow came suddenly and heavily, startling Tian Zao, who quickly took a step back and cried out helplessly, "Sister! What are you doing! Get up!"

Lou Xiao'e and Bai Yuechang were also stunned and stood there, their faces full of astonishment, completely unexpected that the woman would do such a thing.

After kowtowing, the woman slowly sat up, her face still streaked with tears, but her eyes were unusually earnest and urgent. She pleaded with Tian Zao, "Sister, you are a good person, and I will remember your kindness for the rest of my life. But listen to me, throw away everything my child and I used just now. Don't touch it with your hands, please remember that, understand?"

Her tone carried an unquestionable solemnity, even tinged with a hint of panic, as if those things were tainted by some deadly calamity.

Tian Zao stood there, stunned, not reacting for a moment. She subconsciously looked at the bowl of water and the plate of food that had been used to serve the woman on the table, her face full of confusion: "Girl, why is that? Those things are all clean."

Zhou Weiguo's eyes darkened instantly. The woman's words seemed to confirm his guess. The strange stench was no accident and was most likely related to some kind of hidden danger on her body. Her refusal to let people touch her and her aversion to being touched were all to cover up or avoid infection.

He subtly stepped forward, shielding Tian Zao and the others slightly behind him, his gaze fixed on the woman, awaiting her explanation.

The woman didn't say much, but waved her hand at Tian Zao again, her tone urgent: "Don't ask why, just do as I say, it's for your own good."

As she spoke, she struggled to her feet, not touching the money and food on the stone table, but instead holding her child and bowing deeply to everyone.

As she stood up, her gaze deliberately turned to Zhou Weiguo. Her previous weakness and panic had faded somewhat, leaving only a deep solemnity. She spoke in a serious tone, her voice not loud but clearly reaching Zhou Weiguo's ears: "Brother, you must be careful, you must be careful."

Zhou Weiguo met her gaze, his expression unchanged, and he didn't say a word more, but simply nodded slowly to indicate that he understood.

Seeing his reaction, the woman seemed relieved, as if she had let go of something. Without lingering, she turned around, carrying the child, and walked quickly towards the gate. Her steps were hurried but steady, and she soon disappeared into the courtyard.

Tian Zao watched her hurried departure, then glanced at the things on the table, and looked at Zhou Weiguo with a blank expression: "Weiguo, what exactly is going on?"

Zhou Weiguo shook his head before slowly speaking: "None of you should touch it. Let the guards handle it. Don't touch anything on the table. Just throw it all away as she said." His tone was serious, with an unquestionable certainty.

The woman had not gone far from the courtyard when two figures slowly emerged from the shadows at the corner of the alley; they were the guards arranged by Zhou Weiguo.

The two men walked steadily, their eyes sharp, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the woman, silently following her without disturbing her or relaxing their surveillance, quietly tracking her whereabouts.

In the courtyard, Tian Zao, Lou Xiao'e, and the others saw that Zhou Weiguo's tone was serious and that he specifically mentioned having the guards handle the matter. They already knew that things were not simple and that the woman must be hiding something.

Seeing Zhou Weiguo standing there lost in thought, they wisely refrained from asking any further questions. They quickly gathered their belongings and tiptoed back into the house, leaving Zhou Weiguo alone in the courtyard.

Zhou Weiguo walked to the stone table, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and lit a cigarette for himself.

Amidst the swirling smoke, he slowly exhaled a smoke ring, his brows still furrowed, his face grave, and he sighed softly.

He closed his eyes and silently called out in his heart, "Nannan."

As soon as he called out, Nannan's soft and clear voice rang in his mind: "Brother, I'm here."

"Darling, I want to ask you, does the Red Alert space have healing abilities? You mean, the kind that can cure illnesses and save lives."

Zhou Weiguo's tone carried a hint of expectation, secretly hoping that he could find a way to figure out the strange smell and hidden dangers on the woman, which would also be a way of giving back for his kindness and the changes he had made earlier.

Nannan's voice carried a hint of apology: "Brother, I'm sorry, the Red Alert Hospital hasn't been activated yet, so we can't provide treatment capabilities for the time being."

Upon hearing this answer, Zhou Weiguo couldn't help but sigh again, the expectation in his eyes gradually fading, leaving only a hint of disappointment.

Before he could calm down, Nannan's voice rang out again, tinged with excitement: "But brother, although I can't directly cure illnesses, our barracks have the ability to create clones!"

"A clone?" Zhou Weiguo's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked for more details.

"Yes, it involves first extracting cells from the human body for culture, then using military equipment to clone the body, creating an identical healthy body, and finally extracting all the original thoughts and memories and injecting them into the clone."

Nannan patiently explained in a light tone, "Theoretically speaking, after cloning, apart from having a healthy and powerful body, the person will not feel anything different. Their memories, personality, and everything else will be the same as before."

After a pause, Nannan added, her tone carrying a hint of reminder: "By the way, brother, there's one drawback: the cloned people also belong to the Red Alert unit, and all their actions will be based on your orders, and they will absolutely obey your arrangements."

...............

An hour later, deep within the eight major hutongs of Beijing, in a dilapidated courtyard, bursts of piercing whipping sounds and curses broke through the courtyard walls, mixed with a woman's suppressed sobs, making them particularly jarring.

In a corner of the courtyard, two burly men were punching and kicking a woman curled up on the ground. They were also holding thick hemp ropes in their hands, and each blow was mercilessly lashed at the woman's thin body. Her old cloth shirt was torn instantly, and several bloody marks were clearly visible.

"You bitch! I'm doing you a favor by sending you to seduce people!"

The short man spat and kicked the woman hard in the waist, cursing, "If you don't want to die, you'd better behave. If this succeeds, you'll get your share of the benefits! Bah! A piece of trash like you dares to pretend to be innocent with me? Does she really think she's some kind of rich heiress?"

The tall man squatted down, lifted the woman's chin with his foot, and leered at her face, his tone flippant and vicious: "Let me tell you the truth, with a face like yours, if it weren't for your body riddled with rotten diseases and reeking of stench, I would have sent you to work in a brothel long ago, working you to death without a break! Don't you even know your own worth? You dare refuse me? And he's a good person? Whether he's a good person or not is none of my business. Let me tell you, if you don't go, I'll feed your daughter to the dogs, you believe me?"

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