Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

The moment the idea of ​​experimenting on living people came to mind, Liu Jianguo forcefully suppressed it with his strong sense of reason.

The risks are too great, and there are too many variables. If it gets out of control, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"Perhaps... if there's an opportunity in the future, we could secretly bring in a heinous enemy agent or traitor with blood on their hands, and make the most of them..."

Liu Jianguo calmly plotted his rise to fame, treating human lives as experimental subjects to be consumed. Thinking of the system that had given him everything yet remained silent like an inanimate object, Liu Jianguo felt a surge of frustration.

Aside from mechanically distributing rewards, it showed no response to any of his explorations or questions.

"What an idiotic system!"

He couldn't help but mutter to himself again.

"My lord!"

A uniform, chilling greeting interrupted his thoughts. The assassins of the Sword Group had silently lined up before him, their eyes burning with fervor and focus, as if he were the sole reason for their existence.

Liu Jianguo's gaze swept over this group of absolutely loyal and well-trained elite troops, and his mind quickly weighed the options. In the country, especially in the vortex of power struggles in Beijing, deploying such an armed force of unknown origin and formidable combat power would be tantamount to a child wielding a large sword, courting certain death.

"Hong Kong... or even further overseas... those lawless places, where all sorts of people mingle, are the best stage for them to truly unsheathe their sharp sword and expand our territory."

He made a decision instantly: this surprise force must remain hidden, as a final trump card to turn the tide in a critical moment.

Right now, their primary task remains ensuring their own absolute safety, which serves as their last line of defense.

Having made up his mind, Liu Jianguo's face showed a rare gentleness.

He stepped forward and patted each of the captains on the shoulder, his tone steady yet encouraging: "Very good. Keep up the training, and stay humble and focused. The time when we need your help will come soon." After reassuring this core group, he subtly moved his mind, and his figure vanished from this small world.

Time in the real world seemed to freeze almost the moment he entered the space.

As soon as he appeared, Li Cheng, who had been guarding the surroundings like a statue, immediately bowed slightly and reported in a low voice: "Chief, everything around is normal, no one has passed by."

"Hmm." Liu Jianguo responded through his nose, his gaze sweeping across the empty surroundings to confirm that it was safe.

"Let's go back to the factory."

He lifted his foot to leave, then stopped as if remembering something, and said, "Let's go over there first. Everyone should buy some local products, just to make an appearance. I'll pay for it."

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority: "If we, a large group of people, go out here empty-handed, it will inevitably cause some unnecessary gossip."

After walking for a while, Liu Jianguo and his group finally saw the supply and marketing cooperative. Inside, it was rather dimly lit. Liu Jianguo was quite generous, handing out national grain coupons and cash without a second thought.

He mainly bought a large quantity of dried beef and mutton. He picked up a piece, held it to his nose, and smelled it. A rich and pure aroma of meat mixed with the flavor of the grassland wafted over him.

"The price is firm, but the product is genuine."

He whispered to Li Cheng beside him.

"Three pounds of fresh meat might not yield one pound of dried meat, with absolutely no moisture. Unlike in the future..."

He stopped mid-sentence, swallowing his words, and in his mind, he compared the dried meat of later generations, mixed with starch and artificial flavoring, and lamented the scarcity of material goods in this era, but at least the products were genuine.

Then, his gaze was drawn to several silver bowls in the counter that, while not finely crafted, bore distinctive Mongolian patterns.

He carefully selected two silver bowls with different designs, thinking to himself, "Huai Ru has been with me without complaint. Qiu Nan has finally found a place to stay. These silver bowls aren't worth much, but they're a keepsake, and they know that even though I'm away, I still think of them."

Finally, he pointed to several tea bricks pressed as solid as bricks and a whole case of strong liquor called "Mendao Lv".

Liu Jianguo only stopped when Li Cheng and several security officers had almost filled their hands and shoulders with these large and small bags.

Looking at his rapidly empty wallet, he shook his head inwardly: "This money really doesn't last long. It seems I'll have to put more pressure on Liu San with his meager earnings from the black market, otherwise this little bit of wealth simply won't be enough to support the plans to come."

The group carried their purchases back to the Baogang Guesthouse, filling the trunk of their jeep. After meeting up with another group led by Wang Ming, Liu Jianguo casually asked, "Nothing much happened at the factory yesterday, right?"

Wang Ming immediately replied respectfully, "Director, everything is normal. It's just that Director Shen Daikui came to see you this afternoon. He heard that you hadn't returned yet, and didn't say anything specific, but just asked you to go to his office when you get back, if it's convenient for you."

Liu Jianguo's eyes flashed slightly, and he understood perfectly.

He nodded, his expression unchanged: "Understood. Please put your things away; we might need to stay for another day or two."

Shen Daikui's initiative to come to me was definitely not just for casual conversation.

With everything arranged, Liu Jianguo strolled to Shen Daikui's office, straightened the collar of his Zhongshan suit, which was slightly wrinkled from his journey, and knocked on the door three times, neither too loud nor too soft.

Hearing a "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.

Shen Daikui was hunched over his desk writing something when he heard the sound. He looked up, saw it was him, and immediately put on a warm smile. He got up and walked around the desk to greet him: "Oh, Director Liu is back. How was your trip to the grasslands?"

Liu Jianguo's face instantly broke into a perfectly warm smile as he stepped forward and shook Shen Daikui's hand:

"Director Shen, thank you so much for making these arrangements. It's truly an eye-opening experience. The friends on the grasslands are so warm and hospitable. Yesterday's bonfire party, the hand-pulled mutton, especially that whole roasted lamb that was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—tsk tsk, the taste was absolutely amazing. I'll never forget it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Daikui laughed heartily, saying with a hint of teasing, "Judging from Director Liu's words, he's had his fill and isn't quite done yet. How about I arrange another one tonight?"

"No, no!" Liu Jianguo waved his hands repeatedly, his smile sincere yet measured. "Experiencing it once is a favor, a blessing. To experience it again would be disrespectful and cause trouble for the hosts. I'll remember this kindness in my heart."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Liu Jianguo's expression turned serious, and his tone shifted to a more professional one. He then sat down on the sofa that Shen Daikui had indicated: "Wang Ming told me that you contacted me yesterday. Was there any new development regarding equipment debugging and installation that needed coordination?"

Shen Daikui handed over a Zhonghua cigarette, lit one for himself, took a deep drag, leaned forward slightly, and revealed a somewhat embarrassed yet sincere expression:

"Director Liu, to be honest, this is based on the initial assessment by expert Hong Hao. He feels that this mission is more complicated than expected."

He blew a smoke ring and continued:

"It's not enough to just install and debug the machines; the key is to train at least two technical backbones for our factory who can perform routine maintenance and handle minor problems. The factory manager said, 'Such valuable equipment shouldn't be sent all the way from the head office every time there's a small problem; that would be a joke. We need to be able to generate our own revenue.'"