When I went home for Chinese New Year, I spent a million times more money on my foreign wife.

The living room of the manor at No. 1 Tverskaya Street.

The television is broadcasting battle reports from the front lines.

In the scene, a group of soldiers are lying prone behind a trench, while the enemy's artillery fire turns the position upside down.

The commander shouted three times into the communicator requesting aerial reconnaissance support, but the channel only had static.

Katyusha sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding a cup of hot tea in her hands.

"It would be great if we had one of those small reconnaissance aircraft."

After she finished speaking, she changed the channel.

Chen Yang was standing by the window, answering a phone call with his back to her. On the other end of the line, Chen Yue was reporting on the production schedule of the pickup truck order.

He hung up the phone.

"Lei Zi."

Lei Zi walked in from the corner of the corridor.

"Boss."

Are there any vacant industrial plants on the outskirts of Mo City?

"Yes. Last year, a number of heavy industrial enterprises in the East Suburbs Chemical Industrial Park were shut down, and three factory buildings are now up for sale. The largest one is 60,000 square meters and comes with complete water, electricity, and a dedicated railway line."

"Buy it in Katyusha's name."

Lei Zi nodded and turned to leave.

Katyusha looked up from the sofa.

"What do you need the factory for?"

"This is for you."

"What do I need the factory for?"

Chen Yang didn't answer; he was already dialing a second number.

"Chen Yue".

Ice City, Snow Palace International Global Center, top floor.

Chen Yue was reviewing the packing list for the third batch of cold-weather equipment when the dedicated phone rang. She answered it with her pen still between her fingers.

"elder brother."

"Could you help me find out which are the top three domestic manufacturers of quadcopter drones in terms of production capacity?"

Chen Yue pushed the shipping list aside and pulled up the industry database.

"Tianying Aviation has an annual production capacity of 800,000 aircraft. Yizhou Technology has an annual production capacity of 600,000 aircraft. There is also a company called Yunque Intelligent Manufacturing, which specializes in dual-use military and civilian models. Its production capacity is smaller, but its technology is the most advanced."

"I've contacted all three companies. I want to buy three complete quadcopter drone production lines, including the equipment and technical personnel, and have them all shipped to Mo City by air."

Chen Yue paused for a moment.

"Brother, buying a production line isn't like buying parts. Equipment disassembly and assembly, debugging, personnel visas, export licenses—it takes at least a month."

"Give them more money. Triple the disassembly and assembly fees, sign the technicians' salaries to one million a year, use the Snow Palace Group's fast-track business channel for visas, and for the export permit, go to Director Liu of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. I helped him with his son's matter last time, so he has to give me face."

"Understood." Chen Yue had already started making a list on the sticky note. "Which air route should we use?"

"There are still two empty cargo planes in the Ice Ocean route. We can squeeze them in. If that's not enough, we can rent another An-225. If there's still not enough space, we can split it into two flights."

"Received. I'll finish signing all the contracts tonight."

Chen Yue hung up the phone, tore off the note, picked up one of the three cell phones on the table, and started dialing.

The first call was made to the chairman of Skyhawk Airlines.

"Mr. Wang, this is Chen Yue from Xuegong Group. I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you—no, not purchasing finished products. I want to buy your production line. Yes, the entire line. You name the price, and we'll pay in full upfront."

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Ms. Chen, our production line is our core asset—"

"Mr. Wang, I meant a three-fold premium."

There was another two seconds of silence.

"...Which line are you referring to?"

Chen Yue hung up the first call and dialed a second one.

Mo City, 1 Tver Street, manor.

three days later.

A system notification popped up on Chen Yang's encrypted phone.

This is not a bank transfer notification.

It's a system reward.

[Host detected triggering the "Military-Grade Civilian Technology Conversion" achievement. Reward: Swarm Control Program (Military-Grade Downgraded Version).]

[Swarm control program: Capable of simultaneously controlling swarms of up to 100,000 drones, supporting autonomous navigation, target locking, and swarm-based collaborative reconnaissance. The user interface has been simplified to a user-friendly mode; frontline soldiers can learn to use it after just two hours of training.]

Chen Yang downloaded the program package to an encrypted USB drive and handed it to Lei Zi.

"This is sent to the factory in the eastern suburbs, where the technical team will write it into the main control chip of every drone."

Lei Zi took the USB drive.

"Boss, the first batch of production lines arrived yesterday. The engineers from Skyhawk Aviation worked overnight to assemble them, and trial production began this morning. At the current pace, the first batch of 100,000 aircraft can all roll off the production line in fifteen days."

"Fifteen days is too slow. Let the three lines work 24/7 in three shifts, and I need to see the finished product within ten days."

"clear."

Katyusha came downstairs and saw Lei Zi go out, and Chen Yang standing in the living room staring at his phone.

"You've been on the phone these past few days."

"I'll help you manage your business."

"What industry?"

"You now own a drone factory."

Katyusha leaned against the stair railing.

"When did I say I wanted a drone factory?"

"You said you wanted a reconnaissance aircraft three days ago."

Katyusha was taken aback.

"I just said it offhand."

"I heard you."

Ten days later.

In the parking lot of a factory on the eastern outskirts of Mo City, 100,000 gray quadcopter drones are neatly stacked in military-grade containers. Each drone has a line of small white text printed on its side—

"Donated by Ms. Ekaterina Ivanova".

Ivan stood at the factory gate, watching one military truck after another drive in to load goods.

He examined the prototype from all angles. It had a palm-sized fuselage, four rotors, and a high-definition camera mounted on its bottom. It weighed less than 300 grams.

"How far can this thing fly?"

"A single unit can travel forty kilometers. In swarm mode, with one hundred units connected, the coverage radius is one hundred and twenty kilometers," Lei Zi replied from the side.

Is it difficult to operate?

"A remote control about the size of a mobile phone, with two joysticks and three buttons. If you can play games, you can use it."

Ivan put the prototype down.

"One hundred thousand aircraft. Send them all to the front lines?"

"The boss said this is a gift for my sister-in-law. If she wants it sent to the front lines, then it's sent to the front lines."

Ivan didn't say anything. He turned and walked towards the parking lot, saying something before opening the car door.

"Tell Chen Yang that this batch of supplies has reached the front lines and can save tens of thousands of lives."

"The boss said he didn't save my life. It was my sister-in-law who saved it with a casual remark."

Ivan got into the car and closed the door.

Inside the factory, the production line for the second batch of drones is still running.

Chen Yue's message was sent to Chen Yang's phone.

"Brother, the second production line of Yizhou Technology has been shipped and is expected to arrive in Mo City the day after tomorrow. As for Yunque Intelligent Manufacturing, their chief engineer has volunteered to go there to provide technical guidance, and the visa has been processed. Once all three lines are in place, the monthly production capacity can reach 300,000 aircraft."

Chen Yang replied with a single word.

"it is good."

He put his phone in his pocket and walked to the living room window.

Katyusha was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

On the television, the footage of a frontline battle report switched. A group of soldiers huddled together, holding up palm-sized gray drones, smiling at the camera.

At the bottom of the screen, a scrolling caption reads: "The Ivanova Foundation donates the first batch of 100,000 reconnaissance drones to the front lines."

Katyusha stared at her name on the screen, then turned to look out the window.

Chen Yang was already on the other end of the phone.