With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

The day after Jiang Zhiyu returned to the courtyard, she had absorbed some of the radiation, but her body still felt a little heavy.

She sat under the grape trellis in the courtyard, a cup of spring water tea bubbling in an enamel mug, steam rising gently. The early autumn sun shone through the leaves, warm and comforting her; it was a rare moment of peace.

the phone is ringing.

"Girl, I have some good news for you." Qian Weiguo's voice came through the receiver, strong and full of excitement. "We've produced something great at our desert laboratory, all thanks to that stone you brought back from the US. The smelting experiments are in, and all the indicators have met the standards, even better than we expected."

Jiang Zhiyu leaned back and curled the corners of her mouth up.

"For your grandfather to call me personally, how good must our relationship be?"

"Girl, guess."

"Alright, Mr. Qian, stop keeping me in suspense."

Qian Weiguo cleared his throat, his tone brimming with undisguised pride: "This steel has the highest purity, reaching 99.97%. Its tensile strength exceeds the current highest standard by two levels, not to mention its corrosion resistance. All the shortcomings of domestic special steel have been completely addressed this time."

Jiang Zhiyu tightened her grip on the microphone.

What about the yield rate?

"89%. Last month we were struggling at 32%, and this month it has almost tripled."

"Congratulations, Mr. Qian. Has the data been submitted?"

"It's been reported, and it's already been sent to the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. When they saw the data, the whole floor exploded." Qian Weiguo paused, then changed the subject, "Girl, they're inquiring about the source of these rare metal additives..."

"The formula is under the highest level of secrecy." Jiang Zhiyu's tone became serious. "You just need to proceed according to the established proportions; they don't need to know the specific sources of the ingredients."

"But they're all from our country..."

"Mr. Qian, trust me." She lowered her voice. "You probably haven't heard about my situation lately. I'm still dealing with rats, and everyone's watching me. If you run out of those stones, I'll go dig some more for you. Anyway, I can't show my face in public these next few days."

"What happened, little girl?"

"Don't even mention it, I'm being watched by other countries. It's good for you to be in the desert; you can stay out of the world and only focus on what's happening in the desert. I've been under their watchful eye for the past few days."

"Okay, then I know how to refuse. I'm going back to work."

Jiang Zhiyu hung up the phone, shaking her head with a smile. That's how these old researchers are; when they encounter something truly good, they'd want to dig up every detail of the formula passed down through generations.

……

Less than an hour later, Zhuge Yunhe called.

"Girl, do you know now?"

"You mean that special steel? Old Qian just called."

Zhuge Yunhe's voice carried an unusual lightness: "After the test data for the special steel was submitted, the higher-ups demanded immediate nationwide promotion. Guess what they asked?"

"Oh? How did you ask? I'd like to hear."

"They asked if this formula was the result of the technical overhaul team."

Jiang Zhiyu was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

The technical rectification team was established a couple of years ago specifically to improve industrial production quality. It was tasked with investigating a mess of problems, including chaotic management, technological stagnation, and non-standard processes. Now, the breakthrough in special steel is being touted as a result of this rectification, which makes sense.

"Old Zhuge, what was your reply?"

"I was saying that they've been doing basic materials research in the desert for so many years, accumulating several batches of special additive formulas, and have been waiting for the conditions for technical verification. This time, with a suitable experimental environment, the technical verification was successful, and the formulas can be directly used in smelting, which has increased the yield rate."

That makes sense.

"Of course that makes sense. The formula was classified at the highest level, and all involved personnel signed confidentiality agreements. To the outside world, it was said to be the result of a technical breakthrough effort; if anyone pressed for details, the only response was, 'It's a classified project, and we can't disclose it.'"

"Okay, let's do it that way."

"Just focus on recovering; don't worry about anything else."

Zhuge Yunhe hung up the phone. Jiang Zhiyu took a sip of tea from her enamel mug, but before she could put it down, Seventeen started yelling in her mind.

"Host, if the US knew the truth—that they mined their minerals, only for China to develop special steel—wouldn't they be furious?"

"That depends on when they find out."

"Also, host, I've noticed that the sentries watching you have all disappeared. I've scanned the area, and I haven't found anyone around."

Jiang Zhiyu paused slightly in her teacup, her mental energy subtly spreading outwards and carefully scanning the area.

Indeed, it's clean.

In the days following her return, she could vaguely sense a few probing auras, but now there are none at all.

"Hmm." She leaned back in her chair. "Maybe they think I'm no longer worth keeping an eye on."

……

In a conference room in Country M.

The long table was filled with people, and the projector showed the last photo of Jiang Zhiyu in public, showing her being carried into an ambulance on a stretcher, her face so pale it was almost transparent.

"We haven't seen any signs of activity from that gifted individual recently."

"The official Chinese statement is that he fell seriously ill and withdrew from the front lines; he is currently recuperating in the suburbs of Beijing."

"According to our perimeter surveillance report, there are no signs of human activity around the target's residence, suggesting that they have completely lost their ability to move."

"It is recommended to terminate all active operations under Project Silver Fox and withdraw all surveillance resources targeting this objective from the Asia-Pacific region."

The man in the gray suit who was chairing the meeting flipped through the report in his hand, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"Agreed. Transfer to low-priority file and archive. No further resources are needed."

……

In the evening, the courtyard became quiet.

Song Yanzhou is leaving for Shanghai in a couple of days, and he doesn't know how long he'll be gone. He's really worried about his wife.

He held her as they lay on the bed, his chin resting on the top of her head, his arms tightly around her, as if he wanted to embed her into his bones.

"Honey, I really hate to part with you."

"What's there to be reluctant about? Didn't you apply to be transferred back to Beijing?"

"But it will be a long time before I can come back."

Jiang Zhiyu hooked her arms around his neck, leaned on his shoulder, and spoke in a soft voice.

"Go ahead and don't worry. We'll start trying to conceive next time you come back."

Song Yanzhou paused for a moment, loosened his grip, and looked down at her.

Are you serious?

"Really." She snuggled closer to him. "So, do you want a daughter or a son?"

"Any child born to my wife is fine." He hugged her tighter, his voice muffled, "But... will you stop loving me after we have a child?"

"Song Yanzhou, you're not a child anymore, how could you ask such a childish question?"

Before Jiang Zhiyu could finish speaking, his lips pressed against hers.

He was exceptionally enthusiastic tonight.

"Host..." Seventeen whispered in his mind, "You can just do the screening tonight, it just so happens to be your ovulation period. Get a pair of twins, and surprise him when you come back next time."

Jiang Zhiyu thought about it and agreed.

His psychic powers unfolded silently, instantly enveloping his body.