Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

The test track is located fifty miles west of the city, on a riverbank that has been abandoned for more than a decade.

He Yuzhu stood in the makeshift observation shed. In the distance, a tank covered with a tarpaulin billowed in the wind, revealing its dark green armor plating. The sun had just risen, shining on it with a cold light.

Commander Chen held up his binoculars and kept aiming in that direction.

"Xiao He, are you nervous?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "It's alright."

Commander Chen laughed: "Not bad? My palms are sweating." He handed over the binoculars, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Several generals nearby were whispering among themselves. Some were looking at their watches, some were looking at the sky, and some were staring at the tank without moving.

Ma Yuejin ran over from the other side, his face streaked with sweat and dust: "Dean, everything is ready. Fuel tanks are full, ammunition is loaded, and we're ready to go at any time."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Let's begin."

The moment the canvas was lifted, the observation tent fell silent for a few seconds.

The tank emerged, its gun barrel pointing diagonally towards the sky. The welds on its hull gleamed darkly in the sunlight. The tracks had carved deep grooves into the gravel.

One of the generals muttered, "This thing is fucking huge."

He Yuzhu walked over and patted the armor plate. It was cool, thick, and looked stuffy.

The driver climbed in, and the engine began to warm up. The sound was muffled at first, sputtering and churning, but then it grew louder and louder, making the stones beneath his feet tremble.

Commander Chen stood by the observation shed, holding up his binoculars: "Xiao He, come here. Tell everyone what the parameters are."

He Yuzhu walked over: "There are three crew members: commander, gunner, and driver. The vehicle is four meters wide, eleven meters long, and three meters high. It weighs fifty tons."

A general interjected, "Fifty tons? Can it even run?"

"The engine has 1,500 horsepower, with a horsepower-to-weight ratio of 30 horsepower to 1 ton. Theoretically, it can reach a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour and has a maximum range of 500 kilometers."

The general was taken aback: "Eighty? The T-54 only costs fifty."

He turned to look at Commander Chen, then at He Yuzhu, and then at the tank: "You mean, when this thing runs, the T-54 will be left eating dust?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "It's not just about collecting dust. What takes it an hour to travel, the T-54 would take an hour and a half. By the time it gets there, the battle is over, and it's having a smoke, the T-54 still won't be there."

The general opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Commander Chen cursed from the side, "Damn it."

He Yuzhu continued, "The suspension uses a torsion bar and impeller-type hydraulic shock absorber. It has a composite armor structure with an outer layer of high-hardness steel, a middle layer of ceramic, and an inner layer of tough steel. The main weapon is a 125mm smoothbore cannon, supplemented by an anti-aircraft machine gun."

After he finished speaking, he took a step back.

The generals looked at each other but said nothing.

Over at the tank, the engine sound suddenly changed. The roar abruptly increased in volume, making one's ears ring. The tracks began to turn, grinding over gravel with a clattering sound. The tank moved.

It moved forward, not fast, but steadily. The stones crushed by its tracks were ground into powder, raising a cloud of dust.

It stopped briefly before the first obstacle, then climbed the dirt slope. The slope was quite steep, and it climbed slowly but didn't slip, making its way up little by little until it made its way over.

Upon reaching the second obstacle, a puddle of water overflowed the tracks. It drove into it, splashing water and wobbling. He Yuzhu's heart tightened. But the vehicle regained its footing and continued forward, water spraying out from the gaps in the tracks.

The third obstacle was a pile of rocks, some as big as washbasins. It drove over them, crushing the rocks and sending them flying everywhere. The vehicle bounced violently, the cannon barrel swaying up and down, but it didn't stop, continuing to drive past.

No one spoke in the observation shed.

The tank drove back and stopped where it started. The cannon barrel began to rotate, pointing at the target in the distance.

boom--

The first shot. The target in the distance exploded, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Boom—the second shot blew up another target.

Boom—the third shot, and the last target was gone too.

Three shots, all hit.

The tank stopped there, its cannon barrel slowly rotating back to its original position. The engine noise subsided, followed by a few final sputtering sounds, and then it stopped.

The observation shed was quiet for a few seconds.

The general surnamed Li took a step forward, almost tripping over the stool. He steadied himself and grabbed He Yuzhu's arm: "Little He, when will this thing be mass-produced?"

He Yuzhu didn't flinch, looking at him directly: "General, have you ever fought in a war?"

Old Li was taken aback: "You hit him? What happened?"

"Did you ever wait for equipment when you were fighting in the war?"

Old Li fell silent.

He Yuzhu slowly pried open his fingers: "I waited. At Changjin Lake, you can't wait for cannons to come, and you can't wait for people to come. From that day on, I knew that anything that can be made should never make people wait."

He looked at the tank: "It doesn't need any adjustments; it's ready for the battlefield right now."

No one spoke in the observation shed.

After a long while, Commander Chen said softly, "Xiao He, on behalf of all the soldiers, thank you."

He Yuzhu didn't reply. He turned his head and stared at the tank.

Fifty tons of steel were squatting there, the cannon barrel still smoking.

He recalled that year at Changjin Lake.

Forty degrees below zero, no tanks, no artillery, just fried noodles and snow. When enemy tanks came, they could only charge upwards. One fell, two fell, and the third, clutching a satchel charge, rolled under the tank tracks.

With a loud bang, the tank stopped moving. And the man was gone.

He stared at the tank in front of him, its cannon still smoking.

He wanted to ask his comrades: Did you see that? It's our own. No need for anyone to rush up.

No one answered him.

A gust of wind blew, making his eyes sting. He didn't raise his hand to rub them.

That evening, He Yuzhu sat alone in his office.

The moon was bright, shining on the stack of drawings on the table. He took off his gloves, placed them beside him, and stared at them for a while.

The voice in my head rang.

Side Quest: Tank Soul Completed

[Mission Reward Points: +3,000,000]

[Current total points: 44,830,000]

He didn't look at the number.

Stand up and walk to the window.

It was pitch black outside, and I couldn't see anything.

But he knew the tank was parked in the garage. That fifty-ton lump of iron—they'd have to test it again tomorrow.

He stood there for a long time.

Then he turned around, walked to his desk, and brought up the system interface.

[Preliminary Design Data for Artificial Satellites (1957 Adapted Version)]

[Includes: Track calculations, structural design, thermal control system, energy solutions, and communication principles]

[Redeemable Points: 1,000,000]

He looked at the line of text and tapped it.

[Redeem successful. Points consumed: 1,000,000]

[Current total points: 44,830,000]

He took out the stack of documents from the system space; it was a thick pile, several hundred pages long.

The cover reads: Preliminary Design of an Artificial Satellite.

He placed the documents on the table and looked at them.

He decided to hand it over.

I'll go tomorrow.

For no other reason than that.

So that one day in the future, I won't have to lie on the ground waiting for someone else's artillery to come at me.