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

The photos were wrapped in three layers of kraft paper and secured with two rubber bands. He Yuzhu's fingers paused for a moment as he unwrapped them. The photos, over thirty in total, were brought back from Brazil by Yang Xiaobing, black and white with slightly curled edges. The first photo showed the gate to the rubber plantation, an iron fence, and two white men standing at the entrance, shirtless and wearing camouflage pants. He couldn't recognize them, but he recognized their posture—heels together, toes apart, chin slightly tucked in. Soldiers.

He placed the photo on the table, his fingers tracing the edges as he stared at it for a long time. The second photo showed them running along a path in a rubber plantation, a dozen or so people, their steps synchronized and their speed impressive. The camera shutter couldn't keep up, so the figures were a bit blurry, but you could tell their legs were very thick, a size larger than the average person's. The third photo was of a fight, two people exchanging blows bare-handed, surrounded by a group of people. One of them was a fraction of a second slower and was punched in the shoulder, falling to the side, but he managed to brace himself with one hand and bounce back up instantly.

He Yuzhu laid out the photos one by one, in three rows. He stood up, walked to the window, and stood there for a while. It was gloomy outside, like it was about to rain. He turned around, walked back to the table, picked up the phone, and dialed two numbers. One was for the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and the other was for the Changchun Institute of Biological Products.

"Dean Chen, there's something I'd like you to take a look at."

"Director Wang, you're here too."

Dean Chen arrived first. He was sixty-two, with gray hair, and walked slowly but steadily. When he entered, He Yuzhu was standing by the window. He turned the photo over and placed it face down on the table so that Dean Chen wouldn't see it as soon as he entered.

"sit."

Dean Chen sat down and placed his briefcase on his lap. He Yuzhu flipped the photos over and pushed them in front of him. The first one was of the rubber plantation gate, showing two shirtless white men. The second one showed them running. The third one showed them fighting. Dean Chen picked up the first one, looked at it closely, and didn't say anything. He then picked up the second one and looked at it for even longer. He put the photos on the table, took off his reading glasses, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"These people..." He paused, then put his glasses back on and picked up the photo of the fight again. "Where did they come from?"

"Brazil. In a rubber plantation."

Dean Chen put the photo down and leaned back in his chair. "What do you suspect?"

He Yuzhu didn't answer. He pushed the remaining photos over one by one. "You look at them first."

Dean Chen looked at it for more than ten minutes. He put down the last one, took off his glasses, and wiped the lenses with the corner of his clothes.

"Abnormal muscle density, robust bones, and cardiopulmonary function far exceeding that of ordinary people. Ordinary people cannot achieve this level of development. It requires either exceptional talent or extraordinary training."

He Yuzhu waited for him to continue.

Dean Chen pondered for a moment. "There's research in this area in the US, codenamed 'Superpowered Force.' Our intelligence department intercepted some data, but it's incomplete. It's said that they use drugs to stimulate muscle growth, increase bone density, and improve the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells. Their strength, speed, and recovery can reach three times that of an average person."

He Yuzhu pressed his hand against the edge of the photo. "Three times?"

"At least three times," Dean Chen said, pointing to the photo of the fight. "Look at this guy, he got punched, braced himself with one hand, and bounced right back up. An ordinary person couldn't do that. His joints, ligaments, and tendons all need to be strengthened."

He Yuzhu remained silent. He recalled the T-62 tanks at Zhenbao Island that year, with 250 millimeters of frontal armor at a 68-degree angle. Anti-tank missiles had to be modified with RDX missiles to penetrate it. Now, what was coming wasn't a tank, but people. Three times the strength, speed, and regenerative ability of an ordinary person.

When Director Wang arrived, it was almost noon. He was fifty-five years old, thin, and wore black-rimmed glasses. He was carrying a canvas bag when he came in. He Yuzhu handed him the photos, which he took and flipped through quickly, one by one.

"At the genetic level." He put down the photo and took off his glasses. "Drugs alone aren't enough; we need to work on the genes. We need to modify myostatin, modify bone density-related genes, and modify erythropoietin. The Americans are working on these things, and the Soviets are working on them too."

He Yuzhu looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Director Wang thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. But judging from these people's physiques, it doesn't seem like they were simply trained to that extent. Their muscle mass, bone thickness, and recovery speed all exceed natural limits. At least three times."

Dean Chen chimed in from the side, "Three times. Strength, speed, and recovery—all three times."

The meeting room fell silent. He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the window. A layer of dust covered the window; he wiped it with his hand. The sky outside was a hazy gray. He stood there for a moment, then turned around.

"What can be used to deal with them?"

Director Wang took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Neurotoxin. Paralyzes nerves and blocks muscle contraction. A sufficient dose will leave them paralyzed on the ground, unable to move."

"Is it possible?"

Director Wang didn't answer immediately. He lowered his head and thought for a moment. "It's possible. But we need a formula. Snake venom, scorpion venom, and tetrodotoxin can all paralyze the nerves. The dosage is difficult to control; too little won't work, and too much will kill."

He Yuzhu walked back to the table and sat down. He didn't speak and sat for a while. Then he opened the drawer, took out a stack of documents with a kraft paper cover and no writing on them. He pushed the documents in front of Director Wang.

Director Wang took it and turned to the first page. After looking at it for a few seconds, he looked up. "Director He, this..."

"Is it possible to do it?"

Director Wang lowered his head and continued flipping through the pages. He turned each page slowly, his finger tracing the process flow. He paused when he reached the purification page. "It's doable. But we need the equipment. High-speed centrifuges, ultrafiltration units, and freeze dryers all need to be imported. We also need pufferfish raw materials, which we'll collect from the coast."

He Yuzhu nodded. "I'll coordinate the equipment. We'll have the coastal fishermen help us collect the pufferfish raw materials."

Director Wang closed the file and hugged it to his chest. "Okay. I'll get back to it."

Dean Chen stood up and put the photos back into the brown paper bag. "Director He, if these people really manage to sneak in, our public security and armed police have never dealt with them before. We need to train them in advance."

He Yuzhu saw them to the door. "I'll arrange the training. Yang Xiaobing spent a few months in Brazil and met these people. Let him come back to lead the team."

Dean Chen nodded and left. Director Wang followed behind. The footsteps in the corridor grew fainter and fainter. He Yuzhu stood at the door, motionless. He remembered Yang Xiaobing spending three months in the jungles of Myanmar, his face covered in mosquito bites. Now he was in Brazil, squatting outside a rubber plantation, taking these photos. Ten years had passed, and he was still chasing after it.

In the afternoon, Lin Jianguo arrived. He stood at the office door, not coming in, holding a notebook in his hand.

"Dean, Star River Five cannot be considered a fusion reaction."

He Yuzhu looked up. "It doesn't count?"

Lin Jianguo walked in, opened his notebook, and pushed it in front of He Yuzhu. "The computing power is insufficient. The fusion reaction model is too complex, with too many grid points, and there isn't enough memory. It's been running for a week and has overflowed three times."

He Yuzhu looked at the data without saying a word. Lin Jianguo stood beside him and waited for a while.

"We need to develop a new generation of supercomputers. Their computing power must be at least fifty times that of Galaxy-5, and their memory must be one hundred times larger."

He Yuzhu closed his notebook. "How long will it take to come up with a proposal?"

Lin Jianguo thought for a moment. "Six months."

"Three months." He Yuzhu looked at him. "Three months to come up with a plan. Nuclear fusion can't wait, spaceships can't wait."

Lin Jianguo opened his mouth, as if to say something, but didn't. He nodded, took the notebook, and turned to leave. But as he reached the door, he turned back.

"Dean, if we can develop Star River VI, it won't just be a fusion reactor. It can also be dozens of times faster in meteorology, geology, and nuclear weapons simulations."

He Yuzhu didn't speak. Lin Jianguo left. He Yuzhu sat alone in his office, took the list out of his drawer, turned to a new page, and wrote a few lines.

Neuroparalyzing toxin: Director Wang led a joint effort with the North China Pharmaceutical Factory and the Changchun Institute of Biological Products. Biochemical warfare countermeasure training: Yang Xiaobing returned to China to lead the team. Galaxy-VI supercomputer: Lin Jianguo led the effort, aiming to develop a solution within three months.

He finished writing, put the list back, and locked the drawer. He stood up and walked to the window. It was getting dark outside, and the streetlights came on, casting a dim yellow light on the courtyard wall.

Those men were still training in the Brazilian rubber plantation, running, fighting, and shooting. They were waiting for orders. He Yuzhu didn't know when they would arrive, but he knew he had to be prepared.