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

Emerging from the computing center, He Yuzhu got into his car, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes for a moment. The indicator lights of Galaxy 6 were still flashing in his mind, and the image of Lin Jianguo slumped over the table wouldn't leave him. The car turned onto Chang'an Avenue; outside the window, it was a hazy gray, threatening rain. He remembered Yang Xiaobing's phone call from the night before last—"Make our move next Wednesday"—Pu Zheng was going to meet a client in São Paulo; intercept him on the way. He hoped things would go smoothly there.

The car left the city and headed towards Anshan Iron and Steel. The poplar leaves on both sides of the road were curled up, grayish, and remained motionless for a long time.

The workshop at Ansteel has expanded further than last year. He Yuzhu stood in the second-floor visitor corridor, his hand resting on the railing. A layer of dust covered the railing, but he didn't pay it any mind. Dozens of chemical vapor deposition furnaces lined up below, their silvery-white bodies gleaming under the fluorescent lights, workers busily at their workstations. In a corner of the workshop stood a square, silver-gray cabinet, its top crisscrossed with thick cables like a spiderweb. A label on the cabinet door, with red lettering on a black background, read: "Small-scale Fusion Device, Experimental Prototype."

Ma Yuejin squatted in front of the cabinet, holding a tablet in his hand, his back to He Yuzhu. Qian Zhiyuan stood next to him, clutching a thin black board, turning it over and over as if it were some rare object.

He Yuzhu went downstairs and walked to the fusion device. The cabinet was a little taller than a refrigerator, and its exterior was warm, not like a machine, but more like a stone that had just been brought in from under the sun.

Ma Yuejin stood up, handed over the tablet, his hands trembling slightly. "Dean, it's done. Look at the data. The output power is enough to supply the entire workshop; the energy consumption problem of the carbon nanotube production line has been solved." He paused, swallowed, and said, "The cost has been reduced by 70%. Before, one kilowatt-hour of electricity couldn't produce half a meter of fiber; now, one kilowatt-hour can produce two meters."

He Yuzhu took the tablet, and data appeared on the screen. Power was stable, temperature was normal, and neutron flux was within the safety limit. He returned the tablet and walked to the furnace. Through the observation window, the furnace chamber glowed red-hot, with methane and hydrogen gas churning, cracking, and depositing inside. The furnace door opened, and a worker used long tongs to remove a thin black plate, placing it on the table. A wave of heat rushed out, making their faces feel hot.

Qian Zhiyuan picked up the board and tapped it with his knuckles; the sound was dull and solid. He brought the magnifying glass closer to examine it, then straightened up. "The strength is 20% higher than the last batch, and the defect rate has dropped to below 0.5%. Feel it."

He Yuzhu took it. It was light, almost weightless. He tried to bend it, but it wouldn't budge. He took out his key from his pocket and scratched it hard, but it didn't even leave a white mark.

Director Sun from Ansteel walked over from behind, clutching a notebook and rubbing his fingers along the edges of the pages. "Director He, the keel of the Kunlun requires 120 meters of nano-carbon nanotube profiles. We can only pull ten meters at a time right now, so we have to prefabricate them in sections and then assemble them."

He Yuzhu turned around. "Segmented? What about the strength of the joints?"

Factory Director Sun opened his notebook and pointed to a line of text: "Traditional welding will damage the carbon nanotube structure, and the weld strength is only 60% of the base material. It cannot be used."

Qian Zhiyuan chimed in from the side, "Director He, we've developed a high-temperature, high-pressure bonding process. We use epoxy resin reinforced with carbon nanotubes, which cures under high temperature and pressure. Small-scale tests show that the weld strength can reach over 95% of the base material's strength."

He Yuzhu stared at him. "Small sample? Have you ever done a big sample?"

Qian Zhiyuan put down the carbon nanotube sheet and rubbed his hands together. "Not yet. We need to build a large autoclave. There aren't any readily available in China; we'll have to order one from abroad a year later."

Factory Director Sun frowned beside him, gripping his notebook even tighter. "Director He, with three factories starting operations simultaneously, how many people will we need, and how much will it cost? Shanghai, Dalian, Guangzhou—operating at the same time…"

He Yuzhu didn't let him finish. "The Kunlun isn't an ordinary ship; it's meant to fly out of the solar system. The sooner it's built, the sooner it will go. We'll bring in people from various factories, and I'll figure out the funding. We'll have the autoclave made by a domestic manufacturer; it needs to be ready in six months. We can't wait for the foreigners."

Factory Director Sun opened his mouth, but said nothing more, and lowered his head to write in his notebook. The pen tip scratched against the paper.

He Yuzhu walked to the small fusion device, squatted down, and touched the cabinet door. It was warm. He remembered the first time the tokamak was ignited, the cheers in the control room, and Chief Engineer Qian's notebook falling to the ground unpicked. Now this thing was shrunk to the size of a refrigerator, sitting in a corner of the workshop, silently supplying power.

"Ma Yuejin, how long has this machine been running?"

Ma Yuejin flipped through the tablet. "A month, without stopping. The temperature was stable, the neutron flux was low, and the first wall of the ceramic substrate held up."

He Yuzhu stood up. "Okay. Mass production. The keel, ribs, and hull of the Kunlun will all be made of carbon nanotubes."

Ma Yuejin nodded and put the tablet in his pocket.

He Yuzhu walked out of the workshop and stood in the courtyard. In the distance, smoke billowed from the blast furnaces of Ansteel, the white vapor from the chimneys scattered by the wind. He lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and stubbed it out. The wind came from the east, carrying the smell of rust and coking coal mixed together.

That evening, He Yuzhu sat in his office and took the list out of his drawer. Turning to the page on "Carbon Nanotubes," he added a line after "Mass Production Breakthrough": "Small-scale fusion device power supply, cost reduced by 70%, strength increased by 20%. Kunlun submersible keel launched, new high-temperature, high-pressure bonding process employed. Shanghai, Dalian, and Guangzhou plants started operation simultaneously."

After finishing writing, put the list back and lock the drawer.

The voice in my head rang.

[Side Quest: Mass Production of Carbon Nanotube Composite Materials Completed]

[Mission Reward: 100,000,000 points]

Current total points: -55,000,000 + 50,000,000 = -5,000,000 points

He didn't look at the number. It was almost paid off. He closed the interface, stood up, and walked to the window. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting a grayish light on the courtyard wall.

The phone rang. He answered it, and it was Yang Xiaobing on the other end, his voice hoarse, as if he hadn't slept for days.

"Commander, everything's ready in Brazil. Mr. Lin has found out Pu Zheng's schedule; he's going to São Paulo to meet a client next Wednesday. We can make our move on the way."

He Yuzhu pressed his hand on the table. "Are we manpower enough?"

Yang Xiaobing said, "That's enough. Chen Guodong brought six men, all veterans. They also have weapons, American-made, which they'll discard after use."

He Yuzhu was silent for a few seconds. "Be careful. Don't harm the innocent. Capture Pu Zheng's men alive if possible. Those who resist fiercely can be shot."

Yang Xiaobing responded, "Understood."

The phone call ended. He Yuzhu stood by the window, looking at the night outside. The moon was bright, shining on the courtyard wall. He stood there for a long time, then drew the curtains.

Next Wednesday, São Paulo, Brazil. Pu Zheng is going to meet a client. Yang Xiaobing and the others are waiting for him on the way.

He turned around, walked back to the table, and sat down.