Zhao Qiang drove his Chery Tiggo at 160 km/h and left when he reached the Heqing Pharmacy in Hedian District. Su Su was hiding in the bedroom, trembling, while Su Heqian was inspecting the broken glass. There were five pieces of glass damaged, and the weapon was a steel ball about the size of a thumb.
"Uncle, what happened?" Zhao Qiang asked Su Heqian.
"Someone must be retaliating. That person seems to know kung fu; they suddenly appear, smash a window, and then zoom up to the roof and escape. A moment later, they reappear. I can't catch them at all, and then they disappear."
Zhao Qiang observed the surrounding houses, the shortest of which was at least three stories high. "He climbed onto the houses? He just climbed the walls on foot like that?"
Su Heqian said, "I witnessed it twice with my own eyes. It really was climbing the wall on foot. So there really is such a thing as light-body skill in this world."
Zhao Qiang stroked his chin without speaking. He could do it using his running shoes, but it would be suspicious if an ordinary person could do it. Who was it? Wang Xiaoliang from last night? Or was it Gan Beiwei's subordinate fulfilling their deceased boss's wish?
Wang Xiaoliang himself certainly doesn't possess such ability, and it seems illogical that Gan Beiwei's subordinates would have such talent. Zhao Qiang said to Su Heqian, "Uncle, let's not talk about who it is yet. Let's seal the windows with cardboard boxes first, otherwise it'll be too cold inside."
Su Heqian said, "Yes, thank you for coming all this way. Sigh, running this pharmacy is too hard. If our two children weren't still single, my wife and I wouldn't be running it anymore." Su Heqian seemed to have aged a lot, grumbling as he cleared the broken glass. He had indeed been overworked lately, and he was truly exhausted.
Heqing Pharmacy has a total of five windows and one main entrance. The two front windows have a total of eight panes of glass, and the three back windows have a total of twelve panes of glass. Now, two panes of glass in the back windows are broken, and three panes of glass in the front windows are broken. The draft is blowing very hard through the room. When Zhao Qiang entered the bedroom, Su Su was shivering under the covers. Even if the air conditioner was turned up high, it was no use.
Zhao Qiang patted Su Su, who was hiding under the blanket, and said, "Su, don't be afraid, I'm here."
Su Su, still covered in blankets, clung to Zhao Qiang's arms, crying, "Who did this? Don't leave, I'm scared."
Zhao Qiang said, "I'll help your dad seal the window first. If he dares to come in, we'll catch him tonight."
It took half an hour to finally patch the hole. The new glass would have to be cut and replaced after daybreak, but Su Heqian didn't have Wang Xiaoliang's ability to find a glassmaker in the middle of the night.
On the stool, Su and Qian exerted a condescending pressure on him, but the interrogation did not proceed smoothly.
Volume 2 [185] Repair Business Request from Hu Qian
"The thief arrived, his body shooting out of the bedroom like a bullet, then crashing through the glass door with a bang. His X-ray glasses scanned the outside in a fraction of a second: a dark figure stood on the fourth floor of the opposite building. Whoosh! An unknown object shot towards another pane of glass in the front window. Zhao Qiang lunged forward, a screwdriver already in hand. A shield appeared in his hand; the projectile struck it with a crisp clang before falling to the ground—a metal pellet! If it hadn't been stopped, another pane of glass would have shattered."
Zhao Qiang raised his hand and fired, causing the shield to disappear. A thin metal wire instantly extended more than a hundred meters and hung on the opposite building. Zhao Qiang quickly climbed the rooftop. The dark figure opposite him was clearly not expecting Zhao Qiang to have such an ability. He abandoned his attack and turned to run on the rooftop. The building soon came to an end, but the man did not stop. He took a big step and shot towards another building opposite. Although the distance between the two was only about twenty meters, Zhao Qiang still dared not attempt it without running shoes!
When Zhao Qiang reached the rooftop, his opponent was already running on the rooftop of the second building. Zhao Qiang took a running start and leaped over as well. By then, the opponent had already started descending the stairs, using the balcony and clothes rack as cover. Each jump seemed to be under his control; he always found a foothold in an unexpected place, then accurately hung on it before moving on to the next foothold. The whole sequence of movements was as fluid as flowing water. It was like the light-footed skills in martial arts dramas; no wonder Su Heqian described it that way.
Zhao Qiang wasn't very familiar with the terrain of Hedian District, and his opponent constantly concealed himself in dark corners, occasionally leaping onto rooftops using drainpipes or telephone lines, only to disappear back into the darkness like a nimble wildcat. Although Zhao Qiang was confident that he was slightly more capable than Zhao Qiang, he ultimately lost track of him in this urban village due to his unfamiliarity with the area.
Zhao Qiang was shocked throughout the journey. The opponent's reaction speed and explosive power were extremely high. Every object around him could become a target for him to use for leverage. The physical strength he released with each leap was definitely no less than Zhao Qiang's! If the two of them were to fight, Zhao Qiang was not sure that he could successfully subdue him in a short time. If such a person was not relying on high-tech products, then he must have real lightness skills or had received extremely professional parkour training.
Back at Heqing Pharmacy, Su Su and Su Heqian were nervously peering out the door. All the lights inside were on. Su Heqian was holding an iron rod, and Su Su had somehow found a mop handle. Zhao Qiang found their tense expressions amusing; the man had only come to cause trouble, not to kill or set fires, otherwise, he and his daughter wouldn't be alive.
"Didn't catch him?" Su Heqian was surprised to see Zhao Qiang disappear on the roof.
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "The other party is very familiar with the terrain around here, so we lost them."
Su Su said, "Don't worry about it. It's just a few pieces of broken glass. We won't feel at ease if you leave him outside."
Zhao Qiang said, "Put the broken glass back up, then you all go and rest. I'll stay here and keep watch. I don't think he'll be back tonight."
The three of them worked together, and the broken glass was covered up again with cardboard. Su Heqian's face was a little pale. Zhao Qiang advised him, "Uncle, you and Su go to sleep. I'll stay here and keep watch."
Su Su said, "I'll stay with Wei."
Su Heqian sighed, "I'm getting old. I'm no longer useful. I feel dizzy and lightheaded. I'll lie down for a while." With that, Su Heqian got into Su Su's bed, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Su Su leaned against Zhao Qiang and said, "Who do you think could be so despicable?"
Zhao Qiang clenched his fist. That shadowy figure was far too powerful. He couldn't rest easy until he found out the truth about him. "I'll investigate tomorrow. You should get some sleep too. With me here, nothing else will happen."
Su Su nestled in Zhao Qiang's arms, her arms wrapped around his waist. Suddenly, she stood up abruptly: "Why is my dad's face red? The lights are on in the room, so I can see it clearly."
Zhao Qiang also noticed something was wrong, and stepped forward to touch him. "Oh no, your dad is burned."
Old Su has been looking haggard these past few days. Adding to that the fright he just experienced, it's no wonder he's fallen ill.
Su Su cried out in a trembling voice, "Dad. Dad, are you alright? Don't scare me."
Zhao Qiang picked him up, blanket and all, and said, "Stop talking, get him to the hospital right away."
When Zhao Qiang returned home at dawn after working late at the hospital, the large pig had already been slaughtered. The butcher was busy skinning it, Zhao Tiancheng was helping his son Zhao Weidong clean the offal, and Liu Huilan had already boiled water, waiting for the pig's head, trotters, and other parts to be cooked. They were going to have a good lunch.
"Qiang, is something wrong that you went out in the middle of the night?" Liu Huilan asked.
Zhao Qiang said, "Something happened in my classmate's family; her father is in the hospital."
Liu Huilan nodded and didn't ask any further questions. Seeing he couldn't help, Zhao Qiang went back to his room, turned on his laptop, and connected to the internet. He saw dozens of messages from Hu Qian, wondering if she was still online. Zhao Qiang then checked his phone on the table; there were over a dozen missed calls, all from Hu Qian. He quickly called back.
Sister Qian, I had to leave suddenly last night.
Hu Qian's voice was somewhat languid, suggesting she was still in bed. "I almost ran over to see what was wrong. Last night we did a simulation experiment on the spot. Your modified program improved the accuracy by 60%! It reduced the source code by nearly two-thirds at once, without affecting the efficiency of this line of work at all. You're a genius! It's a bit... The control usage is too high, the temperature is somewhat..."
Zhao Qiang wasn't surprised by the 60% figure. He said, "I haven't seen the guidance system hardware. If it were modified, this figure would probably be even higher. Also, I've already controlled the temperature of the control chip in the program; otherwise, it wouldn't just be a problem, it would probably burn out. Our country's hardware infrastructure isn't up to par, so this is probably the best-case scenario for now."
Hu Qian's voice gradually became excited. "This result has shocked all the engineers present. You don't know that an engineer in his seventies cried on the spot, and two men in their forties wanted to become her students. They said they had wasted their lives. Should I tell them about you? You will be able to take on many well-known students from all over the country."
Zhao Qiang said, "What do you think?"
Hu Qian said, "How could I dare say? I'm afraid you'll get upset and dump me again. That sissy guy is really riding high lately. You guys have made a major breakthrough and gotten the battery sample, right? I heard the experiments are all done. The results are amazing, even better than mine."
Zhao Qiang smiled but didn't say anything. With Hu Qian's family's influence, it was impossible for them not to hear about his affair with Yang Shiqi. Hu Qian continued, "Let's go online and talk about other maintenance projects. This time it's a paid service."
I'm already online.
Hu Qian's profile picture lit up, and this time she directly requested a video call. Zhao Qiang first looked at himself in the mirror. He could be carefree about his appearance with people he was close to, but Hu Qian wasn't, so he shouldn't be too sloppy.
Hu Qian lay on the bed wrapped in a blanket. Her laptop was on the table beside the bed. She was leaning over the edge of the bed, looking directly at the video. Zhao Qiang almost had a nosebleed when he saw it! Good heavens, she was so careless about her image! The neckline of her pajamas was way too low, and her ample breasts were stretched exaggeratedly downwards due to gravity. If they were even a size smaller than Hu Qian's bra size, you could see her areolas.
Zhao Qiang pointed sheepishly to his chest to remind Hu Qian. Hu Qian looked down and pulled the blanket up to cover herself. "Sorry. I just woke up. I didn't get back until the early hours of last night. Don't mind my appearance. We're mainly talking about work, not romance."
Zhao Qiang said, "Hehe, me too, I look pretty sloppy. But I haven't started sleeping yet."
"I'll give you the document directly. Take a look at it first, and then we can talk."
Zhao Qiang clicked "Accept". This file was quite large, taking a full half hour to transmit. Keep in mind that Zhao Qiang's Wi-Fi was modified, while Hu Qian's network was naturally of a much higher standard; the data packet was nearly [amount missing]!
Zhao Qiang had a headache: "Sister Qian, it looks like the project is quite large. I might not have time recently; there are too many miscellaneous things to do."
Hu Qian has now learned to be decisive. She knows that her hesitation might cause her to miss the opportunity to cooperate with Zhao Qiang. This Zhao Qiang is different from ordinary experts. If you force him, it will backfire. Even if you try to curry favor, it may not be effective. The best way is to go along with him. Although compromise is not a virtue that children from families like theirs should have, nothing can be done without Zhao Qiang. Not only is Hu Qian helpless, but Yang Shiqi is also at a loss.
"What's wrong? I'll help you with this. Take a look at this software; the hardware environment settings are there. It's not working within the hardware's operating range. The upper limit is 30%. Within this range, try to maximize its performance, at least reaching 50%. I'll give you one month. The repair cost is 100 million RMB."
"Submarine command and weapons control system? Haha, your family has connections with the navy."
Hu Qian smoothed her messy hair at her temples. "A bit. There are too many related functional blocks in this program. The command system and weapon system are the main modules. The submarine-launched missile, torpedo, and radar modules all need to improve their responsiveness without changing the hardware. This software is crucial to me. If it succeeds, I, Hu Qian, can finally hold my head high in front of my grandfather, and this New Year won't be too humiliating. Zhao Qiang, will you help me? I can't find anyone else to help me besides you."
Zhao Qiang lit a cigarette and smiled, "Disappointing beautiful women has never been my principle. I'm just dealing with some family matters here. You don't need to make the trip. I just skimmed through it, and it's not difficult to make changes, but you need to give me another copy of the more detailed tactical data for the submarine. Otherwise, my modifications will just be empty promises and have no practical significance."
Hu Qian said, "If you have time, I can take you to a submarine for a hands-on experience."
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "No need. Just give me one copy each of the design data and the actual data. I'll also explain the general idea. We might add a few more sets of equipment to the submarine's operation to eliminate delays and errors caused by manual operation. Don't worry, the cost won't be too high; it's less than a million based on the current market price. However, the modified result will improve the responsiveness by 100% compared to the original."
Hu Qian's eyes widened: "You're not kidding, are you? You just glanced at it casually and dared to say that?"
Thanks to Shunziqu, Huoranran, Wuyanwuji, and Paowu for their monthly votes! This is an extra chapter for today's five votes.
Volume 2 [186] The Village Official Who Lives Off the Land
"Hu Qian saw the storage capacity of the Wei-level biochip in Zhao Qiang's brain! Before, when she was bored, she would collect a lot of data online because this data would be a reference for future repairs. It was crucial for both Wei and Zhao Qiang. When manufacturing this Wei-level biochip, she directly stored a massive amount of data into it. With this detailed data, repairs would naturally be much more efficient. Zhao Qiang had just skimmed through the data packet Hu Qian sent. He had information about this kind of submarine in his brain, and the Wei-level biochip immediately performed a deduction. So Zhao Qiang already had a complete plan in mind. All he needed to do was type it into characters and send it back. Then he would get a hundred million. As a genius repairman, making money was too easy."
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't accept deposits. You can return the goods unconditionally if they don't meet the inspection requirements."
Hu Qian jumped out of bed in a flash. "I'm coming to your house right away."
Zhao Qiang was startled. Hu Qian stood up too suddenly, and the pair of powerful breasts on her chest made his eyes hurt. They were too strong. He usually carried them with him and never felt tired.
"What are you doing here? I'll send you the revised data after the Spring Festival."
While getting dressed, Hu Qian said, "No, you suddenly threw out such a big bait. How can I stay at ease? I'll spend the Spring Festival at your house. I'll help you find any information you need, and I'll help you with anything you need. As long as you focus on helping me modify this control system, you'll be my great benefactor from now on, and I'll give you 70% of Rednet's shares."
Seeing that Su Su was online, Zhao Qiang was too lazy to care about Hu Qian anymore. Let her come if she wants; the house wouldn't be short of chopsticks. Why wouldn't he be happy to have someone willing to be his servant? "Fine, you decide for yourself. This time I'm only helping out of respect for Junior Sister Wei. If I can't satisfy you, then my work has no meaning. If there's anything wrong with what you do, you can point it out, and I'll fix it immediately."
Hu Qian typed a simple two-digit number, "毖," and then logged off.
“My dad’s fever has gone down. I’m so glad you were here last night, otherwise I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Zhao Qiang sent a smiley face without saying anything. After a long while, Su Su sent another message: "Brother Qiang, I don't plan to continue studying in high school."
Zhao Qiang asked, puzzled, "Why?"
“I want to go straight to studying singing and performing arts. I think that’s where my dreams are. Wasting time in high school, where I can’t possibly achieve anything, is too far from the goal you’re looking for. My dad’s illness has made me think a lot. I want to do something as soon as possible to make them happy and to relieve them of their worries about my future. You experienced what happened last night. Running a pharmacy is a very tough job.”
Zhao Qiang thought for a moment and replied, "I'll figure out how to arrange this after the Spring Festival." Actually, the second year of high school had almost finished the high school curriculum, and all that was left was to review. Going to university was not the only way out.
Su Su said, "Then I'll log off first. I need to go to the hospital later to relieve my mom and come back to cook lunch."
Before Zhao Qiang could close the video call, the door was pushed open. He thought it was his mother, but when he turned around, it was Yang Shiqi in casual clothes! Zhao Qiang knew that Yang Shiqi had some contact with Xu Xiaoya and Luo Wei, and he was afraid that she would say something inappropriate in front of Xu Xiaoya, so he hurriedly grabbed the mouse and quickly disconnected the video call.
Yang Shiqi hadn't noticed Zhao Qiang's screen at first, but Zhao Qiang's attempt to cover it up piqued his interest. Although Su Su's appearance was only fleeting, this brief glimpse still made Yang Shiqi exclaim, "What a pure and innocent girl!"
Zhao Qiang closed the screen and said, "Why are you here?"
Yang Shiqi chuckled: "Why can't I come? Who was that girl from earlier?"
Zhao Qiang said, "A friend."
Yang Shiqi said, "Introduce me to them."
Zhao Qiang's attitude was firm: "Impossible. I can't let you ruin her life. Aren't you talking to my teacher's daughter? How dare you have other thoughts?"
Yang Shiqi plopped down on Zhao Qiang's bed. "You don't understand. Behind every successful man are three or four women supporting him. I can't give up a whole forest for one big tree."
Zhao Qiang gave a thumbs up and said, "You're awesome. What's the matter? You came in without saying anything, you startled me."
Yang Shiqi said, "Your mom said you were in your room and told me to come in and find you myself. Since we're close, I didn't stand on ceremony. I'm here to tell you good news—the experiment was a great success. I apologize for not being able to tell you the specific data, but I think with your intelligence, you can figure out the result just by thinking about it. After all, you made that sample, so you know more about it than we do. I've already transferred 500 million RMB to Qimingdeng's electronic account. This is a small reward for your hard work last night."
Zhao Qiang said, "There's no need for you to make a personal trip just to deliver good news."
Yang Shiqi said, "The sample test results are surprising, but the experts said we simply can't make it!" Zhao Qiang chuckled and said, "If the test results of a compression ratio of 10,000 times can't satisfy those experts, I can resign. Whether we can make it or not depends on the proportion of your investment. The more funds you invest, the more advanced the production equipment, and the higher the battery grade you will get. It's entirely possible to make the sample I made."
Yang Shiqi grabbed Zhao Qiang's shoulders with both hands: "Really?"
Zhao Qiang said, "What good would it do me to lie to you?"
Yang Shiqi said, "Definitely not. You need me, but I need you even more, Zhao Qiang. Our fates are already intertwined. Let's be frank and do as you please. I will do my best to cooperate with you."
Outside the window, the butcher was busy preparing the pigs for the New Year, while the neighbors watched the commotion. Zhao Qiang stood up and said, "Let's talk outside; it's too noisy inside."
Yang Shiqi nodded, and the two left the bedroom. Not all of Yang Shiqi's bodyguards followed her into the village; only two remained in the car at the entrance to wait. Zhao Qiang led Yang Shiqi to the village entrance, where the view was unobstructed, and anyone nearby could be seen at a glance. Zhao Qiang said, "I can provide detailed production data for energy batteries, but based on our country's current technological level, it would be good enough to manufacture energy batteries with a compression ratio of 5,000, or even lower, perhaps 3,000, 2,000, or 1,000."
Yang Shiqi said, "Even a thousand is a huge achievement and it is necessary to manufacture them. However, the country also has requirements. No matter how we cooperate and operate, all products must be handed over to me for sale, and no information may be disclosed to the public."