Chapter 49: Good News

After Qin Hao and Cheng Haitang left, the office door was gently closed, and the door of a side lounge opened, with Zhang Yunfeng walking out from it.

His brow showed some worry.

"Old Luo, is doing this too risky? Xiao Qin is practically a walking strategic treasure trove."

"Our recent moves have been so big that foreign intelligence agencies have surely caught wind of it; I don't know how many pairs of eyes are secretly watching us."

Luo Lao didn't turn around; after a moment, he slowly spoke:

"Yunfeng, I know all of this, and the higher-ups know it too."

Afterward he turned around, went back to his desk and sat down, pouring a cup of tea for himself and Zhang Yunfeng.

"But we can't treat him as a weapon locked in a safe; he's a living person, a twenty‑one‑year‑old young man."

During this time he has done so much for the country, and he still needs to prepare for various grand plans, which will surely create some pressure.

He pushed a cup of tea toward Zhang Yunfeng and continued:

"If the string is pulled too tight, it will snap; we could lock him in an absolutely safe place—for a day, a month, a year…"

"But then what? Once his spirit breaks and his mind goes wrong, what good is the system even if it still works?"

Zhang Yunfeng lifted his tea cup but didn't drink, merely pondering Luo Lao's words carefully.

After a while he sighed: "The reasoning is sound, but my heart just isn't at ease."

"Where in the world is there an absolutely safe place?"

Luo Lao countered: "Completely isolating him would only make his target clearer and easier for enemies to focus their attacks on; no matter how many days you guard against thieves, there will always be a loophole."

"Letting him live like an ordinary person, blending into normal life under the tightest covert protection, would actually make him less likely to be exposed."

He paused, then continued:

"An eagle is meant to soar in the sky; if you lock it in a golden cage and feed it delicacies, it will eventually lose its talons and wings, becoming merely a pretty canary."

"The future of our Yanhuang nation cannot be a mere canary."

Zhang Yunfeng fell silent.

He looked at his longtime comrade‑in‑arms, finally nodded slowly, and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

"I understand; I will have the people below fully support Cheng Haitang's work."

Only then did a faint smile appear on Luo Lao's face.

"That's right! Sometimes the more dangerous the place, the safer it is."

During his one‑month vacation, Qin Hao did not really act like a hands‑off manager, running around the country.

It's not that he dislikes sightseeing; it's just that his mindset is different now, and running around would be irresponsible toward himself and even more so toward the country.

Thus, the so‑called nationwide tour ended up being just a stroll through a few famous scenic spots and museums in the capital.

In the first two days, the security team responsible for Qin Hao's safety remained on high alert, rehearsing various plans over a dozen times, fearing any slip.

They found that Qin Hao spent most of his time staying in the arranged residence—either reading or staring blankly out the window; when he did go out, he was orderly and restrained, to the point that even Cheng Haitang thought this kid was more composed than someone over fifty.

As a result, the pressure on the security team dropped sharply, making their work much easier.

Privately, some team members even joked that protecting Comrade Qin Hao was less troublesome than standing guard at the government compound.

Qin Hao naturally didn't know any of this; he simply felt that the capital's autumn was pleasant—neither cold nor hot, good for thinking—and, of course, the more important task was still accumulating Energy Points, which he never missed a day.

The system's regular charging, although far less efficient than the ultimate solution of a tokamak device, has the advantage of being safe and long‑lasting, like a steady trickle.

A month passed quietly in peace.

During this period, the research system of Yanhuang Guo was operating efficiently at an astonishing speed.

Countless problems that had troubled various fields were overcome one by one under the guidance of the system's optimization plan.

As for Qin Hao, his Energy Points had already accumulated to twenty‑three billion.

That morning, Qin Hao received a phone call from Cheng Haitang.

"Xiao Qin, I have a huge piece of good news to tell you!"

As soon as the call connected, Cheng Haitang's usually steady tone was filled with unrestrained excitement.

Qin Hao raised his eyebrows; anything that could make Cheng Haitang lose composure like this had to be a major breakthrough.

"Old Cheng, what's got you so happy?"

"A lithography machine! Our own lithography machine!" Cheng Haitang's voice suddenly rose several notches.

"Following the optimization plan provided by the system, our comrades in materials science and precision manufacturing joined forces for over a month, and just last night the first prototype was successfully manufactured and passed all tests!"

Qin Hao's breath also caught slightly.

Those three words—"lithography machine"—carried a weight he understood better than anyone.

It is the biggest, most stubborn mountain blocking Yanhuang Guo's crystal industry and indeed the entire high‑tech sector.

"How were the test results?" Qin Hao pressed.

Although he had absolute confidence in his own system‑based optimization plan, hearing the result in person still felt different.

"The result…"

Cheng Hai took a breath and said: "All indicators have comprehensively surpassed any publicly known lithography machine in the world today!"

"Do you know, Xiao Qin, it can steadily process crystal elements as small as 1 nanometer—1 nanometer! That means we've left them several streets behind!"

Even Qin Hao couldn't help but break into a brilliant smile at that moment.

"1 nanometer! What does that mean?"

It means Yanhuang Guo has leapt straight to the top in crystal manufacturing, standing directly on the world's summit.

The frustration from hitting a wall in Lanhe Country has long since vanished.

Building it ourselves really is sweeter.

"Great! Really great!" Qin Hao said from the heart, his joy surging like a tide: "Old Cheng! This is absolutely a historic breakthrough!"

"Yes! A historic breakthrough!"

Cheng Haitang felt a myriad of emotions: "Last night, after the news was confirmed, the entire project team, from the CAS academicians to the frontline senior technicians, several hundred people, embraced each other, crying and laughing, as if they had gone mad."

Several old experts, on the spot, cried like children, saying this life was worth it, they could die in peace.

Listening to Cheng Haitang's description, Qin Hao could envision the excited scene.

This is not only the birth of a machine; it is also the embodiment of an unyielding will of a nation and its people in the technological field.

"The Rote Commissioner and the superiors already know, and they are overjoyed to the point of being unable to close their mouths."

Cheng Haitang continued speaking.

"Moreover, it has been decided that in a few days, after the initial production capacity debugging is completed, we will officially announce this news to the public!"

"By then, I want to see what expression those countries that previously blockaded our technology and set up obstacles everywhere will have!"