Chapter 100

Zhao Jianguo closed the lunchbox lid, still chewing the last mouthful of vermicelli, and waved at the reporter: "Go sit with Old Master Wang for a while; I'll join you after I finish this stall."

Su Qing took the empty lunchbox, muttering softly: "You haven't stopped all day; you even have to squeeze time to eat."

"No way." He laughed, patting his pockets: "Just got the notice—tomorrow the National Industrial Skills Competition opens; our factory is a key observation unit. As a 'model worker,' if I don't show up to back it, the leaders will lose face."

Dong Xu poked his head from the courtyard gate: "Old Zhao! The car's ready, just waiting for you."

"Sure!" Zhao Jianguo grabbed the canvas bag, casually shoved the thermos into the sidecar of the motorcycle, and said: "Let's go see if the outside world is as fast as we fixed it."

After a bumpy ride we arrived outside the exhibition hall; sunlight beat on the red-silk-draped arch. People came and went, technicians from various factories in faded work uniforms shuffled back and forth, holding either blueprints or part models. Zhao Jianguo had just steadied himself when his head buzzed— the system alarm blared.

【Alert: Detected high-match technical prototype, similarity 98.7%, source unknown】

He paused, his gaze sweeping along the area signage and landing on the "Machinery Bureau of Shanghai Representative Team" placard. At the center of the booth stood a hydraulic transmission demonstration device, simple in structure, precise in motion; most crucially, the design of its diverter valve assembly was almost identical to a future blueprint he had stored in his sign-in system.

"Coincidence." He muttered, "I just got this blueprint from sign-in last month—who's rushing this?"

He walked a few steps closer and saw a bespectacled man standing before the operation console, lowering his head to calibrate the pressure gauge. The man wore ordinary clothes, his cuffs frayed, yet his movements were clean and crisp, each step free of unnecessary sway. Even stranger, his fingers occasionally twitched lightly, as if pressing an invisible key.

Zhao Jianguo's heart jumped.

This reaction… familiar.

He discreetly pulled out a notebook, jotted down the booth number, turned to find Dong Xu: "When the observation team enters later, sneak in, try to get close to that Shanghai team, and if possible, glance at their documents."

"What's up? Anything wrong?" Dong Xu frowned.

"Nothing major." Zhao Jianguo grinned, "Just feel their machine looks like it was copied from our blueprints; I want to see who's got such keen eyes."

Dong Xu rolled his eyes: "You're just seizing any chance to compete, huh?"

"Competing is competing, but we need evidence." Zhao Jianguo patted his shoulder: "You just need to touch a bag, let me see the seal."

Not long after, the provincial observation team entered. Zhao Jianguo stood at the periphery, eyes locked on the crowd. He saw Dong Xu holding a folder, pretending to stride toward the Shanghai officials' seats, but his foot slipped, he staggered, and the clip in his hand flew out, striking the briefcase of an attendant.

"Oh sorry sorry!" Dong Xu hurriedly bent to pick things up.

Papers scattered everywhere; one order fluttered out, bearing conspicuously the seal of the "Shanghai Machinery Bureau Technical Coordination Special Seal."

Zhao Jianguo's eyes narrowed, he silently thought: "Activate instant-capture record."

Click.

The image was instantly stored in the system database. He stepped back two feet, leaned against the wall pretending to read a display board, while actually pulling up the file for comparison. Five seconds later, the result popped up— the organization's official establishment date is three months from now, yet this order's issuance date is a full forty days earlier.

"The timeline's messed up." He narrowed his eyes: "Either they're operating internally ahead of schedule, or… someone altered the script."

He walked back toward the exhibition area and coincidentally bumped into the bespectacled technician packing up. The man was covering the model with a dust cloth, his movements meticulous as if sealing something precious.

"Comrade," Zhao Jianguo initiated, "Your hydraulic system is really impressive—could I ask a few parameters?"

He lifted his head; behind the lenses his eyes flickered with a moment's hesitation, then steadied: "Sure, but the specific data involve internal procedures—I can only give a rough overview."

"Understood." Zhao Jianguo smiled, handing over his ID: "I'm Zhao Jianguo from the Third Machine Tool Factory of Northern Capital; I've been working on similar projects lately, purely for exchange."

"Chen Jianguo." The man took the ID, glanced at it, his lips twitching slightly: "The name is quite similar."

"No kidding." Zhao Jianguo chuckled, "Our surnames plus given names together make 'Comrade Jianguo's Great Unity.'"

Chen Jianguo also smiled, but it was brief, as if programmed to stop there.

"How about finding a place to sit awhile?" Zhao Jianguo suggested, "I know a nearby state-run restaurant that's quiet and serves hot soup."

Chen Jianguo hesitated three seconds, then nodded: "Okay, but not too long—we have a wrap-up meeting tonight."

In a private room on the restaurant's second floor, the waiter brought two bowls of cabbage tofu soup and a pot of jasmine tea. Zhao Jianguo specifically asked for glass cups, placing one beside Chen Jianguo.

"Come, wet your whistle." He poured a cup and pushed it over.

"Thanks." Chen Jianguo took it, sipped, and set it down; the cup clinked steadily, not a drop spilled.

Zhao Jianguo chatted while observing his gestures: when writing he pinched the pen with three fingers, when walking he habitually sank his right shoulder, before eating he unconsciously touched his left wrist—these details were too standardized, so standardized they didn't seem like someone from this era.

"Your Shanghai machinery industry seems quite active these days." Zhao Jianguo probed, "Was this system independently developed?"

"Result of teamwork." Chen Jianguo answered flawlessly, "Inspiration came from frontline practice."

"Interesting." Zhao Jianguo nodded, "I've also been pondering the response speed of the diverter valve; I feel the current design still has room for optimization."

"Indeed." Chen Jianguo finally offered a point, "If we add a buffer chamber to the feedback loop, theoretically we could cut lag by fifteen percent."

Zhao Jianguo's heart gave a little thump.

This proposal is the next-level blueprint content not yet unlocked in his system.

He poured himself a cup of tea without changing expression, deliberately overfilling it, then waited for Chen Jianguo to rise for the washroom; swiftly he pulled from his pocket a coin‑sized metal sheet and stuck it on the rim of the cup Chen had used.

【Nano‑adsorber activated】

Invisible to the naked eye, micro‑particles were silently captured; the system began background analysis.

Less than a minute later, a prompt popped up:

【Target individual's residue contains non‑contemporary synthetic protein markers, match probability steadily rising, preliminarily judged as a cross‑domain contact】

Zhao Jianguo gripped the teacup, his knuckles whitening slightly.

Indeed, it's the same kind.

But he gave no sign; instead, before Chen Jianguo returned, he moved the cup back to its original spot and added half a cup of hot water.

"Where were we?" Chen Jianguo sat down, tone as usual.

"We were talking about the buffer chamber." Zhao Jianguo smiled, "You're right—I also think it's a breakthrough. However—" he paused, "Have you noticed that each time you adjust parameters, your right index finger twitches slightly?"

Chen Jianguo's expression finally cracked.

He slowly raised his hand, staring at his fingertips: "You noticed too?"

"Mm." Zhao Jianguo locked eyes with him, "Because… I'm the same."

The two fell silent for a few seconds.

Outside the window wind brushed the treetops; downstairs came the sound of the waiter clearing dishes.

Chen Jianguo suddenly whispered, "Your system… is it also being monitored?"

Zhao Jianguo hadn't yet had a chance to answer when the private room door was knocked twice.

"Representative Zhao! Assembled! The factory dispatched a vehicle to come pick people up!"

He glanced outside the door, then turned back, only saying: "Tomorrow's opening ceremony, I'll wait for you at Exhibition Area One."

Chen Jianguo didn't answer, merely slowly took off his glasses, wiped them, then put them back on; his expression had already changed.

Zhao Jianguo stood up and walked out, hands in his pockets, gripping tightly the Metal Sheet just recovered.

Wind blew in from the end of the corridor, lifting the hem of his clothes.