Chapter 255

Zhao Jianguo sat on the recliner in the Siheyuan, the lollipop in his hand already chewed flavorless. He gently spat it out, fished a piece of bubble gum from his pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.

The sky was clear, sunlight poured down, the Courtyard warm and cozy. A few neighbors had just left; Sha Zhu, before leaving, slapped the Desk and said he would roast a cosmic spacecraft for everyone to try. Zhao Jianguo didn't respond, just smiled.

He knew that the black little thing that had just flown past wasn't here to pay a visit.

It circled the roof once, its camera sweeping down over the Courtyard center, then flew off. But he was clear: this wouldn't happen just once.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, several black dots appeared on the horizon. As they drew nearer, they were the same model of aircraft, but three times as many. They formed a triangular formation, hovering two hundred meters above the Courtyard, beginning to rotate slowly, as if scanning something.

Zhao Jianguo didn't move. He slowly chewed the bubble gum, his cheeks puffing in and out. His eyes fixed on the few "iron dragonflies" in the sky, his mind replaying the voice he'd heard yesterday at the tech exhibition area—the Special Forces Captain who called spoke with a Henan accent, the Yu-bei dialect, the tail end rising, his tone a bit lazy.

He still remembered the other party saying, "Old Li, don't rush me, the wheat's almost ripe—I need to head back for a bit."

At the time he hadn't thought much of it, but now recalling it, it turned out to be a good opportunity.

He quietly chewed the gum softer, took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the center of the Courtyard.

At that moment, one of the drones lowered its altitude to only about ten meters from the eaves, its camera aimed straight at the window of the room where the Triplets were resting.

Zhao Jianguo jerked his head up and shouted:

"Old Zhang! Your mom's calling you back home to harvest the wheat!"

The volume was moderate, carrying the rough shout of a countryman herding livestock, the tail drawn out long, exactly like yesterday's Team Leader.

As his words fell, the aircraft in the air suddenly jerked. The previously steady propellers trembled slightly; the middle unit missteered, striking the one on its right. The two collided, a flash of spark, and the right-hand craft veered off, plunging straight into the chicken coop next door at Wang Shen's.

The remaining drones weren't idle either. One spun on the spot like a drunk; another suddenly shot up, hit a high‑voltage pole, crackled and fell smoking; two more drifted close, their flight paths crossed, and they smashed head‑on, scattering parts everywhere.

Zhao Jianguo stood in the Courtyard, watching this scene, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

From behind the door came the tapping of a Tablet. He Yushui poked half her body out, lowering her voice: "The signal's cut; the control end is rebooting. They just received a voice command that the system judged as 'Field Commander Dispatch,' automatically executing the withdrawal procedure."

Zhao Jianguo nodded, then blew another bubble. This time he blew hard; the ballooned huge, flashed in the sunlight, and popped with a slap on his face.

He wiped his face, smiling, and said, "No matter how advanced the machine, it still has to tell who's the father."

He Yushui kept her head down, continuing to record, her finger sliding back and forth on the Tablet. "This jamming succeeded because they lacked voice authentication. Next time they'll surely add encryption, maybe even facial or iris recognition."

"Then we'll wait for them to upgrade." Zhao Jianguo sat back on the recliner, "We'll change our tactics too."

Before his words even finished, in a nondescript gray sedan far away, the Special Forces Captain yanked off his headset, his face turning pale.

"Who let you launch the B‑group drones? I didn't issue any order!"

The front‑passenger looked bewildered: "But… we received your voice confirmation, saying it was an emergency withdrawal order, and it mentioned 'harvesting the wheat'…"

"I grew up in the city—my family doesn't even have wheat!" the Special Forces Captain slammed his headset onto the seat, glaring at the screen where the red "Out of Control" warning kept flashing, grinding his teeth.

He stared at the monitor showing the man reclined on the chair, chewing something, grinning broadly as he lifted his gaze to the sky.

"This guy… he's not at all afraid of our tech."

He Yushui finished transmitting the data, packed up her gear. "I've already saved this voice sample; later we can turn it into an automated broadcast. As long as they keep issuing orders with human voices, we can mimic them."

Zhao Jianguo shook his head: "No need for that complexity. A person's words carry emotion and habit—machines can learn them, but can't fathom them. We'll just use the simplest method to strike at their most foreign equipment."

He paused, then pulled out another piece of bubble gum.

"And they don't know that I speak more than one dialect."

He Yushui blinked: "You know others too?"

"I lived a few years in Hebei, spent half a year in Shandong, and even mixed around the Shanxi coal mines for a while." Zhao Jianguo said while tearing the gum wrapper, "Back then, to mooch meals, I'd speak the local dialect with anyone I met. It worked very well."

He put the gum in his mouth and began to chew it slowly.

"Do you think they'll realize that the next person shouting 'Dad, come home dig sweet potatoes' might actually be the village chief from his own hometown?"

He Yushui almost laughed out loud, quickly covering her mouth.

As the two were talking, a few thuds came from outside the courtyard wall—the sound of fallen drone wreckage hitting the ground. A kid ran over to pick it up, but an adult grabbed him: "Don't touch that smoking junk, it's dirty."

Zhao Jianguo listened to the commotion outside but didn't get up to look.

He knew these machines weren't the end; there would surely be other means later—maybe they'd send real people to investigate, or switch to a new surveillance method. But he wasn't in a hurry.

As long as the Triplets were still sleeping, as long as their breathing remained steady, he would stay right here.

He lifted his hand to glance at the sky. The last drone still struggling finally gave out, wobbling askew into Aunt Li's clothesline, hanging mid‑air like a bird caught in a net.

He Yushui packed up her equipment, speaking softly: "I'm heading out first. If they catch on, they'll soon lock down communications in this area."

Zhao Jianguo nodded: "Let's go, don't look back."

A shadow flashed, the side door shut.

Only he remained in the Courtyard.

He leaned back into the recliner, closed his eyes, but his ears stayed open.

A few minutes later, a buzzing came from above again. Not the neat, uniform sound from before, but scattered, chaotic frequencies. The newcomers weren't a single squad; they were three groups of different aircraft models, now flanking from three directions.

Zhao Jianguo opened his eyes and sat upright.

He didn't rush to shout, but instead pulled a small notebook from his pocket, flipped open a page, on which a few lines were written:

【Surname Zhang, native of Anyang, Henan; father named Zhang Dehai; mother alive; family holds two and a half mu of responsibility fields, mainly planting winter wheat】

This is the organized content of the call that the system secretly recorded yesterday.

He stared at those lines for two seconds, closed the notebook, and stood up.

The incoming drones had already entered the hundred‑meter range, forming an encircling formation that slowly pressed downward.

Zhao Jianguo drew a deep breath, filled his dantian with qi, and bellowed at the lead craft:

"Old Zhang! Your dad just called the brigade headquarters, saying the cow got loose! Hurry back to the village to fetch the rope!"