Chapter 282: New Team Leader Assumes Office · Technical Inheritance

Zhao Yang closed the terminal, and as the screen went dark, his fingers lightly tapped three times on the edge. Zhao Xing saw it, lowered his head to touch the watch on his wrist, and said nothing. Zhao Chen stood between them, his gaze sweeping over the robot still in the corner of the courtyard, its label now reading "Please let me learn", but it remained motionless, as if powerless.

They had just returned to the main courtyard of the Siheyuan, the sky was a bit overcast, wind blew in from the alley entrance, stirring up some dust. Zhao Jianguo had already been standing in the front courtyard for a while, hands behind his back, gazing toward the gate. His face showed no expression, but his gaze was deeper than usual, as if he were burdened by something.

A black car slowly drove into the alley and stopped at the courtyard gate. The car door opened, and a young man in a Special Forces uniform stepped out. His shoulder insignia had been changed to a new style, and a silver-gray badge was pinned to his chest. When he walked, his steps were steady, each one as if measured.

He walked up to Zhao Jianguo, raised his hand in a salute: "Report, Master, the new Team Leader of the Special Forces has taken office; please give instructions."

Zhao Jianguo looked at him for a few seconds, nodded, then turned to the surrounding people and said: "This is the disciple I brought out, and also the first person who truly understands what our line of work is about."

Someone in the crowd muttered quietly: "Another official sent from above?"

The person beside him responded: "You didn't see the kids all come out? If we don't deal with it, can the triplets recognize it?"

Just as his words fell, Zhao Xing, Zhao Chen, and Zhao Yang walked over from the side, each holding a small box. They approached the new Team Leader, and Zhao Xing spoke first: "This is for you, anti‑monitoring; just plug it into the communicator." He then handed over the box.

The new Team Leader took it, opened it, and saw it was a palm‑sized metal sheet that could be folded, with fine patterns on its surface.

Zhao Chen then said: "This is an energy crystal; it needs no charging and can generate electricity by absorbing air even when buried underground." He also handed over the box.

Zhao Yang was the last: "Stick this on your forehead; it will light up when you speak—red for a lie, green for the truth."

The new Team Leader held the three boxes, standing straight, his fingers trembling slightly. He lowered his head to look at them, his Adam's apple moved, and his voice lowered: "Thank you…… this is the best gift I have ever received."

Zhao Jianguo stood at the side, the corner of his mouth twitched a little, he didn't actually laugh, but his gaze softened.

At that moment, a flash of light suddenly appeared in the air. It wasn't lightning, nor a reflection; it was as if something had brushed the air, leaving a brief ripple.

No one spoke, but everyone felt it.

The new Team Leader reacted fastest, instantly putting the three boxes into his pocket, pressing his right hand against the equipment at his waist, and scanning the surroundings. Zhao Xing's hand was already on his wristwatch, Zhao Chen stared at the wall corner, and Zhao Yang stepped back half a step, his fingers swiftly sliding across the terminal.

Zhao Jianguo raised his hand, making a pause gesture. He didn't look at the wall corner, nor raise his head; he simply stood still, as if listening to something.

After a few seconds, everything returned to normal.

The onlookers began to whisper to each other: "What was that just now?"

"You must be seeing things; the sky isn't even clear—where would the light come from?"

"My son said he saw the wall over there twist a bit, like TV static."

The new Team Leader turned to Zhao Jianguo: "Master, should we continue with the handover procedure?"

Zhao Jianguo nodded: "Finish what needs to be done. We can't let people think we're afraid."

The new Team Leader straightened his body, raised his right hand with palm up, and a palm‑sized black device slowly rose, hovering above his hand. Its casing was engraved with a circle of fine characters reading "Spacetime Stabilizer".

He spoke loudly: "I hereby assume the post of Team Leader of the Special Forces in the Science and Technology Special Zone. Duty one: protect technology from leakage; duty two: ensure all inventions are used for the people's livelihood; duty three——" He paused, looking at the triplets, "protect you well."

As his words fell, the stabilizer emitted a soft hum, a blue light flashed, and the entire front courtyard's floor tiles trembled slightly.

Zhao Yang's terminal suddenly vibrated. He glanced down, and a line of text appeared on the screen:

【Technical inheritance completed, reward: Master‑Apprentice System Specialization】

He said nothing, blocked the message, and casually deleted the record.

Zhao Xing then said softly: "That ripple just now was not a natural phenomenon."

Zhao Chen added: "Its frequency is close to the fluctuation when our old terminal starts up."

Zhao Yang stared at the ground by the wall corner: "Someone is trying to connect to our system, using an old protocol."

Zhao Jianguo finally moved. He stepped forward, stood beside the new Team Leader, and said softly: "Listen, no matter what happens next, don't act rashly. Let them see we are doing things and also managing them."

The new Team Leader nodded, about to respond, when suddenly his eye twitched.

A thin crack appeared at the edge of the floor tile in the wall corner. It wasn't a fracture; the space itself was slightly twisted, like a reflection on water ruffled by the wind. A faint dark‑red light seeped from the crack, extremely faint but continuous.

The new Team Leader slowly reached his hand toward that floor tile, palm down, and the stabilizer automatically adjusted its angle to aim at the gap.

"Master." He said quietly, "It is looking for an entrance."

Zhao Jianguo didn't move, only saying two words: "Wait."

Zhao Yang also walked over, standing on his other side, and said softly: "The signal source is unstable; it might be remote‑controlled. But that protocol…… is indeed one we used at home."

Zhao Xing interjected: "Could it be that someone picked up an old backup system?"

Zhao Chen shook his head: "Impossible. All terminals have been burned three times, the data wiped completely clean."

"Then there is only one possibility." Zhao Yang lowered his voice further: "Someone knows how to reconstruct that protocol, and they are not far away."

The new Team Leader stared at that crack, sweat beading on his palm. He knew he couldn't rush now, but his heart was already racing. Having been a technician for many years and having handled over twenty spacetime anomalies, he had never seen anything like this—​as if someone were watching him, yet he could not see their eyes.

Zhao Jianguo finally spoke: "Are you afraid?"

The new Team Leader hesitated, then replied: "I am afraid. But I am even more afraid of disappointing you."

Zhao Jianguo's mouth twitched, and this time he really smiled a little: "Not being afraid is fine. Being afraid is normal too—it shows you're still clear‑headed."

He paused, then added: "Remember, you are not alone in this. I am here, they are here, and you have the things in your hand."

The new Team Leader took a deep breath, raised his hand and pressed the button on the stabilizer. A blue light screen rose from the ground, covering the crack. The distorted space gradually smoothed out, and the red light vanished.

A sigh of relief came from the crowd.

Someone laughed and said: "Is that it?"

"I thought we were going to fight!"

The new Team Leader retracted the stabilizer, wiped the sweat from his palm, looked at the triplets, and said seriously: "I will guard this trust."

Zhao Xing grinned: "Then you'd better first install the little gadgets we gave you."

Zhao Chen added: "Especially the lie detector—stick it on your forehead during meetings."

Zhao Yang finally said: "If anyone claims 'I have absolutely no problem,' you should make them take the test right then."

Everyone laughed.

Zhao Jianguo also chuckled along, but his eyes never left the wall corner.

Just as the laughter peaked, the seam of that floor tile flashed again.

This time it was not red light.

It was an extremely thin metal tube, slowly extending from the crack, its tip conical, its surface giving off a cold gray sheen.

It didn't move, just quietly extended out, like a tentacle, stopping ten centimeters above the ground.

Zhao Yang noticed first. His laughter cut off abruptly, and he slammed his finger onto the terminal.

Zhao Jianguo raised his hand, making a downward pressing gesture.

Everyone fell silent.

The new Team Leader followed Zhao Jianguo's gaze over, his pupils constricting.

That pipe was still sliding outward, moving very slowly, making no sound at all.

Zhao Yang said softly: "It's looking for the signal source."

Zhao Chen stared at the front of the pipe: "It doesn't look like a detector."

Zhao Xing immediately chimed in: "It's a weapon. Charging, target locked."

The new Team Leader grabbed the stabilizer with one hand and was about to step forward.

Zhao Jianguo reached out to stop him: "Don't move."

"But——"

"Let it come out." Zhao Jianguo's voice was low, "See what it actually wants to do."