Family reunions after hardship are always filled with endless things to say, but work was overwhelmingly busy right now. Zhong Pingjiang was chatting warmly with his wife and son, savoring the rare moment of domestic bliss. The phone rang abruptly.

Yun Rong cast a reproachful glance at her husband. Her son had finally come home; no matter how important the matter, it should wait until he had time with them.

Zhong Yun patted his mother’s hand. “Don’t worry about me, Dad’s work is important.”

Zhong Pingjiang didn't shy away from his wife or son; he answered the call. The person on the other end was a middle-aged man in a military uniform who snapped to attention and saluted before getting straight to the point: “CEO Zhong, have the one hundred thousand ship landing gear sets, along with the five thousand ten-thousand-ton-class torsion arms, been completed?”

“Everything is prepared and ready, just waiting for the Quartermaster Department to come and inspect them,” Zhong Pingjiang replied, his expression grave.

The soldier saluted again. “On behalf of the Quartermaster Department, I thank you for your support, CEO Zhong.” He nodded once, and the line went dead.

In that brief exchange, Zhong Yun had gleaned something important; the gratitude in the Quartermaster man's voice was genuine. It seemed his father had offered them significant assistance.

“Dad’s business is really growing; even the Quartermaster Department is a client now,” Zhong Yun said with a flattering smile.

“Which machinery company hasn't received an order from the Quartermaster Department these days?” Hearing his son, Zhong Pingjiang sighed instead. “As a Dawo native, we cannot go to the battlefield to fight the enemy; we can only contribute to the nation within the scope of our abilities. This is all we can do; we can afford to take a loss on these hundreds of thousands of machines.”

Zhong Yun looked at him in surprise. He hadn't expected his father to have such a high sense of civic duty.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you think your old man was just an unscrupulous businessman?” Zhong Pingjiang asked with a faint smile.

“No,” Zhong Yun shook his head. “I just admire your long-term vision. Cultivating goodwill with the Quartermaster Department at this time—that is absolutely a venture that yields a thousandfold return.”

“A smart kid,” Zhong Pingjiang tapped his head lightly, smiling, making no denial. He was, after all, a businessman. Doing this served two purposes: helping the nation while securing future profits. Why not?

“However, we probably aren't the only ones doing this. Even if the Quartermaster Department puts us on the preferred list, we won't rank very high,” Zhong Yun murmured, rubbing his head.

“That’s unavoidable. We’ve only just entered this sector. In terms of connections, we certainly can’t compete with the established companies. We just have to take it slow,” Zhong Pingjiang seemed unhurried. Some things simply couldn't be rushed.

The military had always been the largest purchaser in the machinery industry. To stimulate growth across the entire sector, the military offered very fair prices. Securing an order from the military was extremely beneficial for a company’s development.

Although the military’s biggest supplier was the Juxie Group, one Juxie Group could never satisfy the military’s needs; there were still huge quotas for other companies to divide.

“Do you think this office has been bugged?” Zhong Yun asked suddenly.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Zhong Pingjiang felt a flicker of unease. His son would never ask such a question without reason.

As a precaution, Zhong Yun still made a sweep of the luxurious office. Ever since acquiring the 'Chong Feng No. 1,' he had built his own anti-eavesdropping device. He certainly didn't want to be spied on. Of course, Xiao Ling designed the schematics, and the parts were purchased on Free Star. The assembly was entirely reliant on his 'Manual Assistance Device.'

Zhong Pingjiang and his wife exchanged a glance, finding their son’s actions somewhat peculiar, yet neither said anything, waiting for him to reveal the reason himself.

The result was that Zhong Pingjiang’s office remained perfectly ‘clean.’ Zhong Yun sat back down on the sofa and looked toward the closed door.

Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong watched him intently, waiting for him to speak.

Zhong Yun opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, still uneasy. He shook his head and stood up.

Yun Rong pulled him back sharply, half-annoyed and half-amused. “What are you doing? If you have something to say, just spit it out. Stop dawdling!”

“Fine, I’ll say it then.”

“If you delay any further—” Yun Rong playfully reached toward his ear in a mock threat.

“Stop!” Zhong Yun quickly dodged. How embarrassing would it be to have his ear pulled by his mother at his age? “Then speak quickly,” Yun Rong stiffened her face, feigning anger.

“Alright, I’m speaking.” Zhong Yun sat back down, collected his thoughts, and began, “You must have a lot of questions in your minds, right?”

Zhong Pingjiang turned to look at his wife, who was looking back at him. He asked, “Why do you say that?”

“Actually, I am very grateful to both of you,” Zhong Yun said with a touch of emotion. “You have always trusted me so completely. Having such outstanding parents makes me feel incredibly fortunate.”

“Silly boy,” Yun Rong patted Zhong Yun’s head. “You are my son. If I don’t trust you, who would I trust?”

Zhong Yun looked up, as if having made a firm resolution. “There are things I should have told you much earlier, but due to certain constraints, I couldn't.”

“But I can’t worry about that anymore.”

Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong both felt a tightness in their chests. They had witnessed their son’s dramatic transformation and harbored doubts and worries. But their son was an adult now; if he didn't want to share something, forcing him was useless.

Fortunately, even with the huge changes, their son had consistently developed in a positive direction. This was certainly not a bad thing, and they were happy to see it.

If Zhong Yun had merely become smarter, they wouldn't have suspected anything else. A child who was mediocre growing up suddenly blossoming—a sudden increase in IQ—such examples were not unheard of. But ever since Zhong Yun unveiled the ‘Zhong’s Stabilizer’ and ‘Yun Alloy,’ Zhong Pingjiang and his wife felt the situation was far more complex. Both inventions were epoch-making technologies, absolutely impossible for a seventeen-year-old high school student to devise.

No matter how much of a genius, one cannot accumulate such vast knowledge without sufficient time. This was unrelated to IQ.

Therefore, they both suspected that Zhong Yun might have a person or an organization backing him. But they couldn't for the life of them figure out why this entity would provide such technology to Zhong Yun; it defied logic.

The forces capable of possessing these two revolutionary technologies could be counted on one hand on Dawo. What were they seeking?

Unless their own son possessed something more valuable than these two technologies—but was that even possible?

Just as Zhong Yun said, they indeed had many questions, and today, all those questions were about to be answered. They felt a slight surge of excitement mixed with tension.

“Do you both remember when I had that accident at sixteen, and I was recuperating at home for a month? It was then that something happened that changed my fate forever…”

P: I have nothing more to say. You pushed me from tenth place all the way up to sixth. Other than diligently writing to repay you, I truly don't know what else I can do.