The middle-aged general saw Fierce Tiger so agitated that his expression turned stern, as if he was about to face something...

"Go get a lawyer immediately, argue for every inch, we absolutely cannot lose that mine. Also, contact the customs at Bohai to ensure the steel sent there is expedited as fast as possible..."

"Beep beep beep..." The busy signal from the phone made Fierce Tiger feel uneasy.

Indeed, things weren't going well; the subordinate reporting back to him was currently surrounded by Xiao Jiu's large force and had captured some fragmented information. A batch of steel had already been refined and was now being transported to Bohai, planning to go through customs.

Xiao Jiu immediately instructed his people to station at customs, leading to the capture of thirty fully-loaded trucks of steel.

"A group of thieves, secretly developing Huaxia's mineral resources without paying a single penny in taxes—who gives them such courage! Investigate it! I want a full investigation." Looking at the thousand people surrounded by soldiers, with their various clear roles, like the structure of a company, Xiao Jiu was infuriated, convinced there must be treacherous high-ranking officials involved.

Seize a large amount of steel, then transport it back to the research facility.

As for the general and Fierce Tiger on the deserted island, they naturally turned pale.

"What on earth is going on? How did someone find out about the operation at Changbai Mountain? Bastard, after taking so much real gold and silver from me, you betrayed me..." roared the general in rage.

Although Fierce Tiger was also furious, he didn't understand the significance of the steel. He couldn't help but be secretly thankful, grateful that the general called him back; otherwise, he would have surely been captured at Changbai Mountain.

"Ring ring ring."

A series of urgent phone rings sounded.

The general saw the caller ID and gestured for Fierce Tiger to leave.

The general picked up the phone. A cold and somber voice came through.

"It seems you're really only good at screwing things up, huh?"

"Prince, I..." The fake general was speechless! He had no idea what had gone wrong at Changbai Mountain.

"Hmph! It's Falcon's failure; no need to investigate further. Also, keep calm. Don't let that group of Huaxia officials get toppled; the organization doesn't have the resources to rear a bunch of incompetents," the voice on the other end coldly stated.

The prince on the other end was the one who had recently assumed the title and was the real general. He operated behind the scenes, away from the public eye.

"Falcon... Could Fierce Tiger have mentioned it to Falcon? Ah! It must be Ye Hao, that bastard, it's him again." When the events lined up, the fake general grasped the gist but didn't understand how Ye Hao managed to get Falcon to reveal so much in such a short time.

"No professionalism, hmph!" The prince on the phone snorted coldly.

The fake general was startled, his heart skipping a beat as he quickly apologized, "Prince, I... I shouldn't have..."

"Enough, stop with the nonsense. If you want the real general's position, I'll show you a path. Otherwise, you'll die," the prince cruelly said.

"Please, Prince, show me a path."

"Find someone to impersonate Ye Hao and kill Hall Rize. Be discreet, and if things get exposed, you're dead," the prince said and then hung up.

The general pondered slightly and understood what this was about—it was a move to pit the Hall family against Ye Hao, reaping benefits from the discord. Even if the Hall family can't kill Ye Hao, they could at least trouble him.

But the prince's plan wasn't quite like that; he was currently the known leader of the God organization in Huaxia, and he had data on the other major dukes. The contemporary head of the Hall family was one of the God organization's dukes, just like his superior Zhuge Langtian.

If the eldest son of the Hall family is killed, the family would definitely not let it go, and they would launch a formidable attack on Ye Hao until he's dead.

This is not his concern. He's there to watch the Hall family fight Ye Hao or vice versa! In his world, more deaths on others' sides are just numbers to him.

...

"Hu, have you mentioned the steel at Changbai Mountain to Falcon?" asked the fake general, looking coldly at Fierce Tiger in the secret room on the deserted island.

Fierce Tiger's eyes darted around, about to deny it...

"No need to deny it. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. If you can't do it, you die. If you succeed, both the Flying Eagle Team and Fierce Tiger Team will be yours," the fake general said coldly to Fierce Tiger.

"Please have mercy, General." Fierce Tiger knew from the general's undoubtable tone that even if he hadn't mentioned it to Falcon, the general would assume he had. So he could only do well with the chance given to him.

"Your life is not in my hands, but your own. Next..." the fake general commanded Fierce Tiger.

"I will complete the mission." Fierce Tiger didn't know what killing Hall Rize would accomplish, but since the general said so, he would resolutely complete the mission.

The next day.

At dawn, Ye Hao had already spent a night back in Peng City and had taken Lin Ruyu's two daughters to school yesterday.

Ye Hao got up, stretched, and planned to wash his face, brush his teeth, and make breakfast.

But at this moment, his phone suddenly rang.

Ye Hao glanced at the name on the phone and pondered for a moment before picking it up.

The call was from none other than Xiao Jiu.

Seeing the call, Ye Hao knew what Xiao Jiu was likely going to say next. It must be that they had caught the people smuggling illegal mines, and Xiao Jiu was calling to commend him and then inquire about the spring-related materials.

"Hello! Brother Xiao, you're up pretty early!" Ye Hao answered the phone with a smile.

"Haha, Ye, it's not early at all, I haven't slept for days and nights." Indeed, Xiao Jiu hadn't slept these days. First, he personally led troops to Changbai Mountain, then gathered evidence and worked with the disciplinary committee to capture people, all of which meant he hadn't rested for days.

"Brother Xiao, you're so busy. Your health is important!" Ye Hao showed some concern.

"Let's not talk about this. Although health is important, what you provided, Ye, was more crucial for the country; you've done a great service this time!" Xiao Jiu said happily, looking like he wanted to congratulate Ye Hao.

"Oh? Did Brother Xiao catch those villains?" Ye Hao pretended to be uncertain and asked.

Xiao Jiu chuckled to himself. This rascal is quite the actor! He provided the intelligence and still acts like he doesn't know.

"Haha! Of course, with your accurate intelligence, Ye, how could I not catch them? How could I show my face if I failed?" Xiao Jiu laughed heartily.

"Congratulations to Brother Xiao for adding a vibrant chapter to your military achievements," Ye Hao congratulated.

After chatting casually for a bit, they got to the main topic.

"Ye, you mentioned earlier that this steel could be used to make springs, is that true?" Xiao Jiu asked, puzzled, as the old experts in the research lab clearly stated that this steel wasn't suitable for making springs...

"General Xiao, would I dare deceive you on such important matters?" At this point, Ye Hao switched from calling him brother to general, knowing that even if he explained more, they wouldn't understand.

"Then..." Xiao Jiu seemed hesitant.

Ye Hao inwardly chuckled, the show was about to begin. It seemed the experts at the research institute didn't know what these materials could actually be used for!

If Ye Hao guessed correctly, the steel refined from Changbai Mountain could be used to make anti-tracking detectors, invisibility detectors, submarines, and aircraft material.

At sea, it could achieve invisibility, and on land, with special chemicals applied, it could be invisible under the sun's glare.

Moreover, underwater it could evade detection by motherships, as if there was nothing there.

"Brother Xiao, why don't you have the experts at the lab study it again? If it truly doesn't work, then it's just a pile of scrap material." Ye Hao sighed a bit as he said this.

"This..." Xiao Jiu was stunned for a moment; if it was just waste material, then why go to such lengths to catch people?

"Of course! If Brother Xiao trusts me, you could send a sample to me first. I could try it out, and if it works, I could even produce some good springs for the country at no charge," Ye Hao said with a smile.

"Really?" Xiao Jiu was overjoyed.

"Of course! What's the relationship between us, Brother Xiao? There's no need for deceit. Besides, I've been promoted to major without making any significant contributions to the country yet."

"Haha! Ye, I admire patriotic young men like you," Xiao Jiu said happily with a laugh.

"All for the country," Ye Hao said hypocritically, feeling a bit guilty but relieved knowing that he wouldn't betray the country while developing more things.

"Alright! I'll have someone send you a truckload first. If it comes in handy, then I'll have to trouble you, Ye," Xiao Jiu agreed readily, not forgetting the old experts pointing at him saying, 'Why did you bring this garbage back...'

If he took it and it was discarded, it would be a joke, but if someone made something useful, then it wouldn't be garbage.

Even if it couldn't compare to aerospace equipment in elegance, it wouldn't be called garbage; anything with a use isn't garbage.

"Okay!" Ye Hao said with a smile, hanging up the phone, his lips curling into a charming grin.

Xiao Jiu was swift, sending a truckload of steel over by the time Ye Hao got back from class that evening.

Ye Hao headed home with Lin Ruyu and the other woman before heading toward the beach.

Since coming back from South Africa, Ye Hao hadn't cooked dinner either, such was his charm that had won over the two young ladies, who now willingly cooked dinner themselves.

Ye Hao arrived at a concrete path by the beach, noticing a long-haul truck loaded with steel, his eyes shining with excitement; these were great materials!

"Master, the purity of this steel is up to eighty percent. It's very good for slightly refining and making various stealth weapons and even equipment..." Before Ye Hao even asked, Qianqian spoke up.

This made Ye Hao take a more serious second look at Qianqian; was this still the system? (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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