468: Chapter 463 has been found; there's a solution!

This place was once a symbol of the city's industrial glory, but now, only broken walls and endless dead silence remain.

The huge smokestacks, like broken swords, pointed diagonally toward the gray, hazy sky.

The factory gate had long been rusted beyond recognition, left slightly ajar.

Shen Yan parked the car by the roadside, opened the door, and stepped out.

He looked up at the factory sign, which was almost entirely covered in rust, and could vaguely make out the words 'Third Steel Mill'.

This was the place.

He didn't use the main entrance but circled the rusty barbed-wire fence, looking for an entry point.

Soon, he found a gap where the fence had been pulled back in a corner.

He bent down and squeezed through.

Inside the factory grounds, it was even more dilapidated than it looked from the outside.

Weeds taller than a man had taken over what used to be the roads.

The huge factory buildings had all their window panes shattered, appearing pitch black like the eyes of monstrous beasts.

Shen Yan used the faded floor plan from near the factory entrance to orient himself.

Blast Furnace No. 1... Steelmaking Workshop...

Finally, in the deepest part of the complex, he saw the tallest and most imposing steel structure.

Blast Furnace No. 2.

It stood silently on the ruins like a dormant giant, its surface covered in the scars of time.

Next to the blast furnace was a three-story auxiliary building.

The Control Room.

Shen Yan walked over and pushed open the iron door, which creaked loudly at the slightest touch.

A strong smell of mildew and dust rushed out to meet him.

The building was a complete mess inside.

Various discarded blueprints and parts were scattered on the floor.

The walls were covered in cobwebs and moss.

Shen Yan stepped over the debris underfoot and walked up to the second floor.

The control room was up here.

An entire wall of control panels was now dull and lifeless; the pointers on countless gauges were forever frozen in the past.

Shen Yan's gaze quickly swept across the room.

Soon, he found his target in the southwest corner.

Three iron-gray filing cabinets stood side-by-side.

He walked over and pulled the handle of the third filing cabinet.

It wouldn't budge.

The lock cylinder was completely rusted shut.

Shen Yan frowned and looked around.

He spotted an abandoned crowbar in the corner of the wall.

He picked up the crowbar and inserted the flat end into the gap of the cabinet door.

His arm muscles bulged slightly.

Creaaak—

A harsh sound of twisting metal.

He managed to pry the cabinet door open a crack.

He dropped the crowbar and grabbed the door with both hands, pulling it outward forcefully.

Clang!

The cabinet door was completely pulled open, slamming heavily against the cabinet next to it.

A musty odor poured out of the cabinet.

Inside, it was stuffed with various yellowed and moldy documents and blueprints.

Shen Yan didn't hesitate; he pulled everything inside out in one go and threw it onto the floor.

He squatted down and began inspecting the now-empty cabinet.

He tapped the bottom board of the cabinet inch by inch with his hand.

Thud, thud, thud...

The sound was dull and solid.

When his fingers reached the innermost position...

Dong.

The sound changed.

It was hollow.

The corner of Shen Yan's mouth curved upward in a slight arc.

He used the tip of the crowbar to forcefully poke that spot.

Click.

A light sound.

One corner of the bottom board sprang upward.

A hidden compartment.

Shen Yan reached out and lifted the thin metal sheet layer.

Beneath the layer lay a file folder sealed with brown paper.

There were no markings on the bag.

But Shen Yan knew that what he was looking for was inside.

He took out the file folder and tore open the seal.

He poured out a thick stack of blueprints and documents.

The first page clearly printed in bold black letters read:

'Sky Dome' Series Specialty Structural Steel — Core Formula V9. Edition.

Below that were dense chemical element ratios, precise to six decimal places.

Flipping further...

Smelting process flow chart.

Temperature, pressure, and time control parameters for different stages.

Detailed technical specifications for quenching and tempering.

...

Every page contained core secrets that Yuanshan Heavy Industry had spent countless efforts researching.

If even one page leaked, it would be enough to cause an industry earthquake.

And now, this entire set of priceless dragon-slaying techniques lay quietly in Shen Yan's hands.

He flipped through the pages carefully, one by one.

His expression showed no signs of ecstasy, only a calm sense of having everything under control.

He took out his phone and took extremely clear photos of every single page of the document.

After finishing, he put the documents back into the brown paper bag, returned them to the hidden compartment, and closed the layer.

He stood up, took one last look at the dilapidated control room, and turned to leave.

He walked outside the factory grounds and got into the car.

He didn't start the engine immediately.

Instead, he dialed a number.

The call was answered almost instantly.

'Hello, Brother Yan!' Chen Guangke's familiar voice came through.

'Guangzi,'

Shen Yan's voice was calm, without the slightest ripple.

'Help me with something.'

'Immediately contact every top domestic factory capable of contract manufacturing specialty steel. I need ones that are trustworthy and have sufficient production capacity.'

'Tell them I have a mature set of technical data that can produce a new type of steel whose performance completely surpasses 'Sky Dome' No. 9.'

'I need them to produce a batch for me at the fastest possible speed.'

Chen Guangke on the other end of the line froze.

'Brother Yan... 'Sky Dome' No. 9? Isn't that Yuanshan Heavy Industry's...'

'Yuanshan Heavy Industry is history,'

Shen Yan interrupted him.

'Now, it's our turn.'

'I will immediately send you the core parameters of the technical data. Have professionals evaluate it.'

'Remember, be fast.'

With that, Shen Yan hung up the phone.

He glanced at the clear photos of the technical documents in his phone's album.

It seemed there was a solution.

The phaeton's car air conditioner quietly delivered cool air.

Shen Yan tapped his fingertips lightly on the steering wheel.

Once, twice.

He was waiting.

Less than five minutes later, his phone screen lit up again; it was Chen Guangke calling back.

'Brother Yan, I made contact.'

Chen Guangke's voice carried a hint of excitement and urgency.

'There's a factory called 'Jufeng Steel.' Its scale isn't the largest, but it has a great reputation in the industry for tackling tough jobs and having solid technology.'

'The boss is Zhang Jufeng. I've given him a general idea of the situation, and he's very interested. He said for you to come directly for a face-to-face meeting.'

'I'll send you the address via WeChat.'

Shen Yan grunted.

'Got it.'

Without any unnecessary words, he hung up the phone and clicked on the location shared on WeChat.

Navigation started.

The black phaeton cut a smooth arc across the desolate suburban highway, its engine emitting a low roar as it sped toward the new destination.

This time, it was no longer heading toward ruins, but toward another industrial heart that was still operating.