Chapter 120 Liu Jianguo: I feel like my heartbeat is a little off.

Thousands of miles away, at a scenic military sanatorium.

The sun was bright, and the breeze was mild.

Liu Jianguo was dressed in loose casual wear, lying on a lounge chair on the lawn, holding a thread-bound book in his hand, with a cup of clear tea on the small table beside him.

Ever since resolving the great crisis of the arresting cables and dealing a heavy blow to the faces of the people from the Ugly Country, the Old General had specially granted him half a month of leave to let him recover his health and, in passing, soothe his heart, which had been made fragile by the torment of that wretched Li Jiajun.

"Now this is life..."

Liu Jianguo squinted his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on his body; he felt extremely comfortable.

'No Li Jiajun, no elderly joy, no damned international disputes. The world is so beautiful, and the air is so fresh.'

Such a thought surfaced in his mind.

However, just as he was about to turn the page.

Buzz— Buzz—

The private encrypted phone on the small table suddenly vibrated violently.

Liu Jianguo's hand trembled slightly.

He glanced at the screen, and when he saw the caller ID was the MIIT, his right eyelid twitched violently.

An ominous premonition, like a dark cloud, instantly shrouded his heart.

He hesitated for a full three seconds before reluctantly answering the phone.

"Hello? This is Liu Jianguo."

"Ah, Comrade Jianguo! I didn't disturb your rest, did I?" From the other end of the phone came the warm voice of the MIIT Minister, which also carried a hint of guilt.

"Get to the point." Liu Jianguo's heart skipped a beat, and his tone instantly became wary.

"Ahem, it's like this... There's something that might require a professional like you to step in."

The other party paused, seemingly organizing their words, and then spoke in a helpless tone:

"That cross-generational friend of yours... that little Factory Director Li from Baishui City... he's gone and poked a hole in the sky again."

Liu Jianguo felt as if a mine had exploded in his head.

The fingers gripping his phone tightened instantly.

"What has he done now?"

Liu Jianguo's voice was trembling. "Did he sell something to warlords again? Or... or did he drive an elderly joy to the entrance of The Pentagon?"

"Not quite; this time it's an economic issue."

The other party quickly explained, their tone filled with exhaustion: "He smelted a batch of steel balls and crashed the global market. Now dozens of countries are going to sue us for dumping, the WTO has sent a letter of inquiry, and the phones at the embassies of Hans Country and Foot Basin Chicken are ringing off the hook. We really can't manage this 'Great Buddha,' so we can only..."

Liu Jianguo could no longer hear the words that followed.

steel balls...

Crashing the global market...

Holding the phone, Liu Jianguo froze on the lounge chair like a stone statue weathered for a thousand years.

Looking at the blue sky and white clouds before him, he felt that the world was full of malice.

'I just wanted to take a vacation... I just wanted to take a quiet vacation...'

'How many days has it been? Huh? Just how many days!'

'Is this kid lacking in virtue in his five elements? Will he die if he doesn't cause trouble?'

A sense of grievance and powerlessness welled up in his heart.

"Comrade Jianguo? Comrade Jianguo, are you listening?" Seeing there was no sound, the other side called out anxiously.

Liu Jianguo took a deep breath, feeling as if his heart were being squeezed, both numb and painful.

He slowly hung up the phone.

Then, under the terrified gaze of the nearby health doctor, he expressionlessly took out a small porcelain bottle he carried with him from his pocket.

He poured out three quick-acting heart-saving pills.

He tilted his head back and swallowed them.

"Chief! Are you alright?" The doctor rushed over in a panic to check his pulse.

"I'm fine... I won't die."

Liu Jianguo waved his hand, his face ashen, his eyes reflecting a sort of despair and determination.

"Prepare a car."

"To the airport."

He stood up from the lounge chair and straightened his collar.

"That wretched creature... is still waiting for me to clean up his mess."

Just as he was about to step away, his footsteps suddenly paused.

Although this time it sounded like a pure commercial dispute—just smelting too much steel and messing up market prices—logically, it shouldn't have anything to do with the military industry or high technology.

After all, smelting steel is something any slightly larger steel plant can do.

But...

That was Li Jiajun!

That was the Li Jiajun who could turn drones into swarm bombs and elderly joys into special tanks!

Could anything he produced be normal?

The "Li Jiajun Syndrome" formed over the years flashed a frantic warning at this moment.

Liu Jianguo turned his head toward the secretary who was about to call and arrange the plane. Gritting his teeth, he gave an order that seemed redundant but was actually incredibly wise:

"Call the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

"See if they can send a top-tier materials science Expert to come with me!"

The secretary was stunned for a moment. "Chief, this... it's just a dumping case. Do we need to bring an Expert?"

Liu Jianguo looked toward Baishui City, the corner of his eye twitching frantically. He muttered in a low voice:

"Bring one..."

"I have a premonition... what this kid smelted this time is definitely not as simple as steel balls..."

If he didn't bring an Expert, and if it turned out to be some world-defying material that he, a layman, couldn't recognize, wouldn't he be fooled by that kid again?

Half an hour later, a car with military plates roared out of the sanatorium.

Inside the car, Liu Jianguo leaned against the back of the seat, watching the scenery recede rapidly outside the window, and sighed silently in his heart.

'Li Jiajun, oh Li Jiajun, you'd better pray that this time it really is just steel balls.'

'Otherwise, I'll definitely make you count every single steel ball in that furnace for me!'

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, Li Jiajun suddenly gave a loud sneeze.

"Achoo!"

He rubbed his nose, looking at the lawyer's letters and warnings still flooding the live stream chat, feeling speechless.

"Who's cursing me? It must be those heartless foreigners!"