Chapter 158 Liu Jianguo: You speak, I listen; let's see if it meets the standard for execution.

At a certain military industrial unit, in Liu Jianguo's office.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting mottled shadows across the mahogany desk.

Liu Jianguo was wearing his reading glasses, carefully watering a pot of orchids by the windowsill. He had picked up this orchid from the flower and bird market two days ago; its quality was excellent, and he was very fond of it.

Lately, he had been enjoying his most comfortable and pleasant period since becoming the person in charge of handling the aftermath for Li Jiajun.

Ever since that last batch of toys was hauled away overnight, that kid Li Jiajun seemed to have been truly scared by the requisitioning and had completely settled down.

There were no more earth-shattering livestreams, and no more outrageous civilian products hitting the market.

This made Liu Jianguo feel that his blood pressure had stabilized significantly and his heart rate had returned to normal. Even looking at this pot of orchids, he felt it was much more pleasing to the eye than before.

He even glanced at the small white porcelain bottle in his desk drawer that almost never left his side, and a thought surfaced in his mind: 'It seems I won't be needing these quick-acting heart-saving pills for a while.'

At this thought, a long-absent, heartfelt, and relaxed smile appeared on his face.

However...

Knock, knock, knock.

A polite series of knocks sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Liu Jianguo put down the watering can and responded casually.

The office door was pushed open, and his personal secretary, Xiao Zhao, walked in.

Only today, Xiao Zhao's expression looked exceptionally strange.

It was a mixture of sympathy, helplessness,

and a complex look that said, 'Chief, you're on your own.'

Liu Jianguo's heart skipped a beat.

That familiar, ominous premonition instantly crept into his heart.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a heavy voice.

"Chief," Xiao Zhao's tone was somewhat dry, "the comrades from the Air Force Equipment Department... say they've come to visit you."

Before Xiao Zhao could finish his sentence, several figures in crisp Air Force uniforms walked in enthusiastically behind him.

The one leading the group bore a shining gold star on his shoulder—he was remarkably an Air Force Major General. His face was covered in smiles, as warm as if he were seeing a long-lost brother.

And in his hand, he carried an oversized fruit basket beautifully wrapped in cellophane and ribbons.

In that basket, everything from imported cherries to Japanese white strawberries was piled up like a small mountain; it was clearly very expensive.

Liu Jianguo's lip twitched uncontrollably.

'Here we go again.'

He lamented in his heart.

A cross-service visit from high-level leadership, beaming with smiles and bearing gifts—this was the ultimate warning sign.

"Oh, Old Liu! My dear brother!"

Before the Air Force Major General even reached him, his booming voice arrived first. He strode forward and, without giving Liu Jianguo a choice, grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously.

"Old Liu, been having a quiet time lately? I thought after that stealth car incident, that Li Jiajun kid you're close with would finally settle down for a bit."

Liu Jianguo was shaken until he was dizzy, and he forced a smile onto his face that looked more painful than crying: "Thanks to you all, it has been quiet for a few days."

While giving a perfunctory reply, he tried desperately to pull his hand back.

At the same time, his brain was racing.

'Air Force?'

'What did that kid Li Jiajun do now?'

'That's not right, hasn't that kid been behaving himself?'

Just as he was completely baffled, the Air Force Major General finally let go and placed the heavy fruit basket on Liu Jianguo's desk with a dull thud.

"Old Liu, is your health alright?" the Major General asked with immense concern.

"It's... it's fine." Liu Jianguo felt his heart rate beginning to accelerate again.

"That's good, that's good."

The Major General rubbed his hands together, the warm smile on his face never fading as he changed the subject, asking seemingly casually:

"However, we came today because we heard he's come up with a new toy. It's another product from your Li Family Toy Factory in Baishui City."

Hearing the keywords 'toy factory' and 'new toy,' Liu Jianguo felt his heart seize violently.

He subconsciously reached out, wanting to feel for that familiar small porcelain bottle in his pocket.

He stared blankly at the Air Force Major General, who was smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, and felt as if the surrounding air had become thin.

'It's over.'

'Here we go again.'

'I knew it, as soon as I hear those three words "toy factory," nothing good follows!'

Liu Jianguo wailed in his heart, but he still had to maintain his last shred of dignity. However, his hand instinctively reached for that familiar small porcelain bottle in his pocket.

"Is... is that so? What kind of tricks can a toy factory pull off?" His voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing together.

"It's more than just tricks!"

The Air Force Major General slapped his thigh, his smile becoming even more brilliant. "Old Liu, to be honest with you, our Air Force has been developing a new type of drone lately and hit a bit of a technical bottleneck. I heard that the young man you're responsible for has come up with a new toy that can help us solve a major problem!"

"We were thinking, could we ask you, the person in charge with the right professional background, to step in once more and help us coordinate?"

New toy!

Coordinate!

These few words completely shattered Liu Jianguo's fragile psychological defenses.

He felt his vision go dark in waves, his ears buzzing.

That familiar

feeling of myocardial ischemia swept through his body once more.

He couldn't hold on any longer.

His hand lunged toward his jacket pocket, the movement so fast it even left an afterimage.

But because he was in such a panic, he fumbled for a long time and actually failed to grab the small porcelain bottle.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead in his desperation.

Standing to the side, Xiao Zhao couldn't bear to see his leader like this. He quickly took a spare medicine bottle from another drawer, unscrewed the cap, and handed it over.

Liu Jianguo didn't even look; he snatched the bottle and stuffed a handful of pills into his mouth.

Seeing Liu Jianguo's sudden action, the Air Force Major General's smile froze. He asked, somewhat bewildered, "Old Liu, you... what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

Liu Jianguo swallowed the pills with difficulty. The familiar bitterness and coolness slid down his throat, finally allowing his pounding heart to settle slightly.

He slowly raised his head, looking at the innocent-looking Air Force Major General with a hollow, world-weary gaze, muttering in a voice only he could hear:

"Here... here we go again..."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the despair and breakdown had vanished.

In its place was a resigned, numb determination.

'There's no running away from it.'

'Since I can't avoid it, I might as well face it.'

Liu Jianguo looked at the beautifully wrapped fruit basket on his desk and suddenly thought it actually looked quite nice.

He looked up at the Air Force Major General and asked in a flat tone, "Speak, what is it this time? Let me see the nature of the crime, and if it meets the criteria for execution."

I'm tired, let it all be destroyed.