Lin Jie took a helicopter, flying in the Southwest direction for about an hour and a half, and landed at a military base nestled in the mountains.

Afterwards, he underwent a thorough security check, leaving behind all electronic devices and metal items.

Then, Lin Jie got into a military jeep and was instructed to wear a VR device.

He thought to himself that this was at least modernized; no need for a black hood to cover his vision.

Through the VR device, after watching about half a movie, Lin Jie felt the vehicle come to a stop, and someone gently tapped his shoulder.

"Comrade Lin Jie, we've arrived, you can take off the VR device now."

Lin Jie removed the VR device, adjusted to the light before him, stepped out of the vehicle, and saw a dozen soldiers staring at him intently.

Their wolf-like gazes made Lin Jie a bit uneasy.

"I'm here as an expert to solve their problems, what am I afraid of?"

Encouraging himself, Lin Jie calmed his nerves and looked directly at someone who was clearly their leader, with a solemn expression.

This person was dressed in full camouflage military attire, with a shining gold star on his shoulder indicating his rank as a general.

He gave Lin Jie a once-over, frowned slightly, stepped forward, and said, "Comrade Lin Jie, welcome! My code name is Lie Huo, and you are the first civilian to set foot here."

The general paused, then candidly said, "Quite frankly, your youth... was unexpected to all of us."

"However, you are the candidate specifically suggested by the chief."

"This is a matter of national security; no one would recklessly make errors, the chief trusts you, and naturally, so do we!"

Saying this, the general stepped aside and said solemnly, "Please!"

Lin Jie followed the general, with a dozen others behind, silently passing through three half-meter thick anti-riot metal doors, finally arriving in a room of several dozen square meters.

The east wall of this room was a complete LCD panel.

"Comrade Lin Jie, let me first introduce the challenge you will face!"

The general pointed at the LCD wall, which immediately displayed a 3D graphic.

At first glance, it looked like two upright rectangular boxes connected by countless threads in horizontal or diagonal lines.

Lin Jie immediately noticed a horizontal thread in the center marked in red.

"This equipment is one of the core components of a large system..."

The general pointed to the red thread and explained, "There is a problem with the connection of this cable, and it needs replacement."

"The cable at both ends is connected by a latch system; just clip the latch and you can easily pull the cable out, making the replacement task quite simple."

"However, we cannot operate with the system shut down, and..."

The general sighed and said, "Because the entire system is housed in a dust-free, non-magnetic sealed hall, no metal tools can be used, so replacement can only be done manually with specialized tools."

"Our engineers found a manual operation window..."

As he spoke, the 3D graphic on the screen changed angles, marking an orange rectangular block.

"This operation window is thirty-six centimeters long and zero-point-nine centimeters high, requiring a one-point-two meter long control rod for cable replacement."

"During this process, you absolutely cannot touch any other cables to avoid unforeseen accidents..."

Seeing Lin Jie's calm expression, the general continued, "The hall is not only dust-free and demagnetized but also filled with flame-retardant inert gas, and the temperature is stable below zero degrees."

"Therefore... you need to wear an oxygen mask and a dust-proof isolation suit to perform the task."

After the explanation, the general looked into Lin Jie's eyes and said, "Comrade Lin Jie, this system has been developed by hundreds of scientists, spending over a decade and billions of funds."

"If there is even a slight mishap during the cable replacement, it could render the entire system dysfunctional, so please take this seriously!"

Lin Jie pondered for a moment and replied, "General Lie Huo, do you have a better candidate for this task?"

The general shook his head lightly, showing a bitter expression, and said, "We selected seventeen people from the entire military; after hearing my briefing, nine immediately opted out, admitting they were not entirely confident."

"And among the eight who were confident in their abilities, not one passed our test..."

Lin Jie asked in surprise, "There's a test as well?"

This question prompted a major, who had been silent, to finally speak up, "This is indeed equipment stemming from the efforts of hundreds of scientists, concerning national security."

"If your ability does not convince us, even if you were the chief..."

The general raised his hand to stop the major, explaining, "Comrade Lin Jie, calling it a test is more like practical training; we've built a physical model for practice, to familiarize yourself with the operation."

"Within the entire military, we haven't found a suitable candidate, so we reached out across society for more professional personnel."

Lin Jie nodded slightly, saying, "Before coming, I told General Meng Yang, who contacted me, that only after seeing the specific situation could I decide whether to take on this task."

"Regarding this task..."

He looked into the general's eyes and said slowly, "I believe I can still do it."

"Now, let me see your test..."

Lin Jie followed the general and the others into a hall.

In the hall, there were three physical models identical to those displayed on the LCD screens.

There were also three people with oxygen tanks, dressed in something like hazmat suits, practicing on the models under the supervision of two soldiers each.

At this moment, one soldier from each group jogged over.

They stood at attention, saluted, and shouted, "Report to the General, Number One practiced 121 times, succeeded 105 times, failed 16 times."

"Report to the General, Number Two practiced 113 times, succeeded 102 times, failed 11 times."

"Report to the General, Number Three practiced 127 times, succeeded 112 times, failed 15 times."

The General replied, "Pause the practice, take a break!"

Seeing this scene, Lin Jie curiously asked, "General Lie Huo, with such continuous practice, you'll eventually reach a 100% success rate. It seems unnecessary to find outsiders?"

The General sternly said, "Comrade Lin Jie, there's a reason for inviting you, which involves military secrets. Please don't ask further questions."

After hitting a wall, Lin Jie didn't mind and began putting on the protective suit and oxygen tank with the help of two soldiers.

Wearing such sealed, heavy clothing for the first time, Lin Jie found it quite uncomfortable.

He took a deep breath, not feeling any shortness of breath, and seemed to hear the faint hissing of air escaping from the oxygen tank.

He looked around; the visibility was good, not much obscured.

He moved his hands a bit; the gloves were made of rubber, fitting snugly to his fingers; the tactile feeling was acceptable.

After getting somewhat used to the outfit, Lin Jie approached a model, stood on a plastic stool, and took two slender control rods from a soldier. At the end of each rod was an active clamp!

Lin Jie didn't look at the model in front of him but closed his eyes.

As usual, he began to simulate this operation process in his mind...

A few minutes later, Lin Jie opened his eyes.

He raised the control rods, and without any hesitation, quickly thrust them into the locks at both ends of the cable!

Like a hawk swooping down on a rabbit, Lin Jie precisely clamped onto the cable's lock.

With a slight force from his left hand, the left end of the cable was pulled out, then lifted outwards, followed by a forceful pull from his right hand, the right end of the cable was also extracted.

Lin Jie used the control rods to grip the taut cable, yanked it out through the operation window, and dropped it to the ground.

Then, Lin Jie clamped the locks on both ends of a new cable with the control rods, and quickly aligned and inserted it into the left socket...

At this moment, a sudden explosion boomed near Lin Jie's left ear, like a firecracker going off.

However, by this time, he was already in a surgical mode.

Lin Jie, who was focused, isolated all unrelated sounds, images, and matters from his mind, treating them as distant, irrelevant affairs...

Lin Jie gently raised his right index finger, the clamp at the rod's tip released, and the right end of the cable's lock clicked shut...

He stepped off the plastic chair, threw away the control rods, and when no one came to help him remove the protective suit, he had to do it himself.

After a bit of effort, Lin Jie finally revealed his upper body and was about to complain when he suddenly felt the atmosphere in the hall was strange...

Silence!!

Too quiet!!

He raised his head and saw that everyone, including the General, was staring at him in astonishment...

Their eyes were as fiery as a lit torch, as if he were a stunning beauty without a stitch on.

Lin Jie shouted, "General Lie Huo, General Lie Huo..."

The General's body trembled, and he stepped forward to Lin Jie with large strides, suddenly opened his arms and hugged Lin Jie tightly, excitedly shouting, "Lin Jie, Lin Jie, it's you, it's you!"

"The entire replacement process took sixteen seconds, nearly a full minute less than our experimental record. Faced with sudden gunfire interference, there was no abnormal reaction at all."

"The whole replacement process, the control was perfect."

"Lin Jie, you are the person we've been waiting for all this time!"

Damn it, so that explosion was gunfire interference.

An enlightened Lin Jie was so angry that he felt like punching the General.

He pushed away the General's embrace, took off the protective suit, but calmly said, "When performing brain surgery, a slight deviation can result in either the patient's death or a vegetative state."

"This operation window, which seems so narrow and dangerous to you, is to me a wide-open square where I can freely roam, with no challenge at all."

Lin Jie tilted his head upward at a forty-five-degree angle towards the ceiling, saying, "Can we proceed with the actual operation now?"

"My girlfriend and sister are still at the Bamboo Sea scenic spot, waiting for me to have dinner, and I have no time to waste."

"Yes, yes!"

The General, still excited, hurriedly said, "We'll start preparing now, please follow me."

Lin Jie nodded, was about to take a step to leave, but suddenly stopped, saying, "Wait a moment!"

Pointing to the plastic stool beside the model, he dejectedly said, "The stepping stool is too short for me; it needs to be raised... by ten centimeters!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.