143 We must do a good job in environmental protection

“Yaoyao.”
“I’m here.”
“Activate the helmet HUD.”
“Activated.”

Li Jie had added a voice assistant to his personal combat system. It used to have a robotic voice, but after Su Mengyao discovered it, she insisted on using her voice instead. She thought Li Jie was setting up navigation prompts, so she wanted her brother to hear her voice every time he drove.

“Hehe~~”

“Engage auto-cruise.”
“Auto-cruise engaged. Current cruising speed: 185 kilometers per hour.”

Releasing his hands, Li Jie tapped his helmet, bringing up the communication directory on the HUD. He selected “Uncle Hou Taiji” and dialed.

“When the hell are you arriving?”
“About twenty minutes away.”
“I bought a ten-pound king crab. If you don’t get here soon, I’m eating it myself.”
“Relax, I’m almost there.”

At full power, the maximum cruising speed could reach 245 kilometers per hour, with an even higher top speed. But to ensure sufficient fuel and endurance, Li Jie kept it moderate.

Twenty-five minutes later, he switched to motorcycle mode. The electric motor’s buzzing reached its peak, propelling him at 290 kilometers per hour. The local street racers in South Luzhou were startled.

In a flash, it was gone as if a shadow had streaked past.

*Beep beep.*

He arrived at “Old Hou’s Scrap Recycling Station.” The yard was filled with heaps of scrap metal. Among them, a well-maintained bicycle stood out—it seemed to be Old Hou’s personal ride.

“Right on time. Come in quickly.”

After unlocking the gate, Old Hou let Li Jie in. Seeing him dressed all in black, he said nothing. The dog in the yard, which had barked twice earlier, now wagged its tail happily.

Hou Taiji had prepared a sumptuous meal. The ten-pound king crab was cooked three ways: garlic vermicelli with crab leg meat, steamed egg custard with crab roe, and a crab meat casserole layered over potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots.

The rest were home-style dishes, rich with thick sauces, five or six plates in total. The soup was a simple egg drop broth with shredded white radish and a hint of dried shrimp for flavor.

Li Jie dug in without ceremony, picking up his chopsticks and eating heartily. Hou Taiji savored his wine slowly. There were soft drinks on the table for the young guest to enjoy at will.

He devoured crab legs one piece at a time, utterly delighted.

Once satisfied, Li Jie said, “Uncle, in a couple of days, I’ll be going to Jianye to sign the contract.”

“Got it. I’ll be sure to tell the workers.”

Li Jie was investing in his “environmental enterprise,” so Hou Taiji had no worries. After all, his nephew was a rising star, a big celebrity and a successful businessman.

Supporting Hou Taiji’s venture was only natural.

Besides, when a renowned star like Li Jie dedicates himself to environmental causes, that’s charity, that’s goodwill.

It deserved full support.

But this “environmental business” was little different from large-scale scrap recycling, which made Hou Taiji wonder if his nephew was just messing with him.

“If my nephew isn’t famous, I collect trash; if he is famous, I still collect trash.”

“Isn’t that a waste of all that fame?!”

“Can this business turn a profit? It seems all over the place.”

“Why do you care if I profit? Does it affect your million-dollar annual salary?”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

Hou Taiji chuckled. It wasn’t his concern; his million-dollar salary wasn’t a hot potato.

If his nephew ever fell on hard times again, he could always come back and pick up trash. No big deal.

Especially since Li Jie had painted a grand vision: within a year, opening eight large-scale scrap recycling centers—no, large integrated environmental processing stations!

A total investment exceeding thirty million yuan—quite impressive.

“Hey, you want to take some pickled vegetables back with you?”

“Next time, definitely next time.”

“Damn it, I heard from Sister Niu that your fiancée is pregnant?”

“The due date’s around the New Year. What’s that mean? The wandering son is finally coming home?”

“Get lost.”

Hou Taiji’s skin was getting darker from years of outdoor labor. Contracting waste transfer work wasn’t a job for just anyone—it was tough.

Now, he did some scrap recycling on the side but kept it limited so as not to steal too much business from local competitors. He mainly relied on connections from former coworkers, securing sorted scraps from several units.

Most workers were sanitation staff; a few were skilled machine or water and electrical repairmen. So “Old Hou’s Scrap Recycling” didn’t handle many large items—mostly cable scraps, corrugated cardboard, plastics, and the like.

Did he not miss home? Of course not.

But he dared not hope for peace once he returned—his sister, his family, and the “Red Star Welfare Institute” were all complicated matters.

Could he afford to offend a top 100 company in Pingjiang?

He didn’t doubt that his nephew Li Jie was now successful, but the old saying held true: the rich don’t fight officials, especially not a corporation like “Hengqiang Real Estate,” which was far more powerful than the government.

Feeling a bit restless, Hou Taiji picked up a cigarette and was about to light it when he remembered Li Jie was there and put it back.

*Click.*

Li Jie pulled out a windproof lighter and lit a cigarette for him.

Hou Taiji nodded in thanks as he took a drag, then casually flicked ash aside. After a brief silence, he asked, “Red Star… do you want to tear it down?”

“If you want to tear it down now, you have to pay.”

“You really think you’re that powerful now?”

“That depends on what you say, Uncle. I’m definitely powerful now.”

Hearing “Uncle,” Hou Taiji grinned broadly, tapping Li Jie’s shoulder gratefully. “Eat up, eat up. I’ll prepare a red envelope for you during the New Year.”

“That won’t be enough. One’s not enough.”

“...”

Hou Taiji’s face twitched. He hadn’t intended to respond to Li Jie’s words—this kid was definitely setting a trap.

“Uncle, aren’t you curious why one isn’t enough?”

“I don’t want to hear, and you don’t want to say.”

“Well, here’s the thing—this Yaoyao, she…”

“Eat! Eat! Hurry up and eat!”

Want him to take more red envelopes?

What a joke. Wait until the million-dollar salary lands first.

After the meal, Li Jie took out 50,000 yuan in cash from his storage box and placed it on the table. Then he said to Hou Taiji, “If anyone at home is in need, Uncle, bring them over to work with us. Losing a few thousand yuan in wages, I’ll cover it personally.”

“I’ve got the cash.”

Though he said that, Hou Taiji quickly pocketed the money.

This nephew was really something—he came by and just threw money around. Hou Taiji had always thought he should have just been a professional beggar, but the government wouldn’t allow it. Otherwise, he’d have at least a three-bedroom apartment.

“Let’s go. By the way, how much is the land next door? Later, Uncle, talk to Chen Pi. The company has a dedicated investment team coming to evaluate it. After all, this is your business; you can’t just throw it away.”

Li Jie mounted his motorcycle and started it. Spinning on the spot, he leapt over the fence before Hou Taiji could say another word.

Hou Taiji stared in disbelief. What kind of motorcycle was this?

Leaving “Old Hou’s Scrap Recycling,” Li Jie sped westward. The electric vehicle had undergone multiple rounds of modification and upgrade. Its surface was coated with light-absorbing film, giving it a highly uniform appearance. In the dark, only a vague silhouette flickered briefly before vanishing.

Even in flight mode, the inner lining of the outer casing used carbon nanotube materials—an extremely costly consumable. But Li Jie had stocked up plenty, so using it for a year or more was no problem.

“Yaoyao.”
“I’m here.”
“3D map of Daxing Industrial Research Institute.”
“Transmitting... transmission complete.”
“Switch to flight mode.”
“Switching now.”

*Whoosh!*

The protective covers over the front and rear wheel hubs slowly separated. The HUD displayed the power distribution as the four rotors began to spin, gradually increasing lift. The motorcycle’s wheels stopped rotating and were hydraulically extended forward and backward to balance.

*Clack clack clack clack.*

Li Jie flipped four switches and activated night vision mode, hovering at low altitude southeast of the Daxing Industrial Research Institute.

The “light weapon smuggling case” Xiao Yuanyin mentioned involved a Gauss rifle designed by Daxing Industrial, a subsidiary of the Daxing Consortium.

This was a high-end light weapon procured by the Ministry of National Defense and strictly prohibited from export. Yet on the black market, many privately modified versions of the Gauss rifle had appeared.

The power source wasn’t the main concern; the specially made barrels and ammunition were tightly regulated. The barrels required a special compression plating; the bullets needed high-strength, heat-resistant coatings.

Such technology was beyond ordinary industrial capabilities. The Luzhou city police had vaguely traced connections to the Yang family but hadn’t acted for various reasons.

The appearance of “Solo Soldier 500” in the Emperor Suite at Kaihuang Hot Spring Resort prompted Zhang Wenyuan to launch an operation.

Unfortunately, it came up empty.

Now, the brazen Yang family convoy was loading cargo in the atrium of the Daxing Industrial Research Institute building.