A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 846 Drawing a Cat Backfires and Ends Up with a Dog (Part 1)

Minister Ivan Petrovich was giving his final pep talk before filming began, while a figure subtly moved toward the door from the periphery of the crowd.

Look closely, isn't this our old friend Khalil, who traded five Tu-16s with us using Big Yellow clones?

Perhaps it was the smell of insulating varnish and rosin that created a strange sense of oppression, or perhaps for some other reason, but our Khalil walked out with his head down.

Just as Khalil was about to leave the crowd, a hand like an iron clamp suddenly grabbed his upper arm, the force so great that he almost groaned.

Sergeyev's expressionless face drew closer, his low voice filled with undisguised sarcasm:

"Comrade Khalil, where are we going?" Sergeyev slowly tightened his grip, enjoying Khalil's pained expression, a hint of pleasure flickering in his otherwise lifeless eyes.

"Lubyankali, you've handled the most 'genuine rhubarb' by hand. At such a crucial historical moment, shouldn't you be on the front lines, using your 'valuable' business experience to provide us with some... professional commentary?"

Sergeyev held Khalil, his colleague who had risen rapidly through dealings with the Chinese, in utter contempt. In his view, an opportunist who had infiltrated Lubyanka by scheming and "doing business" was a disgrace to the pure and formidable lineage of the department's internal affairs forces!

Khalil, the "hero" who orchestrated the deal for five Tu-16s—well, to us, he truly was a hero, mainly because those Tu-16s were a bit unusual. But I'll be cheeky for now and not tell you yet.

Today, Khalil was dragged here by Sergeyev under the guise of "observation and learning." This "loyal hound" had a simple thought: he wanted to see firsthand how the "technological gold mine" that Khalil relied on to climb was successfully replicated by the Alliance's genius scientists, and he wanted to enjoy the look of collapse on the businessman's face as if his pillar had crumbled.

The pain in his arm made Khalil even more panicked.

Although Khalil is now a completely different person from the inconspicuous, casually dressed, and even somewhat sloppy clerk he was when he was at the Academy of Sciences, he now wears a well-tailored dark gray suit, shiny leather shoes, a neatly tied tie, and symbolically draped a Lubyanka overcoat over his clothes.

By monopolizing the import of "rhubarb" and its distribution among member states, he not only made a fortune but also cleverly used Lubyanka's special deterrent power to strictly enforce "cash on delivery".

This efficient and tough "business model" stands in stark contrast to the embarrassing situation Sergeyev previously led, where he dumped a large amount of equipment into a major southern country but only received a pile of worthless "friendly agreements" and a long delay in receiving rubles. This also made the relationship between the two men extremely hostile within the department.

“I just think we should give scientists more space, Comrade Sergeyev.” Khalil tried to break free, but the other man’s hand was as if it were welded shut.

“Space?” Sergeyev chuckled, his gaze sweeping over Khalil’s brand-new suit and overcoat. “You’ve certainly managed to secure this ‘space’ quite well.”

"You know what? I thought you, being such a profit-driven person, would board that French train before taking action. After all, it was carrying the treasures of your 'business.' Why didn't you go and make one last profit?"

Tsk tsk tsk... Why don't you just be a little greedy? That way, 'everyone' would have an easier time!

Damn, you little bastard, you really have no scruples at all!

Khalil wanted to get angry, but Sergeyev dragged him to the front of the crowd without saying a word.

Sensing the undisguised malice of his colleagues, Khalil felt an intense loathing for them. He had been dragged into the organization by Lubyanka's minister by sheer chance, and he had no liking for the atmosphere filled with intrigue and violence.

"enough!"

The tugging and whispering between the two disturbed Minister Ivan Petrovich, who was speaking.

The minister frowned in displeasure, his gaze falling on the two men, his eyes filled with disgust: "Comrade Sergeyev, this is an Academy of Sciences laboratory, not your Lubyanka interrogation room. What? You 'hounds' also know about computer technology? Since you know so much, why don't you come up here and 'examine' us?"

"Of course, as you wish! This is our Lubyanka expert on rhubarb. He has sold at least dozens, if not hundreds, of rhubarb units."

"Let him go and see for us in Lubyanka..." Sergeyev said, hands on his hips, radiating his malice without any restraint.

Hearing about Khalil's actions, Minister Ivan's eyes lit up: "Wow, he's actually a sales talent..."

Halfway through his sentence, the minister suddenly began rubbing his chin and scrutinizing Khalil with great interest.

Ok?

Something's not right with this minister!

Sergeyev was a little stunned. Shouldn't everyone be laughing out loud here? After all, Lubyanka's reputation as a violent butcher was already deeply ingrained in people's minds.

……

Khalil was inwardly groaning at being maliciously thrust into the spotlight by Sergeyev and then called out by the minister with ill intent, but on the surface he could only pretend to be calm.

He took a step forward and his gaze fell on the keyboard and monitor of "meДВeДЬ".

Hmm, why does this look so similar to the batch of stuff our Chinese friends made?

He subconsciously thought, "It seems time is tight, so Alexander and his team simply used readily available imported parts... Well, it's just a keyboard, nothing special."

However, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Khalil immediately recalled his limited communication with the Chinese technical staff.

He vaguely understood that turning this mechanical typewriter into an input device that could "communicate" with a computer was no easier than Huang himself.

This entire process, from physical buttons to character input, involves a series of interconnected steps: hardware circuit design, signal processing, and low-level software programming.

Incompatibility or poor design in any part can lead to keyboard malfunction, input errors, or even system crashes.

The engineers in the alliance may be able to replicate the general logic of the motherboard, but such deep, underlying protocols and driver adaptations that ensure reliable interaction between peripherals are by no means something that can be easily reverse engineered and perfectly reproduced in a short period of time.

“Unless…” Khalil’s gaze swept over the “meДВeДЬ” that looked exactly like Big Yellow again, and he thought to himself, “Unless Alexander and his team not only copied the transistor’s architecture circuitry but also cracked and reimplemented the lowest-level interface definitions and driver code that are tightly coupled to specific peripherals…”

But isn't this a bit too difficult?

A very subtle hint of doubt flashed across Khalil's face. Although he quickly concealed it, Minister Ivan, who had been watching him closely, and the perceptive Alexander still caught the momentary unease.

The two exchanged a knowing glance and nodded slightly.

"Finished watching? Then turn on the machine!"