He walked to the door and, sure enough, saw a green Jeep covered in mud parked outside the yard.

The car door opened, and Jiang Feng, dressed in his signature dark blue Zhongshan suit and with a stern face, appeared in the twilight.

"Commander Huo." Jiang Feng's voice remained flat, his sharp gaze sweeping over Huo Hua, then over his shoulder, and precisely landing on Ming Zhao, who was still squatting on the ground in the corner of the main room.

He saw the pile of radio parts and the open sketchbook, and his eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Captain Jiang, please come in." Huo Hua stepped aside.

Jiang Feng strode into the main room, his gaze sweeping briefly around before finally settling on Ming Zhao.

Mingzhao also stood up, still clutching the rusty transistor in her hand, and calmly looked back at Jiang Feng, her eyes showing no fear, only pure observation.

"Comrade Mingzhao," Jiang Feng began, his voice slightly gentler than when they were in the interrogation room, but still carrying a businesslike seriousness, "How have you been studying lately?"

Mingzhao didn't speak, but simply raised the book "Principles of Machinery" in his hand and pointed to the scattered parts on the ground and the drawings in the sketchbook.

Jiang Feng followed her movements and looked over. When he saw the circuit analysis and annotations on the drawing book that were far beyond the understanding of this era, a deep shock flashed across his cold eyes!

Howard, standing behind him, chimed in at the opportune moment, "She...learns very quickly. She diagnosed this radio as having low efficiency due to aging transistors."

Jiang Feng remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly processing the information. He looked at Ming Zhao again, his eyes now scrutinizing and considering, before finally turning to Huo Hua and getting straight to the point:

"Commander Huo, we have conducted an internal analysis of the blueprints that the National Security Bureau took away last time, as well as some subsequent developments. Regarding Comrade Mingzhao... her situation is rather special."

He paused, seemingly considering his words, "My wife works at the city research institute, specializing in materials physics; she's a professor in that field. She's seen those formula fragments that Comrade Mingzhao unintentionally left behind... and she's very interested in them."

Howard's heart skipped a beat! He looked at Jiang Feng, waiting for him to continue.

Jiang Feng's gaze fell on Ming Zhao again, with an unprecedented solemnity: "Comrade Ming Zhao, my wife wants to ask you if you would be willing... to study with her? To study something more advanced? Such as physics, mathematics, or materials science?"

He added, with the candor of a researcher, "She said that what you left behind was very insightful, although some of it was... far-fetched."

"Study?" Howard glanced at Mingzhao instinctively. He hadn't had a chance to discuss this with her yet.

Mingzhao's reaction was surprisingly quick.

She barely hesitated; her usually calm eyes lit up instantly when she heard the words "learning deeper things," "physics," "mathematics," and "materials."

She nodded vigorously, the gesture so pronounced that it startled Howard.

She even took a step forward, looked directly at Jiang Feng, and clearly said, "I'm willing!"

The voice wasn't loud, but it was resolute and carried an unquestionable firmness.

Howard looked into the unprecedented, dazzling light in her eyes, and felt as if something had struck his heart.

He suddenly realized that the "stable" world he had carefully built for her might not be the vast universe she truly desired.

Her roots, her instincts, lie in that vast, unknown realm.

Jiang Feng seemed taken aback by Ming Zhao's decisive and swift action, then a look of understanding and appreciation flashed in his eyes.

He nodded: "Okay. She usually lives in the research institute dormitory and goes back to her home in the city on weekends. Tomorrow is the weekend. Commander Huo, if you have no problem here, I will drive over first thing tomorrow morning to pick you up and take you to the city to see her."

“No problem!” Howard replied immediately, his voice steady and strong. Looking into Mingzhao’s incredibly bright eyes, he added, “Zhaozhao, we’ll go see the professor tomorrow.”

Mingzhao nodded vigorously again, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the thick book "Principles of Mechanics" on the table.

——

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and the air was still cool with dew, the familiar green Jeep was parked in front of the courtyard.

Howard changed into a brand-new military uniform, his collar insignia and cap badge gleaming, making him look tall and spirited.

Mingzhao also changed into the new, clean blue cotton collared jacket and black pants that Huo Hua had bought for her, and on her feet were a pair of brand new white shoes.

She clutched her treasured grid sketchbook and a sharpened pencil tightly in her arms.

When Jiang Feng saw them come out, his gaze lingered on Ming Zhao for a second, seemingly a little surprised by her "formal" attire, but he didn't say anything, he just opened the back door.

The jeep drove along the bumpy dirt road, kicking up a trail of dust.

With the car windows open, the vast, boundless fields of the Great Northern Wilderness and the clear blue sky rushed past.

Mingzhao sat quietly in the back seat, holding her sketchbook in her arms, but her eyes were fixed on the rapidly moving scenery outside the window, her gaze focused, as if she were scanning and recording every frame of this unfamiliar world.

Howard sat beside her and could clearly feel a tension emanating from her that was different from usual, a tension tinged with a hint of excitement and anticipation.

She was like a sharp sword about to be drawn from its sheath, its cold gleam concealed, yet its sharpness hidden.

It took nearly three hours for the car to enter the somewhat noisy city center.

In the 1970s, the streets of this small northern town were narrow, lined with low brick houses or gray walls painted with slogans.

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