Chapter 1

### Chapter 1: The Familiar Voice Heard Again (First Update)

When Lin Zheng woke up, he tried hard to recall the moment the car plunged off the cliff, but found that his memory only lingered on the vague sensation of grabbing something, then abruptly stopped. The rest was a jumble of fragmented memories, like a photograph torn into pieces and scattered on the ground, impossible to piece together.

It was only then that Lin Zheng slowly regained his senses. The view before him became clearer, the snow-white walls looking as if they had just been painted, but this did not obscure the small, pitted holes behind the lime. The bedsheet beneath him carried the fresh scent of soap, as if the sun had just been taken off it, still lingering on the fabric.

He turned his head with effort, and a somewhat worn, light yellow door came into view. The door was old and weathered, with a simple, childish drawing on the panel facing him—a large square body, a small square head, and thin arms and legs, if that could be considered a drawing.

All of this felt incredibly familiar to Lin Zheng...

Through the slightly ajar door, he could hear a soft conversation from outside.

"Why don't you just have Dad call his old war buddies? When the old man speaks, who wouldn't give him face? Your position as vice-principal would be secure. You know how tough Feng Bo's backing is." The concerned voice carried a hint of reproach, "And the internship, too. Our son is a top student from the University of Science and Technology of China, majoring in computer science. Any district or city office would snatch him up. Once he graduates, he'll have a stable job. But the old man insists on sending him to that破收音机厂 (broken radio factory), which hasn't paid wages for two years. What's the point? Isn't he ruining our son's future?"

The voice grew fainter, but Lin Zheng could still make out the words.

The voice was incredibly familiar, the voice of his mother, who had appeared in his dreams countless times, making his heart ache. But there was a hint of unfamiliarity in the familiar voice. How long had it been since he last heard it? Ten years? Fifteen years? Or even... twenty years?

But the logic was clear. On one side was a stable, iron-clad job, and on the other, a factory that hadn't paid wages for two years. Even a fool would know which to choose. Despite this, Lin Zheng couldn't help but strain his ears to listen, wanting to hear the other person's response...

"You know Dad's temper. He hates these underhanded tactics. If I mention this to him, he might not even give me the chance to compete for the vice-principal position," another voice chimed in, its owner sighing, sounding somewhat melancholic.

Like the young woman's voice, this one was both familiar and strange to Lin Zheng.

"How is that underhanded?" The voice, which sounded like his mother's, grew louder, clearly dissatisfied, "Who doesn't do this nowadays? If you're honest, you'll be a teacher for life... You're his own son. Can't he help you with this? Just a word, and you could go from head of the academic affairs office to vice-principal, a formal government official..."

"Shh... Speak softly. It seems the boy is awake," the father said, his voice tinged with surprise, probably having heard some movement in the room.

"Awake?"

The argument immediately ceased, and the voices were filled with surprise. The next moment, someone pushed the door open and saw Lin Zheng peering out. Their eyes instantly welled up, and a cold hand rested on Lin Zheng's forehead. "He's really awake, and he doesn't have a fever. It's a blessing from heaven. If anything had happened to you, what would your mother do..."

Tears fell onto Lin Zheng's face as he listened.

It was really his mother. Looking at the familiar face that had appeared in his dreams countless times, seeing his mother sitting on the edge of the bed, tears streaming down her face, Lin Zheng had no doubt. But he was still puzzled: the wrinkles on her face were gone, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes were barely visible, and her skin was smooth and elastic. This was undoubtedly his mother, Yang Xiuyu, but... why did she look so young?

"He's awake, really awake," the familiar male voice joined in, a deep, resonant baritone trembling with emotion, his eyes full of concern. "Son, how do you feel? Are you okay?"

Yes, it was his father, Lin Baoguo, whose voice was just like that.

"I'm fine, just a bit weak," Lin Zheng moved his limbs, feeling only a slight weakness.

"That's right, the doctor said the same thing," Lin Baoguo and Yang Xiuyu visibly relaxed, their expressions easing. Yang Xiuyu couldn't help but nag, "Zhenzhen, I'm not saying this to criticize you, but you're about to work in an office. When I asked you to buy a briefcase, why did you bring back a doctor's bag?"

Yang Xiuyu was clearly dissatisfied with the bag Lin Zheng had bought. In her view, since he was starting an office job, he should carry a leather briefcase like the older colleagues, looking neat and tidy. What was the point of a bag with a Red Cross symbol on it?

Although she admitted the bag was nice, it wasn't appropriate for an office worker.

Zhenzhen? Lin Zheng felt a vein throb on his forehead: How old was he, and his mother was still calling him by his childhood name? But... a doctor's bag?!

He turned his head to where his mother was looking and was stunned. On the table was a small bag, a Swiss Wenger, with many "Red Cross" symbols on the zippers: a red background with a silver border and a silver cross in the middle.

This wasn't the Red Cross symbol, but it was easy to confuse it with the Red Cross.

Lin Zheng's heart pounded: What's going on? How did this bag get here?

"What are you talking about?" Lin Baoguo glared at Yang Xiuyu: It's a good thing the boy survived. Why bring up these things? "As long as he likes it, what does it matter what bag he buys? I think it's fine... Since he's fine, he should change and come down for dinner. Your mother made a special chicken soup, from a hen raised by your grandmother for two years, which she never had the heart to kill..."

"Okay, I'll get up..." Lin Zheng nodded. He hadn't thought about eating until his father mentioned it, but now he felt as if he hadn't eaten for three days, his cells screaming: I want to eat!

...

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lin Zheng stared at the familiar yet strange room, his distant memories finally resurfacing. He remembered what had happened: After the Spring Festival in 1994, his father had arranged for him to intern at the city radio factory during his senior year. On the day he was supposed to start, his mother gave him 100 yuan to buy a leather briefcase, a popular item among officials at the time. On his way back, he took a shortcut across a frozen river, forgetting that the ice was no longer solid after the spring thaw...

1994?!

He jumped up and rushed to the desk by the window, looking at the calendar on the table. The red date caught his eye: March 1, 1994, the 20th day of the first lunar month...

How could this be? Lin Zheng slumped onto the bed, his mind reeling: What happened?

The moment the car went off the cliff and the moment he fell into the water alternated in his mind like a montage in a movie, eventually forming a strange image... Looking at this strange, frozen image, Lin Zheng smiled bitterly: Could such an absurd and surreal thing really happen to him?

Wait!

My bag!

Lin Zheng was stunned, then grabbed the Wenger bag on the table. The contents inside were clear: a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet that hadn't been officially released yet, which he had obtained through special channels, a Huawei Mate 2 phone, a Fujifilm mirrorless camera, and two Leica manual lenses he had treasured, along with several chargers...

The contents of the bag were exactly the same as before the accident, and the same as before he went off the cliff.

Maybe things weren't as bad as he thought. Looking at the contents of the bag, Lin Zheng tried to reassure himself, and with trembling hands, he turned on the devices: He swiped the Surface Pro 3 a few times, and everything worked fine. The keyboard was functional, and all the thousands of ROMs and code files on the various partitions were intact. Although he didn't know what use they would have, he didn't plan to deal with them immediately. The only downside was that there was no wireless signal, which was normal; it would be strange if there was.

The signal strength indicator on the Huawei Mate 2 showed a cross, which was also normal, as he used a China Telecom SIM card. He took a couple of photos, and they were clear.

As for the Fujifilm mirrorless camera, he attached the lens, powered it on, and it worked fine.

While Lin Zheng was fiddling with the contents of the bag, a voice from downstairs caught his attention, "Mr. Lin, Mr. Tang asked me to pass on a message. He wants to know if you can help with the math test papers for tomorrow after dinner. The new semester's diagnostic test is in a couple of days."

A diagnostic test for the new semester?! This voice was like a spark, and something in Lin Zheng's mind exploded: March 1994? Vice-principal?!

---

The new book is officially being uploaded. I hope for your support, brothers. This book has been in the works for a long time, with planning starting before the New Year's conference and further refined during the conference, where I received valuable advice from many experienced authors. I believe this book will be an improvement over "The Family," but whether it is an improvement is not for me to say; it's for you, the readers, to decide. What do you think, brothers?

Regarding the update schedule:

Before the book is released, there will be three updates of 6,000 words each day, rain or shine. After the release, there will still be three updates, but each will be 10,000 words. After nearly two years of "The Family," I hope you trust my commitment.

"Super Electronic Empire" will be a significant improvement over "The Family" in that I won't disappear for weeks at a time. I can't promise to check the review section every day, but I will ensure that I spend more than half of each week responding to your comments. An author who doesn't engage with their readers should be spanked.

As for the update times, please bear with me for a few days while I set a fixed schedule. I will upload according to this fixed time in the future.

Additionally, I have discussed with the editor, and the book will start uploading today, with the release scheduled for August 1st. There will be a two-month public chapter period, during which there will be a stable 6,000-word update each day, totaling around 360,000 words, or about 380,000 words. Compared to "The Family," this is an increase of about 100,000 words. What do you think, brothers? Is that enough?

During the new book period, I need your clicks, recommendations, and collections...

I need them desperately, but I'm a poor guy and can't afford to pay Taobao for help. So, I kindly ask for your support. A small click, a recommendation, and a collection would mean a lot to "Super Electronic Empire."

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