326: Chapter 326 You call this a construction site? Just past the fence lies the future!

Lu Li said,

"I just came by for a quick look."

"There's no need to make a big fuss."

How could Deputy Chief Engineer Chang Mingyuan dare not make a big fuss?

Lu Li was the chief designer of the entire smart city project in every sense of the word.

Guanghui Technology was also the key leading enterprise in realizing the smart city technologically.

Although Lu Li usually did not oversee the project team in person or participate in daily management,

the smart city's core technical route, AI scheduling framework, transportation system safety boundaries, and future business ecosystem were all established by him.

Now that Lu Li had suddenly arrived at the south temporary entrance and could not even get in,

Deputy Chief Engineer Chang Mingyuan knew without a second thought that something must have gone wrong on-site.

He immediately said,

"Mr. Lu, please wait a moment."

"I'll notify the General Coordination Department right away."

After hanging up, Deputy Chief Engineer Chang Mingyuan immediately called the General Coordination Department.

The manager of the General Coordination Department was Xu Wenzhou.

When Xu Wenzhou received the call, he was in his office checking the commissioning progress of the Future Commercial Street.

Hearing Deputy Chief Engineer Chang Mingyuan say that Lu Li had arrived at the south entrance, he almost jumped out of his chair.

"Mr. Lu has arrived?"

"He's at the entrance right now?"

"Okay, I'll head over right away!"

Xu Wenzhou hung up the phone and rushed out of the office before he could even tidy his coat.

As he ran out, he called the person in charge of the gate guard.

At the south entrance.

Liu Shoucheng still had no idea what was happening.

He only had a vague feeling that the young man in the car spoke with too calm a tone on the phone.

Too calm to be an ordinary headquarters employee.

Guo Zhentao was still standing nearby, his face looking rather displeased.

In his view, so what if they were from Guanghui Headquarters?

Without an access code, they simply couldn't enter.

Besides, none of these people looked like ordinary project staff.

Especially that chubby kid who was filming everywhere with his phone.

What kind of headquarters staff would bring kids along for an inspection?

A few minutes later, hurried footsteps suddenly came from inside the entrance.

Xu Wenzhou jogged out with two project team staff members.

He was running very fast.

There was even sweat on his forehead.

When he saw Lu Li and Su Qingxue standing by the car, his expression shifted in surprise, and he quickly stepped forward.

"Mr. Lu."

"President Su."

"I'm terribly sorry."

"We didn't know you would be coming today."

As he spoke, he quickly bowed slightly.

His nervousness was almost visibly palpable.

Hearing the titles "Mr. Lu" and "President Su", Liu Shoucheng's face instantly changed.

Guo Zhentao froze completely on the spot.

Just now, he had thought these people were internet celebrities trying to sneak in to shoot videos.

Yet now, the project team manager had jogged all the way out.

Addressing them as Mr. Lu and President Su right off the bat.

How many "Mr. Lus" could there be in Guanghui Technology to make the project team this nervous?

A loud boom went off in Guo Zhentao's mind.

This was actually the true big boss behind the scenes of Guanghui Technology.

Lu Li.

And the woman next to him with the cool, elegant aura was the Chairwoman and President of Guanghui Technology, Su Qingxue.

Liu Shoucheng immediately stepped forward, his tone filled with clear apology.

"Mr. Lu, I'm sorry."

"I didn't know who you were just now."

Lu Li waved his hand.

"You verified according to the rules. You did nothing wrong."

"The Smart New District is currently semi-closed. It's a good thing that the entrance is guarded strictly."

Liu Shoucheng let out a visible sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Indeed, he hadn't been intentionally making things difficult earlier.

Without an access code, he couldn't let anyone in.

That was his duty.

If he had let them through just because they claimed to be "headquarters staff," that would have been a true dereliction of duty.

Guo Zhentao's face flushed red, his lips twitching a few times before he stammered,

"M-Mr. Lu, I'm sorry."

"I didn't know you were..."

Xu Wenzhou's expression was already very grim.

He turned to look at Guo Zhentao, keeping his voice very low.

"Who taught you to speak to visitors like that?"

Guo Zhentao lowered his head, not daring to utter a sound.

Xu Wenzhou continued to scold him,

"The Smart New District is a future city that will be open to the public."

"It's not a place for you to stand at the gate and throw your weight around!"

"If visitors don't have an access code, you can explain it to them politely according to the rules."

"Who gave you the right to be so sarcastic?"

Guo Zhentao's face grew even redder.

Today was only his second day on the job.

He had originally felt that guarding the entrance of Guanghui Technology's most important Smart New District made him far more impressive than a regular residential security guard.

Yet because of a few snarky remarks, he had run straight into the biggest boss of Guanghui Technology.

He was now filled with utter regret.

Lu Li did not pursue the matter further.

He simply said flatly,

"Go back and train on attitude issues."

"Don't think you hold some kind of power just because of a minor position."

The words were not spoken loudly,

but they instantly caused a cold sweat to break out on Guo Zhentao's back.

Xu Wenzhou nodded hastily.

"Yes, Mr. Lu."

"I'll arrange a security training review immediately when I get back."

"Similar issues won't happen again."

Lu Li said nothing more.

Xu Wenzhou quickly arranged for someone to grant temporary access.

The smart turnstile emitted a soft chime.

The entrance slowly opened.

Wang Peng followed behind Lu Li and muttered in a low voice,

"Bro."

"The way you revealed your identity just now was exactly like an emperor traveling incognito in TV dramas."

"Like that Kangxi guy."

Lu Yaoguang chimed in from the side,

"The difference is, in TV dramas, the emperor travels incognito."

"Your brother is a boss doing an unannounced inspection."

Wang Peng retorted in a low voice,

"What do you mean boss?"

"My brother is the Chief Engineer."

"Officially appointed by the state."

Lu Yaoguang reached out and pinched his ear.

"You brat, talking back to me?"

"You think I don't know that?"

Wang Peng immediately grimaced in pain.

"Sis, I was wrong! Gentler, gentler!"

Chen Shuyu looked at the opening gate ahead and let out a cold laugh.

"There will probably be quite a few issues uncovered."

She didn't say it very loudly,

but Su Qingxue understood.

A young security guard's attitude at the entrance was, of course, just a minor issue.

But behind minor issues, one could often see the hidden loopholes in the management chain.

For a project as massive as the smart city, it involved countless enterprises, departments, construction teams, and operation personnel from top to bottom.

If people started developing a sense of superiority just because they held a tiny bit of authority,

then there would definitely be much bigger problems down the line.

Lu Li looked at the slowly opening smart gate, his tone calm.

"That's why we need to see it for ourselves first."

The gate opened completely.

The business van restarted and slowly drove into the interior of Chengbei Smart New District.

At the exact moment the car crossed the gate,

a faint ripple in the air swept past everyone's eyes.

It was as if a transparent screen had been gently penetrated.

In the next second,

the scene before them suddenly changed.

The vast stretches of fences, construction sites, and gray construction panels they had seen from the outside seemed to be wiped directly from their field of vision.

Replacing them was a clean, wide city road with a faint, silvery-white luster.

On both sides of the road, smart streetlights were arranged in neat rows.

The glass buildings in the distance reflected a soft light under the sun.

An autonomous bus was quietly passing through the intersection.

Further away, several external platforms extended from the middle of the high-rises, resembling city terraces suspended in mid-air.

Wang Peng's eyes went wide.

He pressed against the car window, his voice completely changing.

"Holy crap!"

"Those fences earlier were actually fake?"