70: Chapter 70 Deadly Crisis! Trial Run Concludes with Hidden Dangers, Foreign Shadows Lurk, Laying a Web of Deception (3)

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the pale dawn light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Nuclear Fusion Power Station's Main Control Room, spilling onto screens filled with code and reflecting off the bloodshot eyes of the technical team. The exhaustion of an all-nighter was written on every face, the red veins in their eyes like tangled spiderwebs, yet the rhythmic clicking of their fingers on keyboards never faltered. The crisp tapping and the low hum of operating equipment interwove into a tense, oppressive rhythm within the vast room. Wang Lei, a technical backbone of Mu Li's team, rubbed his aching eyes, his fingertips sliding rapidly across the touchpad as he spoke in a low voice to Officer Zhao, a cybersecurity expert from the Public Security General Administration working alongside him: "Officer Zhao, we've checked all the core system modules. There's an anomaly in the temperature control system; a piece of unknown code is hidden deep within the underlying logic. It's disguised so well that if we hadn't verified it line by line, we never would have found it."

Officer Zhao immediately leaned in close to the screen, his brow furrowed deeply. He pointed to a specific section of the scrolling code, his tone grave: "That's the one! This is an encryption technique commonly used by top-tier hackers abroad. It can perfectly masquerade as a native system driver, making it impossible for conventional scans to identify. Start reverse-engineering it; let's see what its specific function is."

Wang Lei nodded instantly and quickly typed a string of commands. The code on the screen immediately began to scroll in reverse. As the green progress bar advanced slowly, everyone's breathing grew shallow. Half an hour later, the analysis results were fully displayed. Wang Lei's face turned pale in an instant, and his voice trembled slightly: "Engineer Mu, Officer Zhao, it's been parsed! This is a backdoor program. Once remotely activated, it can take full control of the temperature control system and tamper with operating parameters—this temperature control failure was triggered by it!"

“There's something even more terrifying!” another technician, Zhou Yaqi, suddenly cried out. Her fingers pressed heavily on the keyboard as she pulled up the core reactor's safety log. “Look, the safety protection threshold of the core reactor was also tampered with. The modification time was 10:17 PM three nights ago, which is exactly when Hans's team was performing maintenance! Furthermore, the signature for the modification permissions is Hans's maintenance authorization code!”

This sentence exploded like a thunderclap in the Main Control Room. Everyone gasped, their faces filled with shock and fury. Officer Zhao suddenly clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white, his tone bone-chillingly cold: “It really was him! Issue the order immediately: set up a city-wide net to hunt down Hans and his team members! Block all stations, airports, and border crossings. We must not let them escape China!”

Officers from the Public Security General Administration acted immediately, quickly making calls to relay the pursuit orders. However, just half an hour later, the officers responsible for checking the hotel brought back disappointing news. After hanging up, Officer Zhao's expression grew even grimmer. He addressed the group in a heavy voice: “We’re a step too late. Hans checked out and fled last night. His hotel room was cleaned spotless—not a single hair or fingerprint was left behind. The surveillance in the room was hit by strong electromagnetic interference for ten minutes before he left, resulting in snow noise. This was clearly premeditated.”

Mu Li stood to the side, the wound on his back aching faintly due to his agitation. He endured the pain, his fingertips gripping the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles turned pale. His voice was hoarse but firm: “It seems this maintenance was a trap from the very beginning. Using the guise of Siemens maintenance, Hans infiltrated the project site. While installing the backdoor and tampering with core parameters, he was also gathering project information—all to completely ruin our project and steal our core technology.”

Wang Lei clenched his fists, his voice full of resentment and anger: “How despicable! We trusted him so much and cooperated fully with his maintenance work. I never thought he was hiding such malicious intent!” Zhou Yaqi joined in with red eyes: “Exactly, Engineer Mu. we worked so hard for so long, and just as we were about to reach the final acceptance, they sabotaged us like this!”

Mu Li took a deep breath and slowly raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down: “Now is not the time for anger. The project acceptance has been forced to a delay. We must immediately begin a comprehensive rectification: clear the backdoor program, restore the tampered parameters, and replace any compromised hardware. We cannot let our previous efforts go to waste.”

Despite the doctor's repeated instructions to stay in bed and rest, and to avoid moving the wound, Mu Li ignored everyone's pleas and insisted on staying at the project site, remaining on the front lines of the rectification work. Because of the long hours of standing and repeated movement, the wound on his back had already become infected and inflamed. The thick gauze was soaked through with blood, sticking clammily to his skin. Every movement felt like countless fine needles piercing him repeatedly. The piercing pain caused fine beads of cold sweat to constantly break out on his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the front of his work uniform, creating a small, dark stain. He could only secretly ask the nurse to increase his dose of painkillers, relying on the medication to barely hold on. Even so, the agonizing pain would return repeatedly in the dead of night, leaving him unable to sleep.

That afternoon, Lin Wei walked quickly to Mu Li's side holding a glass of warm water. Seeing him leaning against an equipment cabinet, his face as pale as paper, the dark circles under his eyes deepening, and his lips cracked and peeling, her heart ached so much that her eyes instantly reddened. Tears fell uncontrollably as she choked out, “Engineer Mu, please just rest for one day, I beg you! If you keep pushing yourself like this, your body will definitely collapse!”

She reached out to steady Mu Li's staggering steps. Her fingertips inadvertently touched the gauze on his back, and feeling the dampness beneath it, her tears fell even harder: “Look, your wound is bleeding again. The doctor said if this continues, the infection will get worse and might even cause complications. We have the rectification under control—Wang Lei is handling the code restructuring, Zhou Yaqi is in charge of parameter verification, and I'm coordinating the hardware replacement. We can do this. Please, just go back and rest for one day, okay?”

Mu Li slowly opened his eyes, revealing a weak but determined smile. He raised his hand and gently patted Lin Wei's shoulder; the heat from his palm was startling. His voice was exhausted but carried an unshakable resolve: “Weiwei, I'm fine. This little injury is nothing. This is the critical period for rectification; I can't leave.”

He paused to catch his breath, his gaze sweeping over the busy team members before continuing: “From clearing the backdoor and rewriting the system's core code to verifying the core reactor's safety parameters and replacing compromised hardware, every step is vital and allows for no oversight. If anything goes wrong, not only will our previous efforts be in vain, but the entire project could be scrapped, potentially causing massive losses to the country. I must oversee this personally to be at peace.”

“But Engineer Mu...” Lin Wei wanted to continue her persuasion, but Mu Li gently interrupted her.

“I know you're worried about me,” Mu Li's voice softened slightly but remained firm, “but I am the person in charge of this project. Protecting it is my responsibility. Once the rectification is complete and the project passes acceptance, I'll take a good rest, okay?”

Seeing the determination in Mu Li's eyes, Lin Wei knew further persuasion was useless. She could only nod helplessly, handed him the warm water, and said through her sobs: “Then you must take care of yourself. If the pain becomes unbearable, tell me immediately. Don't push through it anymore. I've asked the cafeteria to stew some chicken soup; I'll bring it to you later. You must drink more to regain your strength.”

Mu Li took the water, nodded, and whispered a “thank you.” In the days that followed, he remained at the site every day, busy from dawn until late at night. He personally reviewed every line of code, verified every parameter, and inspected every piece of replacement hardware. He often stood for the entire day, and when exhausted to the limit, he would nap for a few minutes leaning against a cold equipment cabinet. Even in his dreams, he muttered about system parameters and code. Upon waking, he would wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, take a sip of cold water, and immediately dive back into the rectification work.

The team members saw this and their hearts ached, but no one dared to try and persuade him again. Seeing Mu Li's increasingly haggard appearance, Wang Lei pulled Lin Wei aside and whispered: “Sister Lin, Engineer Mu really can't go on like this. We have to find a way to force him to rest for a while.” Lin Wei shook her head with red eyes: “I've tried, but Engineer Mu won't listen. His heart is entirely on the project; he doesn't care about his own body at all. All we can do is finish our own tasks as quickly as possible to lighten his burden so he doesn't have to worry about us.”

The group nodded silently, a shared resolve building within them. They accelerated the pace of the rectification, wanting only to finish the work so Mu Li could rest and clear the coming shadows. They knew deep down that Mu Li was using his life to protect this project, which held the blood and sweat of everyone for years. In his bones, the word “give up” had never existed.

Meanwhile, inside an abandoned warehouse at the border, there was a different, sinister scene. The night wind, laden with sand and dust, howled madly, whipping up dirt and grit that slammed against the old corrugated iron walls with a light “tap-tap,” sounding like countless hands beating against them—a heart-chilling sound. The warehouse was pitch black, save for a half-burned candle in the corner. The weak flame flickered in the wind, casting shifting shadows that made Scorpion's sinister face look even more ghoulish and glinting off the cold blade of the short knife at his waist, which was particularly piercing in the gloom.

Scorpion leaned against the cold wall, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone. He listened carefully to Hans's report on the other end, a cruel smile perpetually hooked on his lips. Once Hans finished, he spoke slowly, his voice raspy and cold, carrying the smugness of a predator whose prey was about to fall into the trap: “Hans, well done. You didn't disappoint me. As long as we can completely ruin Mu Li and get the project's core technology, I'll split the double reward Li Hongyuan promised us fifty-fifty. You won't be shorted a single cent.”

On the other end of the phone, Hans's tone was somewhat fawning: “Thank you, Leader Scorpion. This is all as it should be. Mu Li must be overwhelmed right now—the project acceptance is delayed, the rectification pressure is immense, and on top of that, he's seriously injured. He'll be completely unable to handle the subsequent developments. Our plan will succeed very soon.”

“Hmph, at least you're sensible,” Scorpion snorted, his tone laced with disdain. “Keep an eye on Mu Li and the project's movements. Report any situation to me immediately. Also, organize the copied core technology data as soon as possible and deliver it to the designated location. Don't make any mistakes.”

“Understood, Leader, I will get it done!” Hans replied hastily, his voice full of respect.

Hanging up the phone, Scorpion slowly raised his hand, his fingertips tracing the short knife at his waist. The cold touch of the blade made the killing intent in his eyes grow even more intense. He murmured in a low voice, his malice almost tangible: “Mu Li, the harder you fight to protect this project, the more I want to destroy it with my own hands. The more you want to prove your innocence, the more I will ruin your reputation and make sure you never rise again.”

Outside the warehouse, moonlight spilled through a hole in the roof, forming a weak beam of light that fell on his hand resting on the screen. The shadows of his fingers intertwined with the cold light of the screen, making him look even more bloodthirsty and sinister. Without any hesitation, he immediately dialed Li Jianjun's number. The moment the call connected, his tone became cold and urgent, carrying an unquestionable pressure: “Li Jianjun, I'm asking you: is the forged evidence ready yet?”

On the other end, Li Jianjun's voice trembled with obvious fear, his tone panicked: “Lord Scorpion, I... I'm working hard on perfecting it. It's almost done, just a few final details left. I'll have it ready very soon.”

“Soon? I don't want 'soon,' I want it now!” Scorpion barked, his voice echoing in the empty warehouse with a bone-chilling coldness. “Speed it up. Perfect the forged bribery photos, the fake cooperation agreements, and the edited videos. You must report Mu Li within today! I want him behind bars immediately, despised by everyone, never to rise again!”

Li Jianjun was shaking all over and replied hastily: “Yes, yes, Lord Scorpion, I understand. I'll work overtime to perfect it right now. I definitely won't delay your great cause; I won't disappoint you!”

“You’d better not,” Scorpion's tone was like ice shards, carrying a naked threat. “Remember this: if you delay things or dare to leak any of our secrets, don't expect your wife and child to live! I mean what I say; you'd better not force my hand.”

“I wouldn't dare, I absolutely wouldn't dare!” Li Jianjun's voice shook even harder, and he sounded as if he were about to cry. “Lord Scorpion, I will get it done as quickly as possible. Please, spare my family.”

Scorpion snorted and said no more, hanging up the phone directly. Following the instructions of the blonde man, he had secretly contacted Li Jianjun, who had long been bought off, to make him speed up the perfection of that forged evidence—those maliciously cropped photos, spliced and tampered videos, and the loophole-ridden yet seemingly rigorous fake agreements were all lethal weapons intended to completely destroy Mu Li.

The cold light from the phone screen reflected on his face, illuminating the thick, inescapable malice and madness in his eyes. He stared intently at Mu Li's photo on the screen, his knuckles white from gripping the phone, the killing intent in his eyes almost overflowing as his breathing became heavy and cold. He slowly traced Mu Li's face on the screen, his lips curling into a cruel arc as he laughed low and savagely: “Mu Li, your end is near.” Once Li Jianjun perfected the evidence and pressed the report button, Mu Li would go from project lead to a traitor despised by all, imprisoned and stripped of any chance of a comeback, and the project that embodied all his life's work would vanish like a bubble. The candle flame in the warehouse suddenly jumped, as if disturbed by his malevolence, stretching his shadow long and thin like a phantom lurking on the mottled concrete floor, its distorted outline terrifying and eerie. The night wind poured through the hole in the warehouse, causing the candlelight to flicker, adding to the macabre atmosphere.

Just two hours later, several white vehicles marked with “Supervision” drove slowly into the Nuclear Fusion Power Station's factory area under the midday sun. The vehicles moved slowly, their tires crunching over the gravel on the road. The alternating red and blue police lights flashed incessantly, breaking the tense rhythm of the site and bringing a suffocating, oppressive atmosphere. The busy scene instantly quieted down as all the staff members' gazes were involuntarily drawn to the supervision vehicles. The supervisors got out one by one, dressed in uniform, their expressions solemn and their steps steady. The lead official was a middle-aged man with a resolute face and eyes as sharp as a hawk's. He held a neatly folded investigation notice tightly in his hand. He was followed by four staff members carrying briefcases and evidence collection equipment, their expressions equally grave. The group walked straight toward the Main Control Room, their powerful aura making people afraid to approach.