32: Higher than the Navy's requirements? You're right!

"What kind of move is this?" Ma Quanlin was baffled.

Wang Zizhong caught on: "So the 'ghost' they were talking about was just the noise caused by a camera flash."

"Let's grab him."

"Don't be so hasty. Let's see what this kid is actually up to."

To "catch the ghost," Lu Shenwei had specially ordered the modification of two silent Longying Drones.

They were currently hovering above the person in the peaked cap, silently watching everything.

Ma Quanlin and the others held their breath, observing every move the person in the peaked cap made, while Lu Shenwei, stationed in his office, watched him through the drone's camera.

"This kid isn't here to steal the steel cable, is he? That thing weighs two hundred jin."

As Lu Shenwei muttered to himself, he saw the person in the peaked cap pull out a dagger and slash at the super steel cable.

"Interesting. It looks like he's here to steal technology."

Unfortunately, the super steel cable was incredibly strong; a regular dagger couldn't leave a scratch, even after dozens of slashes.

The person in the peaked cap sighed, put away his dagger, and prepared to slip away.

Clatter—the warehouse floodlights flickered on, and Ma Quanlin and his men appeared, brandishing steel pipes.

"Kid, you've got some nerve! Daring to come to Julong Steel Factory to steal?"

The person in the peaked cap gripped his dagger tightly, clearly nervous.

Wang Zizhong roared, "Drop the dagger, or don't blame the steel pipes in our hands for being rude!"

With seven or eight men glaring at him, steel pipes in hand, the person in the peaked cap looked down at his pathetic little dagger.

He knew that length meant strength, and he wasn't stupid, so he immediately dropped the dagger and crouched on the ground.

Half an hour later, the person in the peaked cap was crouching in front of Lu Shenwei.

"What's your name?"

"Liang Feng."

"Like taking photos? Why did you come to our warehouse in the middle of the night?"

"Just wandering around, seeing if I could steal some scrap steel to sell."

"Not telling the truth? Uncle Ma, take him out, but don't beat him to death."

Hearing Lu Shenwei say this, Liang Feng panicked. Wasn't Julong Steel Factory supposed to be a reputable company in Qinchuan?

Why are they so quick to talk about beating people to death? Didn't I just take pictures of some scrap steel cables in your warehouse?

"Don't hit me! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Under duress, Liang Feng told the truth.

Liang Feng was usually idle and loved engaging in petty theft.

The head of the security department at Green View Real Estate had given him 5,000 yuan to steal two steel cables.

He hadn't thought much of it; he'd scouted the location a few days ago and planned to make his move tonight, only to get caught.

"I haven't even gone to cause trouble for Liu Jiujian, and he's already looking for trouble with me. Does he really think Julong Steel Factory is made of mud?"

Lu Shenwei said angrily. Ma Quanlin suggested, "Let's hand this kid over to the Patrol Police and let him reflect on things inside."

"Just handing him over to the Patrol Police isn't enough. Contact Director Zhou and tell him that Green View Real Estate is stealing our trade secrets."

"As for this kid, he's just being used as a pawn. Give him a beating first, but go easy—don't kill him."

Ma Quanlin widened his eyes, thinking Lu Shenwei was joking.

"Are we really going to beat him?"

"Yes. Otherwise, any stray cat or dog will think they can bully us."

Liang Feng, crouching on the ground, withered immediately upon hearing this. "We live in a society ruled by law now! Hitting people is illegal!"

"Hitting ordinary people is illegal, of course, but we are teaching a criminal a lesson!"

Lu Shenwei said with a smile. Liang Feng was dragged out amidst his wails and pleas for mercy, and moments later, screams echoed through the air.

Director Zhou was bewildered when he received Ma Quanlin's call. Green View Real Estate stealing Julong Steel Factory's trade secrets? Caught red-handed?

A real estate company stealing trade secrets from a steel enterprise? Even if they managed to steal them, could they even use them?

"Where is the thief?"

"He's being held in the factory's security department for now."

"You didn't beat him, did you?"

"Don't worry, he's not dead."

Uh... what does "not dead" mean? What kind of answer is that?

"Keep him detained. I'm bringing people over right now."

Director Zhou hung up and dialed the city Patrol Police station. Half an hour later, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce and the Patrol Police arrived at Julong Steel Factory.

"Why is he in this state? Did you lay a hand on him?" the lead Patrol Police officer asked.

Ma Quanlin chuckled, "Visibility was poor at night. This kid took quite a few tumbles. Right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It was all from me falling! It has nothing to do with Julong Steel Factory! I'm guilty, I deserve to die!"

Recalling the terrifying experience from two hours ago, Liang Feng shivered again.

"Falling down can break ribs? Don't try to pull a fast one on me!"

"Officer, I'm guilty! Please, just take me away! I beg you!"

Liang Feng knelt on the ground as he spoke. Everyone at Julong Steel Factory, from the chairman down to the security officers, were devils.

First, they beat him, then they fed him raw seafood, and right after he finished eating, they beat him again.

His stomach was churning, but he couldn't throw up.

Are these people even human? They're living Yama!

Trespassing into the gates of hell for 5,000 yuan—now that he thought about it, he wanted to slap himself twice.

If the Patrol Police hadn't arrived so quickly, Liang Feng doubted he would have lived until dawn.

Little did he know, Kameda from Japan had paid Liu Jiujian 5 million USD to steal the Julong Steel cables.

Liu Jiujian had arranged for his subordinate, the head of the security department, to handle it, giving him a 50,000 longxia currency "hardship fee."

The head of the security department then subcontracted the dirty work to Liang Feng, but only gave him 5,000 yuan.

Poor Liang Feng—he had the stress of a drug trafficker but was making chump change.

"Take him away!"

After the Patrol Police took Liang Feng away, they closed the case, and Director Zhou stayed behind.

"Director Zhou, do you think Liu Jiujian has lost his mind? Coming here to steal things?"

"It might not have been Liu Jiujian's own idea."

"Do you have any leads?"

"The reason Green View Real Estate had the money to pay back their taxes is that a Japanese company is backing them."

"Colluding with Japan? He deserves to die!"

Lu Shenwei was filled with righteous indignation. The blood debt owed to the 35 million Dragon Xia ancestors hadn't been repaid yet.

"The relevant authorities have already started an investigation. As for this attempt to steal trade secrets from Julong Steel Factory, don't make it public for now. I'll handle the investigation."

"Alright, I trust you to handle it."

Lu Shenwei nodded. Director Zhou added, "The Dragon Xia Navy recently issued a tender announcement. The project is quite large; you should give it a try."

"The Dragon Xia Navy? What are they tendering?"

"It seems to be for steel cables, but the requirements are quite high."

Steel cables? Don't we have a batch of those in stock already?

"Thank you for your concern, we'll look into it."

The technical specifications for the steel cables the Dragon Xia Navy was tendering would certainly be extremely high, so Lu Shenwei didn't hold out much hope.

The next day, Ma Quanlin found the tender announcement released by the Dragon Xia Navy.

"Tsk, tsk. The technical parameters the Navy requires aren't low. Uncle Ma, does our Julong super steel cable meet the requirements?"

Ma Quanlin said, "I was just about to report to you. The technical parameters the Navy requires aren't low, but the batch we have in stock actually exceeds their requirements."

"They were originally prepared for that American company, but they didn't end up wanting them. All 200 of them have been sitting in the warehouse gathering dust."

Lu Shenwei asked in surprise, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Our steel cable's technical parameters are actually higher than what the Navy requires?"