173: Dagger in the shadows

Giant Star Mining Headquarters, Top Floor Office.

On the holographic screen, Hanhai Trade's latest sales data and financial model projections were twitching frantically in a glaring green, like a dying insect.

Hoffman let out a contemptuous laugh.

"See that?" he said to his deputy standing by with hands lowered. "Their cash burn rate is even faster than we anticipated. That idiot Chen Feng actually offered double compensation for freight; he's a complete amateur."

"The 'consultants' we hired have already whipped the panic up to its peak. Director Hoffman, what do we need to do now?" the deputy asked respectfully.

"It's not enough." Hoffman raised his wine glass, the scarlet liquid swirling in his eyes. "Notify 'Iron Hook' and the others to increase the intensity of the sabotage. Stop playing those 'accidental loss of contact' games."

He paused, the smile at the corner of his mouth turning cruel.

"I want Hanhai's goods to be unable to fly past even a single asteroid."

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Hanhai Trade Base, Command Center.

"Report! The 'Sprit' Chamber of Commerce fleet was attacked by unidentified pirates in the 'Echo Stone' lane. All cargo has been seized!"

"Report! The 'Starbreaker' Mercenary Group has announced a unilateral breach of the transport agreement. They say our products are 'cursed trash'!"

"Report! The 'Sand Wolf' transport team refuses to leave port. Their leader said... said they're afraid of dirtying their ships!"

Reports of logistics disruptions fell like snowflakes, mixed with mockery and humiliation, constantly striking the star map.

Su Li expressionlessly marked one route after another in deep red. Soon, the star map around the base became a dense, airtight web of blood-red, like a tightening noose.

"I'm going to slaughter them!" Reno's fist slammed onto the console with a dull thud. His eyes were bloodshot, like an infuriated lion.

"Boss! Give me a squad! I'll go teach those treacherous bastards a lesson!"

"No." Su Li's voice was as cold as ice. "You would be actively instigating an armed conflict, which would immediately violate the Free Port's neutrality rules. By then, we'll be facing more than just a few transport guilds."

"Then are we just going to watch and wait for death?!" Reno's roar echoed in the command center.

"Enough."

Chen Feng's voice came from the office doorway, not loud, but it instantly suppressed all the noise.

He walked in slowly, cutting straight through the thick tension between Reno and Su Li that was almost palpable like gunpowder.

"Reno, I veto your proposal."

"Boss!" Reno shouted unwillingly.

"We are merchants." Chen Feng looked at him calmly. "Merchants have their own rules."

After saying that, he opened the anonymous bounty interface of the Interstellar Exchange in front of everyone.

[Mission: Provide direct evidence of 'Iron Hook' Transport, 'Sprit' Chamber of Commerce, and 'Sand Wolf' Transport Team maliciously colluding with third-party forces to sabotage commercial contracts.]

[Reward: Depending on the value of the intelligence.]

Publishing the mission and paying the deposit, the whole process was smooth and seamless.

A moment later, with a soft "ding," an encrypted file was transmitted directly to his terminal.

Inside were over a dozen transfer records from different angles and screenshots of encrypted communications, clearly pointing to a single payer—Hoffman.

Chen Feng packaged the evidence and forwarded it directly to Su Li, attaching only a brief instruction.

"Use the law and public opinion to drown them."

Almost at the same time, in the deepest part of the base, inside Eve's laboratory.

The storm outside seemed completely isolated from this place.

Eve had been working for over thirty-six consecutive hours, her clear eyes now bloodshot. On the table beside her, empty bottles of high-concentration nutrient solution were piled up like a small grave mound.

"No... that's not right, there's still a 0.01% overflow in the resonance frequency..." she muttered to herself, staring at the waterfall-like data stream on the screen, trying to tighten the final screw named "perfection" for the first-generation energy block's stabilization program.

She was completely unaware of the impending danger.

In the corridor outside the laboratory, a Technician named Simon was walking hurriedly, carrying a hot drink.

"Ah! Watch out!"

He seemed to lose his footing, his body tilting as he "accidentally" bumped into a researcher pushing a precision instrument.

Scalding liquid splashed all over the floor.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Simon's face was full of apology and panic as he hurriedly crouched down to help clean up.

However, the moment he lowered his head, his eyes were rapidly scanning the angles of every security camera in the lab and the movement routes of all personnel.

His gaze lingered for 0.5 seconds on the pile of empty nutrient solution bottles on Eve's desk.

A few minutes later, Simon walked into the laboratory carrying another "apology" hot drink.

He didn't go toward Eve but instead found a young Technician who was irritably scratching his head over an equipment heat dissipation problem.

"Hey, buddy, still worrying about thermal power consumption?" he spoke up in a friendly manner.

"Don't even talk about it," the young Technician complained. "This damn Unit 3, the temperature control module is acting like it's gone crazy."

"Try lowering the circulation frequency of the main cooling pipe by 3%, then increasing the power of the auxiliary heat sink by 5%," Simon pointed out casually. "I've encountered this problem before."

"For real?" The Technician tried it half-doubtingly, and the equipment's overheating alarm light actually went out.

"Incredible! Brother, how did you know?" The Technician had a look of pleasant surprise.

"It's nothing, just experience." Simon smiled and smoothly steered the topic. "Speaking of which, Chief Eve is really amazing; it looks like she hasn't left that desk at all."

"You're telling me," the young Technician opened up. "I heard she hasn't closed her eyes for nearly two days, all to resolve that last 5% failure rate. We all advised her to rest, but she just won't listen."

"Sigh, she's really pushing herself. If a problem occurs over at the production line, does she handle it personally?" Simon asked seemingly at random.

"Of course! Especially the calibration of the energy output module; she values that more than anything. If there's even a slight parameter fluctuation, she'll rush over immediately!"

That was enough.

A faint, imperceptible glint flashed in Simon's eyes.

He left quietly and, in a deserted corner, sent out a pre-prepared command through a foreman he was acquainted with.

An urgent request for help regarding "abnormal energy output module calibration parameters" was disguised as a highest-priority system alarm and sent directly to Eve's personal terminal.

This parameter indeed had a tiny fluctuation of one ten-thousandth, which was completely within the safety threshold.

But for a perfectionist like Eve, it was an unignorable flaw.

In the laboratory, the shrill alarm sounded.

The already exhausted Eve jerked upright. She glanced at the red alarm pulsing on her terminal, her brow furrowing deeply.

"Damn it..."

She cursed under her breath, rubbed her aching temples, and dragged her weary body toward the remote terminal connected to the production line on the other side.

The moment she left her main workstation, a figure slid silently out from the shadows.

A cold smile played on Simon's face.

He slowly took a miniature device shaped like a black data mosquito out of his pocket.

The operation to steal core secrets had officially begun.