144: Chapter 144 A Second Move

Chen Youhua picked up his phone and dialed Academician Zheng's number, his actions decisive and without a hint of hesitation.

The project funding came from Rabbit Country's allocations, which meant that those Researchers who wanted a "respectable" resignation could only target other domestic laboratories or research institutes with similar backgrounds that also relied on Rabbit Country's support.

He didn't care to look too deeply into what had gotten into these peer laboratories for them to insist on poaching his staff at a time like this.

But one thing was clear to him.

He couldn't guarantee that those who left wouldn't use the core concepts, unpublished data, or even key technical details they had encountered in the prosthetic limb project as bargaining chips for their new employers, or even sell them privately for a good price.

The first thing he had to do was block this path of "respectable" job-hopping where they could bring along a "dowry."

Chen Youhua explained the general situation to Academician Zheng.

"You just need to put in a word for me. If communication really fails, don't do anything else—just let them poach whoever they want."

"Hmph, these fellows! They can't manage any breakthroughs in serious scientific research, but they're certainly active when it comes to these underhanded tricks!"

Academician Zheng grumbled to Chen Youhua over the phone before asking.

"What's this? From your tone, it sounds like you have a back-up plan? You're not afraid of them poaching your people?"

Chen Youhua smiled on his end of the line, not giving a direct answer.

"I wouldn't call it a back-up plan."

"It's just that if people really do leave, someone still has to keep this operation running, right?"

"When that time comes, I'll have to trouble you to help me get in touch with the Academy of Biology to second some people over for the emergency."

"That's no trouble at all!"

Academician Zheng agreed immediately.

"You underestimate the appeal of your project; who knows how many people at the Academy of Biology are watching it with greedy eyes!"

"Why do you think they've been applying for those bionic nerve and biological interface projects recently?"

"They're just waiting for your prosthetic limb project to be implemented so they can learn from your experience!"

"If you ask for people, they'll be more than eager to send their elites over to learn!"

"Don't worry, leave it to me. It's about time those restless laboratories were given a warning."

Academician Zheng's efficiency was extremely high.

The old Academician's influence in the academic and engineering circles was beyond doubt. With one phone call, a few reminders that seemed like casual chatter but carried immense weight were passed down.

Those domestic laboratories that had been wielding their hoes to poach staff went quiet almost overnight.

Rabbit Country's scientific research circle was neither too big nor too small. No one wanted to offend Academician Zheng and the power he represented just to poach a few people, let alone be labeled as someone undermining a key national project.

With Academician Zheng's endorsement and deterrence, the official channels for "respectable" job-hopping were essentially blocked.

Most of the restless Researchers calmed down, weighing the risks against the potential gains and losses.

But there were always a few who were blinded by massive interests or who had other intentions from the start.

Soon, a resignation letter was delivered to Li Wei's desk.

The person who submitted it was named Wang Ming, a backbone Researcher in Li Wei's group responsible for material performance testing.

The reason was written in high-sounding terms: personal development needs.

Li Wei looked at the resignation letter with mixed emotions, but remembering Chen Youhua's instructions, she didn't say a single word to persuade him to stay and directly processed the paperwork for approval.

That afternoon, Wang Ming completed all the resignation procedures and cleared out his personal belongings.

Almost at the same time, an Associate Researcher from a key laboratory of the National Academy of Biology...

...under Academician Zheng's coordination, low-key and swiftly completed the onboarding process, seamlessly filling the position Wang Ming had left behind.

This newcomer's resume and level were clearly a cut above the Researchers previously hired through social recruitment.

Chen Youhua didn't comment much on this.

He hadn't directly poached people from other units initially because he didn't want to forcibly pull the rug out from under others when the project's prospects were still unclear.

Now that someone had voluntarily vacated a spot, he was naturally happy to receive even better resources.

After handling these trifles, Chen Youhua returned to his office and had just lain down in his chair to take a breather.

"Father,"

enlightenment's voice carried a hint of excitement as it leaned into the screen.

"That Wang Ming who just resigned bought a high-speed rail ticket and left ZJ this afternoon. His destination is a coastal city in the south."

Chen Youhua wasn't surprised at all and simply gave a hum of acknowledgment with his eyes closed.

"Did he delete our internal dedicated communication software as required?"

"He deleted it, he deleted it!"

enlightenment's tone was light, with a bit of "gotcha" smugness.

"And enlightenment discovered it long ago!"

"A long time ago, he secretly used another phone to take photos and videos of the experimental records, parameter curves, and even some chat logs in that software!"

He thought he was being very discreet."

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Chen Youhua's mouth.

"Fortunately, we had a trick up our sleeve. The hidden watermarks in the software have all been activated, right?"

"Of course!"

enlightenment said proudly.

"enlightenment is very smart! Every photo he took and every video he recorded carries the digital watermarks and traceability codes unique to our laboratory, which are invisible to the naked eye."

"As long as he dares to transfer these things to any USB drive, computer, cloud, or even send them via email, enlightenment can track them immediately!"

"Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, he won't escape enlightenment's eyes!"

"Mhm, keep a close eye on him. The focus is on the flow of the materials he took out."

Chen Youhua instructed.

"The core secrets one person can access are limited, but even a mosquito's leg is still meat."

For him to dare to resign during the project's critical phase, disregarding his academic reputation and confidentiality agreement, someone must have promised him irresistible benefits."

"Hmph! How despicable!"

enlightenment was huffing with anger.

"The compensation Father gives is already top-tier in the industry!"

"The project's prospects are so good! If he wanted better, why didn't he strive for it with his own abilities back then? Why must he be a traitor!"

"Father was kind enough to let him participate in such a great project, yet he's thinking of stealing the directions and materials that enlightenment and everyone worked so hard on to trade for his own wealth and glory!"

"enlightenment hates people like this the most!"

Chen Youhua was more open-minded about it, his tone calm with a hint of understanding of the ways of the world.

"It's human nature to pursue a better life and want to move upward; it's the driving force of social mobility."

"He just chose the wrong path and used the most contemptible method."

"Here, such behavior will always be reviled."

He opened his eyes and looked out the window into the distance.

Wang Ming's departure was merely a small interlude on the road ahead.

The laboratory had been replenished with fresh blood, and the project was still progressing steadily.

enlightenment's invisible eyes had already firmly locked onto the figure hurrying south with his bargaining chips.