Chapter 14 George's Vigilance
At eight in the morning, George White stepped into the laboratory building of the School of Materials Science right on time.
This was a habit he had maintained for years—arriving half an hour earlier than most students to brew a cup of Colombian coffee in his office and then browse the latest academic journals. As a visiting scholar under a joint Sino-American training program, he had been in China for a full fourteen months. During these fourteen months, he had behaved like a standard academic researcher: humble, diligent, and full of curiosity about any new technology.
No one knew his true identity.
The coffee machine gurgled, emitting hot steam. George stood by the window holding his cup, his gaze piercing through the morning mist to rest on the punch-in machine at the laboratory building's entrance. He was waiting for someone.
At 7:58, the first student hurried into the building. At 7:59, the second. At 8:00 sharp, the third.
No Lin Mo.
George took a sip of coffee, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. That Ph.D. Student was never late. Over the past two months of observation, he had recorded Lin Mo's routine: arriving at the lab between 7:50 and 8:05 in the morning, going to the Canteen at exactly 12:00 noon, leaving at 6:30 in the evening, working six days a week, and resting on Sundays.
More precise than an alarm clock.
But today, Lin Mo hadn't come.
George returned to his desk and turned on his computer, but his eyes drifted from time to time toward the door at the end of the corridor—Lin Mo's laboratory was in that direction. At 8:30, that door remained tightly shut. At 9:00, there was still no movement.
He picked up an experimental report and stood up to head toward Professor Wang's office.
"Good morning, Professor Wang." George knocked on the door and poked his head in with a face full of smiles. "Did you have a look at the test data I submitted last week?"
Wang Zhenguo was busy writing something at his desk. He looked up, his expression normal. "Oh, George. I've seen the data. There are a few points that need re-verification. I'll have Xiao Li pull out the original records this afternoon."
"Alright, alright." George walked into the office, placed the report on the desk, and let his gaze casually sweep over Wang Zhenguo's desktop. A red-headed official document was pressed under a folder, only its corner showing, where the word "Urgent" was faintly visible.
"Professor Wang, our lab would like to participate in the new material testing on Lin Mo's side," George naturally changed the subject. "I heard the conductivity data for that sample is quite astonishing. If it's convenient, we'd like to re-test it using more precise equipment."
Wang Zhenguo put down his pen and smiled. "Little Lin has taken a leave of absence for a couple of days. We'll talk about it when he gets back."
"Taken leave?" George showed a perfectly timed look of surprise. "Is he feeling unwell? I saw him working late in the lab just yesterday."
"Something came up at home," Wang Zhenguo replied briefly, picking up his pen again. "When he returns, I'll have him contact you."
George nodded sensibly and withdrew from the office.
In the corridor, his pace slowed down.
Something at home? Lin Mo was from Huizhou, and his parents were both in his hometown. What kind of emergency could require taking leave on a workday? Moreover, based on his understanding of Lin Mo, that workaholic would insist on coming to the lab even if he had a fever of thirty-nine degrees.
Unless something unexpected had happened.
George returned to his own office and closed the door. He stood by the window, watching the students walking into the lab building one after another, his mind racing.
At ten o'clock sharp, he picked up his phone and dialed Lin Mo's number.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off..."
He hung up and dialed again. Still powered off.
George put down his phone, his fingers lightly tapping on the desk. He opened his computer and entered the internal system of the School of Materials Science, logging in with his visiting scholar account. The system displayed: Lin Mo, Student ID M2025301, Status—On Leave.
Leave Type: Personal Leave. Leave Duration: Starting from three days. Approver: Wang Zhenguo.
Starting from three days.
George stared at the screen, his pupils slightly contracting.
The timing was too coincidental. Just two days ago, he had received instructions to confirm the authenticity of the Room-Temperature Superconductivity material. Just yesterday, he had even tried to approach Lin Mo under the guise of academic exchange, only to be coolly brushed off. Today, Lin Mo had vanished.
Something was wrong.
He closed the system, stood up, and walked out of the office. He went through the corridor, downstairs, and arrived at the Administrative Office on the first floor. The door was open, and a female teacher was organizing documents.
"Hello." George displayed his signature gentle smile. "I'm George, a visiting scholar from the School of Materials Science. I'd like to inquire about a student taking leave."
The teacher looked up. "What's the matter?"
"A student in my lab hasn't come for the past couple of days, and I wanted to confirm if he's on leave. We have a joint project and urgently need some data," George said, pulling an access card from his pocket. "This is his card. I picked it up at the lab entrance this morning. He might have dropped it."
The teacher took the access card and glanced at it. "Lin Mo's?"
"Yes, that's him."
The teacher logged into the system and checked. "He's on leave, three days of personal leave. I'll keep this card and give it to him when he returns."
"Alright, alright, thank you for the trouble," George nodded, then asked as if casually, "Did he apply for leave yesterday?"
"The night before last," the teacher said without looking up. "Professor Wang approved it."
The night before last.
George's heart sank a bit.
Lin Mo was still in the lab the night before last; how could he have applied for leave in advance? Unless the leave time was backdated. And for Wang Zhenguo to personally approve the leave and even backdate it, it could only be an emergency situation.
He walked out of the administrative building and stood on the steps, the sunlight blinding.
No, none of it was right.
He walked quickly back to the laboratory building. Instead of going to his office, he went straight to the third floor. Lin Mo's laboratory was in Room 312, and the door was tightly shut. George looked left and right; the corridor was empty. He raised his hand and lightly knocked on the door.
There was no response.
He knocked again, still nothing.
He pulled out his phone, pretending to make a call, and stood at the door for two minutes. There was no light from the door crack, no sound of equipment running—nothing at all.
George turned and went downstairs, returning to his office. He closed the door, pulled the curtains, and took an old-fashioned mobile phone from a drawer. This phone had no applications installed, only an encrypted communication software.
He opened the software, entered a string of code, and sent a message:
"Target may have been moved. No abnormalities seen yesterday, absent today, on leave for at least three days. Access card left at administration. Suspect changes. Please instruct."
Three minutes later, a reply came:
"Confirm the situation. If necessary, activate the backup plan. Maintain silence."
After George finished reading, he deleted the message and locked the phone back in the drawer.
He brewed another cup of coffee, sat back at the computer, and opened a paper. On the surface, he was just a diligent visiting scholar seriously studying materials. But his hand holding the coffee cup gripped slightly harder.
The backup plan.
He had been in China for fourteen months and had never activated the backup plan. This meant things were slipping out of control, implying that the seemingly ordinary Ph.D. Student might be hiding something they hadn't expected.
He recalled the scene when he first met Lin Mo. It was two months ago at an academic conference where he was giving a report. Lin Mo sat in the last row, not saying a word throughout. After the meeting, he took the initiative to go up and chat, talking about the cutting-edge progress of high-temperature superconductivity. Lin Mo's answers were very professional, but he didn't say much, his eyes clear yet alert.
He hadn't paid much attention at the time. Just an ordinary Ph.D. Student, a bit talented, a bit introverted—very normal.
But looking back now, that gaze was wrong. That wasn't the look of an ordinary student looking at a senior, but a kind of... scrutiny.
George picked up his coffee cup, his gaze falling out the window.
Lin Mo, what secret are you hiding after all?
At three in the afternoon, George walked out of his office again. He came to the entrance of Wang Zhenguo's laboratory and happened to run into Li Xiao coming out with a stack of materials.
"Student Li Xiao," George called out to her.
Li Xiao looked up, and seeing George, a flash of unnaturalness crossed her face. "Teacher George."
"Is Professor Wang in? I have some data I'd like to consult him about in person."
"Professor Wang went to a meeting at the school office this afternoon," Li Xiao said, her pace not stopping as she walked out.
George followed for a couple of steps. "By the way, when is Lin Mo coming back? My collaborative project is waiting for him."
Li Xiao's footsteps paused briefly. "I don't know either. He's on leave."
"Do you know what happened at his home? Does he need any help?" George asked with concern.
"I..." Li Xiao hesitated for a moment. "I'm not too sure either. He left in a hurry and didn't say much."
She lowered her eyes, hugged the materials tightly, and hurried away.
George stood in place, watching her back disappear around the corner of the stairs.
Left in a hurry, didn't say much.
These few words circled in George's mind several times. He turned to walk back, and as he passed Laboratory 312, he took another look at that tightly closed door.
At six in the evening, George left the laboratory building on time. He walked through the campus, crossed the sports field, bypassed the library, and arrived at a cafe outside the school's east gate. This was the emergency contact point he had agreed upon with his handler.
The cafe wasn't large, with a few scattered customers sitting inside. George ordered an Americano and sat in a seat by the window. He took out his tablet computer, pretending to read a paper while actually observing his surroundings.
Five minutes later, a man in a gray jacket walked in and sat down opposite him.
"There's someone," the man said in a low voice, picking up the menu on the table.
George's hand paused slightly. He knew what this "someone" meant—Lin Mo's disappearance had already attracted the attention of the higher-ups. What needed to be confirmed now was whether this was simply a vacation or some kind of "transfer" they didn't want to see.
"Confirmed?" George asked.
"At ten last night, a black business van entered the school, stayed for forty minutes, and then left. At seven this morning, that van appeared on the airport expressway." The man flipped through the menu as if ordering. "There were three people in the van, one of whom matches the target's characteristics."
George's heart sank completely.
"Destination?"
"Southeast. Specifics unknown." The man put down the menu. "The higher-ups' intention is to find a way to confirm if the target has really left the city and where he went. If it's a transfer, find out which unit he went to."
George was silent for a moment. "How to confirm?"
"You're a scholar, so do what a scholar should do." The man stood up and walked toward the counter. "Academic exchanges, project collaborations, joint laboratories—there are plenty of reasons. But remember, do not be exposed."
He ordered a latte and took it to go.
George sat in his place, watching the twilight outside deepen bit by bit.
What a scholar should do.
He gave a bitter smile. For fourteen months, he had indeed almost forgotten who he was. Spending every day in the lab, reading papers, doing experiments, and discussing academic issues with a group of simple scholars. Sometimes he even had the illusion that he really was just a visiting scholar.
But now, this illusion was shattered.
He finished his coffee, settled the bill, and left. When he walked out of the cafe, night had completely fallen. The streets were teeming with traffic, and pedestrians were in a hurry. George stood by the roadside, looking at the myriad lights of the city, and suddenly felt a chill.
In some corner of this city, Lin Mo was being protected by a group of people. And what he had to do was find that corner and confirm whether the secret on that young man was worth them activating the backup plan.
The phone vibrated, and a text message came in:
"Tomorrow morning, the Academic Committee of the School of Materials Science will hold a regular meeting to discuss recent major discoveries. Find a way to attend."
After George finished reading, he deleted the text and put the phone back in his pocket.
He looked up at the night sky. The city lights were too bright to see the stars. But he knew that some things were quietly moving in the darkness.
And this game had only just begun.