Chapter 59 Zhao Gang's Progress

At eleven o'clock at night, the lights were still on in Zhao Gang's dormitory.

He sat at his desk, a thick copy of "fundamentals of electrochemistry" spread out before him, with a notebook and several pens lying beside it. The book was already two-thirds of the way through, and the margins were densely packed with notes—some were explanations of new vocabulary, some were diagrams he had drawn himself, and others were large question marks where he truly couldn't understand.

"This process of lithium-ion intercalation and de-intercalation..." He frowned, staring at a diagram in the book. "Why is it different from what I saw before?"

He flipped to the front, then to the back, comparing them several times, but he still didn't quite understand.

Zhao Gang sighed, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his aching temples.

He was forty-three years old and had been out of school for over twenty years; tackling such a professional book now was indeed difficult. But he had no choice—if he didn't learn, he could only stand by and watch blankly whenever the people in the laboratory had discussions.

It wasn't a good feeling.

When he first took charge of security for Lin Mo and the others, Zhao Gang thought the job was simple: standing guard, patrolling, and escorting were all part of his old trade. But later, he discovered that he didn't understand what those people were actually doing at all.

The terms they used—"energy density," "cycle life," "electrolyte"—sounded like gibberish to him. Sometimes, when Lin Mo and the others were having a heated discussion, he would stand nearby, completely unable to join in. He could only wait for them to finish and then ask, "So... who's going out? I'll follow."

That feeling was like being an outsider.

Later, Lin Mo gave him several introductory textbooks and said, "Old Zhao, don't you want to protect us? You have to first know what it is we are protecting."

At the time, he wasn't convinced, thinking, I'm protecting people; I don't care what you're researching. But after flipping through a few pages, he understood what Lin Mo meant—

To protect something, you first have to know why it's important, whether it's worth protecting, and which parts are vulnerable to problems.

And so, he began to slog through it.

Two months, three books, two hours every day. Sometimes when he was so tired his eyelids were drooping, he would stand up and walk a couple of laps, wash his face, and then keep reading. Li Xiao teased him, saying he was "more serious than for the college entrance exams," but he wasn't annoyed, just chuckling: "If I'd had this much drive back then, I would've gotten into Tsinghua long ago."

Today's "fundamentals of electrochemistry" was the second book; he had already finished the first one, "Introduction to Materials Science." Although he still only half-understood many parts, at least he could catch a few keywords when the people in the laboratory were discussing things.

Zhao Gang stared at the diagram for a few more minutes, but he still couldn't figure it out.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up his phone, took a photo, and sent it to Li Xiao:

"Girl, in this process of lithium-ion intercalation and de-intercalation, why can some materials be reversible while others can't?"

Two minutes later, Li Xiao replied:

"Uncle Zhao, you're still reading?! It's past eleven!"

Followed by a shocked emoji.

Zhao Gang replied:

"Can't sleep, so I'm taking a look. What's actually going on here?"

Li Xiao sent a voice message. Zhao Gang tapped it and heard her chirping explanation: "This is related to the crystal structure of the material! Some materials have large enough interlayer spacing for lithium ions to go in and out; others are too small, so they get stuck inside, or the structure gets damaged. The one in the diagram is a typical layered structure material, like graphite..."

As Zhao Gang listened, he compared it with the diagram in the book, and slowly, he seemed to understand a bit.

He sent a few more questions, and Li Xiao answered them one by one. The two went back and forth like this until nearly midnight.

Finally, Li Xiao said:

"Uncle Zhao, you're working too hard! You have to get up early tomorrow!"

Zhao Gang replied:

"Almost done, almost done. I'll sleep after two more pages."

He put down his phone and stared at the book for another twenty minutes, finally finishing the chapter.

The moment he closed the book, he let out a long breath.

Outside the window, the night at the base was deep. Most of the lights in the laboratory building in the distance had gone out, with only a few windows still lit. He stared at those lights for a while, a hint of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Those with the lights on were probably Chen Xueming or Zhang Zhe—those two were also workaholics.

Before, he thought these people were just nerds who spent all day staring at data and bottles and jars; what was the point? Now he knew that what those people were working so hard for was the real deal.

And what he had to do was protect them so they could work hard with peace of mind.

At ten o'clock the next morning, a routine security meeting was being held in a small conference room of the Science and Technology Security Bureau.

Director Fang sat in the head seat, with several technical backbones in uniform beside her. Zhao Gang sat on the other side, a notebook spread out before him, filled with densely recorded key points.

"The Lithium-Sulfur Battery project is progressing very quickly," Director Fang began. "According to Lin Mo's plan, the cycle life is to hit 1,000 cycles within the next three months. This means our security pressure will only increase."

She scanned the people present:

"Today, we're mainly discussing one question: Next, what are we defending against? And how do we defend?"

Technical backbone Xiao Zhou spoke first: "We've already upgraded the network-level protection, and honeypots have been deployed. For now, the other side's infiltration is still in the testing phase, with no substantial breakthroughs."

Director Fang nodded. "What about the physical level?"

Another backbone, Lao Liu, said: "The patrol density around the perimeter of the base has been increased, and the screening of personnel entering and leaving is stricter. After the chef's case, we re-examined the backgrounds of all logistics personnel and haven't found any new issues for the time being."

Director Fang looked at Zhao Gang. "Old Zhao, what are your thoughts?"

Zhao Gang was stunned for a moment, then opened his notebook and cleared his throat.

"During this time, besides the daily patrols and escorts, I've also done some reading," he said. "I have some ideas; they might not be right, but I'll say them for everyone to discuss."

Director Fang's eyebrows rose slightly, showing an expression of interest.

Zhao Gang continued: "Before, I thought defending against people just meant defending against people—preventing outsiders from sneaking in and preventing insiders from causing trouble. But after reading those books, I've found that there's more to defend against than I imagined."

He pointed toward the laboratory outside the window:

"The things Lin Mo and the others are doing—the core data is stored on the servers, and we've already protected that. But data isn't just on the servers. During experiments, instruments emit electromagnetic signals; during discussions, voices travel; when blueprints are printed, there are paper and ink marks. These are all channels for leakage."

Xiao Zhou's eyes lit up. "Captain Zhao means protecting against electromagnetic leakage?"

Zhao Gang nodded. "Yes. When I was in the special forces, I carried out a mission to intercept electromagnetic signals from a laboratory. When their instruments were working, they would emit electromagnetic waves at specific frequencies. We could receive them from hundreds of meters away and then reconstruct the data they were testing."

He paused.

"Right now, we're defending against people and the network, but we haven't specifically considered the area of electromagnetic leakage. If George's people are truly capable and set up equipment outside the base, they might be able to intercept the data we're currently testing."

The conference room was silent for a few seconds.

Director Fang looked at Xiao Zhou. "Do we have measures against electromagnetic leakage?"

Xiao Zhou thought for a moment. "There is basic shielding; the laboratory walls have metal mesh, which can block some of it. But as for protection specifically against signal interception... we truly haven't done a systematic assessment."

Director Fang looked at Lao Liu again. "What about eavesdropping?"

Lao Liu shook his head. "Routine anti-eavesdropping checks are done, but they haven't been institutionalized. Generally, we only check after something happens; normally, no one is specifically monitoring it."

Director Fang was silent for a few seconds, then looked at Zhao Gang with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"Old Zhao, where did these ideas of yours come from?"

Zhao Gang felt a bit embarrassed. "From reading books. Lin Mo gave me a few introductory textbooks, and as I flipped through them, I thought of these things. They might not be right; I'm just bringing them up for everyone to discuss."

"Yes," Director Fang said. "They are very right."

She stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker.

"What Old Zhao just said are two very important lines of defense: electromagnetic leakage protection and anti-eavesdropping. Previously, we mainly focused on people and the network, and these two areas were indeed blind spots."

She wrote down several keywords on the whiteboard:

1. Electromagnetic Shielding Assessment and Reinforcement

2. Routine Anti-Eavesdropping Checks

3. Signal Monitoring (External Interception Risk)

"Xiao Zhou, you're responsible for the first item. Find a professional agency to assess the laboratory's electromagnetic shielding level, and reinforce any areas that need it as quickly as possible."

Xiao Zhou nodded. "Understood."

"Lao Liu, you're responsible for the second item. Develop a set of routine anti-eavesdropping inspection procedures. Sweep the laboratories, offices, and conference rooms at least once a week."

Lao Liu also nodded. "Yes."

Director Fang finally looked at Zhao Gang:

"Old Zhao, you take the lead on the third item. Using your experience in the special forces, think about where the most likely locations would be if the other side were to set up equipment outside the base to intercept signals, and how to monitor and counter them. List whatever people and equipment you need."

Zhao Gang was stunned. "I'm taking the lead?"

Director Fang smiled. "What, you don't dare?"

Zhao Gang shook his head. "It's not that I don't dare; I'm just afraid of a layman leading experts."

"You're not a layman anymore," Director Fang said. "The fact that you could think of these problems shows that you already understand a part of it. For the parts you don't understand, you can consult Xiao Zhou and the others. But in this direction, you are the most sensitive and the most suitable."

Zhao Gang was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

After the meeting, Zhao Gang walked out of the conference room, still pondering what had just happened.

Director Fang's words, "You're not a layman anymore," made him feel a bit light-headed. But he knew he was still far from being an "expert." He had only slogged through two of those books, and any random technical question in the laboratory could stump him.

But at least he was starting to know which direction to think in.

He walked to the laboratory door and happened to run into Li Xiao coming out.

"Uncle Zhao! Is the meeting over?" Li Xiao asked.

Zhao Gang nodded. "It's over."

"What did Director Fang say?"

Zhao Gang thought for a moment and briefly recounted what had been discussed at the meeting. When he mentioned his proposal for electromagnetic leakage and anti-eavesdropping protection, Li Xiao's eyes grew wider and wider.

"Uncle Zhao! You're amazing!" she exclaimed. "I never even thought about those things!"

Zhao Gang scratched his head in embarrassment. "I was just thinking randomly based on the books."

"What random thinking! This is professional!" Li Xiao pulled him toward the laboratory. "Come on, let's go tell Teacher Lin! Let him know his books weren't given in vain!"

Zhao Gang was dragged along by her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Girl, slow down..."

Inside the laboratory, Chen Xueming and Zhang Zhe were huddled together looking at data, while Lin Mo was staring at a screen nearby.

"Teacher Lin!" Li Xiao shouted as soon as she entered. "Uncle Zhao did something great at the security meeting today!"

Several people looked up at the same time.

Lin Mo looked at Zhao Gang and smiled. "Oh? Tell us about it."

Being stared at by so many people, Zhao Gang felt even more embarrassed. "It's nothing; I just brought up some ideas, and Director Fang adopted them."

"What ideas?" Chen Xueming also became interested.

Zhao Gang had no choice but to repeat what he had said at the meeting. When he mentioned electromagnetic leakage, Chen Xueming's eyes lit up; when he mentioned anti-eavesdropping, Zhang Zhe also looked up.

"Captain Zhao," Chen Xueming said seriously, "these ideas of yours are indeed very important. I've been doing scientific research for so many years and never thought about these things; I always felt that data was safe as long as it was in the computer. Hearing you say this, I realize there are more leakage channels than I imagined."

Zhang Zhe also nodded. "I've heard about electromagnetic leakage before, but I never took it seriously. Now it seems we need to treat it seriously."

Zhao Gang felt a bit uncomfortable being praised by them and waved his hand. "I was just mulling things over; the actual work will still depend on professional people."

Lin Mo walked over and patted him on the shoulder:

"Old Zhao, being able to think of it is already progress. Going from 'not knowing what to defend against' to 'knowing what to defend against' is the hardest step."

He looked at Zhao Gang, his eyes full of smiles:

"The books weren't read in vain, were they?"

Zhao Gang was stunned for a second, then smiled.

"They weren't."

That night, Zhao Gang returned to his dormitory and, for once, didn't continue reading.

He sat by the window, looking at the lights of the laboratory building in the distance, thinking about the day's events.

Director Fang's praise, Lin Mo's affirmation, Chen Xueming's seriousness—these made him feel that the past two months of effort had been worth it.

But more importantly, he was finally no longer the person standing to the side staring blankly.

He understood what they were discussing and knew which direction he should put his efforts in. Although he couldn't fully participate yet, at least he was getting closer.

Zhao Gang stood up, went to his desk, and looked at the copy of "fundamentals of electrochemistry" that he had already flipped through most of.

He opened the last chapter and began reading again.

Outside, the night grew deeper. The lights of the laboratory building in the distance were still on, just like yesterday.

But Zhao Gang knew that tomorrow, he would be a little bit closer to those lights.

Three days later, Zhao Gang placed a "Base External Signal Interception Risk Assessment Report" on Director Fang's desk.

The report included a risk area map he had drawn based on his special forces experience, marking the most likely locations around the base for setting up eavesdropping equipment; his suggested monitoring plan, including fixed monitoring points and mobile patrol routes; and an equipment list detailing the signal monitoring instruments that needed to be purchased.

Director Fang finished flipping through it page by page and looked up at him:

"Old Zhao, who helped you write this report?"

Zhao Gang was taken aback for a moment. "No one helped; I wrote it myself. There were some technical terms I didn't quite understand, so I asked Xiao Zhou a few times."

Director Fang stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled:

"Not bad, Old Zhao. Your progress is rapid."

She put the report down and said seriously:

"This report is very professional. It's much better than I expected. I'll arrange for procurement next week and set up the monitoring system as soon as possible."

Zhao Gang nodded, a sense of accomplishment he couldn't quite describe welling up in his heart.

Director Fang added, "By the way, how are things with Lin Mo?"

Zhao Gang thought for a moment. "Pretty good. Chen Xueming has integrated well, Zhang Zhe is coordinating perfectly, and Li Xiao is becoming more and more capable. Right now they're discussing something called E-Li-2 every day; from what I hear, it sounds like they're about to have another breakthrough."

Director Fang nodded. "That's good. Keep an eye on them, but don't interfere. People in research hate being disturbed the most."

Zhao Gang smiled. "I know. I'll just watch from a distance and appear when there's trouble."

Director Fang smiled as well.

Outside, the sunlight was just right.

Zhao Gang walked out of the office and headed toward the laboratory.

On the way, he met several patrolling team members, all of whom saluted him. He nodded, his steps light.

Arriving at the laboratory door, he stopped and didn't push it open.

Through the glass window, he could see several people huddled in front of a whiteboard discussing something. Chen Xueming was writing and drawing on it with a marker, Li Xiao was quickly taking notes nearby, Zhang Zhe occasionally chipped in, and Lin Mo stood to the side with a smile on his face.

Zhao Gang watched for a few seconds, then turned and continued his patrol.

He knew that he might never be able to enter those people's world.

But he also knew that he could protect them, ensuring that their world remained undisturbed.

That was enough.