Han Zheng's words sank into Sheng Lan's memory like a nail.
But she had no time to dwell on them.
On March 8, C.E. 71, the day after the Black Iron Prototype's extreme testing concluded, an abnormal alert popped up in the 811 Institute's internal security system.
At 1:17 a.m., an unauthorized query appeared in the access logs for the third tier of the materials database.
The query targeted the fourth-iteration document for the Ceramic Steel Alloy's initial formula.
The physical address of the access terminal pointed to Workstation Three in Area B of the Materials Group.
When Sheng Lan received the alert, she was in her office organizing Han Zheng's test report. After reviewing the logs, she did not act immediately. Instead, she removed the alert notification from the system and replaced it with a false processed marker.
The next morning, she knocked on Lin Yuan's door.
"Director, we have a situation."
Lin Yuan was reviewing a preliminary test schedule for the Plasma Reactor without looking up.
"Go on."
"At 1:17 yesterday morning, the materials database was accessed without authorization. It was the fourth Ceramic Steel formula. The terminal was Workstation Three in Area B of the Materials Group, using Zhao Minghui's employee ID."
"Who is Zhao Minghui?"
"A metallurgical engineer Xu Yanqiu brought in. He handles parameter calibration for the Ceramic Steel crystallization temperature-control module. He transferred from the Materials Bureau last year, and his family lives in this city."
Lin Yuan turned a page.
"How did you determine that?"
Sheng Lan placed a printout on the desk.
"I checked all records of his employee ID's activity over the past two weeks. He used Workstation Three seven times during the day, all for normal data retrieval within his scope of work. Only this time, at one in the morning, he looked up not the temperature-control module he was responsible for, but the entire formula framework."
"Did he do it himself?"
"I'm not sure. There are two possibilities. First, he was instructed and copied it voluntarily. Second, someone used his employee ID to log in remotely."
Lin Yuan set down the document and leaned back in his chair.
"You didn't lock down the system."
"No."
"Why not?"
Sheng Lan drew a line along the edge of her memo pad with one finger.
"If it was only Zhao Minghui, locking it down would solve the problem. But if someone stood behind him, a lockdown would only alert the enemy. If they switched to another channel, I wouldn't be able to trace them."
Lin Yuan looked at her.
"What do you intend to do?"
"Set bait."
"What kind of bait?"
Sheng Lan took three folded sheets from her pocket, unfolded them, and spread them across the desk. Each held a summary of a Ceramic Steel formula. They looked alike at first glance, but their key parameters differed.
"Three false formulas. The crystallization temperature, rare-earth ratio, and stress-relief annealing procedure each contain one deliberate error in three core data points. The errors lead in different directions. Outsiders won't spot them, but any laboratory trying to reconstruct the formula will get results that veer down three different paths."
Lin Yuan picked up the first page and examined it for several seconds.
"Who will you feed these three to?"
"The first will be released through the approval chain for Area B of the Materials Group, where Zhao Minghui works. If he really is being used, this copy will go through the channel behind him."
"The second?"
"Through the supplier interface for the 811 Institute's external technology procurement. We have three suppliers for rare-earth alloys. Shenghe Trading and Huantai Heavy Industries have clean backgrounds, but the third, Hualian Metallurgy, has two layers of shell companies in its ownership structure, with the ultimate registration location in Alaska."
Lin Yuan tapped the desk once with his finger.
"The third?"
"Through the National Defense Committee's internal briefing channel. It will be a redacted version, but its parameter errors will be distinctive. If it ultimately turns up in the Atlantic Federation's hands, it means someone within the National Defense Committee is passing along documents."
The office fell silent for ten seconds.
The air vent gave off a steady low hum.
"Sheng Lan."
"I'm here."
"You will handle this matter in full. Do not go through the Intelligence Bureau. Do not notify any third party. Issue the orders under your executive director authority and raise the classification to Class A."
"Understood."
"How long until you have results?"
"One week at the earliest, two at the latest. Passing along the false formulas will take time, and so will their verification. I'm not waiting to see who takes them. I'm waiting to see who pays."
Lin Yuan pushed the three sheets back to her.
"Do it."
Sheng Lan put away the papers and turned toward the door.
"Director."
"What?"
"We leave Zhao Minghui alone for now?"
"Leave him alone. If you touch him, the people above him will pull back."
"What if he keeps passing along data in the meantime?"
"Everything he sees will be replaced with false versions starting today. I'll speak with Xu Yanqiu. The real data will be moved to an independent terminal and physically isolated."
Sheng Lan nodded and opened the door.
The fluorescent lights in the corridor were glaringly white. She took three steps, then abruptly stopped.
She turned and glanced at Lin Yuan.
"Director, what if the person we uncover is seated very high up in the National Defense Committee?"
Lin Yuan had already picked up the Plasma Reactor schedule again.
"The higher they sit, the harder they fall."
Nine days later.
Sheng Lan's encrypted terminal received a report from an inside source at Hualian Metallurgy.
The second false formula had been packaged and sold for 370,000 Federation credits. The buyer operated through a technology consulting company registered in Alaska.
The company's legal representative had an unfamiliar name, but she recognized the bank transfer node in the flow of funds.
A private account belonging to the Grove Family of the Atlantic Federation Arms Group.
Henry Grove.
She spent two days tracing the money backward, through three layers of shell companies and two offshore accounts, until she finally reached a payment instruction sent from within East Asia.
The sender's bank registration used a false identity, but the IP address of the transfer terminal pointed to an apartment in the South District of East Asia's capital.
The apartment's registered resident was Chen Weichang, administrative secretary to Luo Qiming, the National Defense Committee's coordinating director.
Sheng Lan printed the screenshots and sealed them, together with the funds flowchart, inside a manila envelope.
At eleven that night, she knocked on the door to Lin Yuan's office.
Lin Yuan was studying a satellite situation map. Several new red points had appeared on the markings for the L3 Sector.
Sheng Lan placed the envelope on the desk.
"Director, the second false formula went through Hualian Metallurgy to Henry Grove. The purchase money came from Grove's private account, but the intelligence source that triggered the transaction was within East Asia."
Lin Yuan opened the envelope and pulled out the printouts.
Every node on the funds flowchart was marked with a timestamp and amount. Beside the final red circle, Sheng Lan had written a name in black ink.
Chen Weichang.
"Luo Qiming's secretary." Lin Yuan put the printout back on the desk.
"There's more." Sheng Lan took another document from her pocket. "Chen Weichang's communications records for the past six months show eleven contacts with Hualian Metallurgy, all using disposable communication cards. Also, the first false formula was accessed."
"Zhao Minghui's line?"
"Zhao Minghui was indeed being used, but not by an outside force. It was Qian Yongnian, deputy director of the 811 Institute's Logistics Support Office. Qian Yongnian and Chen Weichang are from the same hometown and have close ties."
Lin Yuan laid the two documents side by side on the desk.
The silence lasted five seconds.
"What about the third?"
"It hasn't been touched yet. The National Defense Committee line is quiet for now."
"Give it time." Lin Yuan closed the envelope. "Sheng Lan, from this point on, archive everything in your hands at Class A. Once the third produces results as well, I want to lay everything out on the table at once."
"Director, what setting?"
Lin Yuan rose and walked to the situation map, pointing to a line of small text in the corner of the screen.
It was the National Defense Committee's agenda for the following week.
Item Seven: Budget Review Hearing for the 811 Institute.
"Luo Qiming wants to hold a hearing to audit my accounts." Lin Yuan turned around. "Then let him hold it."
Sheng Lan watched his back and slipped the envelope into her inner pocket.
"Director, if we expose everything directly at the hearing, Luo Qiming will lash out in desperation."
"Even if he tries to jump a wall, there still has to be a wall to jump."
Lin Yuan rested his fingers against the border of the situation map.
"Starting today, freeze his authority to approve and process all United Army technology cooperation projects in his name. The reason is a security review. He can't jump the wall, because I've already taken away his ladder."
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