A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 743 Rules of the Martial World.

"Ding-a-ling-ding-a-ling--"

The shrill ring of the telephone shattered the silence once more, startling Chief Engineer Li, who had been sitting there in a daze for who knows how long.

He shuddered, his glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his empty eyes scanned his surroundings. There was no one there, only the cold tables and chairs and the leftover food reminding him of the "feast" that had just taken place.

He stood up almost instinctively, walked unsteadily to the corner, and answered the phone.

"Hello? Is this Commander Wang? It's almost four o'clock. I'm afraid the person you mentioned isn't coming. Can I leave now?"

"The commander is not here, this is Li..." Chief Engineer Li stopped mid-sentence, alert.

"Mr. Li... Mr. Li?" Xiao Chen on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback, then his voice became even more urgent, as if he had grasped a lifeline. "Mr. Li! You... you have to help me! I... I can't hold on much longer! It's past midnight and there's not a soul in sight! The Russians... they'll be changing shifts at dawn! What about the equipment... what about the equipment? Commander Wang and the others... what exactly are the arrangements? I don't know the Russians who are changing shifts..."

"Which Xiao Chen?"

"Oh my chief engineer! Can't you recognize my voice? It's Chen Jinbao from the project procurement department! I'm the one who 'carried' this 'iron lump' back! You praised me for having 'connections' back then!"

Chief Engineer Li's heart sank suddenly, a chill running down his spine! He was completely sober.

Xiao Chen…this is someone from his technical department! It was this Xiao Chen who, at the project meeting, confidently declared that he had “connections” and could procure this electro-hydraulic servo bending machine from “the north,” solving the bottleneck in the manufacturing of the Dongfeng-113 wing! Chief Engineer Li, momentarily blinded by greed,…

"Xiao Chen? Was it you who called Commander Wang just now?" Chief Engineer Li's voice was dry and hoarse, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

"Yes, yes! What's wrong, Mr. Li? What went wrong?"

Chief Engineer Li took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and quickly looked around: "Xiao Chen! Don't panic! Tell me, what exactly were Commander Wang's instructions to you? His exact words! Don't miss a single one!"

"instruction?"

Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment, then repeated in a tearful voice, "It wasn't Commander Wang who said it. It was Director Zhao who said... that the inspection team might go to the warehouse tonight to check that machine!"

Let me... let me contact the Russians... while the inspection team was 'inspecting' that machine, I... 'accidentally' fired a shell towards the warehouse! It blew up the machine!

So...so the machine's gone, the inspection team has nothing to investigate, and they can pin the blame on the Russians! They said it was an accident during a drill...and they said...and they said it was for the greater good, and told me not to worry..."

"Explode during the 'review'? Won't that blow up the reviewers too?" Chief Engineer Li's voice suddenly rose, echoing in the empty restaurant, startling him so much that he quickly covered his mouth.

"Huh? You...you blew up the inspectors too?!" Xiao Chen's voice on the other end of the phone instantly changed tone.

"No, no. I'm going to stop the inspection team a kilometer away and not let them into the warehouse! Just... as soon as I see them coming from a distance, I'll give the signal... and then... and then the shells..."

"Time is almost up, and if we don't send the signal soon, it will be too late! Chief Engineer Li, please help me decide, should we detonate or not..."

"Fry your damn twisted dough sticks!"

"It's over! We've all been used as pawns!" Chief Engineer Li felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his whole body turning ice-cold!

He instantly understood everything! Director Zhao and his team never intended for the inspectors to leave alive!

Xiao Chen "blocking" the inspectors at the intersection? What a joke! That was clearly a signal to "confirm the target"! Don't forget, Director Zhao said he even sent people there!

Once the inspector appears, the cannonball will fall precisely! At that point, the inspector will be "unfortunately killed," the machine will be "destroyed," and there will be no way to verify anything!

And Xiao Chen, the "contact person," is the perfect scapegoat! As for Chief Engineer Li, as the technical lead and the initial "introducer," he is absolutely not immune to blame!

"Xiao Chen! Now that things have come to this, tell me the truth! Is that super-large electro-hydraulic servo bending machine really your connection, or someone else's?"

"Uh……"

Hearing Xiao Chen stammering on the other end of the phone, Chief Engineer Li flew into a rage: "What time is it! You're still holding back your piss! Tell me the truth! Did you trick me or not!"

"Crack..." A gust of cold wind blew by, and the restaurant window was suddenly blown open.

Chief Engineer Li, still angry, only glanced at it and didn't pay much attention. He didn't see a black, trumpet-like object quietly protruding inside.

"Uh, that connection actually belongs to Director Zhao. I...I...I was just a messenger..."

Chief Engineer Li sighed dejectedly: "Xiao Chen! Listen to me!"

"We've all been tricked!"

"Just now in the restaurant, Director Zhao and the others said it themselves! It wasn't just about blowing up the machine! They planned... planned to blow up the inspectors and the machine together... and then frame the Russians! We... we're all pawns! Scapegoats!"

"What?!" A heart-wrenching scream came from the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground and suppressed, desperate sobs.

"No...no way! Mr. Li! Don't scare me! I...I didn't mean to hurt anyone! I just...I just wanted to get a good machine back...Waaah...Mr. Li! Save me! I don't want to die! I don't want to be a scapegoat!"

"I don't want to either..."

Xiao Chen's cries pierced Chief Engineer Li's heart like knives. He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing: "Xiao Chen! Stop crying! Crying won't help now! I'm asking you! Director Zhao said he arranged for Old Liu from the security department to take 'Little Yellow Fish' to the warehouse to wait for you! Have you seen Old Liu?"

"Old Liu? Old Liu from the security department? Which security department?" Xiao Chen's voice was thick with nasal congestion and confusion. "No...nobody's here! I'm the only one in the warehouse! From...from last night until now, not a soul has come by! There's no Old Liu here!"

"Nobody here?!" Chief Engineer Li's heart sank to the bottom of an ice cave!

But when Chief Engineer Li thought of the ruthlessness of those people, he realized something.

What Old Liu! What gold bars! It's all a smokescreen! Director Zhao didn't send anyone at all! Or rather, the people he sent weren't there to "bribe" him! They were there to... to confirm Xiao Chen's location, or... to carry out an even more terrifying mission!

"Xiao Chen!" Chief Engineer Li slumped to the ground in despair.

"Listen up! Now! Immediately! Get out of the warehouse! Run! Run as far as you can! Don't go back to the dorm! Don't go home! Find a place to hide! Don't show your face before dawn! Run!!!"

“Run…run?” Xiao Chen’s voice was filled with helplessness and fear. “Where…where can I run to? I…”

"Don't ask! Run!" Chief Engineer Li practically roared. "It'll be too late if we're any later! Run!!!"

On the other end of the phone came Xiao Chen's frantic footsteps, the sound of things being knocked over, and his incoherent cries: "Run... I'm running! Mr. Li... you... you take care too!"

The call wasn't disconnected; the receiver carried the sound of Xiao Chen's frantic footsteps and fading cries.

Chief Engineer Li sat stiffly on the restaurant floor, holding the cold receiver.

Outside the window, the sky remained pitch black, but a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of gray-white appeared in the east. That faint light brought no hope, but instead instilled in him a bone-chilling cold and despair.

"You got away. I... I have nowhere to run! If the border hadn't been closed, I could have taken a gamble..."

Chief Engineer Li slowly put down the receiver, looked around the empty restaurant, and felt that this brightly lit room now resembled a huge, cold tomb.

He staggered back a step, leaned against the cold wall, and slowly slid to the ground. His glasses were askew on his nose, but he didn't have the strength to straighten them.

“It’s over…it’s all over…” Chief Engineer Li muttered to himself, his voice hollow and desperate.

He knew that Xiao Chen was unlikely to escape.

And where can he hide? Will Director Zhao and the others let him go?

The restaurant door was suddenly opened, and a series of light footsteps reached Chief Engineer Li's ears.

Chief Engineer Li lowered his head, his voice hoarse yet carrying a resigned calm: "Alright, stop hiding. Get the job done quickly. It's the rule of the trade, family members shouldn't be implicated. I'm leaving. Don't touch your family."

Bang...

A metallic scraping sound rang out, and then Chief Engineer Li felt something cold touch his thigh.

It’s so cool…

Ha, you expect me to do it myself? You guys are really meticulous.

Chief Engineer Li mechanically reached out and touched the cold object.

Ok?