Chapter 55: Spy Zhou Siyi

Inside a luxurious apartment.

Zhou Siyi switched off the desk lamp; the room instantly fell into darkness, only the computer screen's light illuminating her delicate face.

On the screen was a game disguised as Russian Blocks, but under specific operations it would turn into an encrypted chat window.

At that moment, a line of English message popped up.

【Phoenix Project activated, target 'Heaven-Earth No. 1' all technical data, highest priority.】

Zhou Siyi's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment, her fingertips icy cold.

She, Zhou Siyi, twenty-five, a top graduate of Yanhuang Guo University of Technology, a researcher at the state-key semiconductor laboratory.

In the eyes of her colleagues and superiors, she was young and promising, with limitless prospects, a rising star in the outer team of the Heaven-Earth No. 1 Project.

But no one knew her other codename was 'Phoenix'.

A spy who had been turned by the Yingjiang Guo Intelligence Department three years earlier and had been hiding within the scientific research system.

At first, they only asked her to provide some trivial scientific updates and personnel changes.

The price they paid was a steadily increasing deposit in her Swiss bank account, and a promised future plane ticket to the 'Luosijibunima' beach villa.

Exchanging a few bits of inconsequential information for a lifetime's worth of wealth and freedom, this deal seemed extremely profitable to her.

But now, the other side has shown its true colors.

Heaven-Earth No. 1 is the project's core, a forbidden zone within a forbidden zone.

After thinking for a while, she replied:

"The target is extremely difficult; the project's core area uses physical isolation, all data can only flow within the internal network, no external device can access it. My clearance only allows me to touch some peripheral test data."

The other side quickly replied:

"This isn't what we care about; we need results. Think of the sun and sand of Malibu, Phoenix, complete this mission and you can forever leave that place and enjoy the life you deserve."

Looking at the words on the screen, a flicker of greed and struggle crossed Zhou Siyi's eyes.

In the end, greed overcame reason.

She gritted her teeth and typed a few words: 【I'll do my best.】

Over the next few days, Zhou Siyi became more proactive than before.

She voluntarily worked overtime, helped seniors organize reports, enthusiastically discussed technical issues with engineers who held core secrets, trying to piece together useful information from their conversations.

But she soon hopelessly discovered that this leads nowhere.

Every member of the project team worked with rigor bordering on rigidity; once the core topic came up, they would immediately fall silent or deflect with internal code she couldn't understand.

The entire core team was like an airtight iron bucket.

As the launch deadline loomed ever tighter, Zhou Siyi decided to take a risky approach.

She knew well that the server storing the core data was located in the machine room on the third underground level.

There were twenty-four-hour armed guards, as well as multiple biometric identifications such as iris, fingerprint, and voiceprint.

By herself, it was absolutely impossible to enter.

After much thought she had come up with a brilliant plan, just as she was about to act, a trio unexpectedly found her.

One of the leading men flashed a credential, his expression blank as he spoke:

"Zhou Siyi, we are the Information Security Confidential Section Team; based on your recent abnormal behavior, we now formally notify you to cooperate with our investigation."

Zhou Siyi panicked inside, but remained calm on the surface: "I'm willing to cooperate!"

……

A room with no windows, walls a soft off-white, lighting not harsh.

But Zhou Siyi felt a chill run through her body.

At that moment, two people sat opposite her: one taking notes, the other a man in his thirties with a calm gaze, yet that calmness gave her an unprecedented sense of pressure.

Next came the questioning session.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I just… I just saw Li Gong rushing off, wanted to help him turn off the computer to save electricity!"

Zhou Siyi tried to use agitated emotions to mask her inner fear.

The interrogator, Wang Hua, offered no rebuttal, merely pushing a tablet computer toward her.

On the screen was a screenshot of a bank transaction record.

"Zhou Siyi, your account at the Swiss United Bank has, since three years ago, received a transfer of five thousand US dollars every quarter.

The sender is a shell company registered in the Cayman Islands, behind which lies the Yingjiang Guo intelligence organization."

Zhou Siyi's face turned deathly pale with a 'whoosh'.

"I… I don't know, that was given to me by an overseas relative…"

Her voice began to tremble; the lie looked feeble and powerless before the solid evidence.

"Is that so? Your father is a miner, your mother an elementary school teacher, three generations of poor peasants. We've combed through your family tree and found no relative capable of sending you that much money from overseas."

Wang Hua's tone remained calm, yet each word struck to the heart.

"In the eighteen reports you helped Li Gong organize while working overtime, three of them had their margins altered by you using microdot technology to hide encrypted information."

Also, your recent abnormal behavior deviates greatly from before; you thought you were flawless, but we have been observing you for a long time, Phoenix."

The two words 'phoenix' struck like a thunderbolt, completely shattering Zhou Siyi's psychological defenses.

Her strength seemed to be drained in an instant, and she slumped limp in the chair.

"No… it's not…"

Zhou Siyi was still making a final struggle, but tears spilled uncontrollably.

Wang Hua sighed, his tone tinged with a hint of regret.

"Is it worth it? For those illusory promises, for a so-called upper-class society you could never fit into, to betray your country, to betray the teachers and colleagues who had high hopes for you."

He paused, his voice turning somewhat cold.

"They promised you a villa at Buni Ma Beach, right? Do you know how much the property prices there are? Starting at fifteen million US dollars.

Relying on the little money they give you each quarter, you'd have to be a spy for lifetimes; they never intended to keep their promises from the start. To them, you're just a disposable tool."

These words became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Zhou Si Ya's imagined luxurious future instantly shattered into shards of glass everywhere.

Overwhelming shame and regret engulfed her.

With a "wah," she burst into tears, sobbing heart-wrenchingly.

"I'm saying... I'm saying everything..."

In the midst of utter emotional collapse, she confessed everything.

Since three years ago, how a paper she published in an overseas journal had drawn the attention of the Eagle Intelligence Department, and how she had been lured by money and sweet talk,

Step by step she sank into the mire, until today she received the order to steal the core technology of "Heaven and Earth No. 1".

Outside the interrogation room, the engineer surnamed Li watched Zhou Si Ya, tears streaming down her face, through the one-way glass, his face grim.

"What a hummingbird plan!"

He turned his head to look at the person in charge of the Security Department beside him,

"Thank goodness you were vigilant; otherwise, letting this nail slip through would have unimaginable consequences!"

The person in charge looked grave: "The Eagle's desire to destroy us never dies; this time it's Zhou Si Ya, and we can't guarantee there won't be a next one—this is a war fought without visible smoke."