Chapter 355: Crossed Missteps

Su Xiulan's testimony is like a crucial puzzle piece; although its edges are blurred, it lets the Project Team glimpse a corner of the snarling outline of the Chick Plan.

A spy network that has been lying low for years, exploiting family ties as leverage, with far‑reaching goals, its patience and ruthlessness send chills down one's spine.

Zhang Jianguo's status—dead or alive—has become the biggest mystery, also the pivotal lever to manipulate Su Xiulan and even the entire network.

The Project Team's investigative focus shifts accordingly. On one hand, they continue to dig deep into the Yongli Machine Factory period files, looking for any threads of Zhang Jianguo's incident (or conspiracy) and any other clues Geng Fugui may have left; on the other hand, they tighten surveillance and protection of Su Xiulan.

At the same time, they use her as bait, setting a net to await the possible reappearance of an Awakener or Silencer.

Li Ping'an's burden grows heavier; he must coordinate the plant's security forces to cooperate with the Project Team's actions, while ensuring the Steel Factory's daily production order remains undisturbed, and also guard against Xu Damao and his ilk leaping about during this sensitive period, causing trouble or even creating a bigger mess.

Xu Damao was certainly not idle. Geng Fugui's death scared him enough to make him wilt at home for two days, but "once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten" is a trait carved into his very bones.

Moreover, he feels that although he didn't catch the thief this time, he "accidentally" uncovered a homicide, which can be called a "meritorious performance," right? If Factory Director Li finds out, will he look at him more favorably?

Once such thoughts take root, they grow like wild grass. Xu Damao again starts pondering how to cash in on this "credit," at least making Factory Director Li aware of his "bravery" and "alertness." Directly flaunting the merit is too blatant; he needs a pretext.

The opportunity arrives quickly. The plant, to "learn from the Geng Fugui incident and strengthen safety management of the old warehouse area," decides to conduct a comprehensive safety and fire inspection of all secondary warehouses and discarded material piles.

The Logistics Department and Security Section take the lead, but the plant office demands that all departments "actively cooperate."

Upon hearing this, Sanjiao Yan's eyes lit up again. This is a perfectly legitimate chance to get involved in logistics management!

He immediately rushed to the Supervision Team office, citing that "the Supervision Team is responsible for overseeing the implementation of all special tasks," and volunteered, requesting to "participate and supervise" this safety inspection.

The Deputy Section Chief of the Logistics Department and a section chief of the Security Section, though feeling uneasy, couldn't firmly block him because he bore the "Supervision" title, so they reluctantly agreed to let him "follow along," while explicitly emphasizing that the professional departments should take the lead.

That's exactly the "follow along" Xu Damao wanted. Whenever the inspection team reaches a spot, he stands with his hands behind his back, walking at the front, pointing here, tapping there; whether he complains about fire equipment being untidy or criticizes the aisles being too narrow, he assumes the demeanor of a commander‑in‑chief.

The people from Logistics and Security follow behind him, exchanging wry smiles, too lazy to argue with him.

When they inspected the hardware warehouse, the storekeeper was a young guy who had only recently taken the post, and he seemed a bit nervous.

Xu Damao grew even more vigorous, pointing at the clauses of the Warehouse Management Regulations posted on the wall, interrogating the young man line by line.

The young man stammered his recitation, and Xu Damao pulled a stern face: "If you're not familiar with the regulations, how can you manage the warehouse? Who's responsible if something goes wrong? Your ideological awareness and professional ability both need improvement!"

The young man was scolded into a flushed, reddened face, lowering his head and daring not to speak.

The Deputy Section Chief of the Logistics Department, unable to tolerate it, tried to smooth things over: "Xiao Zhou just arrived and is still getting familiar; Officer Xu, let's first inspect the actual items and safety hazards."

Xu Damao then huffed, turned to examine the shelves. He actually doesn't understand the specific business, but he wants to put on the full stance.

Arriving at a rack storing various sizes of screws and washers, he casually pulled open a drawer labeled "M12*50 galvanized bolt," finding only about half a box of bolts left inside.

His eyes flicked, recalling the "material supervision" report's mention of the "ledger‑stock consistency" issue, and he immediately challenged the accompanying storekeeper Xiao Zhou: "These bolts—what does the ledger show as the inventory? How many are actually there? Have you conducted a count?"

Xiao Zhou was taken aback; indeed he hadn't had time for a detailed count, and could only answer vaguely: "The ledger... the ledger is from before; recently many have been taken, there may be some discrepancy..."

"Possibly?"

Xu Damao raised his voice: "In warehouse management, can you say 'possibly'? If the ledger and stock don't match, that's a management loophole! At best it's waste, at worst..."

He intended to say "at worst it could be exploited by bad actors," but recalling Geng Fugui's death gave him a shudder, and he swallowed the latter part, though his expression grew even sterner: "It must be rectified within a deadline! The accounts must be clear, the items transparent! The inspection team must record such issues and conduct follow‑up checks!"

By taking this angle, he forced an ordinary safety inspection onto the track of "account management," causing the Logistics Department staff to furrow their brows, yet they couldn't openly object on the spot.

Xu Damao felt smug inside, believing he had once again seized a "management loophole," demonstrating his "supervisory strength."

Just as the inspection team prepared to leave the metal warehouse for the next site, Xu Damao, to showcase his "meticulous" inspection, walked to a corner deep inside the warehouse where broken packaging boxes and discarded wooden racks were piled, and flicked his notebook a few times.

Suddenly, his foot kicked a small, hard iron box half‑buried in waste paper.

"What is this? Messy stacking!"

Xu Damao bent down and picked up the iron box. It was a rusted biscuit tin, lockless. He instinctively lifted the lid—

Inside were no biscuits, only a few fragments: an old copper button from the Republican era, half a pencil tip, several yellowed scraps of paper with blurred numbers, and... a tiny black‑and‑white half‑body photo. The photo showed a young man in old‑style student attire, with a bright smile.

Xu Damao was uninterested in the first few items and was about to close the lid and discard them, when his gaze was suddenly seized by the photo.

This face... seemed familiar? He furrowed his brows, examined it closely, his mind racing. Suddenly, his whole body shivered, his eyes bulging wide!

The young man in the photo resembled, about seventy‑to‑eighty percent, the reconstructed portrait of the missing Yongli Factory worker "Zhang Jianguo" that he had vaguely heard described by the Project Team a few days earlier—especially the eyebrows and smile!

My heavens! Xu Damao's heart hammered, his hands even trembling.

Could it be... this is Zhang Jianguo? This cracked box, this old photo, how did they end up in this discarded corner? Geng Fugui just died, and now a photo of Zhang Jianguo surfaces here?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Xu Damao's mind: a meritorious deed! a monumental achievement! He had uncovered a key clue! Factory Director Li would surely take a new respect in his eyes! No, not just Factory Director Li, but the Project Team, even higher‑ups... he imagined a golden avenue spreading before him!

He slammed the iron box shut, clutching it tightly, suppressing his exhilaration, while forcing a solemn expression of having uncovered a serious issue, and told the inspection team waiting at the doorway: "Hold on! I've found some suspicious items here! They may relate to the plant's safety! I need to report immediately to the Security Department and plant leadership!"

The Logistics and Security personnel exchanged puzzled looks, unsure what Xu Damao was up to this time. Yet seeing his unusually solemn demeanor and the rusted iron box clenched in his hand, they dared not delay.

Xu Damao lifted his head and straightened his chest, as if holding a royal sword, clutching the iron box so tightly that he could no longer continue the inspection, and headed straight toward the Security Department office building.

He sprinted away, calculating in his mind: should he first look for Chen Jianghe? Or go straight to Li Ping'an? No, Li Ping'an is too cool‑headed to be fooled. Perhaps he should first call the Factory Director Li's secretary to report the "major discovery," making the credit more direct...

Immersed in his huge excitement and scheming, he paid no attention, and shortly after he left the metal warehouse, beneath a quiet stretch of wall at the warehouse's side rear, a "cleaner" who had been leaning against the wall as if dozing, dressed in old work clothes and a tattered cap, slowly lifted his head, revealing a pair of cold, sharp eyes that stared at Xu Damao's retreating back, then glanced toward the metal warehouse; a flash of sinister malice and murderous intent flickered in his gaze.

The man stood up silently, brushed dust from himself, and briskly walked in the opposite direction of Xu Damao, disappearing at the end of the plant's tangled alleyways.

Xu Damao, this single‑minded "Kua Dan," through a twist of fate, actually stumbled upon an extremely dangerous hidden thread.

The iron box and photo he picked up were like fresh meat tossed into a crocodile pond, instantly stirring the even fiercer predators beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, Li Ping'an, in the office on a call with the Project Team, analyzing Su Xiulan's testimony for the mysterious person described as having a "southern accent, rough hands," remained completely unaware of this.

At the end of the call, he habitually reminded Sun: "The plant has been conducting safety inspections lately; personnel movement is rather complex. If you need any characteristic profiles of personnel for joint investigation, sync them promptly, and I'll have the team below keep an eye out."

He hung up, rubbed his temples, and gazed out the window. Within the plant, the red banner for the safety inspection fluttered gently in the wind. Everything proceeded orderly, yet the uneasy premonition in his heart grew clearer as the veil of the Chick Plan lifted.

The storm is gathering, and Xu Damao, this inadvertently storm‑eye‑entering "frightened bird," may introduce variables, or merely become a tragic sacrifice?

The iron box he found—was it an unintentionally dropped clue, or another meticulously set trap?

Li Ping'an doesn't know the answer. But he knows that beneath the calm surface, undercurrents have surged to the point where they must break through the water.