Chapter 143: The Trap in the Material Room

Special Materials Laboratory, third underground floor, constant temperature and humidity clean room.

Zhao Gong, wearing a full set of protective gear, stood in front of a transparent operation box half a person high, his hands wearing special gloves extended into the operation ports.

His movements were so slow they were almost frozen, every tiny movement seeming to have been precisely calculated.

Inside the operation box, several dark gray metal flakes the size of a palm lay flat on a cushion.

These were test samples of the "Dragon Scale" armor — at least, they looked like it on the surface.

Li Kui stood to the side, holding a tablet to record data in real-time, his eyes fixed on Zhao Gong's operation without blinking.

"Is the particle size of the memory alloy powder adjusted to three hundred nanometers?" Zhao Gong asked without turning his head, his voice sounding muffled through the protective mask.

"Yes, according to your requirements, the maximum particle size does not exceed five hundred nanometers." Li Kui pulled up a set of scanning electron microscope images.

"The dispersion is very good, and after being mixed into the matrix material, neither the naked eye nor conventional testing can detect it."

Zhao Gong nodded and continued his work.

He used an extremely fine pair of tweezers to take a few black fibers that were almost invisible from a container marked "Z-7 Carbon Fiber Composite Material - Sample A".

He laid them gently on the edge coating area of one of the metal flakes.

Then, he picked up a micro powder spraying device — it looked like a miniature version of a dental sandblaster — aimed it at the area where the fibers were laid, and pressed the button.

A "hiss" sound that was almost inaudible.

A thin mist floated inside the operation box, shimmering with a pale golden light under the special lighting.

These were memory alloy powders treated with a special process, each micro-particle wrapped in an ultra-thin water-sensitive polymer shell.

The powder adhered evenly to the surface of the fibers and the seams of the metal flakes, quickly merging with the coating material.

To the naked eye, that area looked no different from the surrounding area.

"What is the humidity sensitivity set to?" Zhao Gong asked.

"Relative humidity of sixty-five percent triggers it, seventy percent starts expansion, and above seventy-five percent it will release tracer gas." Li Kui looked at the data.

"The laboratory's constant humidity environment is sixty percent, just below the trigger threshold. Once the sample is taken out of the laboratory and comes into contact with normal atmosphere..."

"It will start to 'breathe'." Zhao Gong took over, a hint of coldness in his tone. "Exhaling a 'scent' that only we can detect."

He finished processing the last sample, slowly withdrew his hands, and closed the operation box.

"What about the pressure valve mark?" Zhao Gong took off his outer gloves and walked toward the reaction kettle control area on the other side of the laboratory.

Li Kui followed and pointed to an inconspicuous pressure gauge: "It's here."

"On the sixth thread of the valve adjustment bolt, we used a focused ion beam to engrave a micron-level 'Dragon' character pattern."

"Normal maintenance operations won't touch that area, but if someone tries to disassemble the valve or adjust the limit parameters..."

"The pattern will be destroyed or shifted." Zhao Gong leaned in to look — of course, the naked eye couldn't see anything. "Very good. What about 'Torch Dragon'?"

"Director Chen has already connected all surveillance data of this area to the 'Behavioral Prophecy' system." Li Kui pulled up the surveillance footage.

"Over the past forty-eight hours, researcher Zhang Mingyuan 'happened' to pass by this reaction kettle seven times, and in three of those times, he stayed for over five minutes."

"And his daily work doesn't require him to come to this area at all."

Zhao Gong snorted coldly: "Guilty conscience, and greedy to boot."

He checked the time: "Did Zhang Mingyuan apply for Z-7 fiber again this afternoon?"

"Yes, the electronic application was approved this morning — using a forgery of your signature." Li Kui paused.

"Director Chen told us to follow the normal process to release the material, but mark the batch number as 'Special Attention'."

"Then proceed as planned." Zhao Gong walked to the sample storage cabinet in the laboratory and opened one of the compartments.

He took out three metal flakes that had just been processed and put them into a standard sample storage box.

The label on the lid read: 【Dragon Scale - Iteration 3 / Edge Coating Optimization Test / Sample Number: LH-2025-09-003/A-C】.

"These 'samples' will be sent to Zhang Mingyuan's laboratory bench this afternoon." Zhao Gong handed the box to Li Kui.

"Remember, you must 'inadvertently' remind him that these samples are 'important experimental materials specially approved by Zhao Gong', and 'remember to return them in time after testing'."

Li Kui took the box and couldn't help but ask: "Old Zhao, do you think... he will really take the bait?"

"He has already taken the bait." Zhao Gong turned to start cleaning the operation tools.

"Stealing materials for three months without being discovered has made him bold."

"Now that he sees 'important samples' right at hand, with the halo of 'special approval'... greed will overwhelm caution."

He stopped his work and looked at the corridor outside through the observation window of the clean room.

"Fishing, you have to make the fish feel the bait is safe."

2:30 PM, Material R&D Area.

Zhang Mingyuan sat at his laboratory bench, eyes fixed on the data on the screen, but his fingers were tapping unconsciously on the table.

His workstation was in the back of the laboratory, relatively private, but at this moment he felt eyes everywhere.

Over the past three days, the atmosphere of the research institute had clearly changed.

Access control was stricter, network monitoring prompts popped up frequently, and even when going to the cafeteria to eat, he could hear colleagues whispering about "Fortress State" and "strengthened security".

What was even worse was that when he tried to apply for Z-7 fiber again yesterday, the system prompted that "secondary verification" was required — this had never happened before.

Although he used some small tricks to bypass it, the feeling of being watched wouldn't go away.

"Mingyuan."

A voice suddenly sounded behind him, and Zhang Mingyuan was so startled his hand shook, almost throwing the mouse away.

Turning around, it was colleague Liu Gong from the material group, holding a sample box.

"Did I scare you?" Liu Gong laughed. "Sorry, you were too focused. Here, these are the samples you wanted, the batch specially approved by Zhao Gong."

Zhang Mingyuan's heart beat wildly, and he pretended to be calm as he took the box: "Th-thank you, Liu Gong."

"Zhao Gong specifically instructed that these samples are very important, remember to return them in time after testing." Liu Gong lowered his voice.

"I heard it has to do with the stealth performance of the next-generation armor, handle it carefully."

"Understood, understood." Zhang Mingyuan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

Liu Gong patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave.

Zhang Mingyuan waited until the other person was far away before taking a deep breath and opening the sample box.

Three dark gray metal flakes lay quietly on the cushion, their surfaces smooth, the coating area on the edges having a special matte texture.

The information on the label looked very formal, with serial numbers, dates, and test items all present.

He picked one up and looked at it carefully against the light.

A very standard test sample, with thickness, size, and surface treatment all meeting specifications.

He touched the coating area with his finger — there was no abnormality in the touch either.

But for some reason, he felt a chill in his heart.

Perhaps he was just too nervous?

Zhang Mingyuan shook his head and put the samples back in the box.

He looked around; other colleagues in the laboratory were busy with their own work, and no one was paying attention to this side.

Should he do it now?

Or wait a bit longer?

While he was hesitating, the encrypted mobile phone in his pocket vibrated.

It was a modified old-fashioned feature phone that could only receive text messages and make calls, but the encryption level was extremely high.

Zhang Mingyuan took advantage of the posture of organizing his drawer to lower his head and quickly scan the screen.

【Progress?】

Only two words, but they whipped across his back like a lash.

He gritted his teeth and replied: 【Key samples obtained, can be delivered tonight.】

After sending, he deleted the record and stuffed the phone back into the deepest part of his pocket.

Then tonight it is.

At the same time, Dragon Chant Command Center, second underground floor.

Chen Guang stood in front of the "Torch Dragon" main control console, with over a dozen monitoring windows floating in front of him.

One of the windows showed the real-time footage of Zhang Mingyuan's laboratory.

Although there was no audio due to privacy protection, through behavioral analysis algorithms, "Torch Dragon" had already marked seventeen suspicious body language features.

【Target heart rate fluctuation abnormal (+38%), breathing frequency accelerated, frequency of meaningless small movements of the left hand increased...】

【Comprehensive behavioral deviation score: 87% — High Risk】

Wang Hao leaned over, stroking his chin: "This guy's psychological quality is not good, nervous like this just for stealing something."

"Everyone is like this the first time they steal." Li Yang also stood to the side.

"But having said that, Guangzi, is your behavioral analysis too accurate? Can you even measure heart rate?"

"Calculated by capturing the color changes of facial micro-vessels through high-definition cameras, combined with machine learning models." Chen Guang explained calmly.

"The accuracy is about seventy-five percent, enough for reference."

He switched to a data stream interface, which showed the signal trajectory of Zhang Mingyuan's encrypted phone.

Although the content could not be cracked, "Torch Dragon" locked all sending and receiving records of this device through full-band scanning.

【Device sent an encrypted text message at 14:41, length about 15 characters, recipient is an anonymous relay server that went through three jumps.】

【The server is located in international waters, has no sovereign ownership, and cannot be further tracked.】

"Contacted the superior." Chen Guang said. "According to the plan, we should now 'point out a clear path' for him."

He tapped lightly and pulled up the operation interface of the "Digital Maze" module.

On a virtual node marked "Zhang Mingyuan - Work Terminal", he planted a carefully constructed data packet.

"This is a forged 'Internal Security Notice'." Chen Guang explained.

"The content is roughly: Due to security incidents in the surrounding area, all personnel and vehicles leaving the institute after 8:00 PM tonight will be subject to additional inspections."

"Colleagues with valuables or sensitive data that need to be carried out are advised to leave the institute before 7:30 PM if possible."

Wang Hao's eyes lit up: "This move is high! It reminds him 'inspection will be strict tonight', and hints 'leaving before 7:30 might be looser'."

"And it created a sense of urgency for him." Li Yang added. "Must send the stuff out before 7:30, otherwise he might be checked."

Chen Guang nodded and clicked send.

Almost simultaneously, in the surveillance footage, a prompt box popped up in the lower right corner of Zhang Mingyuan's work computer.

He glanced at it, his face clearly changed, and then he quickly closed the prompt and started organizing his laboratory bench.

"The fish has taken the bait." Chen Guang said softly.

6:40 PM.

Zhang Mingyuan ended his "experiment" early, put the three metal flake samples into an ordinary file bag, and stuffed in a few irrelevant experimental reports as cover.

He checked his workstation once to confirm no traces were left, then picked up his backpack and walked toward the laboratory door.

When swiping his card at the access control, he felt his hands trembling slightly.

"Beep — Verification passed."

The mechanical female voice was as steady as ever, but Zhang Mingyuan felt the sound was particularly harsh.

He walked quickly out of the laboratory building, the cool evening wind blowing on his face, making him a little clearer.

Can't go through the main gate.

Although that "internal notice" said inspections might be looser before 7:30, he didn't dare to take the risk.

He detoured to the material channel on the side of the research institute — it usually transported experimental consumables and equipment, there were few people after work, and surveillance was relatively sparse.

More importantly, he knew there was a small door there, because a temporary opening was made during construction, and although there was a "No Entry" sign, no one was actually guarding it.

He discovered this by accident three months ago.

At the time, he thought this might be a "backup channel".

Didn't expect it to really be used.

Zhang Mingyuan stuck to the wall, moving under the cover of the deepening twilight.

He avoided the main road, choosing to walk through green belts and building shadows.

The file bag in his backpack felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and he could hear his heart beating wildly with every step.

When he got close to the material channel, he stopped and crouched behind a bush to observe.

The channel entrance was lit, but there was indeed no one there.

The construction baffle was half-open, and it was pitch black inside.

He waited for five minutes, confirming that there were no patrolling guard team members around, and no other colleagues passing by, before he suddenly stood up and ran toward the gap.

The moment he drilled into the baffle, he let out a long breath.

He was out.

He didn't dare to stay, walking quickly along the sidewalk outside the wall, while taking out that encrypted mobile phone and dialing a number.

"I'm out." He lowered his voice. "Old place, see you in thirty minutes."

Hanging up the phone, he hailed a taxi that happened to be passing by.

"Master, go to the North Suburb Logistics Park, East Gate."

The taxi drove into the night.

And in a place Zhang Mingyuan couldn't see, several "mechanical beetles" crawled out from the cracks in the wall, silently adhering to the taxi's chassis.

Their abdomens were equipped with micro-chemical sniffers, currently sampling and analyzing trace components in the air at a frequency of ten times per second.

In a monitoring vehicle disguised as an engineering truck on the side of the road three hundred meters away, Chen Guang stared at the data stream on the screen.

"Memory alloy powder has started releasing tracer gas." He reported calmly. "The concentration is very low, but enough to track."

The screen switched to a high-altitude perspective — it was real-time footage transmitted by two "Hunting Bee" mechanical dragonflies.

They were circling at an altitude of one hundred meters, their optical lenses firmly locked on the taxi.

"Target vehicle is traveling north along Zhongshan Road at a speed of fifty kilometers per hour." Chen Guang continued.

"'Torch Dragon' has taken over seventeen traffic cameras along the way, continuously tracking."

Feng Yan sat in the back row of the monitoring vehicle, holding a file that had just been printed.

It was Zhang Mingyuan's complete background investigation — ordinary family, excellent academic performance, good performance after joining the job, no criminal record.

Until three months ago, his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and needed a sky-high-priced targeted drug that had not yet been approved in the country.

"Found it." Zhao Kaiyuan looked up from another terminal.

"Zhang Mingyuan's mother's treatment records."

"Over the past three months, her account received three overseas remittances totaling 2.4 million, originating from a medical foundation in the Cayman Islands."

"What's behind the foundation?" Feng Yan asked.

"Multi-layer holding, ultimately pointing to an offshore company registered in the Virgin Islands." Zhao Kaiyuan shook his head.

"Digging deeper, 'Torch Dragon' can't dig anymore. The opponent's anti-tracking methods are very professional."

Wang Hao chewed gum and said vaguely: "That's a professional gang then. First targeted our research institute, then found someone with weaknesses. Tsk, the routine is quite deep."

"But no matter how deep the routine is, someone has to execute it." Li Yang stared at the tracking screen. "Zhang Mingyuan is the one executing it, and also the only breakthrough point right now."

The taxi stopped at the East Gate of the North Suburb Logistics Park. Zhang Mingyuan got out, looked left and right, and walked quickly into the park.

This was an old logistics distribution center, most warehouses were closed at night, only a few street lights were on, and the light and shadow were sparse.

He walked to Warehouse No. 7 and knocked three long and two short on the door as agreed.

The door opened a crack, and a hand reached out. Zhang Mingyuan hurriedly handed over the file bag, the other party took it and quickly retracted, and the door closed immediately.

The whole process took no more than five seconds.

Zhang Mingyuan stood in place for a few seconds, seemingly surprised that it ended so simply.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the door was already tightly closed.

He shook his head and turned to leave.

Just then, blinding lights suddenly lit up around the warehouse.

Four "Iron Wolf" exoskeletons walked out of the shadows, surrounding Zhang Mingyuan in a fan shape.

Their mechanical feet stepped on the cement floor with a dull "thump-thump" sound, and the searchlights on their shoulders made Zhang Mingyuan unable to open his eyes.

At the same time, a slight "click" sound came from the top of the warehouse — it was the sound of a "Hunting Bee" mechanical dragonfly landing.

The warehouse door was suddenly pulled open from the inside, and two guard team members in plain clothes but with extremely professional movements...

... escorted a middle-aged man in handcuffs out. The man was still clutching the file bag.

"Y-you..." Zhang Mingyuan's legs went soft, and he sat on the ground.

Feng Yan walked over from the monitoring vehicle and stopped in front of Zhang Mingyuan.

He glanced at the man being escorted — Asian face, about forty years old, expressionless.

"Researcher Zhang Mingyuan." Feng Yan spoke, his voice terrifyingly calm.

"Now you have two choices."

"First, be handed over to judicial authorities for espionage and stealing state secrets; your mother's medical expenses will be frozen, and she will hear the news of her son being sentenced to life imprisonment from her hospital bed."

Zhang Mingyuan's face was pale, and he was shaking all over.

"Second." Feng Yan squatted down and looked him in the eye. "Cooperate with us, and confess everything you know about your superior's information, contact methods, handover methods, everything."

"Your mother's medicine, the research institute will find a way to obtain it through legal channels, and we will cover the costs."

He looked at Zhang Mingyuan's almost collapsing eyes and added: "Choose the second option, and you'll serve at most a few years in prison. Choose the first, and your life is over."

Zhang Mingyuan's lips trembled, and tears finally fell.

"I... I choose two..."

Feng Yan stood up and nodded to the guard team members: "Take him back, interrogate them separately."

He walked to the middle-aged man being escorted, who was also looking at him coldly.

"What should I call you?" Feng Yan asked.

The man was silent.

"Doesn't matter." Feng Yan took the file bag from his hand, opened it, and took out the three metal flakes.

"You got the stuff, but unfortunately, it's fake."

The man's pupils shrank.

"Not only fake, but it also has 'ingredients'." Feng Yan handed the samples to Zhao Gong nearby. "Old Zhao, check it."

Zhao Gong took it, pulled a small detector from his pocket, and scanned the surface of the samples a few times.

The instrument made a slight "beep" sound, and the screen lit up with green light.

"Memory alloy powder has expanded, and about thirty percent of the tracer gas has been released." Zhao Gong looked up.

"He has had this stuff on him for over forty minutes, enough for our 'beetles' to track."

Feng Yan looked at the man: "Your clothes, skin, hair, now all have chemical markers that only we can detect."

"For the next seventy-two hours, wherever you go, whoever you contact, we will know."

The man's face finally changed.

"Take him away." Feng Yan waved his hand.

"Chen Guang, use 'Torch Dragon' to analyze all his biological characteristics, database comparison, I want to know who he is, where he came from, and who he works for."

"Already doing it." Chen Guang's voice came from the communicator.

"Facial recognition has no matching results, fingerprint and iris data are running through international databases... it will take time."

The night grew deeper, and the lights of the logistics park stretched everyone's shadows long.

Feng Yan watched the two people being escorted into the car, then looked at the file bag in his hand.

This was just a beginning.

He remembered what Zhao Gong said during the day — "Defended this time, next time they might use more radical means."

"Brother Feng." Li Yang walked over and said in a low voice, "News from the research institute, Old Zhao checked the pressure valve of the reaction kettle."

"That micro-engraved 'Dragon' pattern... is intact."

Feng Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

At least, the core process data was not stolen.

But the opponent's tentacles had already reached in, the first time was buying off an inside mole to steal materials, what about next time?

"Withdraw." Feng Yan said. "Go back and hold a summary meeting. There is still a lot to sort out about tonight."

The motorcade drove away from the logistics park and disappeared into the night.

And ten minutes after they left, on the roof of a three-story building diagonally opposite Warehouse No. 7.

Inside a device disguised as a solar water heater, a micro-camera slowly retracted.

The storage device connected to the camera had completely recorded everything that had just happened. ===== CHAPTER 144 =====