Chapter 3: Leaked? Just join the project team, right?

Hmph, you tell me not to move, so I won't move? That thought just flashed through the thief's mind when he heard a clear sound from behind.

Instantly, his legs went weak and he couldn't run!

"Don't shoot, don't shoot, I surrender!" The thief raised his hands, one holding a briefcase, the other a spring knife, looking somewhat comical.

"Throw the spring knife and the bag onto the ground!"

"Okay, okay, don't shoot, I'll throw, I'll throw!"

Clang, clatter!

The documents inside the briefcase scattered out, and the thief was dumbfounded.

From the ticket window he'd eyed that bag; Old Zhou had been going to buy a sleeper, but none were left, so he bought a hard seat instead. The bag was bulging and felt like money when he touched it! With his refined look, he must be from a government unit, likely a procurement officer.

He usually rode in sleepers, so he had no idea how brazen thieves could be in hard seats—or maybe he knew and always clung to his bag, but there are moments of lapse.

Now… the bag actually contained only scrap paper?

At that moment, the train attendant, conductor, and police heard the sound, rushed over, and upon seeing the scene instantly distinguished friend from foe, quickly subduing the thief.

"Comrade, thanks for stepping in— which unit are you from?" The conductor asked Qin Miao, who was crouched on the ground picking up documents.

Old Zhou also breathed a sigh of relief: "Comrade, he might be from a classified department— better not ask further…"

I came out with secret documents; it seems the higher-ups value me greatly, having sent someone to follow me covertly— this young man…

Just as Old Zhou was moved, Qin Miao lifted his head and broke into a bright smile: "Me? I'm a freshman at Ha Gong Da, not even enrolled yet."

At that moment, the police escorting the thief toward the car connection stopped, turned back, and said: "That gunshot…"

"This." Qin Miao drew the gun tucked in his waist, holding the barrel and handing the grip to the conductor.

Made of turned metal, its surface even had a blued finish, the grip's side guards finely polished— at a glance it looked like a standard military weapon… but when a faint… match smell reached him, the conductor's tone turned doubtful: "A match gun?"

"That's right." Qin Miao inserted another match, pulled the safety on top of the pistol, aimed at the ceiling, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A puff of smoke rose from the muzzle.

The thief flared up: "You, you damned bastard, actually using a match gun to toy with me…"

Qin Miao blew smoke from the muzzle, smiled, and said: "A match gun is still a gun!"

Everyone around widened their eyes.

Match guns, common toys for kids this era, are usually made from bent wire, and the more elaborate ones use bicycle chains for barrels—but this one… is identical to a real gun!

This was obviously a toy Qin Miao's father made for him in the workshop; Qin Miao didn't go out to play like other kids, his father had him cooped up at home and made this, but… Qin Miao had just tossed it into his desk drawer and hardly used it.

In Qin Miao's world, it seemed there was only study; the other young workers at the factory all called him a bookworm.

Having been reborn, Qin Miao naturally understood his father's painstaking efforts, and since his plan still required it, he brought it along; as for getting on the train… nowadays there's no such thing as security checks!

"Young man, well done!"

"Young man, you've got both brains and bravery!"

Hearing the passengers' praise, Qin Miao scratched his head sheepishly, but then noticed he still held the documents he'd picked up, so he glanced at them.

"Research on the technology of a single fluid alternately advancing in water and air…"

Old Zhou's face changed instantly: "Qin Miao… the classification level of this document…"

"Holy crap, top secret!" Qin Miao saw the two big red characters, hurriedly handed the file to Old Zhou: "Old Zhou, you're not getting me into trouble, are you?"

"I…"

At that moment, the conductor's face also went pale: "All passengers, please return to your seats and don't look! We'll need to register everyone's identity one by one… Old Zhou, you pick them up yourself!"

Old Zhou gathered the scattered documents, put them back into the briefcase, none missing, and finally let out a long sigh.

"Old Zhou, a few sleeper berths on our train are free—I'll take you to the sleeper car," the conductor said.

"Okay… Qin Miao, come along too—I'll get you a sleeper ticket."

"Old Zhou, I feel bad about this…"

"You've seen these documents— even just the beginning— you have to come with me… sigh!"

Gurgle…

Hearing Qin Miao's stomach growl, Old Zhou said: "Let's go to the dining car first and get something to eat."

At this time, the dining car was empty; even the attendant, after heating up the boxed meals for the two, hurried off— top secret, whoever gets involved is doomed! That thief, even if he doesn't eat peanuts, is probably looking at a life sentence!

Qin Miao lowered his head to eat; opposite him, Old Zhou hesitated several times before finally speaking: "Qin Miao, although you've come into contact with documents you shouldn't have, you were only trying to help me. If the thief had taken the files, the trouble would have been enormous… So if higher-ups really blame someone, the responsibility is mine alone—I won't let you be implicated."

Qin Miao certainly knew— he'd heard this case from his advisor when he was in college: a professor from Ha Gong Da, assigned a task in the Capital, had hurriedly tried to bring the documents back to Ha Gong Da for research, but on the train the files were stolen; the professor ended up spending several years in prison, while the thief ate peanuts…

Back then the advisor taught everyone: no matter when, you must pay attention, not violate regulations, or… nobody will take the blame for you!

Back then, Qin Miao listened most attentively, because at that point he had just failed the college entrance exam, the darkest period of his life; so he memorized the train numbers, dates, etc., and decided to try his luck on the train.

Help in the snow is better than icing on the cake!

Of course, he might also miss it; then he'd go straight to Ha Gong Da, earn the teachers' trust before Niu Qiang enrolls, have the teachers as his backing, and still not be able to topple Niu Guishan?

At this, Qin Miao straightened his chest: "Old Zhou, just report the truth— if you get implicated, what becomes of the state's key top‑secret project? If research is delayed, I'd become a criminal! I don't fear sacrificing myself, as long as I can serve the country…"

This kid, his awareness is high enough— a red heart, both hands ready! Old Zhou felt moved, his voice firmer: "No… the responsibility is mine… I'll protect you!"

Qin Miao felt helpless; Old Zhou, the solution is simple! Since I've already come into contact with classified documents, let me become one of the project's R&D personnel, someone qualified to handle them— isn't that obvious from what I just hinted? As long as I can help the country…

I still feel awkward nominating myself!

Seeing Old Zhou just sighing over and over, Qin Miao gritted his teeth and dropped the act!

"Old Zhou, at my father's factory there's a nearby river; in summer lots of people swim there, and there's a guy called Tie Dan who swims incredibly fast— when he dives, more water flows in front of his head, yet he swims even faster, as if he were moving through air…"

At that moment, Old Zhou was still lost in the leak's trouble, staring at Qin Miao with vacant eyes, not knowing why he was saying these things.

"Then I looked up some material—I forget which book it was from— this is a fluid‑mechanics phenomenon discovered in deep‑sea technology research, called cavitation effect, different from the thermodynamic cavitation. Simply put, a blunt‑headed object moving through water creates a larger wetted area and forms an expanding cavity in front of the blunt head; thus it moves as if through air, with low drag and greater stability."

Only then did Old Zhou realize— this kid had just glanced at a problem and already had an idea!

"That's right— a blunt head can indeed keep stable underwater, and its posture stays stable when exiting the water, but a blunt head isn't suited for moving through air; it would create huge drag."

When he got to this point, Teacher Zhou was also a little surprised, wondering how he could say such things to Qin Miao.

"That's right, a blunt head is suitable for water, a pointed head for air, so there are two solutions." Qin Miao said: "One is to replace it—after leaving the water, discard the blunt head and expose the pointed head to fly in the sky; the other is……"

"What is it?"

"After leaving the water, a telescopic rod extends from the front, its tip a small disc; this way, the flight body with a blunt head can produce the effect of a pointed head……"

"This technique—I'm familiar with it; isn't it just the solution for a submarine-launched ballistic missile!"