The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 336 - 307: Stealing Data, Safe, Invisible Paint (4/6)_1

Chapter 336: Chapter 307: Stealing Data, Safe, Invisible Paint (4/6)_1

Director Hua and Chief Engineer Sun were severely shocked when they heard this!

"Why would you say that?" Director Hua urgently asked. Although Chief Engineer Sun was in charge of research and would only bear a small part of the responsibility for such an incident,

he, on the other hand, responsible for security and confidentiality, would be in serious trouble if the mastermind was not found. He feared he might be removed from his post.

Now, hearing what Huo Yingjie had said, perhaps they could identify the mastermind. If lucky, he might even be able to atone for his negligence with merit!

Huo Yingjie took a deep breath and explained, "Because the part that Zhou Yuan Chao did was actually meant to be done by me. I had other important matters at hand, and since Zhou Yuan Chao finished his tasks early and I had not yet assigned him new ones, he helped me with that step. If it weren’t for helping me, Zhou Yuan Chao wouldn’t have gotten injured!"

Director Hua nodded, "From the swapped materials to the experimental steps, this person is very familiar with your project. It seems that our research institute is facing a serious test. May I ask, what stage has your project reached?"

"Two-thirds of it is already completed; we’re now working on the final phase," Huo Yingjie said. "This project is extremely important. All three of us know the sooner it is completed, the sooner it can be utilized. Most of the remaining work is to be done by me. If I were dead, the project would stall. Even if someone else took over, it would take them quite a while to understand everything. And even if they managed to figure out the sequence, only I know how to carry out the last third."

Huo Yingjie paused, feeling a surge of retrospective fear, realizing that the hostile saboteurs would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Chief Engineer Sun rubbed his brow and asked, "Director Hua, what should we do now?"

Director Hua spoke gravely, "Our research institute should undergo a thorough inspection..."

A purge?

It sounded bloody!

However, the consequences would be even more dire if they did not conduct a rigorous investigation!

"I agree," said Chief Engineer Sun, nodding. He disliked it, but such measures were necessary at this point; otherwise, the entire research institute and all its personnel would be implicated, and the ongoing projects would face delays.

"Then we must start immediately," declared Director Hua. They had been too comfortable for too long; it was high time to revert to old methods.

Seeing Director Hua’s inscrutable smile, Chief Engineer Sun felt a chill and reminded him, "This is a research institute, not a labor camp. I believe most of the comrades here are good, hardworking, and loyal. I hope you will treat them kindly."

Director Hua smiled. "Of course! We wouldn’t wrongly accuse a good comrade, but we won’t let a bad one get away, either."

"That’s the best," Chief Engineer Sun said, "By the way, when can Comrade Huo resume his work?"

Director Hua pondered for a moment, then replied, "For Comrade Huo’s safety, he must continue to stay here. He can leave once we’ve cleared things up."

"Good, that’s for the best," Chief Engineer Sun agreed. "Those people might do even crazier things if they see Huo Yingjie unharmed."

Just as Director Hua was about to leave, Huo Yingjie recalled the precautions he had taken, now able to set a trap for the enemy.

"Director Hua, Chief Engineer Sun, I have a strategy that might draw the snake from its hole," Huo Yingjie suggested. Since he couldn’t leave now, it made no sense to keep his preparations secret if they were to be of any use.

Of course, the Little Rotating Turtle was his secret weapon, which he would never divulge.

Even if he did, no one would believe it.

"Oh?" Director Hua paused, "What’s your plan?"

Chief Engineer Sun, sitting down again, said, "You have a sharp mind, kid. Tell us, what good strategy do you have?"

After carefully organizing his thoughts, Huo Yingjie slowly said, "The target is me, but since I can’t run experiments here now, even if I’m unharmed, they’ve already partly achieved their goal. Now that I’ve completed most of my work, we could publicly claim to reorganize a team to continue research based on my ideas and the materials I’ve left, suggesting the mission’s completion is imminent! That way, the person will think their task is unfinished. To complete their mission, they must take one crucial action!"

Director Hua and Chief Engineer Sun exchanged a look, instantly understanding.

"Steal the materials," both said simultaneously.

"Yes, there’s a complete set of materials in the safe," Huo Yingjie confirmed. "If that person tries to steal them, we’ll have a chance to catch them. Even if we don’t catch them on the spot, I can use equipment to find them."

"Good idea," nodded Director Hua, having been adept at such clandestine tasks in the past.

If he were in their shoes, he would certainly try to steal the materials.

"But one thing I don’t understand," Director Hua asked, "why do you say that even if we don’t catch that person, you can still use the equipment to find them?" He was quite curious.

Huo Yingjie laughed slightly, "I’ve developed a special material, let’s call it ’invisible paint’ for now. It’s like air, invisible to the naked eye when applied to objects. You need specialized equipment to detect it. I thought the safe was very important, so I applied a layer to it. There’s also invisible paint within a meter radius around the safe. If anyone tampers with my safe, even if they wear gloves, their shoes will pick it up. If we can’t find the person after doing this, I really wouldn’t know what else could catch them."

"Invisible paint?" Chief Engineer Sun widened his eyes. "If it’s functional, could it be applied to airplanes? Wouldn’t that make them invisible aircraft?"

Now it was Director Hua and Huo Yingjie’s turn to be astonished.

They were thinking about how to catch a traitor, while Chief Engineer Sun’s thoughts had leaped to invisible planes.

"Invisible planes are not just about a coat of paint; radar technology is also key, and it has other uses!" Huo Yingjie replied with a wry smile, "Let’s focus on catching the spy first."

"Yes, Chief Engineer Sun!" Director Hua said, "After this matter is settled, we can discuss further!"

Chief Engineer Sun chuckled sheepishly; he was obsessed with his work! Whenever he encountered information related to his work, it sparked thoughts about research.

It was an occupational hazard, not easily cured!

"Hehe, we’ll talk about that later," Chief Engineer Sun said, taking mental note.

On his last trip to Yanjing for a weapons research conference, some mentioned that foreign countries had already developed mature invisible aircraft and put them into use. But here, with a lack of foundational technology and investment, there had been no progress.

Even if this material wasn’t up to par, using it on aircraft for missions would at least intimidate others. At worst, they would use it once and then discontinue it, keeping those presumptuous countries guessing about the real strengths here and thereby deterring rash actions!