Huang Xuedong outed 16 people all in all. These 16 were mostly elite machinists and electrical engineers in Thunder Horse Military Factory, and some designers too. There were also two regular workers, the ones who worked on production lines.

These people covered almost all the areas in Thunder Horse Military Factory. Hanwu Weapons might really have stolen something valuable if Xia Lei had not coincidentally spotted Huang Xuedong’s suspicious behaviour and caught him in time.

Was it just Hanwu Weapons? Xia Lei didn’t think so. He was sure that China Industrial Group was also involved. They were going to steal it in secret since they could not take it outright - this seemed to be the fastest way the leaders of the two companies could think of to achieve their goal.

This was despicable but also within Xia Lei’s expectations.

Ling Han came after receiving Xia Lei’s call. He had been in charge of bringing the XL2500 to Moscow so he was now the direct contact with the government regarding the expansion of the factory. He also had the special role of supervisor so of course he had to handle it when something like this had happened at Thunder Horse Military Factory.

The corporate spies, Huang Xuedong included, were all closed in a meeting room. Xia Lei, Ling Han and Qin Xiang were in the meeting room too. These spies were obviously not professional spies; they were all money-hungry folk who had been bribed by Hanwu Weapons and China Industrial Group. They had nothing of the aura of a spy and all of them hung their heads low when met with the three cold, threatening faces; they did not dare look at them.

“Speak,” said Ling Han coldly. “Who’s the leader of your group?”

The group stayed silent, but quite a few glanced subconsciously at Huang Xuedong. This did not escape Xia Lei, Qin Xiang and Ling Han’s notice and the three of them looked at Huang Xuedong at almost the same time.

“His name’s Huang Xuedong, one of our electrical engineers,” said Xia Lei.

Ling Han slapped the desk aggressively and said angrily, “How dare you, Huang Xuedong! Stealing state secrets and acting as a spy for foreign forces. Do you know that this is a crime which earns you death by shooting?”

“Huh?” Huang Xuedong’s face drained of colour and he said hurriedly, “It’s n, not foreign forces, it, it’s Hanwu Weapons... Ye Kun, Ye Kun’s secretary Chen Man met me and we had a meal together. She gave me 500,000 to uncover Thunder Horse Military Factory’s trade secrets.”

“Chen Man?” Xia Lei wrinkled his brow. “Ye Kun did not contact you?”

Huang Xuedong spoke carefully, “Why would someone of his status meet with a small fry like me? It was all the doing of his secretary, Chen Man.”

If Ye Kun had not shown himself then the most Ling Han could do was to sue Chen Man if he pursued the matter; he wouldn’t be able to hurt Ye Kun. This Ye Kun was a sly, cautious one.

Xia Lei then asked, “Which of you were bought by China Industrial Group?”

No one said anything but a few people looked nervous.

Xia Lei spoke coldly, “Cooperate. It’s the same whether you were bought by Hanwu Weapons or China Industrial Group. If you have any information on them bribing you, bring it out and your sentence may be light. The punishment will be severe if you keep the information to yourself!”

A person quickly confessed that he had been bought by China Industrial Group, but his situation was similar to Huang Xuedong’s. The contact person and the person who had given him money were unimportant people in China Industrial Group. The trail would end at these people if they pursued the matter, and it was difficult to link it to Mu Jianfeng.

After hours of work, the information in the meeting room was all sorted out and handed to Ling Han. Huang Xuedong and all the people he outed were taken away.

Xia Lei sent Ling Han off, saying as they walked, “The truth is plain to see. Hanwu Weapons and China Industrial Group were buying my employees’ loyalty to get them to steal my company’s trade secrets. How is this matter going to be handled?”

Ling Han smiled wryly. “It is obvious but we can’t touch the people you want punished with the evidence we have.”

Xia Lei wrinkled his brow. “Is it going to stay unresolved like that?”

“Of course not,” said Ling Han. “The ones found should get their punishment. This will also give those two companies a warning and make them straighten up. I know what result you want but I don’t have the capability to achieve it. You shouldn’t hope that others will be able to do it for you either.”

The result Xia Lei wanted was for Ye Kun and Mu Jianfeng to be punished, of course, but he was also aware that these were two big crocodiles which he had no hope of toppling at his current level. China Industrial Group and Hanwu Weapons were both military enterprises backed by the government and each company represented a group of interests - would those people sit still if war were declared on their interests? If it came to that, he would not only fail to bring down the target people but bring trouble upon himself!

Xia Lei understood this and he didn’t push further. “All right, Mr Ling. This matter is in your hands and push as far as you can. I have no objections.”

Ling Han patted him on the shoulder. “I know you feel wronged. There’s an old saying that goes ‘the Heavens are watching what you’re doing’. You just have to act within the bounds of the law and hold to your morals and no one can harm you. Work hard - don’t disappoint the higher-ups.”

Xia Lei asked probingly, “Mr Ling, your superior... Who is it?”

Ling Han gave a laugh. “Don’t ask about that and don’t ask around. You’re a smart man. Some things are best left unknown.”

This seemed to be a hint.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Xia Lei shrugged and stopped asking.

He was sure about one thing now - Ling Han could be considered a friend. But he didn’t know how long he would stay his friend. Ling Han’s identity was very special and who knew if he would turn from friend to enemy if the higher-ups commanded him to one day.

Xia Lei went straight into a workshop after sending Ling Han off.

Parts from Haizhu and Sichuan were piled all over the floor in the workshop. There was also a lathe which he had modified and other equipment and tools.

This workshop was Xia Lei’s personal workshop where he planned to work on Flaming Dragon. Other than himself, only Annina and Qin Xiang were allowed in this workshop.

Annina followed him into the workshop. She used a pushcart to move the paper stack of over a hundred drawings, and the phone which Huang Xuedong had used to take pictures.

Ling Han had wanted to take the phone as evidence but Xia Lei had not let him. He did not want anyone else to see even one piece of his design plans.

“Are you going to start working on it now, Lukas?” Annina pushed the pushcart next to Xia Lei’s workstation with an odd look on her face. “I don’t get how you finished these design plans. I had a brief look at them and it looks like it would take a month even if 50 electrical engineers were working on it but you took just 20 days.”

Xia Lei just laughed and didn’t explain himself. There was no way he could explain how he finished these drawings to anyone.

“Forget it. I’ve always wondered how your brain’s wired but I think you don’t know the answer either.” Annina was not the sort of woman who was very curious either. “I’m going to do my work. Just give me a call if you need my help.”

“Nn, okay.” Xia Lei didn’t keep her.

Annina was currently working on designing a new rifle. She was talented in this and highly capable. Like the XL2500, Xia Lei would make adjustments after she finished her design, perfecting her original.

It was estimated that Thunder Horse Military Factory would be able to greet the world with the new rifle when the construction of the new factory area was done. When that time came, Thunder Horse Military Factory would not have just one sniper rifle as its product - it would have a handgun and a rifle.

The first thing Xia Lei did after Annina went off was not processing the delivered parts but putting the drawings on the floor and setting them alight. Huang Xuedong’s phone was no exception and it was turned into a black lump of coal too.

Annina would have thought Xia Lei had gone mad if she’d seen him. The reality was that Xia Lei had no need of these drawings. Every single piece was saved in his brain, and his brain could assemble all those drawings into a 3D model. In other words, the physical building of Flaming Dragon had not begun but he already had a complete machine in his head!

Why would he keep these drawings around when he could already do this? Leaving the designs around would only open him up to theft.

Ring ring ring, ring ring ring...

Xia Lei’s phone rang just as he was about to start work.

He glanced at the display and abruptly remembered whose number it was - Mu Jianfeng.

What did Mu Jianfeng want by calling at this time?

Xia Lei had his suspicions and he waited till the ninth ring before he picked up. “Director Mu. What is it? Speak.”

He was not using the polite title of ‘Elder Mu’ any longer.

“Heh heh.” Mu Jianfeng’s voice came from over the phone. “You really are impressive, Xia Lei. I heard you caught several corporate spies.”

Xia Lei snorted. “You’re calling to get an idea of my intentions?”

“Don’t put it in such an ugly way. Am I someone who would need to do that? Besides, you have no evidence. What can you do to me even if you do?” said Mu Jianfeng.

Anger burned in Xia Lei’s heart. “True, I cannot do anything to you but remember this: there is such a thing as karma, and you will pay for all that you’ve done one day.”

“Heh heh heh... Oh, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, huh? Let me tell you something, Xia Lei. I am not someone you can trifle with.” Mu Jianfeng said evenly, “And I’m calling because I hear that you’re building an integrated intelligent lathe. I’m giving you a special reminder that you sold the intelligent lathe to us, China Industrial Group. You have no right to build the same intelligent lathe. I will sue you if you build it and make sure that you go bankrupt.”

Xia Lei scoffed. “So you’re calling for this. Then let me tell you too that what I sold to you is actually a failed product I didn’t want. I do intend to build an intelligent lathe but it is not the same type I sold to you. It is truly the most advanced intelligent lathe in the world. You want to sue me? On what basis? Because they’re both lathes?”

“Huh! What kind of lathe is it?” Mu Jianfeng was losing his cool.

“Who do you think you are? Why should I tell you? You want to know? Then send more spies!”

“You-”

Xia Lei hung up. He did not want to hear any more of Mu Jianfeng’s voice.

An elder he had respected in the past was now his enemy. Life really was unpredictable and impermanent.