Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

The materials workshop of Longxing Factory was already filled with the pungent smell of metal quenching.

The mass production line for rare earth tungsten alloys has officially started. The red-hot alloy ingots are pressed into regular long strips under the rolling mill. After cooling, they are completely black, but they have a faint cold gleam.

Li Yu stood on the crane control platform high up in the workshop, his gaze sweeping over the busy figures in the workshop before finally settling on Zhao Wenshan.

At this moment, Zhao Wenshan was using the pretext of "disconnecting the shielding layer material parameters of the anti-interference system" to wander around the materials group's office area. He was holding a notebook in his hand, but his eyes kept glancing at the safe in the corner.

The complete formulas and heat treatment process documents for rare earth tungsten alloys are stored there.

"Chief Engineer, as you instructed, the formula in the safe is a simplified version. The core rare earth ratio data has been modified, and the entire process has been monitored," the materials team leader reported in a low voice.

Li Yu nodded slightly: "Let him see, and let him steal. The problem now is not to prevent him from stealing, but to let him send out the false information and, incidentally, expose the entire network behind him."

Just then, Zhao Wenshan seemed to have found an opportunity. The materials team technicians were temporarily called to help on the production line, and the office area was instantly empty.

He glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, quickly walked to the safe and took out the key he had secretly copied beforehand.

As the cabinet door silently popped open a crack, Zhao Wenshan's heart pounded. He quickly pulled out a folder labeled "Rare Earth Tungsten Alloy Formula," took out a miniature camera hidden in his sleeve, and frantically snapped photos of the contents of the document.

What he didn't know was that Li Yu, who was not far away, had already seen all his actions clearly.

What he didn't know was that the crucial rare earth element ratio in the formula he photographed had been deliberately written incorrectly. The alloy produced according to this formula barely met the hardness requirements, but completely lacked heat resistance; it would be completely destroyed after five minutes of continuous firing.

"Done."

Zhao Wenshan quickly put the folder back in its original place, locked the safe, and wiped away the fingerprints.

He casually walked to the window and waved his pen at a distant telephone pole. That was his signal to contact people overseas; a miniature film reel was hidden inside the pen cap.

Li Yu saw all of this.

"Notify the security department that the bait has been released and have them keep an eye on the area around the utility pole."

After speaking, he turned to Old Wang beside him and asked, "How's Zhao Wenshan's optimization plan for the anti-interference system coming along?"

"After modifying the parameters according to the rare earth alloy, the extreme test passed on the first try."

Old Wang handed over the test report, his tone filled with admiration: "This material is really good. The shielding effect is more than twice as strong as before. Even if the enemy's interference intensity increases by another 30%, it won't affect the radar signal."

Li Yu took the report, signed his name, and said: "Notify the production workshop to start producing gun barrels using rare earth tungsten alloy this afternoon, and assemble the anti-interference system simultaneously. We need to complete the 10-day deadline two days ahead of schedule to allow sufficient time for the Weihai to debug."

"clear!"

Meanwhile, Zhao Wenshan had already returned to the research and development workshop.

Looking at the prototype of the anti-interference system that was functioning normally, he believed that he had obtained the core formula. As long as the information was sent out, the West could replicate the same alloy.

At the same time, based on the "defect data" he provides, more powerful interference devices can be developed in a targeted manner.

Unfortunately, his dream didn't last long before an accident happened.

At 3 p.m., a commotion suddenly broke out at the factory gate. Several plainclothes special agents led a suspicious-looking man in.

The man, clutching a pen, was deathly pale; he was the spy who had been gathering intelligence under the telephone pole that morning.

"Zhao Wenshan, someone is looking for you." The special agent's voice was calm but carried an undeniable authority.

Zhao Wenshan's body stiffened abruptly, and the blueprint in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

He looked at the escorts being brought over, and then at Li Yu and Lao Wang walking towards him, and instantly realized that he had already fallen into the trap set by the other side.

"When...when did you find out?" His voice trembled, and all the color drained from his face.

Li Yu looked at him and said, "I noticed you the first time you appeared in front of me."

Old Wang sneered, "And the beryllium copper alloy you chose, do you really think we can't see that it was intentionally left with a defect? ​​If the chief engineer hadn't deliberately kept you around, do you think you would have survived until today?"

With irrefutable evidence, Zhao Wenshan was powerless to deny anything. He collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling, muttering to himself as he was being carried away by state security personnel, "Impossible... I clearly did it flawlessly..."

The news of Zhao Wenshan being taken away quickly spread throughout the entire Longxing Factory.

Li Yu stood on the high platform in the workshop, looking at the cheering crowd, his voice carried through the loudspeaker to every corner.

"Comrades, Zhao Wenshan is just a pawn sent by the West! They want to strangle us, steal our technology, and stop the rise of our military industry, but they are wrong!"

He held up the rare-earth tungsten alloy rod in his hand: "We have our own technology, our own materials, and our own determination! Within 10 days, we must build 10 qualified anti-aircraft guns and send them to the Weihai! Let those enemies who dare to provoke us taste our might!"

"Mission accomplished!"

The deafening shouts echoed throughout the entire Longxing Factory.

Meanwhile, an earlier encrypted telegram was sent from within China and eventually reached the headquarters of a Western intelligence agency. The telegram's content was simple: "The formula has been obtained, the equipment is flawless, and the operation can proceed as planned."

Inside the agency's command center, no one knew that what they had received was nothing more than an elaborate trap.

The leader, holding a telegram, said to an officer beside him, "This time, we must let China know who the true ruler of these waters is."

"Tell the fleet to give them a good beating this time! We must completely crush them!"

The officer laughed and said, "No matter how many of them come this time, we'll wipe them all out; not one of them will escape."

A few days later, when the transport convoy from Longxing Machinery Factory arrived, the dock was already crowded with waiting naval personnel. Their eyes were burning as they stared at the shipborne anti-aircraft guns in the trucks, their dark faces filled with anticipation.

"Lifting operations begin!"

With a command from Captain Wang Jianjun, several cranes started up simultaneously, steadily lifting the all-black anti-aircraft gun and accurately placing it in the pre-designated gun position on the ship's side.

The technicians worked quickly and efficiently to connect and debug the wiring, and the antenna of the adaptive frequency hopping radar slowly unfolded, like the wings of an eagle spreading its wings.

Li Yu led Lao Wang and others onto the warship to personally supervise the final debugging process.

He squatted down beside the gun barrel and said in a deep voice, "Is the emergency optical aiming system calibrated? In actual combat, any electronic device may malfunction, so double insurance must be foolproof."

The technician shouted back, "Don't worry, Chief Engineer! The error of the optical sight is already controlled within 0.02 degrees. Even if the radar completely fails, it can still accurately lock onto the target!"