A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 1073 To live up to your trust, I'll blow you up even if you hold a high position!

When Lao Wang rushed out of Jiangxia dormitory, it felt as if a ball of fire was burning in his chest.

That fire contained both a burning response to Jiang Xia's unreserved trust, anger and resistance to the speculation that "Jiang Xia himself might be used as bait," and an urgent need to "do something."

When he saw the armored vehicle preparing to leave under the cover of night, and heard his team members confirm in hushed tones that "Vice Minister Qiu's men took away all of Jiang Gong's backup files," this fire finally found its most direct and intense outlet.

The archives are part of the plan, but more importantly, they are the physical embodiment of Jiangxia's hard work.

At this moment, when he had just made up his mind not to allow Jiang Xia to be in any danger, any act that touched these "hard-earned" things was regarded by him as a direct infringement on Jiang Xia and a provocation against his promise.

So, grenades were thrown, gunshots rang out, and conflict broke out.

……

Director Zheng has left with his men, and Vice Minister Qiu and his entourage have also been taken away.

The night breeze swept through the tree-lined path, dispersing the smoke of battle and slightly cooling the raging fire in Old Wang's chest. But his determination to protect Jiangxia and ensure her safe return to the capital was as hard as steel that had been tempered.

"Hehehe, Xiao Liu, look at this lump of iron. It's no wonder it's my brother's work. My thing only scratched some paint and punctured a tire!"

Secretary Liu was still immersed in the series of changes and Director Zheng's cryptic "riddle" when she heard this. She was a little out of sync with Lao Wang's train of thought and hesitated before asking, "Ah, what happened now?"

"Old Wang, you were indeed a bit impulsive today. Even setting aside the fact that that guy does have access to Jiang Xia's files, even if he really did turn against us..."

"Your explosion startled the fish, broke the vines, and made all the subsequent investigations..."

"Liu'er".

Old Wang interrupted him.

He turned around, leaning against the armored vehicle that reeked of gunpowder, raised his eyelids, and looked at him with a gaze that Secretary Liu had never seen before:

"Xiao Jiang will be returning to Beijing the day after tomorrow."

That statement is completely unfounded.

Secretary Liu was taken aback: "I know. I've seen the transfer order."

"What should we use to return?" Old Wang asked.

"...A train, what else could it be? Or maybe the base's jeep? We can't exactly fly back in this Be-6, can we? Those things can land on water, but..."

"But none of them are safe!"

Old Wang interrupted Secretary Liu's answer, reached out and slowly stroked the body of the armored vehicle, his palm touching the cold steel plate, from the flat tire to the deformed but still thick bulletproof door panel.

"From Dalian to Beijing, it's more than 2,000 kilometers."

"Railways, highways, bridges, tunnels... I don't know which section will have an accident, and which won't. I don't know who will be targeting him, and who won't."

He turned his head and looked at Secretary Liu.

"All I know is that if this car can get its tire fixed, fill up with gas, and drive two thousand kilometers..."

Old Wang's voice was very calm.

"...I can bring him back intact."

The sea breeze suddenly stopped.

Secretary Liu stood there, looking at Old Wang's unusually serious and even overly solemn expression, at his hand pressed against the armored vehicle, and at the almost devout stubbornness in his eyes that even he himself might not have noticed.

Suddenly he understood everything.

Hand grenades, revolvers, "Operation Scavenger," and "right to act on the spot"—those are all just wrappers.

The heart truly hidden inside can be summed up in one sentence:

I'm afraid I won't be able to protect him.

Therefore, I must hold onto everything that can protect him!

……

Secretary Liu suddenly realized Old Wang's true intentions and was speechless for a moment. So, this guy made such a big fuss, sending a vice minister to jail, and one of his most direct and simple motives was... he had his eye on the man's car?

To provide Jiangxia with a safer mode of transportation?

"Old Wang, you...you didn't go through all this trouble just for this car, did you?" Secretary Liu felt her mind was a bit confused.

"Otherwise what?" Old Wang looked at him strangely, as if this was a matter of course.

"Leaving this big guy here and letting that 'good-natured' old man sit back is a complete waste of resources."

Holy shit...

You fucking took down a vice minister just for an armored vehicle?

"Oh right, I remember there was a prototype car in Jiangxia, wasn't there?"

"After installing a ground-penetrating radar, the old geologist drove it away, and now nobody knows which mountain it's exploring for some weird thing with disordered magnetic field lines..."

“Jiang Xia is an honest fellow. As soon as he heard it was useful for national development, he let someone drive it away without saying a word. He said it was a loan, but I think it's more like a gift!” Old Wang paused, looking pained. “My twin-mounted machine gun is still on it…”

Old Wang waved his hand dejectedly, brushing aside the embers of the burning Jiangxia archives, and then looked back at the armored vehicle.

Just then, footsteps broke the silence between the two.

Those who had been following Director Chao with solemn expressions finally came over.

They didn't rush forward, but stopped a few steps away, their gazes falling on Old Wang and then sweeping over the damaged armored vehicle, their expressions clearly showing displeasure.

"Tch, see, here it comes!"

Old Wang had his back to the men, but he had already secretly adjusted the angle of the armored vehicle's rearview mirror. Reflected in the mirror were familiar faces—members of the Scavenger Project's coordination team, the regular army specializing in the "file fishing" operation.

The person in charge, surnamed Chen, was in his early thirties with a calm and composed appearance. Old Wang recognized him; he was one of the few people in the department who could sit on the sidelines and not take on important tasks.

The footsteps stopped a few steps away.

"Comrade Wang Kui." Old Chen's voice was devoid of emotion, as if he were simply stating a fact.

"We need to talk. About tonight's events, and about how the 'cleaner' plan will be adjusted after Comrade Jiang Xia's transfer."

Old Wang didn't turn around.

He remained half-squatting, his palms pressed against the cold steel plates of the armored vehicle.

What should we talk about?

"Let's talk about the follow-up," Old Chen said. "You've cut off the connection tonight. We're not here to investigate responsibility, but to coordinate—Comrade Jiangxia's security level has changed, the original two-week surveillance period has been compressed to two days, the leads we have need to transfer, and your discretionary power needs to be re-matched with the new escort mission."

Old Wang remained silent for a few seconds.

He stood up and finally turned around.

Old Chen and his colleagues stood still, without staring or showing any resentment, simply waiting for him to speak.

Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting a thin layer of silvery-gray on their epaulets.

"I don't care about your handover of clues or task matching."

"Jiang Xia will return to Beijing the day after tomorrow. From Dalian to Siping, from Siping to Shanhaiguan, from Shanhaiguan to Yongdingmen—I will take him back over these two thousand kilometers."

He paused.

"If there's even a single person, a gun, or a stray bullet flying in from who-knows-where on the road..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Old Chen looked into his eyes and nodded.

"understood."

"Comrade Jiang Xia's safety is our top priority. We will handle the parts of the original Cleaner Plan that involved accessing and reverse-checking files ourselves. Your escort mission is not linked to any fishing scheme, does not carry out intelligence functions, does not involve setting bait or traps, and does not carry any additional risks."

He took a step back.

"I wish you all the best."

Several colleagues also stepped back and turned around; their footsteps were quickly dispersed by the sea breeze.

From beginning to end, there were no questions, no arguments, and not the question that might have been uttered: "Do you know how long we've been working on this case?"

Old Wang stood there, watching their figures disappear at the end of the tree-lined path, and suddenly clicked his tongue softly.

"Liu'er," he said, "did you find the jack?"