Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

At night, apart from the occasional patrolling guards, the entire Longxing factory area is quiet.

In a secluded corner where no one was watching, the guards quietly set up sentries.

From Lu Qing's dormitory to the factory gate, every path he had to take was fraught with watchful eyes.

Li Yu stood on the top floor of the office building, holding the encrypted digital code in his hand, watching everything that was about to happen.

"Engineer Li, we couldn't find the handbook in Lu Qing's dorm room. Could he have moved it?"

The voice of Company Commander Zhang came from behind, tinged with anxiety.

Li Yu shook his head, his gaze falling on the path leading to the warehouse downstairs, the most secluded path in the factory area.

"He has no chance to move." Li Yu's voice was calm, but it conveyed absolute certainty.

"The unedited version of the manual weighs over three pounds, and the paper is special, so it can't be hidden. He didn't have enough time to use the manual to make copies, so he had to sell the original. Now he's being watched closely, and his only chance is tonight."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a thin figure appeared on the path downstairs.

It's Lu Qing.

He was dressed in dark overalls, his hat pulled low, carrying a heavy canvas bag, walking hurriedly, and glancing back every now and then.

Instead of going through the main entrance, he went around to the low wall behind the warehouse, where there was a gap covered by weeds.

It's unclear when the hole was opened; it had actually been discovered long ago, but Li Yu had it left unattended to see who did it. Little did he know that it would become his only way out.

Lu Qing walked to the edge of the gap, looked around to make sure no one was there, then squatted down and took out a notebook wrapped tightly in oilcloth from his canvas bag. It was the unedited version of the four-axis machine tool operation manual.

Just as he was about to hand the manual to the person waiting outside the wall, two bright lights suddenly pierced the night and shone directly on his face.

Lu Qing was so dazzled that she couldn't open her eyes, and the handbook in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

"Lu Qing, where are you going?"

Li Yu's voice came from behind him, not loud, but like a cold dagger, instantly piercing his last bit of hope.

Lu Qing turned around abruptly and saw Li Yu standing not far away with the police officers, holding the encrypted letter in his hand.

His face instantly drained of color, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

"Mr. Li...Mr. Li..." Lu Qing's voice trembled uncontrollably, "I...I just came out for some fresh air..."

"Do I need to bring a manual for breathable ventilation?"

Li Yu bent down to pick up the handbook from the ground, dusted it off, and looked as cold as ice in the dead of winter.

"Or are you planning to give this manual on manufacturing military parts to foreigners outside the Great Firewall?"

Seeing that things were not going well, the person waiting outside the wall turned around and tried to run, but was immediately tackled to the ground by the guards who were lying in ambush nearby.

The man was dressed in peasant clothes, but his face had obvious foreign features; he was Anderson's contact.

Caught red-handed, Lu Qing had no way to deny it.

He looked at the contact person who was being held down on the ground, and then at the manual in Li Yu's hand. Finally, he broke down, sat down on the ground, covered his face, and let out a suppressed sob.

"I didn't mean to... they forced me to," Lu Qing's voice was broken and trembling with sobs.

"Anderson said that if I didn't help him, he would send photos of me with my foreign girlfriend from when I was studying abroad to his superiors... He also said that after it was done, he would send me to the United States and give me a life of luxury... I was confused for a moment..."

"Foolish?" Li Yu sneered and stepped in front of him.

"What you're confused about is that you've forgotten you're Chinese, forgotten the trust Longxing Factory placed in you, and forgotten that the technology you possess is for protecting your country, not for exchanging it for wealth and glory!"

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose: "You studied fluid mechanics, a skill cultivated by the state! Your opportunity to join the core research group is something countless people would kill for!"

"Everything you enjoy now is a gift from this land! And what have you done? You dare to betray state secrets for your own selfish gain. Do you even deserve the title of 'technician'?"

Lu Qing was so scolded that he couldn't lift his head, his shoulders trembling violently, and he couldn't say a word.

"And your beloved girlfriend is actually a secret agent planted by the US while you were studying abroad."

"What?!"

"Looks like I was too naive. There's no such thing as a coincidence."

It turns out that when Lu Qing first arrived in the M country, he was often bullied. One time, when he was dragged into the toilet and beaten, his girlfriend brought people to rescue him.

He thought he had found love, but little did he know it was all just a trap.

The head of the security department standing nearby ordered someone to handcuff Lu Qing and the contact person, and asked in a deep voice, "Engineer Li, what should we do with these two?"

"Send it to the Special Operations Department overnight." Li Yu's gaze swept over the handbook on the ground.

He said, word by word, "Interrogate them thoroughly. I need to know how many more tricks Anderson has up his sleeve, and how many of those foreign trainees are his people."

"yes!"

As night deepened, the wind howled past the wall, swirling up fallen leaves and making a rustling sound.

Li Yu stood at the edge of the gap, watching Lu Qing's retreating figure, feeling no relief whatsoever.

Lu Qing has been arrested, but Anderson is still around, and those foreigners coveting Chinese technology are still there. This war without gunfire has never been ended by simply arresting one or two spies.

Li Yu looked down at the manual in his hand, his fingertips gently tracing the words "Top Secret" on the cover.

He suddenly remembered the greed in the eyes of the foreign trainees during the training session earlier that day.

It seems it's time to give those people a warning.

Li Yu turned and walked towards the office building, his steps firm.

He will personally attend tomorrow's training session.

Not only should we implement it, but we should also completely extinguish the desire of those with ulterior motives to steal our technology.

Li Yu thought of several plans overnight, but they were all rejected one by one. Li Yu always felt that he was not ruthless enough.

Li Yu didn't finish making preparations until almost dawn.

"Anderson, USA, I hope you like the gift I prepared."

This is just the beginning.

The news of Lu Qing being taken away spread throughout the factory the next day, and now all the workers in the factory looked at these foreigners with hostility.

If they hadn't come to buy equipment, they probably would have been kicked out by now.

Just as Li Yu finished eating the breakfast delivered to his office and was about to go to class, Anderson was already furious.