Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

The black Hongqi car had just driven into the National Development and Reform Commission compound when the quiet night was suddenly torn apart by the piercing sound of an alarm.

Liu Ming suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze sharp as lightning.

He saw thick smoke billowing from the broken windows of the fourth floor of the building—in the direction of the core laboratory of the High-Tech Industry Department—and flames licking the exterior walls in the darkness, like a trapped beast roaring angrily.

"Boss! The fire is huge! It's our core laboratory!" Old Chen slammed on the brakes, his voice filled with unprecedented anxiety.

As Liu Ming pushed open the car door, the pungent smell of burning chemicals instantly filled her nostrils.

His heart sank. Inside were the original architectural drafts of the "Dragon Abyss" chip, as well as several prototypes that had just arrived and were undergoing extreme stress testing.

That was the result of countless sleepless nights and the collective efforts of the entire nation; it is the lifeblood of the country that must never be destroyed.

"Damn it!"

Liu Ming rushed towards the building without the slightest hesitation.

The area in front of the office building was in complete chaos. Security guards were shouting and carrying fire extinguishers, while several technicians on duty were slumped on the ground, their faces pale as they stared at the raging flames.

"What about the fire suppression system? Why aren't the automatic sprinklers activated?"

Liu Ming grabbed the logistics director, who was spinning around in place, her voice as cold as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Director...Director? You're back?"

The logistics director's legs went weak with fear, and he cried out incoherently, "It's all broken! Everything's broken! Just now, for some reason, the whole building suddenly lost power, and the backup power didn't come on either. Not a single drop of water is coming out of the sprinkler heads!"

Liu Ming loosened his collar and glanced at the sea of ​​fire. The power was off, and the sprinklers were ineffective.

In a ministry with top-level security, the probability of such a series of "accidents" occurring is almost zero.

The only explanation is that someone sabotaged the operation from within; it was a deliberate act of arson. What they wanted to burn down was not the building, but the last hope for China's technological breakthrough.

"Old Chen, take your men and seal off all exits!"

Liu Ming gave an order to the tanks and lone wolf rushing towards him, his voice chillingly calm: "Without my permission, not even a fly can escape!"

"yes!"

Tank and Lone Wolf obeyed the order and left, their two black afterimages disappearing instantly into the chaotic crowd.

The firelight illuminated Liu Ming's face. As he looked at the flickering flames, Zhao Ruihu's sinister face and the compradors who lurked in the shadows, taking kickbacks and selling out the country for personal gain, came to mind.

This fire could have been set at the perfect time.

……

"Fire! Fire! Help!"

In the crowd, a thin, bespectacled middle-aged man was shouting and giving orders in a pretentious manner. He was Sun Dahai, the director of the Comprehensive Division of the High-Tech Department, and also the one who stayed in the department most actively after Zhao Ruihu fell ill and was hospitalized.

As Sun Dahai wiped the sweat from his forehead (it was from the heat of the fire, not from being anxious), he quietly retreated. His eyes kept glancing at the room on the fourth floor where the fire was most intense, and a barely perceptible smile of pleasure crept onto his lips.

"Director Sun, the fire is so big, I don't think we can save our data."

A trusted confidant leaned over and asked in a low voice, his tone surprisingly gloating.

"It's better if it can't be saved."

Sun Dahai snorted, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "So what if that kid escaped death at the border? So what if he got four first-class merits? As long as this laboratory is destroyed, the 'Dragon Abyss' project will be a dead end. When the higher-ups investigate, he, as the commander-in-chief, will be the one primarily responsible."

"Zhao Si thought it through perfectly; one fire and everything was cleaned up," the confidant chuckled, looking relaxed.

"Of course. What's the use of just being good at fighting in this capital? You also have to look here." Sun Dahai pointed to his forehead, his face full of smug satisfaction.

Just then, a gasp suddenly erupted from the crowd.

"Director Liu went inside! He actually rushed into the fire!"

Sun Dahai suddenly turned his head and saw a tall figure carrying a soaking wet sack on his head. Like a mad black panther, he smashed through the glass door of the hall and rushed against the flow of people fleeing outwards towards the stairs leading to the fourth floor.

"He's insane! He's throwing his life away!"

Sun Dahai was startled at first, then a look of wild joy appeared in his eyes. He went in? That's even better! It would be best if he died in there, then he wouldn't even have to write a will.

"Quick! Lock the emergency exit on the fourth floor!"

Sun Dahai gritted his teeth and instructed his trusted confidant, "Make it look natural. Just say the fire is too big and there's a mechanical malfunction that prevents it from opening!"

The confidant nodded coldly and turned to disappear into the shadows.

……

The thick smoke, like a giant black snake, frantically burrowed into the lungs.

Liu Ming pressed himself against the wall, his military dagger slicing open one burning wooden door after another in the darkness. The temperature around him was frighteningly high, the air itself seemed to be distorting and warping, and the ceiling lights occasionally shattered, sparks flying onto his shoulders.

But he couldn't sense it; his gaze was fixed on the "Spark" server deep inside the laboratory.

That was a memory device that he had specially reinforced with Ghost Hand, equipped with independent liquid nitrogen cooling and a physical explosion-proof shell. If the other party was really after the data, then the source of this fire must be here.

"call--"

As the heatwave hit, Liu Ming rushed into the control room. The scene before him was horrific: precision instruments worth hundreds of thousands of yuan were slowly melting in the inferno, and the acrid smell was nauseating.

He rushed to the "Spark" server, and sure enough, the casing was covered with marks of human intervention. The other party not only wanted to burn it, but even tried to forcibly remove the hard drive before the fire started.

Liu Ming sneered, took out a card that emitted a cold metallic light from his pocket, and inserted it into the server's hidden physical slot.

"Data transfer confirmed."

With this simple operation, the miniature fire suppression system inside the server was finally activated by physical triggering. Although it could not extinguish the fire over a large area due to the power outage, the white nitrogen gas still formed a cold protective ring around the core hard drive.

Liu Ming didn't stop; he heard the sound of a door being locked from the inside coming down the corridor.

Those people really didn't want him dead; they just wanted him to die in an "accident."

"Old Chen, locate, detonate."

Liu Ming let out a low growl into his headset, and at the same time crouched down and crawled into the dusty ventilation duct.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, a breach was blasted open in one wall of the fourth-floor corridor by a tank using an explosive crossbow.

As fresh air rushed in, Liu Ming leaped out of the thick smoke and glided back to the ground smoothly using the prepared rappelling rope.

……

"Director! Are you alright?"

Chen Momo rushed over, crying, clutching the medicine box tightly in her hands.

Liu Ming dusted herself off, but her gaze bypassed Chen Momo and went straight to the back of the crowd.

There, Sun Dahai stared in astonishment at Liu Ming, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The smug look in his eyes hadn't even faded before it froze on his greasy face, making him look as ridiculous as a duck being choked.

"Director Sun, you seem quite surprised?"

Liu Ming slowly walked towards him, her steps unhurried, yet carrying an oppressive aura that made the earth tremble.

Sun Dahai's Adam's apple bobbed as he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Director Liu... Director Liu, look at what you're saying! I'm so happy you're back safe and sound. These data... it's such a pity..."

"pity?"

Liu Ming walked up to him and reached out to straighten the slightly crooked Party emblem on his chest.

The movements were extremely gentle, but the tone was so cold it sent chills down your spine.

"It's not a pity, not at all."

Liu Ming whispered in his ear, "Because I know. I know who set the fire. I also know who is preparing to write my name, Liu Ming, on that report, 'due to mismanagement, core assets were damaged.'"

In that instant, Sun Dahai's face turned even more ashen than ashes.

"Old Sun, your men over there seem to be having a good time."

Liu Ming glanced at the few remaining members of Zhao Ruihu's gang whispering amongst themselves not far away, and a wild and cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He turned his head and pointed at Sun Dahai to the discipline inspection team that had arrived.

"Take it down."

"reason?"

Sun Dahai was still struggling, roaring fiercely but inwardly weakly.

Liu Ming walked into the building without looking back, her voice echoing in the night.

"The reason is already in my hands."

Zhao Ruihu's remaining followers stood there dumbfounded. Looking at Liu Ming's tall, imposing figure, like a spear, their initial smugness turned into an endless chill.

They suddenly realized that the fire might not have burned Liu Ming's future, but rather their... last resort.

"Get to work."

Liu Ming's voice came from the ruins.

"A game of closing the door and beating the dog."

"Let's begin."