The next morning dawned gray and heavy, the kind of sky that promised trouble.
Lin Wei stepped into the bureau courtyard and immediately sensed tension in the air. Workers whispered in clusters. Engineers carried stacks of documents with pale faces. Even the senior designers walked briskly, eyes sharp.
Something had happened.
Zhou Feng spotted him first and hurried over.
"You didn't hear?"
"Hear what?"
Zhou Feng exhaled and lowered his voice.
"One of the experimental test rigs collapsed last night."
Lin Wei froze.
"What?"
"It was in the west workshop," Zhou Feng continued. "A new support-beam model. They say a joint snapped and brought down half the testing frame. Luckily no one was hurt—because it happened after hours."
Lin Wei's stomach twisted.
After hours.Meaning: someone sabotaged it deliberately.
Zhou Feng watched his expression carefully.
"And guess what? The collapse resembled the emergency you handled last week."
Lin Wei felt a cold rush down his spine.
"Someone is recreating your work," Zhou Feng murmured. "And now… they want you involved."
Before Lin Wei could respond, a clerk sprinted toward them.
"Comrade Lin! Director Li wants you in the west workshop immediately!"
Zhou Feng put a hand on Lin Wei's shoulder.
"Be careful," he warned quietly."Whoever engineered this collapse… did it for you."
West Workshop — The Scene of the "Accident"
The workshop looked like the aftermath of a disaster site.
Metal bars bent like noodles.Sawdust and debris scattered across the floor.A joint assembly half-crushed under the fallen support frame.
Director Li stood with several engineers, all grim-faced.
When Lin Wei approached, the director turned.
"You see it?"
Lin Wei scanned the wreckage—then nodded slowly.
"Yes. This collapse is almost identical to the trench failure from before."
Master Yu crossed his arms.
"Which means whoever planned this understands your analysis well enough to imitate it."
The political officer from the evaluation committee stepped forward.
"Or," he said coldly, "Lin Wei staged both collapses himself."
Master Yu nearly choked.
"You—!"
But Director Li silenced them with a raised hand.
"This is not the time for accusations without evidence," he said sharply. Then to Lin Wei: "We need your assessment. Now."
Lin Wei approached the broken frame, kneeling beside the joint.He examined the metal.The anchoring bolts.The pressure lines.
Then he frowned.
"This wasn't natural wear," he said.
Director Li nodded grimly. "Explain."
"Look here."Lin Wei pointed to a bolt. "The thread is damaged intentionally. Someone filed it down to weaken the structure."
Master Yu's expression darkened.
"So it was sabotage."
The political officer narrowed his eyes.
"And you determined that quite quickly."
Lin Wei met his gaze calmly.
"Because I study every night. Harder than others."
A few engineers snorted approvingly.
But the political officer didn't back down.
"If this collapse mirrors the one you resolved before," he said, "then the bureau can use this as an official test of your skill."
Lin Wei stiffened.
There it was.
The second test.
Director Li looked troubled but didn't contradict it.
Politics outranked logic.
"We need you to draft a repair model immediately," Director Li ordered. "And your explanation must be detailed enough for others to replicate."
Lin Wei nodded.He wasn't afraid to work.
But he was afraid of the unseen hand guiding these events.
Who was sabotaging the bureau?Why imitate his work?Why target him specifically?
He sat at the drafting table.The system pulsed softly.
[Analysis Mode: Activated][Moderate challenge detected][Potential Threat Level: High]
The warning made his stomach tighten.
He began sketching.
A Pair of Watching Eyes
Unbeknownst to him, someone stood in the shadow of a second-floor walkway.
A man in a long coat.Gloves.Face obscured beneath the brim of a hat.
Watching Lin Wei draw.
Studying him.
Measuring him.
The man remained motionless until a clerk turned the corner.Then he disappeared silently down the stairs, leaving nothing but the faint whisper of his steps.
A Dangerous Realization
An hour later, Lin Wei finished the draft.
Master Yu examined it.
Director Li reviewed it.
The political officer tried—and failed—to find fault in it.
"It's correct," Master Yu concluded."More than correct. It improves the test rig's durability."
"It's excellent work," Director Li confirmed.
Lin Wei exhaled quietly.
But his relief evaporated when a senior engineer suddenly shouted:
"Director! There's a problem!"
Everyone turned.
"What is it?" Director Li asked sharply.
The engineer pointed to the broken beam's underside.
"There's a mark here. A carving."
Lin Wei hurried over.
On the metal—Barely visible—Was a carved symbol:
A small circlewith two lines crossing it.
His heartbeat thudded.
He knew that symbol.
He'd seen it before.
On the back of the note left on his windowsill.
Director Li leaned in.
"What does it mean?"
Lin Wei swallowed hard.
"It means," he whispered, "that this collapse wasn't just sabotage."
Master Yu asked, "Then what?"
Lin Wei lifted his head.
"It's a message."
A warning.
A challenge.
A threat.
Before anyone could respond, the political officer declared:
"Then the bureau must assign additional oversight. Someone must supervise Lin Wei's work from now on."
Liu Yan stepped forward suddenly.
"I volunteer."
Lin Wei's blood turned to ice.
Director Li hesitated.
"That… might be necessary."
But a clear voice cut through the workshop.
"No."
Everyone turned.
Liu Fang stood in the doorway—breathless, tense, but resolute.
Director Li frowned."Comrade Liu Fang? This is a restricted—"
She bowed firmly.
"Director, forgive the intrusion. But I formally request to be assigned as Lin Wei's partner for all upcoming tasks."
Total silence.
Even the political officer blinked.
Lin Wei stared, shocked.
Liu Fang lifted her chin.
"I have experience from the archive division. I know the bureau's drafting procedures. I am familiar with Lin Wei's work habits. And—"
Her gaze flickered toward Liu Yan.
"—I trust him."
Her voice didn't waver.
Not once.
Director Li stared at her for a long moment.
Then—
"…Approved."
Liu Yan's smile cracked.
Lin Wei's breath caught.
Liu Fang stepped to his side.
Quietly.Naturally.As if she belonged there.
"You're not facing this alone," she murmured.
And for the first time since the man in the long coat appeared—
Lin Wei believed her.