Chapter 12: The Three Examiners' Ultimate Tug of War!

Listening to the busy signal on the phone, Engineer Zhang was utterly bewildered.

“What’s going on? Did Old Li choke on his medicine? Everything was fine, so why would someone set fire to my lab?”

“And what does it mean that his protege was taken away?”

Zhang’s head was spinning, his mind buzzing with confusion.

He had planned to visit the lab one last time, but after some thought, he decided against going.

“Fine, if Dean Sun says to pause, then we pause. I’ll head back and wait for the 956E project to restart!”

“The question is, how long will that take? Sigh… those two old sticks are ruining my grand naval development plan!”

Without packing up his things, Zhang rushed straight to Harbin Institute of Technology.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Professor Li hung up the phone, muttering curses under his breath.

“What rotten luck! Can’t tell what’s urgent and what’s not!”

“If Ding Ping is taken away by the Defense Armament Department, I swear I’ll burn down your lab when I get back!”

But the moment he turned, his face brightened into a broad smile again.

“Ding Ping, I already told Professor Zhang; he’s coming back immediately.”

“If he knew you’d made such great progress, he’d be laughing himself awake in his dreams tonight.”

Professor Huang eyed him warily.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Professor Li’s smile was insincere, but after all, Zhang was Ding Ping’s mentor, so calling him back made sense.

After pondering for a while, Professor Huang decided to get closer to Su Ding Ping.

“Ding Ping, let me tell you about the benefits at our Defense Armament Department...”

Noticing Huang whispering to Su Ding Ping, Professor Li pulled Colonel Zhang aside and spoke quietly.

“Colonel Zhang, no matter what happens, we’re all Navy personnel. If it comes to a fight over Ding Ping with Professor Huang, I’ll need your help.”

Colonel Zhang nodded.

No matter if Su Ding Ping ended up at the 335 Research Institute or the Navy Equipment Demonstration Research Center, he was still Navy. But if he went to the Defense Armament Department, that was a different matter.

The models and design blueprints scattered around were important, but the undecided Su Ding Ping was even more critical. The three men had already begun their quiet contest.

After the tension eased, Professor Li started pacing the room.

The more he looked at the walls covered in blueprints, the more energized he became.

He had noticed important detail drawings missing from the five large boxes of blueprints earlier, but here they were.

“Professor Huang, come take a look at this.”

...

Outside the lab, Major Wan, Colonel Zhang’s subordinate, hurried over with a group.

“Team One, immediately surround the lab. No one is allowed inside!”

“Yes, Major!”

“Team Two, take control of the surveillance room and secure the surrounding cameras!”

“Yes, Major!”

“Team Three, have you brought everything?”

“Report, Major, all equipment is accounted for!”

“Follow me inside!”

Instantly, the three teams split up. Team One guarded every exit and window of the lab, Team Two rushed to the campus security room, and Team Three followed Major Wan straight to the lounge.

Inside the lounge, Zhao Haikuo and others, along with the instructor, sat dazed in their seats.

“Teacher, how long are we supposed to wait here?”

“Keep quiet! Just wait!”

Before the instructor finished speaking, Major Wan and his team arrived briskly.

“Hello, Teacher Qian. From now on, I’ll be in charge here.”

The instructor breathed a sigh of relief, finally free.

He exchanged greetings and was about to leave but was stopped by two soldiers guarding the door.

Seeing this, Zhao Haikuo and the others felt a chill, a premonition that something serious was amiss.

“Teacher Qian, please continue to cooperate with our work.”

Major Wan didn’t say more and handed over a document.

“Teacher Qian, everything written here is accurate, right?”

The instructor flipped through the pages, his heart pounding.

The document detailed his relationships, background, and more.

“Yes, Major, it’s all correct,” the instructor forced a dry laugh.

Then Major Wan handed over another document.

“Teacher Qian, please sign this.”

The instructor glanced at the cover page—“Confidentiality Agreement” was boldly printed.

Major Wan’s gaze shifted to Zhao Haikuo and the others.

He signaled the soldiers behind him, who quickly distributed stacks of paperwork.

As Zhao Haikuo and the others examined their documents, they exchanged bewildered looks.

Major Wan said, “Take a look and let me know if there are any issues.”

The group was too nervous to speak and quickly shook their heads to indicate no problems.

“Next, sign this form.”

Major Wan personally handed out stacks of documents.

Seeing the words “Confidentiality Agreement,” their hearts leapt into their throats.

This is terrible—we’re just here for the thesis defense, yet we’ve seen things we shouldn’t have!

Once everything was arranged, Major Wan addressed the instructor.

“Teacher Qian, I believe you’re familiar with the procedures.”

“I am!” The instructor sighed internally. High-level secrecy measures were no joke—not just a signature, but memorizing all the rules.

“From now on, I’ll have people guarding the door. Call us anytime if needed.” With that, he strode out.

Though Major Wan and his team left the lounge, the atmosphere remained suffocatingly tense.

“Instructor, what exactly is going on?” Zhao Haikuo whispered.

“Silence! Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t!” The instructor’s tone shifted. “After signing, remember to memorize everything!”

“What? Memorize? So many rules!”

“No discussion! No lunch if you don’t finish memorizing by noon! No dinner if you don’t finish by afternoon! In short, you eat only after you’ve memorized it all! I’ll conduct spot checks!”

After a pause, the instructor added, “I have to memorize it too.”

Zhao Haikuo and the others, who had wanted to resist, immediately shut up at that.

Soon, the lounge was filled with the crisp sound of reciting by heart.

At the same time, not far from the lab, Wang Xin and Guo Xueyun hurried toward the scene.

“I wonder how your senior brother’s defense went this time.”

Wang Xin wore a worried expression.

The three examiners’ strictness exceeded her expectations—Zhao Haikuo didn’t even reach 80 points. In all her years of schooling, this was a first! She guessed Zhao must be just as confused now.

“Senior Brother Zhao shouldn’t have done too badly.”

“Hopefully. By the way, I heard Su Ding Ping also participated? Professor Zhang is strict with his students! Professor Wu didn’t even let you join.”

“Good thing I didn’t; I’d have lost sleep for days.”

“Then what if Su Ding Ping can’t sleep these days? What would you do?” Wang Xin smiled teasingly at Guo Xueyun.

Guo Xueyun hesitated before replying, “If he can’t sleep, he can’t sleep. It’s none of my business.”

Wang Xin mimicked her tone, and the two burst into laughter.

When they reached the lab, the laughter stopped, and they froze.

“Xueyun, what’s going on? Were these soldiers here last time you came?”

Guo Xueyun shook her head repeatedly.

Curious, the two continued forward.

Before they could get close, two fully armed soldiers rushed over, blocking their path.

“Stop right there.”