Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Spy Within

After finishing their meal, the two of them prepared to return to the dormitory to continue poring over materials. With this recent development, all subsequent work would have to proceed at a faster pace.

Back in the dormitory, Zhang Mingyang turned on his computer and began reviewing thousands of pages of documents.

“Sigh, when will I ever finish reading all this?”

…

At nine in the evening, as Zhang Mingyang was absorbed in his materials, his communicator rang—it was a call from his teacher.

“Hello, Teacher, what’s the matter?”

Lin Guangming’s voice was very soft on the other end. “Mingyang, come quickly to my room. I need to speak with you.”

“Alright, I’ll be right there.”

After hanging up, Zhang Mingyang didn’t think much about it. If his teacher was calling him this late, it must be important.

He closed his door and walked to his teacher’s room.

*Knock knock…*

“Come in.”

As soon as he entered, Zhang Mingyang saw that Qian Zhongshu was also in the room.

“Grandpa Qian, have you finished your meeting already?”

Lin Guangming brought over a stool for Zhang Mingyang to sit on.

“The meeting was quick—just a brief discussion about speeding up the next phase of work and mentioning that an investigation team will arrive tomorrow.”

“An inspection team? What kind of inspection team?”

Qian Zhongshu took a sip of tea. “You all know that the ‘Oceanus’ lost contact because of an issue with the spaceship’s energy system, but you don’t know that someone tampered with the control room.”

“What!”

Both men were shocked. “Someone tampered with the control room? Isn’t that an area only a select few can access? How could it be sabotaged? Could there be a traitor in our base?”

Qian Zhongshu nodded. “You’ve guessed right. There is indeed a spy in our base.”

Hearing this, the two were even more astonished.

“And here’s another piece of news that will surprise you: the Americans’ ‘Discovery’ actually ceased operation half a year ago.”

Zhang Mingyang cried out in disbelief, “That can’t be. Grandpa Wang told me about the ‘Discovery’—he said it’s still operating normally and heading toward Beta Trianguli.”

“Yes, Wang Bowen told me the same thing,” Lin Guangming echoed.

Qian Zhongshu laughed. “If Old Wang hadn’t said that, would you have come here?”

“I knew it—he was hiding something from us again.” Lin Guangming grew more indignant as he spoke.

“Alright, let it go,” Qian Zhongshu tried to calm him. “It’s already something that you’re being told this much—he could have simply told you that you were assigned to a special project by national order. Could you have refused to come?”

“That’s true.”

Qian Zhongshu went on, “After the Americans’ ‘Discovery’ stopped operating six months ago, they also set up a department, code-named ‘Project Arctic,’ to develop a new spacecraft for rescue, just like us. Since we know about their secret project, don’t you think they might also know about ours?”

“So I believe the spy in our base was sent by the Americans.”

Hearing Qian Zhongshu’s explanation, Lin Guangming couldn’t help but gasp. “Does that mean we’ve been working alongside a spy every day?”

Zhang Mingyang asked, “Grandpa Qian, how many spies are in the base?”

Qian Zhongshu shook his head. “So far, we don’t know.”

Lin Guangming teased, “Old Qian, you know every secret in this base—don’t tell me you’re the spy!”

Qian Zhongshu stood up in alarm. “Old Lin, that’s not something to joke about! The only reason I know these things is because I’m a veteran here—some matters are easier to share with me. Besides, only ten people have access to the control room, and I’m not one of them.”

Lin Guangming, seeing Qian Zhongshu’s reaction, laughed and pulled him back down. “Old Qian, just kidding.”

Zhang Mingyang also laughed along.

Once he was seated again, Lin Guangming continued, “Old Qian, you’re not exactly young anymore—almost seventy, right? Why do you still get so worked up like a child?”

Qian Zhongshu retorted loudly, “Is this something to joke about?” His voice softened. “If the inspection team comes, I might get arrested.”

Sensing the tension, Zhang Mingyang quickly changed the subject. “Grandpa Qian, I’ve always been curious—do you know what’s actually on Beta Trianguli?”

“Well…” Qian Zhongshu was stumped. “Honestly, at my level, I can’t say for certain. But you could ask Wang Bowen—he probably knows everything.”

At the mention of Wang Bowen, both men replied in unison, “Asking him is as good as asking the Chairman himself!”

Seeing their reactions, Qian Zhongshu sensed there was a story behind it.

“What’s this? Judging by your tone, there’s a tale here!”

Lin Guangming eagerly recounted, from his first meeting with Wang Bowen to the entire process of entering the base, leaving nothing out.

Qian Zhongshu burst out laughing. “Ah, I’ve worked with Old Wang for over twenty years, but I never knew he was such a storyteller. You’ve really been taken for a ride!”

“That’s not even the worst of it!” Zhang Mingyang chimed in, then shared his own story with Qian Zhongshu.

“Haha…”

“I’m going to write all this down and have a good chat with him in his office one of these days.”

“Haha…”

Watching Qian Zhongshu like this, Lin Guangming wished he could rush to Wang Bowen’s office right then and there and give him a piece of his mind. He’d abandoned a perfectly good project to come out to this remote place, working on something with no clear purpose.

Seeing their disgruntled faces, Qian Zhongshu stifled his laughter and tried to keep a straight face.

“Alright, enough of that—let’s change the subject,” Qian Zhongshu said. “Is there anything you want to know about the base? Ask away, and I’ll answer whatever I can.”

Lin Guangming immediately asked, “When was this base built?”

Qian Zhongshu shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Zhang Mingyang tried again. “Then when did this project start? You must know that.”

Qian Zhongshu still shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Let’s ask something technical then—do you know where the nuclear fusion materials are stored in the base?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then what do you know?”

Qian Zhongshu replied with a grin, “State secrets—I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Haha…”

“Mingyang, help me teach him a lesson!”

…

That night’s conversation gave Zhang Mingyang a true sense of what kind of person Grandpa Qian was—mischievous, childlike, and a bit of a chatterbox.

The three of them chatted until eleven, when Lin Guangming finally couldn’t stay awake any longer and the trio broke up for the night.

Back in his room, lying in bed, Zhang Mingyang found himself wide awake—he’d slept most of the day and now had trouble falling asleep.

Turning over, his eyes fell on the book “Resource Game.” He hadn’t had time to read it lately because of work, and since he wasn’t sleepy, he decided to read for a while.

He picked up the book and started from page 35…

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, Zhang Mingyang fell asleep with the book in his hands.