fainted

The door to Cui Yu's office closed gently, cutting off the echo in the corridor. The relaxed expression on his face vanished instantly, and he pressed the intercom button.

"Zhao Lei, come in here for a moment."

Within ten seconds, Zhao Lei strode in, his expression serious: "Director Cui."

“Two things,” Cui Yu said quickly.

"First, check Director Meng's father's recent call records and itinerary, especially whether he has had any indirect contact with Dingsheng Capital, the Chen family, or any forces that might be detrimental to the 'Galaxy' project. It must be done in absolute secrecy."

Zhao Lei's eyes sharpened, and he immediately realized that this had gone far beyond the scope of business competition and involved the personal privacy and potential threats of senior executives: "Understood, we will do it through unofficial channels and leave no trace."

“Second,” Cui Yu continued.

“You should go to that seminar of the ‘Technology Ethics Alliance’ in person.”

Zhao Lei was slightly surprised: "What? But they're asking for a technical lead..."

“You represent Xinghai Technology, and you represent me.” Cui Yu interrupted him, a cold smile playing on his lips. “When you get there, you don’t need to say much, just listen. The key is to keep a close eye on Chen Siyang, see who he contacts, what he says, especially after the meeting. If he tries to ‘bump into’ anyone, or spreads any ‘concerns’ about Xinghai Technology’s predicament, record it.”

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes deep: "If necessary, you can 'inadvertently' reveal some information. For example, Xinghai did lose some key experimental data due to the previous chaos, and is currently struggling to 'reconstruct' and 'verify' certain 'historical parameters'."

Zhao Lei instantly understood—this was to spread the bait of the "poisoned candy" sent to Dingsheng even wider and more realistically, to solidify the "authenticity" of those fake data, and to make Dingsheng even more convinced that they had fallen into the trap.

"Understood! I know what to do." Zhao Lei nodded emphatically.

"Go ahead, and do a good job."

Zhao Lei accepted the order and left, and the office returned to silence.

Cui Yu leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the view outside the window.

He had seen plenty of open and covert attacks in the business world, but the sight of someone so directly reaching into the family of a business partner, attempting to undermine their will from behind, chilled him to the bone.

Dingsheng Capital and the Chen family are likely connected. The Chen family must have promised Meng Yihe's parents many benefits, which explains their eagerness to send their son to the Chen family.

Tsk.

He picked up his phone, tapped the number in his contacts labeled "Old Man," hesitated for a moment, and finally dialed it.

The call was quickly connected, and melodious Peking Opera singing could be heard in the background.

"Oh, it hasn't been long, and you already want this old man to clean up your mess again?" The old man's voice carried his usual teasing tone.

“Grandpa,” Cui Yu said gravely, “there might be a little trouble, and I need your help to take a look.”

The Peking Opera vocals softened, and the old man's tone became more serious: "Speak."

“Someone’s overreached and got involved with my people. Things at home aren’t exactly clean,” Cui Yu said rather subtly.

After a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, a cold snort came through:

"Those kinds of shady things again? Names."

“Dingsheng Capital, Ji Nan. And possibly the local Chen family,” Cui Yu announced.

"For now, we don't need to do anything, but please keep an eye on things and make sure that no underhanded tactics interfere with the important matters here. In particular... don't let them use their elders to force my people to do things they don't want to do."

“Tsk, ‘your people’?” The old man caught the word precisely, his tone becoming playful.

"Alright, kid, you've really got guts. Got it, I'll keep an eye on things. A few clowns can't cause any real trouble, so go ahead and do your job."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

"No need to thank me, just remember my wine! Three bottles already!" The old man laughed and scolded as he hung up the phone.

With this phone call, Cui Yu felt a little relieved.

The old man said to keep an eye on things, which would at least ensure that Meng Yihe's family pressure wouldn't escalate into more excessive coercion and interference.

He turned his attention back to the internal affairs of Xinghai Technology. Documents awaited his approval, and decisions needed his approval.

...

Inside the control room.

Meng Yihe immersed herself completely in the ocean of data.

He forcefully suppressed his father's phone calls and his mother's pressure to the deepest level of his consciousness, sealing them away with absolute professionalism and rationality.

Only in the occasional gap would that cold question emerge uncontrollably—what more do you want?

Each time, he suppressed it with even more focused scrutiny; all his emotions seemed to have been transformed into an obsessive pursuit of the success of the "Galaxy" project.

Late into the night, the trial production process finally ran smoothly through a critical cycle, with all parameters stabilizing within the expected range.

Meng Yihe then allowed herself to relax her tense nerves a little.

He silently stood up, walked out of the control room, and intended to go to the break room to get a cup of hot water. The corridor was empty and quiet; most employees had already left work, except for the office next to his, where a light was still on.

The door was open when he passed by.

Cui Yu sat behind his computer, his brow furrowed as he stared at the screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard, seemingly dealing with an urgent email. A cup of coffee sat beside him, now cold. Sensing the gaze from outside the door, Cui Yu looked up.

Seeing that it was Meng Yihe, he was a little surprised, but then his brows relaxed, and he asked naturally, "Is it over? Did it go smoothly?"

Meng Yihe paused, looking at the pale blue under the other person's eyes and equally tired face. The stiff "not bad" circled on her lips, but finally turned into a simple "Hmm".

He paused, then added, unusually, his voice a little hoarse: "You haven't left yet?"

"Almost there, we'll finish this." Cui Yu smiled and looked back at the screen.

Meng Yihe stood at the door, silent for a few seconds, and finally said nothing. He turned and walked towards the tea room. As he poured hot water, he watched the steam slowly rise from the cup. But inexplicably, Cui Yu's carefree smile from earlier, and those eyes that, though tired, were still clear, kept replaying in his mind.

"You're not alone in this now."

That sentence silently echoed in my mind once again.

He carried his water glass back to his office. As he passed Cui Yu's still-lit doorway, he didn't stop, but his pace seemed to slow slightly compared to before.

The light in Meng Yihe's office was still on.

He ultimately couldn't overcome his physical limits and collapsed fully clothed in the makeshift rest room attached to the office, almost instantly falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The body's self-protective mechanism forcibly takes over, blocking out all disturbances.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Cui Yu had just finished processing half of an urgent report on supply chain optimization when a notification sound, indicating the highest priority, suddenly rang out on the internal communication line.

It didn't come from the front desk or any ordinary department; it was directly connected to the core security center of the park.

He answered immediately, his tone calm: "Go ahead."

"Mr. Cui." The security supervisor's voice was extremely low and tense.

"Infrared alarm detected in backup warehouse number three in Zone B. Unauthorized access. The trigger point is the ventilation duct entrance on the side wall. Our people have secretly sealed off all surrounding exits with minimal disturbance, without alerting the other party."

Warehouse No. 3 in Zone B?

It contains a batch of early, obsolete experimental samples and some discarded equipment from the "Galaxy" project.

It's not very valuable, but it involves some original technological ideas.

Cui Yu's mind raced—who would choose this time and place to break into a seemingly insignificant warehouse?

How many people?

He asked, his fingers already on the keyboard bringing up the live feed for that area, but the other person clearly avoided the main camera.

"The thermal imaging showed one, its movements were very professional, as if it was looking for something."

Looking for something?

It wasn't about sabotage or theft of high-value targets... A thought flashed through Cui Yu's mind like lightning.

Ji Nan!

After receiving the fake data, she was probably excited but also harbored some doubts.

She dared not directly target the core area, so she tried every means to obtain some uncontaminated physical samples of the "Galaxy" project to cross-verify with the "confidential information" in her possession.

She wanted to use physical evidence to refute the "authenticity" of those false data.

How cunning! And how close!

If she gets her hands on early samples, while it might not lead to the leakage of core secrets, it could very likely make her discover the huge discrepancy between the fake data and Xinghai's actual R&D path, thus alerting her.

"Capture them alive." Cui Yu's voice was as cold as ice.

"Be clean and don't leave any traces. Once you've subdued him, take him directly to isolation room number one. I'll be there right away."

"clear!"

Cui Yu grabbed his suit jacket and strode out of the office. He didn't pause at all as he passed Meng Yihe's closed office door.

There's no need to bother him about this now.

He can handle it.

Isolation Room No. 1 is a secret interrogation room within Xinghai Technology, with cold white lighting and soundproof walls. A plain-looking man in dark overalls is handcuffed to a chair. He has some scratches on his face, and his eyes show the numbness and a hint of panic typical of habitual offenders.

The security supervisor stood to one side.

Cui Yu walked in, pulled out a chair opposite him, sat down, and scrutinized the other person without rushing to speak. Although the powerful Enigma pheromones were deliberately concealed, the silent pressure still made the air in the small space feel thick and heavy.

The man shifted uneasily.

"Who sent you?" Cui Yu finally spoke, his voice calm yet carrying an overwhelming sense of pressure. "Think carefully before you speak. Someone of your caliber isn't qualified to take on this responsibility."

The man's lips trembled slightly, and he instinctively tried to avoid his gaze, but he was as if he were nailed to the spot and could not move.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about...I just wanted to steal some scrap metal..."

"Scrap metal?" Cui Yu chuckled softly, picked up a small precision sampler and several vacuum sample bags that the security supervisor had taken from the man, and threw them on the table.

"Using this to steal? Professional micro-trace sampling tools, targeting a specific batch of discarded composite materials? Your employer is certainly willing to spend the money."

The man's face turned pale instantly.

"How much money did Dingsheng Capital give you? Ji Nan personally liaised with you?" Cui Yu leaned forward, his gaze as sharp as a knife piercing the man.

"Or through a middleman? State the method, time, and place of the meeting. Otherwise," he paused, his tone barely changing, "you'll lose more than just the reward for this deal."

The threat was silent, yet each word carried immense weight.

Cold sweat beaded on the man's forehead; his psychological defenses crumbled rapidly under the immense pressure and keen insight.

"It was... an anonymous middleman who contacted me online, saying that the mission would be complete as long as I obtained a small amount of debris from the batch of discarded samples with tags starting with GX-07 stored in Warehouse 3 of Area B..."

GX-07 is actually abandoned code from a failed branch of the early "Galaxy" project.

Just as I expected.

The cold light in Cui Yu's eyes intensified.

He took out his phone, fiddled with it a few times, and pulled up a processed photo of Ji Nan and Chen Siyang shaking hands at a foreign airport. Although blurry, it was still recognizable.

"Is this the woman?" He turned the screen towards the man.

The man looked closely, then nodded hesitantly: "It does look a bit like her. The reference photos the middleman sent for the mission included a side profile..."

The chain of evidence is closed.

Cui Yu put away his phone and gave the security supervisor a wink: "Make him spill all the middleman's contact information and transaction records. Then you know what to do."

"Understood, Mr. Cui."

Cui Yu got up and left the isolation room, expressionless. Back in his office, he immediately dialed Zhao Lei's number, regardless of whether it was late at night.

"The plan was adjusted, the fish bit the hook so hard that it almost pulled the bait away."

Cui Yu's words were concise and to the point.

"Immediately implement Plan B. Let that 'former project manager' 'leak' a little more information, saying that the original data he secretly backed up and hid might be incomplete, or that Liu Ye had tampered with it, containing some misleading information. Make him act a little panicked and try to contact Dingsheng to 'confirm' or 'remedy' the situation."

He intends to use this failed theft in reverse.

To further convince Ji Nan that the "poisoned candy" was coated with an embellishment of "authenticity," even leading her to believe that Xinghai had already detected the "data leak" and begun an internal investigation, she would become even more convinced that what she had obtained was genuinely valuable, but required more careful scrutiny.

Zhao Lei immediately accepted the order on the other end of the phone: "Yes! I'll arrange it right away!"

After finishing all this, the sky outside the window was already beginning to lighten.

Cui Yu leaned back in his chair, feeling a wave of mental exhaustion, but his mind was unusually clear.

Ji Nan's relentless pressure only made him more vigilant. He picked up his phone, subconsciously opened his photo album, and looked at the picture he had secretly taken last night of Meng Yihe's back in the control room. The person in the photo was tense all over, like a fully drawn bow, facing all the pressure alone.

He lightly swiped his thumb across the screen, then locked the phone and tossed it onto the table.

The mines underfoot hadn't been cleared yet, and a pack of wolves was still lurking around behind.

He needed to ensure the "Galaxy" was foolproof and that Meng Yihe could focus wholeheartedly on completing his part of the mission. As for the dirty tricks and open and covert attacks from all sides, he would handle that.

It's almost dawn.

Cui Yu handled the follow-up efficiently.

The intruder was quietly handed over to the relevant authorities, and all traces were erased as if he had never existed.

Zhao Lei also reported that Plan B had been launched, and the "panic" performance of the "former project manager" was very convincing, enough to make Dingsheng have "sweet troubles" about the data they had already obtained.

He needs coffee, lots of coffee.

However, just as he returned to his office with a cup of piping hot black coffee and sat down to process another batch of documents, the internal phone rang shrilly.

It was the receptionist, and her voice was clearly flustered.

"President Cui! Something terrible has happened! President Meng, he..."

Cui Yu's heart sank, and she slammed her coffee cup down on the table: "What's wrong with him?"

"President Meng's face was deathly pale just now. He went straight to the lab, but... but before he even reached the control room door, he... he fainted!"

"What?!"

Cui Yu suddenly stood up, the chair scraping back with a screeching sound.

"Did you call the infirmary? Where are they now?"

"We called! The infirmary staff were there and have already taken President Meng to the infirmary! We..."

Before the receptionist could finish speaking, Cui Yu rushed out of the office, practically running across the corridor.

The infirmary was brightly lit.

Meng Yihe lay on the makeshift hospital bed, her eyes closed, her face almost transparently pale, and her forehead covered with a fine layer of cold sweat.

The doctor in the medical room was frowning as he measured his blood pressure, while the nurse was preparing an intravenous injection.

"What happened?" Cui Yu rushed in, his voice tense, his gaze fixed on Meng Yihe's bloodless face.

Upon seeing him, the doctor immediately reported, "Mr. Cui, Mr. Meng's fainting was caused by excessive fatigue, high mental stress, and low blood sugar. His blood pressure is low, and his heart rate is very fast. He needs immediate fluid replacement and rest; he absolutely cannot be pushed any further!"

Cui Yu looked at Meng Yihe's slightly furrowed brows, even though she was unconscious.

Was it because of the consecutive all-nighters? Was it because of the pressure from "Galaxy"? Or was it because of his relentlessly demanding parents?

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, and said to the doctor, "Use the best medicine and let him rest well. No one is allowed to disturb him without my permission."

"Yes, Mr. Cui." Cui Yu stood by the hospital bed, watching the nurse carefully insert the needle into the vein on the back of Meng Yihe's hand, and the clear liquid dripped into his body little by little.

Meng Yihe's fingers unconsciously curled up, as if resisting something, but unable to break free.