Chapter 75 A vicious plan is being carried out in secret!
Let's rewind to a few days ago.
The shipyard on the island was brightly lit. The exploration vessel "Exploration One" was quietly moored on the slipway, and workers were conducting its final and most comprehensive inspection and maintenance before its departure.
Technician Wang, an unremarkable middle-aged man in the repair shop, was now bowing and following behind the shipyard director, constantly reporting on his work.
"Director, rest assured! This 'Exploration One' is going on a secret mission, so we absolutely cannot afford to be careless in the slightest! We've checked all the wiring again! And we've maintained all the parts!"
"Especially this main engine!" Technician Wang pointed to the huge machine, its outer shell disassembled to reveal a jumble of pipes, and smiled obsequiously. "This is the heart of the ship! I personally led a team to thoroughly clean the oil lines, electrical circuits, and cooling system inside and out to ensure it's fully powered at sea and will absolutely not fail!"
The shipyard director nodded in satisfaction. This mission was Qin Lie's first personally led task since his promotion to chief of staff, and everyone attached great importance to it. He patted Technician Wang on the shoulder: "Old Wang, you did a great job this time! Thank you for your hard work! I'll recommend you for commendation once the mission is successfully completed!"
"Of course, of course! It's what we should do!" Technician Wang smiled so broadly that his face was full of wrinkles as he watched the shipyard director leave.
Once most of the shipyard workers had left, leaving only a few night shift workers dozing in the distance, Technician Wang's smile vanished completely. He glanced around warily, then, like a thief, slipped into the engine room at the bottom of the ship's hold.
The machine room was stuffy and noisy, filled with the pungent smell of engine oil and steel. He walked over to the main engine that he had just praised to the skies and pulled something wrapped in tarpaulin from a compartment in the toolbox.
He opened the tarpaulin, revealing a section of metal oil pipe that looked neither new nor old. The joints of the pipe had an unnaturally dark luster, and if you looked closely with a magnifying glass, you could see that it was covered with extremely fine cracks, like a spider web.
This is the "death warrant" that Li Weiguo made him put on!
Technician Wang's hands trembled slightly. He was well aware of the consequences of his actions. Once the ship was sailing at high speed at sea, the engine would be under high temperature and pressure for an extended period, and this defective oil pipe would act like a time bomb, potentially bursting at any moment due to the pressure!
At that time, the high-pressure fuel will be injected, which may cause the engine to shut down and lose power; or if it encounters a spark, the entire engine room or even the entire ship will be engulfed by a huge fireball in an instant!
He broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about that scene.
But then he remembered the thick envelope Li Weiguo had stuffed into his hand. Inside was a full five hundred yuan! That was more than half a year's salary for him! Li Weiguo had also promised him that if things went well, he would immediately promote him to deputy director of the repair shop once he was back in power!
On one side lies an abyss where exposure and annihilation are imminent; on the other side, wealth and power are readily available.
Technician Wang was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.
In the end, greed triumphed over fear. He gritted his teeth and comforted himself: On the vast ocean, who would know it was just a small oil pipeline that caused the problem? By then, Qin Lie and his ship would be dead, with no way to prove anything! Brother Li got promoted, and he got promoted and made a fortune along with him, all without anyone knowing!
Without hesitation, he picked up a wrench and deftly removed a critical oil pipe from the main engine that connected to the high-pressure oil pump. Then, he carefully replaced it with the old oil pipe, which had a fatal crack.
He handled every interface, screw, and every detail perfectly, leaving no trace of tampering on the outside.
After doing all that, he crept into the captain's cabin. He found the core communications equipment enclosure located behind the bridge. This machine was the ship's only link to the outside world.
Following Li Weiguo's instructions, he unscrewed the core interface connecting the main communication antenna to the chassis. Instead of unplugging the cable, he gently loosened a key clip inside with pliers.
This slight disturbance wouldn't normally affect communications. Ships sailing in port or nearshore waters have strong signals and everything is normal. However, once out to sea, where signals are already weak, and if strong winds, high waves, or violent rocking occur, this loose connection could easily become completely faulty due to the vibrations, leading to a complete signal loss!
At that point, the ship would become an isolated island on the vast ocean. There would be no navigation, no support, and no possibility of calling for help!
After finishing all this, Technician Wang's palms were sweaty. He cleaned up the perfectly intact oil pipe that had been replaced and all traces of the crime. Then, he walked out of the machine room as if nothing had happened, and even greeted the workers on the night shift warmly.
No one knew that just moments ago, this seemingly honest and kind man had personally planted the fuse to hell for everyone on "Exploration One".
Meanwhile, at the other end of the family compound, Wen Xue was carefully dressing herself. She had learned from Li Weiguo that their plan had succeeded flawlessly. She could almost see Qin Lie drowned, and Jiang Wu, that vile woman, transformed from a high-ranking division commander's wife into a pitiful widow with a large belly.
She was so happy she even hummed a little tune. She applied bright lipstick in front of the mirror, feeling that her good days were just around the corner.
She had even started planning what position she should get Li Weiguo to give her in the cultural troupe once he became chief of staff. Captain? Or deputy commander?
She was happily daydreaming when there was a knock on the dormitory door.
A girl from my dorm ran in excitedly: "Wenxue, come quick! Come look! There's a new movie poster on the bulletin board in the residential compound! They say they're showing 'Heroes and Daughters' on the main playground tonight!"
"Heroes and Heroines?" Wen Xue curled her lip, showing absolutely no interest. She was now only interested in watching another "good show" called "Family Destruction and Death."
However, what her friend said next made her heart skip a beat.
"I heard that this movie was specially organized as a farewell party for Chief of Staff Qin and his team who are about to go to sea on a mission!"
A farewell party? Wen Xue's eyes darted around, and an even more wicked thought surfaced in her mind.
She had to go! She absolutely had to go! She wanted to see Qin Lie and Jiang Wu's final "affectionate" moment. She wanted to witness with her own eyes how reluctant they were to part, how they poured out their hearts to each other.
Only in this way, when the bad news arrives, will the pain and despair on that bitch Jiang Wu's face be more vivid and more... pleasing to her eye!
She even wondered if she should go to the farewell party and toast Qin Lie, just as a way of... saying goodbye to him in advance.
As she thought about this, the smile on her lips became increasingly eerie and sinister.
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