Volume 1, Chapter 34: Caught

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The night was like a sheet of soaked black cloth, pressing heavily over Plant 132.

The ashtray in Du Yuze’s office was already full. He had not smoked a single cigarette; he had merely snapped them in half, one after another. When Pang Qingquan called, he was breaking the fifth.

“We caught them.” There was no joy in Pang Qingquan’s voice, only exhaustion. “A contact and a courier. The courier is Liu Quan. The contact is a woman, and she refuses to say a word. She’s tough.”

“What about the big fish?” Du Yuze asked.

“There is no fish. Not even a minnow.” Pang Qingquan swore on the other end. “Damn it, they’re cleverer than foxes. They sent only two unrelated people to pick up one insignificant item. The newspaper contained nothing but a local tourist map, with several circles drawn in pencil. Meaningless.”

Du Yuze fell silent. This was both a warning and a probe. Their opponent was using an expendable pawn to test their defenses and their ability to respond.

“Liu Quan has confessed. His grandson has leukemia and urgently needs money. Someone gave him five thousand yuan to deliver a newspaper to the park. He doesn’t even know who the other party is.”

“Keep him in custody for now,” Du Yuze said. “You’ve worked hard.”

“To hell with working hard,” Pang Qingquan replied. “I feel like an idiot. I took more than a hundred men to catch two flies.”

The call ended. Silence returned to the office.

Du Yuze rose and walked to the window, gazing at the lights still burning in the distant workshops. Li Weiguo and his apprentices were still grinding the components of the Dragon Sparrow. Every part was steeped in their blood and sweat; every figure in the specifications concerned life and death. And now, an unseen vulture circled above them, coveting everything they had.

The red telephone on the desk suddenly rang, sharp and shrill.

It was the direct line to the plant director’s office.

“Little Du, come to my office at once.” Director Zhang’s voice held no emotion.

When Du Yuze pushed open the door, he found that Director Zhang was not alone in the conference room. Seated on the opposite side was a man in a dark jacket with a square face and a solemn expression: Chief Gao of the Security Department, who was responsible for security throughout the plant.

The atmosphere was wrong.

“Sit.” Director Zhang pointed to the chair opposite him.

Du Yuze sat down. Chief Gao glanced at him without speaking, but that single look felt like the appraisal of an object.

“I’ve heard about what happened this afternoon,” Director Zhang began. “Comrade Pang Qingquan did an excellent job, and your response was swift. But the result was less than satisfactory.”

Du Yuze said nothing. He knew this was merely an opening remark.

“The Vulture network is still intact, and our internal investigation has yielded nothing.” Chief Gao finally spoke. He turned to Director Zhang. “Director, I’ll repeat my position. Until the threat has been eliminated, Project JY1 must be suspended. All core components must be placed in storage and sealed. All core personnel… must undergo isolation and investigation.”

Du Yuze’s spine went rigid.

“Chief Gao, what exactly do you mean by ‘isolation and investigation’?”

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“Exactly what it sounds like.” Chief Gao made no attempt to soften his words. “Until the mole is exposed, everyone with access to core secrets is a suspect. Including you, Chief Engineer Du.”

Director Zhang rapped his fingers against the table. “Old Gao, watch your wording. Little Du is the project’s overall director.”

“I am responsible only for security,” Chief Gao replied, refusing to yield an inch. “The situation is that the enemy is hidden while we stand exposed. Our very heart, the Dragon Sparrow engine, is sitting in plain sight on the workshop floor. The JY1 blueprints pass every day between your office and the design room. What is this if not a factory? It is an undefended target! I recommend that the second test flight be canceled immediately. To proceed would be treating state property like a joke!”

“I disagree!” Director Zhang slammed his palm onto the table, splashing water from the teacup. “Old Gao, you look at everything from your own angle! If we halt the project, morale will collapse! Whom would we be showing weakness to? To those rats hiding in the gutters? No! Not only must we not stop, we must accelerate!”

He turned to Du Yuze.

“Little Du, tell me: what is the current state of JY1? Can it fly?”

Du Yuze felt himself being torn apart by two opposing forces. Chief Gao’s concerns were entirely valid, every step grounded in reason. Director Zhang’s insistence, meanwhile, was a conviction approaching obsession.

He remembered what Li Weiguo had said: Make the wings tougher. Then tougher still.

“It can fly,” Du Yuze answered. “The ground-test data is basically stable. But—”

“No buts.” Director Zhang cut him off. “I don’t want a lump of iron lying on the ground. I want it in the air! We have to show everyone that Plant 132 has not fallen, and that Chinese aircraft will not have their wings broken by a few filthy vermin!”

“This is gambling!” Chief Gao growled. “What if the other side obtains crucial telemetry during the test flight? What if the aircraft—”

“There are no what-ifs!” Director Zhang rose and began pacing around the office. “We cannot bury all the grain in the ground just because we are afraid of thieves. We would starve ourselves first!”

The office fell into a deadlocked argument.

Thoughts raced through Du Yuze’s mind. To stop meant that all their previous efforts might come to nothing and the project’s morale would sink to rock bottom. To continue meant accepting risks too great to measure.

Then he suddenly thought of something else.

“Director, Chief Gao.” Du Yuze spoke up, interrupting their dispute. “What if the purpose of this test flight is not merely to verify the aircraft’s flight performance?”

Both men turned toward him.

“What do you mean?” Director Zhang asked.

“We have been developing a new avionics system. At its core is a prototype pulse-Doppler radar.” Du Yuze’s thoughts grew increasingly clear. “At present, its performance parameters exist only in theoretical calculations and laboratory tests. In addition, we have developed a preliminary real-time engine-data acquisition system capable of recording detailed data from the Dragon Sparrow under every extreme condition in flight.”

Chief Gao frowned. “You want to install something even more classified on it? Have you lost your mind?”

“No.” Du Yuze shook his head. “You misunderstand me. Blueprints can be stolen, and components can be copied. But there is one thing they can never take away: data. The aircraft’s performance data in a real flight environment.”

He looked at Chief Gao, then at Director Zhang.

“The radar’s detection range and resistance to interference at an altitude of three thousand meters, the engine’s turbine temperature and intake pressure at the instant it breaks the sound barrier… Those figures are the true soul of JY1. They can steal its bones, but not its soul. Unless…”

Du Yuze paused.

“Unless they can monitor our entire test flight in real time from close range. And that is precisely what gives us an opportunity.”

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Chief Gao’s expression changed. He seemed to understand Du Yuze’s intentions.

Director Zhang’s eyes lit up. “You mean… turn this test flight into a trap?”

“A test, and a trap,” Du Yuze said. “We announce to the outside world that this will be a flight test of extreme performance. For the Vulture, it will be bait they cannot refuse. They will certainly find a way to get close and steal our telemetry signals. The moment they act, they will expose themselves.”

“You mean to use our most precious JY1 to go fishing?” Suspicion filled Chief Gao’s voice.

“No.” Du Yuze corrected him. “We are using JY1’s second life to take the Vulture’s life. At the same time, we will obtain the real-flight data we have dreamed of. It is a high-risk gamble, but we are the ones raising the stakes. If we win, we will soar into the heavens. If we lose…”

He did not finish.

Director Zhang remained silent for a long time. Then he returned to his seat and lowered himself heavily into it. He looked at Du Yuze as though he were seeing a stranger.

“What odds do you give us?”

“Technically, I am completely confident that we can recover both the aircraft and the data,” Du Yuze replied. “As for whether we can catch that fish, you’ll have to ask Chief Gao.”

Chief Gao stared hard at Du Yuze. A full half-minute passed before he forced several words through clenched teeth.

“If you dare do this, then I dare gamble alongside you. I will lay an inescapable net across the entire Plant 132. I want to see whether the Vulture’s wings are stronger, or my net is tighter.”

Director Zhang smashed his fist onto the table.

“Good! It’s settled!” he declared. “Little Du, you have three days to install all the new systems! Old Gao, I’m giving you the highest authority. People, equipment—whatever you need, you’ll have it! Three days from now, I want to watch JY1 take to the sky again with my own eyes!”

Du Yuze walked out of the office. Only when the cold wind struck him did he realize that his back was already drenched in sweat.

He did not return directly to the workshop. Instead, he walked toward the vacant lot where scrapped machine tools were stored.

He lit a cigarette and gazed at the lights of the distant city. For the first time, they did not look warm to him. They looked like a perilous jungle, alive with hidden dangers.

He had turned JY1 into bait.

Now he had become part of the bait himself—the most conspicuous part of all.

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