1novels #491 - Fix the Fence After the Sheep Has Rid
#491 - Fix the Fence After the Sheep Has Rid
Ren Zhong wouldn't interfere with or be able to influence the security and intelligence departments of the research institute. He also lacked the necessary experience, so he moved on after listening and didn't drastically change the current security system because of it. In Ren Zhong's view, the current security system was already strict enough, completely achieving the physical isolation of the entire research and development process from personal life.
Ren Zhong was well aware of the isolation measures taken by the main world regarding nuclear security, which involved isolating all core research personnel from the outside world, denying them any contact with their families, and essentially making them disappear for many years.
Ren Zhong didn't quite agree with this approach for most projects.
Ren Zhong was still willing to trust the integrity of most scientists and didn't overreact by changing the original, relatively relaxed security system, allowing the researchers' lives to be as normal as possible.
However, Li Hu, the head of the security department of the Dawn Research Institute, didn't share Ren Zhong's composure after such a major oversight. After a fit of rage, he began an internal investigation, working day and night.
As an old-timer who had always followed Ren Zhong, Li Hu had always been responsible for Ren Zhong's safety and the security and confidentiality of the research institute. Although he was at the Dawn Research Institute, his rank was now very high, holding a special position. When necessary, he could even mobilize local armed forces to strengthen security at more than a dozen large research bases across the country under his responsibility without prior reporting, only needing to report the specific details afterward. This was his duty and authority.
The Dawn Research Institute was too special, and only Li Hu, who had been following Ren Zhong, could gain Ren Zhong's unconditional trust and be granted unrestricted authorization for security work.
In fact, the security directors of the major bases were basically selected from Li Yunlong's direct subordinates, each holding a high-level position in the local garrison, ensuring the safety of the Dawn Research Institute's bases.
With Li Hu's anger, the already highly vigilant security department began to take full action.
For this task, there was no good method, only a comprehensive screening of all personnel who might have had access to this information.
For the security department, this was a daunting task. The chip-related research departments now had tens of thousands of personnel. The direct personnel qualified to access the core work of chip design numbered about several hundred, while those strongly related to this work and collaborating with the chip design research laboratory, such as downstream units of chip production and chip testing personnel, numbered several hundred more. This added up to more than a thousand people.
Frankly speaking, screening out suspects in a short period of time was like finding a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, this work couldn't be carried out openly, so as not to cause unnecessary panic within the research institute or alert the enemy. Li Hu had to conduct a discreet investigation.
Seven days later.
"Seven of the suspected personnel are returnees from overseas?" Ren Zhong received the secret investigation report from Li Hu. According to the current investigation results, more than thirty research personnel had visited the Xishan base in Xiangshan in the past month, more than a dozen of whom were related to chip design. Among these, the seven most suspicious were personnel who had returned from studying abroad.
Since they generally had doctoral degrees and were in their prime, around thirty or forty years old, their positions in the project teams were very high, with access to the core data of the chip project teams, and some were even key designers themselves.
Ren Zhong frowned. This matter was tricky.
It wasn't that the project couldn't continue without these people, but that, based on the current project situation, chip design had no end. According to the principle of producing one generation, researching one generation, and pre-researching one generation, several project teams had to develop in parallel to maintain a pace of updating a generation every year and a half, leaving competitors with no possibility of catching up.
For example, currently, the 8086 project team also had to handle a stripped-down version of the 8088 sub-project, and the next-generation pre-research 80286 project team needed a large number of people to expand, in order to cope with the exponentially increasing design workload. Because the further along, the more complex the chip design.
There were indeed many personnel from overseas in the project teams. Even among the core backbone, Ren Zhong could count that the proportion of overseas personnel accounted for at least 40%.
Ren Zhong didn't believe that they were all the ones leaking secrets. After all, according to the selection and training of core research backbone personnel, these people had to go through several rounds of tests before being promoted to core positions.
However, Li Hu and the others' investigation results were not without possibility, and Ren Zhong wouldn't doubt that there were indeed people leaking secrets here.
It was just, how to handle it without causing waves in the project team? Ren Zhong closed his eyes, thinking and tapping the table incessantly.
Li Hu on the side sat there motionless. He knew the seriousness of the matter and understood Ren Zhong's dilemma.
From a young soldier following Ren Zhong step by step to becoming the current head of security for the entire Dawn Research Institute, Li Hu learned not only intelligence-related things, but also, under Ren Zhong's influence, gradually learned culture, and even managed to earn a university diploma through his own efforts, completing a comprehensive course of study in management.
Because of this, Li Hu had a deep understanding of Ren Zhong's management ideas and the Dawn Research Institute's management system, and then, based on the special circumstances of the Dawn Research Institute, gradually improved the entire security system.
"Furthermore, regarding the rotation schedule, after our personnel finish their shifts at the base, we'll add a three-day desensitization period in the base's internal apartments. We'll organize recreational activities and sports to give each researcher a chance to fully relax mentally before their rotation," Ren Zhong thought of a possibility, though he didn't explicitly state it. He knew that even with his seamless time travel between two worlds, he didn't possess the ability of perfect recall. However, he couldn't rule out the possibility of some people having photographic memories, so he added this step to create a disturbance.
The base itself had double or single rooms for daily leisure. For researchers who needed to work inside the base for extended periods, these facilities completely eliminated their worries. There was a unified cafeteria for meals and apartment-style rooms for accommodation.
In theory, the entire base could operate seamlessly 365 days a year. Of course, Ren Zhong knew that everyone had their limits, and such long-term work would have poor sustainability. Therefore, he didn't agree with it. Instead, there were regular vacation plans that could be arranged within the project based on its progress.
It was just that now it seemed that there were still loopholes, so Ren Zhong wanted to fill them as much as possible.
Li Hu instantly understood Ren Zhong's intention and nodded. He also knew that under the current security system, the possibility of taking anything out from the inside was very small. There were no pockets on the work clothes, and even if the changing room wasn't monitored, it would be difficult to take anything out under such circumstances.
Ren Zhong's desensitization period created a new barrier against the loophole of people trying to take information out using their memory. These recreational activities and sports would not be optional for researchers in the future but mandatory. For those who wanted to take things out using their memory, the interference from the activities arranged within those three days would likely cause them to forget most of the memorized content quickly.
Qin Chu sensitively noticed that around him, there seemed to be intentional or unintentional gazes watching him.
He felt a little panicked inside.
Ever since he sent the intelligence to Xiangshan Luohantang, Qin Chu had been worried and fearful.
Although he hadn't been interrogated in any way so far, nor had he noticed any changes around him (he hadn't received a public notice about the new researcher vacation desensitization system yet), Qin Chu, with a guilty conscience, was inherently sensitive in his daily life.
Therefore, when the reconnaissance personnel sent by Li Hu to monitor these suspects followed him, Qin Chu felt it.
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After all, he was on the list of seven, the one with the greatest suspicion. He had the opportunity to access documents, and he had been to Xiangshan. Coupled with his experience studying in North America in the 1940s and his habit of running around during vacations, Li Hu listed Qin Chu as the top suspect after the list was compiled.
Because the Bright Sword world didn't have any monitoring measures at the time, no one knew who Qin Chu had met or what he had done during his travels. Among the suspects, Qin Chu had disappeared for the longest time in everyone's eyes.
Moreover, he studied electronic engineering and had a thorough understanding of chip design. He was a key member of the project team and could be said to have basically mastered the core design of the 8080 chip.
Theoretically speaking, it was not impossible for Qin Chu to redraw the chip design diagram.
Li Hu was now not only monitoring Qin Chu but also informing intelligence personnel in North America, asking them to reinvestigate Qin Chu's life trajectory in North America through Mr. Situ's channels.
After a few days of observation, when Qin Chu finally confirmed that he was being monitored, he panicked. He hadn't originally planned to travel, but he hurriedly submitted an application to the base to go to Xiangjiang for vacation.
He didn't know if he could successfully escape to Xiangjiang, this special place, but as a key member of the project, Qin Chu knew very well that he had to apply before leaving, otherwise, he might be captured at the train station.
Even though he had a car, Qin Chu didn't dare to drive away directly unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, the most ideal channel for him to get out now was to enter Xiangjiang and then fly away through Xiangjiang.
However, while Qin Chu was applying for travel, intelligence assistance from Mr. Situ's side also brought new news. In North America, Qin Chu had a wife and children!
He had been married in North America, but during the process of returning to China, Qin Chu completely lied about this matter.
In this way, Li Hu almost confirmed the target. However, seeing Qin Chu's application, Li Hu decided to play the long game and approved Qin Chu's travel report, secretly mobilizing his counterparts in Xiangjiang to start a rigorous deployment of this matter, preparing to wipe out the agents who would be receiving Qin Chu in one fell swoop.
No one can take advantage of Dongda without paying the price!
Xiangjiang.
This city, whether in the Bright Sword world or the main world, is one of the busiest international container ports in the world, providing more than 300 international container liner services every week, connecting nearly 500 destinations worldwide.
If he wanted to escape, Xiangjiang was the most ideal place for Qin Chu because here, everything was based on the operating mode of an international free port, and there were many ways to get out. Any international freighter could take a few people in and out without anyone knowing.
In order to maintain the huge freight volume of foreign trade, Dongda placed the management rights of the Xiangjiang Free Port in the hands of the local port area for self-management after the restoration of sovereignty. This led to the establishment of numerous domestic and foreign companies in Xiangjiang. Not only did it support dozens of shipping companies, but also in terms of entrepot trade and finance, Xiangjiang became Dongda's leader. For this reason, a special zone was established in the adjacent areas of the mainland to undertake production from Xiangjiang, making Xiangjiang's adjacent areas and Lingnan the most active and economically developed areas in Dongda. This area had achieved industrialization decades ahead of the main world, absorbing tens of millions of laborers from the mainland of Dongda.
This was a huge benefit brought by Ren Zhong's suggestion for the development of Lingnan after copying the experience of the main world.
Now it seems that at least Counselor Ye is very pleased with this great situation.
Qin Chu took a direct train to Xiangjiang, first wandering around the city for two days. On the evening of the third day, he quietly went to Clearwater Bay.
Standing on the pier of Po Toi O, Qin Chu anxiously looked out at the sea, unable to see anything in the darkness.
According to the agreement, the person receiving him would be here, sending him to an international freighter and then sailing across the ocean to North America.
(End of this chapter)