Ch 95: Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

Originally, Yang Qilong didn’t want to cause trouble at the training base.

After all, this was official territory, and it wouldn’t be good to engage in underhanded tactics. It could easily backfire and cause trouble for him.

But Yang Qilong never expected to have such bad luck. According to his abilities, becoming an official team member should have been no problem. However, during the group formation, Yang Kairui and Yuan Zhuoting unexpectedly acted out of his expectation and ended up in Group B, turning what could have been a strong alliance into a competitive situation.

In the end, he became a reserve team member!

Although reserve team members also had the opportunity to play, it was nowhere near as prestigious and important as being an official team member. He was already in his twenties, and this was his only chance to participate in an international science and technology competition. It was the best opportunity for young researchers to make a name for themselves. How could he be content with being a reserve team member with his abilities?

Driven by this intense dissatisfaction, he had to take a risky move.

He couldn’t touch Tang Xun and Fang Ziyang, the two brothers, but Jin Yu, this foolish girl, could still be manipulated.

With Jin Yu’s temperament, he believed that as long as he said a few words to sow discord, she would surely dig her own grave.

However, things didn’t go as planned. Unexpectedly, the situation took a turn, and Jin Yu and Fang Ziyang not only didn’t develop in the negative way he imagined, but their relationship seemed to be getting better. They truly were a pair of oddballs!

Jin Yu now saw through his schemes, leaving Yang Qilong with no choice but to personally intervene and push things forward.

In the face of adversity, without courage, how could one strive for success?

…

A few days later.

Everyone was studying the materials as usual.

Due to the division of tasks within each small team, each team had different materials, and the specific data was stored on USB drives. It was very convenient for everyone to study using computers and multimedia classrooms.

Qian Yu was a member of Group A.

Although his abilities couldn’t compare to Jin Yu, Zhao Kairui, and a few others, he was still quite capable. However, he had a reserved personality and was usually seen as an honest person who was willing to take on any task in the group. Therefore, not only did he have a busy workload in Group A, but he also ended up handling many miscellaneous tasks.

For example, before studying every day, he would help everyone organize their belongings, get water, and turn on the computers. He would also transfer the day’s study materials from the USB drive to each team member.

Today, just like usual, Qian Yu opened the USB drive to transfer the study materials while the others were chatting.

However, after a few attempts, Qian Yu suddenly realized that the materials couldn’t be transferred.

On the computer screen, a sentence popped up: “The maximum number of transfers for this USB drive has been reached for the week. If you need to transfer it again, please seek approval from the mentor.”

“What does this mean?”

Qian Yu understood the message displayed on the screen, but he couldn’t comprehend it.

What did it mean by “the maximum number of transfers for this USB drive has been reached for the week”? Was there a limit on the number of times the USB drive could be used?

Although Qian Yu had been to many research institutions and had some experience, this was his first time at a training base of this level, so he naturally didn’t know about many of the hidden rules within the base. He had a vague sense of unease regarding the message on the screen but had no choice but to seek guidance from Professor Yu, their mentor.

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The other members of Group A were also puzzled and sat in their seats, waiting.

When Professor Yu came over and saw the message on the computer screen, his expression immediately changed.

Professor Yu’s face turned serious, and he anxiously asked, “Did anyone in your group use the USB drive during non-study hours?”

His voice carried a tone that made people feel uneasy.

Upon seeing this, the members of Group A felt a sense of unease and shook their heads in unison, saying, “No, we didn’t. Didn’t you mention before that the USB drive can only be used during study hours? After transferring the materials in class, we didn’t use the USB drive again. Professor Yu, is there a problem?”

Although they didn’t understand the base’s regulations earlier, everyone had honestly complied with them.

Professor Yu had emphasized that the USB drive could only be used during study hours, and they hadn’t used it during non-study hours.

Although this rule was very strange, nobody thought too much of it. After all, the USB drive was used to transfer the materials during class, and once the materials were in the computer, who would bother playing with the USB drive? It wasn’t a game, after all.

But now, looking at Professor Yu’s expression, it seemed that there was trouble brewing for Group A due to the sudden issue with the USB drive.

And indeed, that was the case.

Professor Yu’s face became even more grim.

Without answering their questions, Professor Yu took out a special communication device and made a phone call.

“Seal off the base immediately and request the investigation team. The materials of Team A may be involved in a leak,” Professor Yu said on the phone.

As soon as Professor Yu spoke, the entire classroom fell silent, and everyone’s faces showed signs of panic.

A data leak! This was no small matter!

The members of Group A turned pale, particularly alarmed.

These were their team’s materials, and each person in their team had the responsibility to maintain confidentiality. If the materials were leaked, it wouldn’t be as simple as just being expelled. They could end up in prison!

Even Jin Yu, who was usually bold and daring, turned pale and anxiously asked, “Professor Yu, what… what’s going on? How could our team’s materials be suspected of leaking? The USB drive was fine, and we always kept it with us. No one else had access to it. Moreover, the base has various monitoring and security measures. How could there be a leak? And to access the USB drive, you need fingerprints…”

Although the materials were distributed to each small team via the USB drive, the measures to ensure confidentiality were indeed quite strict.

Not to mention the other security measures in the base, even if someone wanted to open the USB drive, they needed both a password and fingerprint verification. Even if someone managed to get their hands on the USB drive, they wouldn’t be able to access it. It seemed impossible for the data to leak from the USB drive.

Now that the USB drive materials were leaked, the only possibility was an insider!

The expressions of the members of the other teams weren’t much better.

If Group A’s materials were suspected of leaking, it would affect not only Team A but also everyone else. It was certain that everyone would be subject to investigation.

Although everyone knew they were innocent and had nothing to hide, it was disheartening to face a situation like this so soon after entering the base. It greatly undermined the trust among teammates. Moreover, the experience of being interrogated and the pressure was definitely unpleasant.

The atmosphere in the study room became even more oppressive.

Only Fang Ziyang and Tang Xun, who had anticipated this, remained unaffected. Fang Ziyang even seemed to be in a good mood, putting down his things and subtly glancing at Yang Qilong.

At this moment, Yang Qilong’s expression turned pale and panicked, as if he had been caught off guard by the sudden turn of events. There was nothing suspicious on his face.

But compared to the immediate reactions of the other members of Group A, who stood up and took action, Yang Qilong’s response was slower, betraying him in the end.

Due to the severity of a data leak, as soon as Professor Yu finished the phone call, the person in charge of the base, accompanied by the investigation team, arrived within ten minutes.

Following them was a team of stern-looking soldiers, armed and ready.

The imposing presence of the soldiers made the already pale faces of the people in the room even paler. Clearly, they were overwhelmed by the show of force.

After the person in charge and the investigation team arrived, they didn’t waste

any time. Without further ado, they solemnly announced, “We apologize, everyone. Due to the possible data leak, which is a serious matter, in order to ensure the maximum level of secrecy, we request your cooperation in the investigation. We need to record your statements one by one, and until the statements are recorded, none of you can leave this study room… The rest of you will be called out by name.”

The person in charge briefly explained and reassured everyone, but the investigation began swiftly.

Everyone understood the gravity of a data leak.

Therefore, nobody felt any resentment towards the way it was being handled. They complied with the instructions, feeling nervous and obediently following the arrangements. They remained silent and didn’t dare to utter a word.

Fang Ziyang didn’t plan to step forward at this moment either. He acted like everyone else, listening attentively. When his name was called, he promptly went to give his statement.

After about two hours, with the exception of the members of Group A, almost everyone else had been investigated.

At this point, people finally dared to speak again. They gathered around Tang Xun, cautiously asking what was going on. How did the inability to transfer files using the USB drive imply a data leak? Their minds were in a whirl.

Tang Xun, whose identity was different from the others, wasn’t being attended to by Professor Yu and the other mentors. Everyone could only hope that Tang Xun could provide some clarification.

Tang Xun didn’t hide anything and explained to them, “This is one of the high-level research institute’s security measures to ensure that the materials distributed via the USB drive won’t be leaked. Each USB drive has a confidentiality device installed, and the number of uses is limited according to the class schedule. If someone uses the USB drive during non-scheduled study hours, intentionally or not, they will be suspected of leaking information and need to be investigated.”

“Moreover, the materials transferred from the USB drive to your computers cannot be transferred again. They will be destroyed during the transfer process.”

“Don’t worry, as long as you have a clear conscience, there won’t be any problems. The base has well-established security measures and regulations. They won’t falsely accuse anyone, nor will they let any suspicious individuals go.”

Tang Xun explained to them a hidden rule of the base that newcomers were not explicitly told.

One reason was to ensure confidentiality, and another reason was to fish for those with ulterior motives. The base wouldn’t have sent the materials directly to everyone if their heads were filled with water. People’s hearts were unpredictable, and to protect the research projects, the base had to conduct thorough investigations on everyone who entered, especially those involved in the projects.

Of course, there were also those who took advantage of the rules.

But that wasn’t important. Those who wanted to play tricks under the base’s watchful eyes and scheme would have to bear the consequences.

The day had dawned, and it was time to remove some people from the team.

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