After seeing off the troublemaking "international friends," Meng Hao went to the auditorium meeting room of the First Branch Factory with a grim expression.
The First Branch Factory, formerly Ao Shi Heavy Industry, had nearly a thousand employees. The entire vast auditorium meeting room was packed.
Ever since dismantling the outer shell of the Phantom mech earlier, Meng Hao was almost certain that this was not just an ordinary farce targeting him and attempting to tarnish Huarong Technology's reputation.
A traitor had indeed emerged.
Based on the mech's outer shell that had been dismantled, all the problematic components were from the First Branch Factory's production line. In other words, the First Branch Factory harbored a mole. Coupled with the sinister smiles he had just witnessed, Meng Hao, filled with indignation, was determined to expose these traitors. He clearly remembered the faces of those few individuals from earlier.
With over a thousand people presenting themselves one by one, even if each person took only a minute, it would amount to over a thousand minutes, more than three hours.
Soon, the seven First Branch Factory employees who had been smirking while the "foreign friends" caused trouble were identified.
"Speak up," Meng Hao demanded. "Why did you betray the factory's technology? How much did they pay you?"
Unsurprisingly, these seven individuals were all mid-level or higher management personnel from the technical department, each a key technical backbone earning over a hundred thousand annual salary. Facing Meng Hao's interrogation, they feigned ignorance.
"Mr. Meng," one of them said, "we have absolutely no idea what you're talking about! Even if you're the CEO of the group company, you can't just accuse us!"
The leader, with a fair complexion and thin lips, was clearly someone without much loyalty. He was also the first deputy minister of the technical assembly department, the highest-ranking among the seven, with an income close to three hundred thousand, firmly placing him in the middle class.
Seeing the deputy head of the technical department acting like a stubborn mule refusing to budge, Meng Hao sneered. Did they really think he couldn't handle them?
"You have two options," Meng Hao said. "First, you remain tight-lipped, and I'll call the police immediately! The officers will easily uncover anomalies in your account balances, frequent contact with foreign entities, and so on. In that case, you'll not only face hefty compensation but will likely spend the rest of your lives in prison. Second, you confess honestly and turn yourself in to the police. In that scenario, you'll still serve three to five years, but at least you'll have the chance to get out. After confiscating your illicit earnings, your legitimate savings won't be seized."
Seeing that the other party was wavering, Meng Hao intensified his psychological assault. "Furthermore, the Phantom mech has a three-layer anti-disassembly security mechanism. You only leaked the outermost layer, and our safety production mechanism operates on a responsibility system! This means that each method of outer shell disassembly corresponds to a specific responsible person."
Meng Hao stared intently at the seven traitors, his muffled voice striking their precarious psychological defenses. "As long as I check the responsibility chart, I can quickly identify the confidential areas each of you is responsible for. Once I have concrete evidence, there will be no room for negotiation! Uncle Chenghua, go fetch the responsibility chart!"
With a thud, thud, thud, in front of over a thousand factory colleagues, the psychological defenses of the seven completely collapsed. They all knelt before Meng Hao.
"Mr. Meng, please don't call the police. We were foolish for a moment. They promised us 500,000 US dollars each upon completion of the task and green cards for our families."
Oh? Just as Meng Hao had suspected, this was indeed a conspiracy by foreign forces.
"Mm," Meng Hao said coldly. "Continue. You were bought off."
"It was people from Tester Company who contacted us," one of them confessed. "They said they intended to enter the military and civilian mech market. We provided the information we knew and tampered with the mechs as they requested. However, apart from the initial fifty thousand US dollars in deposit, they haven't paid the remaining balance, let alone promised us green cards. Mr. Meng, please, we have elderly parents and young children. If we're imprisoned for life, they'll be ruined."
Tears flowed freely, but Meng Hao showed no sympathy. As key technical personnel, Meng Hao had provided them with the highest industry treatment, with annual salaries exceeding a hundred thousand, and the leader earning close to three hundred thousand. In this era of economic development, a desire for wealth was not inherently bad. However, a gentleman should seek wealth through legitimate means. Selling the factory's core technological secrets and their conscience for a mere few million US dollars was truly reprehensible.
Meng Hao's expression was as dark as water. After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "I will keep my promise. You should turn yourselves in! Also, the First Branch Factory will suspend operations for rectification and will only pay basic wages for three months. Uncle Chenghua, this is a huge lesson for us. When hiring personnel in the future, we must assess their loyalty."
Meng Hao didn't spare another glance at the seven individuals and strode off the main stage, preparing to return to the Shilin Factory headquarters.
As soon as Meng Hao left, the entire auditorium erupted. Three months of suspended operations with only basic wages was devastating news for the workers of the First Branch Factory, whose monthly salaries were as high as five to six thousand. However, Meng Hao had acted correctly. Such a major incident, which had nearly resulted in billions in compensation and even sparked international disputes, necessitated a suspension of operations. The blame lay with these traitors who had colluded with foreign powers for their selfish gains.
"Bastards, my wife and children are waiting for my salary to buy groceries..." "Three months of only basic wages, what about my mortgage and car payments..." "Brothers, let's charge up and beat these scumbags to death..."
Amidst the chaos, the seven individuals were beaten black and blue. They quickly dialed the police. At this point, staying in a police station seemed to be the safest option.
***
United States. White House.
Officials from the external affairs department were holding a joint meeting with senior executives from Tester Company.
"Haha," said one official. "This was a good move. Not only did we cripple Huarong Technology in overseas markets outside of Great Xia, but we also spent only a few hundred thousand US dollars to obtain considerable intelligence on the Phantom mech from the technical core of the First Branch Factory. It seems it's time for us to produce and sell our own American mechs."
The US officials, beaming with pride, and the executives of Tester Company were overjoyed.