Kneeling beside the main intake valve of the central electrolyte reservoir behind Tower 3 at three in the morning, a shadowy figure in a dark gray logistics jacket held a lead-sealed glass flask of concentrated hydrofluoric acid.
His gloved fingers worked quickly in the damp shadow of the stainless-steel tanks while the cleanroom exhaust fans hummed overhead.
Murong Jie had promised him ten million yuan in an offshore Cayman account if he ruined the graphene battery cells before dawn.
The saboteur inserted a brass master key into the valve lock, twisting it slowly.
Click.
The heavy steel seal gave way.
A cold, greedy smile spread across the saboteur’s face. He uncorked the lead stopper, tilting the flask toward the open intake pipe.
“Going somewhere, acid rat?” a sharp, arrogant voice called out from the dark.
