The Mistake
Copyright© 2026 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 7
Li headed to UC San Diego after breakfast on Tuesday morning. Upon entering the administration building, he asked to see Mrs. Lynch. When she arrived, they went to the testing area where he met Professor Erika Green. Mrs. Lynch left, and Professor Green escorted Li into a room. She explained the rules: 15-minute breaks between tests and an hour-long lunch break. Nothing is allowed in the room except pencils and the tests.
He gave Professor Green his cell phone, and the testing began. By lunch, Li had completed three exams and taken his hour-long break. While eating lunch in the cafeteria, some loudmouth jock called him a Gook and told him to leave. Li stood up and said, “Make me Gweilo.” He charged towards Li, and at the last minute, Li moved, and the jock ran into the wall. His friends were laughing at him, saying Ronnie finally hits something.
Then a campus policeman entered as Ronnie punched Li in the jaw. Li responded with a kick to the balls and an upper cut, knocking Ronnie out. More campus police arrived and took statements from witnesses. Ronnie was arrested for assault and taken away in handcuffs. Li threw his remaining lunch in the trash and returned to the testing center. He completed four more tests by 4 p.m., shocking Professor Green.
Leaving the administration building, a girl who was in the cafeteria asked him if he knew who assaulted him. Li said no but assumed he was a jock. She laughed, introductions were made, and her name was Mandy Cosgrove. Mandy told Li that Ronnie Mitchell was the quarterback for the football team. She warned him that Ronnie’s teammates may retaliate. Li asked if the coach would try to recruit him as a kicker, and Mandy laughed hard, falling to her knees. He left her and drove home.
Mom arrived home thirty minutes after he did, and while they ate, she asked how his testing went today. Li said ok until lunch, then it turned to shit. A jock called him a Gook and told him to leave the cafeteria. When he refused, the jock charged him, missed, and hit the wall. Then he punched me, and I reciprocated with a kick to the balls and knocked him out. The campus police showed up, took statements, and arrested the asshole.
Li said he later found out that the assholes name was Ronnie Mitchell and that he’s the football team’s quarterback. A girl who was there warned me that his teammates may retaliate. Mom said she would call Chancellor Ben White first thing in the morning and issue a warning. Oh, and I called Olivia Keys, and we have an appointment on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Li said, “Great, we’ll have plenty to discuss,” and they laughed. After dinner, they said goodnight and went to bed.
As soon as he reached his room, Li grabbed the next book on the Haung clan and passed out. He dreamed he was in a dark place, then attackers appeared out of nowhere. Li fought them off with his sword, dagger, fists, and feet. He seemed to be able to elevate at ease and flip over attackers. Li was defeating them with foot sweeps and vicious sword play. When it was over, there were over twenty bodies lying on the ground, dead or seriously injured. Then he fell into a deep sleep.
Early Wednesday morning, Li was in the basement, attacking the boxing bags using his martial arts skills. He envisioned the dream last night and replicated the fight scene. Li didn’t have a sword or dagger, but he used his fists and feet. He was surprised to be able to do flips and change direction with ease. Finishing his workout, Li showered and saw the medallion brightly illuminated on his chest. He felt it, and it was warm to the touch.
Li got dressed and went to the kitchen. While they ate breakfast, Mom told him to avoid anymore confrontations if possible. She will call the Chancellor and read him the riot act. He should pass it down to the football coach, who will notify the team. Li said, “Alright,” but he was looking forward to kicking more balls, and they laughed. Mom left for work, and Li drove to UC San Diego. When he entered the administration building, Mrs. Lynch welcomed him.
Going to the testing area, she said, you made quite an impression on the student body at lunch yesterday. The football team bullies students and never gets punished. The way you handled Ronnie Mitchell was long overdue, and it got noticed. Mrs. Lynch told Li to be careful now because his teammates will want to regain their superiority on campus. Li thanked her for the warning and hoped it wouldn’t result in serious injuries.
The testing started on time, and Li finished the remaining four finals before lunch. He added Spanish to the list, and Professor Green happily added it. They went to the conference room and were joined by Mrs. Lynch and Robert Reed, the Director of Admissions. Li passed all the exams with an average score of 94%. He received copies, and the courses were credited towards his master’s in computer programming.
Then Li dropped the bombshell, telling them he had completed all the required courses for his master’s degree except the project. He asked Mr. Reed to schedule a time for his project presentation in two weeks. Li told them he would be out of town next week, but he finished the project weeks ago. Mr. Reed said he would notify the Dean of Computer Sciences, David Brown. Li said, “Great,” and they may want to include legal counsel, too, leaving them with questions.
Li saw a group of football players outside the administration, so he exited through the back door. He laughed, driving home, and stopped at an In-N-Out Burger drive-thru for lunch. Arriving home, he ate lunch, then stripped and swam laps in the pool. Li knew David Brown would try to steal his project and sell it for profit. Hopefully, Olivia Keys will shit on his parade and quote the law to him. Li finished and lay on a poolside lounge to dry off.
Once dry, he showered and went to the hidden lab in the basement. Li looked at the deceased chemistry Professor Martin Blake’s computer files. He remembered seeing a formula called “Rock Hard.” Li found and read the file. It was a coating that, when applied to a vehicle or plane, would resist bullets up to a .223 caliber. Larger calibers would damage the vehicle but wouldn’t penetrate it. Only a .50-caliber or larger caliber could pierce the metal, leading to the formula’s rejection.
Li got the formula, went to the store room, and mixed up a gallon of “Rock Hard.” If it worked, he would need to get more chemicals to coat the pole barn. Li looked through Professor Blake’s files and found the company from which he purchased his materials. It was local, and he had a purchase order number. They also accepted cash at will-call. He obviously set it up to hide his work from Scripps and the agencies he worked for.
He checked the time and couldn’t do any more today. So, he closed up the lab and returned to his room. Li searched for information about Uncle Jon Lee. There was minimal information online about him. Jon owned an import-export company and was quite successful. The items listed for import were clothing and electronics. Nothing was listed for export, so he assumed Uncle Jon didn’t want it listed. An import export company was ripe for illegal things such as drugs. He hoped Uncle Jon wasn’t involved in it.
Mom arrived home, so he turned off the computer, dressed, and went to the kitchen. While they ate, Mom said she had called Chancellor White, and he assured her that the football team wouldn’t cause you any more problems. Chancellor White said Ronnie Mitchell was suspended from the university pending a disciplinary review. Li said he finished his testing and notified them that he wanted to present his project for review for his master’s. They promised to schedule it after we return from D.C.
Li told her that when he left the administration building, a group of football players was waiting for him. He took the rear exit, avoiding them, but wouldn’t hide anymore. If they want a fight, he’ll gladly accommodate them. Mom told Li that it’s possible the Chancellor’s warning hadn’t reached the players yet. He said it’s possible, but we’ll find out when I present my master’s project for review. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed. Li read two law textbooks and then fell asleep.
After breakfast, on Thursday morning, they drove to Scripps and went to Mom’s lab. Li analyzed the completed experiments and entered them into the computer. Mom had a backlog of experiments to complete before they left. Li found an error in one experiment, and it took them over an hour to identify and fix it. Mom said it was lunchtime, so they went to the cafeteria. While they ate, Li said something about that experiment, which was bugging him.
Mom said it was bugging her, too. It should have been rejected at the experiment phase, and Li agreed. They finished lunch, returned to the lab, and Li updated all the software on the machines. While the update was in progress, Li read the notes. The last update was done over a year ago, and he wondered whose responsibility it was to ensure the machines were up to date. Once the updates were complete, they finished their work. Mom still had over a dozen experiments to run before leaving.
She said it’s going to be close to finishing everything by Friday. Li said that with the software updates done, we should finish everything by the end of the day tomorrow. They cleaned the lab and then headed home. Mom said she didn’t feel like cooking, so they stopped for Chinese takeout on the way. During dinner mom made a list of things we needed to do before leaving. Stopping the mail was number one, so the mail box would be filled. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed. Li bypassed reading and crashed.
Li was in the basement, attacking the boxing bags with fury, envisioning them as the football players waiting for him on Wednesday. When he was done, Li was sure they wouldn’t be playing for some time. He showered, and the medallion illuminated on his chest as he dried off. Li dressed and went to the kitchen. They ate breakfast, then stopped by the post office and put a mail hold on their mail.
They arrived at the law offices of Keys and Associates on Friday morning, and Olivia Keys greeted them. Introductions were made, and they went to her office. Li explained his situation at UC San Diego with his master’s project. He told Olivia he submitted the app for an international copyright a month before testing out of the courses. Li told her about the Dean of Computer Sciences, David Brown’s, side business, in which he used students’ projects and labor to enrich himself.
Olivia was shocked and excited to take his case. She said the university and Professor David Brown had no right to claim his work, since Li had taken online courses and tested out of the remaining ones. She asked to see his app and was amazed at how it worked. Olivia said so many people react in the heat of the moment, then regret sending it. They signed a retainer agreement and paid a deposit. She asked Li to notify her as soon as his meeting was scheduled.
They shook hands goodbye and headed to work. They went to Mom’s lab and started working. Li finished his work and took over doing the experiment so Mom could do the paperwork. After a short lunch break, they returned to the lab and finished everything by 4 p.m. While cleaning the lab, Mom said she was glad not to have to come in on Saturday. They left just after 5 p.m. and got Mexican takeout on the way home. While they ate, Mom said she wondered what they would face in Washington next week.
Li said,” Whatever comes up, we’ll deal with it.” He thought the British part wouldn’t be a problem, but wondered what was in store for them at the White House. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to ditch the dinner as Mom was looking forward to it. Then there was a meeting with the state’s congressional members. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed. Li hesitated, grabbed another one of the Haung clans’ books, but nothing happened, and read it and crashed.
While eating breakfast Saturday morning, Mom said,” Let’s go yard sale shopping.” They stopped at the convenience store, bought a newspaper, and scanned the classifieds. There were three-yard sales, so they went to the first one. Mom bought him a set of luggage that looked brand new. The set included two large suitcases, a garment carrier, and a carry-on. The second yard sale was a bust, but the third was a success: Mom got some jewelry and earrings to match her dresses.
Returning home, they unloaded their purchases and then ate lunch. After lunch, Mom went to her home office, and Li put on his John Conroe disguise. Then he went to the hidden lab, opened the armory, and got cash for the fence. Li drove to his property and saw them finishing the fence and gate. Dan Coleman greeted John and gave him two gate remotes. John paid the balance of the invoice and tipped the crew $100 each. They were ecstatic, and John gave Dad a $500 bonus.
Dan was happy, too, and they went to the pole barn. It was staked out, and the post holes were dug. Dan said they would set the poles on Monday and let them cure for two days. Then the foundation would be poured, and they would start framing toward the end of next week. Weather permitting, we should finish it in ten days. John said he’d be back late Friday and would stop by on Saturday. They shook hand and Li left the site happy with the progress.
Li removed his disguise before arriving home and went to his room. After putting the disguise away, he changed into his Speedo and went swimming. When he got out, he saw Mom had put a towel on the lounge chair and laughed. He lay on the lounge until he was dry, then put on the towel and went to his room. Li showered and turned on the computer. He checked his firewall and found two hacking attempts. Li checked his cloud and saw the hackers’ computer files.
He looked at the first one, and it was a computer tech at the FBI named Ed Swift. He checked Ed’s emails and found one from an unnamed White House official. It requested that Ed hack into his computer and examine its contents for any incriminating material. Ed emailed back that he was unsuccessful, and the target had an impenetrable firewall.