Chapter 510
The Actor's Self-Cultivation
When the lunch break bell rang, everyone in the control room got up.
Engineer Chen stretched and said, "Let's go eat. The canteen is downstairs. The food is alright, but they serve frozen fish and meat every day."
Jiang Nian followed him outside, but her eyes were observing the structure along the way.
The passageway was spacious enough for three people to walk side by side. Fire doors and emergency signs were placed at regular intervals on the walls. The overhead wiring was neatly arranged, clearly the result of careful design.
"What are you looking at?" Engineer Chen noticed his gaze.
“This platform is really well built,” Jiang Nian said. “I’ve worked on several platforms in the South China Sea, and their structures are not this complex.”
"Of course." Engineer Chen's tone was tinged with pride. "This is an anchor point platform, not in the same league as those mining platforms. The special steel for the main structure alone cost over a billion yuan."
The two entered the cafeteria.
This is a large hall that can accommodate two hundred people, with metal tables and chairs neatly arranged. There are queues in front of the windows, and the air is filled with the mixed smells of food and disinfectant.
Jiang Nian ordered a meal: grilled fish fillet, mashed potatoes, boiled vegetables, and a small bowl of thick soup whose ingredients were not clearly visible.
"Sit here." Engineer Chen found a seat by the window.
Outside the window stretched a vast, icy sea, with massive icebergs drifting slowly in the distance. Sunlight, filtered through the clouds, cast dim patches of light on the surface of the sea.
"The conditions are alright, aren't they?" Engineer Chen said while eating. "It's just too lonely. I counted last week, and I haven't seen any real land for forty-seven days in a row."
"No shift work?"
"Yes, but we can't get a spot," Engineer Chen said with a wry smile. "The platform is in a critical construction phase, and all the technicians are on standby. I heard that once the anchor point trial operation is successful, a group of people will be transferred back to headquarters."
Jiang Nian took a bite of the fish fillet; the taste was very bland, only containing salt and black pepper. "Where is the headquarters?"
"I don't know." Engineer Chen shook his head. "I've only heard that it's on an island in the south, but the exact location is classified. At our level, knowing too much is not a good thing."
As they were talking, a debate broke out at the next table.
"I'll say it again, the coolant flow rate at node three must be increased by five percent." A young technician wearing glasses said, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Just follow the procedures. You've only been here a few days, and you already want to change the parameters?"
"If you say another word, I'll report you for violating regulations."
The young technician's face flushed red, but he eventually sat down.
Engineer Chen lowered his voice: "See that? That kid's from the positioning team, always thinking he knows everything. And what happened? He almost got a demerit."
"What does the positioning team do?" Jiang Nian asked.
“It’s the group responsible for adjusting the spatial resonance frequency.” Engineer Chen took a sip of soup. “I heard their work is the most confidential, even their internal communications are encrypted. But it’s also the most dangerous. Last month, a technician from the positioning group was hit by an energy backlash while debugging equipment and is still lying unconscious in the medical pod.”
Jiang Nian remembered this information.
After finishing their meal, Engineer Chen said he was going to take a nap in the break room. Jiang Nian said she wanted to familiarize herself with the environment a bit more, so she wandered around the platform alone.
According to the structural diagram provided by Elder Qin, the six main support nodes are located at six symmetrical points on the periphery of the platform. Each node has an independent energy system and structural reinforcement; destroying any one of them would cause the platform to become unbalanced.
But blowing up six at the same time is very difficult.
First, he needs to enter the area where the node is located. Those areas are restricted areas, requiring level two or higher permissions.
Secondly, placing the explosives takes time. Each point takes at least five minutes, so six points would take half an hour. During this time, they must not be detected.
Finally, the timing of the detonation must be precise. It must be done simultaneously when there are as few platform personnel as possible.
Jiang Nian walked and calculated at the same time.
It's 1 PM now, and the control room is the busiest. The night shift starts at 8 PM, and there will be a ten-minute handover period of confusion. But that's also when patrols are most frequent.
He remembered the maintenance entrance to the platform.
The shift changes at 4 a.m., with a ten-minute window of opportunity.
If we could make use of that time...
"Hey, you!" A voice interrupted his thoughts.
Jiang Nian turned his head and saw a man in a security uniform staring at him. The man was tall, had a scar on his face, and sharp eyes.
"Is there something you need?" Jiang Nian asked calmly.
"Which group are you from? What are you doing wandering around here?"
“Group B, Jiang Dawei.” Jiang Nian showed his employee badge. “Just transferred here, getting familiar with the environment.”
The security personnel took the name tag and scanned it with their scanner.
"drop."
The green light comes on.
"The technicians from Group B are not in the outer activity area." The security personnel returned his work badge to him. "Go back to your post."
"I'll go back now." Jiang Nian nodded and turned to leave.
He could feel that gaze fixed on his back until he turned into another passage.
The security guard was very vigilant.
When I returned to the control room, Engineer Chen was already back, yawning.
"Why did it take you so long?"
“We’re lost.” Jiang Nian sat down. “The platform is too big.”
“That’s normal.” Engineer Chen didn’t suspect anything. “I got lost when I first came here too. I drew a map and gradually got familiar with the place.”
The afternoon's work was uneventful.
Jiang Nian stared at the energy curve on the screen, occasionally adjusting the parameters. Everything was normal, so normal it was almost drowsy.
But he dared not relax.
Every fifteen minutes, Supervisor Wang would make a round of inspections in the control room. The security guard also came twice, each time standing at the door for a while, scanning the entire area.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the atmosphere in the control room suddenly became tense.
The alarm lights on the control panel started flashing.
"What's going on?" Manager Wang walked over quickly.
"The energy fluctuation at node three is abnormal," a technician reported. "The fluctuation range exceeds the threshold by three percent."
"Retrieve data".
The large screen displayed a real-time monitoring graph of node three. The energy curve fluctuated wildly like an electrocardiogram, with significant differences between the peak and trough values.
What about the cooling system?
"normal."
What about energy supply?
"Stablize."
Supervisor Wang frowned: "What is the positioning team doing?"
“They’re adjusting the resonant frequency,” another technician said. “It might be frequency interference.”
"Have them pause the commissioning," Supervisor Wang ordered. "Switch node three to the backup power supply first."
"Yes."
The operator rapidly typed on the keyboard.
A few seconds later, the energy curve gradually stabilized.
Everyone in the control room breathed a sigh of relief.
Manager Wang stared at the screen, lost in thought. He turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the control room, finally settling on Jiang Nian.
"You," he pointed at Jiang Nian, "come here."
Jiang Nian stood up and walked to the control panel.
"Have you handled similar situations when you were in the South China Sea?" Manager Wang asked.
“I’ve encountered this twice,” Jiang Nian recalled the training materials Qin Lao had given him. “Once it was a coolant leak, and the other time it was an aging power supply line. Both were hardware problems.”
What about this time?
“It looks like external interference,” Jiang Nian said, “but I’m not sure.” Supervisor Wang stared at him for a few seconds: “You’re coming with me to node three.”
The control room fell silent.
Engineer Chen opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't dare to speak.
Jiang Nian nodded: "Okay."
The two left the control room and walked along the corridor towards the outer edge of the platform. The security guard followed behind, maintaining a distance of three meters.
“His name is Lao Dao,” Manager Wang said without turning his head. “He’s the security captain of the platform. He has to accompany everyone who enters the core area.”
Jiang Nian didn't turn around, but he could feel Lao Dao's gaze piercing his back like needles.
The passageway narrowed, and the temperature gradually dropped. A thin layer of frost formed on the walls, and white mist could be seen when one breathed.
“Node 3 is the outermost one,” said Supervisor Wang. “It is also the one most susceptible to external environmental influences. Last month, the ice shifted and almost deformed the supporting structure.”
Does the platform have a collision avoidance system?
"Yes, but the effect is limited." Manager Wang pushed open a sealed door. "We've arrived."
Behind the door was a circular space, about twenty meters in diameter. In the center was a huge cylindrical device emitting a deep hum. It was surrounded by instruments and pipes, and there were six observation windows on the walls, offering views of the deep blue sea outside.
Two technicians were busy at the equipment when they saw Supervisor Wang come in and immediately stood up straight.
"How's the situation?" Manager Wang asked.
“It’s stable now,” one of the technicians said. “The fluctuations disappeared after we switched to the backup path. But we checked the main path and found no fault.”
"What about the resonant frequency test?"
"The localization team said they are testing a new combination of frequencies. It may be interfering with the node's inherent frequencies."
Supervisor Wang walked to the control panel and brought up the data records.
Jiang Nian stood behind him, her gaze quickly sweeping across the entire room.
This is one of the six main support nodes. The structure is more complex than imagined, with core equipment encased in multiple protective shields and only a few access ports.
To place explosives here, the protective shield needs to be opened. However, the access port has a clearly visible safety lock, requiring specialized tools and authorization.
"What do you think?" Manager Wang suddenly asked.
Jiang Nian came to his senses: "If it really is frequency interference, there should be corresponding data in the positioning group's debugging records. We can pull them out and compare them."
Supervisor Wang nodded and said to the technician, "Contact the positioning team and ask for their debugging logs."
"Yes."
While the technician was making communications, Jiang Nian walked to the observation window.
Outside lay the deep sea. Searchlight beams pierced the darkness, illuminating an area. The massive foundation structure could be vaguely seen extending downwards, disappearing into the distance.
The surface of the pile foundation is covered with complex patterns, which are not decorations, but energy diversion channels.
"Isn't it spectacular?" Supervisor Wang walked up to him. "This foundation pile alone used eight thousand tons of special alloy. It was driven three thousand meters below the seabed and then fixed with a high-energy pulse. The entire project is equivalent to the annual GDP of a small country."
"Why does it have to be built here?" Jiang Nian asked.
"Because the geological structure here is most suitable," said Manager Wang. "It's covered by ice, has stable ocean currents, and a moderate crustal thickness."
He paused for a moment: "The spatial coordinates here are exactly at one of the vertices of the triangle."
Jiang Nian's heart skipped a beat.
But he controlled his expression and simply nodded: "I see."
The technician returned: "The localization team refused to provide the debug logs, saying they were confidential."
Manager Wang's face darkened: "Tell them that if their 'secrets' cause a platform incident, everyone will be held responsible."
"This is a direct order from headquarters."
The control room fell silent.
Old Dao stepped forward: "Manager Wang, should I contact headquarters to confirm?"
Supervisor Wang paused for a few seconds, then waved his hand: "No need. Now that things have stabilized, let's leave it at that. Continue monitoring, and report any abnormalities immediately."
"Yes."
On the way back to the control room, Supervisor Wang remained silent.
As they approached the door, he suddenly spoke up: "What do you think the location team is hiding?"
Jiang Nian thought for a moment: "There might have been an accident during the debugging process, and they don't want others to know."
Manager Wang murmured, "What kind of accident needs to be concealed?"
He pushed open the door and walked into the control room.
Those inside breathed a sigh of relief when they saw them return. Engineer Chen leaned closer and whispered, "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing," Jiang Nian said, sitting down. "It's just a routine checkup."
But Supervisor Wang did not return to his seat. He stood in front of the control panel, staring at the panoramic view of the platform on the large screen, his brows furrowed.
At 6 p.m., the night shift staff began to hand over duties.
After handing over his work, Jiang Nian was about to return to his dormitory. Engineer Chen called out to him, "Want to have dinner together tonight?"
"I want to rest early," Jiang Nian said. "I'm a little tired."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
The dormitory was on the upper level of the platform, with four people per room. Jiang Nian's roommates included two from the energy group and one from the maintenance group. When they saw him come in, they simply nodded and continued with their own tasks.
The room was small, with four beds and a shared table in the middle. Safety regulations and duty rosters were posted on the walls.
Jiang Nian sat down on his bed and opened his personal terminal.
The platform has an internal network, but access is limited to work-related materials and communication systems. He entered the encrypted account given to him by Mr. Qin and entered a disguised engineering forum.
A new message.
"Goods delivered, inspection went smoothly. Old Qin"
This is a code, meaning that the Sea Dragon Squad is in position and waiting on the perimeter.
He turned off the terminal, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.
I quickly reviewed everything I had seen and heard that day in my mind.
Of the six nodes, he only saw one today.
However, the structures should be largely the same, all having protective covers and safety locks.
During the shift change window at four in the morning, he had to use those ten minutes to sneak into six locations and plant explosives.
Time is very tight.
And they also had to avoid patrolling security personnel. Old Knife was clearly not an easy opponent.
"Hey, newbie."
The sound from the upper bunk interrupted his thoughts.
Jiang Nian opened her eyes and saw a man in his early thirties peering down. His face was greasy; he was probably from the maintenance team.
"what's up?"
"Were you transferred from the South China Sea?" the man asked.
"Correct."
"How's it over there? I heard it's warmer than here."
"It's much warmer now, at least I don't have to wear a cotton-padded coat every day."
The man smiled: "My name is Zhang Meng, from the maintenance team. If anything breaks, you can come to me."
Thanks.
Zhang Meng pulled his head back, then said after a while, "By the way, it's best not to wander around at night. Old Dao patrols a lot at night. Last month, some guy sneaked out for a smoke in the middle of the night, got caught, and was put in solitary confinement for three days." (End of Chapter)