Chapter 512
Infiltrating
Only two young technicians remained in the room, a man and a woman, both appearing to be under thirty. They exchanged a glance and then sat back down at the control panel.
"Let's continue," the male technician sighed. "How much error have you corrected?"
"12.7 percent," the female technician said, staring at the screen. "Still too high."
Inside the ventilation duct, Jiang Nian stared at the situation below, his mind racing.
He has three nodes left: number four, number five, and number six. Node four is right next to the positioning group's work area, but to get there, one must pass through a sealed door inside the work area.
Forcing our way in won't work.
We need to think of another way.
"Old Qin," he lowered his voice, "can you mimic Director Wang's communication signals?"
“We can try, but the risk is very high,” Qin Lao quickly replied. “The organization’s internal communications are dynamically encrypted. I can only simulate the voice; I cannot copy the complete verification protocol.”
"how long?"
Give me thirty seconds.
Jiang Nian stared at the two technicians below.
The male technician was typing on the keyboard when the female technician stood up and went to the coffee machine in the corner of the room to get her coffee.
Right now.
"Alright," said Old Qin. "The communication line is connected, you can speak now. But remember, you only have fifteen seconds. After fifteen seconds, the system will perform a self-check."
Jiang Nian cleared his throat, adjusted his voice, and imitated Manager Wang's cold and serious tone:
"Positioning team, this is Wang Mingyuan."
The two technicians below were startled at the same time and looked up at the communication speaker on the wall.
"Manager Wang?" The male technician stood up. "Over at node three..."
“The fault at node three has been resolved.” Jiang Nian interrupted him. “Now there’s an urgent task. The platform has detected abnormal ocean current activity in the southeast direction, which may affect the stability of the pile foundation. I need you to go to observation point six immediately to collect real-time data.”
"Now?" The female technician frowned. "But the frequency calibration isn't finished yet."
“This is an order.” Jiang Nian’s voice became more serious. “Calibration can be paused, but the safety of the pile foundation is the top priority. Set off immediately, and the data must be compiled and sent to me within twenty minutes.”
A brief silence.
“Yes, supervisor,” the male technician finally said.
The two quickly packed their things, turned off the console, and hurriedly left the work area.
The door closed again.
Jiang Nian climbed down from the ventilation duct and landed silently.
"Well done," Old Qin praised over the communicator. "But they'll be back in twenty minutes at most, or they'll realize something's wrong."
"enough."
Jiang Nian walked quickly to the sealed door at the other end of the work area.
Node number four is larger than the first three.
The central device is surrounded by three concentric rings of control consoles, with complex data streams scrolling across the screens.
What's even more striking is the wall on one side of the node, which is entirely a transparent observation window, offering a view of the deep sea.
The searchlight beam pierced the darkness, illuminating the slowly drifting ice floes and deep-sea creatures.
"Don't get distracted," Old Qin reminded him. "Time is running out."
Jiang Nian nodded and quickly walked to the equipment.
The structure of node four is somewhat different; it has several more heat dissipation fins on the protective cover, and it feels noticeably hotter to the touch.
"The energy output is 15 percent higher than the standard value." Old Qin monitored the data. "No wonder additional cooling is needed."
Jiang Nian took out a piece of explosive and was about to stick it on when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door!
"Team Knife, why are all the positioning team members out here?"
"They said Supervisor Wang sent them to observation point number six."
"Going to the observation point from this location? Something doesn't seem right..."
It was Lao Dao and another security guard!
Jiang Nian quickly scanned his surroundings, his gaze landing on the area below the control panel. There was a small maintenance space there, just big enough for a person to hide.
He slipped inside and held his breath.
The sealed door slid open with a "whoosh".
Two beams of flashlight swept into the node control room.
"Nobody's here," the young security guard said.
Old Dao walked in, his sharp gaze sweeping over every corner. His hand remained pressed against the stun gun at his waist.
"It's a bit hot." The young security guard touched the protective shield. "Is it normal for it to be so hot?"
“Node 4 is one of the main energy nodes, and its load has always been very high,” Lao Dao said, walking to the control panel to check the data on the screen.
Jiang Nian could clearly hear the conversation between the two in the maintenance space, and could even smell the faint smell of smoke on Lao Dao.
Old Dao frowned. "Something's not right. Contact the energy team and ask what's going on."
"Now? It's past 3 a.m., and there's only one person on duty in the energy team. I'm afraid..."
"Just contact them when I tell you to."
The young security guard took out his communicator and dialed a number.
A few seconds later, the communication was established.
"Hello? Energy Team Duty Room."
"This is Li from the security team. The energy output of node four is exceeding the limit. Supervisor Wang asked us to inquire about the situation."
"Exceeding the limit?" The sound of typing came from the other end. "Strange, it shows up normally on my end. The output fluctuation is within the allowable range."
"Are you sure? Our data shows 15% exceeding the limit."
"Wait, let me connect remotely and take a look. It's a display error, a sensor calibration deviation. The actual output only exceeds the standard by three percent, which is within the safety threshold."
Old Dao stared at the screen, silent for a few seconds.
"Got it." He took the communicator. "This is Old Knife. Are you sure it's just a display error?"
"Team Blade, I'm sure. We just did a full calibration last month, and it's probably the low temperature that caused the sensor drift. I'll recalibrate it tomorrow morning."
"Row."
Old Dao hung up the call and tossed the communicator back to Xiao Li.
"Let's go to the next area."
The two turned and left.
The moment the sealed door closed, Jiang Nian crawled out of the maintenance space, his forehead already covered in cold sweat.
That was too dangerous.
If Lao Dao had checked a little longer, or even crouched down to look under the console...
"Explosives," Old Qin reminded him. "Quickly."
Jiang Nian took a deep breath and quickly attached the fourth piece of explosive to the equipment.
"Node 4 is complete. Two more to go."
“Node 5 is located at the bottom of the platform and requires passing through the main reactor area. There are people on duty there 24 hours a day, and the security level is the highest.”
Is there another way?
“The ventilation duct can be accessed directly, but the duct diameter is only thirty centimeters, and there is a vertical drop section, fifteen meters away.”
Jiang Nian glanced at the time: 3:55 a.m.
Five minutes until the shift change window opens.
"Use pipelines."
He climbed back up into the ventilation system.
This time the pipe was narrower, and he had to move sideways to get forward. The pipe walls were covered with a thin layer of ice, making them extremely slippery. With each step, he had to grip the seams tightly.
"Turn right three meters ahead, and then there's a vertical section," Qin Lao guided in real time. "There's a safety net at the bottom of the vertical section to cushion the impact, but the sound of landing will still be quite loud."
What area is below?
"The repair tool warehouse should be empty at night."
Jiang Nian climbed to the edge of the vertical section and looked down.
It was bottomless, with only a faint green light from an emergency light shining through from the bottom.
He adjusted his posture, braced his hands against the pipe wall, and began to slowly descend.
The ice layer on the pipe walls reduced friction to a minimum, causing the descent speed to increase rapidly.
When Jiang Nian was three meters away from the bottom, he suddenly heard a sound from below!
"Is this wrench the wrong model?"
"This is it, the kind that Manager Wang specifically requested, a special low-temperature resistant alloy." "Okay, I'll take it."
There's someone in the warehouse!
Jiang Nian abruptly stopped descending, using both hands and feet to exert force simultaneously, forcefully wedging himself in the middle of the pipe.
His muscles groaned under the strain, and a tearing pain shot through the wound on his right arm.
But he couldn't move.
Below, two maintenance workers are standing in front of the shelf selecting tools. Above them is the outlet grille of the ventilation duct.
"By the way, where's Zhang Meng? Isn't he on duty tonight?"
"He said his stomach hurt and he went to the medical room. He asked me to cover for him for a while."
"That kid is slacking off again."
"Never mind, there's nothing else to do anyway. By the way, have you heard? Node 3 malfunctioned tonight."
"I heard about it; it's said to be a problem with the cooling system. Manager Wang went to check it out himself."
“I’ve been feeling that things are going strange on the platform lately. First there was trouble in the South China Sea, and now things aren’t stable here either.”
"Say less and get to work."
The two men left the warehouse with their tools.
The door closed, and the footsteps faded into the distance.
Jiang Nian waited another ten seconds before letting go of his hands and feet and landing on the safety net.
The safety net made a slight creaking sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet warehouse.
He held his breath and listened intently.
No exception.
Jiang Nian quickly climbed down from the safety net and looked around.
The warehouse was large and filled with all sorts of tools and equipment. The air was thick with the smell of machine oil and metal.
“Node 5 is next to the warehouse, and there’s an internal connecting door,” Qin said. “But the door requires a special access card from the maintenance team.”
Jiang Nian frowned: "I didn't."
“You can borrow it.” Old Qin paused. “There should be a spare access card in the warehouse manager’s desk drawer. Most platforms prepare spare cards in case they are lost.”
Jiang Nian quickly found his desk.
The drawer was locked, but with a simple mechanical lock. He pried it open with a short blade, and sure enough, there was a black access card inside, labeled "Maintenance Team - General".
"got it."
The connecting door is at the very back of the warehouse; it's an inconspicuous gray metal door.
The permission card is affixed, and the green light illuminates.
Behind the door is a short passage, at the end of which is node number five.
The structure here is extremely simple; it's practically an empty room with a cylindrical device in the center, surrounded by no control panels or instruments. There's only a simple status display screen on the wall.
“Node number five is a backup node and is not normally operational,” Qin explained. “It only starts up when other nodes fail. Therefore, its security measures are the weakest.”
Jiang Nian walked to the equipment.
The equipment surface is covered with a dust cover, and it feels cold to the touch.
He lifted a corner of the dust cover, preparing to attach the explosives.
At that very moment, the device suddenly emitted a soft "humming" sound!
A light blue indicator light ring illuminates on the surface!
"What's going on?" Jiang Nian took a half step back.
"The energy reading is rising!" Old Qin's voice was urgent. "Node five has been remotely activated! Someone has started the backup system!"
Who will activate the backup node at this time?
"I don't know, but you have to hurry! Once the node is fully activated, the internal energy field will interfere with the explosive's detonation device!"
Jiang Nian gritted his teeth and ripped open the entire dust cover.
On the surface of the equipment, intricate patterns are slowly lighting up, spreading upwards from the bottom. The temperature is also rising rapidly, and moisture in the air begins to condense into a white mist.
He took out a piece of explosive, found the right spot, and pressed it firmly onto the target.
The strong magnetic layer on the back of the explosive attracted the device casing, but the indicator light flashed a few times, indicating that the attraction was unstable.
"The energy field interference is too strong!" Old Qin exclaimed urgently, "The explosives may not be able to detonate properly!"
"Then let's put on a few more!"
Jiang Nian then took out two more pieces of explosives and attached them to different parts of the equipment.
The three explosive charges are arranged in a triangle, and the indicator lights all show yellow – indicating an unstable state.
"Warning: Node 5 is 40% complete in startup and is expected to reach the operational threshold within two minutes."
The system notification sound echoed in the room.
"Let's go!" Old Qin roared.
Jiang Nian turned around and rushed back into the passage.
Just as he was about to run out of the connecting door, he suddenly heard footsteps and voices outside the warehouse!
Was there any noise coming from the warehouse just now?
"I heard it too, it sounded like metal clashing."
"Let's go in and take a look."
Those two repairmen are back!
Jiang Nian quickly darted behind the shelf and crouched down.
The warehouse door opened, and a beam of flashlight swept in.
"Nobody's here."
"Take a look over at the ventilation ducts."
The beam of light shines on the location of the safety net.
Jiang Nian held her breath and peered through the gap in the shelf. Two repairmen were walking down the vertical pipe, one of them holding tools and looking around warily.
"The safety net is a bit loose," a maintenance worker said, tugging at the net. "Could it be a rat?"
"At this temperature, the rats would have frozen to death long ago."
"What is that...?"
Before he could finish speaking, the entire platform suddenly shook violently!
The tools on the shelf clattered, and several parts fell to the ground and rolled far away.
"What's going on?!"
"I don't know! It sounds like it's coming from up above!"
The vibration lasted for three seconds, then stopped.
The two repairmen exchanged a glance and rushed toward the warehouse door at the same time.
"Go out and see!"
"Should we report this?"
"Let's see what the situation is!"
They ran out of the warehouse without even closing the door.
Jiang Nian stood up from behind the shelf and glanced at the time: 4:02 AM.
The shift change window has already opened, but he still has one last step to go.
And the tremor just now...
"Old Qin, what's going on?"
“Node number three,” Old Qin said gravely, “one of the explosives you attached has become loose. The energy fluctuations caused local resonance, resulting in slight structural vibrations. Fortunately, it didn’t trigger the alarm.”
"What about node six? How much time is left?"
“Node Six is located in the central control area where Supervisor Wang’s office is located, where security is tightest. You need to go up to the upper level of the platform first, which will take at least five minutes. And…”
Old Qin paused for a moment: "The shift change has already begun, and the flow of people in the passageway will increase."
Jiang Nian took a deep breath and walked out of the warehouse.
Sure enough, people were already walking around in the corridor. Several technicians in uniform hurried by, discussing the tremor they had just experienced.
"It's definitely a debugging issue."
"I think it's the ice sheet moving."
"Supervisor Wang has already gone to the central control room. Let's get back to our posts quickly." (End of Chapter)