Chapter 23
The brief success of the sample transfer library was like a shot of adrenaline, injecting a surge of energy into Chen Mengzhou's cold and stagnant blood. Vulnerabilities did exist, and the system's defenses weren't completely ironclad. She needed more data, more practice, and, most importantly, a perfect target.
The medical robot became her first choice. It arrived at the quarantine area on time every day, performing basic vital sign monitoring and data recording. Its movements were rigid and its routines were fixed. Crucially, its data tablet was stuck to a bracket on the side of the cart, leaving a very brief window of opportunity when it turned to operate the equipment.
Over the next few days, Chen Mengzhou worked even harder. She was practically the last person to leave the data processing room, volunteering to help organize and file documents. She even accidentally knocked over a glass of water, wetting a small area. This gave her the opportunity to touch the cleaning equipment and observe its simple internal circuits and energy loops—all in an effort to become more familiar with the energy operation modes of the various devices in Area A.
Her simulation of the energy fluctuations of the Thunder Mark became increasingly sophisticated, and she was now able to stably reproduce the "authentication request" signal of that specific frequency, although its duration was still extremely short and required her to be almost in contact with the sensing area in order to be effective.
The opportunity came during a routine physical checkup. The examination took place in a small clinic adjacent to the isolation room, with the medical robot operating the equipment. A human researcher was supervising and taking notes, but he was clearly distracted, glancing out the door from time to time, as if he was rushing to a meeting.
When the robot needed to turn around to use an old blood analyzer that needed to be preheated, its data board was once again exposed to Shen Mengzhou's reach, with its back to the researcher.
Now is the time!
Chen Mengzhou pretended to raise his hand to adjust his collar, and his body naturally leaned a little bit towards the cart. His fingertips, hidden by his sleeves, passed over the sensing area of the data board at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to capture!
The simulated thunder energy fluctuations are accurately injected!
The data board's screen flashed quickly, the lock screen disappeared, and the interface of the internal data management system was switched on! Although it was only for a moment, the robot turned back and the screen locked again.
But in that split second, Chen Mengzhou, with his superhuman dynamic vision and memory, had already captured and memorized several key pieces of information displayed on the screen:
[Current Access Permit: Level 3 Researcher - Gamma] [Today's To-Do: Quarantine Area Sample Data Synchronization (47/58)] [System Announcement: Abnormal fluctuations in ARK-07 sample activity. All relevant data will be uploaded to [Core Database - Sector 4] first...]
ARK-07! Sector 4!
A partition of the core database! And it seems to be directly related to the "Ark" project!
Her heart was beating wildly with excitement, but her face still showed the docility and slight uneasiness she had when she was being examined.
The examination concluded, the researcher hurried away. The medical robot also clattered away, pushing the cart.
Chen Mengzhou returned to his isolation room, turned his back to the surveillance camera, and slowly clenched his fists.
Sector 4... She needed to find a way to access this core database partition. Breaking in was impossible, and remote intrusion was even more unrealistic. Her only hope lay in the energy authentication vulnerability.
But the certification in the core area is definitely more stringent, and she needs a stronger energy simulation, or... a more advanced "key".
Her gaze fell on Niuniu next door again.
Several days passed, and Niuniu's condition remained relatively unchanged. She remained comatose but stable. Area A's research seemed to have yielded no breakthroughs in her case, and monitoring frequency gradually decreased.
Chen Mengzhou could sense that the immense spiritual energy within Niuniu wasn't dormant, but rather circulating and growing in an extremely slow, mysterious manner, exchanging with the omnipresent, tenuous space-time energy of the outside world. This exchange was so secretive that even the sophisticated instruments in Area A seemed unable to fully capture it.
Maybe... Niu Niu herself is a special, living "energy source"?
A plan so bold as to be almost crazy took shape in her mind.
She needed to "stimulate" Niu Niu again and channel out more of her energy, not to create the illusion of pollution, but to... steal a trace of Niu Niu's unique spiritual energy characteristics and integrate it into her own simulation signal!
Niuniu's energy has attracted the interest of Area A, so its characteristics must be special. If we can simulate that energy signature, perhaps we can deceive higher-level security systems!
The risk was enormous. If he lost control, he might seriously injure or even kill Niuniu, and he would be immediately exposed.
But she had to take the risk.
She began to pay closer attention to Niu Niu's energy fluctuation patterns, looking for the extremely subtle, periodic energy tidal peaks.
The opportunity came late one night. The indicator light on the surveillance camera flashed regularly, and the corridor outside was silent.
Like a dormant cheetah, Chen Mengzhou silently approached the barrier. She extended her finger and, through the cold, transparent material, lightly pressed against the corresponding spot on Niuniu's forehead.
The mind is highly concentrated, and the spatial ability and time perception are running at the extreme at the same time.
She waited patiently, feeling the energy tides in Niuniu's body that rose and fell like her breathing.
Now is the time! Peak energy is coming!
The spatial energy at Chen Mengzhou's fingertips was like the finest probe, gently piercing Niuniu's energy field. It wasn't guidance, it was synchronization! She made her energy fluctuation frequency highly consistent with Niuniu's energy peak within a very short period of time!
Then, as if stealing a drop of dew, she carefully and with difficulty "dipped" a tiny trace of pure spiritual energy from the surging tide, quickly wrapped it in her own spatial energy, and withdrew!
The whole process is as fast as lightning, and the energy fluctuations are controlled within an extremely small range.
Niu Niu seemed to sense something and frowned uneasily in her sleep, but did not wake up.
Chen Mengzhou felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart, his temples throbbing as if his brain had been pricked by a needle. The burden of stealing and absorbing external spiritual energy was far greater than he had imagined.
She did not dare to delay and immediately retreated to the corner of the room, trying her best to digest and analyze this stolen energy.
This energy was gentle yet vast, carrying a peculiar quality of "inclusiveness" and "communication," completely different from the "tearing" and "control" of spacetime energy. She tried to slowly integrate it into her simulated thunder authentication signal.
After failing several times, finally, a new, more complex energy fluctuation with a hint of illusion condensed at her fingertips.
Success!
Although it is extremely unstable and every condensation will bring mental pain and exhaustion, it is undoubtedly a more advanced "key"!
She needed to test the effectiveness of this new key as soon as possible.
The next day, another opportunity presented itself. The female assistant asked her to deliver an "urgent" document (though it wasn't actually that urgent) to the Energy Dispatch Center in Area C. Area C was adjacent to the core area, where the equipment was newer and authorization verification was more frequent.
While waiting for her turn in the corridor outside the dispatch center, she noticed an internal communication terminal on the wall. It seemed to be undergoing maintenance; the outer shell was half-open, revealing the wiring and sensor module inside. A technician was crouched beside it, debugging something, with tools scattered on the floor.
Chen Mengzhou held the documents, leaning against the wall, seemingly bored, waiting, but his eyes were fixed on the exposed sensor module.
The technician seemed to be in trouble and got up to find more tools.
Now is the time!
Chen Mengzhou's feet "accidentally" slipped, and with a light cry, his body fell towards the open terminal, his hands seemingly reaching for the internal circuit board in panic!
The fingertips pressed accurately on the core sensing area!
A brand new analog authentication signal that integrates Niu Niu's spiritual energy is injected instantly!
The terminal screen suddenly lit up! This time, instead of an error code, it jumped directly to an internal system menu interface! Although it was still only a brief moment before the screen bounced back to the login interface due to insufficient permissions, the duration was obviously a few tenths of a second longer than before!
Moreover, the moment the menu interface flashed, she saw an option - [Energy Log Query (Sector 3-4)]!
Sector 4! The core database partition! This terminal actually has query permissions! Although it requires secondary authentication, this is already a huge breakthrough!
"What are you doing!" The technician came back with tools and saw Chen Mengzhou almost falling on his equipment, and immediately shouted.
Chen Mengzhou quickly stood firm, her face full of panic and fear: "Sorry! Sorry! I slipped...did you break anything?" She looked terrified, and her acting was impeccable.
The technician suspiciously checked the equipment, but found no obvious damage. He simply waved his hand impatiently, "If you're alright, get out of here! Don't get in the way!"
Chen Mengzhou apologized repeatedly and left quickly with the documents in his arms, but his heart was beating violently with excitement.
The new key works! And works better!
Although she couldn't access it directly, she saw the path! The Energy Dispatch Center's terminal seemed to have a higher level of query authority because it needed to coordinate the energy supply of the core area!
Her goal was no longer to search aimlessly, but to lock onto the terminal in the energy dispatching center!
She needed a safer, longer-term access to the terminal.
In the following days, she became more "helpful" and took the initiative to undertake the odd jobs of delivering and picking up documents to the energy dispatching center. She gradually got to know the work rhythm there, the staff shift patterns, and when the terminal was usually idle for maintenance.
She noticed that every Thursday afternoon, the energy center would perform a short internal data backup, during which time external access would be reduced. The terminal would usually be checked routinely by a young technician who had a habit of leaving his seat and going next door to make a cup of unpalatable synthetic coffee.
The time is Thursday.
The days of waiting were long and agonizing. Chen Mengzhou suppressed all his impatience and continued to repeat the daily data processing tasks, secretly refining his plans and practicing energy simulations to ensure that everything was foolproof.
Thursday afternoon, it arrived as scheduled.
The atmosphere in the energy dispatch center was slightly more subdued than usual. The data backup indicator light was slowly flashing. Most of the staff were at their posts, monitoring the screens.
Chen Mengzhou walked in with her head lowered, carrying a stack of documents that needed signing. She placed the documents in the designated area with familiarity, then seemingly casually walked towards the terminal in the corner.
The young technician was indeed there, yawning as he worked on his terminal. After a while, he checked the time, stood up, muttered "coffee time," and headed to the adjacent break room.
Now is the time!
Chen Mengzhou walked to the terminal without any hesitation, as if taking a walk, with his back to most people's sight to block his movements.
The fingertips were like the most nimble butterflies, lightly pressing on the sensing area!
A stronger analog authentication signal that integrates Niuniu's energy is injected without reservation!
The screen lit up instantly and directly entered the internal system interface! There was no pop-up back to the login interface!
Success! Permission deception successful!
Her fingers moved swiftly across the virtual keyboard, her mental arithmetic abilities reaching their limit as she directly brought up the [Energy Log Query (Sector 3-4)] option she had seen earlier!
Click to enter! Loading circle spinning!
Her heart nearly leaped into her throat! Time was running out! The technician could be back at any moment!
The screen flashed, and a large amount of complex data began to scroll through! All of it was about the energy load of Sector 3 and 4, the status of the cooling system, and abnormal energy consumption records...
These are not what she wants most! What she wants is specific research data!
She rolled quickly, her eyes like a high-speed camera capturing every frame of information!
[…Sector 4, ARK-07 sample chamber, energy extraction peak abnormality… Related experiment: forced gene sequence expression…] […Warning: Sector 3, high-dimensional energy projector stability decreased, possibly related to residual signal interference from the "Lighthouse"…] […Record: To stabilize the "Ark" core, the "Relic - Sands of Kronos" was once again used for timing calibration…Calibration results: Partial success, deviation rate reduced by 0.7%…]
Sands of Kronos! Timing Alignment!
Chen Mengzhou's pupils suddenly shrank! It was indeed related!
At this moment, she caught a glimpse of an extremely brief record at the bottom of the log list, which seemed to have a blood-red exclamation mark!
[… Emergency: Sector 4, Junior Researcher Chen Bo, attempted to steal a sample of ARK-07 derivatives, triggering an alarm. Result: Cleared. Note: An abnormal energy signature remains on his personal data board, highly similar to the pre-activation fluctuations of the "Anchor Point"… Tracing the source…]
Anchor point pre-launch fluctuations? !
High similarity?!
It was as if a bolt of thunder exploded in Shen Mengzhou's mind!
The researcher who tried to steal the sample...his energy signature...is related to the "anchor point"?!
Could it be... that there are other "anchor points" besides her?! Or... that researcher has come into contact with something from an "anchor point"?!
At this moment when her heart was shocked!
"drop--!!!!"
Without warning, a sharp, piercing alarm rang out throughout the energy dispatch center! Red warning lights spun and flashed wildly!
[Warning! Unauthorized high-level access detected! Source: Terminal B-14!] The cold electronic voice repeated!
She was caught! The system's ultimate security mechanism still recognized her fraudulent access!
"What's going on?!" "Who's operating the B-14?!" "Catch her!"
The entire center instantly erupted in shock! Everyone stood up in astonishment, their eyes fixed on Chen Mengzhou, who was standing in front of the terminal!
The young technician rushed back with coffee and was stunned when he saw this scene!
Chen Mengzhou's reaction was incredibly fast! The moment the alarm sounded, she didn't run away. Instead, she used her final moments to frantically operate the terminal, trying to retrieve more information about the "anchor point" and the researcher!
The screen went black instantly! It was locked remotely!
It’s too late!
At least... she saw the most crucial record!
Several quick-reacting guards drew their weapons and rushed over from different directions with roars!
The retreat is blocked!
A look of determination flashed across Chen Mengzhou's eyes!
She raised her hand suddenly, not to fight against the guards, but to unreservedly blast all the remaining spatial energy in her body, along with the trace of spiritual energy stolen from Niuniu, at the huge main display screen behind her that showed the energy distribution map of the entire fortress!
Boom!!!
The massive screen suddenly exploded, sending sparks and debris flying! Thick smoke and arcs of electricity filled the air instantly! The entire dispatch center was plunged into chaos and darkness!
"Ah!" "Be careful!" "Protect the main server!"
Take advantage of this chaos!
Chen Mengzhou's body was like a swimming fish, taking advantage of the smoke and the panic of the crowd, and suddenly crashed into a maintenance passage at the side and rear!
Space Mark·Jump! The target was a hidden corner five meters away in the passage that she had already calculated!
My mental energy was instantly drained! My throat felt sweet!
Buzz!
Her figure blurred in the smoke, and she narrowly avoided the grabbing hand and appeared in the passage!
Not daring to pause for even a moment, she sprinted along the dark inspection tunnel, followed by angry roars, alarms, and chaotic footsteps.
Exposed!
Completely exposed!
But she also got crucial information!
Anchor point fluctuations... and other similar energy signatures exist! The researcher who tried to steal the sample... is the key!
We have to find something about him! Find his datapad! Or...any other clues he might be hiding!
Her escape route suddenly turned into a new and more dangerous direction.
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