Chapter 14
Tuesday, 11 p.m.
The old factory area in Tiexi District was as black as an abandoned giant coal pile, with only a few streetlights in the distance casting a dim, yellowish glow, as if to say, "I'm not broken yet." The massive outline of the old water tower stood in the night like a silent steel behemoth, its rusted exterior gleaming coldly in the pale moonlight, its own "keep away" background music.
There is still one and a half days until the "Thursday daytime fashion show-style inspection" originally scheduled by the Cultural Heritage Bureau and the Volunteer Association.
But clearly, some friends can't wait to be the "vanguard".
Jin Zhaoxuan was hiding in an inconspicuous old van, disguised as a scrapped car, about 300 meters away from the water tower. The van had been heavily modified, with several monitors and receiving devices flashing with eerie light, creating a highly atmospheric setting, perfect for a low-budget version of "The Bourne Identity." Xiao Chen, wearing headphones, was intently watching one of the screens displaying thermal imaging, his expression as serious as if he were defusing a bomb.
"They're here!" Xiao Chen whispered, almost cracking with excitement. "Northeast corner, two o'clock position, two 'little oranges' (orange-red humanoid figures in the thermal imaging)! They're quite skilled, and they're carrying tool bags; they're definitely veterans!"
In the thermal imaging, two orange-red figures, like two large fireflies, were stealthily crawling towards the base of the water tower under the cover of the shadows of the ruins.
"The fish aren't big; probably just scouts." Jin Zhaoxuan glanced at it, unsurprised. How could a cunning old fox like Zhao Xinguo personally go and offer himself up for slaughter from the start?
He picked up the walkie-talkie, his voice steady as ever: "Attention, Group A, the two 'Little Oranges' are approaching the west side of the water tower base. According to the script, wait until they crawl through the dog hole before yelling 'Cut'."
"Group A received." A brief response came from the walkie-talkie. It was the two "night fishing enthusiasts" (sons of retired workers) that Liu Jianjun had contacted. They were now hiding in a nearby secluded spot, cosplaying as Voldemort.
Inside the van, another monitor was lit up, displaying Yin Shaoqing's virtual interface. He was remotely watching the live broadcast through several "electronic eyes" (wireless cameras) that Jin Zhaoxuan had hidden nearby.
“They opened the camouflage cover that we ‘sponsored’ to loosen.” Yin Shaoqing’s voice rang out softly in the car, with the calmness of an academic report. “Their movements were professional, as if they had practiced, or… they had obtained the ‘guide’.”
In the video, the two people quickly cleared away the loose soil at the entrance. One of them peeked down (as if confirming the dungeon entrance) and then gave a "safe" gesture. The other handed over a toolbox, and then the two disappeared one after the other into the dark shaft entrance—perfectly demonstrating the standard procedure for "entering a dungeon".
"We've entered the cave!" Xiao Chen reported, his tone tinged with the excitement of watching a plot unfold.
Jin Zhaoxuan glanced at the time, and like a director shouting "Action": "Notify Group B, it's their turn to 'pass by' and make a cameo appearance."
Group B consisted of official staff from the Cultural Relics Bureau and several key members of the volunteer association. They were originally relaxing at home tonight when they were "last-minute notified" of an urgent task—a preliminary assessment of a suspected new crack in the water tower was needed that night (an excuse made up by Jin Zhaoxuan). The team was led by a section chief surnamed Wu from the Cultural Relics Bureau, a fairly upright man, but a bit stubborn.
A few minutes later, two cars bearing the logo of the Cultural Relics Bureau "coincidentally" wandered to the vicinity of the water tower along the factory roads, which were as bumpy as the surface of the moon.
"Wu Ke, it's just ahead." The volunteer leader in the co-pilot's seat pointed in the direction of the water tower, his acting slightly exaggerated.
Section Chief Wu pushed up his glasses, his brows furrowing deeply: "It's the middle of the night... but since there's a report of an emergency, let's take a look. Xiao Zhang, grab your gear (flashlight and surveying tools)!"
They had barely stepped out of the car, their feet not even firmly planted, when a deliberately raised scream, octaves higher than usual, shattered the silence from the direction where Group A was lying in ambush:
"Oh my god! Why is the well opening over there?! It looks like a dark shadow slipped down!"
"Who are these people? Digging tunnels here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Could they be trying to steal the tower?!"
The sound was exceptionally loud and penetrating in the night.
Section Chief Wu and the others were stunned for a moment, then immediately went on alert. Several powerful flashlights shone in unison toward the water tower base, illuminating the dark, open entrance to the shaft, as well as the freshly dug soil and tool marks next to it—a perfect crime scene (attempted version).
"There really is someone there?!" Section Chief Wu's face darkened. "Go check it out! Xiao Zhang, call the police!"
Meanwhile, beneath the shaft, inside the instance.
The two "experts" hired by "Xin'an Industry" who went down first had just reached the platform where the air chamber had been discovered earlier. With a clear objective, they headed straight for the hidden door, took out professional breaching tools, and prepared to "force open the door"—the boss's KPI was to "remove any metal boxes or paper documents inside."
However, things didn't go as planned. Suddenly, a cacophony of voices and flashlight beams erupted overhead, like a mocking tirade.
"Damn it! Weren't we supposed to have that group of people come for the show tomorrow during the day? Why are they checking the rooms early?!" one person cursed under their breath.
"Stop babbling and hurry up and pry it open!" the other person urged, speeding up his movements.
But it was too late. From the cave entrance came Section Chief Wu's clear, resonant voice (with a built-in megaphone effect): "You guys down here! We're from the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau! Immediately stop your illegal activities! Come up for inspection! We've already called the police!"
The two exchanged a glance, knowing they couldn't progress further in this dungeon. It was definitely blocked up above; forcing their way in? That would be suicide. They decisively abandoned the mission, tossing their toolkits (containing demolition tools and a forged "exploration permit" for future use) into a corner. Then, they retraced their steps, climbing up the same path, intending to play the roles of "ignorant nighttime adventurers" or "lost geology students" to try and slip through.
However, when they emerged, covered in dust and looking like gophers crawling out of their burrows, they were greeted by several blindingly bright flashlights and cell phone cameras, along with Section Chief Wu's stern face that could stand as a door god, and the wary stares of several volunteers who seemed to be "caring for the mentally challenged." Beside them stood two "night anglers" (Group A) who appeared to be "just passing by," with expressions of utter indifference.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Section Chief Wu asked sternly, his aura commanding.
"We are students from the China University of Geosciences. We're here to do extracurricular practice tonight..." One of them stammered as he pulled out a forged student ID, his hand trembling slightly.
Section Chief Wu took the document, shone the flashlight on it, and his brow furrowed even more. The document looked quite professional, but the details couldn't stand up to scrutiny. Besides, what reputable university would send students to such a high-risk abandoned site in the middle of the night for "practice"? And with professional demolition tools capable of opening safes?
"Practice?" A sharp-eyed volunteer pointed at the crowbar tip they hadn't concealed properly, hitting the nail on the head. "Practice requires prying open the door of a key cultural relic protection unit like this? Is this what you teach in your practical course?"
"The police will be here soon. If you have something to say, talk to the officers slowly," Section Chief Wu said coldly, signaling the others to keep an eye on these two "talents."
Inside the van, Jin Zhaoxuan watched the footage secretly transmitted by the "night angler" and nodded slightly. The first step: catching them red-handed, the murder mystery game a complete success. These two small fry were enough to get "Xin'an Industry" into serious trouble, at least for the time being, preventing them from openly targeting the water tower again.
But just then, Yin Shaoqing's urgent voice rang out, as if a pause button had been pressed:
"Mr. Jin, something's wrong! Thermal imaging shows there's another 'orange' on the other side of the water tower, near the ruins of the old pump house! He hasn't moved, he's just lying there, like he's watching from the sidelines!"
Jin Zhaoxuan immediately switched the monitoring screen. Sure enough, under the thermal imaging view, an orange-red outline that was almost blending into the cold ruins was quietly lying behind a pile of cement fragments, about fifty meters away from the entrance of the shaft. The position was tricky, with an excellent view and a panoramic view.
"Holy crap! There's another one lurking in the shadows!" Xiao Chen exclaimed.
"What a load of rubbish!" Jin Zhaoxuan's eyes sharpened. "This is most likely a spy sent by the main party to keep watch or provide backup. Once things are exposed, he'll definitely run away!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the lurking "orange" began to wriggle backward extremely slowly, its movements as light as an earthworm, clearly intending to moisten silently.
"We can't let him get away!" Jin Zhaoxuan immediately ordered, "Group A, you guys who are 'night fishing,' head west towards the old pump house and 'look for accomplices,' make a fuss! Group B, Section Chief Wu and the others are busy interrogating those two, so they can't pay attention to that side for now."
"Received!" came the reply from the walkie-talkie.
Soon, the two "night anglers" started making a ruckus, shining their flashlights randomly in the direction of the old pump house, shouting, "I think I just saw someone over there!" "Let's go, let's go take a look, maybe there are other people with them!"
This seemed to alert the lurking creature, which noticeably increased its crawling speed and was about to slip into the depths of the ruins, thus "disappearing."
Just as Jin Zhaoxuan was struggling with whether or not to let Group A risk chasing after them, potentially disrupting the entire script—
"Bang!"
A muffled thud, particularly abrupt in the quiet night, sounded like a sandbag hitting the ground.
Immediately afterwards, a suppressed groan of pain was heard.
In the surveillance footage, the "Orange" who was running away suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground. In front of him, a tall and agile figure emerged from the shadows, holding... what looked like a stick? Or a wrench?
"Brother Liu?!?" Jin Zhaoxuan and Xiao Chen exclaimed in unison, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
It was Liu Jianjun! The old man had somehow sneaked into the vicinity, and he struck swiftly and ruthlessly, teaching people a lesson with a single blow!
Liu Jianjun swiftly stepped forward, pressed his knee against the man's back (a skillful movement), deftly twisted his hands behind his back, and tied them securely with a prepared plastic strap (commonly known as "strangling a dog"). The entire process was fluid and effortless, clearly a "traditional skill" honed in the factory's security department back in the day.
"Mr. Jin, caught someone trying to slip away." Liu Jianjun's voice came through the walkie-talkie, slightly breathless. "This kid has a walkie-talkie on him, and this thing too—"
He reached into the man's pocket and pulled out a small black device: "It looks like a signal jammer or a miniature interference device."
Jin Zhaoxuan's heart skipped a beat. A signal jammer? Could the "electric rave" and "alarm malfunction" on demonstration day have been the work of this thing?
“Bring it over, be careful,” he said immediately.
Liu Jianjun escorted the struggling undercover agent ("Orange" revealed his true form, a lean young man) to meet up with the "night fishermen" from Group A who had "just happened" to be searching, and together they headed towards Section Chief Wu.
Section Chief Wu had just subdued the two "students" who had come out first and was waiting for the police. He was even more surprised to see Liu Jianjun bringing over another one, holding a suspicious small black cube in his hand.
"Old Liu? What are you doing here? And what is this...?" Section Chief Wu recognized Liu Jianjun.
"Wu Ke, I was just strolling around tonight when I bumped into this sneaky guy trying to run away, so I helped him out." Liu Jianjun said casually, handing the man and equipment forward. "Looks like he's in cahoots with these two. He even has this thing on him. Doesn't seem like he's up to no good."
Police arrived quickly, flashing their lights. All three suspects were apprehended, and the forged documents, professional breaching tools, and signal jamming equipment seized served as solid evidence. Section Chief Wu explained the situation initially, emphasizing that this was a protected cultural relic site and that the suspects' actions constituted damage to cultural relics and illegal intrusion, a serious offense.
The police car drove away with its red and blue lights flashing, and the scene gradually returned to calm (not counting the emergency survey and protective photography being conducted by the cultural relics bureau and volunteers).
Inside the van, Jin Zhaoxuan let out a long, heavy sigh of relief, feeling his back was soaked with sweat.
"Done!" Xiao Chen excitedly pumped his fist, almost hitting the roof of the car. "Caught red-handed, and there was an unexpected surprise! That signal jammer was like a gift delivered right to our door!"
Jin Zhaoxuan nodded, looked at Yin Shaoqing's interface, and said in a tone that he himself did not realize was gentle and contained a hint of dependence: "Thank goodness you have good eyesight."
Yin Shaoqing's virtual avatar shook his head slightly, the light and shadow gently flowing across his face: "It's Brother Liu who's skilled. But... Mr. Jin, I think this matter may not be over yet."
"How so?" Jin Zhaoxuan's relaxed nerves tensed up a little again.
“Zhao Xinguo himself didn’t show up; it was all his subordinates or even hired outsiders who came,” Yin Shaoqing analyzed calmly. “This shows that he is extremely cautious and wants to distance himself completely. This failure will make him more vigilant, but he may also be… more unwilling to accept it. Especially the rumors we ‘unintentionally’ released about the ‘technical data’ are like a thorn in his side. He might try other more covert, or… more unreasonable methods.”
Jin Zhaoxuan remained silent. Yin Shaoqing was right. Taking down a few henchmen was just a scratch; it wouldn't harm Zhao Xinguo at his core. On the contrary, it might provoke this venomous snake lurking in the shadows, making it even more insidious.
“Moreover,” Yin Shaoqing continued, his virtual brows furrowing slightly, “that signal jammer reminds me of the attack pattern we encountered on the demonstration day. If it is indeed the same technology, it means that Zhao Xinguo does have supporters with certain technical capabilities behind him, not just local forces.”
With internal traitors not yet eliminated, external support unclear, and hidden attacks difficult to guard against.
"We'll meet force with force and water with earth." Jin Zhaoxuan rubbed his throbbing temples. "At least we won the first round tonight and bought some time. As for the project, we need to speed it up and launch it as soon as possible to establish public influence and factual protection. As long as the attention is high enough, they'll have to think twice before trying to touch the water tower again."
He looked at Yin Shaoqing, his gaze lingering for a moment on his handsome virtual face: "Next, we may need you to leverage the advantages of 'core technology' even more."
Yin Shaoqing understood what he meant. As a "living" historical database and the soul of the AR tour, it itself is the greatest value of the project and the best focus to attract public attention.
"I will do my part well." Yin Shaoqing solemnly promised, then his virtual gaze fell on Jin Zhaoxuan's slightly haggard face, his voice softening unconsciously, with obvious concern, "But Mr. Jin, you should go back and rest. Your dark circles... are almost heavier than the shadow of the water tower. If you keep going, I'm afraid you'll 'disappear' before me."
Jin Zhaoxuan was taken aback, subconsciously touched his eyelids, and then muttered somewhat angrily, "...Mind your own business! Who am I worrying about?"
Xiao Chen was trying hard to suppress his laughter, his shoulders shrugging.
Yin Shaoqing's virtual image revealed a faint, genuine smile. The smile appeared particularly gentle in the light and shadow of the screen, even carrying a hint of... indulgence? His virtual eyes gazed at Jin Zhaoxuan, as if they could penetrate the data stream and see the other's forced exhaustion and barely perceptible dependence.
"Okay, I don't care." He continued, his voice so soft it sounded like a sigh, "I just... don't want to see you too tired."
Jin Zhaoxuan felt his ears getting hot, looked away, and hurriedly packed his things: "Let's go, let's wrap up! Xiao Chen, put the equipment back in its place!"
As night deepened, the water tower returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.
But everyone knew in their hearts that beneath this silence, undercurrents were still surging, and might even become more turbulent and dangerous because of tonight's setback.
The real contest may have only just begun.
And some things that quietly grow amidst tense actions and are silently conveyed in caring glances are like the vines of this spring night, quietly entwining the heart and bringing a strange, thrilling warmth.
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