Inside the Star Alliance's command center, the air was so heavy it was almost dripping with moisture.
Lin Yi lightly tapped the tactical projection screen with his slender finger, and the huge three-dimensional structure of the mother nest instantly magnified, with a stream of dark blue data pouring down like a waterfall.
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and his voice was steady yet penetrating: "Su Qing, the fluctuation cycle of the Mother Nest Energy Core has been confirmed once again."
Su Qing, the alliance's chief strategic analyst, calmly responded in her sharp combat uniform: "Confirmed. According to the latest monitoring data, the next periodic disturbance will occur in seventy-two standard hours and last for about fifteen minutes. This is our only chance to silently send the 'Shadow Dive Team' into the core area."
"Very good." Lin Yi nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Chu Yao, who stood solemnly to the side. "The disguise and shielding of the data channel are now in your hands. Remember, we cannot trigger any alarm, not even the lowest level."
Chu Yao, the alliance's genius hacker, had lost her usual carefree demeanor and instead displayed extreme focus.
She smiled confidently, her fingertips leaving a trail of afterimages in the air: "Don't worry, Captain Lin. As long as they're active within the Mother Nest system, I can turn them into a string of 'normal' data redundancy. Unless the Night Owl's mastermind personally checks the code line by line, there's absolutely no way they'll be able to detect it."
The scene shifts to the outskirts of the Mother Nest, a desolate industrial area ravaged by war.
Aizen's figure moved silently among the ruins, like a phantom blending into the darkness.
He breathed deeply, each step calculated precisely, avoiding the ubiquitous patrol robots and hidden surveillance cameras.
His target was an abandoned energy conversion station.
According to intelligence, although the conversion station is abandoned, its basic pipelines still have a weak physical connection to the Mother Nest energy network.
Aizen held a palm-sized metal disc that shimmered with a faint, eerie light in his hand—the "Spiritual Pressure Resonator".
This thing can not only create a small area of spiritual pressure vacuum to conceal their energy characteristics, but also, like sonar, quietly collect and analyze the movement patterns and spiritual pressure intensity of the surrounding Night Owl forces.
With a soft metallic scraping sound, Aizen had successfully embedded the resonator into the pre-reserved slot of the main control unit of the conversion station.
He quickly retreated, disappearing into the deeper shadows.
The moment the resonator was activated, an invisible ripple spread out, completely isolating this area from external spiritual pressure detection.
At the same time, tiny, imperceptible streams of data began to converge, outlining the dynamic trajectory of the Night Owl Patrol.
Meanwhile, on another covert front within the alliance, Xuanmingzi was cautiously making his final communication with his "informant."
This is a low-ranking technician in the Night Owl unit who is frustrated with his career and whose codename is "Germain-Greyhound".
Xuanmingzi knew all too well that turning someone into a defector was not easy, especially within an organization like Night Owl, which was ruled by a high-pressure regime.
"Gerberus, I need you to provide all known maintenance plans and personnel scheduling arrangements for the area surrounding the conversion station within the next 72 hours, the more detailed the better. Remember, this is non-confidential information, don't take any risks." Xuanmingzi's voice was transmitted through an encrypted channel, carrying an undeniable air of authority, mixed with a subtle hint of concern.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the channel, then "Germain-Rat's" slightly nervous voice came through: "Sir, although this kind of information isn't top-secret, it's frequently being transferred, and I can only do my best. The higher-ups are keeping a close eye on any unusual information flows, I..."
“I know your difficulties,” Xuanmingzi interrupted him. “After this is done, the Alliance will not treat you unfairly. This is your only chance to break free from Night Owl’s control.”
“I understand.” The gerbil’s voice lowered. “I will send the information to the designated safe point. Good luck to you…” The communication was cut off.
Xuanmingzi shut down the communicator. This line was a risky move he had made, but for the sake of the "Shadow Infiltration Plan" to be foolproof, he could not let go of any factor that might increase the success rate.
Seventy hours later.
The atmosphere inside the command center was extremely tense.
All eyes were focused on the main screen, where the fluctuation curve of the Mother Nest Energy Core was pulsating violently, indicating that a period of turbulence was about to arrive.
"Chu Yao, prepare the data channel!" Lin Yi shouted in a low voice.
"The channel has been established, the disguise protocol has been loaded, and 'ghost data' can be injected at any time!" Beads of sweat appeared on Chu Yao's forehead as her fingers flew across the virtual light keys like butterflies.
Aizen was lurking at the designated rendezvous point. Real-time data transmitted from his spiritual pressure resonator showed that a Night Owl patrol team had just deviated from its usual route and seemed to be moving in an unexpected direction.
Meanwhile, Xuanmingzi also received the last piece of intelligence that "Sand Rat" had risked his life to send out.
Lin Yi quickly pieced together all the information, his brows gradually furrowing.
The unusual mobilization of the Night Owl Patrol and the notification from "Gerberus" regarding "emergency pipeline maintenance" in certain areas inside the hive seem to be subtly connected.
The fifteen-minute window for energy disruption has begun its countdown.
Every second is as precious as gold.
The original plan for the "Shadow Squad" infiltration was to directly penetrate the core during the period of chaos.
But now, new intelligence has set off alarm bells in Lin Yi's mind.
The risks of direct infiltration appear to be much higher than anticipated.
His gaze swept back and forth across the diagram of the mother nest structure, finally settling on several red pipeline paths marked "high-risk maintenance access".
An even bolder and more outlandish idea gradually took shape in his mind.
“Perhaps…” Lin Yi murmured to himself, a resolute glint in his eyes, “If we can’t force our way in, then what if… we go in ‘openly and honestly’?” He suddenly raised his head, looking at Su Qing and Long Wu waiting on the communication channel, his voice firm and decisive: “Minor adjustments to the plan! We need a team, a team that looks absolutely ‘normal,’ a team that will absolutely not arouse any suspicion!” The night was as dark as ink, pressing heavily on the “mother nest” constructed of reinforced concrete.
Long Wu and his group, like ghosts blending into the darkness, traversed the intricate pipe network of the East District.
They were dressed in disguised maintenance worker uniforms, but their toolkits contained miniature detectors powerful enough to overturn the entire defense system.
Each heartbeat felt like a heavy hammer pounding against my chest.
Sweat soaked their foreheads, and the cold metal pipe walls pressed against their backs, bringing a chill that also made them more alert.
"Boss, the Night Owl Patrol's shift change is in three minutes." A member's low voice came through the communicator, trembling slightly.
Long Wu took a deep breath and made a hand gesture.
The two team members immediately and skillfully pried open the grille of a ventilation duct, their movements as nimble as cats.
He personally and precisely implanted a button-sized detector deep inside the ventilation duct, a blind spot for airflow and a dead zone for monitoring.
This probe will act like a seed, silently absorbing the pulse of the mother nest and gradually outlining its defense structure.
Just as they were about to complete the deployment of the third detector and prepare to withdraw along the original route, a series of muffled and rhythmic footsteps suddenly came from around the corner, getting closer and closer!
"Oh no! The patrol team has moved ahead of schedule! And they've changed their route!" a member of the patrol team exclaimed in a low voice, his voice filled with horror.
Everyone felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave!
If you're caught in this position, you won't even have a chance to escape!
Long Wu's pupils suddenly contracted, and almost instinctively he drew the silenced pistol from his waist, preparing for the worst.
He knew that once they opened fire, they might be able to wipe out the patrol, but the entire operation would be exposed, all their previous efforts would be in vain, and it might even trigger a full-scale alert from the Mother Nest, leading to their complete annihilation!
At the critical moment, a faint red light suddenly flashed in an inconspicuous corner of Long Wu's combat terminal screen.
Immediately afterwards, an energy fluctuation imperceptible to ordinary people spread out like ripples from a hidden line above their heads.
The approaching footsteps abruptly stopped less than twenty meters away.
"Strange, interference signals? The central system is prompting us to check the energy lines in area B7." The patrol captain's voice carried a hint of doubt.
"B7 area? Isn't that in another direction?"
"An order is an order, let's go!"
Footsteps sounded again, but they went in the exact opposite direction from Long Wu and the others.
Long Wu and the others leaned against the cold wall, not daring to breathe, until the footsteps completely disappeared into the depths of the passage.
He glanced at the source of the fleeting red dot on the terminal—a “shadow.”
It's him again!
This mysterious supporter always manages to resolve crises in the most critical moments in the most inexplicable ways.
"Retreat!" Long Wu shouted in a low voice, no longer hesitating.
When Long Wu returned to the temporary base covered in gunpowder and exhausted, along with the invaluable preliminary data, he was greeted by Su Qing's bloodshot yet exceptionally bright eyes.
"Thank you for your hard work! Give me the data quickly!" Su Qing didn't even have time for pleasantries before snatching the data storage device, her slender fingers flying across the keyboard.
Massive amounts of data flooded into the analysis system like a burst dam, with lines of complex code and encrypted information scrolling rapidly across the screen.
Time ticked by, and the atmosphere in the command room became so heavy it was almost suffocating.
Long Wu and several core team members stood silently to the side, even deliberately slowing their breathing, for fear of disturbing Su Qing.
Sudden!
Su Qing suddenly raised her head, a strange blush rising on her pale face from excitement, her voice trembling slightly: "Found it! I found it!"
Everyone perked up and turned their gazes to her.
“The Night Owl’s central consciousness is not without flaws!” Su Qing pointed to a constantly looping energy fluctuation graph on the screen, her tone urgent and excited. “The data shows that in order to maintain massive information processing and absolute control over all sub-units, its core consciousness enters an extremely short ‘forced hibernation’ period every seven hours, lasting approximately… fifteen minutes!”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her agitated emotions: "These fifteen minutes are its most vulnerable moment! It's also the only window of opportunity we might have to deploy deep listening programs, or even... gain access to its core database, without alerting it!"
A deathly silence fell over the command room.
Once every seven hours, for fifteen minutes each time!
This is not just a discovery, it is a ray of... dawn!
A ray of light, torn open in the boundless darkness, leading to victory!
All eyes instinctively turned to the silent man in the corner, who seemed to be in control of everything—Lin Yi.
Lin Yi's eyes were as deep as the sea. He listened quietly to Su Qing's report, his face expressionless, but a storm seemed to be brewing in his eyes.
He slowly stood up and walked to the huge tactical map, on which the various areas of the Mother Nest were marked in red. The most central, most dazzling, and most dangerous point was the core area where the Night Owl's central consciousness was located.
Seven hours of absolute silence... seven hours of deadly opportunity!
Lin Yi's gaze suddenly sharpened like an eagle's. He slowly raised his head, his eyes seemingly piercing through layers of barriers, pointing directly at the distant and dark core of the mother nest.
His fingertips tapped lightly on the cold metal tabletop, producing a rhythmic sound. Each beat seemed to be a prelude to an impending, earth-shattering plan.
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