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Chapter 155 Interference
“Or rather, it’s an interface,” Lu Zhao added. “An interface that connects virus experimental equipment to some unknown control system.”

Su Wanqing nodded. She walked up to the pendant and carefully examined its structure.

The pendant is made entirely of a silvery-white metal, with its surface engraved with dense patterns that resemble ancient runes or complex circuit diagrams.

“The design of this pendant… is very complex,” Su Wanqing said.

"It considers not only signal transmission and reception, but also data processing and energy transfer. If it's only for controlling viruses, this design seems a bit too sophisticated. Could... it have other uses?"

"Captain Su, are you saying that this pendant might be a multi-purpose research tool designed by the experimental team?" Lin Che asked.

“Possibly,” Su Wanqing said. “This laboratory is full of mysteries. We can’t just look at the surface; we must dig deeper to find the real answers.”

"Lin Che, continue to intensify the suppression of the pendant's signal," Su Wanqing instructed Lin Che.

"We must ensure that any abnormal fluctuations in the infection remain within our control. If the signal is leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"Received," Lin Che replied, his fingers flying across the control panel.

He adjusted the signal frequency of the pendant, trying to narrow the signal range as much as possible.

“However, Captain Su…” Xiao Ran suddenly spoke, breaking the silence in the laboratory.

“I think things might not be that simple.” Su Wanqing turned her head and looked at Xiao Ran.

"The function of the pendant may be much more complex than we currently understand."

Xiao Ran said, "It can not only control the virus, but it may also have some function of accelerating its spread. If that's the case, what we're doing now is helping the virus open a new door."

Su Wanqing's heart tightened. Xiao Ran's worries were not unfounded.

If the pendant truly has some kind of accelerated propagation function, then what they are doing now is tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house.

“I will consider it carefully,” Su Wanqing said. “However, we still have too little information to draw any conclusions easily.”

"Captain Su, I have compiled all the current experimental data and am preparing to connect a new program to verify our previous hypotheses."

Lu Zhao said, "This program can simulate the signals of the widget and analyze its impact on the virus."

“Then let’s connect,” Su Wanqing said. “But please be sure to pay attention to safety and be prepared to deal with any emergencies.”

"Understood," Lu Zhao replied.

"Also, please note that before we leave here, we need to conduct one last test on the functionality of the widgets."

"Su Wanqing said. She knew time was running out. The rebels could find them at any moment, and they had to find out the truth as soon as possible in order to have a chance to escape."

She took a deep breath, walked up to the girl, and asked softly, "Child, do you remember more? About this pendant, about this laboratory, about those... people who used to work here."

The girl remained silent, clutching the pendant tightly, as if using it to ward off some unknown fear.

The atmosphere in the laboratory became extremely tense, with everyone waiting quietly for the truth to be revealed.

Suddenly, the laboratory lights flickered, and a hissing sound came from the electrical circuit.

Lin Che's expression changed, and he immediately controlled his superpower, forming a blue water wall that surrounded everyone.

"Captain Su, we've detected someone approaching from outside!" Lin Che's voice carried a hint of anxiety.

Su Wanqing frowned, her gaze fixed on the girl.

The girl suddenly looked up, staring blankly ahead, muttering to herself, "They...are here."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The laboratory lights flickered on and off, and Lin Che was staring intently at the data on the instrument, his fingertips moving faster than usual.

"The pendant signal frequency adjustment has taken effect, but there's an anomaly in the data feedback," he said in a low voice, frowning.

Su Wanqing didn't speak, but simply waved her hand to signal everyone to be on alert. Lin Che manipulated the pendant, gradually increasing the frequency, when suddenly a red warning popped up on the panel—a short circuit in one of the laboratory monitoring devices had occurred, and an alarm sounded.

Lu Zhao stood by the control panel and habitually looked up at the equipment, only to find that the monitoring screen had suddenly turned completely white.

"Lin Che, the equipment is short-circuited, all the power supply phases have tripped." Lu Zhao said as he manually disconnected some of the connections, sweat beading on his forehead.

Lin Che didn't turn around. "The signal adjustment is at a critical moment. We can't stop now; we can only hold on for now."

The metal casing of the pendant trembled slightly, and a buzzing sound came from the tabletop.

He quickened his pace and switched signal parameters.

The girl with the childlike voice next to the lab table suddenly squatted down, covered her head tightly with both hands, and cried out intermittently, "It hurts so much—stop, stop..." Her voice was short and sharp.

She clenched her teeth, curled up, and her back trembled uncontrollably.

Su Wanqing grabbed Lin Che's wrist and said, "Pause the adjustment!" She then turned to Lu Zhao and asked loudly, "What's the monitoring situation?"

Lu Zhao worked hard to restore the system, answering as he operated it: "The peripheral equipment is severely short-circuited, and the activity index of nearby infected individuals has increased sharply—Team Leader Su, they are starting to gather here."

Xiao Ran had already pushed open the protective door and whispered, "The roars of those guys outside have gotten louder; this signal is directly provoking them!"

Lin Che said sullenly, "If we stop now, the experimental data will be lost. Otherwise, I'll quickly extract the main band and hold on for another thirty seconds at most."

"Quickly!" Su Wanqing nodded.

The girl remained squatting, refusing to straighten up. Her forehead was wet with sweat, and she made painful moans as she pounded the floor again and again.

Su Wanqing watched as her jaw tightened, a dull ache rising in her heart, but she could only endure it.

Lu Zhao skipped over some of the damaged data nodes and quickly exported the signal fluctuation data that had just appeared.

On the screen, the band curves fluctuated wildly, showing a clustered distribution.

As he operated the device, he said, "This signal is like a trigger switch for a network node. It should be some kind of propagation command. As long as the device is at this frequency, the infected will be guided. No wonder they gather together."

Lin Che stopped what he was doing, took a breath, and reported, "Adjustment complete. We're too busy; the system needs to self-repair." The light bulb behind him popped with a "crack," and electricity crackled.

Su Wanqing considered for a moment and ordered, "From now on, all signal tests on the pendants are suspended. Back up the data we just collected immediately." She put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "After organizing the data, eliminate any risks. The safety of the team is the most important. Lin Che, you prioritize suppressing the external signals to the lowest level. Any instability must be cut off immediately."

Lin Che wiped the sweat from his forehead and operated the signal suppression module. "All done, signal reduced to zero, infected activity will slow down. But the effects of this experiment may last for a while longer."

Xiao Ran had already circled back and was now looking at the rows of defensive devices.

He plugged in his communication headset and said bluntly, "The burnt-out circuitry has spread to the edge of the lab. The external sensors, which were supposed to conceal our signals, are now malfunctioning in several locations. If the rebels are really trying to find us by sound, we definitely won't be able to hide for long."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhao's eyelids twitched. "The impact of the equipment malfunction was faster than we calculated, and the signal spread even far beyond the control area."

Su Wanqing glanced at everyone, her tone heavy: "Don't panic. Now that a large-scale short circuit has occurred, the problem is that the risk has been exposed—but there's no time to hesitate now. We've already collected the data, and if we give up now, we'll gain nothing."

She said to Xiao Ran, "Go and check the spare weapons bay right now. Reorganize all usable weapons and ammunition by type. Defense is the priority. Don't take chances because of the experiment. This is not the front line."

"I understand." Xiao Ran nodded, casually picked up a light rifle, grabbed the list, and headed towards the weapons compartment. Lin Che put the pendant back into the isolation box, his gaze sweeping over the girl crouching beside the lab table.

"She's not doing well right now; her emotional reaction is too strong. Let her rest."

Su Wanqing helped the girl to a corner of the laboratory and handed her a clean blanket.

The girl gently waved her hand, shrinking her body even smaller, burying her head between her knees, and occasionally letting out sobs.

Lu Zhao finished organizing the data, and speaking softly, he began to mutter to himself again: "The network shape doesn't resemble simple propagation; it's more like distributed nodes. It's possible that the entire virus system activates each other through these kinds of signals. No wonder the control failed..."

Su Wanqing looked at the outer casing of the device surrounding them and slapped her palm. "We previously thought the signal was only for controlling the infected, but we didn't expect it to stimulate nodes throughout the entire virus system. We have to redesign our adjustment plan from now on."

When Lin Che was working on the interface signal module, a loose screw came off his cuff, and he subconsciously squeezed his knuckles.

“The signal has been suppressed, but as soon as the device returns to its original frequency, the effect will return to the beginning. If this thing is a key, then the virus system is a door that is always ready to be opened.”

Xiao Ran returned to the main control area and reported the inventory of weapons: "Ammunition is sufficient, but three sets of alarm facilities on the perimeter have already been burned, and the remaining ones cannot be lit. We might as well dismantle them and use them as bait."

Lu Zhao added, "The sensors are inaccurate and misleading, so we're happy to remove them."

He said, "Once the experimental signal becomes unstable, the infected can at least detect it, while other forces, if they have professional equipment, can locate it in a matter of minutes."

Su Wanqing tapped the table with her hand. "The risks are indeed high, which also shows that the experiment is valuable. We won't get anything if we don't do this. In short, all tests are suspended for now. Let's ensure everyone's safety first. Xiao Ran, get the weapons back in place within an hour. You and Lin Che will take turns guarding the main passage. Lu Zhao, give me a concise analysis after you finish compiling the data."

Lin Che was checking the main circuit when he casually remarked, "The agitation of the infected has weakened after the signal convergence, which shows that the adjustment did have an effect."

The girl with the childlike voice finally raised her head from under the blanket, her face pale. After a long while, she managed to utter two words: "It hurts... Strange thing, don't open it..." After she finished speaking, she lowered her head again and shrank even smaller.

Su Wanqing sighed, handed over some warm water, and looked at Lu Zhao, "Her reaction is a direct example of the pendant signal function; the safety test must be adjusted."

As Lu Zhao removed the remaining chips from the faulty equipment, he nodded and said, "I'll go back and analyze the main band data and the propagation triggering mechanism."

Xiao Ran unloaded a pallet of ammunition and casually said, "Captain Su, I suggest that if we do a similar experiment again, we should consider luring it out first, instead of always putting the risks on the main control area. I suspect that some of the sensors that slipped through the net just now might have been detected by those rebels outside if they are more perceptive."

Su Wanqing didn't say much, "The risks here are high, but as long as the experiment can achieve a breakthrough, this little bit of commotion is worthwhile."

Lin Che closed the isolation box and said softly, "I've disconnected the main signal device. It won't affect nearby equipment for a while. However, those infected outside need to be observed for another hour to see if the activation reaction subsides naturally."

Lu Zhao compiled a preliminary briefing, plugged in the portable terminal, and handed it to Su Wanqing.

She nodded silently and put the data into her bag. "Keep all communication channels silent; use gestures only when necessary."

The girl with the childlike voice curled up into a ball again, leaning against the wall, no longer making a sound, her breathing becoming shallow.

The pendant on the lab bench sat quietly in the isolation box, making no further sound.

Xiao Ran squatted by the door, holding a temporary cable in place with his left hand. "Captain Su, what's the next step?"

Su Wanqing pursed her lips: "The experiment is paused; data analysis will be the priority. We need to protect the existing results first, and then decide on the next steps once the external observations are available."

Lin Che fastened the last signal repair card and whispered, "If the infected make any further moves, send out an alarm in advance."

Su Wanqing nodded, took out a small walkie-talkie from the spare box, tuned the channel to receive only, and checked the status of the spare batteries of all the defense devices again.

The scorch marks around the lab bench could not be erased, and the silence was somewhat oppressive.

Everyone inside was busy with their own things, and there was no extra conversation.

Su Wanqing stared at the latest data analysis on her portable terminal, tapping her knuckles on the edge of the metal table.

Lin Che disassembled the modules next to the equipment, occasionally glancing up at the childlike girl who was still huddled against the corner of the wall.

The multi-tool in his hand trembled slightly, as if he were weighing something, before starting to move again after a moment.

"Team Leader Su, after the pendant was placed into the isolation box, although the signal dropped to zero, there were a few residual parameters that kept fluctuating slightly."

Lin Che said, "I want to do another frequency calibration and try to find the lower limit of the response using the low frequency band."

Su Wanqing nodded and glanced at Xiao Ran and Lu Zhao. Xiao Ran was inspecting the newly arranged ammunition, holding a cable with one hand and making notes.

Lu Zhao held the terminal, focusing intently on processing the newly generated data. They remained silent, waiting for Su Wanqing's decision.

"Lin Che, try it once, but don't make the movement too big. Lu Zhao, record the data the whole time," Su Wanqing said.

Lin Che responded, opened the isolation box, used a special scanner to approach the pendant, and then slowly adjusted the frequency band.

He stared at the screen, muttering numbers to himself.

The pendant's casing occasionally vibrated slightly, the sound not loud, but the girl with the childlike voice suddenly froze.

She had been looking down, but after hearing the vibration, she opened her eyes wide and her breathing became rapid.

Lin Che stopped and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

The girl bit her lower lip, gave a soft "hmm," and instinctively tightened her calves.

Lu Zhao turned around, his gaze falling between the screen and the girl. "The signal feedback is synchronized. Captain Su, her physical stats are fluctuating."

Lin Che casually adjusted the parameters to a lower level, and a bright line appeared on the surface of the pendant, almost overlapping with the cable on the ground.

The girl suddenly grabbed her wrist, her legs trembled even more violently, and she made a low sound in her throat.

Lin Che frowned deeply, and the waveform on the data screen suddenly superimposed into a mark resembling resonance.

"Is there a response?" Lu Zhao asked.

Lin Che took a breath, "The key frequency band... actually overlaps with her physiological frequency."

Su Wanqing quickly stepped forward and knelt down beside the girl. "Where do you feel unwell?"

The girl didn't reply directly; her eyes became vacant, as if she wasn't truly seeing Su Wanqing in front of her. She only moved her lips, uttering two words in a low voice: "The...key...key..."

Su Wanqing was taken aback, then turned to Lin Che and said, "Increase the frequency, don't let her continue like this."

Lin Che interrupted the input and switched the frequency to the next safe level, and the pendant immediately stopped vibrating.

The girl visibly relaxed, slumped onto the blanket, and began to breathe rapidly.

Lu Zhao said in a low voice, "She said 'critical'—the data is also showing new waveforms in the critical range. Captain Su, don't you think this doesn't seem like a coincidence?"

Xiao Ran, who had been standing in the main passage, suddenly interjected, "Don't forget about those infected outside."

Her excitement carried far. He frowned, tugging at his collar. "It's a bit too quiet in the main corridor right now; maybe those guys are starting to wait for the signal."

Su Wanqing paused for a few seconds, then turned to stare at the ornament on the table. Lin Che had just closed the isolation box lid when he continued reporting the data.

Su Wanqing nodded, then got up and rummaged through the old portable equipment board next to the lab bench, opening up the spare base plate and the main control module of the hanging device.