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Chapter 197 Searching for the Second Core
The numbers on the main control screen continued to decrease. Su Wanqing closed the notebook in her hand, suppressed her distracting thoughts, and slowly took off the jade bracelet.

She took the first energy core from the small protective box next to Lu Zhao and inserted it into the setting inside the jade bracelet.

As soon as the jade bracelet touched the core, it vibrated rhythmically. She gripped the bracelet tightly and felt a slight numbness in her wrist.

The lights on the instrument interface suddenly brightened, and the projection on the main control screen changed from blurry to detailed, with the three-dimensional structure of the fortress slowly emerging.

Suddenly, a bright spot of light flashed at the deepest part of the structure—it was the central hub of the bottom-level hydroelectric generator unit.

Lu Zhao locked the image, quickly looked down and operated the system to bring up the fortress design blueprint, comparing the two one by one.

He frowned and began to quickly compare the cable routes and subsystem layouts. "This is it, the lowest level hydroelectric power generation area. Coincidentally, this area has become the temporary command center for the military special forces."

He switched directly to the surveillance footage, which showed at least twenty soldiers patrolling along the corridor and generator room, their weapons equipped with newly modified infrared identification modules. "They've made this their base; they're very strict about registration when people enter and leave."

Xiao Ran walked closer and tapped the screen twice with his finger. "A direct breakthrough is unrealistic; firing a shot would make too much of a commotion."

"It has to be hidden inside." He stared at the diagram. "This underground power generation area connects to several separate maintenance tunnels, as well as ventilation ducts. Should we run it through the pipes?"

Lu Zhao gently rubbed his forehead, not replying immediately. He flipped through the wiring layout, looking at Xiao Ran, "Don't even think about going through the ventilation ducts. The military just installed vital sign detectors at each ventilation opening a few days ago. Even if you could get in, the two heat source signals would trigger an alarm for one minute. Unless you use a condensation suit to climb in with a rope, none of us can withstand that kind of extreme low temperature."

He paused, "Also, the narrowest part of the unit's ventilation duct is only forty centimeters. You have to climb to get in and out. It's not safe for a child like Xiaoling, even though she's small."

Xiao Ran paused, then stretched his neck. He didn't speak, but his eyes deepened. "Then how do we get in? We can't just fight head-on."

Su Wanqing gripped the control panel tightly, thinking for a moment, "The military operates on three-hour shifts, with a shift change at 3 AM, usually less than fifteen minutes. Have you identified a pattern in the monitoring analysis?"

Lu Zhao opened the record. "The monitoring data in the system provides the precise entry and exit frequency. The shift changes between 3:00 AM and 3:15 AM, which will create a gap in the gate. Under normal circumstances, this gap will last for a maximum of 15 minutes. In addition, the monitoring sensors occasionally have delays and brief blind spots, which can be utilized."

Xiao Ran flipped through the route map. "In other words, we can only use those fifteen minutes to go in, get the second core as soon as possible, and then come out along the original route."

As Su Wanqing twirled the jade bracelet, her fingers curled tightly, she began to transmit the lines and energy signals on the main control screen in an alternating manner.

A pale blue layer appeared on the energy distribution map on the screen, and she could sense the light spot fluctuating like breathing through the projection.

She suddenly realized that as she approached the jade bracelet, a strange rhythm surged within her, and she had an inexplicable sense of which of the three routes was the most dangerous.

She looked up at the two of them. "I can feel the energy pulses at the core, which vibrate every few minutes. I can also predict the movement of military outposts and fluctuations in the security system—perhaps the jade bracelet is helping me."

Lu Zhao entered the data into the terminal. "That's better. Since you can sense the core and potential crises, the action team must take you as the lead. If there are any sudden changes in the operation, I will provide technical support, and you will determine the breakthrough point."

Xiao Ran tapped the edge of the table unconsciously with his hand. "The ten-odd minutes of shift change in the main control area requires extreme coordination. Once we enter the core area of ​​the generator set, there is no room for error."

He glanced at Su Wanqing again, "How many can you bring?"

Su Wanqing looked at the route assessment form and blinked twice. "It must be streamlined: one for technical cover, one for guard duty. The main force will consist of exactly three people. One for internal communication countermeasures, one for on-site alarm handling, and the other for you and me to handle emergencies."

Inside the test area, the group quickly set up the route on the module sand table for simulation.

Lu Zhao carefully recreated the sequence of each step, from the A-zone testing gate to the bottom passage, then to the perimeter of the hydraulic unit, and finally to the target isolation room.

Xiao Ran set three possible responses for each temporary security node.

The three took turns simulating how the monitoring system alarm would be transferred, the time difference between soldiers' entrances and exits, and how to get through the cordon as quickly as possible. Each simulation had a 15-minute time limit.

After several rounds of matching, Su Wanqing discovered that every time she put the jade bracelet in her palm, she could see changes in blue light clusters and energy nodes in her mind, as if she could also perceive the route and time gaps.

Whenever a simulated emergency is triggered, she can always call out to her teammates to take cover in advance.

The two gradually came to acknowledge her special abilities. Su Wanqing thought to herself, the resonance between the jade bracelet and the core is changing her, and perhaps it is this change that makes her the key to the operation.

During a break, Lin Che sat alone in a corner, lost in thought. His gaze was somewhat melancholy.

A few minutes later, he took out the amulet he had been nurturing in his bosom and silently closed his eyes.

His breathing slowed, and he tried to touch the "night" within him again. But just as he calmed down, a tidal wave of noise suddenly appeared in his consciousness.

The "night" was no longer the clear guidance it once was; instead, it became fragmented—only a few indistinct warnings came intermittently.

"Don't let her get all the cores."

Lin Che suddenly opened his eyes, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. He clenched his left arm, feeling as if the connection between "Night" and himself was being pulled away by an external force.

He suppressed his distracting thoughts and didn't dare to voice his intuition, only keeping that sentence echoing in his mind.

He dared not sit down and ponder any longer, fearing that he would lose control the next time "night" came.

In the experimental area, Xiaoling sat upright on one side of the whiteboard, her index finger constantly drawing star patterns on her notebook.

She muttered something softly to herself, her eyes focused. "Ling, could you tell me again about what you just saw?" Su Wanqing asked, leaning closer.

Without looking up, Xiaoling said, "It's neither round nor square; it's a blue, transparent stone with a white line in the middle that keeps glowing."

"How did you know?" Lu Zhao asked as well.

Xiaoling paused for two seconds, then looked up and waved her hand. "The stars told me that last night I dreamed the sky was full of stars, and they said there was something down there that looked just like the one in the jade bracelet."

After hearing this, Xiao Ran didn't ask any more questions, but simply told Xiao Ling to go back to the control room to rest.

Xiaoling continued drawing stars without any suspicion, and the details were so accurate that Lu Zhao couldn't help but stare at her for two seconds.

Su Wanqing returned to the testing area and quickly sorted out all the known details with Lu Zhao and Xiao Ran.

She used the jade bracelet to align with the map, repositioned the resonance coordinates, and finally confirmed that the core infiltration operation must be completed in one go, starting at 3 a.m. the next day.

Lu Zhao then checked the communication frequency band and accessed the technical support channels.

He continuously entered commands at the data terminal, repeatedly comparing the simulation parameters.

"We need to check the security changes again tonight, and we must go through the process again before 3:00 AM."

Xiao Ran packed away his weapon kit, pursed his lips, and said, "Once things stabilize on the other side of the barrier, we'll each have a page of details, and you can distribute them."

Su Wanqing marked the last item on the route and gently closed the jade bracelet.