N-M Chapter 10 Investigation
Chapter 10 Investigation
They moved around the building, strolling and stopping like an ordinary couple, occasionally jotting down notes on a tablet. Xu Qingqing was responsible for striking up conversations with passersby to conduct fake surveys and distract potential attention; Li Shancheng, on the other hand, seized every opportunity to place clues.
At the sixth node, something unexpected happened.
"Southwest side, next to the fire lane," Cheng Xu instructed.
Li Shancheng walked towards the fire escape, a relatively quiet area with only a few trash cans. Just as he was about to place the node, the fire door suddenly opened, and a man in a security guard uniform walked out.
"What's the matter?" the security guard asked warily.
"We're conducting market research on office environment satisfaction," Xu Qingqing said promptly, handing over a tablet. "Could I take a minute of your time?"
The security guard glanced at the tablet, then at them: "We can't conduct investigations here. Please go to the plaza."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Li Shancheng pretended to accidentally drop his pen on the ground. As he bent down to pick it up, he secretly slipped the node into the gap behind the fire hydrant and blindly pressed the button.
As he stood up, the security guard was still watching them. Li Shancheng remained calm and left with Xu Qingqing. After walking about ten meters, Cheng Xu's voice came through the earpiece: "Node six activated successfully, but the signal is a bit weak, probably due to an unfavorable location. However, it works."
By the time all eight nodes were set up, it was already 1:30. They returned to Cheng Xu's shop, and the roller shutter door was pulled down again.
"Data transmission has begun." Cheng Xu stared at the computer screen, which displayed real-time readings from eight nodes. "The energy fluctuation spectrum is being generated... wait, this signal..."
A clear waveform appeared in the center of the screen, with the frequency stable at a certain value, pulsed once every thirty seconds.
"This is the siphon frequency," Cheng Xu said excitedly. "The energy source is confirmed to be coming from the direction of the library, and the receiver... is on the 23rd floor of the building, in the northeast corner area. That's where Hanshan Technology's R&D center is located."
He pulled up the building's floor plan: "The specific location should be... this large conference room, or the equipment room next door."
"Do you know what they're doing with this energy?" Li Shancheng asked.
"Analyzing secondary signal characteristics." Cheng Xu's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Energy is further distributed to... three different terminals. One terminal consumes the most, accounting for 60%; the other two each account for 20%."
The 3D model on the screen shows the energy flow path: converging from the direction of the library to the 23rd floor, and then branching into three points.
"The largest terminal should be a large device that requires a continuous and stable power supply," Cheng Xu said. "The other two may be used to maintain the monitoring network or for experimental projects."
Xu Qingqing frowned: "We need to know what that large piece of equipment is."
"Then we'll have to go in and take a look," Cheng Xu said. "But I must warn you, the 23rd floor is definitely the area with the tightest security, possibly with both physical and runic protection."
"Is there any way to check remotely?" Li Shancheng asked.
Cheng Xu thought for a moment: "If they have internal surveillance cameras, theoretically we could hack into them. But that would require access to their internal network, which, as I said before, is almost impossible..."
"Almost?" Xu Qingqing grasped the key word.
"Almost doesn't mean completely." Cheng Xu revealed a sly smile. "Every system has backdoors, especially self-developed systems. Programmers always leave debugging interfaces or maintenance channels. The question is how to find that backdoor."
He opened another program, and a large amount of code began scrolling across the screen: "I'm analyzing their publicly available software update packages. Enterprise security systems are updated regularly, and each update leaves a trace... Found it!"
The code stops scrolling, and a special verification protocol is highlighted.
"This is a remote maintenance protocol used by technical support personnel to remotely access the system," Cheng Xu said. "Theoretically, only authorized personnel can use it, but the verification mechanism... appears to be based on a combination of employee ID and dynamic password."
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"Can we crack it?" Li Shancheng asked.
"We need the employee ID and the corresponding password generation algorithm," Cheng Xu said. "Or... we can disguise it as an authorization maintenance request to trick the system into granting temporary access permissions."
"A phishing attack?" Xu Qingqing understood.
"Smart." Cheng Xu nodded. "We can create a fake system failure alert to trigger an automatic maintenance request. When the system sends the alert to the maintenance center, we can intercept and tamper with the response to gain temporary access."
"But this requires precise timing and sufficient technical support," Li Shancheng said.
"So we need to prepare." Cheng Xu began organizing the tools. "First, we need equipment to create false alarms, then devices to intercept and tamper with communications, and finally methods to quickly browse and download evidence. We can finish preparing the equipment tonight, but the actual attack should ideally be carried out in the early morning when there are the fewest staff on duty."
"How much time do we have?" Xu Qingqing asked.
"Ideally, it takes about twenty minutes from triggering the alarm to detecting the anomaly," Cheng Xu estimated. "If we're lucky, it could take longer. But once they discover the intrusion, they'll definitely strengthen their defenses, and we won't have a second chance."
Li Shancheng watched the constantly refreshing energy data on the screen. The regularly fluctuating waveforms indicated that the life force of the Wen Shu array eye was being continuously drained. He recalled the records in the Book of Light in the secret vault: the array eye would fail within three months at most.
"We must succeed," he said.
Cheng Xu glanced at him: "Determination is important, but skills are even more important. Come help us; we need to assemble some custom-made equipment."
For the next few hours, the three of them worked diligently. Cheng Xu took various parts from the shelf, and Li Shancheng and Xu Qingqing assembled them according to the instructions. Some of the equipment required the hand-carving of tiny runes, which was surprisingly easy for Li Shancheng—he found himself able to steadily control the carving pen, drawing perfect lines finer than a hair.
"Your skills are impressive!" Cheng Xu exclaimed in surprise. "Have you studied it?"
"It's my first time," Li Shancheng answered honestly.
Cheng Xu and Xu Qingqing exchanged a glance, but said nothing.
By evening, the equipment was ready: an alarm trigger disguised as a power monitoring box, a palm-sized communication interceptor, and three pairs of specially made glasses that could display encrypted network data and energy flow.
"The operation will begin at 3:00 AM," Cheng Xu set the time. "I will provide remote support from here. You need to be close to the building, preferably within 300 meters, for a stable signal."
"So close? Won't we be easily discovered?" Xu Qingqing worried.
"There's a 24-hour shared office space in the office building across the street. A friend of mine has a regular workstation there," Cheng Xu said. "I've already contacted them, and I can use it tonight. From there, you can see some windows on the 23rd floor of the Chuangzhi Building."
"Can you see the target area?" Li Shancheng asked.
Cheng Xu pulled up the photos: "We're lucky; there's a window in the target equipment room facing this way. Although the glass is one-way, if there's a strong energy source inside, our glasses might be able to capture the outline."
At 11 p.m., they set off again. The shared office space was located in a slightly shorter building opposite the Innovation Building, a corner workstation on the seventeenth floor. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the lights of the building opposite could be clearly seen.
Most of the office lights were off, with only a few windows still lit. The target area on the northeast corner of the 23rd floor was completely dark.
"They're saving energy, or... the equipment doesn't need visible light," Cheng Xu said through the headset.
Li Shancheng put on the specially made glasses and adjusted the focus. At first, he could only see the outline of ordinary buildings, but as he concentrated, the glasses began to display energy readings. The area on the twenty-third floor emitted a strong blue-white light under the energy perspective, like a small sun.
"The energy readings are off the charts," Li Shancheng said in a low voice. "At least five hundred times that of a normal office area."
"That's the convergence point of the siphon energy," Cheng Xu's voice came. "Get ready, we'll move out at 3 a.m. sharp. Now, let's rest for a bit and conserve our energy."
Xu Qingqing took out water and energy bars from her backpack and distributed them to everyone. The three of them sat quietly in their dark workstations, gazing at the building across the street. The city's night view unfolded below them, with cars flowing like a river of light, but their attention was focused solely on that dark window.
2:55 a.m.
"All units, take your positions," Cheng Xu said. "Shancheng, activate the alarm trigger. Qingqing, prepare to intercept communications."
Li Shancheng pressed a button on the device in his hand. The device emitted almost inaudible high-frequency sound waves, directed towards the Chuangzhi Building. A few seconds later, a red light lit up in a small window on the 23rd floor opposite—that was a device malfunction indicator.