43: Silent protection and a reversal of the deadly situation

The command center of the National Special Bureau's Ninth Division was currently thick with an atmosphere as stifling as the seabed before a storm, the air filled with the hum of high-voltage currents and the faint, acrid smell of heat dissipating from precision equipment.

On the massive circular main screen, data streams poured forth like a silver waterfall, divided into over a dozen sub-windows. These displayed three-dimensional holographic maps of University Town with centimeter-level precision, trajectory projections for several suspicious signal sources blinking with blinding red light, and real-time high-definition footage and thermal imaging data transmitted from high-altitude stealth drones and hidden cameras disguised as streetlights, air conditioning units, and even trash cans.

Every operator sat at their console like a sculpture, their eyes as sharp as hawks, fixed intently on their assigned sectors, fingers dancing rapidly across virtual keyboards to retrieve, analyze, and tag massive amounts of information. Low, steady reports alternated in the oppressive silence, clear and cold:

"Report! Three high-priority heat source signals have been confirmed to have breached the outer conventional surveillance network. The movement pattern is multi-Node jumping stealth, and the trajectory precisely avoids all civilian surveillance cameras and standard security patrol routes. The technical characteristics and behavioral patterns are highly consistent with the 'Firefly' team on file! The target vector points clearly to: the dormitory building where Excellence is located!"

"Analyzing the energy characteristics of the equipment they are carrying... Detected residual signals from a high-precision microsecond-level electromagnetic pulse generator and reactions from special nano-thermal induction materials! Spectral analysis matched with the database confirms this as standard equipment for the 'Prophet Foundation' special operations department! Assessed as a top-level threat for physical liquidation and evidence destruction!"

"Director Wang! The targets have used ultrasonic imaging to bypass the building structure sensors and have infiltrated the dormitory building's ventilation duct system! Expected to arrive at the target floor within ninety seconds! Shall we immediately execute interception and capture?"

Wang Jianguo stood before the central command console, his posture as straight as a pine, his expression as stern as iron. His gaze was sharp, as if it could pierce through layers of screens and reinforced concrete, staring directly at the three red dots that were winding forward with the precision of cold vipers on the architectural cross-section diagram. On the holographic interface before him, the combat readiness status of the "Fortress" team and every detail of the entire "lure the enemy into the trap" plan were updating in real-time.

"No. Let them in." Wang Jianguo's voice was steady and low, yet carried an unquestionable decisiveness, like an experienced hunter calmly watching his prey step by step into a carefully laid death maze filled with invisible blades. "Notify the 'Fortress' team to execute the second 'catching a turtle in a jar' plan. We want to catch them red-handed, with a complete chain of evidence, and more importantly... to see just how much Morpheus Li is willing to spend this time to play with this fire. Activate all 'Amber' monitoring units; I want to see every detail."

The "Fortress" team was an elite special agent squad that Wang Jianguo had quietly deployed days in advance, under the highest-level "Candle Dragon" classified order, both inside and outside Excellence's dormitory to execute absolute protection and reverse surveillance missions. They were not only responsible for Excellence's absolute personal safety but also tasked with multiple missions including behavioral pattern analysis, electronic evidence collection, tactical deception, and even... lethal countermeasures. Excellence's dormitory, which appeared chaotic, defenseless, and full of "hand-crafted" style, had long since been silently transformed into an extremely precise, high-tech cage and tactical trap.

On the workbench, every piece of seemingly "amateur" homemade equipment had its core processor, memory chip, and even power module quietly replaced or retrofitted with a nano-scale composite protective layer—the inner layer was a micro-thermal explosive capable of instantly vaporizing and destroying the chip, the middle layer was an amorphous metal shield capable of resisting high-intensity electromagnetic pulses, and the outer layer was a distributed fiber-optic sensor capable of real-time feedback on physical states (vibration, displacement, temperature rise). The walls, ceiling interlayers, and even the concrete under the floor were densely embedded with distributed fiber-optic acoustic sensor arrays and micro-broad-spectrum signal catchers, capable of locating and identifying any tiny vibration, sound wave, or even specific frequency electromagnetic leakage in the room with millimeter-level precision. The air was filled with invisible, "electronic dust" with unique isotope markers—a type of nano-scale suspended particle that could silently adhere to the intruders' skin, clothing, and equipment, becoming an inescapable long-term tracking beacon.

This place, which appeared to be the defenseless creative workshop of a genius youth, was in reality a death maze filled with invisible blades and eyes, waiting for deadly vipers to intrude.

Inside the ventilation ducts, the three members of the "Firefly" team, codenamed "Mantis," "Cicada," and "Wasp," were like true ghosts in the dark night, utilizing superb anti-reconnaissance techniques and special equipment to move silently through the narrow, dark space. "Mantis" was in the lead, using fingers encased in special gloves to sense vibrations on the duct walls with extremely minute amplitude, avoiding potential low-frequency vibration sensors; "Cicada" was in the middle, holding a micro-terminal that constantly refreshed complex sound wave spectrum charts, analyzing and shielding any faint noise that might be generated by their own movement in real-time; "Wasp" brought up the rear, responsible for clearing traces of the team's passage and deploying micro-anti-tracking jammers.

They precisely cut a negligible bypass of the dormitory floor's backup power monitoring circuit, and using a special non-contact tool utilizing the principle of phase shift, silently dissolved the structural latches inside the ventilation grille of Excellence's dormitory, without triggering any conventional physical alarms.

The grille was gently moved aside, revealing a gap only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways. The dormitory was pitch black, with only the faint light emitted by the standby indicator lights of various instruments, resembling the pupils of beasts, outlining the contours of the cluttered equipment in the dark. The air was filled with a mixed scent unique to electronic components and old paper.

"Mantis" made an extremely concise gesture. The three, like well-trained shadows, slid into the room one by one, their movements so light that they didn't make a single sound, even controlling their breathing to an extremely low frequency, with the special fabric of their tactical suits absorbing all friction sounds. Their multi-functional tactical goggles quickly switched to thermal imaging, low-light enhancement, and spectral analysis modes. Cold electronic crosshairs scanned the darkness, quickly locking onto the few devices on the workbench that were emitting faint residual heat—that was the temperature remaining after Excellence's long periods of high-load computation, like a fire that had just been extinguished.

Just as the last person, "Wasp," had his heel completely clear of the ventilation duct edge, and at the very moment the grille was about to silently reset itself using a micro-hydraulic device—

A sudden change occurred!

That seemingly ordinary wooden door not only didn't close, but was instead violently pushed outward by a tremendous force from a hidden hydraulic rod inside the door frame, swinging wide open and hitting the outer wall with a muffled "bang!" Simultaneously, all the lighting in the dormitory—including Excellence's dimmable workbench lamp and even the backlighting of the computer screens—instantly surged to a blinding peak! It wasn't just simple bright light, but mixed with a specific high-frequency strobe pattern, capable of instantly interfering with the human vestibular system and retinal nerves, inducing intense dizziness and nausea!

In almost the same millisecond, the high-power infrasonic and ultrasonic composite generators hidden in the four corners of the ceiling, disguised as smoke detectors, instantly activated, emitting sound wave pulses that were inaudible to the human ear but powerful enough to penetrate bone, causing people to lose their balance, and generating severe directional disorientation and visceral resonance!

"Don't move! National Special Bureau! Drop your weapons! Get down immediately!" Cold, digitally amplified, and emotionless shouts erupted simultaneously from the doorway, the window (the bulletproof glass window had been removed entirely from the outside at some unknown time), and even from inside the ventilation ducts!

Several "Fortress" team members, wearing matte black combat uniforms, fully enclosed active noise-canceling tactical helmets, and holding strangely shaped compact electromagnetic interference weapons and net-capture launchers, burst in instantly like shadows coalescing from the void, in a perfect crossfire tactical formation! Their movements were as fast as lightning, their footsteps silent upon landing, and the black muzzles of their non-lethal weapons emitted a cold, deadly chill, precisely aimed at the three intruders who had stiffened and lost their balance in an instant due to the bright light, sonic shock, and sudden situation!

The "Firefly" team members were, after all, elites who had undergone brutal training. Almost the moment the lights came on, "Mantis" attempted to roll toward the nearest workbench based on muscle memory, while his right hand flashed toward the micro-EMP generator disguised as a belt at his waist; "Cicada" suddenly crouched down, his left hand slapping the activation button for the nano-thermal induction filament dispenser at his ankle; "Wasp" directly raised his hand, aiming his cuff at the empty window space, and fired an almost invisible carbon nanotube traction cable used for emergency evacuation...

But it was all too late. The imitation wood floor beneath their feet suddenly released a powerful, regionally directional, adhesive superconducting electromagnetic field, instantly locking their specialized tactical boots, which had magnetic enhancement modules embedded in the soles! At the same time, several smart capture nets woven with memory alloy and high-strength Kevlar fibers, with built-in high-voltage electric shock Nodes, shot out from the pre-installed launchers in the ceiling, rapidly expanding in the air into a perfect three-dimensional enveloping structure, precisely covering the three of them! The moment the net wires touched their bodies, blue electric arcs crackled and flashed, releasing high-voltage non-lethal currents!

In the blink of an eye, the three top technical sabotage and infiltration experts, before they could even fully activate most of the special equipment they carried, were completely subdued, disarmed, and fitted with specialized composite shielding shackles capable of blocking all bio-electrical signals and wireless transmissions. From the breach to complete control, the entire process was like a precise surgical operation—clean and efficient, taking less than seven seconds, without a single live round fired, yet demonstrating absolute technical and tactical dominance.

A "Fortress" member stepped forward, quickly checked the equipment removed from the "Firefly" members with a handheld multi-spectral scanner, and reported coldly into the communicator, his voice sounding somewhat muffled through the mask: "Equipment confirmed: miniaturized directional electromagnetic pulse cannon, with a peak power sufficient to burn out all unprotected electronic equipment on this floor; nano-scale catalytic thermal induction filament, capable of precisely igniting designated targets while leaving almost no chemical traces; high-frequency resonance micro-pulverizer... What a clever method, planning to turn all evidence into unrecoverable dust? A standard physical liquidation and trace destruction kit."

Another member quickly and thoroughly checked Excellence's workbench and all critical equipment, then turned back to report via an encrypted channel: "All core equipment of the 'seed' is intact, the countermeasure system was not triggered, and data integrity is confirmed. The intruders did not cause any substantive damage. All 'Amber' units recorded perfectly, electronic evidence capture is complete, and physical evidence is secured. Scene under control."

In the command center, Wang Jianguo watched the real-time footage on the main screen and the concise report of "Operation successful, all targets captured, no losses." There was no expression on his face, only a cold, Sharp Light flashing in his eyes. He slowly sat back in the command chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

"Very good. Invite the 'guests' back and 'entertain' them well. I want to know what kind of software instructions Morpheus Li gave them this time, besides this hardware." His voice, transmitted through the communication network to the ears of every operative, carried beneath its calm the prelude to a greater storm about to be unleashed against the "Prophet Foundation."

Meanwhile, in the corner of the dormitory, Excellence was still in a deep, dreamless sleep, completely unaware of the thrilling battle of offense and defense that had just taken place within his own small space. His breathing was even, and there was even a trace of weary peace on his face, as if he had just experienced an exceptionally long night.