51: An unexpected "data deluge"

In the constant temperature, constant humidity, and eternally bright artificial space of the seventh underground level of the "Zhulong" Base, several days passed in a nearly frozen manner, lacking any natural reference. Excellence was immersed in high-intensity, high-precision "Composite Field" simulation calculations, attempting to tackle a thorny problem that had long troubled him—the extremely subtle and counter-intuitive boundary condition settings involved when the probability wave function of the quantum tunneling effect at a specific ultra-high frequency is stably coupled with a macro-scale electromagnetic field.

He needed a set of extremely obscure experimental parameter data, existing almost only in theoretical deductions, to calibrate and close the final gap between his nonlinear equations abstracted from the "myriad arts" and existing quantum field theory. This set of parameters was like the final piece of a puzzle; without it, the entire theoretical model was like an exquisite pavilion suspended in mid-air, lacking a solid foundation and unable to move from mathematical "elegance" to physical "reality."

He mobilized all authorized, massive amounts of high-energy physics and condensed matter experimental data within the base's database, and even through that encrypted academic interface, he scoured almost all public and semi-public papers and supplementary material libraries from top global laboratories over the past decade. However, experiments involving such extreme conditions and biased toward basic theoretical verification were rare to begin with, and the requirements for data precision were so stringent that he remained unable to find model parameters that were sufficiently matching and precise. The existing data either did not fit the energy scale or had measurement errors far greater than the threshold his model could tolerate, making it as meaningless as using a coarsely graduated ruler to measure the size of a microorganism.

Frustration rose like a slow-moving tide, gradually drowning his patience. He tried various mathematical techniques for interpolation and extrapolation, even going so far as to overturn some hypotheses and re-derive formulas, but he always failed at the final step due to the lack of solid support from key experimental data. The calculation results would either diverge to infinity or collapse to zero, as if mocking the vanity of his theory. This state of suspense made him somewhat irritable; his fingers unconsciously tapped forcefully on the desk, and the extreme silence of the laboratory felt particularly oppressive at this moment, amplifying his every sigh of helplessness.

Just as he was about to give up and prepare to bite the bullet and apply to Little Zhang for higher-level access to classified databases that might involve highly sensitive or undisclosed research—knowing this would inevitably be accompanied by stricter scrutiny, more detailed explanations of his motives, and might even draw direct, soul-piercing inquiries from Wang Jianguo—something extremely bizarre happened.

A deep-web crawler tool he habitually used, disguised as a second-hand hardware trading section on a geek forum (a habit he developed during times of resource scarcity to dig up non-mainstream, neglected academic views or scattered data from the corners of the internet), suddenly popped up a dark red prompt box he had never seen before, designed with extreme simplicity yet exuding a cold sense of technology!

The prompt box did not appear as a typical program response, but rather like a... domineering, high-priority system-level interrupt that briefly covered all other windows on his screen. There was no extra text inside the box, only a constantly rotating abstract logo resembling a DNA double helix, and below it was a line of jumping hexadecimal code with an absurdly high encryption level, its complexity far exceeding any military or financial-grade encryption he had ever seen!

This was definitely not the retrieval target he had set! This was more like a data torrent of unknown origin and an unbelievably high encryption level, as if a ghost submarine out of control in the deep sea had accidentally and violently collided with the retrieval Node he had set for fishing small fry, forcibly establishing a brief and extremely unstable connection!

Excellence's heart contracted sharply, nearly stopping! His first reaction was a hacker attack! But the base's network defense system, the "Firewall," had no reaction at all? Or rather, was the level of this data stream high enough to temporarily deceive or bypass the firewall's routine monitoring?

What made his heart race even more was that although this data stream was wrapped in layers of encryption like an opaque black box, the small amount of feature codes and metadata structures exposed for protocol interaction had an amazing, unbelievable, and near-perfect fit with the mathematical core of the Quantum-Macro Field Coupling problem he was struggling with! It was like a uniquely shaped key; even before being inserted, its outline already resonated with the shape of his keyhole!

Was it a trap? A carefully laid directional phishing attack targeting his current research predicament? Or... had he truly struck gold, accidentally capturing database fragments that had leaked from some top-secret laboratory (perhaps inside the "Prophet Foundation"?) due to a system failure or internal strife, and had not yet been noticed?

A strong, almost instinctive thirst for knowledge, like a wildfire being ignited, instantly burned away the negligible bit of caution in his mind. For an explorer struggling at the frontiers of knowledge and nearly driven to the wall by a bottleneck, the temptation of such a "coincidence" that struck right at the pain point was something no warning could fully resist! He needed this too much! This might be the only hope for a breakthrough!

Almost as a reflex, his muscles tensed, his pupils constricted, and he threw all his focus and computing resources into this sudden encounter. His fingers became a blurred shadow on the keyboard, the tapping sounds as dense as heavy rain hitting plantain leaves, as he wrote hastily assembled yet extremely efficient data scraping and decryption scripts, trying to tear away as many valuable fragments as possible from that mysterious data stream before it disappeared. He even subconsciously mobilized part of the computing power of the supercomputing Node in the laboratory to brute-force the desolately solid encryption shell.

[Warning! Warning! Ultra-high intensity unknown encrypted data stream detected! Signal source blurred, untraceable, encryption algorithm not recorded in any known database! Packet structure contains high-risk feature codes! Strongly recommend immediate termination of the abnormal connection! Initiating highest-level network security isolation protocol! Repeat, strongly recommend immediate termination!] The system's alarm sounded sharply in his mind, carrying an unprecedented urgency and severity, as red danger indicators flashed wildly.

But Excellence could no longer care! All his attention was firmly captured by the mathematical structure as deep as a sea of stars and the logical self-consistency as perfect as a work of art revealed in that fleeting glimpse! That data stream was like the world's most tempting poison, emitting a sweet fragrance that offered an irresistible shortcut to the truth! He could even feel his adrenaline soaring, a thrill mixed with extreme excitement and immense risk sweeping through his entire body.

This was a thrilling struggle on the edge of a digital abyss. His scripts were like precision probes, repeatedly attempting to pierce and pry at that solid defense, while the opponent's data stream was like a rampaging beast, frantically battering his receiving ports, trying to break free and vanish completely. Computing resources were consumed at high speed, the cooling fans emitted a slight hum, and the code on the screen cascaded like a waterfall.

Finally, at the last moment when his available computing power was almost exhausted and the connection could drop at any time, he successfully tore away a small "fragment" from the edge of that rampaging data stream, relying on an extremely risky guess regarding a potential timing vulnerability in the encryption protocol—a miraculous set of extremely complex, highly nested core coupling parameter equations with an ancient and unfamiliar symbolic system, yet every parameter exuded amazing simplicity and beauty! These equations, like a revelation, perfectly filled the most critical and missing gap in his current model!

The moment the data was obtained, the mysterious data torrent became as abrupt and eerie as when it appeared, suddenly cutting off and vanishing without a trace. All traces of the connection were wiped clean, as if it had never existed, leaving only that small piece of tempting yet ominous, unidentified "treasure" lying quietly in his local storage device. The laboratory returned to that extreme silence, with only the fading sound of the cooling fans and the sound of his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Excellence slumped in his chair, his breathing rapid and heavy, his forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat, and his palms slick. He stared fixedly at the set of equations on the screen that seemed not to belong to this era, filled with a divine mathematical beauty, his eyes full of shock, ecstasy, and... a bone-deep fear.

It was too perfect. So perfect it transcended the cognitive framework of existing physics, so perfect it seemed like a fragment directly rubbed from some higher-dimensional book of truth. With trembling hands, he tried to substitute it into his long-stalled model for verification. The simulation program had almost no delay, and the results were generated instantly—the model closed perfectly! The energy transfer efficiency curve was breathtakingly smooth, and the stability was incredibly high, far exceeding his most optimistic previous assumptions! This set of equations was like a master key, instantly opening all the locked doors before him!

A massive, indescribable joy and sense of accomplishment flooded over him like a tsunami, making him almost want to cheer out loud! But immediately afterward, a strong, icy chill crawled up his spine like a venomous snake, instantly extinguishing his excitement.

What exactly was this thing?! Where did it come from?! Who sent it? Or rather, who "allowed" it to be sent? Why did it appear in this almost miraculous way just when he needed it most and was most desperate?! This was hair-raisingly coincidental!

He suddenly remembered Wang Jianguo's cold warning, Morpheus Li's bottomless and calculating eyes, and the precise and deadly attack by the "Firefly" team... Could this be... another even more sophisticated, more hidden, and more lethal trap? Using irresistible honeyed knowledge to wrap a poison potent enough to destroy his will or even his life?

[Preliminary analysis of data fragment complete: Mathematical structure is extremely elegant, logical self-consistency reaches theoretical limits, and fit with the Host's current core research direction is as high as 99.7%. Source risk assessment: Extremely high. Encryption method has a 37.8% subtle correlation with known top-level project feature codes of the 'Prophet Foundation.' Comprehensive judgment: Suspected to be a highly dangerous, precisely calculated directional Information Baiting. Strongly recommend immediately sealing the data, completely disconnecting all external connections, and reporting this matter in full to the superior chain of command.] The system's voice, calm to the point of cruelty, sounded in his mind, providing a cold judgment based on probability and risk models.

Excellence looked at the set of equations on the screen that seemed to have a life of their own, his eyes filled with intense struggle. Report it? That would mean this hard-won "key" that might contain a subversive breakthrough would almost certainly be immediately confiscated and sealed, his research would stall again, and he might even face stricter scrutiny and restrictions for contacting highly dangerous unknown information. Not report it... he might be actively stepping into a carefully laid and incredibly dangerous trap, not only unable to save himself but potentially becoming a springboard for enemy infiltration and sabotage. The ultimate temptation of knowledge and the deep fear of unknown danger fought a fierce battle in his heart, nearly tearing his sanity apart.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. His gaze swept over the set of equations again, and a bold and risky decision gradually took shape in his heart.

He moved quickly. First, he cautiously copied the original, unmodified core equations into a physically isolated miniature offline storage device specially encrypted using system vulnerabilities and his own knowledge of cryptography—this was a little gadget he had made privately for backing up extremely personal thoughts, and he was certain the base's routine scans could not discover it. He wanted to keep this true "key" that might open a new world.

Then, he began "processing" the original equations on the screen. He introduced some seemingly random, small-scale parameter disturbances, added several redundant terms with no actual physical meaning but which increased computational complexity, and even deliberately created an extremely tiny instability point in a nonlinear link that would only be triggered under specific conditions... He used all his knowledge and imagination to strive to disguise this "god-sent" perfect data as a slightly rough and immature "phased result" obtained "accidentally" after countless trials, errors, calculations, and deductions. He wanted to create a "fruit" that looked like it came from his own efforts.

After completing all this, he prepared this carefully modified version, which looked more "reasonable" and "mediocre," to be submitted to Little Zhang as part of the next regular progress report.

He decided that he would both risk privately keeping this key from the abyss that could lead to heaven or hell, and use this disguised "result" to probe... who exactly sent this key, and... how much Wang Jianguo and the others actually knew about this matter.

This was a dangerous game. Holding forbidden knowledge, he walked the tightrope between trust and betrayal.