169: Chapter 169 Entering the Trap with One's Body, Weaving a Storm in Secret

If he could successfully access the data link of the "Northbound-Main Relay Station," it would mean he had obtained a "temporary ticket" to enter the enemy's internal communication network.

He could spy on higher-level instructions and operational deployments, and even attempt to send disguised misleading information to create chaos, delays, or errors within the enemy System.

This was like implanting a poisonous thorn into the body of a behemoth; though small, it could affect its nerve conduction.

This required superb technical skills, an understanding of the enemy System, as well as immense courage and luck.

But it was also the only way to potentially have a substantial impact on the "Purification Net" and his own perilous situation from the information level.

Ling Ye took a deep breath, pouring all his focus into the tablet in his hands.

He had not received professional hacker training, but the original "Ling Ye's" "Information Technology Ethics" and "Basic Programming" courses provided the most fundamental logical cognition, while his own powerful learning ability, logical thinking, and the "Spiritual Sense's" keen perception of information flows and energy fluctuations formed his unique "tools."

He first tried to bypass the tablet's permission restrictions.

Devices in a "low-privilege standby" state sometimes left backdoors for emergency maintenance or diagnostics.

He pulled up the System settings, looking for "Developer Options," "ADB Debugging," or any entry points related to "Recovery Mode" or "Safe Mode."

He didn't find them directly.

But he noticed that on the "Device Information" page, there was an entry for "Hardware Serial Number/Device ID," displayed as a long string of mixed letters and numbers.

He tried to use this ID, along with some common default password combinations (such as "admin," "password," "123456," etc.) to attempt a login, but all failed.

Time passed second by second. Sweat slid down his forehead.

He changed his approach. Instead of trying to crack the password head-on, he tried to exploit the automatic handshake protocol or trust relationship that might exist between the tablet and the "Main Relay Station" data link.

Since the tablet could stay in standby and maintain a low-power connection, it meant there was some kind of continuous, verified "heartbeat" or "status reporting" mechanism between it and the server.

He opened the tablet's network settings to check the current connection.

Sure enough, there was an encrypted Wi-Fi network named "SF_Backbone_Gamma" in a "Connected, Restricted" state.

This should be the data link connecting to the "Main Relay Station."

He tried clicking on this network to view details. In the "Advanced" options, he found "IP Settings" and "Proxy Server" options.

Typically, such military equipment would use static IPs and specific proxies for encrypted communication.

He noted down the current IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS server address.

Then, he tried modifying the last digit of the IP address (for example, changing it from .100 to .101) to simulate another authorized device that might exist within the same subnet.

Of course, this would likely be immediately rejected by the server due to an IP conflict or a mismatch in the MAC address, or even trigger an alarm.

But just at the moment he was about to try, his Spiritual Sense captured an extremely brief, rhythmic "gap" in the continuous, encrypted data flow between the tablet and the distant "Main Relay Station"!

Just like a pause between heartbeats!

During this "gap," the encryption seemed to briefly switch to a lower-strength handshake protocol used to maintain the basic connection!

It was an opportunity!

Ling Ye did not attempt to crack the high-strength encryption.

He concentrated all his focus, and the moment his "Spiritual Sense" captured the next "gap," he used his powerful memory and reaction speed to instantly change the IP address in the tablet's network settings to the IP address of another nearby monitoring station (codename Beta) that he had just seen in the "SF_Ext_Monitor_Logs"!

At the same time, he simulated his "Spiritual Sense" and gently "injected" a tiny, extremely weak information disturbance—but one whose frequency was highly compatible with the handshake protocol in that "gap"—toward the location of the tablet's wireless network card chip!

This was not an electronic attack; it was more like using the unique nature of his "Spiritual Sense" to perform an extremely subtle operation at the hardware level, similar to "spoofing" or "synchronization"!

"Beep!"

The tablet screen flickered!

The network connection status icon changed from "Restricted" to "Connected, No Internet Access"!

Although he still couldn't access the internet directly, the connection status had changed!

More importantly, the tablet automatically popped up a new application icon that wasn't there before—"Internal Command Terminal (Read-Only)"!

Success?!

Although the privileges might be extremely low (read-only), he seemed to have tricked the handshake protocol, making the System believe this tablet was another monitoring station (Beta station) device with basic privileges, thereby granting access to the Internal Command Terminal (Read-Only)!

Ling Ye suppressed his ecstasy and immediately opened the "Internal Command Terminal."

The terminal interface was simple, with only a few options: "View Announcements," "Receive Instructions (Read-Only)," "Report Status (Simulated)," and "Internal Communication Records (Read-Only)."

He first clicked "View Announcements."

Inside were some non-urgent notifications issued internally by the "Cleaning" side, including routine maintenance times, new confidentiality regulations, and brief background briefings and disciplinary reiterations regarding the "Purification Net" operation.

It mentioned: "... The 'Purification Net' aims to eliminate the risk of 'secondary contamination' spreading and unstable factors ... All actions must follow Article 7 of the 'Special Threat Disposal Act' ... The search and control of individuals associated with 'the key' are currently the highest priority ..."

The information confirmed many of his guesses.

Next, he clicked "Receive Instructions (Read-Only)."

This displayed the specific instructions issued to this "Gamma" station (and possibly other stations in the same subnet).

Most were routine commands like "Increase monitoring frequency" and "Report abnormal readings."

But the last few caught his attention:

"Instruction Source: Command Center. Level: Advanced. Receiving Units: All peripheral monitoring stations, action groups. Content: Predicted time for the Old Factory District barrier collapse updated: Standard Time +4 to 6 hours. Final stage of 'Purification Net' initiated. Requirement: All units enter highest alert, prepared at any time to receive 'the key' capture or 'high-value target' control instructions. Coordinates and target information will be sent separately via encrypted channels. Keep channels clear."

4 to 6 hours! It had been moved up again from the previously reported 6-8 hours! The final stage was starting!

"the key" capture! High-value target control!

He was undoubtedly one of the "high-value targets"!

And the fact that the "the key" capture instructions would be sent separately meant they might have new leads? Or was it just preparation?

Time was really running out!

He had to act immediately, using this brief, fragile access permission to do something!

Send forged instructions to interfere?

The risk was too high, and he didn't understand their instruction format or encryption methods; it would be extremely easy to be exposed.

Perhaps... he could try to tamper with the "Report Status (Simulated)" function?

This function seemed to be used for simulating station device status reporting for testing or training.

If he simulated the "Gamma" station sending a status of "Device failure, data link about to be interrupted," would it make the "Main Relay Station" temporarily mark it as "unavailable," thereby reducing monitoring attention on this area?

Or, simulate the adjacent "Beta" station reporting "Suspicious high-energy readings detected, requesting technical support," to lure the "Cleaning" forces in the nearby area to the wrong location?

But this also had risks, and the effect would be limited.

His gaze fell on the "Internal Communication Records (Read-Only)."

Inside, there might be partial communication records (read-only copies) between the "Main Relay Station" and other higher-level units, or even with ground action groups, that could reveal more information about deployments, the chain of command, and even "the key"!

He opened the records and browsed quickly.

The records were arranged in reverse chronological order, mostly encrypted instruction confirmations and status reports.

But soon, a communication summary from the "Command Center," marked with "Priority: Urgent," caught his eye:

"To: North District Command Node (Main Relay Station), Nightingale Action Group (Zhou Ming). Regarding the latest intelligence analysis on target 'Escapee-Zero' (Ling Ye): Based on traces left in Rust Town and energy residual spectrum analysis, it is highly suspected that he possesses 'pseudo-psionic' potential or is carrying 'anomalous items,' with a less than 1% fuzzy correlation to the 'the key' characteristic spectrum, but it cannot be ignored. It is now judged that he may still be lurking in the underground pipe network or abandoned areas in the east of the city. Instruction: The Nightingale Group is to immediately shrink the search range, focusing on checking known entrances to the eastern underground pipe network and abandoned facilities; the North District Node is to strengthen the filtering sensitivity of the underground monitoring network for 'pseudo-psionic' signals and abnormal vital signs; meanwhile, initiate backup plan 'B7'—through partner channels (Su Qing), attempt to contact the target's relatives (if any) and close social connections (Wang Hao, Sun Li, etc.) under the guise of 'psychological counseling' or 'security protection,' apply pressure, and pry for clues; if necessary, they can be used as bait. Ensure the target is locked or controlled before the barrier collapses."

Seeing this instruction, Ling Ye felt as if struck by lightning, his whole body turning cold!

The other side hadn't given up; instead, they had further narrowed the scope and locked onto the eastern underground!

And, initiating backup plan "B7" meant using Su Qing to apply pressure on him through Wang Hao and Sun Li, or even using them as bait?!

Wang Hao! That easy-going classmate who had once provided him with information!

Sun Li! That "potentially sensitive individual" who was in an abnormal state and already marked!

Would they fall into danger because of him? Be coerced? Be used?

Ling Ye's heart felt as if it were being gripped by a cold hand!

He had underestimated the determination and methods of the "Cleaning" side!

To catch him, they would stop at nothing, even if it meant dragging in the innocent!

No! He absolutely could not let Wang Hao and Sun Li be harmed because of him!

He had to stop it! At the very least, he had to warn them!

But how to warn them? He was underground, cut off from communication.

Through this "read-only" terminal, he couldn't send messages.

Unless... he looked at the "Report Status (Simulated)" function.

If he simulated the "Gamma" station and reported an extremely abnormal, clearly directed "monitoring alert," such as "High-intensity 'pseudo-psionic' signal burst detected, coordinates located in the northwest district of the city (opposite direction to the east), requesting immediate verification," could he temporarily mislead the other side, divert Zhou Ming and part of the search force in the wrong direction, and buy some time for himself in the east, as well as for Wang Hao and Sun Li who might be contacted?

But this required accurately simulating the signal characteristics, and if it were discovered to be fake upon verification, the consequences would be even more severe.

Or, there was an even riskier move—using this terminal to attempt to "hijack" or "interfere" with the execution instructions for plan "B7" that were about to be sent to the "Nightingale Group" (Zhou Ming) or the "North District Node"?

For example, inserting a very brief string of garbled code into their instruction stream that would cause an instruction parsing error?

This required an extremely deep understanding of the enemy's communication protocols, which was almost impossible.

Time was forcing him to make a choice, second by second.

And the tablet's battery was also starting to issue a low-battery warning.

He had to decide immediately how to use this last, fragile network connection to fight for a glimmer of hope for himself, and for the innocent who might be dragged into this!