218: Chapter 218 Fishing in Troubled Waters

Raindrops hammered densely against the rusted tin roof, like millions of tiny drums beating frantically, blurring and swallowing every other sound. Cold rainwater poured down Ling Ye's tattered collar, bringing a bone-chilling coldness that made his already taut nerves even sharper and more alert.

Below, that member of the Plainclothes Agents holding the remote control device had already aimed the equipment at the crack in the transformer box. Another person returned to the van, seemingly checking the preparations for the "trace elimination program." The remaining three, carrying that silver sealed container, were intending to return to the vehicle.

Chaos, right now! They were about to close or destroy this G-7 Node and leave with the sample. Once they finished cleaning up and the gate closed, all leads would be cut off. He had to seize this short window of a few dozen seconds while their attention was scattered and the program hadn't fully started!

Ling Ye's gaze was like a cold probe, rapidly sweeping over every detail in the rain curtain below: the rusted barbed wire, the muddy ground with puddles, the abandoned metal scaffolding, the transformer box, that open iron door, the positions of the two vans, the standing positions of the five members of the Plainclothes Agents...

His gaze finally settled on a section of thick, exposed cable half-buried in the mud not far from the transformer box, near a gap in the barbed wire. The cable's insulation was damaged, revealing the bronze-colored core inside. Not far above the cable was the rusted metal scaffolding he had climbed earlier, which connected to the transformer box. At this moment, the dense rainwater was flowing down the scaffolding and gathering on the muddy ground below...

An extremely dangerous plan, but one that could create a "natural" and effective distraction if executed properly, instantly formed in his mind.

He had no time to hesitate. His body, like a taut bowstring, instantly darted out from behind the roof ventilator base. His target was not the iron door below, but a corner near the edge of the substation roof where discarded building Materials (a few rusted angle irons and a broken section of precast concrete slab) were piled. He selected a piece of rusted angle iron of suitable length and weight, and quickly tied a slipknot loop at one end with a paracord.

Then, he returned to the edge of the roof, lay down, and silently lowered the end of the angle iron with the loop from the roof edge, near the position above the metal scaffolding. The rain and dim sky were the best cover. The position where the angle iron hung was exactly diagonally above the scaffolding, about half a meter from its top.

Below, that member of the Plainclothes Agents holding the remote control device seemed to have finished the settings and pressed a button on the remote.

Now!

Ling Ye flicked his wrist sharply. The paracord loop, infused with a clever force, shot out like a serpent and precisely snared a short, rusted steel pipe extending horizontally from the top of the metal scaffolding! He pulled hard!

"Creak—!!"

Amidst the sound of wind and rain, this screech of twisting metal was not particularly loud, but for the well-trained and highly tense members of the Plainclothes Agents, it was enough to raise an alarm!

The eyes of all five were drawn almost simultaneously, turning toward the metal scaffolding that had made the sound!

And in the instant their gazes shifted, Ling Ye released the loop, letting the snared short steel pipe, under the tension, fall with a piece of rusted debris toward the location of the exposed, damaged cable below!

"Clatter!"

The debris and the short steel pipe slammed into the mud, splashing up muddy water, landing right next to the damaged cable!

"What was that?" one member of the Plainclothes Agents barked, his hand already on the weapon at his waist. The detector in another person's hand was immediately aimed in the direction of the metal scaffolding and the cable.

"Probably just rust falling off; the wind and rain are too strong," the member of the Plainclothes Agents holding the remote control said with a frown, but his finger moved away from the button, and he looked over there vigilantly. "Check it out, make sure nothing hit the cable."

Two members of the Plainclothes Agents immediately drew their weapons and cautiously approached the direction of the cable and metal scaffolding. Their attention was completely drawn by this "accidental" falling object.

And in this brief moment of Divided Soul! Ling Ye, on the roof, was like a leopard that had been coiled for a long time. Under the cover of the rain, he leaped from the other side of the roof—the edge closest to the iron door, with a pile of discarded oil drums underneath as cover!

He didn't jump directly to the ground (it was too high), but landed on the pile of discarded oil drums! The oil drums made a dull sound under the heavy pressure, but it wasn't prominent amidst the pouring rain. He rolled with the momentum to dissipate the impact, and by the time he landed, he was already in the shadow of the oil drum pile, less than five meters away from the open iron door!

Inside the iron door, a dim blue light flickered like breathing. The doorway was unguarded; those three members of the Plainclothes Agents carrying the sample had just entered the van and were closing the vehicle door. And the two members of the Plainclothes Agents checking the cable were facing away from the iron door.

A god-given opportunity!

Ling Ye didn't hesitate for a second. He kept his body low, like a swift skimming the ground, and performed a sliding tackle on the muddy ground. At the very moment the van door was about to fully close and the members of the Plainclothes Agents checking the cable were about to turn around, he narrowly brushed past the edge of the door gap and rolled inside the rusted iron door that emitted blue light!

"Clang."

Behind him, the sound of the van door closing could be heard faintly. Almost simultaneously, he heard the voice of that member of the Plainclothes Agents holding the remote control from outside: "No problem, it's rust. Speed it up, start the cleanup program, and prepare to evacuate!"

Then came the "beep" of a remote control button being pressed.

Ling Ye had no time to celebrate. As soon as he entered the door, he felt a rush of thick, humid air with a metallic, fishy smell and a faint scent of ozone. Before him was a narrow concrete passage sloping downward, wide enough for only two people to walk side-by-side, with rough walls covered in water stains and moss. At the end of the passage, a dim, dark blue light shone through, accompanied by a low "hissing" sound, as if countless tiny needles were scraping against glass.

He didn't go deep immediately. Instead, he quickly observed behind him. The inside of the iron door had no handle, only a simple mechanical latch, which was currently open. He immediately stepped forward and gently engaged the latch—this wouldn't stop people outside from opening it with tools or force, but it could at least delay them for a while and prevent the door from being blown by the wind or closing automatically and making a noise.

After doing this, he turned around, leaned his back against the cold wall, and quickly calmed his rapid heartbeat and breathing. Success! He had snuck in! But the crisis was far from over. The people outside would soon start the "trace elimination program" and then evacuate. He had to investigate the secret of this blue light source and find another way out before that!

The passage was not long, about twenty meters. At the end was a small circular room, which seemed to be an underground equipment room of the old substation. In the center of the room was a circular pool about two meters in diameter, enclosed by some kind of silver-gray metal. The pool had no water; at the bottom was a thick, dark blue substance like coagulated gel or some kind of fungal mat, which was slowly and rhythmically pulsating, emitting a dim blue light and that unsettling "hissing" sound. The walls around the pool were covered with thick cables with peeled-off insulation. These cables extended like blood vessels and disappeared into the walls; some of the cables' exposed copper wires even pierced directly into the metal fence at the edge of the pool and the dark blue gel below, occasionally emitting small, dark blue electric sparks.

Beside the pool were some instruments and equipment that had clearly been moved in later: several portable energy detectors (the screens were still on, showing constantly jumping waveforms and data), several open silver-white boxes filled with various test tubes and sampling tools, and... scattered on the floor were some paper records left behind in a hurry and a rolled-away electronic pen.

It seemed this was the place where those members of the Plainclothes Agents collected samples and data. They seemed to be in such a hurry that they hadn't even managed to fully pack up some of the records.

Ling Ye's gaze was immediately drawn to the record papers on the floor. He stepped forward quickly, not bothering to look closely at the eeriness of the pool, and quickly picked up the scattered papers. The paper was made of a waterproof composite material, with data recorded in clear print, along with some scribbled handwritten notes.

He quickly scanned them:

"G-7 Node Secondary Resonance Sampling Record - 3rd Instance"

"Sample activity Rank: B+ (continuously rising, approaching threshold)"

"Resonance Frequency: Synchronization rate with the primary nest (Dark Nest) pulse is 87.3%, with a 12.7% abnormal phase delay (cause pending investigation)"

"'the key' frequency simulation injection test: produced slight energy feedback, sample stability decreased by 0.5%, no expected 'guidance' or 'suppression' effect observed."

"Remark: Node energy radiation shows an unstable diffusion trend; recommend increasing monitoring Rank, or considering 'Purification' treatment before it goes out of control."

"Related Record: An abnormal energy outbreak was detected in the underground pipe network of the Old Factory District recently (ID: IN-1147). After preliminary comparison, the energy characteristics of the outbreak point have a 13.8% similarity with the residual fluctuations of the G-7 Node, suggesting the possible existence of an unrecorded secondary pollution spread or an independent generation point. Marked for further investigation."

Seeing the last entry, Ling Ye's pupils constricted. IN-1147... wasn't that the very nest he had destroyed? These people had actually already noticed it and marked it as an "unrecorded secondary pollution spread or independent generation point"! Their monitoring network and reaction speed were even faster and more precise than he had expected!

Moreover, they mentioned "the key" frequency simulation and "Purification" treatment... "Purification" didn't sound like a gentle method at all.

Just then, the sound of a van engine starting could be heard faintly from outside, along with the sound of someone outside the iron door trying to open it, only to be blocked by the latch, and then switching to prying it open with tools! They had discovered the iron door was latched from the inside? Was this a final check, or part of the "trace elimination program"?

No time left! Must leave immediately!

Ling Ye quickly folded the record papers and stuffed them into his chest. His gaze turned again to the pool emitting the blue light and the "hissing" sound. Intuition told him that this pool, this "G-7 Node," was the key. The records mentioned "Purification," and the "trace elimination program" those people outside were about to start was very likely to destroy or "Purify" this place!

Destroy it? He might be able to "help," but this would immediately expose his presence and could trigger an uncontrollable energy explosion.

Leave? Where was the way out? Other than the iron door he came in through, this room seemed to have no other obvious exits. Those cables... did they lead outside?

His gaze rapidly swept around the room. Suddenly, on the wall behind the pool, partially obscured by a pile of scattered cables, he saw a circular pipe opening about half a meter in diameter with very irregular edges. It was pitch black, and he didn't know where it led. The wall around the pipe opening had obvious signs of damage, as if it had been violently broken open from the inside or outside by something. Several thick cables also extended into that pipe opening.

Was it a ventilation duct? Or a cable conduit? Whatever it was, this might be the only other way out!

Just then— "Click!"

The sound of the latch being pried open came from outside! The iron door was pushed open a crack! A hand reached in, seemingly groping for the situation behind the door!

Ling Ye no longer hesitated. He lunged toward the pipe opening, pushed aside the obscuring cables, and without caring what was inside, lowered his head and crawled in!

The inside of the pipe was narrow, humid, and full of the smell of dust and rust. It seemed to be an old ventilation or maintenance pipe, not vertical, but with a certain downward slope leading deeper underground. He crawled forward desperately using his hands and feet!

Behind him, the iron door was pushed completely open, and the beam of a flashlight and hurried footsteps came in!

"Is there someone inside?!"

"It's an intruder! Catch him!"

"Start the emergency Purification program! Fast!"

Ling Ye's heart sank, and he crawled forward faster. The pipe wound downward, pitch black, with only the unknown darkness ahead, and the increasingly close sounds of pursuit and the heart-stopping hum of some kind of energy being activated behind him...