103: Chapter 103 System Awakening: Tracing the Traitor from the Sickbed, Unwavering in Protecting the Important Equipment (3)

Every day during rehabilitation, he could clearly perceive a trace of extremely weak energy slowly gathering from all parts of his body into the depths of his consciousness, like a trickle, accumulating bit by bit; each time he consumed high-nutrient food, he could also feel a slight improvement in the energy recovery efficiency.

These energies were extremely weak, almost negligible, yet they gave Mu Li hope—he knew that as long as he persisted, in another period of time, the system would be able to be awakened again, continuing to assist them in investigating clues and protecting the project.

During his free time, he would lean against the headboard, closing his eyes to rest, while in his mind he silently sorted through the existing clues, recalling the various parameters of the project site, and thinking ahead about how to efficiently carry out work once the system was awakened. Even though his body was still in the recovery period, he was still preparing for subsequent work.

Three days later, Zhang Hongyuan came to the hospital again, his face showing unconcealable excitement and joy, and his steps were much faster than usual. As soon as he entered the ward, he walked impatiently to Mu Li's bedside: "Engineer Mu, good news! Huge good news! Law enforcement officers have already found Zhao Lei and successfully taken him into custody!"

Mu Li slowly opened his eyes, a bright light flashing in them, and asked weakly: "Li Mo... where is he now? Zhao Lei... did he confess anything?"

He struggled to sit up, wanting to hear more clearly, but as soon as he moved, a wave of soreness and pain came from his lumbar spine. He had to stop helplessly, leaning against the headboard, forcing his body to hold on, his eyes filled with urgency. Even though the pain was unbearable, he was still concerned about the progress of the investigation.

"He confessed! He confessed everything!" Zhang Hongyuan said excitedly, his tone full of exhilaration, "Zhao Lei said that he did indeed participate in Li Mo's escape plan."

Three days before Li Mo went missing, he secretly contacted him, not only laying out the fact that his son was in debt from gambling and being hunted by loan sharks, but even kidnapping his little grandson and sending him photos of his grandson, threatening him that if he didn't help, he would harm his son and grandson, ruining his family. Forced into a corner, Zhao Lei had no choice but to agree to Li Mo's demands."

Zhang Hongyuan paused and continued: "Li Mo gave him 500,000 yuan to help him contact a smuggling gang at the border and arrange smuggling routes. Through his own connections, Zhao Lei contacted a smuggling gang that had long been active at the border and handled the smuggling procedures for Li Mo."

Zhao Lei also confessed that three days ago, which was the day before we found Zhao Lei, Li Mo had already taken a smuggling boat to leave the border and head to a certain country abroad. As for which specific country, Zhao Lei wasn't sure either; he only knew that the smuggling boat's destination was an uninhabited island in a certain foreign sea area, and Li Mo would transfer from there to go elsewhere."

"In addition," Zhang Hongyuan added, his tone still excited, "law enforcement officers have already contacted international law enforcement organizations based on the smuggling boat information and smuggling gang clues provided by Zhao Lei, and have launched an all-around tracking of this smuggling boat."

Moreover, law enforcement officers also found an encrypted communication device left behind by Li Mo in Zhao Lei's residence, which seemed to be intentionally left for Zhao Lei for follow-up contact. Now, technical personnel are working hard to crack this encrypted communication device, hoping to find more core clues about 'Dark Web Phantom' from it and lock down Li Mo's specific hiding place."

Mu Li nodded gently, a faint smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, and the stone in his heart finally fell slightly. Although Li Mo had not been caught, and the conspiracy of 'Dark Web Phantom' had not been completely shattered, at least Li Mo's escape trajectory had been found, and there was a clear direction for pursuit. This was already a great breakthrough and brought them one step closer to the truth.

He slowly calmed his breathing; the pain caused fine cold sweat to seep from his forehead, but he still forced himself to hold on and instructed: "Tell the technical personnel... to speed up the cracking progress... In addition, keep a close watch on the tracking of the smuggling boat... If there is any news... tell me immediately..." Even though his body was weak, he was still actively coordinating work, unwilling to relax even a little.

Just as Mu Li felt a little more at ease, a familiar mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind again—it was weaker than before, and the signal fluctuation was relatively gentle, but it was exceptionally clear, breaking the silence of many days, bringing an objective prompt of successful awakening, without any extra emotion: [Energy reserves restored to 0.005%, reaching low-power sleep awakening conditions. Starting basic functional modules... Starting successful, currently available functions: basic information analysis, clue extraction, simple risk early warning.]

The system had no extra expressions, only objectively feeding back the awakening results and available functions, always fitting its mechanical attributes.

[Detected new information provided by host-related personnel Zhang Hongyuan, extracting core content... Extraction complete.] The system synchronously started the information extraction function, with a steady rhythm, [Core information: Li Mo has taken a smuggling boat to a certain country abroad, law enforcement officers and international law enforcement organizations have started tracking the smuggling boat; technical personnel are working hard to crack the encrypted communication device left by Li Mo.]

[Based on newly acquired information, combined with the current situation and the host's core demands, generating basic response suggestions for the host's reference.] The system's prompts were concise and clear, not overstepping boundaries, and not exaggerating, [Suggestion 1: Assist technical personnel in cracking the encrypted communication device left by Li Mo. This device most likely stores key content such as core member information of 'Dark Web Phantom' and subsequent destruction plans, which is the core breakthrough point of the case; Suggestion 2: Continue to pay attention to the tracking progress of the smuggling boat. After Li Mo arrives abroad, he will most likely meet with core members of 'Dark Web Phantom'. It is necessary to remind relevant personnel to link up with international law enforcement organizations in advance and prepare for the arrest; Suggestion 3: Be highly vigilant against the counterattack of 'Dark Web Phantom'. It may, because Li Mo is being tracked and Zhao Lei has been arrested, start a new destruction plan in advance. It is necessary to focus on preventing the core reactor and cooling system at the project site to avoid major safety accidents.]

Mu Li was overjoyed; the system was finally awakened again! Although the energy was still insufficient and it could only start basic functional modules, unable to perform complex data processing and analysis, this was already enough. At least it could provide them with some key suggestions and support.

He looked at Zhang Hongyuan, a flash of determination in his eyes, and using all his strength, said slowly: "Engineer Zhang, have the technical personnel... send me a copy of the relevant data from that encrypted communication device. I want to... try to see if I can help and find a breakthrough for cracking it."

As he spoke, his face became even paler due to the exertion, his breathing became rapid, and the pain in his lumbar spine intensified again, but his eyes remained firm, unwilling to give up any opportunity that could advance the work.

Zhang Hongyuan hesitated, his eyes full of worry: "Engineer Mu, your body is still so weak right now, and the doctor has repeatedly warned you not to overwork your brain and not to get tired. Cracking encrypted devices is also a very energy-consuming task. Can... can you handle it? How about just letting it go? Let the technical personnel crack it slowly, and you should rest well. Your health is important."

"I know my own physical condition," Mu Li gently interrupted him, his tone firm and unquestionable, "I will be careful, I won't overwork, and if I feel uncomfortable, I will stop immediately. You also know that this encrypted communication device is very likely the key. It might hide the core conspiracy of 'Dark Web Phantom' and hide Li Mo's specific hiding place. I am quite familiar with encryption technology, and I have come into contact with similar encryption algorithms before. Maybe I can find a breakthrough for cracking it and save everyone a lot of time."

He panted slightly, having to endure the pain in his body with every sentence he spoke, but the determination in his tone left Zhang Hongyuan unable to refute.

Zhang Hongyuan looked at Mu Li's firm eyes and knew that he couldn't persuade him—he knew Mu Li's personality too well. Once he set his mind on something, once it concerned the safety of the project or the interests of the country, he would never give up easily, even if it meant sacrificing his own body, he would go all out.

Zhang Hongyuan shook his head helplessly and finally nodded: "Okay, Engineer Mu, I promise you. I will contact the technical personnel immediately and have them send the relevant data of the encrypted communication device to your phone in an encrypted manner. But you must promise me that you absolutely cannot force yourself. If you feel even a little bit uncomfortable, stop immediately and call a nurse or doctor immediately, you know?"

"I promise you." Mu Li smiled weakly, his eyes full of gratitude. He knew that Zhang Hongyuan was genuinely concerned about him and was genuinely thinking about his health, but he had no way out and could not retreat.

That afternoon, the technical personnel followed Zhang Hongyuan's request and sent the relevant data of the encrypted communication device left by Li Mo to Mu Li's encrypted phone with the highest encryption level.

Mu Li lay on the bed, struggling to adjust to a slightly more comfortable position. This simple action consumed all his strength. The soreness in his lumbar spine came in waves. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to hold on, slowly picking up the phone and opening the data file.

Without any extra nonsense, he clearly instructed the system in his consciousness, his tone carrying the calmness of someone who was sick, while also taking energy considerations into account: "System, access this data, focus on analyzing the encryption algorithm, find a breakthrough for cracking it, try to save energy as much as possible, no need to feed back extra progress, just tell me when there is a result."

His hands trembled slightly, his fingers gripping the phone turning white from the exertion. His eyes were fixed tightly on the phone screen, and even though his vision was a bit blurry, he still refused to look away, forcing his exhausted consciousness to hold on while waiting for the system's analysis results.

[Encrypted communication device data accessing... Data reception complete, no omissions, no damage. Starting encryption algorithm analysis function... Analyzing.] The system concisely fed back the progress, without redundancy or dragging, maintaining mechanical efficiency throughout, and then truthfully reported the analysis situation: [Detected that the device uses 'Dark Web Phantom' exclusive encryption algorithm, the encryption level is extremely high, using a multi-layer hybrid encryption mode, conventional cracking methods are ineffective, brute force cracking cannot break through the defense. Extracting algorithm core features... Performing comprehensive comparison with the system's built-in known encryption algorithm library... Comparison complete.]

[Discovered a minor logic vulnerability in the encryption algorithm: when the algorithm performs key verification, there is a millisecond-level delay vulnerability. It is possible to bypass some encryption verification links through a specific key sequence, utilizing this delay vulnerability to achieve device cracking.] The system accurately fed back the vulnerability information and simultaneously started subsequent operations, [Based on this logic vulnerability, generating cracking key sequence... Generation complete, no errors, can be used directly. It has been encrypted and stored on the host's encrypted phone, and can be sent directly to technical personnel for device cracking.]

In just half an hour, the system completed the algorithm analysis and generated the cracking key sequence. Mu Li was overjoyed, and the fatigue dissipated by more than half, but what followed was a wave of intense headache and lumbar pain.

He closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to endure the discomfort, laboriously picked up the phone, and quickly sent the cracking key sequence generated by the system to the technical personnel, along with simple cracking operation tips. After sending it, he could no longer hold on, slowly put down the phone, leaned against the headboard, gasping for breath, the cold sweat on his forehead soaking his hair, but a relieved smile appeared on his face—no matter how much effort it took, as long as it could advance the work and protect the project, everything was worth it.

After receiving the key sequence, the technical personnel immediately followed the operation tips provided by Mu Li and attempted to crack it. In just over ten minutes, the technical personnel brought good news—the encrypted communication device was successfully cracked! This news made all the law enforcement officers and project team members participating in the investigation extremely excited.

The cracked encrypted communication device stored a large amount of key information, each piece enough to shock everyone: a partial list of core members and hiding places of 'Dark Web Phantom', the secret cooperation agreement between this organization and the foreign M-Country Energy Department (the agreement clearly stipulated that the M-Country Energy Department would provide funding and technical support to 'Dark Web Phantom', and 'Dark Web Phantom' would be responsible for destroying core new energy projects in various countries and curbing the development of new energy in various countries), and the next destruction plan for the nuclear fusion power station project—they planned to take advantage of the opportunity of routine equipment maintenance at the project site in one week, dispatch more than ten members lurking in the country, disguise them as maintenance personnel, use forged identity information to enter the project site, install high explosives in the cooling system of the core reactor, completely destroy the Nuclear Fusion Power Station, cause irreparable major losses, and at the same time frame other forces.

Seeing this information, Zhang Hongyuan and the law enforcement officers broke out in a cold sweat, their hearts filled with lingering fear. If it hadn't been for Mu Li providing the cracking key sequence in time, they would have been unable to crack the encrypted device in such a short time, and even more unable to discover this shocking conspiracy. Once the plan of 'Dark Web Phantom' succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable—not only would the entire nuclear fusion power station project be completely destroyed, and countless painstaking efforts and resources invested would be wasted, but it would also threaten the lives of countless surrounding people, and even affect the country's energy security and international reputation.