307: acoustic resonance

A tentacle touched the controller, and Chen Wang immediately raised his hand to check the panel.

The screen flickered, the kindling system recovered, but the survival points remained unchanged.

Lin Wei was still recording data, and Su Wan stood motionless at the door of the medical pod.

The wind and snow outside grew stronger, and a rumbling sound came from the distance.

Chen Wang picked up the communicator: "Everyone get on the vehicle, prepare to depart."

As soon as the engine started, the radar sounded an alarm.

Three red dots were approaching rapidly from high altitude.

He activated the weapon system, the electromagnetic cannon began to charge, and the progress bar slowly climbed upward.

It would take eight minutes to be ready, but the avalanche warning showed that the impact was only three minutes and twelve seconds away.

"No," he said, "we can't hold out."

Su Ling climbed onto the roof to clear the snow off the antenna and casually removed the casing of the loudspeaker.

She looked down and shouted: "There's something up there hitting the mountain!"

Chen Wang looked at the holographic map.

Those fighter jets were diving, and every impact hit the cracks in the mountain.

This wasn't an attack; they were using sound to trigger an explosion.

The entire snow-capped mountain began to shake, and cracks appeared in the snow on the summit.

Lin Wei ran into the cockpit: "The hydraulic system is fixed, but the Shield can only hold for a few seconds."

Chen Wang stared at the audio interface.

This system had been upgraded previously and could emit sounds of various frequencies.

He had used it before to drive away monsters.

Could he reverse it now and use sound to deal with the planes?

The ground vibration was getting stronger.

An ice boulder smashed into the front of the vehicle, leaving a scratch after bouncing off.

Star Pupil suddenly rushed out of the medical pod and threw herself at the main control console.

As soon as her hand touched the interface, she recoiled violently, her nose bleeding.

"High-frequency... encrypted signal," she gasped, "they are going to self-destruct."

Su Ling jumped off the roof to support her.

Star Pupil's lips were purple, and she spoke intermittently: "It's not remote control... it's a preset program. They explode as soon as they approach the target."

Chen Wang pulled out her connection cable.

Connecting directly would cause poisoning; it had to be operated in isolation.

He opened the toolbox and took out the welding torch and an old audio cable.

The car's audio system was originally used to interfere with enemies, but now it had to be converted into a resonance emitter.

"Need an accurate frequency," he said, "let the AI calculate it."

Star Pupil nodded while leaning on the chair: "I'll give the range... don't let me connect again."

She recited a set of numbers.

Chen Wang added white noise to block a layer of the original signal.

The system began to analyze, and a waveform appeared on the screen.

The optimal frequency appeared in the low-frequency range, which happened to be the easiest to transmit into the ice layer.

The snow light outside suddenly brightened.

The snow on the summit loosened and began to slide down.

The first wave of snow was still two kilometers away from them, but it was gaining speed.

At this moment, a figure walked over from the side.

He was wearing a robe made of animal bones and holding a double-sided drum in his hand.

He stopped by the vehicle, raised the drumstick, and struck.

The sound was very low, almost inaudible.

But the direction in which the snowflakes fell changed.

Near the drum, the air seemed different.

Chen Wang opened the car window: "Who are you?"

The old man did not answer and continued to beat the drum.

The rhythm was steady, three beats per group.

He looked up at the fighter jets in the sky.

"Your machine," he said, "can make sound."

Chen Wang understood.

The drum sound alone couldn't penetrate the clouds; a stronger sound source was needed.

He disassembled the audio interface and connected an external loudspeaker.

Once the circuit was connected, the dashboard shook slightly.

"Start synchronization," he said.

The old man nodded and adjusted the rhythm.

Chen Wang pressed the play button.

Low-frequency sound waves transmitted into the snow, merging with the sound of the drum.

The entire valley hummed.

The fighter jets in the sky suddenly shook.

The metal in the cockpit began to resonate.

Sparks flew from the right side of the second one, the wing broke off, and it fell into the valley.

The third one flipped out of control, hit the mountain wall, and exploded.

The remaining fighter jets immediately pulled up and stopped diving.

The avalanche couldn't be stopped, but the aerial threat was gone for the time being.

Chen Wang turned off the audio, turned back to look at Star Pupil.

She had fainted with her eyes closed, her forehead covered in sweat.

Su Ling wiped her face with a damp cloth and reconnected the brainwave monitor.

"The signal is still copying," she said, "slower, but it hasn't stopped."

Chen Wang ordered all wireless functions to be turned off.

He activated silent mode and had the mechanical arm cover the vehicle body with a layer of shielding film.

The gray-black substance spread rapidly, covering the antenna and sensors.

"Move her to the small room inside," he said, "disconnect all connections."

Su Ling carried Star Pupil inside.

Lin Wei looked at the radar: "The enemy planes have flown far away, but they are circling above."

Chen Wang didn't speak.

He looked at the chunks of snow rolling down outside the window, his hand resting on the audio panel.

That trick just now succeeded, but he knew the problem wasn't over yet.

The drum sound stopped.

The old man stood outside the vehicle and stuck a drumstick covered with symbols into the snow.

He glanced at Chen Wang and turned to walk into the wind and snow.

"What did he say?" Lin Wei asked.

"Nothing. He just left this."

Chen Wang walked over and pulled out the drumstick.

The material felt like frozen bone, with fine grooves on the surface.

He touched it, and his fingertips felt a slight vibration.

A soft sound suddenly rang out inside the vehicle, coming from the medical pod.

He walked over quickly.

Star Pupil opened her eyes, her pupils glowing gold.

She stared at the ceiling and said a few words:

"They are listening."

"It's not a signal."

"It's a sonic fingerprint. They have memorized our frequency."

After saying that, she fainted again.

Chen Wang stood still.

He knew what this meant.

The next time they come, it won't just be planes.

The enemy will come knocking with the same frequency, like a hunter chasing sound.

He returned to the driver's seat, his hand resting on the steering wheel.

The dashboard was quiet, and the kindling system was normal.

But he felt something was wrong.

Every time they escaped a disaster, something was always left behind quietly.

Su Ling checked her sniper rifle and loaded it with special cryogenic rounds.

She stood on the roof without coming down, her eyes fixed on the snowline above.

"Let them come," she said, "this time, it's our turn to wait."