283: The Maze Command and the "Worker Bee" Confusion

"Dragon" selected an unlucky "Worker Bee" patrol squad as a test subject for the "Bee Language Maze" operation.

This squad's designation (inferred from intercepted signal characteristics) was likely "Patrol Squad Seven," consisting of eight standard dark gold crystalline "Worker Bee"s, currently cruising along a fixed figure-eight route about 15,000 li northeast of the "Anvil" region.

"The distance is suitable, the location is isolated, and there are no other 'Swarm' activities around," Wang Wu confirmed, checking the intelligence provided by the "Thousand Eyes" network.

"Their original route passes through an asteroid belt ahead, which makes it easy for us to observe their behavior after they change course."

"Begin," Wen Youyi ordered.

"Dragon" quietly approached to a position about 3,000 li away from Patrol Squad Seven, a distance sufficient for clear signal transmission without easily exposing itself.

Inside the bridge, everyone held their breath.

Senior Brother Li was responsible for operating the simulated signal transmission array.

He took a deep breath, his fingers hovering over the control node, and looked at Wen Youyi.

Wen Youyi nodded.

Senior Brother Li pressed the launch button.

A cold energy fluctuation, carefully modulated and containing specific command information, shot out from the "Dragon" hull toward Patrol Squad Seven.

This fluctuation was infinitely close to the standard command signals sent by the "Bee Queen" that they had previously captured from "Worker Bee"s, in terms of energy frequency, ripple structure, and even that subtle "metallic vibrato."

The content of the command was carefully designed by Wen Youyi and the staff team: "Patrol Squad Seven, a weak spatial anomaly fluctuation has been detected at coordinate XXX (a meaningless point deviating from the original route, located at the edge of the asteroid belt), suspected to be a minor energy leak. Temporary command: Proceed to this coordinate for a detailed scan. Priority: Medium. Return to the original patrol route after completion. Verification code: [Forged Verification Code]."

Once the command was sent, "Dragon" immediately entered the highest level of silent stealth mode, suppressing its energy fluctuations to the lowest possible level, floating quietly in the Void Realm like a truly cold meteorite.

Inside the bridge, everyone stared nervously at the remote monitoring screens and signal receivers.

Seconds ticked by.

About three breaths later, the eight dark gold "Worker Bee"s of Patrol Squad Seven simultaneously exhibited an extremely brief, almost imperceptible lag in their originally uniform cruising rhythm.

The dark gold streamers on their bodies flickered, as if they were receiving and parsing the command.

Immediately afterward, without the slightest hesitation, and without even any visible communication between them (perhaps there was high-speed internal communication that they could not detect), the entire squad, like a single entity, changed course in perfect unison!

Abandoning the original figure-eight route, they turned and accelerated toward the fake coordinate point given in the command!

"It worked! They believed it!" Xiao Wu almost cheered, but Wang Wu covered his mouth just in time.

"Quiet! Observe the follow-up reaction!" Wen Youyi whispered, a flash of excitement in his eyes.

The first step was successful; the disguised command was accepted and executed!

Patrol Squad Seven soon arrived at the fake coordinate point.

It was empty, with only thin cosmic dust and the faint light of distant stars.

The eight "Worker Bee"s spread out and, following standard reconnaissance procedures, conducted a detailed scan of that airspace.

Dark gold energy ripples swept across the Void Realm like searchlights, attempting to find the "spatial anomaly fluctuation" that did not exist at all.

The scan lasted for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Obviously, they found nothing.

Now, the critical moment had arrived.

After completing the scan, how would they act?

Would they immediately return to the original route?

Would they report "no abnormalities found" to the "Bee Queen"?

Or would they experience "confusion" and "doubt"?

The eight "Worker Bee"s gathered again and hovered at the coordinate point.

The streamers on their bodies began to flicker in a more complex pattern, as if they were... internally discussing or preparing to send a report.

"They are generating a report!" Senior Brother Zhang watched the weak energy gathering being brewed, which was captured on the signal receiver.

"The content is likely... 'Completed scan of specified coordinates, no abnormal fluctuations found, requesting further instructions or confirmation of command'."

"Good! This is what we were waiting for!" Wen Youyi perked up.

"Senior Brother Li, prepare to send the second command! Content: Report received and confirmed. Abnormal fluctuations may be transient phenomena or detection errors. Command canceled, resume original patrol route. Verification code: [Same as before]."

Another cold "Bee Queen Command" was sent.

The streamers on Patrol Squad Seven flickered and paused, then, without any questioning, they turned in perfect unison again and flew toward the starting point of their original patrol route, resuming their boring figure-eight cruise.

The energy of the "doubt report" that was about to be sent also dissipated.

Throughout the process, this "Worker Bee" squad performed like a precision machine: receiving commands, executing commands, preparing to request instructions when encountering an "abnormality" (target not found), and immediately complying upon receiving new instructions.

There was no hesitation, and they showed no signs of any "individual thinking" or "doubt."

The first phase of the "Bee Language Maze" operation was a complete Perfection!

They successfully deceived a "Swarm" patrol squad, verified the effectiveness of the disguised signal, and gained a preliminary glimpse into the decision-making chain of the "Swarm"—absolute obedience, a tendency to request instructions when encountering "accidents," and clear command priorities.

"Dragon" quietly evacuated the area and returned to base.

Along the way, the atmosphere in the bridge was much more relaxed, and everyone's faces carried the joy of success.

"It seems that the 'Bee Queen's' control over the grassroots 'Worker Bee's' is one-way and instructional. The 'intelligence' of the 'Worker Bee's' is very limited, mainly consisting of execution and feedback," Wang Wu analyzed.

"This gives us room to operate."

"But we cannot be careless," Wen Youyi reminded.

"This time it was just targeting an isolated squad, and the command sent was a temporary, low-priority reconnaissance command."

"If we send offensive commands, try to mobilize multiple squads, or even forge the 'Bee Queen's' core commands (such as self-destruction or mutiny), it is very likely to trigger deeper verification mechanisms or alert the 'Bee Queen' herself."

"At least we got off to a good start," Senior Brother Li laughed.

"Next time, we can try to make two patrol squads 'accidentally' collide and see if they start fighting each other? Or send a fake coordinate to a certain squad and let them go 'gnaw' on a particularly hard starship wreck until they exhaust themselves!"

Everyone laughed upon hearing this, and the tense atmosphere eased a lot.

After returning to the base, the technical team immediately conducted an in-depth analysis of the data from this operation.

They focused on the details of the energy reactions of Patrol Squad Seven when receiving the "abnormal command" and the "subsequent cancellation command," as well as the unique energy interaction pattern during their internal "discussion."

"This internal discussion seems to be a 'consensus-reaching' process based on fixed logic, rather than a real discussion," Senior Brother Zhang discovered.

"They share scan data, compare it against preset 'abnormality judgment standards,' and then generate a standard report template."

"The whole process is fast, rigid, and has no variables."

"This means that as long as we figure out their 'judgment standards' and 'report templates,' we can more accurately predict and manipulate their reactions," Wen Youyi said thoughtfully.

"Even... we can try to send some 'contradictory commands' or 'logic traps' to see if their System will encounter errors, infinite loops, or even crash?"

This idea was more dangerous but also more destructive.

If they could find a logic loophole in the "Swarm" command System, they might be able to disintegrate its organization from within and plunge it into chaos.

But this also meant that their "Bee Language Maze" operation would escalate from simple "deception" and "misleading" into a more aggressive "information virus" injection.

Risks and opportunities coexisted.

Wen Youyi looked at the few "Worker Bee" samples still suppressed in the analysis room, and then looked at the shadowed area on the star map marked as "Anvil."

They had turned from prey into cunning "fishermen," and now, perhaps they could try to become more dangerous "poisoners."

Of course, all of this required more meticulous planning, more precise technology, and... a little bit of luck.

"First, digest this success and perfect the 'Bee Language' library and disguise technology," Wen Youyi decided.

"At the same time, strengthen signal reconnaissance on the core of the 'Anvil' region."

"We need to know how fast the 'Bee Queen' processes abnormal reports from grassroots patrol squads and how strict the verification mechanism is."

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

The game of information warfare has just begun.

(End of Chapter)