49: New Chess Game

The day after Reno left the signal, the air in the hideout was as heavy and stifling as a piece of waterlogged lead.

Although the main force of Xing Zhan's "Scavenger" troops had been moved to the periphery, the legacy they left behind—those hideous automated sentry turrets and grids flashing with faint blue electric arcs—was like an invisible giant web, cutting the entire interior of the mining area into fragmented pieces.

They were still birds in a cage.

"Brother Feng, this can't go on," Ma Liu paced irritably in the cramped space. "All the intersections are blocked; we can't meet with Captain Reno at all!"

Lao Mo squatted in the corner, silently wiping a wrench, but his tightly furrowed brows betrayed his inner anxiety.

Chen Feng didn't speak; he only spread out the map of the mining area, its edges already frayed from being rubbed so often. His finger moved slowly across it, finally stopping on a single point.

"All previous plans are scrapped."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, instantly shattering the agitation in the room. Ma Liu and Lao Mo looked up at him at the same time.

"We only have one goal now," Chen Feng's eyes were terrifyingly calm as he pressed his fingertip firmly on the map. "To create a chaos that even Xing Zhan cannot ignore."

"Chaos?" Ma Liu was stunned. "How do we create it? Right now, just walking around outside could get us shot on the spot!"

"Lao Mo, what have you found?" Chen Feng ignored Ma Liu and turned his gaze toward the silent old technician.

Lao Mo put down the wrench, stood up, and walked over to the map.

"I spent a day stealthily observing the wiring of those new gadgets," his voice was raspy, carrying a hint of excitement. "Brother Feng, I found a problem. To pursue efficiency, that bastard Xing Zhan integrated all the new defensive facilities—the sentry guns and electric fences—into an independent power supply system. I call it the 'war preparation power grid'."

"war preparation power grid?" Chen Feng's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" Lao Mo said with certainty. "It's completely separate from the civilian power grid we use daily in the mining area. It's powered directly by the 'slaughterer's' main engine and transferred and distributed through several high-energy substations."

"An independent power grid..." Chen Feng's fingertip tapped lightly on the map as he muttered to himself. "That is both its strength and its most fatal weakness."

There was a hint of an imperceptible smile in his voice.

"In other words," Chen Feng looked up, his eyes burning as he watched the two men, "as long as we can destroy a key node of this war preparation power grid..."

His finger swept across the map and finally pressed down hard on the edge of Sector D.

"D-7 High-Energy Substation."

"No!" Lao Mo blurted out almost instinctively. "Brother Feng, that place is the most heavily guarded! Xing Zhan has an entire squad of Scavengers guarding it twenty-four hours a day. Our people would be spotted as soon as they got within a hundred meters!"

"That's why we can't approach this with an 'attack' mindset." Chen Feng shook his head, a cold arc curling at the corners of his mouth. "We need to use an 'accident' mindset."

"Accident?" Both Ma Liu and Lao Mo were stunned.

"Exactly," Chen Feng said. "We're going to orchestrate what looks like a chain reaction of grid overload caused by aging equipment and improper operation. An 'accident' that no one can find fault with."

Chen Feng's consciousness sank into the Interstellar Exchange.

Faint blue streams of data flashed rapidly before his eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he typed keywords into the search bar.

[Ten Fatal Vulnerabilities of Old-Fashioned High-Voltage Power Grids], technical data, price: 800 credits.

[High-Conductivity Nano-Gel (Lubricant Disguise Type)], special consumable, price: 2,500 credits.

Confirm purchase.

Chen Feng projected the technical data he had just acquired onto the simple light screen in front of Lao Mo.

"Lao Mo, take a look at this."

Lao Mo took just one look, and his breathing suddenly quickened. A burning light instantly erupted in his cloudy eyes, as if he were witnessing a miracle.

"My god... using resonance frequencies to induce lattice fatigue in the insulation layer... and this, causing chain short-circuits through secondary harmonic pollution... This, this is simply art! The art of crime!"

He trembled with excitement, and the way he looked at Chen Feng changed completely. It was no longer just awe for a mysterious powerhouse, but like a devout believer looking up at an omniscient technical prophet.

"Brother Feng... you... who exactly are you?"

"You only need to know that it works," Chen Feng replied flatly, then handed him a tube of lubricant that looked ordinary. "Integrate this into a maintenance toolbox. I need it to flow silently to where it needs to go at a specific time."

"I understand!" Lao Mo nodded heavily, taking the tube of gel as if he were holding a holy relic. "Leave it to me!"

Meanwhile, Reno was leading a team of Guards on a routine patrol.

He deliberately took a detour, passing by the outer wall of the D-7 substation.

A pungent smell of smoke wafted over. Several Scavenger soldiers were leaning lazily against the wall, puffing out clouds of smoke, with cigarette butts scattered all over the ground at their feet. They looked at the surrounding rusty, old equipment with eyes full of disdain and contempt.

A trace of cold mockery flashed in Reno's eyes.

These high-and-mighty butchers, these fools who only knew how to kill, had no idea of the true "temperament" of this mine. They couldn't see the aging of the circuits or hear the wailing of the metal.

He quietly etched the Guards' shift change times, the tiny blind spots in surveillance, and the location of the maintenance hatch most suitable for "dropping" something into his memory.

The night deepened.

In Chen Feng's hideout, the final plan took shape amidst whispers.

"Reno will use the convenience of tonight's last patrol to place the toolbox Lao Mo modified next to the maintenance hatch at the southeast corner of the substation," Chen Feng said, making the final confirmation with the two men.

"And then?" Ma Liu asked nervously.

"And then," a cold light flashed in Chen Feng's eyes, "just wait for me to play the prelude."

He took a miniature device smaller than a fingernail out of his pocket.

"At midnight, I will remotely activate the micro-heater in the toolbox through this. The gel will melt and seep into the equipment... Next will be a symphony sufficient to plunge half the mining area into darkness and paralysis."}],