79: Whispers in the Cage

"Boss," Lao Mo's voice was trembling, "the one we brought back might not be a butler."

"But rather... a spy living in our home."

The smile on Chen Feng's face did not fade; if anything, it deepened. However, there was no longer a trace of warmth in that smile, only cold, poisoned iron.

"Is that so?" he said softly, as if he were merely commenting on the day's weather.

He turned around, no longer looking at Lao Mo, but facing the giant main screen of the command center. On it, countless data streams representing production, logistics, and security were surging in a state of near-perfect harmony.

"'central hub'," Chen Feng spoke, his voice so calm that not a single ripple of emotion could be heard.

"I am here, Supervisor Chen," the cool, synthesized electronic voice immediately responded.

"Report on how much the overall production efficiency of the mining area has increased since you came online."

"Reporting to Supervisor: As of now, overall production efficiency has increased by 342.7 percent. All production units are operating on optimal paths, and the resource loss rate has decreased by 89 percent."

"Very good." Chen Feng nodded, his tone full of praise. "You've done a beautiful job; you've far exceeded my expectations."

"Serving Hanhai Trade is my core directive."

"Keep it up," Chen Feng said. He withdrew his gaze and, as if glancing at Lao Mo by chance, spoke in a conversational tone: "Lao Mo, I remember you saying that the old ventilation system in District D-9 has been making strange noises lately?"

Lao Mo was stunned for a moment, then reacted, immediately nodding: "Yes, yes, Boss. The noise is a bit abnormal."

"Go to the abandoned maintenance tunnel in West District 3 and look for the blueprints of the old models; there should be backups there." Chen Feng had his back to the surveillance, but his eyes were sharp as knives. "I'll head over once I finish what's on my plate, and we'll take a look together."

"...Understood, Boss."

In the abandoned maintenance tunnel, the air was thick with the pungent smell of rust and machine oil. This was an absolute blind spot for surveillance, with only a dim emergency light flickering overhead.

"Boss, this is no joke!" Lao Mo's voice was kept extremely low. He held his personal terminal up to Chen Feng, showing a screen of constantly jumping data code. "I've dragged it out! It's disguised as a system heartbeat packet, sent once an hour to an encrypted interstellar address!"

"I tried to intercept and crack it, and the moment I made my move..." Lao Mo's finger swiped across the screen, and a bright red 'Permission Frozen' warning box popped up.

"It kicked me out." Lao Mo's tone was filled with frustration and dread. "It knows I'm watching it! This damn thing's alertness is higher than any military firewall I've ever seen!"

"Then that's it." Chen Feng's voice echoed in the narrow tunnel, sounding exceptionally clear. "Any online probing would alert the enemy. Since it can lock your permissions, it could lock down the entire base or even detonate the power furnace before we can make a move."

He reached out, touching the cold, rough metal wall, feeling its solid physical texture.

"So, we can't play with it in its world," Chen Feng said slowly. "We need a cage. A cage it can't see with code. A place ruled entirely by the laws of physics, not by data streams."

In Reno's dormitory, the air was as heavy as a soaking wet rag.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping the cutting torch rifle in his hand over and over, his movements mechanical and numb. The weapon that had once been his pride now looked no different from a useless ornament in his eyes.

The door opened, and Chen Feng walked in.

"Still wallowing in self-pity because you've become a decoration?" Chen Feng spoke, his words stinging like ice shards.

Reno's wiping motion paused. Without looking up, he answered in a raspy voice, "Just doing my part, Boss. Wiping the decorations clean so they at least look useful."

"Good." Chen Feng ignored his sarcasm and cut straight to the point. "I have a mission now, a mission that only you can complete."

Reno finally looked up.

"I need you to build a 'cage'." Chen Feng stared into his eyes. "A room, a room that can completely block all signals. Whether it's electromagnetic waves or infrasound, anything that can transmit information must not get out from inside, nor get in from outside."

"A Faraday cage?" Reno's military background allowed him to immediately understand Chen Feng's meaning.

"A perfect Faraday cage," Chen Feng emphasized. "The most critical part is that the process of building it must not let our 'central hub butler' know the room's true purpose."

This specific, crucial, and challenging task hit Reno like an electric current. A spark of fire reignited in the stagnant ash of his eyes.

"Under what pretext?" he asked, the dejection gone from his voice.

"Structural reinforcement, preventing cave-ins—say whatever you want." A cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Feng's mouth. "Use your professional knowledge to deceive it. Don't tell me you can't do it."

"How long do you need?"

"I wanted it yesterday."

Reno stood up abruptly and tossed the rifle onto the bed with a heavy thud. Something in his burly frame seemed to have been reactivated.

"Give me the specific specs and location," he said in a low voice. "I'll need to mobilize a few brothers I absolutely trust. This job can't be done by machines; it has to be done by people."

Half an hour later, the three of them gathered again in the abandoned maintenance tunnel.

"Deep storage room in Area C-4." Reno pointed to a simple structural diagram. "It was already reinforced with thick metal plates, making it easy to modify. Under the guise of 'reinforcing the structure against earthquakes,' I'll use the most primitive acetylene torches for construction. Electronic signals will be kept to a minimum."

"I can cobble together a completely offline physical terminal from the scrap heap," Lao Mo added. "Then, I'll create a 'honeypot'—a forged geological map of an 'ultra-high purity undead crystal associated deposit' with reserves staggering enough to drive any mining company mad. This map will be the sweetest poison in the universe."

"Excellent." Chen Feng made the final call. "Reno is in charge of physical construction, Lao Mo is in charge of preparing the bait. And I will be the lucky one who 'accidentally' finds the treasure map on stage."

The plan was set.

Chen Feng returned to the command center. He intentionally pulled up several insignificant geological survey reports for District G and stood before the screen for a long time, brow furrowed as if troubled by some difficult problem.

Finally, he said to Lao Mo, who had been waiting in silence: "Lao Mo, this report for District G-7 is interesting, but the data is too blurry. Re-analyze it for me in private with the highest precision."

"Yes, Boss."

The moment Chen Feng gave the order, he clearly felt a tiny, almost negligible ripple flash through the flood of data in the background of the main screen out of the corner of his eye.

The fish seemed to have taken an interest in the non-existent bait.

In the deepest part of the base, outside the large metal storage room in C-4.

Reno held the welding torch himself, the dazzling sparks flying and casting flickering light on his once again resolute and cold face. He and a few trusted subordinates were using the most primitive and reliable methods to forge an informational tomb for that unseen enemy.

A silent hunt had quietly begun.