82: Chapter 82 ESS Defense Assessment

"And the goods inside, they aren't completely dead yet."

This sentence followed Yan Zheng back to the Underground Room of the Antique Shop and had been sitting by the workbench for three full days.

There were a few more layers of lines on the map on the wall.

The perimeter of the chemical plant in the Red Hook District was circled in black ink, the drainage outlet on the east side was marked with a triangle, the parking lot on the north side was covered in dense diagonal lines, and next to the truck entrance at the main gate, it was written: High probability of firearms.

Yan Zheng stood in front of the map, holding black tea in his left hand and a piece of chalk in his right.

The steam from the cup hit the bottom edge of his lenses. The tea was hot at first, leaving an astringent taste on the tip of his tongue, then the tea's fragrance spread thinly, leaving a lingering woody aftertaste in his throat. The warmth sinking into his stomach pulled him back from the fatigue of continuous reconnaissance, restoring a bit of clarity.

Yan Zheng: ( ˵ ꐦ Ծ ᴗ Ծ ˵ )

"Three days, enough to scout the outer shell."

He wrote the summary on the wall.

Six ground patrols, shift-based.

Two guards at the main gate, fixed at night.

Three vehicles in the parking lot, suspected of transporting samples.

At least seven cameras.

Infrared sensors covering the east wall.

Pressure sensors covering the inner circle of the north parking lot.

At least two underground entrances.

Truck access lane.

Emergency exit.

Interior unknown.

When he wrote the four words "Interior unknown," the chalk paused for a moment.

Yan Zheng: ( ꐦ ㅍ _ ㅍ )

"The unknown is the most expensive ticket."

In the Underground Room, the Undead Knight stood in the storage area on the east side, the Brute squatted by the west wall, and four Reinforced Skeleton Soldiers lined up at the niche on the south side.

They made no sound.

But the slight friction of their joints, the flickering of the phosphorous fire in their chests, the whirring of the workbench fan, and the soft click of the teacup bottom hitting the wooden surface filled this Underground Room completely.

Yan Zheng turned around and pointed to the map.

"Gentlemen, we are having a meeting today."

"The topic is simple."

"That chemical plant in Brooklyn, we can't attack it head-on."

In the Mental Link, the Brute sent a low-frequency pulse.

Yan Zheng glanced at it.

"Yes, Mr. Brute, I know you really want to tear the iron gate off from the main entrance."

"But that isn't The Hand's Laundromat."

"The Hand relies on Dark Energy and ninjas; they like to perform rituals in the dark."

"E.S.S. relies on surveillance, sensors, rifles, bulletproof vests, and vehicle lanes."

"Modernized military defense."

Yan Zheng: ( ˵ ꐦ ≖ ꈊ ≖ ˵ )

"In other words, they don't follow martial ethics, but they do follow a budget."

He tossed the chalk into a small box, opened the system panel, and pulled up the tolerance data for his Undead Creations.

[Reinforced Skeleton Soldier: Can withstand scattered hits from pistol rounds; continuous rifle fire will cause structural collapse.]

[Stitched Brute: Can withstand short-term fire from conventional rifles; sustained firepower will damage joints and inscription layers.]

[Undead Knight Dawn: Can withstand conventional rifle firepower; there is a risk of overload if the photon core is hit by heavy firepower.]

Yan Zheng tapped the panel with his fingertip.

"Skeleton Soldiers can't hold up against continuous assault rifle fire."

"The Brute can take it, but I'll have to spend materials to repair it afterward."

"The Undead Knight definitely shouldn't be sent in to take bullets casually."

"I'm not lacking in courage right now; I'm lacking in maintenance funds."

The phosphorous fire in the eye sockets of the No. 4 Skeleton Soldier flickered.

Yan Zheng: ( ꐦ ˘ ͈ ᗜ ˘ ͈ )

"Mr. No. 4, don't be in such a hurry to show your loyalty."

"If you break, I can put you back together."

"The problem is if you break under a camera, E.S.S. will empty out the entire laboratory."

He walked to the workbench and spread out the three days of reconnaissance records.

The pages were full of license plates, patrol times, personnel attire, truck entry and exit routes, the locations of cameras in nearby blocks, and even the delivery times for two takeout restaurants.

Yan Zheng pointed to one of the pages.

"The patrol circles half the perimeter every forty minutes, with a seven-minute blind spot on the west side."

"The main gate changes tea at 2:15 AM and 4:15 AM every night."

"Trucks don't move during the day; they enter and exit at night, staying for an average of nineteen minutes."

"This indicates there is a loading area underground, and the process is fixed."

"The emergency exit is on the south side of the factory building, disguised as an exhaust shaft for an old boiler room, but it's too close to the main building and covered by cameras."

"The drainage pipe on the east side is the dirtiest and also the narrowest."

"A person can't get through."

"An ordinary drone can't get through either."

"This is interesting."

Yan Zheng flipped the records to the last page, which had a cross-section of the drainage pipe drawn on it.

The iron grate was rusted.

The pipe diameter was less than forty centimeters.

The inner wall was damp and had chemical residue.

It likely leads to the underground waste liquid treatment area.

Biological signals were coming from deep below the pipe.

Yan Zheng: ( ˵ ꐦ ✧ ꒳ ✧ ˵ )

"Gentlemen, E.S.S. built the doors very sturdily, but they forgot that sewers age."

The Brute sent another pulse.

Yan Zheng looked up.

"No, I can't let you crawl through."

"If you get stuck in the pipe, the entire Red Hook District will be able to hear me tearing down the wall to save you."

"I've already thought of the headline for that."

"Hells Kitchen antique dealer breaks into chemical plant at night, suspected to be because his pet stone man went missing."

The golden orb of light in the Undead Knight's chest dimmed for a beat.

Yan Zheng looked at it.

"Mr. Dawn, don't you laugh either."

"If you went in with that build of yours, the pipe would file for worker's compensation first."

There was no laughter in the Underground Room.

Only the old fan by the workbench creaked and turned half a rotation.

Yan Zheng looked down at the system panel, intending to close it, but a gray function bar in the lower right corner flickered.

That was a new tag that had appeared after the upgrade a few days ago.

He had scanned it before but hadn't looked at it closely.

[Undead Stealth Form.]

Yan Zheng's hand stopped.

Yan Zheng: ( ꐦ ✧ ‸ ✧ )

"Hmm?"

He clicked on the function description.

[Undead Stealth Form: Applicable to low-level skeletal Undead.]

[Function Description: The host can temporarily disassemble the overall structure of the Undead skeleton, allowing it to move as scattered bone fragments.]

[Applicable Scenarios: Narrow pipes, wall cracks, gaps in ruins, complex terrain.]

[Restrictions: Combat ability drops to zero during stealth, movement speed decreases, and sensory ability is weakened.]

[Reassembly time: Thirty seconds.]

[Cannot defend during reassembly.]

[Energy consumption: Medium.]

Yan Zheng finished reading the panel, and the Underground Room was quiet for a few seconds.

Then he smiled slowly.

Yan Zheng: ( ˵ ꐦ ≖ ᴗ ≖ ˵ )

"Mr. System, you certainly know how to pick the right time to hide this function."

He projected the description onto the light screen above the workbench.

"Undead Stealth Form."

"Disassemble, infiltrate, reassemble."

"The Skeleton Soldier can turn into a pile of bones and go in through the east drainage pipe."

"After getting into the underground area, it will find a safe corner to reassemble."

"If it goes smoothly, I can get the internal structure."

"If it doesn't go smoothly, at most I lose one Skeleton Soldier."

"It's more cost-effective than charging the front gate."

He walked up to the No. 4 Skeleton Soldier and reached out to tap its ribs.

"Congratulations, Mr. No. 4."

"You have earned the position of chief taste-tester for this project."

The green phosphorous fire of No. 4 flickered steadily.

Yan Zheng: ( ꐦ ˘ ω ˘ )

"Don't be nervous; if the taste test fails, you'll just end up shattered all over the floor."

"Anyway, you're usually pretty scattered yourself."

He returned to the map and re-drew the route.

East drainage outlet.

Waste liquid pipe.

Underground waste liquid treatment pool.

Enter the maintenance corridor from the treatment pool.

Find surveillance blind spots.

Complete reassembly.

Recon the location of internal personnel and sample areas.

Return or stand by.

Yan Zheng finished the last stroke; the chalk left a white mark on the wall, and the powder landed on his fingertips—dry, astringent, and dissipating with a light rub.

"But the problem remains."

"Thirty seconds for reassembly, completely defenseless."

"If there are cameras at the pipe outlet, if there are patrols near the waste liquid pool, if they have equipment that can detect Undead Energy."

"Then those thirty seconds are just delivering yourself to them."

He pulled up the Mental Link data for No. 4 and No. 5.

"So, I can't send them all in at once."

"Test first."

"Send one in; if it doesn't trigger an alarm within ten minutes, send more."

"If it triggers, retreat."

"If it loses contact, assume there are special detection methods inside."

"Then we'll change the plan."

The Undead Knight sent a pulse.

Yan Zheng nodded.

"Right, the frontal assault plan remains."

"But the frontal assault is only the last option."

He looked at the chemical plant map on the wall, his gaze falling on the unknown underground area.

"E.S.S.'s defense is more realistic than The Hand's."

"Realistic things have realistic loopholes."

"Surveillance fears black screens."

"Communication fears interruption."

"People fear misjudgment."

"Sewers fear termites."