51: Blueprints in the ruins! Contact and undercurrent!

The smoke and scent of blood from the great sea battle had not yet fully dispersed from Deep Blue Fortress, but this city of steel had already awakened from its grief-stricken shock, erupting with a nearly tragic, furious energy interwoven with reconstruction and vengeance.

In the Basalt dry dock, the heavily damaged Deep Blue Blade lay like a beached Leviathan, surrounded by countless supports and maintenance platforms. Cutting sparks and welding arcs glowed day and night, as engineers, like ants, clung to its scarred hull, racing against time to repair structural damage and replace melted pipelines. At the main gun position, the once formidable 'Thunder' electromagnetic railgun had been completely removed, leaving a gaping, shocking void, as if the warship had lost its fangs. New weapon systems were still in design; in the short term, this flagship would temporarily lose its sharpest spear.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent dry dock, the atmosphere was entirely different! The construction progress of the first two 'Seawolf-I' attack nuclear submarines had been pushed to the limit! Their massive pressure hulls had already been joined, and new, matte dark gray Deep Sea Phantom anechoic tiles were being laid on their exteriors. Inside the submarines, engineers were working overtime to install and debug the final core equipment—power systems, sonar arrays, and the deadly torpedo tubes. The countdown clock above the dry dock was ticking down at an astonishing speed. These two underwater blades, embodying Deep Blue's latest stealth technology, would be the fleet's most reliable offensive force in the short term.

In the Command Center, the atmosphere was solemn and busy. The giant screen no longer displayed real-time battlefield situations but was divided into several key areas: dry dock repair progress, new submarine construction status, Abyss Fortress wreckage analysis room, and... an encrypted communication record summary labeled 'Dove Faction Probes.'

Lin Feng stood in the center, listening to reports from all sides.

"Commander, report!" The engineer responsible for wreckage analysis, a young expert named Li Ming who had taken over some of Su Qing's work, spoke with barely suppressed excitement and a hint of fatigue. "The preliminary analysis results of the Abyss Fortress bridge armor wreckage... far exceeded expectations!"

He brought up a holographic image, displaying the complex internal structures scanned from the wreckage. "First, we confirmed that its main weapon system is an ultra-high energy particle accelerator cannon, a different technological route from our previous electromagnetic cannons, but with extremely high energy conversion efficiency! Although it cannot be replicated, its heat dissipation structure and some designs of its energy confinement field offer huge inspiration for our next-generation weapon development!"

"Second, and most crucial!" Li Ming's tone suddenly rose. "Within the physical isolation layer of its encrypted data interface, we discovered a deliberately hidden, not completely destroyed fragment of a navigation log! The log shows that this No. 3 Abyss Fortress, before being deployed in the Purification Tide operation, secretly traveled to a certain location in the South Pacific... an underwater facility codenamed poseidon's eye! The log repeatedly mentions that this facility is related to the core of the Ark Project—the 'Energy Matrix' and the 'Ancient Gene Bank'! And... it mentions that the facility recently detected 'abnormally active Leviathan-class biological signals,' suggesting strengthened defenses!"

poseidon's eye? Energy Matrix? Ancient Gene Bank? Abnormally active Leviathan signals?

These keywords, like bombshells, caused a huge stir in the Command Center! This not only concerned the core secrets of the Ark but also directly pointed to the Leviathan and ancient ruins!

"Immediately pinpoint the possible coordinate range of poseidon's eye! Allocate all satellite and underwater probe resources!" Lin Feng immediately ordered, his eyes gleaming. This might be the key to uncovering the Ark's true purpose and ancient secrets!

Just then, Intelligence Chief Zhou Rui hurried forward, his expression a bit strange: "Commander, the Ark's Dove Faction... has made a move. Through an indirect channel we secretly maintained with a neutral intelligence dealer, an encrypted message was transmitted. The sender calls himself Albatross, claiming to represent forces within the Ark seeking peace and co-existence, requesting an unofficial, low-level contact at an absolutely neutral and safe location. They... are willing to provide intelligence on recent abnormal Leviathan activity as a 'show of sincerity.'"

A contact request from the Dove Faction? And right away, they offer intelligence about the Leviathan as bait?

The Command Center immediately buzzed with discussion.

"A trap! Absolutely a trap! They've just been crippled by us and now they want to play this delaying tactic!" A radical officer immediately objected.

"But the Leviathan threat is real! If they can truly provide valuable intelligence..." Others held a cautious attitude.

"Don't forget how Dr. Su Qing died! The Ark's blood debt hasn't been repaid yet!" A voice full of grief and indignation rang out.

Lin Feng raised his hand, quieting all arguments. He stared at Zhou Rui: "Reliability assessment of the information?"

"The channel itself is reliable, but the content... cannot be verified. Albatross's identity also cannot be confirmed. However," Zhou Rui added, "the contact location they proposed is the 'Drifters' Market,' located deep in the Western Pacific, entirely dominated by ocean currents and magnetic fields, and impossible for any force to control long-term. The time is set for seven days from now. This is indeed a relatively 'neutral' choice, but it is also full of variables."

Risk and opportunity coexisted. Contacting the archenemy was like dancing on a knife's edge. But the clue of poseidon's eye and the threat of the Leviathan made this contact irresistible.

"Commander, let me go." A steady voice spoke. Everyone looked; it was Gao Qiang, who had just been appointed captain of the first 'Seawolf-I' submarine, the hidden dragon. He had just returned from the submarine's final sea trials. "The hidden dragon already possesses initial combat capability, and the Deep Sea Phantom system performed excellently. I can pilot it secretly to the Drifters' Market area, maintaining a submerged state as backup and deterrence. At the same time, send a disguised neutral small boat, with reliable intelligence personnel to make the direct contact. If anything goes wrong, the hidden dragon can provide support or extraction at any time."

Utilizing the new submarine's stealth advantage for a secret mission, Gao Qiang's proposal was bold but highly feasible.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone, finally resting on Gao Qiang: "Approved the contact plan. Gao Qiang, you are fully responsible for the underwater support. Zhou Rui, select the most capable and cautious intelligence officers to handle the overt contact. Codename: 'Probe.'"

He paused, his voice carrying a cold warning: "Remember, this is not a negotiation, nor is it reconciliation! This is merely an intelligence probe and risk assessment! Every word and action of the other party must be scrutinized with a magnifying glass! The Ark's 'sincerity' needs to be tested with blood and fire! If any sign of a trap is detected... hidden dragon, you know what to do!"

"Understood!" Gao Qiang and Zhou Rui responded in unison.

"Additionally," Lin Feng looked at Li Ming, "the coordinates of poseidon's eye are to be given the highest priority! At the same time, strengthen monitoring of the surrounding sea areas, especially the last known location of the Leviathan! I have a premonition that the 'abnormal activity' of that giant beast is no accident!"

With the orders issued, the entire base, like precise gears, once again began to operate at high speed. Amidst the clamor of reconstruction, undercurrents were already stirring.

Seven days later. Western Pacific, Drifters' Market area.

There was no fixed land here, only a relatively calm circulatory zone formed by the convergence of massive ocean currents. The sea surface was dotted with various strange shipwrecks, large floating platforms, and even modified abandoned oil rigs, tenuously connected by ropes and gangways, forming a chaotic, dirty, yet vibrant maritime black market. This was a lawless land, a haven for intelligence, smuggling, and fugitives.

An unassuming, dilapidated trawler flying the flag of a small island confederation slowly sailed into this floating jungle of steel. At the bow stood a middle-aged man in ordinary sailor's attire, with a weathered face but eyes as sharp as an eagle—a senior agent from Deep Blue Intelligence, codenamed 'Old Ghost.'

As agreed, he arrived at a decrepit bar called 'Abyss's Throat,' located at the edge of a semi-submersible drilling platform. The bar was dimly lit, a mixed crowd, permeated with the combined scent of cheap alcohol and brine.

In a corner booth stained with oil, Old Ghost met the man who called himself Albatross—a thin, neatly but slightly shabbily dressed middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a refined demeanor but a hint of fatigue and tension. He was accompanied only by a silent, watchful bodyguard.

"Did you bring the goods?" Old Ghost got straight to the point, sitting down and lowering his voice.

Albatross pushed over an encrypted data chip, his voice equally low: "Detailed coordinates of the Leviathan's last three activities, peak energy readings, and... special geomagnetic fluctuation data we monitored outside poseidon's eye, which correlates with its activity. We believe the Leviathan's actions may be influenced or guided by some kind of... periodic external signal source."

Old Ghost's pupils constricted slightly. He took the chip, inserted it into a miniature reader, and quickly verified the authenticity of some of the data. The content was astonishing! If true, it meant the Leviathan was not acting entirely autonomously!

"Your conditions?" Old Ghost asked calmly.

"No direct conditions," Albatross pushed up his glasses, his voice tinged with bitterness. "We only wish to convey a message: within the Ark, not everyone is blinded by the insane 'Purification' ideology. We see the threat of the Leviathan; it transcends human internal strife. Continued internal conflict will only extinguish the flame of civilization entirely. We... need time, and we need to prove, prove the possibility of cooperation."

"Prove?" Old Ghost sneered. "Prove it with the artillery fire you used to attack our base? Prove it with Dr. Su Qing's sacrifice?"

A flash of pain and guilt crossed Albatross's face: "Those... were the Hawk Faction's madness! We were powerless to stop them, but we are trying to change things! Please believe that the intelligence we bring is the beginning of our sincerity! We only ask for... a temporary ceasefire, a period of unspoken agreement not to attack each other, so we can all catch our breath and deal with the true threat!"

Just then!

Boom—!!!

A muffled roar, accompanied by violent shaking, came from outside the bar! This was followed by terrified screams and the sound of chaotic running!

"What's happening?" Old Ghost and Albatross stood up simultaneously!

"Report! Unidentified armed speedboats are attacking Floating Platform B7! They are engaged in a firefight!" The bodyguard's earpiece relayed an urgent report.

"It's not our people!" Albatross's face changed dramatically.

Old Ghost's eyes sharpened: "They're coming for us! Go!"

Under the cover of the bodyguard, the two rushed out of the bar, only to see several high-speed armed speedboats on the nearby sea surface, wildly strafing a platform with heavy machine guns. People on the platform were returning fire, but were clearly at a disadvantage. The attackers' goal seemed clear—to create chaos, or... to silence them?

In the confusion, Old Ghost glimpsed Albatross being pulled by his bodyguard onto a waiting high-speed speedboat, which quickly disappeared behind the floating obstacles. He himself was forced to blend into the scattering crowd.

"Gao Qiang! Situation changed! Under armed attack, target suspected to be Albatross or the contact itself! Contact aborted!" Old Ghost growled into his miniature communicator while dodging stray bullets.

Deep beneath the sea, the hidden dragon, like a silent ghost, picked up the chaos on the surface with its passive sonar.

"Received. Maintain concealment, prepare to withdraw. I'll keep an eye on Albatross's boat." Gao Qiang's calm voice came through. The hidden dragon quietly adjusted its course, like a deep-sea hunter, locking onto the high-speed speedboat fleeing in the chaos.

The first contact ended abruptly amidst a sudden attack and confusion. The Dove Faction had thrown out enticing intelligence and a ceasefire proposal, but it was immediately interrupted by an unknown assault. Was this obstruction from the Hawk Faction? Or was it another force stirring up trouble? And the intelligence Albatross brought about the Leviathan being 'guided' was like a giant stone thrown into the deep sea, stirring up endless ripples and deeper mysteries.

Deep Blue's probe had been extended, but what it touched were even murkier and more dangerous undercurrents.