68: Chapter 68: A Qualified Bomb

The night was deep, and the lights were still on in the "Precision Special Alloy Processing Plant" on the outskirts of Donghai City.

As the designated supplier for the "Pearl of the East Sea" project, this factory had recently received a large order.

To deliver on time, the entire factory was working overtime to rush the production.

Security at the factory had also been stepped up several levels.

Electric fences were set up around the perimeter, armed police stood guard at the gate, and everyone and every vehicle entering or leaving had to be inspected.

But this could not stop the "Ghost" team.

A truck carrying industrial waste slowly drove out of the factory gate.

The driver was an honest-looking middle-aged man who greeted the armed police familiarly, and the vehicle was let through.

No one noticed that two people were hiding in a compartment in the truck's chassis.

"Chameleon" and "Rhino".

The two of them pressed themselves motionless against the cold underside of the vehicle, holding their breath.

The truck drove for a distance and stopped in a remote corner.

The two jumped down silently and immediately slipped into the shadows.

Before long, they had reached the high ground behind the factory.

"Chameleon" set up a thermal imager, and the personnel activity throughout the factory was clearly visible.

"Witch, I'm in position," he said into his headset. "Give me the factory blueprints and the surveillance locations."

"Received. Blueprints sent. I've hacked their security system and set up a five-minute surveillance loop for you. From now on, you have five minutes to shut down the electric fence in Zone 3," came "Witch's" voice from the headset.

"Rhino, get to work," "Chameleon" gestured toward the burly man beside him.

"Rhino" pulled a small electromagnetic pulse device from his bag and aimed it at a power transformer box down the mountain.

"Three, two, one, go."

An invisible pulse wave was fired. A row of lights on the factory wall in the distance instantly went out.

"Done."

"Let's go."

The two slid down the hillside, moving toward the darkened corner without making a sound.

They climbed over the unpowered fence and snuck into the factory.

Their target was Workshop 3. According to the production plan "Witch" had acquired, the key component called "G-37" was to be cast and molded here early tomorrow morning.

Two security guards were wandering around the entrance of Workshop 3.

"Chameleon" hid in the shadows, picked up a small pebble, and flicked it. The pebble flew out and hit an empty oil drum in the distance, making a sound.

"What was that noise?" one guard asked.

"Go check it out."

The two guards immediately ran toward the sound.

Just as they turned around, "Chameleon" and "Rhino" dashed past them from behind and slipped into the workshop.

Inside the workshop, the large furnace was still hot. A mold that had already been prepared, with intricate internal channels, sat on a table in the middle of the workshop.

This was the mold for the "G-37" Energy Convergence Ring.

"Hurry up, we don't have much time," "Chameleon" urged while keeping watch.

"Rhino" opened a toolbox; inside were not wrenches or hammers, but a pile of precision instruments. He took out a small silver ball smaller than a grain of rice and a laser pointer.

This small ball was the latest type of solid-state EMP bomb. The shell was made of a special material that could mix with any molten alloy; once cooled, it would become a single unit, undetectable even by X-ray.

"Rhino" used the laser pointer to burn an almost invisible small dot into an inconspicuous groove on the inner wall of the mold. Then, using tweezers, he placed the small silver ball inside.

"Done," he exhaled, his forehead covered in sweat. This job was too demanding, even more nerve-wracking than defusing a bomb.

"Retreat."

The two returned the way they came, incredibly smoothly. By the time they got back to the mountain behind the factory, the electric fence was back on, and the two guards walked back from the distance, grumbling, having no idea they had just brushed against the King of Hell.

In the hotel, "Snake Eye" nodded after hearing the report.

"Very good. Now, we just wait." He looked at the map of Donghai City, his gaze falling on the tallest building under construction in the city center.

That was the command headquarters for the "Pearl of the East Sea" project, the center of the entire Spirit Induction Array.

The "G-37" Energy Convergence Ring would be installed there.

"Boss, will it really work?" "Witch" looked at the complex part diagram on the screen, feeling a bit unsure. "The Xia people treat this project as if it's precious, guarding it like an iron bucket. I always feel like things aren't that simple."

"They put all their effort into guarding against outsiders, which is why they never thought that their own people could be the problem," "Snake Eye" said with certainty. "They check people, they check vehicles, they check everyone entering the construction site. But would they check the 'qualified products' produced in their own factory?"

"No. Because those are their own people, their own technology, their own standards. People trust themselves the most, so they are the least prepared to guard against themselves."

"Snake Eye" stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

"We have already cast the hook. Now, we just wait for them to take the bait and carry this 'gift' into their most important temple."

The next morning, at the Precision Alloy Plant.

The factory's quality control director, an experienced old engineer, was holding an X-ray flaw detector, performing the final factory inspection on the newly cooled and molded "G-37" Energy Convergence Ring.

"Hmm, not bad, perfect." The old director looked at the clear internal image on the screen and nodded with satisfaction. "There are no air bubbles or cracks inside, the alloy is uniform, and the dimensions are exactly the same as the blueprints. It can leave the factory."

He picked up a pen and signed his name on the certificate of conformity.

A nearby worker wrapped the still-warm, shiny, complex part in thick cloth and hoisted it onto a special transport vehicle.

The transport vehicle was escorted by military vehicles in front and behind, with green lights all the way, driving toward the city center.

In the command headquarters, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo was lecturing a group of engineers.

"Listen clearly, everyone! The core convergence ring for the main array, 'G-37', is to be installed this afternoon! This thing is the heart of the entire Spirit Induction Array! If there is even the slightest mishap, all the work we've done over the past few months will be for nothing!"

His saliva sprayed quite a distance.

"Everyone involved in the installation, check your tools several times! How much force to tighten the screws, how to align the openings—it's all written on the blueprints! If anyone dares to mess this up, get out!"

"Yes! Chief Engineer Wang!" all the engineers shouted in unison, full of energy.

Jiang Ning stood in front of the sand table, silent.

Her divine sense spread out, enveloping the entire Donghai City.

She could "see" the truck carrying the "G-37" driving steadily on the road.

She could "see" that the internal structure of the part was perfect, the energy pathways were correct, and it was exactly as she had designed it.

She could also "see" that within that perfect structure, there was a "impurity" so small it was negligible.

The energy of that "impurity" was strange; it was unactivated and lifeless. It was mixed in with the entire part, seamless.

If it were any other cultivator, even someone at the Golden Core Stage, they might not have been able to detect this thing hidden so deeply even if they scanned it with their divine sense.

But Jiang Ning was different.

She was not only a cultivator, but also the designer of this array. The entire array was a part of her body. Anything not in her design, no matter how small, was glaringly obvious to her.

"Interesting." For the first time, a smile appeared at the corners of Jiang Ning's mouth.

She recalled the devious tricks those demonic cultivators loved to use back when she was in the cultivation world. They would refine a bit of demonic energy into ash and hide it in magic treasures or pills to give to others. Once the recipient used them, the demonic energy would explode inside their body, killing them on the spot.

The little thing in front of her was a bit crude in execution, but the method... was about the same.

"What's wrong, Engineer Jiang?" Chief Engineer Wang, who had been watching her, asked quickly when he saw her expression was off.

"It's nothing," Jiang Ning shook her head and withdrew her gaze.

"Chief Engineer Wang, pass on my order." Her voice returned to calm.

"All installation plans remain the same. No extra inspections are needed."

Chief Engineer Wang was stunned for a moment; although he didn't understand why, he immediately replied loudly: "Yes! Guarantee to complete the mission!"

He just assumed that Engineer Jiang had absolute confidence in their work.

He didn't expect that Jiang Ning's next sentence was said to herself in her heart.

"I'd quite like to see what kind of scene it will be when this little thing is ignited."

"I hope... it doesn't disappoint me."