Chapter 134 Network Anomaly
At 2:00 AM, the base entered its quietest time of the day.
The machinery at the construction site had ceased its roaring, the workers had returned to their dormitories to rest, and only a few searchlights continued to patrol the perimeter.
Inside the laboratory, the humming of the servers was exceptionally clear, like some kind of giant insect whispering in the darkness.
Li Xiao was still working overtime.
She stared at the data scrolling across the screen and rubbed her sore eyes.
Recently, the digital twin system had been running more and more frequently, with hundreds of thousands of data sets needing verification every day.
Although most were processed automatically, she was still in the habit of monitoring them personally, fearing she might miss any anomalies.
"The last set..." she muttered, opening today's system log.
The log was long, recording every data request, every access attempt, and every IP address.
Most were normal internal communications—the laboratory's computers accessing the server, Chen Xueming remotely retrieving data, and Lin Mo's terminal querying simulation results.
But one line made her gaze pause.
03:47:22 | External Request | IP: 45.XXX.XXX.XXX | Target: Air Conditioning Control System | Status: Blocked by Firewall
Li Xiao frowned.
External request? Air Conditioning Control System?
She pulled up the detailed information for that IP address.
The location showed: a certain country in Southeast Asia.
A country she had never dealt with before.
The Air Conditioning Control System was independent; theoretically, there shouldn't be any need for external access.
Those air conditioners were all domestic products, and after-sales service was within the country, so how could a request be sent from Southeast Asia?
She clicked on the request details.
The other party was attempting to access a remote diagnostic port—reserved by the manufacturer for engineers to remotely view the device's operating status.
However, this port was usually closed and was only temporarily opened when after-sales maintenance was needed.
Who would attempt to access a closed port at 3:00 AM?
Li Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't make any noise, but instead opened another window and began tracking the access records for this IP.
The system log only saved the last seven days, so she pulled up the records for each day and flipped through them page by page.
03:47:22 — today's, blocked.
Yesterday, at the same time—no record.
The day before yesterday—none.
Three days ago—also none.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed it was just a random probe; the firewall had stopped it, and it hadn't caused any impact.
Just as she was about to close the log, she suddenly thought of something and flipped back one more page—the records from seven days ago.
03:47:18 | External Request | IP: 45.XXX.XXX.XXX | Target: Air Conditioning Control System | Status: Passed
Li Xiao's hand froze on the mouse.
Passed.
Seven days ago, same IP, same time, same port—it hadn't been blocked; it had passed through.
She quickly clicked on the details of that record.
The other party had accessed a certain module of the Air Conditioning Control System, stayed for three minutes and forty-seven seconds, and then exited.
How much data had been transmitted during the visit—the log did not show.
Three minutes and forty-seven seconds.
Enough time to download a manual, and enough time to plant a piece of malicious code.
A "buzz" went off in Li Xiao's brain.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She couldn't panic, couldn't be flustered.
The most important thing now was to figure out what the other party had actually done.
She opened the management interface for the Air Conditioning Control System and began checking the system logs one by one.
But that system's log retention period was only three days, and the records from seven days ago had already been automatically overwritten.
She couldn't find it.
She checked the system's operating status again—everything was normal; temperature, humidity, and wind speed were all within the set parameters, without any anomalies.
But the more this was the case, the more she felt something was wrong.
If the other party hadn't done anything, why spend three minutes and forty-seven seconds infiltrating an Air Conditioning Control System?
Unless—this system was just a stepping stone.
Li Xiao stood up abruptly and rushed into the adjacent server room.
Several rows of servers were running quietly, their indicator lights blinking rhythmically.
She opened the core network monitoring interface and began checking the connection records one by one.
One, two, three...
Suddenly, her gaze stopped.
Seven days ago, just a few minutes after that external IP accessed the Air Conditioning Control System, there was an internal connection record: from the Air Conditioning Control System module, connecting to the core database's backup server.
Connection duration: two minutes and one second.
Data transmitted: impossible to calculate.
Li Xiao's hands began to tremble.
Originally, there was no connection between the Air Conditioning Control System and the core database.
However, in order to synchronize data periodically, the backup server would briefly open a port—a port that happened to be accessible by the network segment where the Air Conditioning Control System was located.
If someone had first invaded the air conditioning system and then used it as a stepping stone to sneak in at the exact moment the backup server opened its port...
She didn't dare to think any further.
At 3:00 AM, Li Xiao dialed Fang Lin's number.
"Are you sure?"
Fang Lin's voice came from the other end of the line, calm but revealing a sense of tension.
She had clearly been woken up from bed, but her speech was rapid and her thoughts clear.
"I'm sure." Li Xiao gripped the phone, her voice trembling slightly.
"The log shows that seven days ago, the same IP accessed the air conditioning system and passed through the firewall.
Three minutes and forty-seven seconds later, there was an abnormal connection to the core database's backup server that lasted for two minutes."
Fang Lin was silent for two seconds: "Have you checked the current status of the server?"
"I'm checking it now," Li Xiao said.
"On the surface, everything looks normal, and there are no signs that the data has been tampered with.
But I'm worried..."
"Worried about what?"
"Worried that they didn't come to steal data." Li Xiao took a deep breath.
"If they planted something, it wouldn't be visible on the surface."
A rustling sound came from the other end of the line, as if Fang Lin was putting on clothes.
"Li Xiao, listen to me." Fang Lin's voice became steady and forceful.
"From now on, don't make a scene, and don't tell anyone, including Lin Mo.
But you need to do a few things."
"Please say."
"First, save the complete log of that abnormal connection—take screenshots, back it up, and save it to an offline hard drive to ensure it cannot be deleted."
"Okay."
"Second, check the operating status of all core systems, focusing on those parameters that might affect the safety of the experiment—the temperature threshold of the first wall, the current control of the magnets, and the ignition timing of the plasma.
If the other party planted something, these are the most likely targets."
Li Xiao scribbled quickly in her notebook.
"Third," Fang Lin paused, "from now on, record all network connections for all servers.
I need to know if anyone else comes in."
"Understood," Li Xiao said.
"Director Fang, should we tell Lin Mo?"
Fang Lin was silent for a few seconds: "Not for now.
He's already under enough pressure, and he doesn't understand network technology; telling him will only distract him.
You keep an eye on it for now; I'll arrange for someone to come and support you immediately."
Hanging up the phone, Li Xiao leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.
The sky outside the window began to turn white; a new day was about to begin.
But she had no sleepiness at all.
In the next few hours, Li Xiao did three things.
First, she took screenshots of the abnormal connection log, saved it, and backed it up to three different offline hard drives.
Second, she checked the operating status of the core systems one by one.
The temperature threshold of the first wall—normal.
The current control of the magnets—normal.
The ignition timing of the plasma—still in the simulation stage, with no signs of tampering.
Third, she enabled all network monitoring functions to record every connection entering or leaving the servers.
Everything looked normal.
But the more normal it was, the more uneasy Li Xiao felt.
She remembered a cybersecurity course she had taken in college.
Her teacher had said something she always remembered:
"A truly skilled hacker won't let you discover they've gotten in.
They will make you think everything is normal, and then, at the most critical moment, they will lightly move a finger."
She stared at the data scrolling across the screen, her palms covered in sweat.
Who was it? What did they want?
They had been lurking for seven days; why hadn't they made a move yet?
Were they waiting for something?
At 9:00 AM, an SUV with a provincial capital license plate drove into the base.
Two people got out of the car—a man in his thirties, wearing glasses and carrying a laptop bag; and a woman in her forties, with short hair, capable-looking, and sharp eyes.
Fang Lin had come in person.
Lin Mo walked up to greet them, somewhat surprised: "Director Fang, why are you here?"
Fang Lin smiled, her expression natural: "A routine inspection.
The cybersecurity situation has been a bit tight lately, so I brought some people to take a look."
Lin Mo nodded, not thinking much of it: "Li Xiao is in the server room.
Should I have her take you there?"
"Okay," Fang Lin said.
"You go about your business; we'll look around ourselves."
After Lin Mo left, Fang Lin and the man walked quickly into the server room.
Li Xiao was already waiting at the door, her face slightly pale.
"Engineer Li, this is Old Han, a cybersecurity expert." Fang Lin introduced him simply.
"Tell him everything you discovered, from beginning to end."
Old Han nodded, put down his laptop bag, and began to work.
Li Xiao pulled up everything she had found—that overseas IP, the two access records, the abnormal connection, the suspicious traces on the core server—and explained it all in detail.
After listening, Old Han was silent for a long time.
Then he opened the laptop he had brought, connected it to Li Xiao's network monitoring system, and began analyzing it line by line.
The atmosphere in the server room was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.
Fang Lin stood by the window, watching the busy construction site outside, without saying a word.
Li Xiao stared nervously at Old Han's screen, not daring to breathe.
Ten minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Half an hour.
Old Han finally raised his head; his expression was even graver than when he had arrived.
"Director Fang," he began, his voice very low, "the other party is an expert."
Fang Lin turned around: "Tell me."
"The IP is fake; it went through multiple stepping stones, and the real source cannot be traced." Old Han pointed to the data on the screen.
"But he left very few traces—not because he wasn't clean in his work, but because he intentionally left some fake traces, wanting us to pursue the wrong direction."
He paused and continued: "More importantly, his infiltration this time was not to steal data."
Fang Lin frowned: "Then why?"
Old Han took a deep breath: "I suspect he is planting a backdoor."
Li Xiao's heart sank abruptly.
She knew all too well what a "backdoor" was—a hidden entrance that wasn't used normally but could be opened at any time when needed.
At the most critical moment, someone could come in through this backdoor and lightly change a parameter...
"Can it be found?" Fang Lin asked.
Old Han shook his head: "If he has already planted it, it's hidden very deeply.
Finding it will take time.
It might take days, it might take weeks, or it might never be found."
Fang Lin was silent.
Outside the window, the roaring of the machinery from the construction site could be heard faintly, like some kind of giant heartbeat.
After a long time, she spoke: "Engineer Li, from today on, your duties will include one more task—cooperate with Old Han to find this backdoor.
But only the three of us can know about this.
As for Lin Mo, I will tell him the system is undergoing an upgrade and cannot be connected to the network for the time being.
Do you understand?"
Li Xiao nodded.
Fang Lin looked out the window, her gaze deep.
"Ghost..." she whispered two words, "it has really come."