Chapter 158 Black Sparrow's Exposure
The twentieth day of the ignition countdown.
Late at night on the second day after the trap environment was set up, Li Xiao sat in the computer room, staring at three monitors.
On the middle screen was the meticulously designed "bait"—a file named "Core Parameter Table_Final Version.xlsx," placed in a seemingly poorly protected shared directory. The directory path was somewhat hidden, but not too difficult to find: /backup/temp/old/archive/.
Password protection? None. Access logs? Disabled. It was like a forgotten corner, waiting for someone with intent to discover it.
The content of the file was forged by Li Xiao over an entire day—precise values for all core parameters during ignition, including magnetic field strength, First Wall temperature, Divertor heat load, and Tritium Cycle flow rate. Every number was accurate to four decimal places, looking incredibly real.
Of course, it was all fake.
Old Han sat beside her, staring at another screen. It was the interface of the reverse tracking system, ready at any moment to lock onto any IP address attempting to download the file.
"Engineer Li," Old Han whispered, "do you think they'll come?"
Li Xiao shook her head. "I don't know. But this is the only way for now."
She paused, then added, "If they were truly smart, they wouldn't come. But if they don't come, we'll never catch them."
Old Han nodded and stopped speaking.
Time passed minute by minute.
1:00 AM. No movement.
2:00 AM. No movement.
3:00 AM. Li Xiao rubbed her dry eyes and picked up her fourth cup of coffee.
Just then, a red notification box popped up on the screen.
"Alert: File 'Core Parameter Table_Final Version.xlsx' accessed."
Li Xiao's heart rate instantly soared to 180.
"They're here!" she whispered, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.
Old Han immediately switched to the reverse tracking system. On the screen, the data stream poured down like a waterfall—the opponent's IP address, access path, and tools used were being stripped away layer by layer.
"He's downloading," Old Han's voice was tense. "The speed isn't fast; he's probably worried about triggering an alarm."
Li Xiao stared at the file's transfer progress. 10%, 20%, 30%...
"Let him download," she gritted her teeth. "We can only lock on once it's finished."
40%, 50%, 60%...
The data on Old Han's end became clearer and clearer. "Two proxy layers used. The first is in the Netherlands, the second in Brazil. But the third layer—"
His voice suddenly rose. "The third layer has no proxy! It's a direct connection!"
70%, 80%, 90%—
100%.
Download complete.
At the same instant, Old Han slammed the Enter key.
"Locked on!"
On the screen, an IP address was clearly visible.
Location: China, Gan Province, a certain county.
Distance from the base—less than a hundred kilometers.
Li Xiao and Old Han looked at each other, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.
Right on the edge of the Gobi Desert.
The ghost that had been hiding in the shadows was right under their noses.
At 3:15 AM, Fang Lin's phone rang.
After listening to Old Han's report, she only said one word: "Good."
Then she hung up and dialed another number.
"Old Zhou, the target is in a certain county in Gan Province, less than a hundred kilometers from the base. I need your people in place within two hours."
On the other end, Old Zhou's voice sounded sleepy but instantly cleared. "Understood. Specific location?"
"Checking now. I'll give it to you in ten minutes."
Fang Lin hung up, opened her computer, and began retrieving the detailed information for that IP address.
Three minutes later, she got the result she wanted—a residential house in the suburbs of the county, three stories, independent courtyard. The landlord was a local, and it had been rented to a young woman three months ago.
A young woman.
The description from the intelligence report flashed through Fang Lin's mind: Black Sparrow, female, twenty-eight years old, technical expert.
It's her.
She picked up the phone and dialed Old Zhou's number again.
"I've sent the location. Remember, I want her alive."
Meanwhile, in that residential house in the county suburbs.
Black Sparrow stared at the "Core Parameter Table" she had just finished downloading, a slight smirk playing on her lips.
Three months.
From entering the country to going undercover, from activating the backdoor to waiting for the right moment, she had finally reached this moment.
This parameter table, combined with the code she had implanted, would be enough to turn the ignition into a disaster.
She opened the file and read through it line by line.
Magnetic field strength: 5.3 Tesla. First Wall temperature: 1800 degrees. Divertor heat load: 12 MW/m². Tritium Cycle flow rate: 3.2 L/s.
Perfect.
She was about to close the file when she suddenly stopped.
Wait.
Tritium Cycle flow rate: 3.2 L/s?
She remembered reading in a public paper that the designed Tritium Cycle flow rate for tokamak-3 should be 3.5 L/s. Why was it 0.3 less?
She frowned and looked at the other parameters. Magnetic field strength, First Wall temperature, Divertor heat load—every single number differed slightly from the public data.
Not by much, but the differences were there.
Her heart sank abruptly.
Fake.
This is fake.
She had been tricked.
Black Sparrow stood up abruptly, reaching out to rip out the network cable.
But it was already too late.
Outside the window, several dark figures had already climbed over the wall and were rapidly approaching the house.
At 4:00 AM, Fang Lin's phone rang again.
"Director Fang, we got her." Old Zhou's voice came through the phone, sounding a bit smug. "Alive. We're bringing her back now."
Fang Lin let out a long breath. "Is it confirmed to be her?"
"Confirmed. ID card, passport, computer, phone—everything matches. The computer is still on, and your fake file is right there on the screen."
Fang Lin smiled.
"Old Zhou, thank you."
"Don't mention it. If you have another good job, call me again."
Hanging up, Fang Lin stood up and walked to the window.
Outside, the sky was beginning to pale. Dawn in the Gobi Desert was approaching.
She picked up her phone and dialed Lin Mo's number.
He answered almost instantly. "Director Fang?"
Fang Lin's voice was calm but carried a sense of relief.
"Lin Mo, I have good news—Black Sparrow has been caught."
There was a three-second silence on the other end.
Then Lin Mo's voice came through, somewhat raspy but filled with irrepressible excitement.
"Really?"
"Really. Li Xiao and Old Han set a trap, and she took the bait. She's on her way now and will be delivered before daybreak."
Lin Mo took a deep breath. "Director Fang, thank you. Please thank Li Xiao and Old Han for me."
Fang Lin smiled. "No need for thanks. You're in charge of ignition; we're in charge of clearing the field. A clear division of labor."
Hanging up, she watched the sky gradually brighten outside.
The Gobi Desert wind blew in, carrying fine sand, but this time, she felt the wind was missing that touch of gloom.
Day is about to break.
At 6:00 AM, Li Xiao walked out of the computer room.
She stood at the door, facing the rising sun, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
Old Han followed behind her and handed her a cup of hot coffee.
"Engineer Li, thank you for your hard work."
Li Xiao took the coffee and took a sip. It was bitter, but her heart felt sweet.
"Brother Han," she suddenly asked, "why do you think she came?"
Old Han thought for a moment. "Greed, I suppose. That parameter table was too tempting; she couldn't resist."
Li Xiao shook her head. "I don't think so."
Old Han looked at her. "Then what was it?"
Li Xiao looked at the tokamak-3 in the distance and was silent for a few seconds.
"It's because she didn't believe. She didn't believe we could achieve ignition, didn't believe we had built the real thing. So she had to see for herself whether those parameters were real."
Old Han was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"Well, she should believe it now."
Li Xiao smiled too.
Yeah.
Now, she should believe it.
That morning, Lin Mo met Fang Lin in the control room.
She brought a photo—one taken when Black Sparrow was arrested. A young woman with an ordinary face but a cold gaze.
Lin Mo looked at it for a long time, then said, "This is her?"
Fang Lin nodded. "That's her."
Lin Mo handed the photo back to Fang Lin. "What now?"
Fang Lin put the photo away. "Interrogate. Get the answers we need, dig out everything that needs to be dug out. And then—"
She paused.
"And then, ignition."
Lin Mo looked at her and suddenly smiled.
"Director Fang, with you behind me, I feel like there's nothing to fear."
Fang Lin was taken aback, then she also smiled.
"Stop being so sentimental. Get to work."
Lin Mo nodded and turned toward the control room.
Behind him, the sunlight was just right.
On the Gobi Desert, the tokamak-3 stood silently, waiting for the dawn twenty days away.