160: Chapter 160 America's Hidden Hands: Technology Theft and Imitation
At the same time that the "Bright Dawn" base and "soaring heavens" were making final preparations for the upcoming interstellar confrontation, on the other side of the Earth, deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the Pretty Country, inside a highly classified underground facility codenamed "Eagle's Nest," the atmosphere was of a different, oppressive heat.
Acting Secretary of State Wilkins was not sitting in his bright, polished office in Washington at this moment, but was instead in this command center filled with the smell of coolant and the hum of servers.
On the giant screen in front of him, the display was divided into dozens of feeds: one part consisted of video clips obtained through public or semi-public channels regarding the "North Heaven Gate" project press conference and the busy scenes of the "Guanghan Palace" industrial zone; the other part consisted of continuously scrolling, secretly sourced technical data summaries and analysis reports.
In the most prominent position in the center of the screen was that test footage of the "Thunder Department" particle cannon vaporizing an asteroid (albeit a low-definition version that had passed through many hands), as well as simulation animations of the "United Force Field Shield" distorting particle beams and kinetic projectiles in the "Taiji" test field.
Wilkins's face appeared moody and uncertain under the cold light of the screen. He clutched a top-secret assessment report that had just arrived, his fingertips turning slightly white from the force of his grip.
The report's conclusion was shocking:
【...Comprehensive assessment: Under the push of 'Lin Mo' and the team that may exist behind him, the Dragon Country has formed a systematic, generational lead in fusion energy, quantum information, new materials, directed-energy weapons, and preliminary space defense technology. Its 'North Heaven Gate' project is no bluff; it possesses a solid technical foundation and terrifying industrial conversion capabilities. The combat power displayed by 'soaring heavens' and its carried weapon systems has already formed an overwhelming advantage over all our existing and planned space assets. The 'the piercer' incident proves that extraterrestrial threats are real and imminent, and the traditional alliance system is inefficient in coordination and questionable in willingness when facing such crises.】
【Recommendations: 1. Immediately adjust the technology strategy toward the Dragon Country, shifting from 'comprehensive containment' to 'coexistence of limited cooperation and competition,' seeking to join the GDA framework and strive for a favorable seat to avoid being completely excluded from the future interstellar order. 2. Launch the 'Olympus' emergency plan, accelerate reverse engineering and alternative technology research and development, and ensure minimum strategic autonomy and counterattack capabilities. 3. (Red line) Under the premise of ensuring absolute concealment and deniability, attempt to obtain technical details of some non-core but critical subsystems of the 'North Heaven Gate' project to shorten our R&D cycle and assess its true technical boundaries.】
"Join? Cooperate?" Wilkins sneered in a low voice, slamming the report onto the console. "Those old fogeys on Capitol Hill and the tycoons of the military-industrial complex would swallow me alive! They would rather believe this is a horror story made up by our intelligence agencies, a trick to get more budget!"
But he knew in his heart that what the report said was true. The Dragon Country was no longer on the same track. They were talking about planetary defense and interstellar fleets, while Washington was still arguing endlessly over the Space Force budget and the replacement of a few old spy satellites. The image of that asteroid being instantly vaporized brought not just technical shock, but a deeper, civilizational level of anxiety and powerlessness.
The "Olympus" plan, an imitation and catch-up program that had been secretly launched back when the "Guanghan Palace" base was exposed, now seemed so clumsy and slow.
Their engineers were still struggling with how to stably confine fusion plasma on a laboratory scale, while the other side's fusion engines had already been running stably for seven hundred hours; their scientists were still deducing the feasibility of quantum communication on paper, while the other side's quantum network was already commanding an aerospace carrier for combat deployment.
The gap was not only not narrowing, but was instead widening in a desperate manner.
"Mr. Secretary of State," a middle-aged officer in military uniform with a sharp expression walked over. He was the head of "Eagle's Nest" and one of the direct executors of the "Olympus" plan. "The 'Black Swan' team is in position; they have obtained the highest level of undercover identities and one-time infiltration channels."
"The target is one of the peripheral nodes of the 'North Heaven Gate' project's external technology sharing server, located at a cooperative research institute in the European Union."
"According to insider intelligence, it may contain some non-core cooling system design parameters for the 'zhurong engine', as well as early architectural diagrams of the 'Mozi' quantum network ground stations. If we can successfully obtain them, it could save us at least two years of research time."
Technology theft. This was the red-line recommendation, and also an instinctive reaction after being backed into a corner. Wilkins felt a sense of shame, but even more so, helplessness and a glimmer of wishful thinking.
If they could get hold of something critical, even if just scraps, perhaps they could prove to those skeptics at home that they were not doing nothing, and it could also inject a shot of adrenaline into the "Olympus" plan.
"Risk assessment?" Wilkins's voice was a bit dry.
"The target node's protection level is GDC Standard A, which is lower than the core facilities within the Dragon Country. The infiltration method we are using is a brand-new digital Ghost Protocol based on biometric camouflage, which in theory can bypass most conventional detection."
"The 'Black Swan' team is being activated for the last time and will self-destruct upon completion. The clues will theoretically point to some transnational commercial data broker organization." The officer reported in great detail, clearly having prepared for a long time.
In theory, in theory... Wilkins hated that word. But he had no better choice. "Approved. Remember, absolutely, absolutely do not expose any connection to our government! If you fail, you know the consequences."
"Understood." The officer stood at attention, turned, and walked away quickly to start issuing orders.
Wilkins wearily rubbed his brow and looked again at the image of the silver-gray "soaring heavens" in the center of the screen. That ship, and the technology behind it, was like a huge shadow looming over the hearts of all who knew about it.
What he did not know was that, at almost the same moment the "Black Swan" team sent the first tentative data probe to that target node located in the European Union via a special encrypted link—
On the Moon, "Bright Dawn" base.
Lin Mo, who was monitoring the final modification progress of "soaring heavens" and the latest trajectory of "the piercer" together with Su Xiaowan, felt his personal terminal on his wrist vibrate slightly. A notification message from the core firewall of the "Weaving Net" system, marked as "Low Threat - Abnormal Sniffing," quietly appeared.
The message was very brief: 【Unauthorized data access attempt detected against the GDC Frankfurt Joint Institute for Astrophysics (Node Code GFAP-J07). Access pattern match: Unknown new biometric camouflage protocol (no record in database). Threat level: Low (target node has no core data). Disposal suggestion: Monitor, trace, counter-measure.】
Lin Mo just glanced at it and said to Su Xiaowan beside him, "Xiao Wan, notify the European branch of 'Weaving Net'; there are little friends who have invited themselves to the GFAP-J07 node. Activate 'Honeypot' Protocol B. Show them some 'cooling system parameters' they want to see; for the version, use the modified blueprints of the 'Xuanwu-2' geothermal power station that we phased out three years ago."
"Also, leave the tracing work to the 'system'; I want to know where this wave of digital ghosts is coming from and who they are ultimately taking orders from."
His tone was as flat as if he were dealing with a piece of daily spam.
Su Xiaowan immediately understood, a flash of realization and cold mockery in her eyes: "Want to pick up leftovers? Understood, I'll go arrange it right away. I guarantee they will be 'pleasantly surprised' when they get the 'blueprints'."
For Lin Mo's team, which had experienced a series of high-intensity penetration and anti-penetration contests such as "Ghost," "Viper," and "Scavenger," and possessed a protection network of the level of the "system" and "Weaving Net," this level of technology theft attempt targeting peripheral nodes was really not worth much. It was more like a futile struggle by the other side out of anxiety and despair.
Lin Mo's attention quickly returned to the main screen. The modification progress bar for "soaring heavens" was advancing steadily, the adapter components for the force field shield had arrived and were being installed intensely. The time remaining before "the piercer" entered the optimal interception window was less than eighty hours.