215: Chapter 215 The Traitor Emerges: Shocks Within GDC
The "Net Purge - Shadow Sweep" protocol operated like a massive, invisible vacuum cleaner, running at high speed within the vast information ecosystem of the GDC (Global Defense Command). The fires of the "Freedom Day" manifesto were extinguished within minutes; the relevant transmission sources were remotely locked or physically destroyed by rapid response forces, and the infiltrated accounts and information flows within the "Kunlun" world were swiftly isolated, traced, and purged.
The embers of poisonous smoke and the choking air, however, inevitably seeped into some of the cracks.
Lin Mo's orders and calm broadcast acted like a stabilizing force, steadying the hearts of the vast majority. The anger of the frontline soldiers was directed straight at the "backstabbing rats," and the public's discussion focused more on contempt for the traitors and a reaffirmed commitment to unity. But in the middle and lower levels of the massive GDC organization—within some technical departments, logistics systems, and even some recently integrated administrative nodes—a subtle and uneasy ripple was quietly spreading in the wake of that manifesto.
The carefully crafted, half-true accusations in the manifesto were like tiny poisonous stingers. For the minority who already harbored doubts or felt discomfort regarding high-intensity integration, unified resource allocation, and especially the Prometheus plan, these stingers found soft tissue to latch onto. Terms like "technical monopoly," "thought control," and "gene slaves" flashed constantly in private chat groups and low-voiced discussions in breakrooms. They didn't necessarily believe everything, but once the seeds of doubt were sown, they began to view their daily work with scrutiny and a faint, imperceptible resistance.
More importantly, the manifesto mentioned that "we possess the power to break the stalemate" and to "wait for the next signal." This felt like a malicious pact, hinting at the existence of organized conspirators within who held some kind of "trump card." This led to a general atmosphere of suspicion—who among those around them might be the one "waiting for the signal"?
The pressure first erupted in the departments responsible for internal security and personnel vetting. Strict orders from above and the subtext of "better to investigate wrongly than to let someone slip through" made the already tedious loyalty re-evaluations and background checks even more tense and sensitive. Personnel with slight blemishes in their records—perhaps just normal academic debates or political differences from the old era—or those who were slower to adapt to the new order began to be summoned for interviews, temporarily reassigned from key positions, or even placed on observation lists. Although every effort was made to ensure procedural fairness, friction and resentment were inevitably breeding.
Just then, the first true "ghost" showed its tracks on the Mars front.
In Mars orbit, the "Ares" Shipyard cluster was on high alert. A Scavenger unit was breaking formation and surging forward at high speed, its target aimed directly at Mars. The fleets and defense platforms stationed there were mobilizing tensely, preparing for the possible first wave of impact. Inside the Mars base, all non-essential projects were suspended, personnel entered bunkers, and energy was prioritized for shields and weapon systems.
At this critical juncture, a mid-level coordinator at the Ares Shipyard General Dispatch Center discovered a "tiny" anomaly while processing dispatch orders for a batch of high-purity Iridium Alloy (used for emergency ship armor repairs) being urgently transferred from the Phobos mining station. According to the logistics system's real-time tracking, the transport ship carrying the alloy should have arrived at Docking Bay 3 three hours ago, but the bay's automatic sensors and warehouse management system had yet to receive a confirmation signal. He issued an inquiry request according to protocol.
Initially, everything seemed normal. The transport ship replied, "Briefly sailing in silence to evade enemy reconnaissance signals, slight delay, expected arrival in fifteen minutes." The warehouse management system also sent feedback stating, "Sensors may be experiencing interference from frequent recent energy fluctuations, currently calibrating."
The coordinator's intuition told him something was wrong. He pulled up the earlier flight logs and identification code verification records for that transport ship, the stardust. An almost imperceptible flaw appeared: during a routine identity check six hours ago, the decay curve of the stardust's quantum encrypted response signal showed a deviation of about 0.7% from the model in the GDA fleet's standard database. Normally, such a deviation might be attributed to spatial environmental interference or minor equipment aging, but in wartime—especially at this moment when the "Freedom Day" manifesto had triggered internal vigilance—this 0.7% deviation was incredibly glaring.
He didn't make a scene but instead used his personal clearance to quietly pull the recent communication records (metadata only, not content) of the stardust's crew. He discovered that a deputy engineer had had several extremely brief contacts around the time the manifesto was released with a civilian communication node on Earth that had been flagged for "possible contact with suspicious frequency signals," which did not fit his usual social patterns.
A mole!
The coordinator's heart pounded wildly. He immediately bypassed the potentially unsafe conventional reporting lines and used an encrypted emergency contact channel to mark the intel as high-suspicion, sending it directly to the Ark city command center and copying the Mars base security chief.
The intelligence was captured and prioritized by the system almost instantly. Lin Mo and Long Zhantian received the alert simultaneously.
"Mars orbit, transport ship stardust, suspected hijacked or disguised, there may be internal collaborators among the crew," Long Zhantian's voice carried suppressed fury. "The target is likely Docking Bay 3—they are currently performing emergency repairs on the damage to the Huashan, and there's a large amount of high-energy batteries and uninstalled Thunder Department artillery modules stored there! If that ship gets in, or if it self-destructs there..."
"Order the Mars orbital defense forces to immediately subject the stardust to a forced quarantine inspection! If they resist, destroy them directly without warning!" Lin Mo ordered decisively. "At the same time, notify Mars base security to detain that deputy engineer and all his social contacts! I want them alive!"
The order was issued rapidly, but the Scavenger's advance was even faster! Just as the Mars orbital forces locked onto the stardust and issued the signal to stop for inspection, the high-speed Scavenger-Type 7 unit, while still millions of kilometers from Mars, suddenly released three condensed high-energy particle beams of dark purple. They weren't aimed directly at Mars or the fleet, but were fired with incredible precision at three different points in Mars orbit—one was aimed squarely at a Yazi-class assault ship that was turning to intercept the stardust; another was fired at the area where the Mars base's main shield generator array was located; and the last one headed straight for the stardust itself!
The timing of this attack was terrifyingly precise, as if that Scavenger unit not only knew the human defense layout but had even anticipated the human response to internal threats! It was using the attack to cover the stardust, or rather, using the stardust as bait and a bomb to distract and deplete the Mars defense forces!
"Intercept!" the Mars orbital defense commander shouted hoarsely.
Interception beams collided with the dark purple particle beams in the void, bursting into silent flames. The assault ship narrowly avoided major damage, but its side armor was grazed, and an internal explosion rang out. The Mars base shields fluctuated violently but barely held. Meanwhile, the particle beam aimed at the stardust was desperately blocked by another nearby frigate using its own shields; the frigate's shields overloaded, and its hull was severely damaged.
In that moment of chaos, the stardust suddenly went to full engine power, no longer pretending. At a near-suicidal speed, it stopped trying to enter Docking Bay 3 and instead charged madly toward a relatively weak area on the outskirts of the Mars base where a large number of liquid hydrogen fuel storage tanks were kept! It was nothing more than a remote-controlled suicide bomb filled with high-energy alloys and possibly other explosives!
"Destroy it! Now!" The Mars base security chief's eyes were bloodshot.
Several beams finally hit the stardust, turning it into a massive fireball less than ten kilometers from the fuel storage area. The violent shockwave still shook the storage area's defenses, triggering a series of secondary explosions and leakage alarms, turning the sky on one side of the Mars base a bright red.
The mole's sabotage was thwarted, but the cost was heavy: a frigate was heavily damaged, multiple ships were hit, precious fuel reserves were lost, and more importantly, at the critical moment of responding to the Scavenger raid, the defense system had shown unnecessary confusion and flaws due to the mole's distraction.
In the command hall of Ark city, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.
"The stardust incident is by no means isolated," Lin Mo said, looking at the damage reports from Mars, his voice cold. "The moles aren't just passing intel; they are trying to directly sabotage our logistics and defense nodes. Furthermore, the coordination between the enemy—including the Scavenger and the rats underground—is more 'seamless' than we imagined."
He pulled up the preliminary correlation analysis chart just completed by the system. The chart showed that the suspicious communication node of the stardust deputy engineer had faint data links to the geographic location and active times of the previous manifesto's transmission source, as well as to several old facility areas in Texas and Nevada utilized by McCarthy and others. The outline of a more secretive action network, hidden beneath the clamor of the manifesto, began to emerge.
"Order the system to raise the priority of internal security screenings to the same level as frontline defense." Lin Mo's gaze swept across the face of every high-ranking official and general in the hall, his eyes as sharp as blades, as if they could pierce through any disguise. "Initiate the 'Demon-Reflector Protocol.' I want all departments and all personnel in key positions to have their operation logs, communication records, and resource access traces from the past seventy-two hours cross-referenced and scanned for abnormal behavior patterns. Pay special attention to recently integrated areas, resource dispatch departments, and... anyone who has publicly or implicitly expressed dissent toward the Prometheus or sower plans."
He paused, his tone resolute. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I would rather wrongly accuse someone temporarily than leave a hidden danger. The GDC must be a solid, singular block. Any crack could be the beginning of destruction. For confirmed moles and saboteurs..." His voice held no warmth, "treat them under wartime treason laws and execute them immediately."
The order swept through every corner of the GDC like a cold wind. An unprecedented internal review storm, led by the system, suddenly descended. The scales of trust and suspicion began to swing violently, and the strength that had just coalesced through unity now experienced a subtle and dangerous tremor due to the emergence of internal stingers.