217: Chapter 217 Lin Mo's Calmness: Activating the "Purge Agreement"
In the command hall of the "Ark" City, on the massive star map, dark red light points representing the three main Scavenger units were like three red-hot knives, piercing straight toward the silver-white halo representing the Moon. Beside it, battle footage just transmitted from Guanghan Palace was playing on a loop—the ghostly flickering of black geometric shapes, the eerie ripples as shields were neutralized, images of the contaminated refining station, and the tragic moment the pegasus prototype gripped the last invader in a death hold.
The air was so tense it felt like it would explode. With the enemy's main force pressing in and the lingering poison of internal threats not yet cleared, the Moon Base had just undergone a perilous test-run raid and was already covered in scars. The pressure was like a physical block of lead, weighing on everyone's hearts.
Countless gazes subconsciously focused on the figure standing before the central console—Lin Mo.
His face showed none of the anger or anxiety common in frontline commanders, nor the heavy contemplation of a strategist facing a crisis. His expression was one of near-icy calmness, like the frozen surface of a lake before a blizzard—unruffled, yet capable of reflecting the dark clouds looming over the city. His gaze swept rapidly over the star map, damage reports, and internal audit progress, eventually resting on Elder Chen and the emergency holographic image of Long Zhantian.
"Wang Lei reports that the basic defensive functions of Guanghan Palace remain, but the energy sector shields require emergency repairs. The raw material supply for the bio-material factory has been interrupted due to the contamination of the refining station, with an estimated impact of 15% on subsequent expansion plans. Casualties: twenty-seven minor injuries, three serious injuries (including the pilot of the pegasus prototype), and no fatalities. We have captured an inert, new-model 'Purification Probe,' which has been transferred to the Research Department." Lin Mo's recitation was clear and steady, devoid of any emotional coloring.
"The enemy's main force is expected to enter optimal lunar strike range in forty-seven minutes," Long Zhantian's voice carried the scent of iron and fire. "My suggestion: immediately redeploy at least one-third of the main fleet from the North Heaven Gate in Earth's orbit to the 'Yumen Pass' defense line preset between Earth and the Moon. We must form a pincer formation with the lunar defenders and absolutely cannot let them easily approach lunar orbit!"
Elder Chen looked worried: "Zhantian, Earth's orbit also needs defense, and the movements of the other two Scavenger units are unknown. Moreover... the 'Demon-Revealing Mirror Protocol' protocol is at a critical stage, and the internal investigation has tied up a great deal of attention and resources. If we mobilize the fleet on a large scale now, can we guarantee that the logistics and command chains will remain absolutely smooth?"
This was precisely the most difficult part: surrounded by powerful enemies on the outside and restrained by hidden concerns on the inside. Like a warrior who must face a charging enemy while constantly guarding against a cold arrow that might be shot from behind, movements would inevitably become sluggish and distorted.
After listening to both opinions, Lin Mo did not immediately state his position. He closed his eyes slightly, as if engaged in silent communication with a much larger existence within himself. A few seconds later, he reopened his eyes, and a decision had already formed within those pitch-black pupils.
"General Long, your judgment is correct; the Moon cannot be lost. Guanghan Palace is not just an outpost, but also a trial production base for key modules of the sower project and the primary experimental field for the pegasus project; its strategic value transcends its military significance," Lin Mo's voice remained steady. "I approve your plan. The soaring heavens and Taishan Ship will immediately lead the First and Third Assault Ship Groups to advance to 'Yumen Pass.' The Huashan Ship and the remaining fleet will coordinate with the Earth orbit defense platforms to ensure Earth's safety and monitor the other two enemy units."
"Yes!" Long Zhantian's image saluted solemnly and then vanished, clearly leaving to deploy immediately.
"However," Lin Mo turned to Elder Chen and all the high-ranking officials in the command hall, his speaking speed slightly faster but even more resolute, "we cannot continue to have half our energy drained by internal thorns while fighting external enemies. A dull knife cutting flesh only bleeds our own blood and disrupts our own ranks. The 'Demon-Revealing Mirror Protocol' protocol is too passive, too broad, and its efficiency is insufficient to handle the current imminent double crisis."
He pulled up another interface; it was a dynamic relationship map generated by "Fuxi" based on the stardust incident, the declaration's propagation network, and all recent abnormal internal activity data after a deep correlation analysis. It was extremely complex, yet several nodes were highlighted in red.
"The enemy is very cunning. The 'Freedom Day' declaration is a smokescreen, a noise intended to attract our attention. The real mole network is deeper and 'quieter' than we imagined. They no longer initiate contact or move easily; instead, they lie low like a dormant virus, waiting for the most intense moment of our battle with the Scavenger when our defenses are most hollow to deliver a fatal blow—just like the attempted sabotage on Mars, or the subtle delays in internal communications and command transmission glitches we experienced just now when Guanghan Palace was attacked."
Lin Mo's finger slid across the virtual map, pointing at several red core nodes: ""Fuxi", combined with the Nuwa AI's tactical behavior pattern analysis, has preliminarily locked onto seventeen highly suspicious 'Quiet Nodes.' They are distributed across logistics scheduling, information relay, and even a non-core research evaluation group. They haven't committed any obvious violations; they simply make processes 'reasonably' slow by a few tenths of a second at critical moments, or make a seemingly insignificant 'optimal solution' in resource allocation that could affect overall efficiency."
His gaze swept over everyone, carrying a chill that saw through everything: "They are using 'rules' and 'procedures' as cover to carry out more hidden soft sabotage and intelligence transmission. Conventional audits are hard-pressed to catch them in a short time. We have no more time."
Elder Chen felt a shiver in his heart: "Lin Mo, what do you mean?"
"Initiate the 'Purification Protocol'." Lin Mo's voice sounded like a cold legal code being read aloud. "Authorize the joint "Fuxi" and Nuwa AI entity to obtain temporary high-level authority for 'Tactical Behavior Back-inference and Intent Prediction' for the next hour. Based on the locked suspicious nodes and their associated networks, they will perform ultra-high-speed reverse deduction and 'if... then...' scenario simulations on all commands, data, and resource applications processed or circulated through these nodes in the past seventy-two hours."
He paused and explained: "Simply put, we're letting the AI play the 'mole' to simulate which seemingly compliant operations would be most likely if they were to create chaos, delay military operations, or transmit key intelligence during the upcoming defense of the Moon. These simulated 'optimal sabotage paths' will be compared in millisecond-level detail against the actual operations executed by these nodes. Once the matching degree exceeds the danger threshold set by "Fuxi"..."
"No secondary confirmation required, no trial procedures needed," Lin Mo's voice was resolute and brook no argument. "Nuwa will directly take over the operational permissions of the relevant nodes, freeze accounts, physically lock personnel locations, and send arrest orders to the nearest security units. Simultaneously, "Fuxi" will initiate a preset information barrier to prevent them from sending any alarms or destroying evidence."
The hall fell into a dead silence. This "Purification Protocol" was equivalent to partially handing over the power of life and death to the AI for a limited time! A "presumption of guilt" based on probability and deduction! This was undoubtedly full of risk, could cause accidental injuries, and might trigger even greater panic.
"Consultant Lin, isn't this... isn't this too radical? What if there's a misjudgment..." an official responsible for internal discipline couldn't help but speak up.
"Which is higher: the risk of misjudgment, or the risk of allowing moles to stab us in the back during the decisive battle?" Lin Mo countered, his gaze burning like a torch. "We don't have time to pursue a 100% chain of evidence. This is war, not a courtroom. The goal of the 'Purification Protocol' is to eliminate identified internal deterministic threats to the maximum extent at the minimum cost and with the fastest speed before the general offensive begins, ensuring the absolute purity and efficiency of the command and logistics systems."
He looked at Elder Chen: "Elder Chen, we need emergency authorization from the Supreme Council."
Elder Chen looked at the three red dots on the star map that were constantly approaching the Moon, then at Lin Mo's calm but unshakable gaze. A trace of struggle flashed across his aged face, eventually turning into resolve. He nodded heavily: "I agree. Initiate the 'Purification Protocol' immediately. The responsibility will be borne by the Supreme Council."
"Authorization confirmed." Lin Mo no longer hesitated. He turned toward the main console and clearly issued the command that would stir up an internal storm:
""Fuxi", Nuwa, jointly execute the 'Purification Protocol.' Time window: sixty minutes. Target: the seventeen marked core suspicious nodes and their secondary associated networks. Execution standard: determined by preset thresholds. Action authority: granted. Begin now."
"Command confirmed. 'Purification Protocol' initiated." The electronic voices of "Fuxi" and Nuwa rang out almost simultaneously, calm and waveless, yet sending a chill through all who knew.
The time that followed was like a silent nightmare for people in certain corners of the GDC.
Earth, a certain regional material distribution center. A senior dispatcher had just arranged a batch of specially numbered energy batteries "according to protocol" at the end of the cargo manifest for a transport ship about to head to the Moon for support (this would cause a delay of at least twenty minutes during unloading). Suddenly, all the operation interfaces in front of him locked instantly, turning a piercing red. A cold electronic voice rang out: "Operation sequence matches 'High-Risk Sabotage Path Simulation-7' by 92.1%. Permissions frozen. Please remain where you are and wait for security personnel." His face turned pale as he tried to stand up, only to find that the safety lock on his seat had automatically fastened at some point.
Moon, the internal network maintenance team of Guanghan Palace base. A technician was preparing a "routine check" of a backup encrypted data channel between the base and "Ark" City. His finger hovered over the keyboard as an extremely tiny backdoor program, disguised as a system diagnostic script, was about to be implanted. The next second, his entire workstation was remotely powered off and isolated, the room door was locked from the outside, and a red warning light began to rotate and glow.
Mars, a certain research outpost. A researcher responsible for environmental data aggregation had just marked a report containing details of recent base shield frequency adjustments as "low priority," preparing to delay its transmission to the Earth analysis center. The report itself was harmless, but the timing of the delayed transmission happened to coincide with a model node deduced by "Fuxi" where a mole might attempt to interfere with the enemy's assessment of Mars' defenses. His personal terminal screen went black instantly, and when it lit up again, there was only one line of text: "Behavioral pattern correlation triggered 'Purification Protocol.' Please cooperate with the investigation."
...
Similar scenes played out across seventeen major regions and forty-three related nodes globally within just thirty minutes. There were no intense gunfights and no public arrests—only silent system locks, the instantaneous stripping of permissions, and the subsequent arrival of cold-faced security personnel.
The efficiency was heart-stoppingly high, and chillingly cold.
In the command hall of the "Ark" City, the progress bar for the "Purification Protocol" on the real-time monitoring screen advanced rapidly, with red suspicious nodes being marked as "controlled" or "isolated." Simultaneously, "Fuxi" provided synchronized feedback on frontline dynamics: Long Zhantian's fleet was accelerating toward the "Yumen Pass" defense line; emergency repairs at the Moon Base were racing against time; and the three main enemy units had entered their final acceleration phase, expected to reach attack positions in twenty-five minutes.
Lin Mo watched all this expressionlessly. Initiating the "Purification Protocol" was a gamble, using temporary internal tremors and possible misjudgments in exchange for the absolute reliability of the command system at the critical moment. He knew this would cause controversy and even future trouble. But now, he had no other choice.
"Protocol execution progress: 89% complete. A total of fifty-one individuals have been controlled, and nineteen related system nodes isolated. Seven potential sabotage actions and three intelligence leak attempts have been discovered and blocked," "Fuxi" reported. "Preliminary assessment of misjudgment probability: below 3.2%."
3.2%... This meant at least one or two people might be wrongly accused. Lin Mo's fist tightened slightly under the console, but his face remained calm.
"Continue." He uttered two words.
The interior must be a monolithic block to face the upcoming bloody battle in the stars that concerned the survival of civilization. He was willing to shoulder all the guilt and the cost.