43: Chapter 43 Reconnaissance of the Old Pumping Station

Having mastered the patrol gaps of the Iron Tooth Gang, Lin Qiming decided to lock his next reconnaissance target onto the Old Pump Station.

He did not intend to enter, but rather to observe the exterior of this power hub in the East District from afar and in a comprehensive manner, especially to verify the accuracy of Old Cole's map and to look for possible entrances or vulnerabilities that were not heavily guarded.

He chose the timing to be late at night, about half an hour after a two-person reconnaissance team had passed by.

According to the pattern, this would be a relatively long safety window.

Under the cover of night (or rather, the eternal, only slightly dimmer darkness of the Hive Bottom), Lin Qiming moved through the shadows of the tunnels like a ghost.

He wore dark clothing, his face smeared with coal ash, and his [Hive Survivor] specialty allowed him to adapt to the environment to the extreme, his footsteps nearly non-existent.

The newly acquired fine dagger was pressed against his leg, cold and reassuring.

Following the map's guidance, he bypassed the main roads where there might be sentries, and approached the area where the Pump Station was located by detouring through a narrow route piled with abandoned pipes.

An hour later, he was lying on a broken concrete beam, and below him was the huge artificial cavern where the Pump Station was located.

The Pump Station was even more massive than he had imagined.

It was a complex building constructed relying on a natural cave, with its main body being a heavy reinforced concrete structure, the surface covered with pipes and rusted metal walkways.

At the top of the towering central pump room, there were several thick exhaust pipes, slowly emitting white smoke mixed with water vapor, indicating that it was still in operation.

The main entrance consisted of two heavy blast doors, tightly closed, with dim light at the doorway and two figures leaning against the door dozing off—obviously, even in the dead of night, there were basic guards here, but their vigilance was low.

"It's basically consistent with the map." Lin Qiming observed carefully through binoculars, comparing it with the digital map in his mind, "The main pump room, sedimentation tank, filtration workshop... the control room should be on the upper level of the pump room, that small room with an independent external staircase and antenna."

His gaze wandered along the outer wall of the Pump Station, looking for a maintenance passage.

Soon, at the location marked on the map, he saw a small door sealed by a rusted grate, located in the shadows near the rock wall at the base of the Pump Station.

The grate looked like it hadn't been moved for a long time, covered in cobwebs and dust.

"Maintenance passage entrance, confirmed." He whispered, noting the fixing method of the grate and the surrounding environment.

Then, he noticed something that was not detailed on the map but actually existed: a drainage outlet.

The wastewater treated by the Pump Station (or directly discharged untreated water) passed through several thick metal pipes, extending from the lower side of the Pump Station, and was discharged directly into a naturally formed, foul-smelling underground lake at the bottom of the cavern.

Near the drainage outlet, water vapor was dense, and the ground was slippery.

Just as he was routinely scanning the entire Pump Station area with an improved probe (which had been reinforced again and loaded with a simple signal filtering script temporarily written by Hephaestus), the probe suddenly emitted a vibration pattern different from before—not the gentle resonance for Old One signals, nor the violent shaking for high-energy radiation sources, but a rapid, intermittent "buzzing" sound, and the indicator light flashed an unstable light green.

"Hm?" Lin Qiming immediately pointed the probe in the direction of the strongest vibration—exactly near one of the larger drainage outlets.

[Abnormal energy readings detected.] Hephaestus's voice sounded directly in his mind, [The type is complex: weak information-state fluctuations (similar to Old One signals but with a different frequency), mixed with low-intensity biochemical pollution radiation, and... an extremely minute amount of highly inert Warp particle residue. The source of the reading is not inside the Pump Station building, but deep within the drainage pipes, or in the water body further downstream.]

Information-state fluctuations? Warp particle residue? At the Pump Station's drainage outlet?

Lin Qiming's heart tightened.

The Pump Station drew deep groundwater; if the drainage carried these anomalies, did it mean the water source itself might be contaminated? Or, was there some kind of "pollution source" in the area that the drainage pipes passed through?

"Can you pinpoint it more precisely? Or analyze the pollution components?" He asked.

[The distance is too far, the signal attenuation is severe, and it is shielded by a large amount of water and pipe metal.] Hephaestus replied, [Preliminary analysis: the information-state fluctuations are not naturally formed and bear traces of creation. The Warp particle residue is highly inert, with no active threat for now, but it indicates that this area has historically or indirectly come into contact with Warp entities or creations. Recommendation: conduct close-range reconnaissance or obtain water samples for analysis. Risk: unknown.]

Close-range reconnaissance of the drainage outlet? It was filled with water vapor, the light was dim, and it was right next to the line of sight of the Pump Station guards (even though they might be dozing off), so the risk was not small.

Lin Qiming weighed the pros and cons.

Obtaining water samples was the most direct way, but it required a container and an opportunity.

He looked at the surrounding environment; by the underground lake below the drainage outlet, there was quite a lot of silt and garbage washed out from the water piled up, perhaps...

He decided to take the risk.

Taking advantage of the guards dozing off and the patrol gap, he slid down from the beam like a gecko, sticking to the shadows at the edge of the cavern, and moved silently to a garbage beach about fifty meters downstream from the drainage outlet.

It reeked here, but it was out of the line of sight of the guards at the Pump Station entrance.

He quickly collected a small amount of lake water using a small metal bottle (which had previously held chemical reagents, now washed clean), picked up a few pieces of silt that looked abnormal in color, and some suspicious algae samples attached to the garbage, stuffing them into a sealed bag.

The whole process took less than three minutes.

Just as he was preparing to withdraw, one of the guards at the Pump Station entrance seemed to move while mumbling in his sleep.

Lin Qiming immediately crouched low, held his breath, and blended into the shadows until the guard started snoring again.

He cautiously withdrew along the original path, and only let out a sigh of relief when he was far away from the Pump Station area.

This reconnaissance yielded results beyond expectations: he verified the map, confirmed the maintenance passage, and more importantly, discovered the abnormal energy signal at the drainage outlet, and successfully obtained water and sediment samples that might be contaminated.

"The Pump Station's water... might be problematic." On the way back to the outpost, Lin Qiming's thoughts were in turmoil, "If the water source is contaminated by Old One relics or Warp residue, then the water controlled by the Iron Tooth Gang is likely not just a tool of power, but potentially a hidden poison. Does Grail know? Is he using it intentionally, or is he also kept in the dark?"

The answer, perhaps, lay within those samples he brought back and that abnormal signal.