121: Chapter 121 Sonar from the Future

In the shadow of the clock tower.

Chen Xi was motionless, like a lifeless stone.

Through the high-magnification scope of the [slingshot], his gaze was locked tightly onto the building that shone as brightly as day.

The Japanese Army's Sixth Division Temporary Command Center.

The devil's lair.

("This isn't a fortress.")

("This is a meat grinder. A steel meat grinder packed with blades and gears.")

("Any attempt to enter from the outside is suicide.")

His judgment was cold and objective.

The Livestream room had long fallen into a dead silence.

All the previous bold boasts had turned into pale, powerless jokes after witnessing this near-perfect three-dimensional defense system.

("... I take back what I said earlier, Master Xi. Perhaps we should reconsider our plan.")

("How do we get in? Even an entire regiment might not be able to take it by frontal assault, right?")

("360-degree non-dead angle coverage by searchlights, plus patrol teams and military dogs... Is this a place humans can actually enter?")

("Changcheng" Command Center Military Group: After simulation and deduction, the success rate for conventional infiltration is... zero. Repeat, zero.)

The cold data completely extinguished the last shred of hope in the Livestream room.

In the "Changcheng" Command Center, all the military experts stood up, staring intently at the screens, their expressions more solemn than ever before.

Director Long's voice sounded in Chen Xi's mind through the encrypted channel, carrying an unquestionable command.

"Ghost, abort the mission."

"This has exceeded the scope of human capability."

"We cannot let you make a meaningless sacrifice. Withdraw."

Chen Xi did not reply.

He didn't even move an inch.

His breathing remained steady and long.

It was as if he hadn't heard Director Long's order, and as if he hadn't seen the fortress representing absolute despair before him.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The atmosphere in the Command Center was so heavy it could almost drip water.

Just as Director Long was preparing to issue another order to forcibly withdraw him.

Chen Xi finally spoke.

His voice traveled clearly through the system channel to the year 2026.

"Conventional means won't work."

"I need a different approach."

A crazy idea was taking shape in his mind.

("I can't see inside, so I can't get in.")

("But what if... I could see?")

"System."

He commanded the panel deep within his consciousness.

"Connect to the 'Changcheng' Command Center Physics Expert Group."

"I need something."

"Something that allows me to 'see through' this building."

"I need its real-time structural blueprint, internal personnel deployment, everything."

This request stunned everyone in the Command Center.

The military experts exchanged glances, not understanding what he was talking about.

But the experts from the physics and high-tech groups suddenly had their eyes light up.

"X-ray vision? Is he asking for a visual penetration device?"

"Conventional radar and infrared thermography won't work; they will be severely interfered with by the reinforced concrete structure..."

"No, wait, maybe there is a way! Third-tier system mall! Quickly, search the third-tier system mall!"

Chen Xi used his authority to grant the expert group browsing access to the system mall.

The next second.

The experts were like Columbus discovering a New World, frantically searching among the dazzling array of future technologies disguised as various 'leisure props' for possibilities.

Finally.

They found it.

["Deep Sea Fishing Detector"]

The item looked like a cheap, yellow plastic, handheld toy.

Item Description: Portable Microwave Tomography Scanner. By emitting a high-frequency microwave beam and analyzing the echo, it can perform non-contact scanning on solid structures within a specified range and construct an internal three-dimensional structural model. Warning: Energy consumption is enormous, please use with caution.

emotion points required for exchange: One hundred million points.

This astronomical figure made all the experts gasp in cold air.

This was almost one-third of the total emotion points Chen Xi had accumulated during the entire Sihang Warehouse defense operation.

("Holy crap? Is Master Xi planning to buy a fishing rod to go fishing?")

("Fishing Detector? What good is this thing? To detect if the devils are fish?")

("One hundred million points! He's gone crazy! Master Xi, think twice!")

The audience in the Livestream room completely failed to comprehend.

Director Long also hesitated. He looked at Chen Xi.

"Ghost, the cost is too great."

Chen Xi did not reply.

His gaze swept over the ridiculous yellow plastic toy and the long string of zeros behind it.

("Expensive?")

("My life is worth more than this.")

("The lives of my brothers are worth more than this.")

("Justice for those thirty thousand departed souls is worth more than this.")

His intent showed no hesitation.

"Exchange."

A large portion of the long string of numbers on the system panel instantly vanished.

A yellow plastic toy with a cheap feel materialized in Chen Xi's hand.

He stepped out from the shadow of the clock tower, aimed the "Fishing Detector" at the brightly lit Command Center building in the distance.

Then, he pressed the switch.

"Whirrr..."

A barely audible low hum sounded.

The next second.

On Chen Xi's retina, and also on the holographic projection in the Livestream room.

A miracle descended.

Faint blue lines appeared out of thin air, like the brush of a deity, rapidly sketching the outline of the Command Center building.

Exterior walls.

Floor slabs.

Load-bearing columns.

In just a few seconds, the steel framework of the entire building was perfectly depicted.

Immediately after, more details began to fill in.

Room partitions, window and door locations, staircase layouts...

A complete, semi-transparent, wireframe 3D model was presented before everyone.

That wasn't all.

Within the model, moving red dots began to appear.

That was the thermal imaging signal.

Each dot represented a living, breathing Japanese Soldier.

Some dots were fixed in certain positions, completely still. Those were hidden sentries.

Some dots moved back and forth along fixed routes. Those were patrol teams.

Even the complex wiring layout inside the building and the ventilation duct network were clearly marked with lines of different colors.

At this moment.

The fortress, which was originally impregnable, had become a completely naked, transparent doll with no secrets left in Chen Xi's eyes.

The Livestream room fell into a deathly silence lasting over ten seconds.

Then.

It erupted in a volcanic surge of bullet chat.

("Holy crap...")

("What the hell... What the hell did I just see? God's perspective?")

("This... this stripped the entire building bare! I can even see clearly which room has the toilet!")

("Technology! Is this the power of technology! It's terrifying!")

("This isn't dimensional reduction strike anymore, this is the Creator God fighting mortals!")

In the "Changcheng" Command Center.

Everyone stood up.

Director Long gripped the edge of the command console, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

The white-haired architectural and military experts trembled as if they had witnessed a sacred relic, muttering to themselves.

"With this... with this..."

"All defenses have become a joke!"

They rushed to the massive electronic sand table, overlaying the 3D model returned by Chen Xi with the original architectural blueprints of the Command Center.

All wisdom, all computing power, was focused on this single point.

Searching for a path to survival.

The only path to life, theoretically capable of entering this hell.

Ten minutes later.

The result was out.

A special operations expert used an infrared pointer to draw a green, winding line on the huge 3D model.

"Report to Director Long, the only route has been found."

"From here."

He pointed to a corner on the rooftop, an old exhaust fan overlooked by all defenses.

"Entering the central ventilation duct system of the building. This is the only blind spot in the entire defense."

"Then, follow the duct downwards, pass through three floors, and arrive at the archive room on the second floor."

"Exit through the ventilation opening above the archive room."

"This is the only viable route we can find."

The expert's voice carried a hint of excitement.

Chen Xi looked at the green path simultaneously displayed on his retina, winding through countless red dots.

It looked like a narrow, winding path leading to the depths of hell.

However, the expert shifted his tone and used the pointer to mark three blood-red crosses on the green line.

"However, this route has three fatal difficulties."

"First, the rooftop exhaust fan is within the supplementary firing range of the machine gun nest on the east corner tower, resulting in a two-second exposure window."

"Second, the ventilation duct on the third floor passes directly above the building's central guard room. Any sound exceeding thirty-five decibels will trigger the alarm."

"Third, the ventilation opening in the archive room faces the corridor. According to our analysis, a patrol team passes by every five minutes."

The expert took a deep breath and gave the final conclusion.

"Comprehensive assessment: Even with this route, the success rate for a solo infiltration is still less than five percent."

Five percent.

A number that was practically a death sentence.

The hope that had just ignited in the Command Center was doused again with a bucket of cold water.

Director Long fell silent.

He asked through the channel in an extremely heavy voice.

"Ghost, this is the only chance we have left."

"The decision is yours."

Chen Xi looked at the fragile green thread weaving through the countless red dots.

On his face, a cold expression, even carrying a hint of a smile, slowly emerged.

("Five percent?")

("Isn't that more than enough?")

He only replied two words over the communication channel.

"Execute."