94: Chapter 94 A Clever Plan! Sending the US a Big Gift!
With a "snap," the lights illuminated the entire central power control center once again.
All the light seemed to focus on the young man named Li Wen Bo.
The water cup in his hand had long since slipped, shattering on the floor; water mixed with glass shards created a mess.
That black electromagnetic pulse jammer still rested at his fingertips, less than a centimeter away from the maintenance interface.
Throughout the control center, the gazes of dozens of technicians, like searchlights, were pinned on him from all directions—there was shock, bewilderment, but mostly anger.
"Why?"
Academician Wu Mengda, supported by others, walked out from the crowd. He looked at his most prized student, his cloudy eyes filled with heartache.
"Xiao Li, how has the country wronged you?"
Li Wen Bo's face turned pale as paper in an instant, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Lieutenant General Peng stepped forward in one stride. Without giving him any chance, he twisted the man's arms behind his back and pressed him against the control cabinet with a clean, swift motion.
"Take him away!"
Two Dragon Shadow members, who had been waiting in the shadows, stepped forward, one on each side, and hauled up the limp Li Wen Bo.
As they passed Su Che, Li Wen Bo suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment and confusion.
He did not understand; his plan had been flawless, so where exactly did it go wrong?
Su Che couldn't even be bothered to look at him, simply yawning.
"Uncle Qin, he's yours now."
"I'm going back to catch some sleep. Give me the results before dawn."
… The next day, 3:00 AM. Still in that interrogation room on the fifth underground level.
Deputy Director Qin looked at the young man before him, whose psychological defenses had completely collapsed, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Name, Li Wen Bo, twenty-seven years old. Three years ago, he entered the project team as a specially recruited talent, recommended by Academician Wu Mengda."
"His family background is clean, and his resume is as spotless as a blank sheet of paper."
"This type of person is the hardest to guard against."
Lieutenant General Peng sat opposite him, lit a cigarette, and smoke swirled around him.
"Have you cracked him yet?"
"No," Deputy Director Qin shook his head. "He insists he was coerced and that his family abroad was threatened."
"Bullshit!" Lieutenant General Peng slammed his fist on the table. "His ancestors for eighteen generations were poor peasants; where would he have relatives abroad!"
Su Che leaned against the one-way glass and tapped on it impatiently.
"General, Uncle Qin, don't you get tired of going in circles with a professional agent like this?"
He pushed the door open and walked in.
Deputy Director Qin instinctively tried to stop him. "Engineer Su, there are protocols for interrogation…"
"My protocol is efficiency."
Su Che walked straight up to Li Wen Bo and placed the silver briefcase on the table.
Seeing this case, Li Wen Bo's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
He had seen the miserable state of "Shadow" after interrogation—it wasn't physical pain, but a kind of hollowness after the spirit had been completely crushed.
"Don't… don't use that thing…"
Su Che ignored him and skillfully took out the headband.
"Uncle Qin, what do you think this is? Mind reading? That's feudal superstition."
Su Che explained without looking back as he powered on the device.
"This thing, to put it plainly, is just a super polygraph."
"It uses quantum sensors to monitor the electrical signal changes in every one of his cells, combined with 'Pangu Quantum Computer' to perform micro-expression and physiological stress analysis."
"Whatever I say, which region of his cerebral cortex becomes most active, which neuron is firing—it's all clearly visible on the screen."
He placed the headband on Li Wen Bo's head.
"If I say east and he thinks west, the data fluctuations are more intuitive than an EKG. Therefore, he cannot lie."
Deputy Director Qin listened, completely stunned.
Black technology, can it be used this way?
Su Che pressed the start button, and the server screen lit up.
He pulled over a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.
"Alright, Mr. Pendulum, let's chat."
"What is the codename of your handler?"
Li Wen Bo gritted his teeth and said nothing.
Su Che glanced at the data curve on the screen that instantly spiked red and smiled.
"It seems the word 'Ghost' makes you very nervous."
Li Wen Bo's pupils contracted sharply.
"'Ghost' having you sabotage the power supply system was just the first step, right?"
"The real goal was for him to personally strike during those few minutes when the base lost power and fell into chaos, infiltrating my lounge to steal the core data for 'Crystal Growth'."
With every sentence Su Che spoke, the color drained from Li Wen Bo's face.
In the end, he looked as if his spirit had been drained away, slumping in the chair with unfocused eyes.
Su Che turned off the device.
"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you."
He stood up and stretched. "Everything that needed to be asked has been asked. 'Ghost' is lurking within the list of fifty people responsible for the base's logistics support."
"He will make his move within three minutes after the power goes out."
Lieutenant General Peng and Deputy Director Qin exchanged glances, both seeing lingering fear in each other's eyes.
What a brilliant chain-link scheme!
If Su Che hadn't seen through it in advance, even if they had caught "Pendulum," they wouldn't have been able to defend against the "Ghost" hidden in the shadows.
By then, the core secrets of the entire "Kaitian" project would have truly been wiped out by the enemy in one fell swoop!
"What do we do now?" Deputy Director Qin asked. "Control all the logistics support personnel immediately and screen them one by one?"
"It's too late," Lieutenant General Peng shook his head. "The other party has likely already realized that 'Pendulum' failed and could terminate the operation or initiate a self-destruct sequence at any moment."
"Then what do we do? We can't just watch him get away!"
"Who said we're going to let him get away?"
Su Che's voice drifted over.
He walked to the tactical board and erased the previous "Empty Fort Strategy" diagram.
"If the enemy wants to eat fish, we'll give them one."
"It's just that this fish comes with a hook."
He picked up a pen and wrote four words on the tactical board: Playing Along.
"We will act as if 'Pendulum' succeeded."
Su Che's lips curled slightly.
"At 10:00 PM tonight, the base will lose power on schedule."
"I will place a piece of 'core data' in a very conspicuous location."
"Once 'Ghost' gets this 'gift,' we'll close the net."
Deputy Director Qin was somewhat worried. "What if the data is transmitted out by him…"
"Transmit?" Su Che laughed. "He won't have that chance."
"That so-called 'core data' is something I specifically customized for them using 'Pangu Quantum Computer'."
"As long as any device attempts to read this data, the encapsulated quantum virus will, within 0.01 seconds, format all hard drives he has touched and, through the network, reverse-hack their intelligence center."
Su Che clapped the chalk dust off his hands.
"Don't they like to play digital slaughter?"
"This time, I'm going to give them something more thorough."
"I want to send the Pan-Pacific Technology Alliance's intelligence system back to the Stone Age overnight."
In the interrogation room, Lieutenant General Peng and Deputy Director Qin gasped.
This kid is too ruthless!
This isn't just playing along; this is digging a pit and preparing the tombstone for them too!
Lieutenant General Peng's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He walked over to Su Che and patted him heavily on the shoulder.
"Good!"
"Let's do exactly as you said!"
"I'd like to see just how big a shark takes the bait this time!"