Inside the base’s special task force office, a huge national map hangs on the wall, marked with thumbtacks and lines of various colors.
The other whiteboard was covered with complex mathematical symbols and physical formulas.
The space is invisibly divided in two, symbolizing two distinct yet interconnected battlefields.
At dawn, Gu Beichen stood in front of the map, his eyes sharp as knives.
The fragmented information provided by Qian Siming, after being sorted out by the intelligence department, turned into more than a dozen suspicious coordinates on the map.
“Commander, this is the latest analysis report.” Platoon Leader Zhan handed him a document.
“Based on cross-referencing of communication records and fund flows, we identified three key cities that we suspect are nodes for the ‘Shepherd’ to conduct intelligence transfers and personnel liaison.”
Gu Beichen took the report and quickly glanced at it.
His mind was building a network, connecting the scattered clues—the unusual cross-border calls, the small remittances to specific accounts, the seemingly ordinary trading companies—one by one.
“Focus on monitoring City B and City S.” He circled two points on the map with a red pen, his voice calm. “The other side is active, but their methods are covert, and they are adept at using legitimate identities as cover.”
Tell the field staff that it’s better to lose track of them than to expose them.
“Yes, sir!” Platoon Leader Zhan accepted the order, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, “Regimental Commander, should this information… be shared with Comrade Gu?”
Platoon Leader Zhan thought to himself, “These two aren’t some huge distance apart, just a few rooms away. If I shouted, they would have heard me.”
But for some reason, these two insisted on acting as mouthpieces themselves.
What kind of fate does he have?
That being said, as someone on the front lines of watching the drama unfold, Platoon Leader Zhan was actually quite excited.
Gu Beichen shifted his gaze from the map and inadvertently glanced at the empty seat on the other side of the office.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a patch of light on the table. Just like years ago, she used to love to lie on her desk at home in the afternoon, basking in the same sunlight and becoming drowsy, like a lazy cat.
He quickly looked away, suppressing that inappropriate tenderness deep in his heart.
“Submit the non-classified…summary to Comrade Gu through you.” His voice was even colder and harder than before, as if he were reprimanding himself for his momentary lapse in concentration.
He gave the order, his tone completely flat: “Watch your wording, this is limited to information sharing.”
“Understood.” Platoon Leader Zhan understood and turned to make the arrangements.
He knew that he was now a ruthless mouthpiece between the two.
Meanwhile, in the core laboratory at the other end of the base, Lin Su was immersed in a world made up of formulas and conjectures.
My mother’s leather notebook lay open on the table, next to a pile of draft paper filled with her calculations.
Her in-depth research over several days left her increasingly shocked.
The “Dawn Project” was far more than a single technological breakthrough as she initially understood it; her notes described a vast technological system involving materials science, energy transfer, and physical field theory.
She discovered that her mother’s research had come to an abrupt end at the most crucial point.
This style of leaving blank spaces at the peak inexplicably reminded her of what Gu Beichen had told her when he taught her to throw stones: “When you feel your best, you should stop and let your muscles remember it.”
She took a deep breath and blinked hard to dispel these distracting thoughts.
Now is not the time for reminiscing; she is facing a mystery left by her mother that is enough to astound the world.
The notes repeatedly mention a concept—”vacuum zero-point energy resonant extraction”.
This is almost a concept existing at the forefront of theoretical physics, and it seems that the mother has already found the way to put it into practice.
However, the path to this core theory is blocked by an extremely complex set of ultimate cryptography that combines classical cryptography with modern topology.
This code was written on the last page of the notebook, like a silent fortress.
Lin Su rubbed her temples, feeling an unprecedented mix of pressure and excitement.
The fact that the adversary is so obsessed with this notebook suggests that their goal is likely the theory that could change the world’s energy landscape.
She picked up her pen and tried yet another approach to solve the problem, drawing new symbols on the draft paper.
This is a lonely battlefield where she must face the mysteries left behind by her predecessors alone.
In the evening, Platoon Leader Zhan, holding a boxed lunch prepared by Regiment Commander Gu in one hand and a thin document in the other, knocked on the laboratory door.
“Comrade Gu, this is the information that Commander Gu asked me to pass on to you, and also the food that the canteen asked me to bring over.”
When Gu Beichen brought him the food, he specifically told him not to say that he had made it, just in case Comrade Gu wouldn’t eat.
He placed the document on the table by the door, keeping his distance, explaining, “It’s a summary of several technical areas that the other party might be interested in.”
“Put it down.” Lin Su didn’t even look up, her gaze still fixed on the code structure.
Platoon Leader Zhan wisely left.
After a long while, Lin Su finally stood up wearily, walked over and picked up the document.
Of course, when she saw the aluminum lunchbox, the aroma of the food wafted over, and her stomach rumbled at just the right moment.
She was indeed a little hungry. She looked at the sky outside; it was already dark, and it must be time for dinner.
She opened the aluminum lunchbox; today’s dishes were braised pork and rice.
Lin Su looked at the documents while picking up a piece of braised pork and taking a bite.
She took out the half-eaten braised pork and looked at it. It really was all lean pork?!
She took out all the braised pork from the aluminum lunchbox and looked at it again. It really was all lean braised pork that suited her taste perfectly.
How is that possible? Nowadays, braised pork belly is made with a good balance of fat and lean meat, how could it be all lean?
Lin Su couldn’t help but recall that warm little house where Gu Beichen made braised pork, and she would play the fool and only eat the lean parts, letting Gu Beichen eat all the fatty parts.
Did he have the chef make this?!
Lin Su suppressed the pounding in her heart, picked up the document and browsed through it, her gaze settling on one line: “It is believed that the target has an unusual interest in ‘non-traditional energy fundamental theories’.”
Her heart sank.
Gu Beichen’s investigation, from a completely different direction, confirmed her findings.
Lin Su placed the document under a stack of papers and then ate the rest of her meal.
People need food to survive, she has to eat her fill! It doesn’t matter who served her the food.
Back in her seat, Lin Su focused even more intently on the blueprint drawn up by her mother, a blueprint brimming with both boundless possibilities and immense risks.
Two people who were once inseparable are now like two planets orbiting on different paths, revolving around the same huge secret.
He was deducing the enemy’s tracks in front of the map, while she was deciphering her mother’s code on a draft paper.
But no one knew that in a completely different moment, their minds flashed back to that warm little house.