Chapter 35: Undercurrents Emerge
Page (1/3)
Time: Three days later
Location: Shen Group Global Command Center
The global new energy network was gradually stabilizing, and the core system of the zero-carbon city had been restarted. Yet beneath the surface calm, turbulent undercurrents still churned.
Xu Yunchuan stood before a massive holographic map, his gaze piercing through the dense array of nodes displayed on the screen, his expression grave.
Zhao Ming sat at the technical console, rapidly typing away as lines of code flickered across his monitor. He looked up at Xu Yunchuan, eyes heavy with fatigue.
“Though we thwarted Kane’s ‘Fission Plan,’ remnants of the Abyss Consortium remain restless. They have planted multiple secret backdoors in various nodes. If we don’t eliminate them promptly, these backdoors could trigger new crises at any moment.”
Shen Qingwan approached quietly, her voice low: “It’s like an invisible war. Every technical trap they set could ignite a disaster.”
Xu Yunchuan nodded, his gaze sharp: “Zhao Ming, how long will it take to clear all the backdoors?”
Zhao Ming sighed, “These backdoors are protected by complex encryption and scattered across servers worldwide. It will take at least a month to remove them all.”
“A month is too long,” Xu Yunchuan said grimly. “The Abyss Consortium won’t give us that much time.”
---
Technical Mystery
As they discussed, a technician hurried over to Zhao Ming, handing him a new report.
“Supervisor Zhao, we’ve detected an abnormal data stream at the Asian new energy hub node. The data contains unknown encrypted codes interspersed with normal communications, but we cannot decrypt them.”
Zhao Ming quickly opened the report, frowning deeply. “This shouldn’t be in our system. This encryption… it looks like a quantum-level algorithm.”
Xu Yunchuan stepped closer, his expression serious. “Could this be a new move by the Abyss Consortium?”
“Highly likely,” Zhao Ming nodded. “The data is flowing out from a node in Southeast Asia. If we don’t contain it, this node might become their new breach point.”
Shen Qingwan looked at Xu Yunchuan and softly asked, “Should we go there ourselves?”
Xu Yunchuan pondered briefly, then decided firmly, “Zhao Ming, stay at headquarters to remotely monitor the global network and provide technical support at any time. Qingwan, we’ll go to Southeast Asia ourselves and find out what’s behind this node.”
---
Journey to Southeast Asia
Three hours later, Xu Yunchuan and Shen Qingwan boarded a private jet bound for Bangkok.
Zhao Ming’s voice came through the earpiece: “Bangkok is one of Southeast Asia’s largest new energy technology hubs. The hub node there manages a significant portion of regional energy transmission and distribution. If this node is compromised, the consequences would be catastrophic.”
Shen Qingwan glanced at Xu Yunchuan and whispered, “This time, we must find the problem and solve it completely, or the situation will spiral out of control again.”
Page (2/3)
Xu Yunchuan nodded, his eyes resolute. “We cannot give them any chance to exploit.”
---
Bangkok New Energy Hub
Bangkok, a vibrant city, shimmered with enchanting lights at night. Yet beneath the bustling exterior, tension hung thick in the control center of the new energy hub node.
Xu Yunchuan and Shen Qingwan passed through security and entered the core of the control center. A local technical lead greeted them, his expression anxious.
“Mr. Xu, Ms. Shen, you’ve finally arrived! We’ve detected massive abnormal data flows being transmitted outward, but we can neither intercept nor decrypt them.”
“Take me to the main control console,” Zhao Ming’s voice came through remote video.
At the console, red alarms flashed incessantly on the screens, data streams flooding like a torrent toward unknown servers.
“Zhao Ming, can you trace the destination of these data flows?” Xu Yunchuan asked.
“Trying now… Give me ten seconds.” Zhao Ming typed rapidly. Coordinates appeared on the screen.
Destination: Singapore, “Celestial Data Center.”
“That’s Singapore’s largest commercial data center,” Shen Qingwan frowned. “If they’ve planted backdoors there, the entire Southeast Asian new energy market could fall under their control.”
“We must head to Singapore immediately,” Xu Yunchuan said decisively.
---
Beneath the Shadows
Meanwhile, inside a secret technical control room within the Celestial Data Center in Singapore, several technicians busied themselves at their consoles.
Standing behind them was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, his expression cold and stern. He stared down at the data streams on the screen and sneered, “Looks like they’ve found us.”
He turned to his assistant: “Initiate Phase Two. Lock down all external tracking and prepare for data transfer.”
The assistant nodded and quickly input a series of commands.
“Data transfer protocol initiated. Estimated completion time: 12 hours.”
---
Operation Singapore
Xu Yunchuan and Shen Qingwan swiftly arrived in Singapore. Under the cover of night, the Celestial Data Center appeared silent and imposing.
Zhao Ming’s voice sounded in their earpieces: “The internal defenses of the Celestial Data Center are extremely tight. External penetration is impossible. You must enter the main control room personally and stop their data transfer.”
Page (3/3)
Dressed in security uniforms, the two successfully infiltrated the data center. At the far end of a long corridor stood a blast-proof alloy door leading to the main control room.
“Zhao Ming, we’re at the door,” Xu Yunchuan whispered.
“I’m attempting remote unlocking… You’ll have a small window in ten seconds.”
After ten seconds, the lock disengaged.
They hurried inside, but the enemy at the console had already sensed their presence.
“Stop them!” the man with glasses shouted.
Bullets flew through the control room, sparks flying. Shen Qingwan rolled behind cover and fired back, taking down an assailant.
Xu Yunchuan seized the chaos to rush to the console and plugged in the portable device Zhao Ming had provided.
“Zhao Ming, start intercepting the data!”
“Understood, taking over data now!”
---
Data Duel
On the screen, opposing data streams clashed wildly in virtual space, an invisible war raging.
“They’re accelerating the transfer! Zhao Ming, can you stop it?” Shen Qingwan shouted.
“Trying! I need more time!”
Time ticked away as sweat dripped from Zhao Ming’s brow. He fixed his gaze on the final progress bar.
Data interception complete!
“We intercepted 70% of the data, but 30% was transferred successfully,” Zhao Ming’s voice was weary.
Xu Yunchuan stared at the screen sharply. “The Abyss Consortium’s backup plan is still hidden. We must uncover their ultimate goal.”
Shen Qingwan nodded. “Next, we’ll go straight for the Abyss Consortium’s mastermind in Asia.”
---
The covert battle over new energy continues, with danger lurking in every node. Xu Yunchuan and Shen Qingwan stand now at the edge of a new battlefield.