Chapter 315: The Watchful Eye of the Mechanical Civilization

Chapter 315: The Watchful Eye of the Mechanical Civilization

As Yuan Yaoyao was browsing through the Mars Tower's official website, Su Muyu's expression suddenly froze, and he spoke up, "There's someone inside the building, and their Sensory has likely detected us."

Lu Heng glanced back at her and instantly understood that she was engaged in a Perception Warfare with their opponent.

Perception Warfare was a battle without smoke or fire, where the victor gained reconnaissance rights.

However, such Perception Warfare rarely resulted in overwhelming victories. Typically, both sides controlled reconnaissance within a certain range and prevented the other from spying.

The occurrence of Perception Warfare meant that the other party had already become aware of their presence.

Lu Heng was slightly surprised because Jian Qing had mentioned that the Creator Organization's pillage team was spotted here three days ago. Initially, he thought they would have left by now, but unexpectedly, they had run into them.

"Are you sure of their identity?" Lu Heng asked.

"Not yet," Su Muyu replied, "But their perception and resistance abilities are strong, and their level is no lower than mine." Su Muyu was still engaged in Perception Warfare, having only detected the presence of a high-level Sensory within the building, but had yet to confirm their identity.

Usually, in Perception Warfare of this level, it wouldn't be the mechanical warriors of the Sikes Civilization.

The Sikes Civilization employed different reconnaissance methods, distinct from the human Sensory system.

Therefore, it was safe to assume that the opponent was human.

Consequently, the likelihood of them being the Creator Organization's pillage team was high. After all, other human teams typically interacted by exchanging information upon meeting.

Lu Heng turned to Yuan Yaoyao and asked, "Yaoyao, communicate with Professor Xavier Matrix and see if there's a way to access the building's surveillance footage."

Yuan Yaoyao nodded, made an 'OK' gesture, and smiled, "No problem."

Before she could finish her sentence, she added after half a second, "Professor Matrix has agreed to help. He's investigating the building's network..."

"He's found something. Professor Matrix says the building's security system has signs of intrusion, and the intruder has taken control, disabling the surveillance equipment in one area."

Upon hearing this, Lu Heng understood what had happened.

Three days ago, the Creator Organization's pillage team had been here.

They likely sent their Assassin-type Metahuman, Darkstar, into the building to gather information from the Clarence Organic Life Research Institute.

However, the high-level security system of the Mars Tower made it impossible for Darkstar to obtain the desired information without being noticed.

Although they were a pillage team, it didn't mean they would plunder recklessly.

An experienced pillage team knew precisely when to start and when not to start a robbery.

With eight days left until the Summoning Event, beginning a pillage now meant being wanted by the Sikes Civilization for eight days.

A genuine pillage team would spend more time scouting, identifying their target, and then strike on the final day, securing everything they needed.

Therefore, until the last day, they wouldn't easily reveal their identities.

As their Assassin-type Metahuman couldn't obtain the information stealthily, they spent three more days finding a way to infiltrate the Mars Tower's security system.

And so, after three days, they reappeared, only to run into Lu Heng's group by chance.

"Yaoyao, ask the Professor if he can retrieve the surveillance footage from the security system," Lu Heng inquired further.

Yuan Yaoyao smiled and nodded eagerly, "He can. Professor Matrix says the intruder's skills are average, and he can take over the security system without them noticing."

"Good, let's view the footage," Lu Heng said, pointing at the window of the antigravity car.

Soon, an image appeared on the car window, displaying the surveillance footage from the Mars Tower.

However, the footage only showed corridors and hallways.

"The focus is on the Organic Life Research Institute inside the building," Lu Heng stated.

At that moment, an image of Xavier Matrix appeared on the adjacent window, explaining, "The surveillance system of the Clarence Organic Life Research Institute has suffered physical damage and is currently inoperable."

Xavier Matrix's technical expertise was indeed at the pinnacle of the Sikes Civilization, capable of remotely controlling the security system of a building on the Second Gaia Star from the Queen Star.

Nevertheless, this network-level technical prowess couldn't resolve physical damage.

The Creator Organization's pillage team must have entered the Clarence Organic Life Research Institute and sabotaged the surveillance equipment.

Without the surveillance equipment, even with access to the security system, they couldn't observe what was happening inside the Institute.

Yuan Yaoyao pouted and pleaded, "Professor, please think of something. You're so capable."

Lu Heng also hurriedly asked, "Is there a way?"

Xavier Matrix laughed and assured them, "There's always a way. Any networked electronic device can serve as a network terminal, allowing us to obtain information through it."

"However, the information obtained might not be the visual footage you desire."

"Any information will do," Lu Heng replied, eager to know what had transpired within the Clarence Institute and if the team inside was the Creator Organization's pillage team.

Xavier Matrix was highly efficient; in less than two seconds, an audio interface appeared on the car window, ready to provide the requested information.

A deep and hoarse voice spoke up, "I need all your research data. Hand it over before I blow up your mechanical core."

Hearing this, Lu Heng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, guessing who might have uttered those words.

Xavier Matrix, standing nearby, explained, "A fire terminal detector is connected, and it has smart audio sensors. The voice has been picked up."

Lu Heng immediately understood how the voice was received.

This was a characteristic of the mechanical civilization. Although the infiltrators had destroyed the surveillance equipment, it was impossible to damage all the electronic devices inside.

Any networked terminal device could access the institute's information, but the obtained data would vary.

Immediately after, a mechanical voice responded, "According to the Siks Alien Biological Regulation Act, you have violated Articles 7, 13, and 131, seriously infringing upon our side. The mechanical guards have obtained fire authorization and can shoot you on sight."

Bang! A sudden explosion sounded.

The deep, hoarse voice threatened, "Hand over the data. I'm counting down from three."

The mechanical voice from earlier replied without hesitation, "No need to count. The data is on the intranet lightbrain system. I'll take you to retrieve it."

As a mechanical unit, the warning was a directive from the computer system.

When facing danger, Siks citizens could invoke the Emergency Evacuation Regulation, agreeing to all the criminal's demands.

Therefore, the mechanical voice agreed readily.

Soon, the sound of wheels rolling could be heard, as if the unfortunate individual had some of their mechanical limbs damaged.

The rolling sound gradually faded, indicating they had entered another room and were out of earshot.

Lu Heng quickly asked, "They're going to copy the data. Can we find out what data they're copying?"

"Research institutions like this usually store technical data in independent systems, which are not connected to the network under normal circumstances. So, it's impossible to obtain system information from the network unless..." Xavier Matrix explained.

"Unless what?"

"Unless the researcher connects the system to the network. I can communicate with the researcher being held hostage." Xavier Matrix suggested.

Since the researcher was a Siks citizen, they possessed a network function module, allowing them to connect to the network.

However, after a moment, Xavier Matrix spoke again, "His network module seems to be damaged, and he can't connect. The invaders probably destroyed it to prevent him from raising an alarm, ensuring he couldn't send out a warning immediately."

As Lu Heng considered alternative strategies, Xavier Matrix continued, "This researcher from the Clarence Organic Life Research Institute has decent computing power. He found a way to connect to the network and enabled the database system's networking function. The system interface is now displayed."

As he spoke, an interface appeared on the car window glass.

This interface was the lightbrain operation interface of the Siks civilization.

Since Siks mechanical citizens could directly connect with computer systems and operate through information, the interface's interaction method was unfamiliar to humans.

Lu Heng found it a bit difficult to understand at first glance.

Yuan Yaoyao quickly pointed at the system interface and explained, "They're copying the data and storing it in a quantum storage device."

Lu Heng asked urgently, "Can we find out what data they're copying? Is there a chance they'll uncover the secret of the fake data?"

Xavier Matrix answered, "If they compare the two sets of data, they might discover the secret of the fake data."

"But I can modify the data they're copying. Should I do it?"

Lu Heng's eyes widened in surprise, "Of course!"

Without delay, Xavier Matrix replied, "Modification complete. The data they obtained matches the fake data you took from me previously."

After a few seconds, Yuan Yaoyao pointed at the interface and said, "Copying complete."

"That was fast," Lu Heng remarked. "I thought the copying process would take some time, but it was done in just a few sentences."

Lu Heng stared at the interface for a while and asked, "Are there other terminals in the institute that can be connected?"

"Yes, there are more terminal devices in the laboratory, but they're not in the lab..." Xavier Matrix began, then his tone changed. "They've entered the lab. We've connected to an infrared scan terminal and can project an image."

An infrared scan image immediately appeared on the car window glass, initially blurry but gradually becoming clearer after adjustment.

In the image, three humans wearing V-Enmity Squad masks appeared, along with a Siks researcher whose half-track and wheels had been blown up.

Among the three humans with V-Enmity Squad masks were Pharaoh Wang with a golden mask, a blue-blooded individual with a blue totem mask, and a Life Engraver with scars on their mask.

Pharaoh Wang placed a glass tube potion on the experiment table and commanded, "Analyze the components of this potion and provide me with an iterative solution for its effects."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end