The cold metal pipe wall slid past Ke Yuan's palm, with the unique dampness and rust smell of the underworld. Irene's voice hit his temporal bone directly through the bone conduction headset, calm without a trace of waves: "The heat source is moving faster, at a distance of six and a half hundred and fifty meters." Equipment analysis shows standard witch hunt tactical squad configuration with short-range infrared scanner. "
Ke Yuan's heart pounded heavily in his chest, and every beat involved tense nerves. He forced himself to step lightly, moving almost in the shadow of the pipe wall, breathing to the shallowest possible. The headlights had long been extinguished, the darkness was too thick to dissolve, and only the blue cursor that Irene had outlined for him at the conscious level lit up in his mind. Water droplets seeped out of the pipe joints above his head and landed on the back of his neck, bringing a piercing coldness.
"Five hundred meters." Irene's voice was like an accurate stopwatch, "They turned on the active scanning mode." I need to create interference. Before the words fell, not far in front of Ke Yuan, a thick condensate pipe suddenly made a dull "bang", followed by the scream of the valve out of control and a large amount of water mist gushing out, instantly filling the passage. The icy water vapor hit the face, and visibility plummeted to almost zero.
"Let's go!" Irene urged, "The interference only lasts thirty seconds, and the water mist will disrupt the infrared imaging, but their sonar will be calibrated soon." "
Ke Yuan rushed into the churning white mist without hesitation, and the cold water droplets wet his hair and coat. Following Irene's instructions, he slammed right at an inconspicuous fork and entered a narrower auxiliary tube. The space here is low, and he has to move forward half-bent over, with a slippery metal grille under his feet.
"The interference was effective, they were confused by water mist and unusual sounds, and they were briefly stalled." There seemed to be a hint of imperceptible tension in Irene's voice, "But... Ke Yuan, I just intercepted a fragmented communication from their encrypted channel. They were referring to 'target anomaly readings spike' and... 'receiver lockout'. "
"Receiving end? New Shanghai University? Ke Yuan's heart tightened, and he almost suffocated in the narrow pipe.
"The signal pointing is unknown, but a code name is mentioned: 'Magpie Bridge'. This is not the name of a known project for Chen Ming's lab's quantum computer. Irene spoke faster, "More importantly, they don't seem to rely entirely on external detectors." The portable devices they carry can passively detect... The quantum ripples that emanate from my existence are like a glimmer of light in the darkness that cannot be completely obscured. Interference can only be weakened, not eradicated. "
This means that as long as the witch hunt team is close enough, Irene is like a beacon that cannot be completely hidden! Ke Yuan felt a desperate chill climb down his spine, colder than the water vapor in the pipe.
"The shaft is fifty meters ahead, turn right at the end." Irene's voice pulled him back to reality, "But the access cover above the shaft is equipped with a physical alarm device that, once forcefully opened, triggers local security." I need time to crack, about two minutes. And they... We were only three hundred meters away and reoriented. "
Two minutes! In the narrow pipe, this is almost the time to pronounce the death penalty. Ke Yuan rushed to the bottom of the shaft, and above his head was a heavy round metal cover, on which a complex mechanical lock structure was faintly visible. He looked up anxiously, as if he could see through the layer of metal to see the unknown danger outside.
"Irene! Fast! He roared almost in his consciousness.
"It's cracking with all its might... But they are too fast! Irene's voice rarely had a hint of urgency, "Two hundred meters... 150 meters... I can hear their footsteps! "
The sound of heavy leather boots stepping on the metal grille was like the drumbeat of the god of death, from far to near in the claustrophobic pipes, with a cold echo, so clear that it made the scalp tingle.