110. Privileges
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake
When Shen Xingtang and Zhang Ge entered the control room, they noticed that the entire room had fallen into silence.
When Gale and KID’s team captains entered the abandoned base station’s control room, Coria’s Director had already summoned the personnel responsible for the two base stations. Upon hearing about the changes in the Restricted Zone, the two rushed over without delay.
Zhang Ge noticed the awkward atmosphere in the control room and quietly asked Shen Xingtang beside him, “Do you think they might have caused another big commotion?”
Shen Xingtang’s gaze rested on Old Qiu and the director, “Seems like it.”
Zhang Ge: “?”
What do you mean ‘seems like it’!?
When the C-147 Station Chief was mentioned, Coria’s Director looked towards the staff member who had retrieved the remote access records, “What did you say? The C-147 Station Chief?”
The staff member, slightly taken aback, lowered their head and checked the information again before confirming, “Yes, Chief Ying Songshan.”
The entire control room fell silent, several staff members exchanged puzzled looks. They had worked in the Coria Contaminated Zone for many years. The Restricted Zone was confidential within Coria’s Contaminated Zone’s management, requiring high-level system permissions. Even they could only access the Restricted Zone system when the Frontier Army was on a mission.
Everyone who had encountered the abandoned base station in the Restricted Zone knew this, but anything further classified was beyond their reach. Now, noticing the somewhat odd expressions of the director and Old Qiu, their curiosity about Chief Ying Songshan peaked.
“What’s wrong with Chief Ying Songshan?” Suddenly, a female voice spoke up, breaking the silence in the control room.
Coria’s Director snapped out of his reverie, turning to see Shen Xingtang and Zhang Ge standing at the door.
“Regarding the accidental entry of the KID and Gale teams into the Restricted Zone, both of our mecha base stations are willing to accept any punishment.” Shen Xingtang took the lead and entered. She walked straight to Coria’s Director and said, “I’ve received information that the Dawn Galaxy Frontier Army has issued an emergency mobilization order to KID and Gale’s base stations for their Mecha Division. Since the mobilization is directed at Gale and KID, as responsible persons for the base stations, we are obligated to understand the details of the mission for our Mecha Division.”
Seeing Shen Xingtang enter so boldly, Zhang Ge was suddenly at a loss. “Hey, Boss Shen, can we talk…”
At this moment, the staff attempting to connect to the base station encountered repeated failures, and consecutive response failure alerts appeared in front of everyone.
Coria’s Director stepped forward, “What’s going on?”
The staff member replied, “Director, we’ve instructed the Gale team to reboot the base station system, but there’s still no response.”
Old Qiu’s eyes showed a hint of cloudiness, but he looked particularly serious as he focused on the Restricted Zone’s system. “What about the Special Research Institute?”
“The response from the institute has failed several times. We could access the remote access system just now, but now the system is having issues.” The staff member explained, “This system is too old; we can only attempt remote repairs.”
If they couldn’t take over the base station’s system, it meant they couldn’t provide the best guidance to the Mecha Division currently in battle.
“Old Qiu, I served in the Coria purification mission eight years ago. I experienced the danger of the Restricted Zone during that mission, so I have the right to inquire about the current situation.” Shen Xingtang looked at him seriously, her attitude unusually resolute. “As far as I know, there hasn’t been a Station Chief at the abandoned base station for eight years.”
Coria’s Director was stunned for a moment, and then he said belatedly, “No wonder I find you familiar. You were here during that mission.”
“Yes,” Shen Xingtang said. “I was the emergency support mechanic called in at the time.”
The other staff members in the control room didn’t expect Shen Xingtang to maintain a determined stance. They looked at Coria’s Director and Old Qiu one after another.
Just when everyone thought Old Qiu wouldn’t respond, he said, “Ying Songshan, Chief of the Dawn Galaxy Frontier Army’s Second Research Institute, and later served as the Station Chief of the Coria Contaminated Zone’s Base Station C-147, stepped down from the position after the 1226 Coria Contaminated Zone anomaly incident.”
Coria’s Director said, “Old Qiu.”
“There’s no harm,” Old Qiu looked at Shen Xingtang. “Base Station C-147 in Coria’s Restricted Zone was designed by him. This includes the currently operating shielding system, the last barrier he left for the Coria Restricted Zone twenty years ago.”
Shen Xingtang was surprised, “And him?”
“But after completing all these tasks, he left the Frontier Army, and there has been no news about him to this day.” Old Qiu continued, “After the purification mission eight years ago, the Frontier Army tried various ways to find him, wanting to redesign the base station system. However, we couldn’t find any information about him.”
When mentioning Ying Songshan, Old Qiu’s eyes seemed to carry deep emotion. His tone aged a few years, as if reminiscing about a colleague and friend, or perhaps recalling an old acquaintance.
“Songshan was the only person who knew every detail about the abandoned base station and was the designer of the base station system.”
The staff heard his unexpected revelation: “But the access record just now said…”
“The Frontier Army has been looking for him for 20 years, and I don’t think he would show up here.”
Old Qiu continued, “The person who correctly entered the authorization password must be related to him. If we want to restore the base station’s responsiveness, we need to find him.”
An invisible door opened, revealing an endless staircase leading underground. Within the dark stairwell, there was no light, and thick dust fell with each step. Using the light from the energy meter, Ying Chenlin proceeded downward. In the silent environment, only the the energy meter’s faint beeping was audible.
When they first entered, You Su saw Ying Chenlin inputting a new password. This password was different from the one they used to enter the research institute initially, it seemed to be the result of a character algorithm and also an authorization password.
The first entrance might have been for regular permissions, but this place wasn’t accessible with ordinary permissions.
As Ying Chenlin inputted the second password, You Su’s scattered expression completely disappeared. His gaze fell on the person walking ahead.
“This isn’t an ordinary authorization password.”
Ying Chenlin continued down. The algorithmic process to derive the latest password was displayed on his light brain.
“It’s using an authorization algorithm system. The password keeps changing, but with a special key, you can derive the special password for each change according to this algorithm.”
“How do you know about this algorithm?” You Su asked.
Ying Chenlin noticed the change in You Su’s tone. He paused slightly, turned around to look at the person standing behind him, and said, “I can tell you, but can you tell me what this research institute is for?”
You Su looked at him but remained silent.
“Your reaction is quite strange.”
Ying Chenlin leaned against one of the stairwell’s walls, all of which were covered in dust.
“You’re obviously familiar with this restricted zone, but you seem unfamiliar with this base station.”
Upon hearing this, You Su chuckled lightly.
“I came to this place on a mission in the past, into the restricted zone, but it doesn’t mean I’ve been to the base station.”
Ying Chenlin looked at You Su, trying to judge from his even tone whether he was lying.
But soon he averted his gaze, focusing on something else.
Seeing him remain silent, You Su asked, “You don’t believe me?”
Ying Chenlin replied, “I’m just thinking about this base station. It’s quite strange.”
This base station was too peculiar. It was clearly operational, but many of its systems were very outdated.
Within such outdated systems, a restricted zone system was later integrated. If the Frontier Army had the capability to build this restricted zone’s system, why didn’t they destroy and rebuild this old base station’s system?
It was as if this base station had to exist.
For this reason, both the Frontier Army and Coria had to spend a huge amount of resources to build a restricted zone system on top of it as a second barrier.
Ying Chenlin slowed his pace and continued walking inward.
He continued moving along, with You Su following his footsteps.
The silent and narrow underground staircase had no wind or other signs of life, only the echoes of their voices and footsteps.
“I saw a few articles on the bulletin board outside the research institute, mentioning weapons and pollutants multiple times,” Ying Chenlin paused after speaking, seeing You Su remain silent, he continued, “The appearance of pollutants is normal. Most laboratories in pollution zones observe and research pollutants. But weapons shouldn’t appear—”
Mid-sentence, they reached the end of the stairs.
“We’re here,” You Su said.
Ying Chenlin didn’t move, looking at You Su in the dim light.
You Su’s eyelids drooped slightly. “What are you looking at me for?”
Ying Chenlin asked, “Is this a weapons research facility?”
You Su chuckled, returning to his usual tone.
“I’m unfamiliar with this base station.”
That settled it.
Ying Chenlin touched the wall, and another virtual screen popped up in front of him.
The encrypted prompt on the permissions showed the same familiar algorithm. Ying Chenlin frowned slightly, using the system on his light brain to calculate and derive a new password.
Once it was entered, the wall lit up, and Ying Chenlin stepped two steps back. Suddenly, he noticed that the mecha key around his neck seemed to be getting hotter. Unconsciously, he stopped his movements, only increasing his mental output in the key.
You Su glanced at Ying Chenlin’s unusual expression. “Is the mecha responding?”
“It’s strange,” Ying Chenlin felt the slight heat on the mecha key. Initially, his mental power’s input could suppress the heat coming from inside the key, but now, this heat seemed to be breaking through the limits of his mental power, and its reaction was quite intense.
The light on the wall receded, finally revealing the outline of the door, which slowly opened before them.
You Su furrowed his brows slightly, and his gaze locked onto the crack in the door.
“There’s wind.”
Wind? Ying Chenlin suddenly felt the wind blowing through the open door, carrying a bit of warmth.
Suddenly, there was movement behind the door, and besides the wind, there seemed to be other sounds.
As Ying Chenlin was trying to determine the direction of the sound, he suddenly heard a very fast noise, like a snake swiftly moving forward.
“Step back!” You Su shouted abruptly.
Ying Chenlin took a few steps back, but whatever was behind the door was faster than him.
At the same time he stepped back, something lunged towards him in the darkness.
In this critical moment, You Su suddenly pulled Ying Chenlin back forcefully, and the attacking force slammed into the wall of the narrow staircase. You Su’s grip was incredibly strong as he pulled Ying Chenlin away, avoiding the attack and quickly creating distance from the entity.
The attack was extremely sudden. While Ying Chenlin was being pulled back, he raised the energy meter in his hand to the maximum value. The brilliant light illuminated the narrow and dark space, revealing the entity in front of them.
At that moment, Ying Chenlin clearly saw what was in front of him and was momentarily stunned.
A long, dark gray entity emitted an eerie cold light in the darkness. It was surrounded by various uneven metal fragments, displaying irregular shapes. At a glance, it looked like a fusion of various mechanical metal parts.
Author’s note:
Ying Songshan is the paternal grandfather.
110. Privileges
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake
When Shen Xingtang and Zhang Ge entered the control room, they noticed that the entire room had fallen into silence.
When Gale and KID’s team captains entered the abandoned base station’s control room, Coria’s Director had already summoned the personnel responsible for the two base stations. Upon hearing about the changes in the Restricted Zone, the two rushed over without delay.
Zhang Ge noticed the awkward atmosphere in the control room and quietly asked Shen Xingtang beside him, “Do you think they might have caused another big commotion?”
Shen Xingtang’s gaze rested on Old Qiu and the director, “Seems like it.”
Zhang Ge: “?”
What do you mean ‘seems like it’!?
When the C-147 Station Chief was mentioned, Coria’s Director looked towards the staff member who had retrieved the remote access records, “What did you say? The C-147 Station Chief?”
The staff member, slightly taken aback, lowered their head and checked the information again before confirming, “Yes, Chief Ying Songshan.”
The entire control room fell silent, several staff members exchanged puzzled looks. They had worked in the Coria Contaminated Zone for many years. The Restricted Zone was confidential within Coria’s Contaminated Zone’s management, requiring high-level system permissions. Even they could only access the Restricted Zone system when the Frontier Army was on a mission.
Everyone who had encountered the abandoned base station in the Restricted Zone knew this, but anything further classified was beyond their reach. Now, noticing the somewhat odd expressions of the director and Old Qiu, their curiosity about Chief Ying Songshan peaked.
“What’s wrong with Chief Ying Songshan?” Suddenly, a female voice spoke up, breaking the silence in the control room.
Coria’s Director snapped out of his reverie, turning to see Shen Xingtang and Zhang Ge standing at the door.
“Regarding the accidental entry of the KID and Gale teams into the Restricted Zone, both of our mecha base stations are willing to accept any punishment.” Shen Xingtang took the lead and entered. She walked straight to Coria’s Director and said, “I’ve received information that the Dawn Galaxy Frontier Army has issued an emergency mobilization order to KID and Gale’s base stations for their Mecha Division. Since the mobilization is directed at Gale and KID, as responsible persons for the base stations, we are obligated to understand the details of the mission for our Mecha Division.”
Seeing Shen Xingtang enter so boldly, Zhang Ge was suddenly at a loss. “Hey, Boss Shen, can we talk…”
At this moment, the staff attempting to connect to the base station encountered repeated failures, and consecutive response failure alerts appeared in front of everyone.
Coria’s Director stepped forward, “What’s going on?”
The staff member replied, “Director, we’ve instructed the Gale team to reboot the base station system, but there’s still no response.”
Old Qiu’s eyes showed a hint of cloudiness, but he looked particularly serious as he focused on the Restricted Zone’s system. “What about the Special Research Institute?”
“The response from the institute has failed several times. We could access the remote access system just now, but now the system is having issues.” The staff member explained, “This system is too old; we can only attempt remote repairs.”
If they couldn’t take over the base station’s system, it meant they couldn’t provide the best guidance to the Mecha Division currently in battle.
“Old Qiu, I served in the Coria purification mission eight years ago. I experienced the danger of the Restricted Zone during that mission, so I have the right to inquire about the current situation.” Shen Xingtang looked at him seriously, her attitude unusually resolute. “As far as I know, there hasn’t been a Station Chief at the abandoned base station for eight years.”
Coria’s Director was stunned for a moment, and then he said belatedly, “No wonder I find you familiar. You were here during that mission.”
“Yes,” Shen Xingtang said. “I was the emergency support mechanic called in at the time.”
The other staff members in the control room didn’t expect Shen Xingtang to maintain a determined stance. They looked at Coria’s Director and Old Qiu one after another.
Just when everyone thought Old Qiu wouldn’t respond, he said, “Ying Songshan, Chief of the Dawn Galaxy Frontier Army’s Second Research Institute, and later served as the Station Chief of the Coria Contaminated Zone’s Base Station C-147, stepped down from the position after the 1226 Coria Contaminated Zone anomaly incident.”
Coria’s Director said, “Old Qiu.”
“There’s no harm,” Old Qiu looked at Shen Xingtang. “Base Station C-147 in Coria’s Restricted Zone was designed by him. This includes the currently operating shielding system, the last barrier he left for the Coria Restricted Zone twenty years ago.”
Shen Xingtang was surprised, “And him?”
“But after completing all these tasks, he left the Frontier Army, and there has been no news about him to this day.” Old Qiu continued, “After the purification mission eight years ago, the Frontier Army tried various ways to find him, wanting to redesign the base station system. However, we couldn’t find any information about him.”
When mentioning Ying Songshan, Old Qiu’s eyes seemed to carry deep emotion. His tone aged a few years, as if reminiscing about a colleague and friend, or perhaps recalling an old acquaintance.
“Songshan was the only person who knew every detail about the abandoned base station and was the designer of the base station system.”
The staff heard his unexpected revelation: “But the access record just now said…”
“The Frontier Army has been looking for him for 20 years, and I don’t think he would show up here.”
Old Qiu continued, “The person who correctly entered the authorization password must be related to him. If we want to restore the base station’s responsiveness, we need to find him.”
An invisible door opened, revealing an endless staircase leading underground. Within the dark stairwell, there was no light, and thick dust fell with each step. Using the light from the energy meter, Ying Chenlin proceeded downward. In the silent environment, only the the energy meter’s faint beeping was audible.
When they first entered, You Su saw Ying Chenlin inputting a new password. This password was different from the one they used to enter the research institute initially, it seemed to be the result of a character algorithm and also an authorization password.
The first entrance might have been for regular permissions, but this place wasn’t accessible with ordinary permissions.
As Ying Chenlin inputted the second password, You Su’s scattered expression completely disappeared. His gaze fell on the person walking ahead.
“This isn’t an ordinary authorization password.”
Ying Chenlin continued down. The algorithmic process to derive the latest password was displayed on his light brain.
“It’s using an authorization algorithm system. The password keeps changing, but with a special key, you can derive the special password for each change according to this algorithm.”
“How do you know about this algorithm?” You Su asked.
Ying Chenlin noticed the change in You Su’s tone. He paused slightly, turned around to look at the person standing behind him, and said, “I can tell you, but can you tell me what this research institute is for?”
You Su looked at him but remained silent.
“Your reaction is quite strange.”
Ying Chenlin leaned against one of the stairwell’s walls, all of which were covered in dust.
“You’re obviously familiar with this restricted zone, but you seem unfamiliar with this base station.”
Upon hearing this, You Su chuckled lightly.
“I came to this place on a mission in the past, into the restricted zone, but it doesn’t mean I’ve been to the base station.”
Ying Chenlin looked at You Su, trying to judge from his even tone whether he was lying.
But soon he averted his gaze, focusing on something else.
Seeing him remain silent, You Su asked, “You don’t believe me?”
Ying Chenlin replied, “I’m just thinking about this base station. It’s quite strange.”
This base station was too peculiar. It was clearly operational, but many of its systems were very outdated.
Within such outdated systems, a restricted zone system was later integrated. If the Frontier Army had the capability to build this restricted zone’s system, why didn’t they destroy and rebuild this old base station’s system?
It was as if this base station had to exist.
For this reason, both the Frontier Army and Coria had to spend a huge amount of resources to build a restricted zone system on top of it as a second barrier.
Ying Chenlin slowed his pace and continued walking inward.
He continued moving along, with You Su following his footsteps.
The silent and narrow underground staircase had no wind or other signs of life, only the echoes of their voices and footsteps.
“I saw a few articles on the bulletin board outside the research institute, mentioning weapons and pollutants multiple times,” Ying Chenlin paused after speaking, seeing You Su remain silent, he continued, “The appearance of pollutants is normal. Most laboratories in pollution zones observe and research pollutants. But weapons shouldn’t appear—”
Mid-sentence, they reached the end of the stairs.
“We’re here,” You Su said.
Ying Chenlin didn’t move, looking at You Su in the dim light.
You Su’s eyelids drooped slightly. “What are you looking at me for?”
Ying Chenlin asked, “Is this a weapons research facility?”
You Su chuckled, returning to his usual tone.
“I’m unfamiliar with this base station.”
That settled it.
Ying Chenlin touched the wall, and another virtual screen popped up in front of him.
The encrypted prompt on the permissions showed the same familiar algorithm. Ying Chenlin frowned slightly, using the system on his light brain to calculate and derive a new password.
Once it was entered, the wall lit up, and Ying Chenlin stepped two steps back. Suddenly, he noticed that the mecha key around his neck seemed to be getting hotter. Unconsciously, he stopped his movements, only increasing his mental output in the key.
You Su glanced at Ying Chenlin’s unusual expression. “Is the mecha responding?”
“It’s strange,” Ying Chenlin felt the slight heat on the mecha key. Initially, his mental power’s input could suppress the heat coming from inside the key, but now, this heat seemed to be breaking through the limits of his mental power, and its reaction was quite intense.
The light on the wall receded, finally revealing the outline of the door, which slowly opened before them.
You Su furrowed his brows slightly, and his gaze locked onto the crack in the door.
“There’s wind.”
Wind? Ying Chenlin suddenly felt the wind blowing through the open door, carrying a bit of warmth.
Suddenly, there was movement behind the door, and besides the wind, there seemed to be other sounds.
As Ying Chenlin was trying to determine the direction of the sound, he suddenly heard a very fast noise, like a snake swiftly moving forward.
“Step back!” You Su shouted abruptly.
Ying Chenlin took a few steps back, but whatever was behind the door was faster than him.
At the same time he stepped back, something lunged towards him in the darkness.
In this critical moment, You Su suddenly pulled Ying Chenlin back forcefully, and the attacking force slammed into the wall of the narrow staircase. You Su’s grip was incredibly strong as he pulled Ying Chenlin away, avoiding the attack and quickly creating distance from the entity.
The attack was extremely sudden. While Ying Chenlin was being pulled back, he raised the energy meter in his hand to the maximum value. The brilliant light illuminated the narrow and dark space, revealing the entity in front of them.
At that moment, Ying Chenlin clearly saw what was in front of him and was momentarily stunned.
A long, dark gray entity emitted an eerie cold light in the darkness. It was surrounded by various uneven metal fragments, displaying irregular shapes. At a glance, it looked like a fusion of various mechanical metal parts.
Author’s note:
Ying Songshan is the paternal grandfather.
