From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 678 Quietly Weaving an Invisible Dark Web

Water droplets condensed on the inner wall of the metal pipe silently slid off the surface of the nano-combat suit, refracting the faint red light emitted from the distant security checkpoint.

Lyon raised his right hand and made a tactical gesture, and the players behind him immediately fell silent.

The first checkpoint is just around the corner—

It was a crescent-shaped automated platform with six infrared scanners scanning in a precise, cyclical pattern, the intersecting laser grids outlining deadly geometric patterns in the humid air.

"Children's toys".

Mike made a joke on the encrypted communication channel.

As he spoke, Mike's fingers slid rapidly in front of him, and a few drops of liquid metal seeped from the wrist of his nanosuit.

These intelligent microparticles, like living spider webs, silently crawled along the pipe walls toward the control panel.

When the seventh scan interval arrives, liquid metal precisely seeps into the heat dissipation holes of the main control chip, reconstructing the alarm logic circuit in a short time.

"Resolved."

Upon hearing this, Chris nodded slightly, and using the gradually widening pipe, he went around to the front and was the first to pass through the stationary laser grid.

His nanosuit has a water-like pattern on its surface, perfectly simulating the temperature and reflectivity of the surrounding environment.

Lyon and his special operations team passed by like shadows, without even causing a ripple in the sewage accumulated in the pipes.

The monitor screen still showed an empty pipeline, which was a looping image implanted by Mike that would continue for a full seventy-two hours.

After passing through the checkpoint, the diameter of the pipeline suddenly increases to three meters.

The humid, sweltering air, carrying the smell of chemicals, was overwhelming; this was clearly the wastewater treatment center at the UED headquarters.

The massive processing machine operates in the dark, diverting domestic sewage and industrial wastewater into different pipes.

The water droplets condensing on the wall appear eerily fluorescent green under nano-visual enhancement, suggesting that some kind of inhibitor is being used extensively here.

"Stay alert."

Chris's voice reached the team members' ears: "The liquid here contains toxic substances."

Lyon crouched down and lightly touched the surface of the flowing sewage with his fingertips.

His tactical interface immediately displayed a complete component analysis—

In addition to conventional pollutants, there are trace amounts of neurotransmitter inhibitors, which is a special means for UED to prevent the growth of harmful organisms in the pipeline.

After passing the three roaring processing machines, a vertical maintenance well appeared ahead.

A one-meter-diameter alloy ladder leads straight up into the darkness, where thermal imaging reveals four moving heat sources—a standard patrol configuration.

Mike took a spider-like miniature robot from his thigh armor and gently placed it on the ladder.

The device immediately deployed its eight mechanical legs and began to climb upwards at an astonishing speed.

"Acoustic jamming has been deployed."

Thirty seconds later, Mike reported.

Then, a faint "buzzing" sound came from above. It was the infrasound emitted by the robot inducing fatigue in the patrol personnel. However, this infrasound had no effect on Leon, Mike, Chris, and the others who were wearing nanosuits.

“They’ll naturally fall asleep in ninety seconds,” Mike whispered.

Then, Chris once again took the lead in climbing the ladder.

His nanosuit gloves can automatically adjust their adhesion based on the material of the contact surface, making him quieter than a feline when climbing.

As his helmet emerged from the edge of the well, he saw four UED guards yawning and leaning against the wall, their guns hanging limply to the ground.

The spider robot was perched on the ceiling, its compound eyes flashing red light, a sign that it had completed its mission.

The maintenance well is connected to a narrow maintenance passage, only wide enough for one person to crawl through.

Then, Leon and his companions lined up and silently slithered through the suffocating darkness like a swarm of snakes.

At the end of the passage was a pressure-sealed door, with a biometric device on it flashing a pale blue light.

“Execute Plan Two,” Chris reminded him.

Upon receiving the prompting, Mike immediately retrieved a capsule containing the biometric information they had obtained from their informant.

Before long, the biometric light turned green, indicating that the information had been successfully transmitted.

The moment the air pressure door slid open, cool, dry air rushed into the passage.

Before you lies a clean and bright corridor, with the UED logo embedded in the walls.

This is already the third basement level of the headquarters, and there are only two isolation doors between us and the nearest server room.

“Remember the route.” Leon marked the 3D map on his helmet screen. “The elevator on the east side goes directly to the command center on the 78th floor, and the passage on the west side connects to the communication node.”

The team members then split into three groups, each heading toward their designated destination.

Their nanosuits perfectly mimicked the uniforms of UED technicians. The AR technology with hard light technology made Leon, Mike, Chris, and every member of the special operations team look like "living" employees, like a modern "disguise." Furthermore, the holographic name tags on their chests displayed verified identity information.

The cleaning robots in the corridor glided past them unnoticed, while the footage captured by the surveillance cameras was replaced by Mike with everyday images in real time.

As Chris's team approached the final isolation door, an "accident" occurred—

The retinal scanner next to the door suddenly flashed red, and a mechanical female voice calmly announced: "Unauthorized personnel approaching the S-level area, activation of the lockdown protocol."

"We've been discovered?" Upon seeing this, a member of the special operations team had already placed his finger on the pulse pistol in its holster.

"No, it's just a routine scan."

Chris calmly observed the scanner. "This is just a random check."

As he spoke, he gestured for his team members to step back, and then stood in front of the scanner himself.

The moment the nano-mask unfolded, it revealed his deliberately calm face and eyes that simulated the bio-information of others.

Soon, the scanning beam slowly swept across his eyeballs.

"Identity verified." The mechanical female voice switched to a pleasant tone. "Welcome back, Keynes Technical Director."

The isolation door slid open silently, revealing the brightly lit main control room behind it.

Hundreds of servers are arranged in concentric circles, with a large amount of real-time data streaming floating on the central control console.

A member of the special operations team immediately stepped forward and inserted a data probe into the main interface. Nanoscale quantum decryption programs began to flood into the UED's system. "It will take eight minutes to download completely," the special operations team member whispered. "And they found something at the Martian north pole that also seems to belong to the Xel'Naga ruins."

At this moment, news also came back from Lyon's team—

The communication node has been compromised and a monitoring program is being implanted.

Meanwhile, the third team led by Mike arrived at the biological database and began downloading the genetic keys of high-ranking officials and generals.

Chris stood in front of the control panel, staring at the constantly fluctuating data stream.

Members of the human empire's special operations teams, like nanobots infiltrating the human body, are silently dismantling the region's defenses.

Three hundred meters above them, UED officials were still preparing for tomorrow's parliamentary debate, completely unaware that the most deadly threat had already penetrated their very hearts.

Soon, a notification sound indicating that the data download was complete rang in Chris's ear, and he immediately made a cutting gesture.

The special operations team members quickly pulled out the data probe, and the nanometer-sized interface instantly self-repaired without leaving any trace.

Meanwhile, Lyon had already embedded three miniature signal transmitters into the gaps in the server rack.

These devices will continue to transmit data until they automatically decompose into harmless dust after 72 hours.

"Evacuate."

Chris's voice was as sharp as an ice blade in the encrypted channel.

The special forces soldiers immediately activated the camouflage program on their nanosuits, causing the surface of their uniforms to flow like mercury, instantly reverting to the standard configuration of the UED security forces.

They withdrew from the main control room in a standard counter-reconnaissance formation, precisely avoiding the pressure sensors on the ground with each step.

As Chris passed through the biometric gate, he deliberately slowed down so that the surveillance camera could capture a clear image of the "Director Cairns" leaving.

Blizzard provided natural cover outside its headquarters building.

Snowflakes swept across the sky at an extremely fast speed, and visibility began to drop to less than five meters.

Leon, Mike, Corres, and other special forces members remained divided into three groups, traversing the snow-covered courtyard along different routes.

The nanosuit's temperature regulation system precisely controls its surface temperature to match the environment, making it impossible for even the most sensitive thermal imagers to distinguish it from the surrounding snowdrifts.

"Landing area is safe," the voice of the remaining team member came through the communication channel. "Equipment has been packed up."

Chris's group was the first to reach the edge of the forest.

Four team members remained behind, standing guard beside a spruce tree bent under the weight of snow, while six equipment boxes were neatly arranged in the shadow of the raiding boat.

These containers, which employ a certain degree of compression technology, may appear to be the size of ordinary suitcases, but they can hold a large amount of supplies, weapons, and equipment.

“Take only boxes three and five,” Chris checked the equipment list. “Leave the rest on the raiding boat as emergency reserves.”

Lyon crouched down and lightly touched the identification panel of box number three with his finger.

The container immediately unfolded into a tactical platform, revealing neatly arranged urban infiltration equipment inside.

Holographic projection bracelets, neural jammers, and listening devices disguised as everyday objects.
The most eye-catching item was a black cylindrical container with no markings on its surface, except for a dark red warning ring.

This is the instruction manual and control device for the "strategic biological weapon" they carried on this trip, and it has not been mentioned since it was put into the equipment box.

"The route to the East District has been planned."

At this moment, Mike pulled up a holographic map. A blue dotted line stretched through the blizzard towards the abandoned industrial park 15 kilometers away. "The blizzard will continue until early tomorrow morning, which is enough time for us to set up a temporary base."

After repackaging the necessary equipment, the twelve special forces soldiers lined up in a single file and stepped into the blizzard.

The magnetic adsorption device on the feet of the nanosuits allows them to walk in the snow with almost no trace. Each person's footprint is smoothed out by a special frequency of vibration within three seconds and then buried by the blizzard.

After passing through the forest, the eastern skyline of the UED capital city was faintly visible through the snow.

The architecture here is completely different from that of the government district where the headquarters is located—

The towering apartment buildings are densely packed like a concrete jungle, with sky bridges connecting the various buildings hundreds of meters in the air, now covered in snow and transformed into white rainbows.

The giant holographic billboard in the business center is still "stubbornly" flashing, but the snowflakes have made the promotional images fragmented.

There were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

Occasionally, a self-driving snowplow slowly drives by, its hot air melting the snow into muddy streams.

Several homeless people huddled around the geothermal vent, covered with government-issued thermal blankets. Further away, the patrol airships of the Eastern District Police Department, like weary fireflies, listlessly swept their searchlights across the empty streets.

"Split up," Chris ordered as they approached the eastern boundary. "Kennedy's Group A will establish a safe house, Monadi's Group B will acquire transportation, and Group C, led by me..."

As he spoke, he looked at the black cylinder, "It's responsible for the placement of special items."

Immediately afterwards, Lyon led Group A into a small alley.

The security cameras here were destroyed by graffiti artists using special paint, and a nanosuit scan revealed an abandoned heating pipe inside the wall.

Mike's B team headed to the underground parking lot, where dozens of civilian hovercars abandoned due to the blizzard were parked.

Chris himself led the black cylinder toward an abandoned building with a sign that read "Biohazard Research Institute".

Snowflakes formed small swirls in front of the broken window of the research institute.

Chris entered the password provided by the informant, and the rusty security door slid open silently, revealing a laboratory that had been sealed off for many years.

He then placed the jet-black cylindrical container steadily on the central experimental platform. Immediately, twelve nanometer-scale interface probes extended from the bottom of the container, precisely piercing the platform's long-corroded control interface as if they were alive.

Surprisingly, the circuits touched by these probes miraculously regained their activity, and a set of sleep indicator lights lit up one after another on the control panel surface, changing from a warning scarlet to a standby ghost green.

“Eye of the Shadows, this is Assault Team C.” Chris’s voice echoed faintly in the empty laboratory. “Controller in place, stability index 9.8.”

The stealth-class warship, located in near-Earth orbit, immediately responded; the voice on the quantum communication channel carried a distinctive electronic quality.
"Signal confirmed. Matching with weapons in the warehouse. Matching rate 100%. Emergency protocol activation code: Wrath of Man. Repeat. Emergency protocol activation code is Wrath of Man."

Meanwhile, in an abandoned factory in the seventh industrial park in the eastern district, Lyon was directing his team to unfold three empty equipment crates.

The box, which uses a memory metal frame, automatically deforms and reassembles after activation, instantly expanding into a small temporary command center. Together with the equipment that has been vacated and installed, a holographic projection outlines a three-dimensional model of the entire city in the air. Hundreds of red dots mark the security nodes of the UED, while a dozen or so blue dots represent special forces members scattered in various locations.

"The safe house is complete." Lyon inspected the various devices.

Mike's voice came through the communicator: "We've acquired three civilian hovercars and modified them to our standards."

The blizzard outside the window intensified, and the sound of snowflakes hitting the glass was like the scratching of some creature.

In this white, chaotic world, the agents of the human empire have quietly woven an invisible dark web, while the high-ranking officials of the UED are still in their warm residences, preparing their speeches for tomorrow's press conference.
(End of this chapter)