Eunuch, do you really know these martial arts?

Director Zhang Yi suddenly stood up from behind the monitor.

The lighting technicians, photographers, and script supervisors all stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on the figure huddled up next to the water tank.

It took a good ten seconds before Jiang Nian's shoulders stopped trembling.

He slowly raised his head, took a deep breath, and when he turned his head again, the expression on his face had returned to its usual calm.

He stood up, dusted off his white coat, and looked at Zhang Yi: "Director, is this take okay?"

Zhang Yi finally snapped out of his daze and clapped enthusiastically: "Great! Excellent! We don't need to watch the replay for Jiang Nian's take, let's go straight through!"

The staff on site all joined in the applause.

Lin Wan hurriedly stood up, wiped away her tears, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, Director. I was completely absorbed by Teacher Jiang and forgot my lines."

"It's okay! That kind of reaction is actually more real!"

Zhang Yi waved his hand, walked to Jiang Nian's side, and carefully examined his complexion. "Jiang Nian, are you alright? That last part was too exhausting."

"It's alright." Jiang Nian stretched her stiff neck. "Just a little tired. But the role requires it."

"It's more than just a little tiring."

Zhang Yi patted his arm and lowered his voice, "I was worried you wouldn't make it out. Okay, that's enough for today, let's call it a day! Go back and rest, I'll give you a day off tomorrow, take a good rest."

"Thank you, director." Jiang Nian did not refuse.

"Of course," Zhang Yi shouted into the walkie-talkie, "That's a wrap! Thanks for your hard work, everyone!"

The crew began to pack up the equipment in an orderly manner.

The lights went out, and the rooftop was once again enveloped by the city's neon lights and night, as if the emotional storm that had just occurred had never happened.

Jiang Nian walked towards the stairwell, and Lin Wan followed her: "Teacher Jiang, I asked my assistant to make some soup, I'll bring it to your room in a bit?"

"No thanks."

Jiang Nian stopped walking, her tone gentle but with a clear distance, "You should get some rest too, you've had a hard day."

"Oh, okay." Lin Wan was a little disappointed, but still nodded.

Chen Xiao also came over, his eyes shining: "Teacher Jiang, I was completely stunned by your performance just now."

Jiang Nian nodded and said nothing more, then walked down the rooftop accompanied by Su Qing and Chen Meng.

Back in the van, the moment the door closed, Jiang Nian's gentleness and exhaustion vanished.

"What time is it now?" he asked.

"8:17 PM".

Su Qing glanced at her watch and quickly reported.

"Two hours and thirteen minutes until the scheduled departure time."

"Qin's team has made a breakthrough. Simulation tests of the new composite waveform show that, under specific conditions, the inhibition rate can be stabilized at 51 percent."

“Fifty-one percent,” Jiang Nian repeated the number. “What are the specific conditions?”

"Your active cooperation is required. While the external waveform is being applied, the internal force should be directed to run along the specific route they provide, forming a temporary internal circulation barrier."

Su Qing pulled up the encrypted data on the tablet and showed it to Jiang Nian.

It was a simplified diagram of the human body's meridians, marked with a path that differed from the conventional circulation of internal energy. It branched off from the dantian, ascended along several secondary meridians, and finally formed a closed loop in a specific area of ​​the brain.

Jiang Nian frowned slightly, "It's a less common practice, so the flow of internal energy will be a bit sluggish."

"Old Qin said that precisely because it is a 'leisurely' sutra, it is less affected by conventional internal forces and is more likely to form a stable resonance with specific external frequencies."

Su Qing explained, "They deduced it from your physiological data during your previous tests."

"Simulations show that as long as you can establish this inner loop within three seconds of the waveform loading starting, the suppression effect will be activated and will last for at least thirty seconds."

Jiang Nian closed his eyes and simulated the internal energy route in his mind.

It is indeed awkward, like forcing a car accustomed to speeding on main roads to turn into a narrow alley, but it is not impossible.

"What about the trigger command? How do I know when it should start?"

"The base will send a specific audio prompt via an encrypted channel twenty seconds before you release the signal."

Chen Meng turned his head from the front row and said, "When you hear the prompt tone, you will begin building the inner loop. Twenty seconds later, the signal device will activate, and the external waveform will be loaded synchronously. Theoretically, the window is sufficient."

"The support submarine Haiying has arrived at its ambush position at a depth of 350 meters, 1.5 nautical miles from your designated work site."

"The Flying Fish speedboat is also on standby five nautical miles away. Two anti-submarine aircraft from the South China Sea Fleet have taken off and are patrolling the airspace sixty nautical miles away, maintaining radio silence."

Su Qing added, "General Zhao's final confirmed action plan is that after you release the signal, you must begin to ascend within twenty-five seconds, regardless of whether a target appears."

"Haiying will begin to rise in sync to meet you 15 seconds after you send your signal. The Flying Fish speedboat must complete the response and disembark at full speed within 90 seconds of you emerging from the water."

"What if a target appears and shows signs of aggression?"

"Judgment by Haiying."

Chen Meng's voice hardened, "Authorize the use of all necessary means to intercept or destroy, with your safe evacuation as the primary objective."

There was a few seconds of silence in the carriage, with only the low rumble of the engine.

"Has the production crew arranged a reason?"

Jiang Nian changed the subject.

"arranged."

Su Qing nodded. "Ten minutes ago, I sent a message to Director Zhang's assistant in your capacity as his assistant, explaining that the emotional strain of filming every day has caused your back injury from filming action scenes years ago to recur. You need to rest for a day and resume filming the day after tomorrow."

"Director Zhang has replied that he agrees and told you to get some rest."

"Hmm." Jiang Nian looked at the city lights rushing past the window. "Back to the hotel. I need some time to adjust."

"clear."

……

Xuanwu Base, Deep Biological Laboratory.

The atmosphere reached an unprecedented level of tension.

Old Qin's dark circles were so thick they seemed impossible to dissolve, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

On the screen in front of him, the curve representing the inhibition rate finally stabilized above the 51% threshold and stopped fluctuating wildly.

"Success!"

A young researcher almost burst into tears.

A suppressed cheer and a sigh of relief rang out in the laboratory.

"Immediately package the final waveform parameters and internal force triggering path, and transmit them to Advisor Jiang and the Haiying submarine with the highest priority and encryption!"

Old Qin's voice was hoarse but powerful, "In addition, prepare a portable miniature waveform generator and have Hai Ying take it with him, in case the device carried by Consultant Jiang malfunctions."

"Mr. Qin, the portable one might not have enough power," Dr. Fang reminded him.

"Something is better than nothing!"

Old Qin said decisively, "This is a life-saving contingency plan! Go and prepare it immediately!"

"Yes!"

Old Qin then slowly sat down, leaning on the control panel, feeling as if all his strength had been drained. He glanced at the digital clock on the wall: 8:40 PM.

There are less than two hours left before the operation begins.

He picked up the dedicated phone line and dialed Bai Yongxu's number.

"Old Bai, the thing is done. It can stay stable for more than 30 seconds."

Old Qin got straight to the point.

On the other end of the phone, Bai Yongxu was silent for two seconds before slowly exhaling: "Thanks for your hard work, Lao Qin. Can you get things under control with Jiang Nian?"

"The trigger path has been transmitted. That kid is a grandmaster, with exquisite control over his internal energy. As long as he stays focused, following the path shouldn't be a problem."

Old Qin paused for a moment, then said, "The key is timing. The synchronization difference between the external waveform loading and the activation of his internal force circulation cannot exceed 0.5 seconds, otherwise the effect will be greatly reduced."

"What about the synchronization command?"

"It's all set up. Haiying will keep a precise time and send a notification audio message at the scheduled time."

"After hearing this, Consultant Jiang began preparations. Twenty seconds later, the device was activated and the waveform was loaded synchronously."

"Okay." Bai Yongxu's voice lowered. "Old Qin, go and rest. We'll take care of the rest."

"I can't sleep," Old Qin sighed. "I'll just wait here. Let me know immediately if there's any news."

"……Row."

After hanging up the phone, Bai Yongxu stood in front of the huge electronic nautical chart in the command center.

On the nautical chart, a green dot representing the sea shadow floats silently at the edge of the target sea area, while another dot representing the Flying Fish speedboat is swimming not far away.

The center of the red area is the coordinate where Jiang Nian will dive tonight.

"Final intelligence summary."

Bai Yongxu did not turn around.

Chief Zhao walked to his side, holding a newly printed report in his hand.

"In the past three hours, two brief anomalous sonar echoes were detected in the target area, originating from a depth of over 900 meters. The characteristics were consistent with those of the previous underwater vehicles, but the signals were weaker, possibly indicating that they were cruising at low speed or in standby mode. No other signs of large-scale underwater unit gatherings were detected."

"Where are our anti-submarine aircraft and frigates?"

"Anti-submarine aircraft are in position in the designated airspace, maintaining passive monitoring with radar and sonar."

Bai Yongxu's gaze lingered on the red coordinate point on the nautical chart for a long time.

"Old Zhao," he suddenly spoke up, "do you really think they'll take the bait?"

Chief Zhao paused for a moment: "If their verification operation is genuine, and the marker activity in Consultant Jiang's body really peaks in the next few hours as Elder Qin said, then the probability of them detecting it is over 90%. As for whether they will send a unit to investigate..."

He paused, his voice cold and hard: "Then we'll see how much they value it."

“Yes,” Bai Yongxu said slowly, “The fact that they value it so much that they are willing to expose their hidden power speaks volumes.”

He turned around and looked at all the personnel who were on high alert in the command center: "Pass down the order, the operation will proceed as planned."

"All personnel shall remain at the highest level of alert."

"Remember, our primary objective is to ensure Comrade Jiang Nian's safe return."

"Based on this, obtain as much enemy intelligence and technology samples as possible. If attacked, retaliate decisively without seeking instructions."

"Yes!"

A unified response rang out in the command center.

……

hotel room.

Jiang Nian took a cold shower and changed into a black, specially made tight-fitting diving liner.

The fabric is thin yet strong, close-fitting yet not tight, providing both warmth and basic protection.

Su Qing handed him a seemingly ordinary dark gray tracksuit: "The jacket has been treated with fabric that can interfere with the rapid identification of infrared and thermal imaging to a certain extent."

Jiang Nian put on her sportswear and looked at herself in the mirror. It was a very ordinary outfit, like someone who goes out for a run at night.

Chen Meng knocked on the door and came in, carrying a black sports backpack: "Advisor Jiang, this is your equipment. On the surface, it looks like something an ordinary diving enthusiast would use, but inside are specially made signal transmitters and emergency supplies."

"It's been checked, everything is normal."

Jiang Nian took the backpack, weighed it in his hand, and found the weight to be just right.

He opened it and took a look; inside was a tablet computer with a waterproof port and a few simple buttons on the side.

Next to it was a small silver disc, which was the emergency shielding device we had seen before, and two sealed syringes about the thickness of a finger.

"The blue one is a highly concentrated stimulant, which enhances reaction and physical performance in critical moments, but the side effect is extreme fatigue for the next twelve hours. The red one is a strong clotting agent, which can temporarily seal major blood vessels in case of external injury."

Su Qing pointed to the syringe and explained, "Hopefully we won't need it."

Jiang Nian closed his backpack: "Departure time?"

"At 9:30 sharp, we left from the hotel's underground parking garage."

Chen Meng glanced at his watch. "The vehicle is ready, the license plate has been changed, and three routes have been planned. We'll choose the one that best suits the traffic conditions. Su Qing and I will take you to Pier No. 3, where Flying Fish will meet you."

Jiang Nian nodded and said no more.

“Teacher Jiang,” Su Qing’s voice sounded from behind, with a hint of hesitation, “The base just sent over the final operating guidelines from Elder Qin’s team. Would you like to take another look?”

"No need." Jiang Nian turned around, her eyes calm. "I've memorized the path. The rest is up to you on the spot."

"Let's go."

The three of them left the room quietly, not taking the elevator, but instead using the emergency staircase to go directly to the second basement level parking garage.

A dark gray SUV was already running and parked in the shadows. Chen Meng opened the back door, Jiang Nian quickly got in, and Su Qing sat in the passenger seat.

The car smoothly drove out of the garage and merged into the night traffic.

Chen Meng drove very steadily, at a moderate speed, not at all like someone about to embark on a dangerous mission.

The carriage was quiet. Su Qing checked her tablet from time to time, which displayed an encrypted route map and live feeds from several monitoring points.

"The route is clear, and there are no abnormal tracking points," she reported in a low voice.

Jiang Nian leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to silently circulate that unfamiliar internal energy path in his mind.

At first, it was indeed sluggish, as if the internal force had encountered invisible resistance, struggling to move forward in those small meridians that were rarely touched in normal times.

But after running it a few times, it gradually became smoother.

The key lies in control, precise control down to the millimeter.

It cannot be too fast, nor too slow; it must resonate precisely with the external waveform that is about to be applied.

The car left the main road and turned onto a small road leading to the abandoned industrial area's dock.

The streetlights were dim, and there were hardly any other vehicles in sight.

"Pier number three is just ahead."

Chen Meng slowed down. "Flying Fish's rendezvous point is behind the innermost old warehouse." (End of Chapter)