Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

The icy winds of the Arctic and the eerie glow of Atlantis, like a perfectly concealed prelude, quietly turned the page. Ten advance ships activated an advanced energy cloaking field, not a complete optical or electromagnetic cloaking, but one that distorted local energy fields to blend into the environment, thus evading detection by most traditional radars and satellites.

While China's Kuafu global positioning and surveillance system is undoubtedly advanced, and the computing power and early warning capabilities of Pangu artificial intelligence are unparalleled globally, their routine monitoring focuses primarily on global hotspots, military movements, and abnormal weather. The vast and tranquil North and South Poles, especially the complex Arctic region perpetually covered by ice storms, are not all-weather, high-intensity scanning focal points. Furthermore, the energy characteristics of Atlantis ships differ significantly from terrestrial technology, and their stealth technology specifically utilizes ambient energy background noise, allowing them to blend into the night like ghosts, successfully evading the initial Skynet surveillance system.

Having gained freedom of action, the Atlantean vanguard, like a released falcon, displayed astonishing maneuverability. Their propulsion system did not rely on traditional aerodynamics or chemical fuels, but rather on precise manipulation of gravitational and geomagnetic fields, coupled with a continuous stream of energy ejected around the hull. This enabled them to perform near-fake-physical stops, right-angle turns, and vertical takeoffs and landings in the air, with rapid acceleration and cruising speeds easily surpassing the most advanced supersonic fighters on Earth, rivaling even China's Fuxi spaceplane.

In just a few days, these visitors from the Earth's core, like invisible shadows, quietly swept across the vast ice fields and oceans, penetrating into different continental plates.

Above the ravaged cities of the Western Federation, three warships personally led by Nereus glided like ghosts, below which the scars of war and sporadic zombie cleanup operations remained visible. The warships' passive sensors greedily collected everything: remnants of radio communications, chaotic energy network signals, outdated air defense radar frequencies, and images of soldiers staggering through the streets, armed with a motley collection of equipment.

"Low energy levels, severe technological gaps, and a loosely organized structure. Threat level: extremely low. Can be considered as one of the first areas for order reorganization," Nereus coldly assessed, looking at the analyzed data.

Near the wastelands and hidden military bases of the Northern Federation, two warships descended to almost touching the ground. They captured images of the Northern Bear Kingdom's army training with tanks and artillery, and also detected faint electromagnetic signals emanating from a command post hidden deep underground.

"It retains some heavy conventional weaponry, has rigid strategic thinking, and relies on traditional fossil fuels for energy. Threat level: Low. Its internal contradictions can be exploited to divide and conquer."

Warships have also visited the rainforests and chaotic coastlines of the Southern Federation. They bear witness to the rusty decks of the remaining Indian naval vessels and the occasional small arms firefights between various factions.

"Densely populated but with low levels of education, crumbling infrastructure, and a social structure that is almost like a primitive tribe. Threat level: Negligible. Suitable for population resource management."

Arrogance and disdain were the most direct impressions these Atlantean scouts had of surface civilization. In their eyes, the surface world, surviving the zombie apocalypse, resembled a ruin where civilization had regressed and savagery had descended. This further solidified their belief in purification and domination.

However, an accident occurred when two advance ships, designated Yingsuo-7 and Yingsuo-9, responsible for reconnaissance of the East Asian region, cautiously attempted to quietly intrude into Chinese airspace along the coastline.

China's air defense identification zone is not just for show. Pangu AI has taken over the nationwide air situation monitoring, and its learning and pattern recognition capabilities far surpass those of traditional systems. It not only identifies known aircraft signals, but also continuously monitors all abnormal patterns of energy flow, electromagnetic radiation, and even air disturbances within the airspace.

"Warning: Persistent, weak, and highly ordered unnatural energy field fluctuations have been detected in the A-7 airspace along the eastern coast. The fluctuation characteristics do not match known meteorological phenomena, aircraft contrails, or communication signals. Energy spectrum analysis shows high cohesion and low entropy characteristics, suggesting possible traces of artificially manipulated energy source movement."

A cold electronic alert sounded at the Eastern Theater Command Air Defense Command Center, while relevant data and alarms were simultaneously pushed to higher-level monitoring nodes.

The duty officer frowned: "Unnatural energy fluctuations? Could it be a new stealth aircraft secretly developed by some Federation? Or... a leak of some unknown experimental project?"

"Immediately activate the Kuafu system to conduct a high-resolution composite spectrum scan of this airspace! Activate ground phased array radar for coordinated detection, and increase power to penetration mode! Pangu, continue to track the energy source trajectory and predict its behavior patterns!" The commander issued the order swiftly, without hesitation due to the unknown.

Several dedicated monitoring satellites of the Kuafu system adjusted their attitudes, focusing high-energy particle beams and synthetic aperture radar beams towards the warning area. Multiple large phased-array radar stations on the ground also increased their scanning power in an attempt to penetrate potential energy interference.

Although the Atlantis warships possessed advanced stealth technology, under the targeted and enhanced multi-band, multi-source composite detection network of China, faint ripples began to appear at the edges of their distorted energy fields. These ripples became even more pronounced when they slightly lowered their altitude or adjusted their attitude to scan ground facilities more precisely.

"Blurred outline detected! Image enhancement and feature matching in progress..."

On the large screen, the composite image, processed by a complex algorithm, gradually became clear. It showed the outlines of two streamlined aircraft emitting a faint glow of energy. Their shapes were completely different from those of any known aircraft from any country. Instead, they bore a resemblance to the Xirang Engineering Ship designed in the Houtu Project, but were more slender and aggressive.

"What kind of aircraft is this?! I've never seen anything like it before!"

"Immediately trace their movements back! Where did they come from?!"

"Energy reading analysis...completely different from conventional propulsion methods! This is...some kind of energy field propulsion?"

The atmosphere in the air defense center suddenly became tense. The unknown often means the greatest threat.

The alarm, along with preliminary analysis data and blurry images, was encrypted and uploaded with the highest priority, directly to the highest command center.

Inside Mr. Li's office, the encrypted terminal emitted a rapid notification sound. When he saw the images of the two strangely shaped flying objects on the screen, radiating a light that did not belong to surface technology, as well as the key conclusions of Pangu's preliminary analysis, such as "high-energy artificial creations," "excellent stealth capabilities," and "unconventional propulsion," his pupils suddenly contracted.

A name jumped into his mind almost instantly—the subterranean civilization!

"Immediately connect to Comrade Lin Feng's hotline! Ask him if he can identify this type of aircraft and its possible technological origins!" Old Li ordered his secretary in a deep voice, his tone carrying an undeniable urgency.

The order was executed immediately. A direct phone line was established with Lin Feng, who was closely monitoring the Earth's core at the Abyss Outpost.

"General Lin, urgent message from the top leadership. Two unidentified high-energy aircraft have been detected in our eastern airspace. They resemble the Xirang ship in appearance, but exhibit more aggressive characteristics. Here are the synchronized images and preliminary energy analysis data for your review."

On the screen in front of Lin Feng, the blurry outlines and energy spectrum diagrams of the two Shadow Shuttle ships immediately appeared. His sharp gaze swept over every detail: the unique energy field distribution pattern, the reflective properties of the hull that perfectly matched the Earth's core environment, and the spectral peaks emitted by the propulsion system, similar to the Earth's core energy turbulence detected near the Tongtian Well…

The conclusion is clear with almost no need for much thought.

"This is indeed a creation of the Earth's core." Lin Feng's voice came through the microphone, calm yet tinged with seriousness. "Its energy characteristics and the spectral reflectivity of its outer shell material are highly consistent with the Earth's core environment data we collected at the edge of the Tongtian Well. Although its appearance differs from the Xirang (a type of ancient Chinese soil), its core field propulsion principle and energy utilization method belong to the same branch of the technology tree. Most importantly—"

He paused, then emphasized, "Their presence in our airspace means that the subterranean civilization is not only hostile to us, but has also acquired... the ability to actively come to the surface. These aren't probes; they're reconnaissance ships, or... advance troops."

Lin Feng's analysis was like a final, heavy blow, shattering all remaining hopes.

The enemy at the Earth's core is no longer a potential threat hidden deep underground.

They have already arrived at the door.