Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1368 Communication Hacking (Two Chapters Combined)

Although their goals were not entirely the same, the cooperation between the Rangers and the First Secret Service was reasonably pleasant.

Alpha-Bronze 2 wouldn't care about being discovered by the US military; the Martian mechanical soldiers' fear of death had been minimized by biochemical modifications and drugs. But the veterans of the First Classified Regiment were either veterans of the Afghan war or war dogs recruited from other war-torn regions around the world. They were extremely concerned about the operational deadlines given by their superiors, and they understood the consequences of being discovered by the US military. Their armed forces alone were simply no match for a large regular army; they also lacked sufficient anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. If discovered by the US military, only all-out war remained a possibility.

However, when Alpha-Bronze 2 proposed splitting up the forces to encircle the rooms in the SHIELD ambush area, which had a 70.3%, 82.5%, and 95.6% chance of being targeted by SHIELD personnel, respectively, the First Classified Regiment had no choice but to agree to this time-wasting tactic. Even though the sergeant knew that SHIELD was simply trying to stall for time, that the Rangers couldn't gain any advantage in terms of terrain, and that the area was severely flooded, greatly slowing down the movement of most of the armed personnel, the order to complete the mission was still hanging over his head, and he couldn't refuse.

The First Class Regiment's so-called "military operation speed" is not based on the efficiency of ordinary special forces, but on the efficiency of genetically modified soldiers. As the first experimental army, the First Class Regiment's daily training and equipment are designed to work with genetically modified soldiers, enabling the two combat systems to seamlessly connect and operate flexibly. When the First Class Regiment's sergeants tolerate the Rangers wasting time, there is actually still a long time before the combat deadline, enough for an ordinary special operations force with the same equipment to enter the Lighthouse base and seize the target.

Epsilon-Rodney-Radium 223 provided a wealth of intelligence beneficial to the operation, offering ample support even when forces were split. Her consciousness, swept along by a torrent of electrical charge, raced through an ocean of microscopic particles. Radio signals, relayed by orbiting satellites, entered the receivers of Alpha-Bronze 2 and Epsilon-Rodney-Radium 223, clearly displaying the scene witnessed by the thirty Martian Rangers. Each electronic eye video output of the Hunting System contained fragmented programs of Epsilon-Rodney-Radium 223's consciousness. She dispersed her mind and thoughts into hundreds of transponders with simple preset programs, simultaneously monitoring the Rangers and the Lighthouse Base. She could even see herself from the third-person perspective of the Rangers beside her.

Ordinary people find it difficult to comprehend this fragmented thinking experience, and even among Martian sages of the same level, few can match Epsilon-Rodney-Ray 223's prowess. Limited by her level's hardware, she still skillfully utilizes multi-threaded real-time processing and tracking command techniques to control the entire operation. Compared to the powerful hardware implants and processors of advanced sages, Epsilon-Rodney-Ray 223's personal hardware consumes a significant amount of power to handle this computational load, resulting in a persistently high TDP. To ensure the smooth operation of these implants, Epsilon-Rodney-Ray 223 has to conceal two columnar cooling systems within her hood to prevent her thought-enhancing devices and brain from overheating.

However, the high-load cooling system was still detected by Constantine's thermal imaging electronic eye.

"How much longer until we reach the Lighthouse base?" The Guardian was equally busy, multitasking just like the Martian Sage. From the artifacts at the Lighthouse base that Agent Coulson had organized, to the analysis and alteration of the original databases of the AI ​​Aida and the Life-Model Decoy project, and finally to the surveillance of Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes's Los Angeles residence, "Can you complete the analysis of the Life-Model Decoy project before we arrive?"

"It will take at least another hour," Epsilon-Rodney-Ray223 said. "The Life-Model Decoy project analysis can be completed on time. The corruption isn't hidden too deeply; I have the ability to remove it, but I can't guarantee that Aida will retain its original functionality after the excision. Restoring the Life-Model Decoy project will require a long time for the existing equipment's computing power to be reconstructed and optimized. However, I still found some things through the fragments of the Life-Model Decoy project, including the Dark Book you've been searching for."

She inserted her fingers, equipped with tiny devices, into the open abdomen of the AI ​​Aida, rummaging through a tangled mess of wires. Then, a small plume of acrid smoke rose from the intricate insulating sheath, and Epsilon-Rodney-Ray 223 extended its palm, clamping a small, still-wriggling organism between its steel fingertips.

This is a fusion of electronic components and an organism.

"The purifying hymns are driving away corruption," she said, "but don't think it's that easy."

After dealing with the malfunctioning generator set, Alfonso McKenzie kept a close eye on the front-line monitoring system.

All rooms with compromised surveillance cameras indicate that the room has been occupied by the enemy. However, cybersecurity officials have also warned that even if the surveillance cameras are not compromised, it doesn't mean there are no enemies in the room. The enemy's information warfare capabilities are extremely strong, and they may use fake videos to conceal their attack routes. It cannot be completely confirmed that the enemy is heading towards the ambush site along a predetermined route. The armed team previously sent to lure the enemy to the pre-arranged ambush site had a survival rate of only 60%. Through feedback from frontline personnel, S.H.I.E.L.D. has gradually learned about the enemy's weapons, equipment, and characteristics.

With robotic precision, their entire bodies were made of metal capable of withstanding full-power rounds, and their weapons possessed extremely advanced technology. Even body armor with ceramic inserts was utterly powerless against the bizarre electromagnetic explosion; the human body and the ceramic armor would be pierced through together. The armed personnel recruited from NATO special forces during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s peak had never experienced anything like this. Most were terrified, and if they hadn't remembered their escape route and mission objective, they likely would have been wiped out within seconds of the engagement.

Melinda May frowned in the control room.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. forces at Beacon Base were at a complete disadvantage, and frontline intelligence was not necessarily accurate. The most reliable method was to disperse the armed personnel to search and scout enemy movements. However, without the advantage of numbers and surprise attack, the survival rate of the dispatched armed personnel would be pitifully low, essentially a suicide mission. No S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel were willing to undertake such a mission, especially those who had witnessed the soldiers on the Rangers.

"C-2 tunnel, contact!" Daisy Jensen's voice immediately alarmed Alfonso McKenzie. He could still hear the distinctive whistling sound of her "superpower" through the air on the communication channel. The surveillance video switched to Daisy Jensen's C-3 tunnel, where everyone could see the former rookie hacker using cover to fight off the few enemies that came into view. "The enemy... isn't a robot." As soon as they made contact, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operations channel began to jam, and Daisy Jensen's voice became intermittent. Although she couldn't explain the situation in detail, Melinda May and Maria Hill in the control room both saw the enemy's appearance. "They're human!"

"That's the First Secret Regiment! Viktor von Doom's experimental army!" Maria Hill immediately recognized the insignia on the fully enclosed bulletproof armor. "This means that genetically modified soldiers shouldn't be far from us. The First Secret Regiment rarely carries out independent missions; most of the time, they only operate in conjunction with genetically modified soldiers."

The surveillance footage was somewhat blurry, but Melinda May could still see scorching lasers raining down on the armed personnel, igniting many flammable materials instantly. The defense force, including Daisy Jensen, was huddled behind sturdy bunkers, unable to move.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Alfonso McKenzie arrived from the rear, followed by a large group of armed personnel. The addition of these new troops significantly increased the density of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firepower, barely suppressing the enemy's fire. As he passed the infirmary, he had already seen several armed personnel with lasers piercing their bodies. Even if they weren't fatally wounded, the burning pain of the lasers was less than the pain of being shot, but the subsequent swelling and other aftereffects would make life unbearable. Alfonso McKenzie could occasionally fire a couple of shots in the direction the lasers had come from, but the weak shotgun shells could only slide helplessly off the bulletproof armor; only the firepower of a general-purpose machine gun could make those enemies stumble.

"Evacuate to C-4 passage. We need to lower the blast doors. Daisy, evacuate! Now!"

"Roger!" Daisy Jensen turned and looked around, gesturing to the armed personnel, indicating that she would stay behind to cover their retreat. Under the suppressive fire support from behind, Daisy Jensen remained crouched, her hand outstretched towards the bunker in front of her. A shockwave roared out, propelling the heavy bunker into the First Class Regiment soldiers inside the C-2 passage entrance. Before she could assess the situation, she was pulled by an irresistible force into the slowly closing concrete blast door.

Steel and concrete slowly closed in front of her.

A ruby-red laser beam squeezed through the crack, blackening the edge of the blast door and charring an agent's helmet, as well as the bone and flesh beneath it. Daisy Jensen stared wide-eyed as an agent collapsed before her, momentarily stunned.

Yoyo wiped the sweat from her brow, panting as she braced herself against her knees. She had dodged bullets before, but dodging laser weapons was a different story. Melinda May in the control room had told all the agents that if they didn't want to be burned alive, they should never approach the laser weapon's firing arc. Alfonso McKenzie wasn't oblivious to Yoyo's exhaustion, but instead of immediately comforting his romantic interest, he grabbed Daisy Jensen's shoulders and shook her violently. Only after she came to her senses did she realize that Alfonso McKenzie was staring intently into her eyes.

"Stop doing this!" Alfonso McKenzie shouted. "No one needs your sacrifice to survive. Do you even know how important you are?!"

The order to shrink the defenses was issued from the control room.

Even though he didn't understand why the commander would issue such an order, Alfonso MacKenzie, looking at the wounded around him, still chose to retreat. The enemy was attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s communications systems, and any instructions from the control room were invaluable. Only Daisy Jensen strongly opposed the order. "We should figure out the rooms the enemy hasn't captured," she told Alfonso MacKenzie. "We should flank them and attack from behind. We know Beacon Base better than they do, and we'll definitely be faster."

"Follow orders, Daisy." Alfonso McKenzie ordered the troops to retreat in an orderly manner, while leading Daisy Jensen and Yoyo, the two most important combat personnel, towards the control room. "Now all the elevator shafts are under enemy control. If we try to fight a guerrilla war, we will only be trapped here and watch others die in front of us."

"Then we should break out of the encirclement!" Daisy Jensen said, barely containing her anger. "The Quinjet can still take off; we need someone to go find Agent Coulson for backup!"

Alfonso McKenzie shook his head. "Agent Coulson doesn't trust Jeffrey Mays, and we absolutely cannot let the US government know the location of the Lighthouse base." He held up his badge and passed through the fourth bunker. "But we do need Agent Coulson to know the situation here. I'll arrange a strike team and a pilot for you, along with other Quinjet fighters. The airspace outside is very likely under control; we must increase your chances of escape."

The return to the control room went relatively smoothly; aside from the attack on the outposts, the enemy didn't reappear. However, this wasn't good news. The enemy didn't seem to have any intention of breaching or cutting through the blast doors; instead, they kept moving around the core rooms and corridors, taking over rooms one by one, seemingly searching for something.

"I didn't issue a retreat order." Melinda May saw Alfonso McKenzie return to the control room, then immediately shut down the communication channel and looked at Maria Hill. After confirming that the latter hadn't used the secret communication channel to issue orders, Melinda May and the others present realized that the communication channel had been hacked; the adversary had done it silently and even forged communications. "I hope you didn't say your plans over the walkie-talkie."

"No!" Alfonso McKenzie shook his head. "This requires your approval, which is why I came to the control room."

"Very good." Melinda May immediately tore a few sheets of paper from her notebook, wrote her name and signature on them. "Use the most primitive method to transmit information. I'll have the cybersecurity department start broadcasting fake combat voices on the communication channels. Mike, take my orders and find the personnel you need. I'm now delegating authority to you."

"Understood, sir." Alfonso McKenzie nodded, solemnly putting away the papers. "Do you think the Colcentr union has a solution?"

"I don't know," Melinda May sighed, glancing at Maria Hill again. "I just hope Nick Fury told him some secrets we don't know."

Updated at 8 AM.

(End of this chapter)