I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

Communications room at a base in Northwest China.

This is Chen Zhiyuan's fourth consecutive night shift.

The fluorescent lights in the base's communications room hummed, illuminating the dark circles under his eyes with exceptional clarity.

On the dial of the Soviet-made shortwave receiver in front of him, the hands were behaving in an inappropriate way.

Jump once every forty-seven seconds.

The amplitude is small, but the frequency is strict, like someone in the dark pressing a stopwatch and plucking an invisible string.

The communications team leader, Lao Zhou, was dozing off on the table next to him, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, almost burning his flesh, but he still hadn't woken up.

Chen Zhiyuan picked up a pencil and drew another vertical line in his notebook.

This is the 63rd time tonight.

He closed the notebook and his gaze fell on the earthen wall behind the receiver.

The wall plaster has several cracks, allowing sand and dust to blow in from outside. There's always a thin layer of dust on the tabletop, and wiping it doesn't seem to do anything.

"Old Zhou."

Chen Zhiyuan nudged the communications team leader's arm with the pen handle.

Old Zhou suddenly looked up, spilling cigarette ash all over the table. He rubbed his eyes and cursed.

"Did you jump again?"

"Sixty-three times, with the same interval, forty-seven seconds."

Old Zhou stubbed out his cigarette in the tin can on the corner of the table, leaned over to look at the watch face, his brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a fly.

"This damn thing has been going on since last week. I've taken the antenna apart and reconnected it three times, replaced two feeder cables, and checked everything that needed to be checked."

"It's not a problem with our equipment."

Chen Zhiyuan spoke calmly, but Lao Zhou sensed something else in his words and looked up at him.

What do you mean?

Chen Zhiyuan did not answer directly, but instead turned to the first few pages of the notebook and pointed to the dense vertical lines and time markings.

"Look at this interval, forty-seven seconds. From day one to today, it hasn't been off by a single second."

Old Zhou stared at the bars, his hand instinctively reaching for his cigarette case, but he found nothing.

"Natural interference could not be so precise."

Chen Zhiyuan tucked the pencil behind his ear, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the shaky light bulb on the ceiling.

He recalled a sentence Jiang Ming had written in his letter.

The letter was received two months ago. Jiang Ming's handwriting was as messy as it used to be on the ship, but there was one sentence that he has remembered ever since.

"If you can't find the source of equipment failure for regular noise, don't think about the equipment anymore."

He didn't take it too seriously at the time, thinking that Jiang Ming was just mentioning it casually.

He doesn't think that way anymore.

"Old Zhou, write a report for the Confidentiality Department tomorrow."

Old Zhou paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"I wrote about it last month, and they said they would send someone to investigate, but we haven't seen a trace of them yet."

Chen Zhiyuan didn't say anything more. He locked the notebook in the drawer, turned around, wrapped his military overcoat tightly, and walked out of the communications room.

The night wind in the Gobi Desert cut like a blade against my face. The stars in the sky were so bright they looked white, but the distant mountain ridges were dark and there wasn't a single light in sight.

He stood at the door of the communications room and looked east for a long time.

Beijing is in that direction.

The Third Electronics Factory is also in that direction.

What is Jiang Ming doing now?

At the same time, at the Third Electronics Factory in the suburbs of Beijing.

Jiang Ming did not sleep.

He sat at the metal table in Workshop No. 1, with two sheets of A4 paper in front of him, covered with densely written operating procedures.

This is a remote retesting contingency plan.

After the sample tubes arrive in Northwest China, they cannot be directly powered on for testing; they must be activated step by step according to a strict procedure.

He divided the contingency plan into five stages, writing them out clearly.

In the first stage, after unpacking, visually inspect the attitude markings of the shockproof box to confirm that the tube has not shifted.

In the second stage, after removing the tube, a leak detector is used to scan the sealing interface to confirm that the vacuum is maintained.

In the third stage, preheat at low voltage for twenty minutes, and the pin current should not exceed 30% of the normal value.

In the fourth stage, the voltage is gradually increased to the rated operating state, with a five-minute pause after each increase, to observe the stability of the transmitting current.

In the fifth stage, after running at full power for one hour, the device can be connected to the anti-interference test frequency band.

Each stage is followed by a note indicating the abnormal shutdown conditions.

If the reading deviation exceeds ±5 microamps, immediately disconnect the power and wait.

If the vacuum gauge reading rebounds by more than half an order of magnitude, immediately cut off the power and seal the tube while waiting.

When Director Wang pushed open the workshop door and walked in, Jiang Ming was writing the last note.

"The sample tubes should be kept upright during transportation and left to stand for at least two hours after arrival before starting the retest."

Director Wang walked to the table and placed a telegram in front of Jiang Ming.

"Take a look at this."

Jiang Ming put down his pen and picked up the telegram.

The sending organization was crossed out with ink, leaving only the text.

"The intensity of regular noise in this area has increased by about 40% since last night, the frequency interval has shortened from 47 seconds to 32 seconds, and two more jumping frequency points have been added."

After reading the telegram, Jiang Ming put it back on the table without speaking immediately.

He stared at the line of numbers for more than ten seconds, then looked up at Director Wang.

"Director Wang, the 40% increase in intensity indicates that the other side has increased its power; the shortened frequency interval indicates that they are accelerating their probing pace; and the increased frequency jumps indicate that they are expanding their coverage area."

Director Wang sat down on the wooden stool opposite him, his hands crossed and resting on his knees.

Do you think this is a coincidence?

Jiang Ming shook his head.

"It wasn't a coincidence, but it's not necessarily because they knew our pipes had already left the factory."

He pushed the telegram back in front of Director Wang, pointing to the timestamp on it.

"It got stronger last night, but our car didn't leave until this evening, so the timing doesn't match up."

He paused, then handed the last page of the contingency plan to Director Wang for review.

"It's more likely that the other side is escalating their interference at their own pace, and it has nothing to do with our actions."

"But whatever the reason, once the tubes arrive, the testing environment will be worse than expected."

After reviewing the plan, Director Wang nodded and put the telegram back in his pocket.

"Send your contingency plan to the front line via confidential telegram first thing tomorrow morning so that the receiving side can prepare in advance."

Jiang Ming responded, put the plan into an envelope, sealed it, and signed his name and the date on the seal.

As Director Wang reached the door, he glanced back at Jiang Ming.

"Xiao Jiang, the pipe is on its way, you should take a rest too."

Jiang Ming smiled and neatly organized the documents on the table.

"I can't stop thinking, my mind just won't stop."

Late at night, on the railway line.

Two hours ago, military green trucks transferred the wooden crates to the military cargo platform at Beijing West Railway Station.

Three locked wooden crates were loaded into an attached, sealed freight car.

The escort team leader sat on a cot next to the wooden crate, leaning against the carriage wall, clutching the transportation instructions that Jiang Ming had given him.

The train whistle blew a long blast, the carriage swayed slightly, and then slowly started moving.

The rhythmic clicking of the rail joints echoed through the carriage, and the kerosene lamp inside swayed gently with the jolts.

The escort team leader stood up and, using the light, checked the securing ropes and posture markings on the three wooden crates.

The arrow is pointing upwards, with no deviation.

He sat back down on the cot, folded the documents and stuffed them into his pocket, wrapped his overcoat tightly around himself, and closed his eyes.

The train traveled westward across the North China Plain.

At dawn, the train stopped at a small third-class station to replenish water.

The vibration from the brake wheels startled the escort team leader from his light sleep.

He reflexively jumped off the cot and shone a flashlight on the wooden crate.

The three boxes were still on the iron frame, the ropes were taut, and everything seemed normal.

But as he got closer, he noticed that the vertical arrow painted in red on the outer wall of the middle box seemed to be slightly crooked than it had been the night before.

He crouched down, held the flashlight close, and carefully examined it.

It's not that the arrow is crooked.

The box itself is slightly offset at an angle from the iron frame.

The escort team leader's heart started racing.

He opened the outer clasp of the wooden box and lifted the lid.

The shockproof box lay inside the cushioning layer of the box and appeared to be unharmed.

But when he followed the flashlight beam to the right side of the shockproof box, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Of the four sets of U-shaped spring sheets, the fixing screw of the set on the right rear side was loosened by one notch.

The tension of the spring sheet was significantly weaker than that of the other three sets.