Chapter 366: Chapter 366

These past few days, the research and development department felt like they were celebrating a festival. Except for those few individuals who had been detained without a trace, all other personnel involved in the "leak incident" had been set free. Although the dark cloud from this unfortunate event had not yet dissipated, most scholars believed their newly chosen leader could resolve the matter, and there was even hope that this bad situation could be turned into a good one.

Especially for the information engineering team. Their workload had suddenly increased in the past few days, but they were tirelessly happy.

"Alright, friends." Xiang Shan waved his hand: "The simulator writing has been scheduled. Then, the plan to recreate a physical alien computer can be advanced. Very good. I expect by next week we’ll be able to take out an alien motherboard. Okay, that’s it for the meeting!"

As Xiang Shan spoke and gestured, the scholars dispersed in a hubbub, each of them animatedly discussing those new ideas.

One man’s stone can hone another’s jade. The hackers from the "Risk" community were also among the top talents of humanity. Moreover, their approach to learning and researching technology was completely different from that of the scholars, so the solutions they proposed did indeed open new perspectives for the scholars.

Xiang Shan had just heaved a sigh of relief when he felt a pat on his back.

"It’s astonishing, Xiang... I mean, Director." David Klein said excitably, "To be able to find external help in such circumstances. My goodness."

Xiang Shan waved his hand: "You want to join in on the work here too?"

David’s main job at this stage was the study of "Argon" itself. The higher-ups hoped to use archaeological research methods to speculate on Argon’s construction techniques and purposes. As a NASA engineer, David had even taken up archaeology on his own initiative.

It was truly an unprecedented thing: "Space archaeology"? "Extraterrestrial archaeology"?

But it was foreseeable that without other alien artifacts, Argon and what Argon brought with it, Orunmila and Obatala, would be the only subjects of this special branch of archaeology for the next couple of centuries.

David laughed: "I’m happy for you, and for myself as well, Director. In the ’Orunmila’ project, there must be content mentioned that pertains to Argon civilization. It couldn’t possibly lack a shred of information about Argon civilization itself, right?"

Xiang Shan grinned: "That’s really hard to say. The Obatala Project and the Orunmila Project share a significant amount of data. Perhaps all these codes are used to piece together the genetic information of the creatures in the Orunmila project?"

"Who knows?" David said, "I hope there is—but on the other hand, that’s exactly why I find it all the more curious. Argon civilization is only a few decades more advanced than humanity, it seems. But I can’t for the life of me imagine humans being able to build something like Argon in just a few decades..."

Xiang Shan said: "Maybe their planet doesn’t have internal wars? Maybe they achieved peace early on? Or perhaps their planet’s environment is harsh, so the whole civilization had to unite to research deep space travel?"

"That last possibility isn’t likely. Argon doesn’t have anything that looks like a signal transmission device. Once it travels far, it won’t send signals back to the Mother Planet. Unless the aliens use the shell of the ship as an antenna—but I bet, only madmen would endorse such unorthodox technology. A ship that doesn’t send signals back to the Mother Planet couldn’t possibly be an experimental ship."

After chatting for a bit more, Xiang Shan continued his way to the break room.

At the entrance to the break room, Xiang Shan paused and sighed.

With the wooden expression fading from his face, a "tiredness" gushed forth from the depths of his heart like water breaching a dam.

There was even a hint of irritation in the corners of Xiang Shan’s eyes.

The young man tapped on his forehead: "Stop being so self-indulgent, Xiang Shan. Self-indulgent. You’re the one coming out ahead."

With that, he pushed the door open and entered.

Unexpectedly, Jing Hongtu was already inside the break room.

Xiang Shan sat opposite Jing Hongtu.

"What’s got you so restless, Xiang?" Jing Hongtu handed Xiang Shan a cup of tea.

Xiang Shan scratched his head and shared a few things that had been going on with the Hanuman Group.

Jing Hongtu laughed, "Wow, not bad at all, Xiang. You know to first win over those without a strong backing. That’s the right move."

Xiang Shan covered his head: "Teacher Jing, stop teasing me..."

"I’m not teasing you. I truly think you’re doing the right thing. This Hartman is purely a technical staff dispatched here, not part of the Rama Project, with no interest claims over the park. His sole goal is to ’achieve results and gain credentials.’ He has no other motives and won’t support anyone. For you, he truly can be an assistance."

Xiang Shan leaned back on the couch. After a while, he asked, "Really?"

"Of course, it’s absolutely impossible if you want Hartman to become your confidant. Even though, according to you, he’s not popular. But being here implies that there’s definitely a superior in the FBI who firmly trusts his technical skills. And his personal ambitions lie over there. He can only be considered an aid during his time with the Hanuman Group," Jing Hongtu explained, "But during this period, he indeed can become one of your greatest sources of support."

Xiang Shan rubbed his nose bridge: "So I did something else right?"

"You said you had seen through everything, and then deliberately approached that person; I find it credible," Jing Hongtu said.

Xiang Shan stared at the ceiling. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel[f]ire.net

After a while, he changed the subject, "Speaking of which, Teacher Jing, what do you think will happen to ’Zhu Rong’ after he’s captured?"

"He’ll be tried and go to prison," Jing Hongtu answered without much thought, "There won’t be any other outcome. The only mystery is ’where he will be tried’ and ’where he will serve his sentence’."

Xiang Shan said, "These past few days, I’ve occasionally exchanged a few words with him. I think he’s a very talented person, and his technical level is also very strong. Do you think there’s a chance he could..."

"Are you talking about flipping and going straight?" Jing Hongtu shook his head, "There’s no chance of that."

Xiang Shan said, "Isn’t there any secret department that would recruit him because of his technical expertise?"

Jing Hongtu countered, "You just mentioned Hartman, how solid is his technical level? What kind of treatment is he getting now? And he was a voluntary participant."

Xiang Shan said, "Definitely not? What about other countries?"

"The more secretive the department, the more stringent the management," Jing Hongtu nodded, "Just like how these days, armies don’t involve refugees or use death-row inmates as cannon fodder anymore. Why? Because the military’s fighting ability comes from its organization. These fellows might be brave under threat for a time, but they can’t carry out tasks that rely on the organization, and instead, they reduce the whole team’s organizational capability and combat effectiveness. They’d rather have someone whose technical skills are just adequate, but who absolutely obeys orders, rather than such an unstable element."

Xiang Shan said, "But in our country, there are hackers who have gone straight and opened cybersecurity firms, even providing services for government departments, right?"

"That’s because while they were ’in the sea,’ they didn’t commit major public safety offenses, or if they did, it went unnoticed. The police might have evidence of crimes that require victims to report personally, and in those cases, they might turn a blind eye in view of their technical skills. When the government employs them, it’s a business model, as if outsourcing some tasks to a company. Then, if something goes wrong, someone can be held accountable through due process. But if you bring a hacker into the system, who’s responsible? The recruiter? The current commander? It would be a chain of disasters if exposed. It’s a task nobody wants to take on," Jing Hongtu explained.

"So you mean, because no one dares to take on that responsibility, there definitely won’t be anyone extending an olive branch to ’Zhu Rong’?" Xiang Shan tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.

Although he had speculated as much himself, only after hearing Jing Hongtu’s analysis did he begin to feel a bit more confident.

So Xiang Shan mentally slotted this piece into the puzzle.

That evening, during dinner time, Xiang Shan found Lei Chaoyang in the cafeteria.

"Colonel Lei," Xiang Shan approached naturally, "Could you do me a small favor?"

"A small favor? Please tell me what it is first," Lei Chaoyang was cautious.

Xiang Shan said, "I want to meet Zhu Rong."

Colonel Lei was puzzled, "This... I don’t think I have the authority to decide that."

"No," Xiang Shan said, "I’ve already made inquiries. If Zhu Rong appears in the Eastern Hemisphere, then it must be a squad departing from the Rama Project’s park here. And you, as one of the United Nations military staff officers responsible for coordinating this team with various national police and military forces, would be on the move too. You’re the actual commander, right?"

Although Xiang Shan was nominally the commander of the Hanuman Project, he didn’t have actual command. At most, he had the authority to approve or take the blame. The military staff would come up with plans, and then it was his job to decide "yes" or "no"—and usually, he could only choose "yes."

Colonel Lei hesitated, "That’s correct. But if it’s in the Western Hemisphere, then the troops would be dispatched from another location..."

"I don’t mean for you to bring Zhu Rong into the park. I want to talk to him after he is captured," Xiang Shan took a deep breath, "Once Zhu Rong is caught, he will likely be cut off from electronic devices and then locked up to serve his sentence somewhere. For a hacker, not touching equipment for a few years could mean the end of his skills. I want to seize this opportunity to talk to him. It’s for work. Just like I’m eager to contact that community—because that community might be gone in a few days. There’s no time to waste."

Colonel Lei laughed, "Director Xiang is truly a scientist... Talking to him, is it really that useful?"

Xiang Shan nodded, "It’s useful. If you can arrange for me to join the team when they go to capture Zhu Rong... I will make a special note of this in the report afterward."

Xiang Shan fixed his gaze on Colonel Lei. This was one of his few bargaining chips. Although the action report would also be written by a secretary, he indeed had the power to influence some matters.

Colonel Lei considered for a moment, then nodded, "We’re friends now. Since it’s for the revolutionary work, I can’t refuse this favor."

Xiang Shan internally rejoiced.