Limited Ambiguity Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Although there was a delay of over an hour, Qi Yan’s progress was still the fastest among the three. Ye Pei’s estimate was thirty hours, but Qi Yan had completed most of the work in less than half the time.

The final step was to import his portion of the data sequence into the artificial chip. This process only required someone to monitor it in case there were any errors.

Coming out of the equipment room, Lu Fenghan asked Qi Yan, “Aren’t you going to wait for your data to finish importing?”

“No need to wait. Nothing will go wrong,” Qi Yan replied. Finding the table too hard, he leaned on Lu Fenghan’s thigh and rested for a while, easing his fatigue.

Seeing tiredness still evident on Qi Yan’s face, Lu Fenghan suggested, “How about taking a walk to stretch our legs?”

However, there was really nothing to do underground in the equipment center. Straight corridors stretched out in front and behind, with walls entirely made of cold metal, devoid of any seams. Without looking at the guiding lights, it was impossible to tell where the door of the equipment room was with the naked eye.

Seeing Lu Fenghan looking at the walls, Qi Yan explained, “This design is to prevent people without permission from finding the target equipment room by other means.” He then added, “This time is different from the Turan attack.”

Lu Fenghan understood what Qi Yan meant by “different.”

“After the attack on Fontaine-1 and Laurent’s collusion with Mantis, Turan not only conducted a thorough investigation internally but the Military Intelligence Bureau also screened all the personnel in several important locations, filtering out many hidden connections with the rebels. This place, as the supercomputing equipment center, was naturally included.

“If it weren’t for the fact that all the undercover agents here had been rooted out, the rebels wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of bypassing the internal network to try to shut down the defense system.”

Qi Yan: “Instead, they would do what they did at Turan and have someone inside turn off the defense system, so the photonic pressure bomb would land right in front of them, right?”

“Exactly,” Lu Fenghan agreed, but he could not see the slightest bit of optimism. “The most complicated thing is the human heart. This batch of undercover agents has been uprooted, but in less than half a year, new ones will sprout up again.”

Thus, there was never any room for compromise. It was either eradicate the problem entirely or nurture a formidable adversary.

Qi Yan sensed a fleeting aura of severity emanating from Lu Fenghan. “You’re quite fierce.”

Lu Fenghan chuckled.

Him, fierce?

Apart from the one instance where he pinned Qi Yan against the wall, leaving his wrist bruised and discolored, Lu Fenghan had never even said a harsh word!

Lu Fenghan felt that the entire Central Region couldn’t contain his grievances.

Intrigued, he asked Qi Yan, “Am I really that fierce? Are you scared of me?”

“Not at all,” Qi Yan replied confidently, “You’ve never been fierce towards me.”

Lu Fenghan chuckled once more at Qi Yan’s response.

Right, right, right, who would dare to be fierce towards you?

His sharp facial contours softened as if ink lines had been gently blurred by water, lending a subtle gentleness to his features.

After wandering through the maze-like corridors for half an hour, Qi Yan led Lu Fenghan back the way they came.

Lu Fenghan: “Don’t we need the guiding lights to find our way?”

“No need, I remember the way.”

Surveying the unchanging surroundings of the corridor, Lu Fenghan gained a deeper appreciation for Qi Yan’s memory.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, prompting Lu Fenghan to instinctively glance towards the approaching figure. It was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, dressed in the attire of a typical researcher, holding a tablet and passing by Qi Yan and Lu Fenghan with a courteous nod of acknowledgement.

As the man disappeared around the corner, Qi Yan halted in his tracks.

Lu Fenghan retracted his gaze and lowered his voice to ask, “Do you also sense something wrong?”

Qi Yan raised his gaze to meet Lu Fenghan’s and suggested, “Should we follow him?”

This decision aligned perfectly with Lu Fenghan’s intentions. “Let’s go.”

Perhaps noticing the footsteps behind him, the middle-aged man turned around and politely inquired, “Do you two have any business here?”

Lu Fenghan promptly responded, “It’s on our way.”

The middle-aged man appeared somewhat skeptical. “Are you also heading to the eleventh underground floor? If not, you’ve taken the wrong path. This corridor only leads to the eleventh underground floor.”

At this point, the three of them had reached the elevator.

The middle-aged man displayed his personal terminal configured on his wrist and then glanced at Qi Yan.

Qi Yan scanned his personal terminal, receiving a system prompt of “Access granted.”

Without further ado, the middle-aged man said nothing more as the three of them stepped into the elevator car.

Just as Lu Fenghan was contemplating from which side to launch an attack in order to subdue the middle-aged man in one fell swoop, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Qi Yan moving in his direction. Then, when Qi Yan attached his personal terminal to the metal wall, Lu Fenghan saw that a rectangular grid suddenly protruded from the metal wall.

Qi Yan reached inside and retrieved—

A gun?

Lu Fenghan arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Holding the gun, Qi Yan took two more steps towards Lu Fenghan. In the next second, the gun was in Lu Fenghan’s hand.

A Berlock 17, fitting comfortably in his grip.

As it turned out, Qi Yan’s decision to take out the Berlock pistol was spot-on. At the exact moment the elevator halted on the eleventh underground floor, the middle-aged man swiftly withdrew a folding pistol. However, in the instant it pointed towards Lu Fenghan, he was disarmed by Lu Fenghan with a powerful sideways kick.

With a sharp “crack,” the folding pistol clattered to the ground.

Pressing the muzzle of the gun against the middle-aged man’s forehead, Lu Fenghan sneered. “You can’t even hold a gun steady, how can you still think of killing someone?”

The middle-aged man remained impassive, casting an inquisitive glance at Lu Fenghan and Qi Yan. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Fenghan cut him off, “Enough. If you’re going to claim you’re from ISOC HQ and had to pull a gun on us because we looked suspicious, forget it. Nobody’s buying that story.”

Lu Fenghan had heard this excuse countless times.

Qi Yan: “The eleventh underground floor houses only one super-optical computer called ‘Galaxy,’ one of the most powerful in terms of performance and computing power in the Alliance. Projects involving ‘Galaxy’ have high security clearance and strict requirements, one of which is not allowing any devices to be brought in or out during the project, including tablets.”

The middle-aged man now understood the reason for being exposed – the tablet he was using as a disguise!

Concealing all subtle expressions, he responded only to Qi Yan’s query, “You’ve misunderstood. I always carry my tablet with me out of habit. It was a moment of carelessness on my part, but I’ll definitely hand it in for disposal once we arrive. You can check my access privileges. Rest assured, I won’t hold you responsible for your rash attack.”

In the Alliance, scientific researchers held a high status, especially those who could access the eleventh underground floor. If it were someone else, they might have had reservations. But Lu Fenghan and Qi Yan, one confident in his judgment and the other devoid of any concerns, simply pretended not to hear.

Ignoring the middle-aged man’s protests, Qi Yan informed Lu Fenghan, “The intrusion that triggered the firewall alarm just now was meant to distract attention. The ultimate goal is to divert the attention of the ISOC’s security center and seize the opportunity to gain access to the eleventh floor underground.

“So, the intention to deactivate ISOC’s defense systems was a ruse. Even the thousand-plus temporary hops during tracking were merely delaying tactics. The true target of the rebels lies in the eleventh underground floor.”

The middle-aged man attempted to say something more, but Lu Fenghan couldn’t be bothered to listen. He lifted the man’s collar, revealing a patch of skin on the back of his neck two shades paler than the surrounding area. Without further ado, Lu Fenghan knocked the man unconscious and securely bound his hands with the bandage he carried.

Once Qi Yan had informed the ISOC’s security center through the intranet, the two of them returned to the seventh underground floor.

After Qi Yan finished deleting the surveillance records, Lu Fenghan asked, “You mentioned earlier that the true target of the rebels is the eleventh underground floor. What project is underway there?”

Qi Yan: “The task Professor Fu assigned to us is related to the expansion of the starship central control system. Now that our task is completed, this project should be moving on to the first phase of simulation. The central control system is of considerable magnitude, and in Leto, only ‘Galaxy’ can fully support the testing.”

“So, their target is once again the military starship central control system?” Lu Fenghan sneered. “Thieves never learn.”

Qi Yan didn’t elaborate further. Since he hadn’t returned the Berlock 17 pistol, Lu Fenghan asked, “And what about this gun?”

“There are plenty of guns available, accessible with the right permissions from concealed compartments in every wall. These guns are meant for emergencies, kept on hand for unforeseen circumstances.”

“So, that’s why the guns are equipped with ballistic compensators?”

Ballistic compensators are cumbersome for those accustomed to handling guns, but for those unfamiliar with firearms, they assist in improving accuracy—essentially allowing novices to progress from hitting one target out of ten shots to hitting one out of seven or eight shots.

“Yes,” Qi Yan asked, “How did you notice?”

“When this person was holding the tablet, there were calluses on the webbing between his thumb and index finger, typically only found on gun users. As he passed us, his entire body tensed up, a clear sign of nervousness. Based on experience, I instinctively knew something was off about him. Additionally, rebels often have their insignia tattooed on the back of their necks, believing it brings them luck. When entering the Alliance territory, they temporarily conceal it, resulting in a pale patch of skin on the back of their necks.”

After Lu Fenghan finished discussing the matter at hand, he noticed Qi Yan’s perpetually serious expression and couldn’t resist poking his fair cheek. “What’s wrong? Who upset you?”

Qi Yan glanced at him.

Lu Fenghan couldn’t figure out what he had done to upset Qi Yan. “Tell me?”

After a few seconds of silence, Qi Yan finally spoke, “That bandage is mine.”

Lu Fenghan was momentarily stunned.

Such possessiveness over a small matter?

After a brief ten seconds of speechlessness, Lu Fenghan chuckled softly. “Yes, your bandage. The situation was unique at the time, so I had no choice but to use it.”

Qi Yan didn’t speak.

Lu Fenghan gently grasped Qi Yan’s arm, showing him the bowknot near his wrist. “See, you still have one tied on.”

Ignoring him, Qi Yan used his personal terminal to unlock the door to the equipment room and walked inside.

Shortly after, everyone in the equipment room received a notification about a security check.

Presumably, the individual they left in the elevator had been taken away, and the security center was now investigating if anyone had illegally obtained access permissions.

Since actions were already underway, Lu Fenghan no longer concerned himself with it. He began to worry about how to appease Qi Yan. Unconsciously, he also wondered why Qi Yan was so… fixated on the bandage?

With Ye Pei and the others still having over ten hours left, Qi Yan saw no need to wait in the equipment room. After saying goodbye, he left first.

They had entered in the morning, but now it was already early in the morning of the next day, with the twin moons adorning the night sky. As Lu Fenghan pondered why the rebels were so eager to acquire the starship central control system, he also pondered how to appease Qi Yan.

Multitasking came naturally to him, but not being able to find solutions to both problems left him feeling restless.

Upon returning home, Qi Yan went upstairs to take a shower as usual, while Lu Fenghan sat on the sofa, contemplating. Eventually, he decided to call Vincent.

Vincent’s tone carried reproach. “Commander, contacting me at this hour will disrupt the nightlife of your subordinate!”

Lu Fenghan retorted, “Do you even have a nightlife?”

Vincent, who had been single since birth, choked on his words. Sensing that Lu Fenghan’s mood seemed off, he tentatively asked, “Commander, is your endocrine system out of balance due to lack of… satisfaction in that aspect?”

Lu Fenghan rubbed his temples.

It seemed that the Expeditionary Force was enveloped by some strange magnetic field, attracting such unruly subordinates to him.

He first mentioned the intrusion into the ISOC headquarter’s intranet. “Whether it’s the insertion of technicians by Weiss, the attack on Fontaine-1, or today’s incident, the rebels’ target is the starship central control system. They’re in a hurry.”

Vincent: “They might be planning something big, aiming to quickly acquire the central control system to increase their chances of success. By the way, during this period, the rebels have been intensifying their search for the whereabouts of the top-ranked individual on the blacklist. It’s said that they’ve identified several suspected targets resembling Y, but in the end, they all turned out to be false leads.”

Hearing him mention Y, Lu Fenghan indulged in a few more words. “This time, the information about Y on ‘the other side’ did not communicate with the military. I think they are worried that the military will not be able to keep the secret and expose Y’s location.”

“I think it’s for the best. Who knows which individuals within the military are trustworthy nowadays? Ensuring security is paramount, and the fewer who know, the better.” Vincent was very perceptive. “Commander, did you contact me in the middle of the night just to discuss this?”

After a few seconds, Lu Fenghan asked, “What would you do if you accidentally upset someone?”

“I know just what to do!” Vincent confidently suggested, “Drag the person to the training ground and have a fight! Win or lose, all grudges will be settled!”

Lu Fenghan realized he had asked the wrong person.

He rubbed his temples again. “Forget it, pretend I didn’t ask.”

Vincent was about to continue offering ideas when Lu Fenghan promptly ended the communication without hesitation.

Three in the morning.

The door to Qi Yan’s bedroom was gently pushed open. With the stealth honed over many years of training, Lu Fenghan silently approached the bed.

The dim light outside didn’t hinder Lu Fenghan’s night vision. He saw Qi Yan lying on his side in bed, sleeping in a disciplined manner, showing no signs of wanting to cuddle up with someone in the middle of the night.

Lu Fenghan moved with care, first removing the bandage that had been wrapped around Qi Yan’s hand for quite some time. Beneath the bandage, the skin on his arm was cold, pale, and smooth, with the red marks long faded.

He then took out a new bandage and wrapped it around the same spot as before.

After wrapping the left arm, Lu Fenghan stared at the other arm, softly clicking his tongue. Finally, he mirrored the action, wrapping several rounds at the same spot on the right arm and tying a neatly formed bowknot.

Would this help ease his anger?

If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))