novelraw Chapter 263: Through the Crossfire
Chapter 263: Through the Crossfire
Five figures moved silently through the forest, their movements agile and alert, eventually arriving at the refuge Evelyn had mentioned.
It didn't look like some Cold War-era fallout shelter, but a place that was both older and more fitting for this era's context—an abandoned smuggler's warehouse.
It was hidden on the shaded side of an inconspicuous hill, its entrance cleverly concealed by dense shrubs and a massive rock used for camouflage.
Without a guide, even the most seasoned hunter would have found it nearly impossible to discover.
The interior of the warehouse was cold and damp.
It had been meticulously modified by Evelyn.
The floor was swept clean, and the corners were stacked with enough canned food and fresh water to last for weeks.
A large map of the Long Island area was pinned to the wall, densely marked with notes and data in different colored inks.
On the other side was a simple workbench, covered with various brass components, crystal lenses, and some precision tools Lin Jie couldn't name, presumably her maintenance area for the Echo Goggles.
This cramped yet secure underground space was her only fortress in this land of death, and the heart where her flame of vengeance burned."We can talk now."
After confirming the entrance's camouflage was flawless, Ethan spoke.
He placed a kerosene lamp with a windshield on a wooden crate in the center. The dim yellow light illuminated everyone's faces and dispelled some of the chill.
"Miss Marconi," he began directly, "we acknowledge your abilities are unique, and we thank you for providing this safe refuge. However, cooperation must be built on a foundation of trust."
"You need us, and we need you. That's a fair trade, but only if we have sufficient understanding of each other."
Evelyn stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
Her intelligent eyes were exceptionally bright in the lamplight.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything." Ethan said. "Your plan, the intelligence you possess, and why you believe our hastily assembled team has a chance to challenge Edison's impregnable fortress."
Evelyn fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts.
"My plan is simple and direct," she began, her voice resolute. "Find a way into the core area of Wardenclyffe, uncover my father's whereabouts, and then destroy that tower."
"As for intelligence... I've been lurking here for two weeks. Everything I know is already marked on that map."
Her gaze turned to Lin Jie.
"And my reason for trusting you is also simple. Because you are the first outsiders in two months to survive the hunting of those Owls and successfully fight back."
"Mr. Hawk's strength, Mr. Ethan's marksmanship, and..." She paused, giving Lin Jie a deep look, "...and Mr. Lin's utterly unbelievable ability. These are all the weapons I need to complete my revenge."
"I need your combat protection, your rich battle experience to handle the physical threats I cannot manage." Evelyn's logic was crystal clear. "And you, you need my 'eyes'. Without me, you are like a group of blind men stumbling into a maze, unable to take a single step in this area."
"We each get what we need, and our goal is aligned. I believe this already constitutes the most solid foundation for cooperation."
Hawk let out a low, approving grunt.
He admired this woman's courage and directness.
Phineas nodded repeatedly beside him. He was completely captivated by the revolutionary technological concept of the Echo Goggles and already regarded Evelyn as a fellow traveler in the field of technology.
"Good." Lin Jie finally spoke, concluding the negotiation. "I agree with your view. From now on, we are a team. Intelligence shared, risks borne together."
"Our first objective is to use your ability to find a safe path through the Owls' defense network."
Cooperation was thus established.
After briefly replenishing some food and water, the team wasted no time and immediately began to act.
According to Lin Jie's request, they needed to return to the surface to conduct a comprehensive and meticulous survey of that invisible "sonic defense net."
This time, they chose their observation point at a rocky highland on the edge of the forest, which was higher in elevation and more dangerous.
It was closer in a straight line to the Aether Tower, allowing for clearer signal reception.
The night remained the same, and that maddening buzzing still lingered in their ears.
Evelyn put on her complex Echo Goggles once more. Instantly, the world in her vision was deconstructed and reassembled into a dynamic tapestry woven from countless sound waves and vibrations.
"This net... is denser than I imagined."
Evelyn's voice came muffled through her hood.
She began to describe the scene she "saw" to the others, translating those abstract ripples into comprehensible language.
"The Aether Tower is the absolute center, the sun of this entire network. The dark golden low-frequency resonance waves are its 'background light,' enveloping everything."
"And those Clockwork Owls are like planets orbiting the sun. Each one is an independent relay station and signal emitter."
"They aren't patrolling randomly." Evelyn's speech quickened as she made a new discovery. "They exchange information among themselves using some higher-frequency sound wave I cannot comprehend."
"Each Owl's position and status are fed back to its companions in real-time, forming a sonic net with a collective consciousness!"
"The entire Wardenclyffe area is covered by this crisscrossing sonic alert network composed of hundreds of mobile nodes."
"Any location is simultaneously within the detection range of at least three Owls. Any abnormal sound will trigger a chain reaction across the entire sonic net."
This description sent chills down Ethan and Phineas's spines.
A defense net with a collective consciousness and real-time feedback sounded almost impregnable.
However, Lin Jie seized upon a key term from this seemingly hopeless description.
"They are relay stations?" he pressed.
"Yes," Evelyn confirmed. "I can see the higher-frequency information sound waves passing back and forth between different Owls, ultimately converging towards the Aether Tower. They are both sentries and signal conductors."
"Then, signal transmission cannot be without loss." Lin Jie pointed towards the Aether Tower. "Any energy conduction must have attenuation and fluctuation."
"Evelyn, observe more carefully. Observe the nodes of the net, the places where the sound waves intersect. See if their output is absolutely constant?"
Evelyn was momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected Lin Jie to approach the problem from such an unexpected angle.
She immediately followed his instruction, focusing her attention intensely and began conducting prolonged, uninterrupted observation of several key nodes in the net.
Time passed minute by minute.
Ethan and Phineas held their breath, not daring to make a sound, afraid of disturbing this critical survey.
"Got it!"
After an unknown length of time, a trace of excitement suddenly entered Evelyn's voice.
"You guessed right, Mr. Lin! This net is not impregnable! Its energy output is not constant!"
She quickly described her discovery.
"For most of the time, the node energy is very stable. But at certain specific moments, when the signal flow changes due to Owl movement, or when brief attenuation occurs due to terrain blockage, some nodes experience an extremely brief energy trough! It's like... that momentary pause when a machine shifts gears!"
"How long does this pause last?" Lin Jie immediately pressed.
"Very short, at most... no more than five seconds." Evelyn replied. "And their occurrence is completely random, entirely dependent on the real-time operational state of the entire network."
"Like the waves of the sea, you never know where the next wave will crest."
"That's enough."
Lin Jie's voice carried a confident certainty.
He took the already densely marked map from Evelyn and borrowed the precise Swiss pocket watch from Ethan.
Lin Jie's brain began to operate at a terrifying speed.
The massive amount of dynamic information provided by Evelyn was like countless chaotic streams, converging, colliding, and reorganizing in his mind.
He incorporated the terrain map, the Owls' regular patrol routes, and the information about those randomly appearing energy troughs into a vast, three-dimensional mental model.
He was calculating, calculating the only possible path of survival through this death net woven from sound.
"From our current position to the outer fortifications of the Aether Tower, the straight-line distance is 3.2 miles." Lin Jie's finger slowly traced across the map. "We cannot advance in a straight line; that would be suicide. We must utilize the terrain to complete a series of synchronized movements between different silent periods."
His finger tapped a location on the map.
"Phase One: Depart from here, move 300 yards southwest. There's a dried-up riverbed there. The riverbed's lower elevation can provide us with a natural 'sonic shadow zone'."
"According to Evelyn's observations, the three nodes above us experience a joint silent period lasting about four seconds roughly every fifteen minutes due to signal crossover. We must complete a 30-yard sprint within those four seconds without making any sound exceeding normal footsteps."
He pointed to the next location.
"Phase Two: Advance half a mile along the riverbed to this abandoned quarry. The challenge here is greatest. The airspace above the quarry is one of the densest areas of the entire defense net; silent periods are almost non-existent."
"But Evelyn also discovered that the rock composition here is special, having a slight absorption effect on ultrasonic waves."
"Whenever an Owl flies directly overhead, the vertical detection wave it emits and the horizontal detection wave coming from the side form an extremely brief and fleeting 'Absolute Silence point' on the rock wall. The appearance of this point lasts no more than three seconds."
"We need to vault from behind this rock to the cover on the other side when that point appears. The timing and movement requirements are significant."
The plan Lin Jie described, however, made Phineas's scalp tingle.
This was a death march measured in seconds.
Every step must be precise, every movement perfectly synchronized.
The slightest mistake could invite the devastating retaliation of the entire defense network.
"This... this is insane." Phineas muttered to himself. "This isn't a task humans can accomplish."
"But we have no other choice." Lin Jie looked at everyone.
"From now on, Ethan's pocket watch is our only metronome, Evelyn's goggles our only navigator. Hawk's intuition is our safeguard against unforeseen situations."
"This is a game... of crossing the line of fire." He concluded. "And the game's reward is a ticket to Wardenclyffe."