Chapter 139: Silent Battlefield——Information Decoding

The Dragon Chant team's makeshift tech recovery point now looks like an open-air laboratory.

Over a dozen individually modified "Iron Wolf" exoskeletons were arranged in a semicircle, their support arms unfolded to form a series of simple workstations.

They were littered with all kinds of strangely shaped loot.

From the joint components of the "Mountain Hound" exoskeleton, to sliced main armor melted through on a T-90S tank, to the military hard drives salvaged by the Grey Fox Team from the command vehicle.

Wang Hao was holding a palm-sized black module, examining it carefully in the sunlight: "Tsk tsk, the Eagle Country folks really don't spare materials with this craftsmanship."

"Look at this circuit board—twelve layers! Just for an exoskeleton's balance control module—is that necessary?"

"Redundant design." Chen Guang didn't even look up, he was using a high-precision scanner to inspect a piece of composite armor that had been laser-cut.

"To ensure they wouldn't lose control in extreme environments, they stacked three independent control systems. The idea is sound, but it's too bulky."

Not far away, Zhao Kaiyuan was leading several technicians in inspecting the power cores of the captured "Mountain Hound" exoskeletons.

Over a dozen gray-green exoskeletons were neatly lined up, their chest plates opened to reveal the complex piping and circuitry inside.

"The hydrogen fuel cell stack has decent output stability, but its power density is too low." Zhao Kaiyuan gently prodded a fuel cell plate with a probe.

"Look at this cooling structure—to maintain long-term operation, they piled on at least three kilograms of copper and aluminum."

"Our 'Dragon Heart' micro-reactor, with the same output power, weighs only one-sixth as much."

A young technician, taking notes, asked: "Chief Zhao, why don't they use more advanced technology? With Eagle Country's capability, it shouldn't be this rudimentary."

"Two reasons." Zhao Kaiyuan raised two fingers.

"First, the 'Chengshan' design drawings they obtained are the castrated version we deliberately released, with the energy part incorrect, so they can only patch it within their own technical route. Second—"

He paused, picking up a control module that had already been disassembled: "They rely too much on mature, past technology."

"Look at this crystal lattice architecture—it's still a process from ten years ago."

"It's not that they can't make something better; they're unwilling to risk replacing the entire supply chain and mature processes."

"I see," the technician exclaimed, suddenly enlightened, "We're starting from scratch, so we can boldly use the latest tech. They're just patching and mending, weighed down by historical baggage."

"Smart." Zhao Kaiyuan rarely gave a word of praise.

And the real "great harvest" was taking place elsewhere.

The Dragon Chant guard team had already set up a temporary isolation zone.

Inside the zone, twenty-three technical officers and staff officers of the White Elephant Unit were being held under guard.

Some of them had pale faces, some had darting eyes, but everyone knew.

That what was in their own heads was probably more valuable than the equipment wreckage outside.

The electronic voice of Torch Dragon was being played through external speakers, alternating clearly between Hindi and English:

"According to the Third Geneva Convention, you will be entitled to prisoner-of-war treatment."

"Personnel who cooperate with the technical interrogation will receive better living conditions and medical care."

"Attempts to conceal, destroy, or provide false technical information will be regarded as hostile acts."

"Please proceed in order to the designated area for initial questioning."

No threats, no intimidation—just a calm statement of the rules.

But instead, it made those officers even more nervous—they had seen flustered interrogators, they had seen violent coercion, but this kind of…

…calm to the point of resembling a data-processing opponent, something they had never encountered before.

The big-bearded commander sat in the corner of the isolation zone, his hands loosely bound in front of him with a specially made non-metallic restraint.

He looked up toward the distance—there, Feng Yan and Lei Jindong stood together, both gazing at the data on a tablet.

Occasionally exchanging a few words, their expressions were calm as if discussing tomorrow's weather.

The big-bearded commander suddenly recalled the words of the Eagle Country advisor before the war, who patted him on the shoulder and said: "Go ahead and do it; the technological gap is your confidence to do as you please."

Now, thinking back, how ironic that statement is.

The technological gap is indeed the confidence—but it's not them who possess it.

"Commander..." a young staff officer beside him whispered, "They… what will they do to us?"

The commander fell silent for a few seconds, then replied softly: "It depends on the value."

"Everything we know about the 'Mountain Hound,' about this exercise's deployment, about the details of Eagle Country's assistance… all of it is value."

He paused, then gave a wry smile: "And I suspect they don't even need to torture us."

"With the technological level they've shown today, extracting data directly from our equipment could be even more detailed than if we told them verbally."

As if to confirm his guess, on a workstation not far away, Chen Guang was connecting a hard drive removed from the command vehicle to a silvery-white analysis device.

Data streams cascaded down the device's screen, and Torch Dragon's synthetic voice softly reported:

【Data extraction progress: 87%】

【Identified encryption layers: 5, all cracked】

【Found 117 encrypted communication records, 43 battle plans, 209 equipment technical parameter files……】

【Beginning cross-verification of data and credibility analysis.】

Wang Hao leaned over to glance at the screen and whistled: "Yo, even the communication records between the Eagle Country advisors and their command are here?"

"These guys are bold—they don't even use single-use encryption devices?"

"Overconfidence." Chen Guang pushed up his glasses.

"They probably think that even if the equipment is captured, with their encryption level we couldn't crack it in ten days or half a month."

"So how long did Torch Dragon take?"

"Three minutes and forty-seven seconds." Chen Guang said it in an even tone, as if saying "the instant noodles are ready."

Wang Hao burst out laughing, slapping Chen Guang on the shoulder: "Nice work, Guangzi!"

"This isn't just winning a battle for us—we've copied the enemy's intelligence home base!"

Their laughter drew plenty of glances.

The detained White Elephant officers watched these two young people chatting and laughing freely on the battlefield, their eyes complex.

There was fear, there was incomprehension, and more than anything, a deep sense of helplessness.

But amidst this victorious atmosphere, a faint discordant noise quietly sounded.

Chen Guang's arm-mounted tablet suddenly vibrated, and a bright red warning box popped up on the screen.

He immediately restrained his smile, his fingers swiping quickly.

"An abnormal signal has appeared again." He lowered his voice.

"Same area, northwest direction, 4.7 kilometers away. This time it lasted three seconds, the signal characteristics completely identical to before—clean, professional, and..."

He paused, then looked up at Feng Yan: "Moreover, this signal carried an encrypted message. It wasn't sent to the White Elephant remnants; it was... sent outward."

Feng Yan frowned slightly: "Can you decrypt it?"

"I'm trying... it takes time." Chen Guang's eyes fixed on the screen.

"Torch Dragon analysis: this encryption is not military-grade; it's more like a dedicated protocol used by intelligence agencies."

Lei Jindong also walked over, his face solemn: "Any tail?"

"Uncertain." Feng Yan gazed toward the continuous mountain ridge to the northwest.

"But to be able to lurk this close undetected under Torch Dragon's full-spectrum monitoring and still send out an encrypted signal... they're not an ordinary reconnaissance unit."

He pondered for a moment, then told Chen Guang: "Have Torch Dragon intensify monitoring in that direction."

"Also, notify all combat units to speed up the transfer of spoils and prisoners. Before nightfall, all high-value targets must leave this river valley."

"Understood."

The orders were quickly relayed.

The Dragon Cavalry units sped up their clearing pace, and the Dragon Chant guard team began fitting those technical officers with specially made shielding collars.

This is a security device designed to prevent them from emitting any biological or positioning signals outward.

Wang Hao, while helping pack those hard drives, muttered: "Nice bunch, this is a mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole waiting behind."

"We're fighting for our lives here, and someone's just watching the show without saying anything, yet they still want to sneak away with the sheep?"

"It's not about stealing sheep." Zhao Kaiyuan said in a low voice.

"They're eyeing the 'sheep' in our hands. Those wrecks, that data, and even the details about Eagle Country's technical aid stored in these officers' minds... each is worth someone taking a risk."

Li Yang inspected the restraints on the Prison Beast No. 3, then looked up and asked: "Brother Feng, should I take a few people over to check?"

"With exoskeletons, 4.7 kilometers is just a matter of a few minutes."

"No need." Feng Yan shook his head. "If they dare operate at this distance, they surely have an evacuation plan."

"If we go now, at most we'll find a few discarded pieces of equipment and footprints. Instead, we might scare the snake."

He scanned the busy battlefield, then finally turned his gaze back to the northwest.

The setting sun began to tilt westward, gilding the snow-capped peaks with a layer of gold.

In the distance, the mountain ridge gradually blurred in the shadows, like a hibernating giant beast.

"Let them watch," Feng Yan said softly, his voice carrying a cold, confident assurance.

"The clearer they see, the better. Only when they see what we have will they know the cost of coming to steal or rob."

He turned and walked toward the transport plane.

"Fall in. Take everything that can be carried; what can't be... mark the location, and send a professional recovery team after dawn."

"As for those eyes hiding in the shadows..."

Feng Yan stepped onto the gangway, glanced back at the valley gradually darkening.

"They'll soon realize—if they want to take something from Dragon Chant's hands, they must be prepared to pay the price."

The cabin door slowly closed, shutting out the last sliver of sunset.

And on the mountain ridge to the northwest, in an observation point almost blending with the rock, the lens of a high-powered telescope was reflecting the final thread of daylight.

Behind the telescope, the eyes fixed on the Longguo troops withdrawing in the river valley, especially the three "Prison Beast" units being re-secured onto the transport plane.

A low voice sent out a brief message via an encrypted communicator:

【Observation complete. Target technology assessment: far exceeds expectations. Recommend activating the 'Earth Rat' plan with highest priority.】

After the message was sent, the figure in the observation point quietly withdrew, disappearing into the deepening twilight.

As if they had never appeared at all.

Only the mountain wind howled, lifting some dust, gradually smoothing out the few nearly invisible footprints on the ground.