Chapter 149: Consortium

The analysis laboratory on the third underground floor of the Longyin Research Institute.

The three enemy robots salvaged from the deep sea were fixed on special analysis racks, their shells still stained with deep-sea sediment and a small amount of parasitic organisms.

Their designs were eerie, like nightmare creatures that would only appear in some deep-sea aquarium.

"Good guy, this thing looks really unique." Wang Hao wore rubber gloves and poked one of the robots with a special screwdriver.

"This head, it must have been designed after a viperfish, right? It's creatively ugly."

Li Yang stood to the side, holding a tablet to record data: "Their maneuverability is stronger than we expected."

"Underwater, especially in complex terrain, they are more flexible than 'Jiaolong'."

"That's because 'Jiaolong' has to balance humanoid operations and cruising, while they are designed specifically for combat." Chen Guang pushed up his glasses.

He held a portable scanner, carefully checking the seams of the robot's shell.

"The shell material... is very special."

Zhao Gong and Li Kui walked in at this time, both wearing white coats and carrying toolboxes.

"Move aside, boys." Zhao Gong waved his hand, and Wang Hao jumped away quickly.

The old craftsman walked to the analysis rack, took out a small hammer that looked unremarkable from his toolbox, and tapped the robot's shell lightly with the handle.

"Ding... dong... clang..."

The sound was slightly different at different locations.

Zhao Gong narrowed his eyes and tapped from another angle.

He tapped extremely slowly, leaning his ear close to the shell after each tap, listening carefully to the lingering sound.

His focused appearance looked exactly like an antique dealer appraising a treasure.

After tapping about twenty points, he straightened up and nodded to Li Kui: "Take samples."

Li Kui took a handheld laser sampler from the toolbox and cut off several small shell samples at the locations specified by Zhao Gong.

Each was only the size of a grain of rice, but enough for analysis.

The samples were placed into a material analyzer nearby. A few minutes later, the results came out.

Zhao Gong looked at the data on the screen, his brows gradually furrowing into a 'chuan' shape.

"Something's wrong." He pointed to the composition analysis table.

"Look, the alloy composition in this area... is a titanium-aluminum-vanadium high-temperature alloy formula made public by Eagle Country's 'Black Star Laboratory' three years ago, I can recite the patent number."

He pointed to another set of data: "And the ceramic composite material in this part is clearly a unique formula from Europe's 'Diderot Institute'."

"The kind that uses rare earth elements to improve toughness, I saw their report at the International Materials Annual Meeting five years ago."

"And here," Li Kui pointed to the analysis result of the third sample.

"The infrared absorption characteristics of this polymer coating... match the data in our early 'Chengshan' exoskeleton first-version waste treatment records by over seventy percent."

The laboratory was silent for a few seconds.

Wang Hao blinked: "Wait, Zhao Gong, do you mean... the shell of this thing is pieced together from the 'scraps' of laboratories from various countries?"

"Worse than scraps." Zhao Gong's expression was very serious.

"This is a technology platter. The manufacturer obtained the formulas for these materials, or at least sufficiently precise process parameters, and then 'stitched' them together."

"Look at this interface transition zone—"

He magnified the electron microscope image, showing the microstructure at the seam of two different materials.

"—see that? The two crystal structures formed a semi-coherent interface here; this isn't just simply welding two pieces of material together."

"They used some kind of interface processing technology we don't know about, allowing materials from different sources and with different characteristics to form a stable 'hybrid' structure at the microscopic level."

Zhao Gong looked up at everyone: "The person who can do this must not only have top-tier materials science expertise but also have the channels to obtain core formulas from so many countries' top laboratories."

"This isn't an ordinary technology thief... this is a technology 'chef', specializing in taking stolen recipes and turning them into new dishes."

Chen Guang had already opened the shell of one of the robot's control units.

Inside was a highly integrated circuit board, but the key processing chip had been covered by a black substance that looked like solidified asphalt—clearly, the self-destruct device had triggered.

"The physical destruction is very thorough." Chen Guang used a micro-probe to gently poke the black substance.

"But 'Torch Dragon' recovered a portion of the control logic from their communication residues."

He projected a segment of code stream into the air.

"The core instruction is simple: guard this area, eliminate all scouts."

"In the priority settings, the destruction priority for scientific research equipment like 'ExplorerNo7' is the highest;"

"For targets like 'Jiaolong' that clearly possess armament and threats, the priority is capture or expulsion."

Wang Hao leaned over to look: "This logic is quite rigid, like a patrol monster in a game."

"But it's executed very efficiently." Li Yang added.

"Their coordination algorithm has a fixed pattern, but the response speed is very fast."

"I suspect... there is a higher-level command node coordinating in real-time behind the scenes."

Chen Guang nodded: "In the final stage of the battle, 'Torch Dragon' captured a very short encrypted instruction stream, originating from behind that metal structure, at a depth of over four thousand meters."

"The destination of the instruction stream was these three robots."

"In other words, there is something else down there." Feng Yan's voice came from the laboratory door.

He had been in the command center next door, having a video conference with experts from the Oceanic Administration.

He walked in, holding a report that had just been printed.

"'Torch Dragon' monitored the electromagnetic environment of that sea area simultaneously during the battle." Feng Yan handed the report to Chen Guang.

"After the enemy robots appeared, intermittent low-frequency electromagnetic pulses were detected 400 meters below the seabed."

"The pulse characteristics... have a 91% similarity to the abnormal deep-sea communication signal we captured in the SouthSea three months ago."

Chen Guang quickly browsed the report, his eyes lighting up: "They are one entity."

"That metal structure is an outpost or camouflage, the real command node or... 'mother nest', is hidden in a deeper place."

Wang Hao slapped his thigh: "So this means we poked a hornet's nest?"

"No, a 'deep-sea technology nest'?"

"More like poking an observation post." Li Yang corrected.

"Their design logic is defensive. If we hadn't approached that structure, they might not have appeared at all."

Zhao Kaiyuan walked over from the energy analysis area, his expression not looking good: "The energy systems of these robots... have problems."

He pulled up a structural perspective view: "Look, they don't use batteries, nor reactors, but a kind of... 'hybrid power supply module' I've never seen before."

"Inside there are traces of fuel cells, thermoelectric generation structures, and even a small shielding chamber suspected to be a radioisotope battery."

"It's a mess, but it actually works when pieced together."

"Another platter?" Wang Hao asked.

"And a high-level platter." Zhao Kaiyuan pointed to several energy conversion interfaces.

"These power supply units with different principles are integrated together through an extremely complex power management and buffering system."

"It's like forcing a diesel engine, an electric motor, and a steam engine into a car, and then making the car run."

"Theoretically feasible, but the control precision required to actually build it is terrifyingly high."

He paused: "More importantly, this design philosophy... is completely opposite to our Longyin 'modular, replaceable, easy to maintain' approach."

"It's 'as long as it works, any way of piecing it together is fine'."

"This isn't the path of a regular military-industrial or scientific research institution, it's more like... more like an emergency solution under extreme conditions, or some kind of ostentatious technical display."

"Ostentatious?" Feng Yan caught the word.

"Yes." Zhao Kaiyuan nodded.

"It's like saying: 'Look, I can stitch so many messy technologies together and still make it fight'. There's a kind of... smugness of a technology nouveau riche."

The laboratory fell into deep thought again.

At this time, Secretary Lin walked in hurriedly, holding a tablet.

"President Feng, 'Torch Dragon's' monitoring nodes on the global dark web and several encryption technology forums just captured a batch of new bounty information."

She handed the tablet to Feng Yan. Several translated anonymous bounty posts were scrolling on the screen:

【Long-term high-price acquisition: Technical data on any underwater operation equipment of the Longyin Research Institute, especially related to pressure-resistant materials, deep-sea propulsion, and underwater communication. Payment upon verification of validity, highest offer eight figures (USD).】

【Wanted: Detection data related to the seabed structure in the SouthSea XX sea area (coordinates blurred). Requirements: raw sonar images, metal composition analysis, energy readings. Deposit can be prepaid.】

【Recruitment: Technical personnel with deep-sea engineering experience to participate in the 'Frontier Underwater Platform' project. Generous compensation, work location confidential, long-term agreement required.】

Each bounty was accompanied by an encrypted contact method and verification method.

The posting times were distributed within the past two weeks, and the source IPs had gone through multiple jumps, but "Torch Dragon's" tracking algorithm showed that several eventually pointed to the same anonymous server cluster.

"The wording of these bounties is very professional." Chen Guang glanced at them.

"Not ordinary technology peddlers, especially the way they describe the coordinates, which conforms to the professional habits of marine geology."

"And they explicitly pointed out 'SouthSea' and 'seabed structure'." Li Yang added.

"Not many people knew there was something down there."

Feng Yan put down the tablet and looked around at the "evidence" from different robots in the laboratory:

Pieced-together materials, destroyed control cores, chaotic energy systems, highly targeted bounties on the dark web...

"I have a deduction." He spoke slowly.

"The 'Consortium' that has its eyes on us is not a simple technology theft gang."

"It is a... network of technology recovery, fusion, and reuse."

He walked to the whiteboard and began to outline.

"Their operating mode might be like this: Step one, steal or purchase fragments of cutting-edge technology from all over the world."

"It could be a complete formula, a design drawing, or just key process parameters."

"Channels include bribing researchers, network infiltration, or even panning for gold in the 'technology trash cans' of certain countries."

"Step two, take these technology 'fragments' from different systems, different standards, and even different design philosophies."

"Forcefully fuse them using their own methods to create a kind of... mixed, but indeed usable 'new technology'."

"Just like these robots, the materials are stolen, the energy system is pieced together, but put together, they can fight in the 3,000-meter deep sea."

"Step three, put these 'fusion products' into actual application, test performance, and collect data."

"At the same time, continue to look for new technology fragments, continue to fuse, continue to upgrade."

Wang Hao was stunned: "Isn't this... Frankenstein in the technology world?"

"Picking up corpse parts everywhere and stitching a monster out of them?"

"A very vivid metaphor." Feng Yan nodded.

"But behind this 'monster', there is a mature operating system."

"They have the ability to evaluate the value of technology, the technical strength to fuse different systems, and the engineering capability to deploy and test in extreme environments like the deep sea..."

He paused and looked out the window: "Most importantly, they have clear goals."

"Stealing our material formulas, monitoring our deep-sea exploration, putting bounties on our technical data, they are interested in us."

"And this isn't a one-time deal, it's more like... a long-term systematic 'technology extraction'."

Chen Guang pushed up his glasses: "If we assume 'Consortium' is a continuously evolving technology fusion body, then their stronghold in the SouthSea deep sea might not just be for hiding or testing."

"That place might be their 'fusion laboratory', or... 'technology showroom'."

Li Yang suddenly thought of something: "'ExplorerNo7' was destroyed because it detected an abnormal signal."

"And our 'Jiaolong' was attacked because we got too close and possessed an armed threat."

"Then, what if a purely scientific research team without threats approaches?"

"What if what they carry is other technology that 'Consortium' is interested in?"

Feng Yan's eyes lit up: "You mean... fishing?"

"Since they want technology, we'll give them 'technology'." Li Yang walked to the console and pulled up the design drawing of "Jiaolong".

"Next deep dive, 'Jiaolong' can carry some... 'technology samples' that look very valuable but are actually 'loaded'."

"At the same time, we set up a larger monitoring network and wait for them to come and take it."

Wang Hao was immediately excited: "I'm familiar with this! Brother Hao is best at making 'loaded' good stuff!"

"For example, it looks like a new thruster on the outside, but it's actually stuffed with positioning beacons and self-destruct devices!"

"Or it looks like a high-end sensor, but it actually sends back a virus as soon as it's turned on!"

Chen Guang had already begun calculating the feasibility: "Need to re-plan 'Jiaolong's' payload and energy distribution."

"At the same time, need to deploy more 'Messenger' mechanical eels as communication relays in the target sea area to ensure monitoring data can be transmitted back in real-time."

Zhao Gong and Li Kui looked at each other.

"In terms of materials, we can prepare some 'specially customized' samples." Zhao Gong said.

"Guaranteed to look like treasure, feel like treasure, but when used... it will leave an indelible mark."

Feng Yan looked at the team quickly entering the state, a smile appearing on his face.

This is the Longyin style—never passively take a beating.

You steal my technology?

Then I'll weave a net for you with technology.

"Then, the action plan is decided." He made the final decision.

"One week to prepare."

"Next deep dive, mission objectives changed:"

"First, continue to survey the metal structure and surrounding area;"

"Second, deploy 'technology bait';"

"Third, set up a distributed monitoring network;"

"Fourth—"

He paused, his eyes sharp.

"—if 'Consortium' really shows up, I want live captures, or at least, clues to track down their lair."

The order was given, and the laboratory became busy instantly.

Wang Hao pulled Chen Guang to start designing the "fishing device";

Li Yang re-adjusted the mission module configuration of "Jiaolong";

Zhao Gong and Li Kui went back to prepare the "loaded" material samples;

Zhao Kaiyuan began to optimize the energy scheme for the underwater monitoring network.

And when no one was paying attention, Feng Yan walked to the analysis rack, looking at the three enemy robots that had been dismantled into pieces.

He picked up a sample cut from the shell and turned it under the light.

Different material areas reflected subtly different lusters, like some kind of clumsy collage.

But it was this clumsy collage that could fight in the 3,000-meter deep sea.

"Consortium..." Feng Yan whispered the name.

An opponent that doesn't play by the rules, has no fixed form, and is only greedy for technology itself.

More troublesome than facing a clear country.

Because countries have borders, rules, and predictable interest demands.

And this kind of organization... might have nothing.

Except for an endless desire for technology.

He put the sample back on the tray and turned to leave the laboratory.

Outside the window, the sky was getting late.

A new, more complex contest had already quietly begun. ===== CHAPTER 150 =====