Chapter 215

Zhao Jianguo's hand had just pulled out from under the printer, the burnt Crystal still emitting a faint smell of scorching. He hadn't had time to examine it closely when hurried Footsteps sounded outside the door, mixed with the static of a walkie-talkie.

He immediately shoved the screwdriver back into the Toolbox and, as an afterthought, tucked the storage module close to his body. The Screen on the Main Control Console flickered, all external ports disconnected, and the backup power kicked in automatically.

As the door was pushed open, he was standing in front of the Operation Console, his face expressionless.

"Comrade Zhao Jianguo, we've received orders to conduct an emergency seal of this place." The Special Forces Captain walked in, followed by four Team Members, all wearing standard uniforms, with Recorders hanging from their waists.

"Reason?" Zhao Jianguo asked.

"Abnormal Energy Fluctuations were detected, with a frequency outside known civilian ranges." The Team Leader produced a document: "This is the seizure order."

Zhao Jianguo took it, glanced at it, then looked up and said, "Which frequency band did your energy monitoring capture?"

The other side paused: "C-band encrypted channel."

Zhao Jianguo's heart sank. This wasn't equipment for a routine inspection; they were targeting a cross-temporal signal.

He said nothing more, stepped back half a pace, and watched the team members begin dismantling the equipment. One oscilloscope was lifted up, while another reached out to unplug the main unit's cables.

At the instant that person's finger touched the interface, Zhao Jianguo closed his eyes and silently invoked: "Activate spacetime exemption."

The ground gave a slight tremor.

A pale green light rose from the Wall Base of the courtyard, spreading upward like ripples, and in the blink of an eye enveloped the entire Siheyuan. All machine noises ceased, even the Speaker sounds from the street outside could no longer be heard.

The Special Forces Team Members froze, their equipment stuck midair.

Only the hiss of white noise remained in the walkie-talkie.

"What is this?" the Team Leader stared at the Barrier above, his voice a little tight.

"Protective isolation." Zhao Jianguo walked to the doorway, standing inside the Barrier, "Every piece of equipment you're moving now could trigger an irreversible spacetime disturbance. I suggest you stop."

No one moved.

A few seconds later, the light and shadow flickered in the air, and a figure appeared outside the Barrier—Chen Jianguo.

He wore a white lab coat, held a metal USB drive in his hand, and his face was grave.

"Zhao Jianguo." His voice came through clearly: "The core data has already been sent via quantum-tunnel encryption to your backup node three years from now. The current equipment can be destroyed."

Having said that, he thrust the USB drive toward the Barrier's surface.

It seemed to melt into the water and vanished.

Zhao Jianguo felt a warmth in his pocket as a key module automatically loaded into the system.

"How did you accomplish that data transfer...?" the Special Forces Captain stared at Chen Jianguo's Projection, his tone shifting.

"Phase-synchronous transmission." Chen Jianguo looked at him, "You only encountered this concept theoretically in the 1990s; now that you see the actual thing, don't touch what you shouldn't."

The Team Leader's hand slowly reached out, his fingertip touching the Barrier.

A ring of faint light rippled outward, like water surface ripples.

"This technology..." he whispered, "it's ahead by at least fifteen years."

Turning back, he issued the order: "All personnel withdraw, hold position, request superior technical support."

The Team Members retreated one by one from the Courtyard, leaving only the Team Leader standing outside, facing Zhao Jianguo across the Barrier.

"We will file a special report," he said, "but this area will henceforth be designated a high-sensitivity observation zone."

Zhao Jianguo nodded: "Monitoring is fine, but please respect the boundaries of scientific research."

The green light slowly receded, like a tide withdrawing. The Courtyard's electrical appliances resumed their hum, the streetlights flickered twice and lit up.

The crowd dispersed, Footsteps fading away.

Dong Xu came running out of the house: "Just now... was that really a Barrier?"

Zhao Jianguo didn't answer, walked to the center of the Courtyard and stopped.

The System Prompt gave a jolt:

【Spacetime Management Bureau attention raised to level three】

He knew what that meant.

From now on, every move he makes will be watched by higher powers.

But he didn't care.

As long as the technology remains and the legacy continues, he still has a path forward.

He felt the key in his pocket, then turned and walked toward the Laboratory.

Dong Xu followed up: "What do we do next?"

"Reinstall the system." Zhao Jianguo opened the Control Console, "Activate offline mode with the new key, and shift all communications to point-to-point physical transfer."

"Can we still contact Chen Jianguo?"

"Yes." Zhao Jianguo entered the password, "but each connection must undergo dual verification—identity, timestamp, and Signal Source characteristics; none can be omitted."

After the last command was typed on the keyboard, the Screen popped up a green marker: 【Security Protocol Updated】

Dong Xu let out a breath of relief: "Finally stabilized."

But Zhao Jianguo didn't relax. He stared at the monitor and noticed a motionless figure in plain clothes standing on the street corner, holding a notebook.

It wasn't standard Special Forces gear.

"That one over there." He pointed at the Screen, "Note his features."

Dong Xu leaned in to look: "Should we go ask him?"

"Don't scare the snake." Zhao Jianguo switched off the external camera, "Let him think we haven't noticed."

As the two were speaking, the communicator on the table suddenly lit up.

No incoming call, no text.

Only a string of numbers appeared:

Zhao Jianguo's pupils constricted.

This was the date of Chen Jianguo's first appearance.

But they had never set up an automatic reminder.

He reached out to press the close button, and the numbers disappeared.

The next second, the Screen lit up again.

This time, it was a line of text:

"Someone is using your identity to issue commands."