Chapter 4: The Crude Thief
Location: Science Castle, Applied Physics Lab (APL) Section A
Time: Second morning after the encounter with Verdandi
Science Castle's morning arrived punctually under the artificial lighting system's simulated "dawn." During routine patrol, Thunderhawk received orders from the dispatch center directing him to Applied Physics Lab Section A—the location of Dr. Hawkins's laboratory. The directive was brief: a data breach had occurred in the lab, security personnel needed on site to assist.
When Thunderhawk arrived, the atmosphere at the scene was less tense than bizarre. Dr. Hawkins stood before a forcibly pried-open data terminal, his face ashen, chest heaving violently. Security Director Viktor Graham had already arrived first; he was listening to a low-level technician's report, his expression gloomy enough to drip water.
"What was taken?" Graham's voice was low, carrying unquestionable authority.
"It was... it was Dr. Hawkins's long-term observational data on high-energy particle scattering background noise," the technician answered nervously. "Non-classified level, but... it's raw data the doctor accumulated over nearly three years."
"Simply absurd! Barbaric!" Dr. Hawkins couldn't help but growl. "Using the most primitive crowbar to pry open the terminal casing and pull out the solid-state drive! What kind of fool thief is this? We're in the most high-tech fortress, not a street convenience store from the old days!"
Thunderhawk silently observed. The lab's access door showed no signs of forced entry, and internal surveillance had a three-minute blank caused by signal interference in the early morning hours. The thief's target was clear, but the methods were absurdly crude. Just as Hawkins said, in a place like this, this method of theft was itself full of contradictions.
Graham turned to Thunderhawk, his gaze sharp: "Thunderhawk, check the perimeter, see if there are any other traces. This minor matter, resolve it quickly, don't cause unnecessary panic." His tone carried an eagerness to quell the situation. "Doctor, we'll apply for new storage equipment for you. The lost data will be recovered from backup nodes as much as possible. Science Castle's resources should be used in more important places."
"More important places?" Dr. Hawkins seized on this phrase, his anger flaring. "My research isn't important? These 'useless' data might contain..."
"Doctor!" Graham interrupted him, his tone sharpening. "Order and stability are the current top priority. Please cooperate." His gaze swept over Hawkins, carrying a clear warning.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Just then, a somewhat hurried voice interjected: "Director, system logs show the signal interference source appears to be from a backup network interface in the corridor, but... the traces were wiped rather crudely."
The speaker was a young IT support technician wearing thick smart glasses, with a name tag reading "John Liu." He looked somewhat excited, as if proud of discovering a lead, but was trying hard to appear professional before the director.
Graham frowned, seeming displeased with Liu's interruption. "Noted. This basic interference technology has too many possibilities. Perhaps it was crosstalk caused by internal personnel operational errors. Continue your routine maintenance, Mr. Liu. The security department will handle this."
Liu opened his mouth as if to say more, but under Graham's cold gaze, ultimately just nodded meekly: "Yes, Director." He retreated to the side, but Thunderhawk noticed the young man's fingers were rapidly swiping on his portable datapad, his eyes flashing with unwillingness and a light of continued investigation.
A variable. Thunderhawk mentally tagged John Liu. His astuteness and rashness could bring trouble, or become a breakthrough point.
Thunderhawk, following Graham's instructions, symbolically checked the corridor and ventilation ducts, and as expected found nothing. The entire incident was like a deliberately staged farce. The theft itself lacked any technical sophistication, yet the timing (surveillance blind spot), target (non-classified but of long-term value data), and Graham's eagerness to close the case all reeked of dissonance.
As Graham prepared to leave, instructing Thunderhawk to write a preliminary report of "accidental hardware damage causing data loss," Thunderhawk's gaze inadvertently swept over Graham's multitool keychain casually placed on the workbench.
Among a bunch of ordinary keys and access cards, an inconspicuous metal ornament caught his attention—it was a miniature tower emblem with complex construction, perfectly matching the totem details he'd glimpsed before.
Tower of Babel.
The clue pierced Thunderhawk's mind like an ice needle. Was this crude theft to cover something up? To test security response? To give Dr. Hawkins a warning? Or to... disguise something as an external intrusion, thereby paving the way for stricter internal controls?
Back in his quarters, Thunderhawk integrated today's observations, especially the emblem on Graham's keychain and his eagerness to suppress the matter, into an encrypted summary, preparing to store it in the buffer agreed upon with Black Cat. He had just completed the operation when an extremely subtle data stream, perceptible only to him, passed through his cyberbrain interface, like someone tapping on the other end to indicate "received."
Immediately, a line of text quietly appeared on his visual cortex, in Black Cat's style:
"Interesting script. Using noise to mask signal, stupidity to hide cunning. Keep watching, keep listening. The actors have only just taken the stage."
The text vanished instantly. Thunderhawk felt the interface at his nape grow slightly warm. Black Cat had not only received the information but had already begun analysis. This investigation, from the very beginning, was walking toward an even deeper, darker stage under the "observer's" gaze.
And that IT technician named John Liu, with the unwilling light in his eyes, might become an unexpected variable on this stage.
