Chapter 653: Tracking the Trail

In a management room in the core zone, Luo was standing on the control platform that Old Joe had once used to monitor the entire base. Several of her mechanical appendages extended from behind her, connecting to several terminal devices beside her. Large numbers of ever-changing holographic projections floated around her; some displayed dazzling data and charts, while others showed the current situation inside and outside the base.

"Old Joe gave up a 'pickup location' used for transactions with the Hermitage, and two secret lines for contacting their liaisons," she said, looking up at Yu Sheng, who stood nearby with his arms crossed. Her golden, star-speckled eyes flickered with the glow of data streams. "But I have reason to doubt the accuracy of this intelligence. From what I know of him, even if truly cornered and seeking a quick death, he would still do everything he could to dig a trap for me. Those two secret lines are very likely 'warning channels' he prearranged with the Hermitage. If we rashly use them, the contact on the other side will probably know that Old Joe is already finished."

The nearby terminals hummed. Luo had already connected herself to the base's database. Now she was browsing the vast logs and data stored locally while organizing her thoughts.

"As for that 'pickup location,' the coordinates should be real. I found matching preset jump coordinates in the navigation system of a cargo shuttle docked in the base. But sailing a ship over there directly right now would likely alarm the enemy. Once I've sorted out the control system here, I plan to first launch a stealth-type deep-space probe to find out what's over there first."

"Will that 'pickup location' be close to the Hermitage's control planet?" Ailin sat on a nearby terminal, asking curiously. "If we go there, can we find the Hermitage's main base?"

"If those zealots have even basic caution, they won't," Luo glanced at the wicked little dwarf beside her. "Such a meetup point would definitely be far from their headquarters. Moreover, from what Old Joe told me, I don't think there was much 'trust' between him and those Hermitage followers. They definitely kept precautions against each other, which is also consistent with the 'rules' of the Dark Meteor Sector."

Ailin drew out her tone: "Wow—so that's how it is."

It was hard to tell if she really understood.

Luo couldn't help but glance at Ailin a few more times. After holding back for a while, she couldn't resist: "Also, you're sitting on the equipment vent. Isn't it hot?"

Ailin: "...Wow!"

The little puppet let out a startled cry and jumped off the terminal, scurrying up to Yu Sheng's shoulder in a flash.

Yu Sheng immediately felt half his shoulder warm. He reached out and pressed down on the little one wobbling on his shoulder, never still for a moment, and spoke thoughtfully: "When I first connected my consciousness to this base, I think I 'saw' Old Joe communicating with someone. I didn't hear clearly, but it was most likely with the Hermitage people. See if you can find that record."

"Wait... Found the corresponding communication log," Luo's eyes flashed with another glimmer of light. As a large portion of her computational power was hooked into the base's database, her expression became somewhat rigid, and even her speech took on a mechanical tone. "The communication content has been erased, automatically executed by the system based on some security protocol. Attempting to recover the contact's information. Searching for more similar communication logs..."

As her voice fell, the surrounding terminals buzzed. The surface of Luo's mechanical appendages flickered with faint electrical arcs. In just a few moments, visible hot air began to rise from her head.

Seeing this, Ailin was shocked and couldn't help shouting: "Hey sis, did your vent get clogged too—"

Before the little puppet could finish, the living metal coating on Luo's back suddenly writhed. A large number of cooling grilles opened out of thin air near the connection points of her mechanical appendages, and hot air rushed out from inside.

"My vents are hidden," Luo's eyes quickly returned to normal, and that mechanical sensation also faded from her. She glanced at Ailin, then her gaze naturally fell on Yu Sheng. "I found the communication record you mentioned. The content was thoroughly erased, but Old Joe obviously didn't expect his entire base's authority to be taken over. Other traces left in the system are still plentiful, including the registration list of relay nodes."

Yu Sheng, who understood nothing of the technical details, asked directly: "Can we pinpoint where the person he contacted is based on that?"

He then added: "I've seen it in movies. One side receives a call, and then the scientists on the other side type away on screens, follow the network cable, and grab the guy..."

Luo's expression became somewhat subtle.

Whenever she dealt with these people from the Lodge, she often felt the same powerlessness as a late-stage Homo sapiens seeing their primate relatives in the rainforest.

But she quickly adjusted her expression. After all, as a researcher, she was used to dealing with people with limited education. Moreover, the illiterate in front of her was her boss—this boss didn't understand science, but at least he respected it... Well, most of the time, his actions didn't respect science either, but at least he respected scientists.

...Probably?

The more Luo thought about it, the more mixed her feelings became, but she still patiently explained: "Every FTL communication array in the Dark Meteor Sector is camouflaged. Even if the relay node information can be successfully reconstructed, it will definitely be wrapped in several layers of false characteristics. Moreover, the Chongsheng Hermitage has its own communication facilities and sovereign broadcast devices. Their internal encryption to crack..."

She suddenly stopped and looked up at the clear, bright eyes of Yu Sheng and Ailin.

Next to them, Huli's eyes weren't clear—they were hungry.

Luna wasn't listening at all. As a village girl who had spent sixteen years farming in the countryside and the rest of her time hacking away at people in cognitive barriers, any topic beyond basic arithmetic was beyond her academic ability. (When she operated the Exotic Lodge vessel, she did everything by instinct.)

Luo let out a long sigh.

"It can be cracked. Give me some time."

Then she thought for a moment and added a few more explanations: "At most a few days. I can reverse-engineer the real coordinates of those relay nodes based on their signal patterns. Cross-referencing calculations will allow me to find the Chongsheng Hermitage's hideout. Once I find one valid address, the rest will be simple."

"Then that's settled!" Ailin cheered. "Just in time for Steel-Face to make arrangements over there too. When we hit that damned Hermitage, we'll be the vanguard, and let Steel-Face gather the troops behind..."

Yu Sheng noticed something from Luo's earlier expression and now felt a bit apologetic. His attitude was especially sincere: "Well, you know, the Lodge's average education level is indeed limited. Our most educated one (pointing at Huli) is already getting hungry..."

At the mention of "meal time," Huli, who was lying nearby, perked up her ears with a "ding." But she looked up and saw no sign of food yet, so she grumbled and buried her head in a pile of tails.

"Then there's the other things Old Joe left behind—not just this base, but also his trade routes spread across the Dark Meteor Sector, factories, shipyards, and security forces," Luo continued, browsing the asset list in the database and moving to the next topic. "I plan to completely remodel this deep-rock fortress, tearing out all those disgusting labs and exhibition halls. But before that, it needs to be moved to Blackstone Station. This place is too remote and deep in the Dark Meteor Sector; it's not a good location for a stronghold. That process may require your help, boss.

"As for the surrendered clone troops and the few local ships, I'll leave them to Ryan for reorganization. He has experience with this. If all goes well, this force can be thoroughly converted into my private army, bypassing Black Dot Group.

"As for the factories and trade routes... Although I'd like to swallow all of them, unfortunately my 'appetite' is limited right now. Trying to swallow it all at once might turn into a big problem and easily attract too much attention from the group company. Old Joe had many assets connected with other Black Dot project managers or special commissioners, some of whom I have ties with. I can't overdo it.

"So the best way is to hand over these assets directly to the group company for redistribution. After redistribution, I should still be able to legally acquire a portion, and this can also, to some extent, repair my 'value rating' within Black Dot Group."

Luo paused, a thoughtful expression on her face, before continuing: "The commotion on the Gray Dwarf Star should have already reached the group's shadow investigators. Old Joe's death can be concealed for now, but news of my return has likely already reached the higher-ups. This is also an opportunity. Although not entirely as expected, I can formally 'return.'"

"There's a problem here," Yu Sheng interjected while listening and thinking. "Once Black Dot Group starts processing Old Joe's assets, his death can't be hidden. The Chongsheng Hermitage should be well-informed in the Dark Meteor Sector. Once they know Old Joe is down, many of the intel we've gathered about the Hermitage from here might become invalid. At the very least, the Hermitage will be more on guard."

"So we need to exploit the time difference," Luo said seriously. "I'll use various reports and paperwork processes to delay the group company's investigation into the Gray Dwarf Star and this 'internal conflict.' I'll try to postpone the board's initiation of follow-up procedures. That way, the news can be temporarily contained within Black Dot's secrecy levels. Meanwhile, we need to find and infiltrate the Hermitage's home turf before that. As long as you employ your methods, boss, once we can infiltrate, it won't matter how the Hermitage reacts."