NCCnovel Chapter 88 Successful Escape
Chapter 88 Successful Escape
A series of footsteps and shouts could be heard outside the corridor.
"Control room has been compromised! All guards, proceed to the seventh floor immediately!"
"Seal off all exits!"
Long Ci rushed to the door and looked out through the observation window: "At least twenty guards, all armed. The elevator has stopped, and they're positioned at the stairwell."
"We're trapped." Longya clenched his fist.
Lin Zhe quickly made a decision: "Long Qing, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you!"
"Activate Plan B—create massive chaos on the periphery, then the three of you evacuate immediately and leave us alone."
There was a moment of silence on the communicator. Then Long Qing's calm voice came through: "Understood. Long Yan has already caused three explosions in the city, drawing the police and security forces away. Long Yan has hacked into the traffic system, causing a city-wide traffic jam. We... will be waiting for you at the safe house."
"No need to wait," Lin Zhe said. "If we don't arrive in 72 hours, you are to evacuate and return home on your own. This is an order."
"...Understood. Take care."
Communication was cut off.
The control room was silent. The five men looked at each other and then smiled.
"Damn it, we've really messed up this time." Longya grinned. "But it was worth it—to steal the most confidential technical data from the US, it's worth dying for."
"Don't be so quick to say it's hopeless," Lin Zhe suddenly said. "Look at this."
He pointed to a structural diagram on the control panel—a complete 3D model of the entire underground base. At the edge of the model, there was a narrow passageway labeled "Emergency Evacuation Railcar".
"What is this?" Dragon Claw came closer.
"Underground escape route." Lin Zhe quickly operated the control panel, bringing up detailed information. "Used for the evacuation of key personnel in emergencies. The railcar leads to a concealed exit fifteen kilometers away. However, activation requires the highest level of privileges..."
He paused, then looked at the unconscious duty officer on the ground: "Or, we need to verify the duty officer's biometrics."
Long Ying immediately understood. He crouched down, grabbed a duty officer's finger, and pressed it onto the fingerprint scanner on the control panel. Then he pried open the eyelids to perform an iris scan.
"Verification successful. Access level: S. Emergency evacuation system authorized."
A new interface pops up on the console: Railcar status: Ready. Exit status: Closed. Recommendation: Evacuate immediately.
"How much data has been transmitted?" Lin Zhe asked.
"89%...90%...almost there!"
The sound of banging on a door came from outside the corridor. The guards began to force the door open.
"Prepare to evacuate!" Lin Zhe ordered. "Dragon Fang, Dragon Claw, go check the armory—the structural diagram shows there's a small emergency weapons depot nearby. Dragon Shadow, continue monitoring data transmission. Dragon Thorn, prepare to blow up the entrance to the control room to buy time."
The four acted swiftly.
Sure enough, Dragon Fang and Dragon Claw found the armory behind a hidden door on the side of the control room—it was neatly filled with various advanced weapons: new assault rifles, mini submachine guns, high-explosive grenades, and even individual rocket launchers.
"We're rich!" Longya's eyes lit up.
"Don't be greedy, take what you can use." Dragon Claw grabbed two assault rifles and several magazines.
Here, the data transmission has finally reached 100%.
"Transfer complete!" Dragon Shadow reported.
Lin Zhe immediately pressed the red button on the metal box. The box emitted a slight "click" sound, and the high-temperature device inside was activated, which would vaporize all the memory chips within thirty seconds.
"The track vehicle is starting!"
On the control panel, the icon for the railcar turned green. A wall on the side of the control room slowly slid open, revealing a small platform. A railcar resembling a mine cart, with only five seats, was parked on the platform.
"Get on the bus!"
The five people quickly boarded the vehicle. Lin Zhe was the last to get on and pressed the start button.
The railcar started slowly, then sped up faster and faster, racing through the dark tunnel.
Almost simultaneously, the door to the control room was blown open. Guards rushed in, only to find an empty control panel and the vaporizing remains of a metal box.
"They ran away! Chase them!"
But it was too late. The track car had already traveled several hundred meters when Lin Zhe pressed the remote control on the car—the explosives they had left at the entrance to the main control room were detonated, and the entire entrance was completely sealed off by the collapsed concrete.
Fifteen kilometers away, there is a hidden cave.
The track car slowly came to a stop. The five people jumped off and looked around at their surroundings—it was a natural cave, the exit of which was hidden by dense vines and could not be seen from the outside.
Lin Zhe turned on his communicator and switched to the backup channel: "Long Qing, can you hear me?"
After a brief crackling sound, Long Qing's joyful voice rang out: "Long Yuan! You're still alive!"
"We're still alive for now." Lin Zhe smiled. "We're currently 15 kilometers northeast of the designated evacuation point. Give me the coordinates, and we'll meet up."
"No, don't move for now," Long Qing said. "The entire area is under martial law, and the army is conducting a large-scale search. We're not safe in the safe house anymore, and we're preparing to move."
"What should we do then?"
"Wait." Long Qing's voice was calm. "Wait until things calm down. According to my surveillance, the US military is searching for you like crazy. But the more they do that, the easier it is for loopholes to appear. We'll act when they're tired of searching."
"Okay. Keep communication silent and contact us every six hours."
"clear."
The communication ended. The five people sat in the cave, listening to the faint roar of helicopters in the distance.
"This is a big mess." Longya leaned against the rock wall. "What do you think the president of Country M's expression is right now?"
At the same time, in Wharton's Situation Room.
The president's face was ashen, and he slammed his fist on the table: "Useless! A bunch of useless idiots! They sent people to infiltrate DARPA's most critical labs, steal data, and then vanish without a trace! What were you intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security doing?!"
The conference room was deathly silent. The Secretary of Defense, the CIA Director, the National Security Advisor… everyone had their heads down, not daring to speak.
"What about the damage assessment report?" the president asked, panting.
The CIA director, forcing a smile, began: "Preliminary assessments... suggest that the other side may have obtained research data in three of our most cutting-edge fields: quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and bioengineering. The specific losses... are still being calculated."
"How did they get in?!"
"They impersonated Dr. Charles... but the real Dr. Charles was turned away because the appointment time didn't match. We suspect that they not only forged biometrics but also hacked into the appointment system and altered the time."
"How did they get out?!" the president roared. "Seven levels underground! Impenetrable walls! Do they have the ability to walk through walls?!"
"Based on the on-site analysis... they used an emergency evacuation railcar. That was originally an escape route prepared for key personnel, but..." The Minister of Defense's voice trailed off.
The president closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and barely managed to suppress his anger: "Find them. Use all available resources to find these people. Live or dead."
"Mr. President," the National Security Advisor said cautiously, "the city is now under martial law, and the large-scale troop deployment has already attracted media attention. If things escalate..."
"Then let's make a big deal out of this!" The president opened his eyes, bloodshot. "Let the whole world know—anyone who dares to touch America's most core secrets will pay the price! But at the same time, maintain a unified narrative: this was a serious cyberattack, and we are tracking down the hackers. We absolutely cannot admit to any physical intrusion into the DARPA lab!"
"clear!"
The president stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the Washington skyline at night. For the first time, his back showed signs of aging.
"Gentlemen," he said slowly, "we may... have provoked an adversary we shouldn't have. A special forces unit capable of silently infiltrating our most confidential location and then escaping unscathed...do you understand what that means?"
Everyone in the conference room shivered.
This means that from now on, the M country's mainland will no longer be an absolutely safe haven. That mysterious Chinese military force can come and go as it pleases.
The scariest thing is—this time they were just stealing data. What if next time they come with a different purpose?
The night outside the window seemed deeper than ever before.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhe and his group of five had used signal jamming to evade the search and hide in a mountainous area.
Qianlong has once again proven that there is no place in this world they cannot reach, and no task they cannot accomplish.
Now, all they need to do is wait for the right moment, and then... go home.