Chapter 13

In the southern part of China in the game, the safe base named Hope City was in an uproar. Just a moment ago, when a drone transport aircraft returned and was undergoing a security check, it was discovered that the supplies inside were incorrect. As the staff thought the system had malfunctioned and began to verify the system, an even more shocking event occurred: the two TJ-5423 missiles on the transport aircraft, intended to counter raptor attacks, had also disappeared. This immediately made the staff realize the severity of the situation and they reported it immediately.

"Are you saying that the transport aircraft was robbed, and we lost two TJ-5423 missiles? And there are no abnormal records in our base's system or the drone's intelligent system? Additionally, the drone's black box is locked and can't be opened in the short term?" In the control center of Hope City, General Wang Zhongyang, the head of Hope City, frowned as he looked at the soldier reporting the situation, his expression serious.

Because this game simulates a post-war scenario and the potential for another war, it is not only about training ordinary citizens' survival and self-protection skills in war but also about enhancing the military's combat capabilities and the commanders' adaptability. Therefore, all the heads of the safe bases in the game are actually real-life military personnel. However, this information is kept confidential, and ordinary players are unaware of it.

"That's right. The technical team is already working on decrypting the drone's black box. This is today's schedule for the drone's air drops. According to the flight records of the drone's system and the air drop schedule issued by the base, there are no errors, and even the times match. However, the drone returned ten minutes later than the scheduled time. The command center initially thought this was due to bad weather, but now it seems that something unknown happened during those ten minutes."

"The air drop locations are all low-level war ruins, not passing through any dangerous areas or medium-level areas that are not yet open to the public. It also did not fly over the airspace of our opposing forces, which means the robbery of the transport aircraft was likely carried out by a player in this area of war ruins." General Wang Zhongyang glanced at the drone's flight path, his brows furrowed, and his gaze became very serious.

"Based on the drone's maximum flight speed, it could only have deviated to this area in ten minutes. Calculating the minimum time required to steal the missiles and supplies, the drone's deviation range should be this large. Within this range, there is no known entity capable of robbing the transport aircraft. Therefore, it can be concluded that this incident was likely carried out by a player who has been in the war ruins for less than 11 hours."

The soldier who reported the incident circled the possible deviation area of the drone on the electronic map, then said seriously. However, from the soldier's eyes, it was clear that he was not too angry about the incident but rather surprised and even a bit delighted.

"A player who has been in the war ruins for less than 11 hours? Haha, our country truly has many hidden talents. There shouldn't be many usable resources in these low-level war ruins, yet they managed to rob one of our transport aircraft using such limited resources. I really want to see who this player is." General Wang Zhongyang's serious face broke into a smile, clearly indicating that, in addition to training combat capabilities, discovering hidden talents is also one of the purposes of the military's direct management of the safe bases.

"However, this incident has caused some serious negative impacts. We must catch the person who committed this robbery as soon as possible. These people should be focusing on accumulating points, not robbing our transport aircraft. I want them caught and brought to justice." After a moment of smiling, General Wang Zhongyang's expression turned stern again.

"Yes, Commander, we will catch this bold and reckless thief as quickly as possible." The soldier saluted and then turned to leave.

"Bold and reckless? Indeed, they are quite bold and reckless. I want to see who you are." General Wang Zhongyang's eyes gleamed with determination.

When the military machinery started, its execution capability was quite terrifying. In just ten minutes, they ruled out the possibility of the drone deviating from its flight path and determined the reason for the loss of the items—the drone's intelligent system was deceived into landing in a war ruin. However, the specific war ruin where it landed was still undetermined.

"What methods could be used to deceive the drone into landing?" Looking at the new report, General Wang Zhongyang stroked his chin and asked. To understand the situation as quickly as possible, he went directly to the incident analysis room, obtaining the analysis data in the first instance.

"Based on the analysis of the resources in the war ruins the drone's flight path passed through, the most likely method to deceive the drone's intelligent system into landing is by using an undestroyed signal tower from a former TV station to simulate the base's command tower and issue a landing command to the drone. Additionally, the airport in this range of war ruins has been completely destroyed, and the drone needs a runway for landing and takeoff. Therefore, the place where the drone was deceived into landing should be a relatively intact section of a road, which the perpetrator used as a runway."

The soldier handed over the documents. If Fatso were here, he would be amazed. Fatso, who had always doubted the military's capabilities, could not believe that in just ten minutes, his method of robbing the transport aircraft had been deduced almost accurately, and even the location where the drone was deceived into landing was being locked down and further analyzed.

"Using a TV station's signal tower to impersonate the base's command tower? This thief is quite creative. But wouldn't it be very difficult to do that? After all, the intelligence of the drone's intelligent system is not low, and it's not easy to deceive it."

"According to the analysis of several experts, to deceive the drone's intelligent system, one must have a database similar to the base's command tower to trick the drone's intelligent system's recognition function. Therefore, the perpetrator is likely not acting alone. Even if they started planning this from the beginning of the game, building a database to deceive the drone's intelligent system is not something one person could accomplish in 11 hours. So this might be the work of a group."

"Go and call Xiao Li." General Wang Zhongyang pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Yes, Commander."

"Commander, you called me." Soon, a young man with thick glasses, a pale complexion, messy hair like a bird's nest, and a thin, gaunt build was brought in by the soldier. Although the young man's appearance was somewhat disheveled, the eyes behind his glasses, which flashed with a fanatical light, suggested that he was either a genius or a madman. Given that he was here, he was clearly the former.

"I know I shouldn't disturb you at this time, but I need your technical expertise to help me analyze this. If you were the thief, and using the resources that the analysis experts say are available, could you complete this theft? If so, how long would it take?" Seeing a hint of displeasure on the young man's face, an expression rarely seen from subordinates to superiors in the military, General Wang Zhongyang not only did not get angry but also apologized and smiled warmly.

"Yes, Commander. If I were to do this, I could build the necessary simulated database to deceive the drone in one hour. However, although I don't want to admit it, the thief's skills are likely superior to mine. He probably completed the database in even less time." The young man adjusted his thick glasses, and his previously dull eyes flashed with a determined light.

"Superior to yours?" General Wang Zhongyang and the soldier standing beside him both looked surprised. Although the young man was very proud and didn't give anyone any face, he was highly respected in the military because of his abilities. He was one of the top computer experts in the country, a genius in the category of monsters. For someone to have even higher skills than him, what kind of person could that be?

"Although I don't want to believe it, it is indeed the case. My skills are inferior to his because I still haven't figured out how he deleted the records of the abnormal landing from the drone's system. Additionally, his locking of the drone's black box would take me at least two days, or even longer, to decrypt. Remember, he accomplished all this using old computers in the war ruins, while I am using the most advanced technology allowed by the system. So, I am indeed inferior to him." The young man said frankly.

"Find this person at all costs. Get the profiles of all players in this range of war ruins and analyze them one by one. All suspects should be brought to this safe base as soon as they become privates and secretly monitored. Damn game rules, we need to re-enter all player data from scratch. If the system could send us all the player data, finding this person would be much easier. But we must find this person."

"Yes, Commander." The messenger saluted and immediately went to carry out the order.