Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 45: Infiltration

night.

On the lower level of the Ares Auditorium Tower, the Tower Engineering Department's elevator shaft maintenance team still had their cold white lights on.

This is the most inconspicuous logistics area of ​​the Auditorium Tower. On the wall hang structural diagrams of elevator shafts, maintenance schedules for heavy-duty rails, and night shift lists. Several tower maintenance engineers sit in front of terminals checking work orders, and the metal floor is covered with a layer of dark luster from being wiped with machine oil and cleaning agents.

Zhang Qiming walked over from the end of the employee passageway, carrying a gray-black repair toolbox.

The outer shell of the box was sealed with the standard seal of the Tower Engineering Department, but the inside contained a [Minotaur-class tactical nuclear device] that had already been securely locked.

This thing is now disguised by Chishiro as a lift shaft brake calibrator. All scan readings are forced into the normal maintenance equipment range. Ares, on the other hand, fills in the corresponding work order, maintenance number and night operation authorization in the Audit Tower system.

Zhang Qiming was wearing a [skin-mimicking memory mask] made by Doraemon.

This mask is as thin as a living membrane. Once it fits the face, it can simulate the target's facial features, skin texture, micro-expressions, and iris details, with a similarity of up to 96%.

The real maintenance worker he replaced was now lying in an abandoned rest pod on the other side of the Olympus Hub. He had been knocked unconscious and was far from the blast radius.

At that moment, the engineer on duty looked up and glanced at Zhang Qiming.

"Work order number".

He handed over the wrist terminal, his voice suppressed by the mimicry of the original repairman's tone.

"Nighttime maintenance by the Tower Engineering Department: Re-inspection of the heavy-duty track braking module on elevator shaft No. 3."

The engineer glanced at it, and a green authorization immediately popped up on the screen.

[Work order verification passed]

[Worker: Mikhail Sergeyevich]

[Task Content: Re-inspect the braking module of elevator shaft line 3, and calibrate the heavy-load track in the isolation zone]

[Personal Equipment: Brake Aligner, Track Locking Tool, Portable Diagnostic Kit]

The engineer yawned and casually pushed the pass to him.

"Don't take too long. They're still working overtime in the quarantine area tonight. If there's a malfunction, they'll get yelled at again."

Zhang Qiming took the pass and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll leave as soon as it's fixed."

He picked up his toolbox and walked along the maintenance passage toward the elevator shaft.

The recognition cameras on both sides of the corridor scanned his face in turn, and Chishiro filled in the details of his gait, iris and voiceprint in the dark; when the security module inside the wall scanned the toolbox, Ares simultaneously transmitted the maintenance equipment number, and the warning light jumped from yellow back to green.

Doors opened one after another in front of him.

Like a true night shift repairman, Zhang Qiming carried his gray-black toolbox and walked deep into the Ares Auditorium.

Zhang Qiming walked along the maintenance passage, his steps slow, the gray-black toolbox in his hand swaying gently with each step.

The maintenance access point for elevator line 3 is located below the joint verification isolation zone. When maintenance workers arrive here, the first thing they do is check the track locks, braking modules, and emergency latches of the heavy-duty car.

These are all necessary steps and cannot be skipped.

Chishiro simultaneously projected a simplified process onto the edge of his field of vision to prevent him from being exposed due to minor details.

Following these details, Zhang Qiming became like the most ordinary night-shift worker in the audit tower—tired, numb, and in a rush, all he wanted to do was finish the work orders and go back to drink a cup of synthetic coffee.

After doing all this, he began his next move, and just as he passed through the second gate, two courtroom policemen at the end of the corridor suddenly looked over.

One of the military police raised his hand to stop him, his gaze falling on the toolbox.

"Open the box for routine inspection."

Zhang Qiming stopped, his face still showing the annoyance of a repairman who had been disturbed.

He didn't refuse immediately; he simply put the toolbox on the ground, pressed his finger onto the seal, and kept his voice very low.

"This contains the brake calibrator. I've already scanned it through the tower maintenance department... You can open it if you want, but you'll have to reseal it afterward. Who's responsible for the work order delay?"

The military police frowned and reprimanded:

"Just drive when I tell you to! Stop talking nonsense!!!"

The other person had already lifted the portable detector, ready to scan it again close to the outer shell of the box.

Just as the detector was about to light up, a series of piercing alarms suddenly burst from the wall-mounted instrument on the other side of the corridor.

beep - beep - beep -

A secondary instrument responsible for balancing the air pressure in the elevator shaft immediately turned red, and a message appeared on the terminal screen: "[Abnormal pressure in the braking layer]". Then, a sound of metal latches misaligning came from inside the wall, as if a section of track fastener was coming out of a stable state.

[Chiseiro activates the mechanical technique: [Fault Induction]]

[Target: Auxiliary instrument panel for elevator shaft line 3!]

[Result: Temporary pressure anomaly detected; maintenance priority upgraded!]

Damn it.

The military police officer who was about to inspect the box immediately turned around, and another military police officer put away the detector and quickly walked towards the alarm point.

Zhang Qiming casually picked up the box again, muttered a curse under his breath befitting a repairman, and then took two steps toward the alarm point, pretending to be preparing to go and deal with it.

The next moment, he activated [Mental Disguise].

You have activated [Mental Disguise]!

[Mysterious numerical analysis in progress...]

Your Mysterious Attribute: 41

[Target's mental resistance assessment: Failed!]

The target is in a state of [cognitive confusion]!

Taking advantage of the other party's [cognitive confusion] state, Zhang Qiming directly told the two military police officers that he had to go over and maintain order first, and told them not to get in the way, otherwise they would all be in trouble.

The two military police officers had too low psychic resistance, and the thought of questioning them that had just arisen in their minds was suppressed by [cognitive deception]. In addition, the alarm was still flashing, so Zhang Qiming's "persuasion" was a complete success.

"Hurry up and deal with it," one of the military police said impatiently, waving his hand. He was already deeply affected by [cognitive confusion] and wouldn't bother to examine the box carefully anymore.

Zhang Qiming nodded, picked up his toolbox, walked past the two men, swiped open the side maintenance door, and went directly into the deeper maintenance corridor.

The door closed behind him, and the alarm in the corridor was muffled by the heavy door. He quickened his pace and walked steadily along the narrow maintenance corridor, his toolbox hanging heavily in his hand, like a hammer ready to strike, pointing straight at the heart of the audit tower.

After proceeding to the bottom of the quarantine zone and arriving at the designated location, Ares and Chishiro, two invisible hands, began to exert their power simultaneously to update Zhang Qiming's normal operating data, in order to prevent interference from outsiders.

[Ares Auditorium Records Updated]

[Elevator Shaft No. 3: Under Maintenance at Night]

[Worker: Mikhail Sergeyevich]

[Personal Equipment: Brake calibrator, track locking tool, portable diagnostic kit]

[Work in progress, please do not disturb!]

When Zhang Qiming arrived at the designated location, he heard Chishiro's voice.

The current location has been matched.

[The upper section is the main load-bearing floor of the joint verification and isolation zone; all target personnel are within this zone.]

Ares has marked this section of the maintenance corridor as a temporary maintenance area. The inspection servo will begin the next cycle in 120 seconds.

"One hundred and twenty seconds is enough."