Chapter 236 41

Chapter 41

There are more than ten islands in total, with an average travel time of one to several hours to/from the mainland.

The slightly larger islands are powered by submarine optical cables from the mainland and also have their own power supply systems, such as backup generators and energy storage equipment.

As a website server, to ensure stable operation, they must have considered this.

General servers are equipped with uninterruptible power supplies, commonly known as UPS.

When the municipal power supply is cut off, Psi's connection would automatically switch to its backup power generation equipment. This could cause interruptions in the website's network connection, a spike in server response time, or data packet delays—a brief "network jitter."

The method proposed by Li Shang involves using the power outage method to observe this jitter, helping the police determine Psi's location.

They quickly discussed with the technical personnel and confirmed that specialized equipment with high-sensitivity instruments could detect network data and capture these subtle changes.

After confirming the feasibility of the plan, everyone quickly finalized the plan and submitted it to Director Xu for approval.

After last night's events, dismantling this criminal organization had become urgent, and apprehending the remaining members was now the provincial police department's top priority.

After evaluation, relevant departments concluded that the islands had relatively few residents and facilities, and a brief power outage would not severely impact daily life. Thus, the plan received strong support from the neighboring province and full cooperation from the power supply department.

All procedures were processed as special cases, and the entire approval process was completed in less than an hour.

Power supply to all offshore islands in the neighboring province would be cut off one by one for one minute each. To avoid data confusion, there would be a three-minute interval between each test, while the police would monitor the situation of Psi's website in real time throughout the process.

To prevent the criminals from fleeing, the police leadership decided to act quickly and confirm the relevant information as soon as possible.

Gu Niantang, the students, and other technical personnel quickly completed the setup, while He Lin completed all coordination.

The plan was set to begin at 3 a.m. Several leaders also stayed up all night, gathering at the command center to monitor the situation.

The provincial police department's command room was brightly lit in the early hours, with staff from various departments and different police units almost filling the entire hall.

Yet, the command room was so quiet that they could clearly hear the humming of the computer mainframes.

At exactly 3 a.m., the test officially began. The power supply department started with the largest of the islands.

To facilitate observation, Gu Niantang edited the surveillance feeds from several islands together.

A real-time network traffic monitoring graph was also projected onto the large screen in the provincial police department's command center.

Everyone held their breath, watching the changes nervously.

"First island power outage begins."

The corresponding surveillance screen went dark. The island's lights went out, leaving only moonlight and starlight, but the traffic monitor showed no change.

After a minute, the surveillance screen came back online, and this island was eliminated from suspicion.

"Second island power outage..."

The subsequent steps followed the same pattern. It was a task requiring patience, with no room for carelessness.

Round after round proceeded, and the traffic line on the monitor remained stable and flat.

The command room was extremely quiet, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Gu Niantang, responsible for the monitoring operation, stared intently at the screen. Not this one... not that one either... Was their reasoning flawed?

At this thought, his heart raced, and he hesitantly glanced at He Lin and Li Shang sitting nearby.

He Lin appeared confident, sitting leisurely to the side.

Li Shang, however, looked serious. He wasn't watching the large screen but was instead making notes on a map of the island chain, as if calculating the time needed to reach the islands and anticipating various complex scenarios.

Gu Niantang noticed that the islands Li Shang had circled had not yet come up in the testing sequence.

Suppressing his unease, Gu Niantang withdrew his gaze. Having been part of the special investigation team for so long, he knew that Li Shang's judgments had never been wrong. The test wasn't over yet; he needed to be patient.

Another ten minutes passed when suddenly, the nearly flat line on the screen curved slightly.

Gu Niantang almost doubted his eyes. He rubbed them, reviewed the data, and confirmed he hadn't misseen it—the disappearance of the island's surveillance and the fluctuation occurred almost simultaneously.

The subtle fluctuation was like a tiny heartbeat—fleeting but accurately recorded by the sensitive instruments.

"Possible target identified." Suppressing his excitement, Gu Niantang quickly stood up to report the findings. Other technical personnel helped organize the data.

After analysis by experts, all indicators matched the changes expected from a website switching power sources.

The command room buzzed with excitement.

Director Xu urgently asked, "Which island is it?"

Gu Niantang checked and said, "Island Number 13, Dielan Island (Butterfly Orchid Island)!"

He remembered that this island had been circled on the map Li Shang was looking at, with a star drawn beside it.

Moreover, this island was also on the previous electricity usage surge list.

Zhou Tianyi retrieved various data provided by the neighboring province and handed it to Director Xu and Deputy Director Zhang. The information included the island's area, permanent population, and other details, though the data was collected three years ago and hadn't been updated since.

When the provincial police department and Tianning Base were investigating Cha Xin's case, human traffickers had once used nearby islands as supply transfer points. It was likely during that time that Bai Zang discovered the area's secluded nature and low police attention, leading to the modification of Dielan Island.

Everyone's faces showed unconcealed excitement.

But Li Shang looked up and reminded them, "To avoid it being just a transfer point or the opponent operating on multiple islands, we must complete the inspection of the remaining islands one by one."

He Lin also agreed, "After all tests are completed, we can conduct a second test on Dielan Island for confirmation."

At this critical juncture, it was crucial to avoid any mistakes.

Soon, testing of the other islands was completed, with no similar abnormalities detected.

They contacted the power department for a confirmatory test: Dielan Island's power was restored and then cut off again.

This time, during the switch, the network jitter on Psi's website became more apparent.

Confirmed!

The staff broke into cheers.

Their overnight efforts had finally paid off at this moment.

Seeing this, Li Linxi covered her face as tears welled up. Then, feeling somewhat embarrassed, she quickly wiped away her tears.

Others also couldn't conceal their excitement, with Sun Cheng even hugging Zhou Tianyi enthusiastically.

He Lin watched the scene, feeling his eyes moisten. He sighed softly and said, "We've found it."

Li Shang, sitting beside him, nodded slightly and said, "Finally."

The other team members had joined later; only they knew how many obstacles they had overcome and how much they’d been through along the way.

It was like a rift ripped open in the Lily District back then, allowing a small creature to escape.

And now, after pursuing it for so long, they had finally captured its phantom trail.

They had pulled back the veil covering the monster, revealing its form to everyone.

In the command room, Director Xu let out a sigh of relief. The veteran leader stood up and said, "Everyone has worked hard and done an excellent job. I will first report to the provincial leadership."

After speaking, he quickly walked out the door.

A few minutes later, the Former Director returned with a serious expression. He looked at Li Shang and said, "Commander Li, the leaders of the base and the province have approved the operation. You are responsible for assembling the SWAT team and preparing as soon as possible for the island assault and capture."

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In the early morning, the entire provincial department was a hive of activity. Due to the involvement of cross-provincial law enforcement, Tianning Base had also joined in.

The police retrieved satellite maps of Dielan Island and detailed maps of various structures on the island. It was confirmed that there were multiple armed hostile forces on the island.

Li Shang analyzed the terrain of Dielan Island. The island was divided into eastern and western parts. The west side contained derelict factories, which were likely their headquarters, while the east side featured a long coastline and cliffs. The central part of the island was a dense jungle.

The fastest way to reach the island was by helicopter. Landing on the island was extremely dangerous, making regular police officers unsuitable for the task. Apart from Li Shang and He Lin, all other participants were members of the SWAT team.

Li Shang quickly predicted the personnel and potential scenarios on the island based on the map, drawing up a tactical plan. The base also dispatched three helicopters and an elite tactical unit to assist them in completing the mission.

Shortly after, all personnel were quickly mustered, divided into groups, and equipped, preparing to depart in the early morning.

To prepare for the upcoming mission, everyone grabbed an early meal in advance.

He Lin geared up. There was still some time before the helicopter took off, but he noticed Li Shang was nowhere in sight among the crowd.

He Lin pondered where Li Shang might be.

He suddenly recalled that back at the base, whenever there was a major mission about to commence, Rong Qing would always drill them repeatedly with instructions. However, if conditions permitted, he would also leave everyone with about ten minutes of personal time before departure.

The purpose of this time was generally implied by the leadership—allowing them to organize their equipment—but every SWAT member knew that major missions carried certain risks. These special tasks were also highly confidential, and they could not notify their families.

So, this time was actually meant for everyone to record final messages on their phones—any thoughts they wanted to share or unfulfilled wishes could be recorded. After the mission was completed, they would delete them one by one.

Back then, He Lin would also leave messages for his mother on his phone during that time.

And during those moments, he noticed that, whenever possible, Rong Qing liked to spend some time alone on the base's rooftop.

Thinking of this, He Lin checked the time. His heart stirred, and he turned to take the elevator to the top floor.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door to the provincial department's rooftop, he found Li Shang standing tall and composed on the rooftop. Dressed in sharp combat gear, he was facing the direction where the sun would soon rise.