I will burn books and slay gods.

When Chen Ye returned to his room, Lu Yuan had already sent him the information.

The signal control center has three floors above ground and two floors underground.

Above ground are the office area and monitoring hall, while the basement houses the core server room and backup power supply.

The building has four entrances, but the northwest staff entrance is only open during closures.

The security system consists of three layers: the physical layer (access cards, fingerprint locks), the electronic layer (cameras, infrared sensors), and... the conceptual layer.

Information about the conceptual layer is scarce. Only one old report from three years ago mentions that, due to its importance, the Signal Center had invited the Night Watch headquarters to set up a basic "cognitive confusion barrier" for it—so that unrelated personnel would subconsciously ignore the building and not have the idea of ​​approaching it.

But the cult may have already rewritten this barrier, turning it into their defense system.

As Chen Ye reviewed the materials, he simultaneously constructed a cognitive model in his mind.

He needs to design a "disguise identity package" containing four elements:

Visual identity: Who are they, as seen by surveillance cameras and the naked eye?

Behavioral logic: What identity should their behavior patterns conform to?

Conceptual characteristics: At the conceptual level, what message do they "spread"?

Memory implantation: If they are subjected to deep scanning, they need to have corresponding "background memories".

Chen Ye decided to choose the most inconspicuous yet most reasonable identity: an air conditioner repairman.

In places like signal centers, servers generate a lot of heat, making air conditioning systems crucial.

Maintenance workers need to perform regular inspections, wear work clothes, carry toolboxes, and have fixed behavior patterns (inspecting pipes, taking readings, and making records), and are often overlooked by security systems—because they are too common and too low-level.

He took out his notebook and began to build:

Visual identity: Dark blue overalls with a fictitious "City Facilities Maintenance Company" logo. Safety helmet, tool pouch.

Behavioral logic: The three-person team (Chen Ye, Lin Su, and Wang Xiaoming) is supported from a distance by Instructor Gui Chi, who is disguised as a dispatcher.

After entering, they went straight to the underground machine room. If anyone asked them questions along the way, they said, "We received a high temperature alarm and came to check the cooling system."

Conceptual characteristics: Chen Ye wants to use his abilities to instill in them the conceptual labels of "ordinary", "repetitive", "technical" and "non-threatening".

Like background noise, let the alert system filter itself.

Memory implantation: Keep it simple—create a fictitious company, a fictitious order, and a fictitious contact person.

Fewer details are better, because more details make it easier to make mistakes.

After the construction was completed, Chen Ye tried to simulate it on himself.

He closed his eyes and activated the "tree" anchor cards in his cognitive blueprint (representing mechanical, repetitive, and functional).

The two streams of ideas merged, enveloping his self-perception.

When he opened his eyes again, he looked in the mirror.

The person in the mirror was still Chen Ye, but their demeanor had changed.

The sharpness and contemplation in his eyes were replaced by a calm focus, and his posture was slightly hunched, like someone who works with a bent back all year round.

He could even feel himself "emitting" a faint smell, like a mixture of engine oil and dust—a conceptual characteristic he had attached to himself.

effective.

But how long can it last? And how deep of a scan can it fool?

He didn't know. We had no choice but to try.

At 3:50 a.m., the four of them met in the underground parking lot.

The instructors distributed disguise equipment to everyone: real work clothes, toolboxes, and fake work permits.

She also gave everyone an earpiece-style miniature communicator.

"Remember, if we're exposed, don't fight head-on. My spatial beacon is set up in a convenience store 300 meters outside the center. If you rush out, I'll be there to meet you."

She said, "But if possible, we want to achieve two goals: First, to install a conceptual instrument in the underground server room to block the signal control that the cult might launch. Second, to collect evidence of the cult's activities."

Chen Ye checked his cognitive "disguise" one last time to confirm it was stable.

Lin Su had already suppressed all her fiery aura; she now looked like a cold-faced female repairman.

Wang Xiaoming tries to make himself "ordinary"—which is actually easier for him since he has a weak presence. As long as he doesn't deliberately try to make himself stand out, he will naturally blend into the background.

"Set off."

The four of them got into a van painted to resemble a repair company and drove towards the city center.

The city was quiet in the early morning.

The streets were empty, and the streetlights cast halos of light in the damp air.

Chen Ye looked out the window. The tall buildings looked like silent giants, with most of the windows dark and only a few lights on.

He had no idea what people were going through in those lit windows.

Perhaps it's just regular overtime work, perhaps it's a family reunion late at night, or perhaps someone is suffering from insomnia and gazing at the night view.

And they are here to protect these ordinary nights.

The car stopped at the street corner outside the signal control center.

The staff passage on the northwest side was lit up, and there was a security booth at the entrance.

Chen Ye took a deep breath and was the first to get off the bus.

He carried his toolbox and walked towards the security booth.

The security guard behind the window was a middle-aged man who was watching a video on his phone.

"Master," Chen Ye knocked on the window, speaking in a deliberately relaxed tone, "the air conditioner repairman received an alarm from your place."

The security guard looked up, glanced at him, then at Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming behind him. "Work ID."

Chen Ye handed over the forged documents.

The security guard glanced at it and compared it with the records on the computer—it was a fake work order that Lu Yuan had hacked into the system to add in advance.

"Go inside. The server room is on the second basement level. Don't wander around." The security guard waved his hand, his attention returning to his phone.

First level passed.

The three entered the building.

The corridor was quiet, with only the hum of the fluorescent lights.

Following the blueprint, they headed towards the staircase leading underground.

But at the top of the stairs, Chen Ye suddenly stopped.

He sensed it—the "membrane" at the conceptual level.

An invisible barrier, like ripples on water, stood before the stairs.

What ordinary people cannot see is obvious to him: it is a modified cognitive confusion barrier.

Now it not only makes people overlook the building, but also scans the "intentions" of every person who enters.

If their disguise isn't thorough enough, if there are flaws in their "repairman" concept package, it will immediately trigger an alarm.

Chen Ye turned around and nodded to Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming.

Then he took the lead and stepped into the barrier.

Like passing through a layer of cold water.

The barrier swept across his body, scanning his cognitive structure.

Chen Ye did his best to maintain the disguise, while suppressing all his fighting spirit, tension, and awareness of his identity as a Night Watchman.

He's just a repairman now, with only air conditioning pipes and coolant on his mind.

One second. Two seconds.

The barrier rippled slightly, then allowed passage.

He passed through. Lin Su and Wang Xiaoming followed closely behind and also passed through smoothly.

The three exchanged glances and all breathed a sigh of relief. But they dared not relax and continued downwards.

The computer room is located on the second basement level. The door is a heavy-duty explosion-proof door that requires a password and access card.

Wang Xiaoming stepped forward, took out a palm-sized device from the toolbox, and attached it to the card reader.

The device lit up with a green light, and a few seconds later, the door lock clicked open.

Push the door open and enter.

The server room is bigger than I imagined.

Two rows of towering server racks stood like black tombstones, emitting a low hum of fans.

There was a smell of ozone and metal in the air.

The temperature was noticeably lower than outside, and the air conditioner vents were blowing cold air.

But there are no technicians here.

There wasn't a single person there.

"That's not right," Lin Su said in a low voice. "Even if the system is upgraded, someone should still be on duty in the core server room."

Chen Ye also sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet, and... the indicator lights on the server rack were flashing in a strange rhythm. They weren't flashing regularly, but rather seemed to be transmitting some kind of information—a long light, a short flash, and a rapid flash, like Morse code.

Wang Xiaoming had already walked to the main control panel, trying to connect his analysis equipment. But the screen suddenly lit up by itself.

It wasn't a user interface, but a simple command-line window. The green cursor blinked, and then a line of text was automatically typed:

"Welcome. Phase two of the test, begin."