For three days and three nights, the workshop of Hephaestus was not a place of metal, but of creation. The 72-hour deadline given by Oracle was not a suggestion; it was a divine mandate. The legendary craftsman, a man who had not felt the fire of true challenge in decades, now worked with the frantic, focused energy of a young apprentice who had just been shown the secrets of the gods.
The 'Nautilus' Geothermal Drone was not a machine he could simply build; it was an organism he had to grow. He started with the hull. The blueprint called for a "bio-organic crystal composite," a material that existed only in the esoteric data files provided by Oracle. Following the divine recipe, Hephaestus converted one of his high-pressure forges into a makeshift incubator. He mixed a slurry of rare earth minerals, nutrient gels, and a single, catalyst enzyme synthesized from the Genesis Code. For a full day, he watched with the anxiety of an expecting father as the material slowly grew in the humming nutrient bath, coalescing into a sleek, semi-translucent, bio-luminescent chassis that seemed more like the shell of a deep-sea creature than the hull of a machine. It was alive, and it hummed with an innate resistance to heat and pressure that defied all known material science.
While the hull cured, he worked on the heart and brain. He forged the geothermal engine, a device that didn't burn fuel but drew power directly from ambient heat differentials. He meticulously assembled the drone's quantum processor, its crystalline pathways a work of art that seemed to think for itself.
Then came the 'Harmonic Pulse' Demolition Charge. This was not a bomb; it was a musical instrument designed to play a single, destructive note. He had to perfectly calibrate a series of resonating crystals to vibrate at the exact frequency required to shatter a specific molecular bond in the rock polymer seal, a feat of physics that felt more like witchcraft than engineering.
Throughout the entire process, he was a whirlwind of motion and emotion. He cursed Oracle's name, damning him for the impossible tolerances and the alien scientific principles. "Does he think I'm a god?!" he would roar to his empty workshop. Minutes later, he would stare in profound, religious awe at the elegance of the design. "No... he is a god... and he has given me a page from his holy scripture."
At the 71st hour, utterly exhausted, covered in grime and nutrient gel, he was finished. Before him sat two miracles. The 'Nautilus' drone, sleek and predatory, its single optical sensor glowing with a soft, intelligent blue light. And the Harmonic Pulse charge, a simple, elegant cylinder that held the power to sing mountains apart.
Hephaestus looked upon his work, the first true masterpieces he had forged in half a century. A slow, proud, and weary grin spread across his face. He sent a simple, triumphant message to [Channel: Zero].
Hephaestus: The miracles are forged. The package is en route. Don't scratch them.
While the craftsman worked his divine science, the strategist wove his web of mortal deception.
From the tranquil center of his tea house, General Jiang Wei commanded a silent, logistical war. He didn't just need to get a drone to a river; he needed to move a miracle across a thousand kilometers without anyone noticing.
He began by pulling strings. A call to a former student, now a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, resulted in a new, high-priority "geological survey" mission being created out of thin air. The official reason: to study the dam's impact on local seismic activity. The real reason: to provide perfect, unimpeachable cover for Lin Mei's team to be operating near the river for an extended period.
Next, he arranged the transport. He didn't use a single, traceable vehicle. The package from Hephaestus was moved through a series of anonymous, automated cargo barges, passed from one logistics hub to the next, its destination known only to him. It was a ghost moving through the country's circulatory system.
Finally, he prepared the nerve center. He acquired a standard, non-descript shipping container. Within 24 hours, his private technicians had converted it into a mobile, high-tech command hub, complete with a secure, high-bandwidth satellite link and its own independent power source. He had it transported to a remote, abandoned warehouse hundreds of kilometers away from the mission area. This would be Su Liying's sanctuary, her cockpit, a place from which she could command the operation with absolute security.
General Jiang Wei had laid the chessboard, moved all the pieces, and created a perfect, invisible path for their queen to strike.
The final hours of the countdown were a study in focused tension.
Lin Mei and her small support team were already in position, camped by the dark, rushing waters of the river upstream from the dam. They were disguised as a boring environmental survey team, their high-tech gear hidden beneath mundane-looking equipment. Lin Mei's role this time was support and security, but the weight on her shoulders felt heavier than ever. She was not just protecting a mission. She was protecting the Alliance's new Chief Analyst, a young woman who was about to command a multi-million credit, divine-tech drone in a real-world operation from a thousand kilometers away. The responsibility was immense.
In the cold, sterile confines of the shipping container, Su Liying was familiarizing herself with the 'Nautilus' drone's piloting interface. The system was incredibly intuitive, a testament to Oracle's design. She could feel the drone's sensors, see through its eye, almost as if it were an extension of her own body.
This was her first time in a direct, physical command role. She was no longer just an analyst interpreting data after the fact. She was now the one making the life-or-death decisions in real time. A tremor of nervousness ran through her, but she crushed it with a will of iron. She thought of Qin Mo's quiet, acknowledging whisper in the library. 'Good work, Chief.' He believed in her. She would not fail.
At 0200 hours, under the moonless, star-dusted sky, the final piece arrived. An automated cargo truck delivered the anonymous container to Lin Mei's position. They opened it.
The 'Nautilus' drone lay nestled inside, its bio-luminescent hull emitting a faint, ethereal blue glow in the darkness. It was even more impressive, more alive, than its schematics had suggested.
It was time.
A final, swift exchange occurred in [Channel: Zero].
Nomad-Lead: Package received. The Nautilus is online and ready for deployment.
From her remote command hub, Su Liying's reply was instant. Crystalline_Mind: I have control. All systems are green. The mission is a go. Ready to begin the dive on your mark, Captain.
Old-Man-Jiang: The board is set. Godspeed to you all.
Hephaestus: She's my masterpiece. Bring her home in one piece.
Lin Mei stood on the river bank. "Launch the drone," she commanded, her voice a low, steady whisper against the sound of the rushing water.
Her team gently lowered the sleek, fish-like Nautilus into the dark, cold river. For a moment, it floated on the surface, its single, glowing optical sensor looking like the eye of some mythical beast. Then, with a silent, powerful thrust from its geothermal engine, it vanished beneath the waves.
The ghost's second dance had begun.