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墨書 Inktalez
I stared intently at the main screen, anxiously waiting for the data to load.
After half an hour, the screen finally lit up again, revealing complex waveforms and data streams before my eyes.
The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) indicated that the aircraft had indeed experienced severe attitude changes and system failures in its final moments.
But I knew it wasn't that simple; Meng Xiao wouldn't deceive me.
I focused all my attention on the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
The audio waveform unfolded steadily, with the captain and co-pilot (Meng Xiao) engaging in calm and professional dialogue, striving to maintain their composure even amid violent turbulence.
Everything seemed normal until… the last thirteen minutes.
"Here’s the data!" I pointed to a distinct timestamp on the screen. "Zoom in on this segment of audio."
The technicians complied with my request.
Suddenly, a harsh noise drowned everything out.
The audio waveform on the screen transformed into a chaotic jumble of static, making it painful to look at.
"What’s going on?" The technician furrowed his brow, looking puzzled.
"Is it strong signal interference? Or a malfunction of the recording device?"
My heart sank; the situation was worse than I had imagined.
This wasn’t a malfunction; it was deliberate sabotage!
"Playback, slow speed, filter out background noise!" My voice carried an undeniable command, resolute and firm.
The technician looked at me with some hesitation. "Meng Gong, with this level of damage, the filtering effect might…"
"Execute the command!" I looked at him.
He said nothing more, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
The noise was gradually stripped away, but the core audio remained unclear.
I closed my eyes, concentrating all my energy.
My sense of time was pushed to its limits at that moment.
Those fragmented, intermittent pieces, nearly drowned out by noise, began to reassemble in my mind.
I could "hear" the echoes beneath the noise... faint traces left by time.
"...control... malfunction..."
"...he... why..."
It was Meng Xiao's voice! Weak, but unmistakably hers! She was asking why...
Then came another low voice, distorted by interference to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.
"...according to plan... Chronos..."
Chronos! That name again! It was right here! In the erased recording!
I opened my eyes wide.
"The data has been overwritten!" I declared firmly.
"This isn't interference; someone has used a strong signal to cover the last few minutes of the recording!"
The technician's face turned pale as he looked at me in terror.
"Override CVR? This... this is impossible! The encryption and protection levels of the black box..."
"Nothing is impossible," I interrupted him, pointing to the data stream from the FDR. "Show me the command log for the autopilot system in the final phase."
The screen switched, a dense stream of data flowing by.
Everything appeared normal until the last three minutes.
A line of extremely small, almost submerged abnormal code flashed briefly.
"Stop!" I shouted, my tone urgent.
The image froze.
That line of code did not belong to any standard protocol of the aviation system; it was like a virus, briefly connecting, issuing a command, and then self-destructing, leaving behind almost undetectable traces.
"This is..." The technician was also stunned, murmuring, "An external... remote command?"
"Yes." A chill ran down my spine. "Someone remotely took control of the aircraft before the incident occurred."
"What was the content of the command?"
"…Force… disengage… auto… stabilization… system…"
The technician's voice trembled. "…Simultaneously… maximize… engine… reverse thrust…"
This was nothing short of a suicidal maneuver! Who did this? Why would anyone do such a thing?
"Can we trace the signal source?" I asked urgently.
The technician shook his head with a wry smile. "The source has gone through multiple hops and encryption, and... the signal protocol is very strange, like... technology we've never seen before."
Chronos... possesses technology far beyond our current level.
Who are they, really?
"I want to see the physical black box," I said.
Although the data had already been copied, Meng Xiao mentioned that someone had "touched" the black box, indicating physical contact.
The security personnel quickly brought over the orange-red Metal Box.
It appeared to be intact, with only slight deformation and scratches from the crash.
I put on white gloves and carefully examined every detail of it.
The interface... data reading port... seals... and so on.
In a very concealed corner near the data port, I noticed something unusual.
A faint scratch, almost blending into the metal itself.
It didn't seem like it was caused by an impact; rather, it looked as if it had been pried open by some precise tool.
I leaned in closer. They not only covered the data but also physically interacted with the black box! Was it to implant something? Or to remove something?
My gaze swept across the control room, landing on an inconspicuous surveillance camera in the corner.
"Retrieve all surveillance footage from before and after the black box was stored," I instructed.
The technician immediately began operating the system, and the surveillance images flashed by frame by frame.
Transportation... handover... storage... everything seemed to follow the process.
Until... the scene froze on a figure wearing a reflective ground crew uniform.
He was pushing a cleaning cart and paused briefly in the area where the black boxes were stored.
His face was hidden beneath the brim of his hat and a mask, making it impossible to see clearly.
But the spot where he stopped was precisely in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras.
A few seconds later, he pushed the cart away.
It was him! The person that Meng Xiao referred to as "the one in ground crew attire"!
I stared intently at the blurry figure on the screen.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated with an unknown number.
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
A processed, hoarse voice came through the receiver.
"Meng Beiye."
"Stay away from the black box."
"This is not a game you can interfere in."
"Chronos... is watching you."
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