Chapter Seventy-Three: The Intelligent Community

Throughout, Gao Tianhao had always appeared shrouded in mystery to outsiders; every move he made tugged at the heartstrings of the entire base. To the vast majority within the base, Gao Tianhao was nothing short of a savior—a second parent. The large-scale hunting expeditions he orchestrated had lifted the base from the edge of starvation to the threshold of sufficiency; indeed, for those willing to risk everything, the food they could now obtain far exceeded anyone’s imagination. Precisely because of this, Gao Tianhao’s popularity and prestige were unmatched—he was, without question, the most revered figure in the base.

Yet this was not what made Gao Tianhao truly formidable. What inspired genuine fear in Xie Han was that, in just two short star cycles, Gao Tianhao had managed to consolidate sixty percent of the base’s teams under his own command. Now, more than eighty percent of the hunting convoys answered to him. This seemingly invisible yet ferocious consolidation sent chills through Xie Han, who found Gao Tianhao’s methods both wild and terrifying.

The darkness of night posed little hindrance for Xie Han; all he needed was to pay heed to the surveillance devices hidden along the streets. As for dealing with these minor obstacles, Xie Han had his own way—specifically, the ingenious micro-jammer cobbled together by Wu Donglin. Xie Han couldn’t help but admire the bespectacled Wu Donglin, who had managed to assemble such a device from a pile of odds and ends.

The function of the micro-jammer was simple, almost singular: to disrupt the base’s surveillance instruments. All Xie Han needed to do was keep the device powered on and tucked in his pocket, and most monitors would be fooled, allowing him to move freely and undetected.

Tonight, Xie Han’s objective was straightforward: to infiltrate the most heavily guarded area of the base—the Smart Residential Compound.

As the name implied, the compound was all about intelligence. Every facility and building within was designed around the concept of automation. Once inside, nearly every task a resident might perform was handled by intelligent systems. Even the roads were equipped with conveyor belts—simply stepping onto one would trigger an automated scan, confirm the individual’s identity, and deliver them directly to their assigned dwelling.

The Smart Compound was also, aside from the Command Center, the only area in the entire base supplied with electricity for twelve consecutive hours each day.

This twelve-hour power supply made the Smart Compound stand out like a beacon amidst the base’s pervasive gloom. Even though it was already past ten-thirty at night, the compound remained ablaze with light. Music drifted out of open windows, blurring the harsh reality of a world overrun by the undead.

Xie Han sneered inwardly. The Smart Compound always evoked in him that old saying: “Behind the red doors, wine and meat go to waste, while out on the road, the bones of the frozen poor lie unburied.”

At the compound’s entrance and exit, not only were there various identity-checking devices, but also four armed soldiers standing guard. Every resident’s information was meticulously registered; even if the electronic detectors failed, the soldiers could easily verify identities using computer records and photographs.

But such measures posed no obstacle to Xie Han. The five-meter-high wall could keep out ordinary people, but for him, it was hardly a challenge. With his skills, he could easily scale the wall without triggering any of the alarms embedded within.

Once inside, illuminated by the compound’s bright streetlights, Xie Han could not help but marvel at his surroundings. The contrast with the dilapidated streets outside was stark—every detail within the compound was carefully designed. From every flower and blade of grass to each stone and tree, everything was meticulously arranged. Even in the apocalypse, a large staff of cleaners was employed to maintain the grounds.

The conveyor belts consumed enormous amounts of power and were generally turned off, which Xie Han found slightly disappointing—he had hoped to experience them firsthand.

He pulled a handheld computer from his storage space and slipped into the greenery at the roadside. Not far from a streetlamp, he carefully dug into the earth with a small knife. Soon, a thumb-thick black cable emerged from the soil. Xie Han smiled, cut gently into the cable’s sheath, and exposed the colored wires within. Selecting the red, white, and black wires, he stripped them with his knife.

He then produced an external connector, attached it to his handheld computer, and bound the matching red, white, and black wires to the ones in the cable.

The moment he powered up the handheld computer and launched a program, the screen went black and lines of strange code began to scroll in a wild blur, making Xie Han’s head spin.

In truth, Xie Han’s computing skills were rudimentary—he understood only the basics. The meaning of the code was lost on him; he only knew the program’s purpose was to breach the compound’s management system. Wu Donglin had developed this as a foolproof tool, tailored specifically for the Smart Compound. All Xie Han had to do was start it up and leave the rest to the program.

Wu Donglin’s prowess was undeniable. In less than five minutes, the compound’s management system was compromised. But this was only the beginning. Xie Han entered a room number, and the program launched a second attack—this time targeting the smart home system of that particular residence.

Within the compound, possessing top-level access to the management system wasn’t enough to modify a resident’s smart home system. The restrictions were intricate; typically, an instant iris scan of the resident was required for any changes. Only with a successful match could alterations be made. Hence, breaching the management system was only half the battle—the smart home system itself had to be separately targeted.

The management system of the Smart Compound was staggeringly complex, covering everything from integrated wiring, cable television, telephone exchanges, access control, and intercoms to surveillance, anti-theft and alarm networks, centralized metering, energy management, broadband access, parking, public broadcasting, property management, and even e-commerce. In some high-rise buildings, clubs, or sports centers, building automation was also in place.

By contrast, the smart home system was much simpler, focusing mainly on resident identification, security alarms, and lighting controls. Xie Han’s goal was to breach it and make a small but crucial modification to the identification system.

In just about three minutes, Wu Donglin’s program succeeded in infiltrating the specified smart home system.

Xie Han carefully took out a metal card, holding it up to the handheld computer’s sensor. Once detected, the program ran again, rewriting the identification system of the smart home to register the card’s data and grant it owner-level access.

The entire process took barely over a minute. Once the card was registered, Xie Han detached the wires, reburied the cable, stowed his handheld computer away, and, with a cold smile twisting his lips, glanced at the metal card in his hand. After orienting himself, he strode off purposefully into the night.