After Lynn stepped into the portal, the office fell silent. Tony placed the communicator on the corner of the desk, opened the real-time interface of the monitoring network, and saw that three newly marked anomalies had been recorded, with the data stream quietly jumping on the screen.
He sat for about ten seconds, picked up the communicator and glanced at it; the signal was normal. He put it back, opened the schedule, and scanned through the items that needed confirmation tomorrow. After scanning once, he picked up the communicator again and glanced at it.
Signal is normal.
He tucked the communicator inside his collar, got up, and went to the laboratory.
Banner and Phastos hadn't left. Banner was adjusting the threshold parameters of the adaptive module, while Phastos was drawing something on the whiteboard next to him, which looked like an inverted funnel from a distance. When Tony came in, they both looked up at the same time.
" Lynn has discovered three anomalies and has already gone to investigate."
Tony up a chair and sat down. "The data could be back in sync at any time, Banner, be ready."
Banner nodded and set the receiver channel to the highest priority. Phastos put down his pen and asked, "Can he handle it?"
"We don't need to worry about how he handles these kinds of things."
Tony leaned back in his chair, his fingers resting on the edge of the table. "We'll just prepare what we can on our end."
The communicator rang. Lynn's voice came through. "That's an energy vortex outside the Kuiper Belt. It's not very large, but the frequency is different from the two signals we synchronized with before. We need to continue observing this area."
Can you determine what caused it?
"Not at the moment. A vortex is essentially a disrupted energy field in space. I've already synchronized the data back. You can observe it for a while and then run the model to see if it matches."
Meanwhile, Banner's receiving channel indicated that a data packet had arrived.
He pulled up the analysis program and waited for the results. "The match is not high. It differs from the previous signal characteristics by nearly 40%. The energy distribution of the eddies is more dispersed, with no obvious features."
Phastos leaned closer to examine the waveform, frowned, and said, "It could be just a probe pulse, or it could be some kind of sensory extension. If it's the latter, it means the person who came has cross-boundary perception capabilities and doesn't need to rely on external objects."
Tony thought for a moment and said into the communicator, " Lynn, can you determine whether the eddy is newly formed or old?"
"The new, edge-based energy gradient is still quite evident, and judging from the decay rate, it formed within no more than two days."
Tony repeated, glancing at Banner, "Two days? The monitoring network didn't detect that before."
Banner explained, "Because eddies themselves are not radiation signals. They only stir up energy in space but don't actively emit anything outward. Our monitoring network targets active radiation sources, which these passive traces cannot detect."
Phastos added, "In other words, there are just too many possibilities that could cause such a vortex."
Lynn's voice came through the communicator again. "I scanned a section beyond the boundary but didn't find a persistent energy source. You guys continue monitoring this area; I'm going to check out the Orion first."
"Be safe."
The communicator was silent for a few seconds before Lynn's voice came through again. "We've arrived. This one is different from the one in the Kuiper Belt; it's bigger, more regular, and shaped like a flattened ring. The energy field distribution in the middle is very uniform, unlike something naturally formed."
Banner took in the newly transmitted data and ran a comparison. This time, the match rate jumped to over 60%. He adjusted his glasses. "This one has residual characteristics of external force, but it's incomplete."
"What's the meaning?"
"This means that the anomaly was caused by human activity; someone may have briefly stayed there and then left. The trail didn't dissipate because the background energy field at this location is relatively stable, which held the residue in place."
Banner glanced at the data again. "Judging from the rate of decay, it was about four to five days ago."
Tony stared at the ring-shaped energy field diagram on the screen, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table twice. "Four or five days ago. Back then, we were still in Dragon Country."
Phastos reacted quickly. "How come we didn't notice these things before? The more unusual things happen, the more likely they are to be."
Tony said, "Someone might be testing the waters. The vortex outside the Kuiper Belt might be their way of probing the boundaries, and the Orion is the mark they left after testing it out. They're looking for the most suitable entry angle."
Lynn's voice came through the communicator again. "I've arrived at the point in Aquila. This is interesting. Take a look."
The data came in, and Banner ran it through. This time, the matching accuracy jumped to over 80%, but the waveform itself was strange—a regular pulse structure, neither a natural eddy current nor simple residue. Phastos stared at the screen for two seconds. "This doesn't seem like residue probing from the outside. This is something else."
"What?"
"I don't know. But the regularity of the pulses is too strong, unlike any natural phenomenon."
Phastos zoomed in on the waveform. "Look here," he said, "There's a peak at regular intervals, the intervals are exactly the same, so precise it's like someone is using some kind of device to send something out."
Tony asked into the communicator, " Lynn, can you see what's sending this pulse?"
"There's nothing here. But I can sense that the energy source itself is far from the boundary, transmitted through some kind of interspatial means. The carrier frequency of the pulses is different from the previous ones; it's lower and more stable."
Tony paused for a few seconds. "Kang?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator. Lynn's voice returned a little slower. "Assuming the previous remnant was Reed, and this is Kang, then his methods are more covert and effective than Reed's. If I hadn't been specifically monitoring Kang, the monitoring network wouldn't have detected anything unusual here."
Banner added, "And the timing doesn't match. Reed's remnants are from four or five days ago, and this pulse is continuous; it's still there now. If Kang could already send pulses here, it means he was at least before Reed."
Tony stood up and took a few steps around the lab.
Phastos put down his pen. "So now both of them are wandering around outside. One is looking for the entrance, and the other is just watching?"
" Reed is open about it, while Kahn is observing it from the shadows."
Tony paused. "Kang is most likely waiting for Reed to infiltrate first. As mentioned before with the Mind Stone, Kang probably wants Reed to test our mettle first, while he waits on the sidelines for the outcome."
Lynn's voice came through the communicator. "I left a small jammer near the pulse source in Aquila. If the pulse intensity suddenly changes, the jammer will record it. Pay attention when the signal comes back from there."
"Okay. Come back now. Leave the rest to us."
Lynn responded on the other end of the communicator and then disconnected. A few minutes later, an orange-glowing portal opened in the laboratory, and Lynn walked out, his canvas bag covered in dust.
He walked to the screen, glanced at Banner and his team's analysis results, and nodded. "I don't understand these technical aspects; you'll need to continue monitoring. We can't confirm right now that the three anomalies are exactly as we thought."
Tony asked him, "What do you think that pulse meant?"
Lynn leaned against the edge of the table. "If our thinking is correct, that anomaly is a warning, a test, or simply confirming whether the gem is still there. Reed is patient; he won't expose himself easily. He sent the pulse, partly to locate it, and partly to test our reaction time. If the monitoring network can't react in time, he might act prematurely."
Phastos interjected, "So, do we consider ourselves to have realized it or not?"
"We reacted eventually, but not quickly. If I hadn't been monitoring them the whole time, we wouldn't have known someone was so close."
Tony sat back down in his chair, reviewed the information in his mind, and then said, "The current situation is that Reed is out there finding a way, while Kang is keeping watch from a distance. Reed will make the first move, and Kang might wait until Reed has weakened some of us before making his own attack. So the first thing we need to do is to find out when and how Reed will come in."
He looked at Banner: "Could the monitoring network be updated with specific early warnings for the two anomalies mentioned earlier?"
"Yes. Increase the weight of the previously uploaded features, and automatically trigger an alarm when the signal strength exceeds a certain threshold."
"Set it to the highest setting. Even if we're overthinking it, we need to detect any anomalies immediately."
Banner nodded, his fingers already moving across the keyboard.
Tony then looked at Lynn: "For that last pulse, could you add a layer of passive monitoring here at the base? Not actively scanning outwards, just monitoring. If his pulse intensity suddenly increases, or changes from a fixed interval to irregular, it means he's preparing for action."
Lynn thought for a moment and said, "Okay. I'll copy a Space Stone for you to passively receive signals; it won't actively emit any."
"Okay, once you've copied it, give it to Banner and have him embed it into the existing detection equipment."
Tony stood up. "Everyone should keep a close eye on things for the next few days. We need to assume Reed and Conn could show up at any moment. Our preparations can't stop, but our reaction time needs to be even faster."
Banner and Phastos both responded. Lynn had already turned to leave, saying, "I'll copy the Space Stone and bring it over to you later. You also need to tell Harley that if the field team's response time is reduced from five minutes to three minutes, he'll have to revise some of the prepared plans."
Lynn paused at the door. "Go and explain it to him, and ask him to make some changes."
After closing the door, Tony sat for a while before taking out his phone and sending Harley a message: Come to my office tomorrow morning, the response window needs to be changed.
Harley replied quickly: Okay. What time?
Tony: Nine o'clock.
After sending the message, he put down his phone and glanced at the waveform of the Aquila pulse on the screen. The intervals between the peaks were even, one after another, neither fast nor slow.
The next morning at nine o'clock, Harley knocked on the door and came in right on time. Tony asked him to sit down and explained that the response time needed to be reduced from five minutes to three minutes.
Harley listened without asking why, then thought for a moment and said, "For three minutes, I need more authority and to install ground signal repeaters in three key cities. These were already on the previous list, but they're lower priority. If we want to reduce it to three minutes, we need to prepare these things first."
"Approved. Prioritize them, assigning the most critical tasks first, making them the highest priority. We might not have as much time as we initially thought. Everything else can be postponed."
Harley stood up. "Okay. I'll go arrange it right away."
He paused at the doorway, then turned back. " Mr. Tony, are they coming in soon?"
"Uncertainty. Some unusual circumstances force us to feel a sense of urgency."
Harley nodded, opened the door, and went out.
Peter was leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway, waiting. Seeing Harley come out, he went up to him and asked, "How's it going? How long will it take to change?"
Three minutes.
"Fortunately, our original concept is still intact; we just need to revise a few plans."
The two walked towards the elevator, and Harley opened his notebook and handed it to him. "I've made a plan. If we go to two cities a day, we can install the most critical repeaters in three days. Could you help me run the field signal tests at those locations?"
Peter took the notebook and flipped through it. "Okay. Send what I need to do to my terminal, and I'll leave tomorrow morning."
I'll go with you.
"Aren't you at base overseeing the overall situation?"
Harley closed his notebook. "Those can be done tonight. I need to oversee the on-site installation and testing to prevent any potential problems."
The elevator arrived. The two stepped inside, Peter pressed a button for a floor, leaned against the elevator wall, and said, "Do you really think a fight is going to break out this time?"
Harley thought for a moment, "Who knows? We just need to do what we're required to do."
Lynn delivered the item that evening: a blue crystal the size of a thumb, placed on Banner's desk. Banner picked it up and looked at it. "Where should I put this?"
"Just find a base to install it on and connect it to your existing equipment."
Banner rummaged through the cabinet for a while and found a discarded sensor base that was about the right size. He used a file to fix the interface a couple of times, embedded the crystal in it, and connected the monitoring equipment's cable.
An additional data stream appeared on the screen, with pulse waveforms synchronized in real time, matching the data from the Aquila.
Phastos leaned over for a look, "No need to adjust the parameters."
The next morning, Banner noticed that the pulse interval was a fraction of a second shorter. He looked at it for a while, called Phastos over to confirm, and then sent a message to Tony.
The cafeteria was quite full that evening.
Ivan came down from the tracks to report on the progress of the turrets, Thor also returned; the Asgard advance team was in position.
Harley and Peter returned late from their trip to the two cities, and by the time they entered the dining hall, most of the others had already finished eating.
Peter sat down with his plate and saw three empty bowls piled in front of Thor. "You ate so much?"
"It's not that I eat a lot, it's that you all eat too little."
Harley sat next to Peter, eating while looking at the terminal.
Tony came in through the door, grabbed a plate, casually filled it with something, and sat down at one end of the long table.
Pepper followed behind him, carrying two glasses of water, placing one in front of him.