The city's skyline remained unchanged, with the first light of dawn slowly rising from the east. The streets began to stir, but inside the Public Security Bureau's Intelligence Command Center, there was a tense silence.
Su Wanqing stood in front of the massive electronic display, her gaze never leaving the satellite trajectory map. Hundreds of small red dots were slowly, yet steadily, moving along a route from the southeastern coastal migration belt, heading toward the city.
"These are the last batch of unblocked migratory birds," the technician reported nervously. "According to the calculations, they will enter the city's airspace within three hours."
"As long as there's even one bird among them with a bomb inside," Su Wanqing's voice was calm but clear, "the entire city will be a potential powder keg."
The previous night, they had successfully intercepted two batches of migratory birds, guiding most of the anomalous flocks to safety using sound waves and low-frequency disturbances, then capturing and inspecting them with non-lethal methods. However, according to the information in the "Migratory Bird Plan" files, about 10% of the birds still hadn't been detected.
Worse yet, their latest technical analysis indicated that the miniature explosive devices inside these birds were equipped with triggering modules that could be remotely activated via a specific phone signal frequency. This meant that with a pre-programmed phone, any corner of the city could trigger a disaster.
"We can't wait for them to enter the city," Lu Chenzhou said in a low voice. "We must intercept them precisely before they enter the critical airspace."
Su Wanqing quickly activated the satellite thermal imaging system and, in collaboration with bird experts, incorporated abnormal flight heights, formation patterns, and energy feedback into the analysis model. After hours of tracking, the conclusion was finally reached—this flock would most likely pass over the southern part of the city.
At the same time, the special police air patrol unit, drone squadron, and signal interference team were on standby in the southern part of the city.
On the ground, the "Migratory Bird Monitoring Station," a temporary joint effort between the forestry bureau and the public security department, had been set up. Several frequency-jamming vehicles had been deployed, adjusting transmission power to suppress any suspicious remote control signals to the lowest level.
"Signal jamming countdown: ten minutes," came the announcement from the command center.
"The drone squadron is ready for takeoff," reported Lin Hao, the air patrol unit leader.
"Launch," Lu Chenzhou ordered.
The humming sound filled the sky as dozens of light interference drones took off from four directions of the city, forming a "cloud curtain" high in the sky, attempting to cut off all communication signals and create a virtual "firewall."
Su Wanqing, meanwhile, was focused on her laptop, monitoring the electromagnetic spectrum in real-time. Suddenly, her pupils contracted.
"There's an anomaly in the 5G frequency band, someone is trying to send control instructions!"
She immediately sent the location signal to the special police. "Lock onto the source, it's a rooftop near the Binjiang Commercial District in the southern part of the city, less than two kilometers from the bird group's flight path!"
"The target is probably about to trigger the explosion, we must stop him!"
The special police rushed to the scene, and in the air, Lu Chenzhou piloted a main control drone, quickly approaching the flock.
"We've found five birds with significantly different flight paths, arranged in an equilateral triangle formation, and flying at a lower height than the normal migration level," the technician reported.
"It's them," Su Wanqing confirmed. "That's a standard tactical formation used in human-made groupings."
Lu Chenzhou locked onto the target, maneuvering the drone closer while activating the interference mode, attempting to disrupt the remote signal reception of the miniature bombs with an electromagnetic pulse.
On the ground, the special police had reached the rooftop. A man was sitting in front of a control platform disguised as an air conditioning unit, his expression numb as his fingers were about to touch the final "activation" button.
"Police! Hands up!"
The man suddenly looked up, a cold smile forming at the corner of his mouth. "You'll never stop the true purification."
He slammed his hand down on the control button, but… the screen on the control platform only flickered twice before going black.
Su Wanqing heard Lu Chenzhou's voice in her earpiece: "The bomb signal has been blocked, interference successful."
At that moment, the entire command center erupted in suppressed applause and sighs of relief.
The bird flock was then guided by drones to a remote water area, where an expert team inspected and handled each one, confirming they were safe before releasing them again. The entire city had finally weathered the "invisible airstrike" unscathed.
That evening, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing walked together in the plaza outside the police station. The night breeze brushed gently, and the city had returned to its usual calm.
"Sometimes, I really wish for a simple life," Su Wanqing said softly.
"But you're Su Wanqing," Lu Chenzhou looked at her, "You wouldn't let anyone turn danger into someone else's daily life."
She smiled faintly, though a trace of weariness flashed in her eyes.
"Maybe," she whispered, "this is just the calm before another storm."
"No matter how many storms, I'll be here," Lu Chenzhou said seriously.
They didn't have time to dwell in the peace, because from the vast scale of the "Migratory Bird Plan," they knew the enemy they were facing—had only just begun to reveal itself.