The fragments Li Feng had gleaned from Julian's notebook haunted his thoughts, a series of complex data points demanding resolution. A 'new architecture of information' that sought 'frequency alignment' with an 'external system.' It wasn't just a powerful distributed network; it was a beacon, or perhaps a receiver, tuned to something unknown. The problem was no longer just about what Julian was building, but what he was listening for, or broadcasting to.
Li Feng found himself spending less time on his usual theoretical deep dives and more on practical application, driven by a new urgency. His research had pointed him towards obscure corners of signal theory and theoretical physics, realms where information wasn't just bits and bytes, but patterns of energy, vibrations, resonance. If Julian was attempting 'frequency alignment,' Li Feng needed to understand what that frequency might look like, how it could manifest on a conventional network, or even beyond it.
He began constructing a new kind of passive listening tool. This wasn't a network probe designed to trick Julian's defenses; it was a highly sensitive array of sensors, combining off-the-shelf components with custom firmware Li Feng coded from the ground up. He repurposed an old, high-frequency radio receiver, a sensitive electromagnetic field detector, and integrated them with a custom network packet analyzer. His goal was to detect any anomalous energy signatures emanating from Julian's suspected network nodes across campus, or even subtle fluctuations in the local electromagnetic spectrum that might indicate a large-scale, non-standard transmission. It was a tedious process, demanding meticulous calibration and countless lines of code to filter out environmental noise. He was essentially trying to hear a whisper in a hurricane.
The intensity of this new project began to subtly shift Li Feng's routine. He still maintained his physical conditioning, but the sessions became more about burning off excess mental energy than precise optimization. His Forex trading, usually a source of calm, felt almost trivial compared to the enigma of Julian's work. He found himself needing fewer hours of sleep, fueled by the intellectual chase.
One evening, Maya came to his apartment, bringing takeout. She found him hunched over a workbench cluttered with wires, circuit boards, and multiple glowing screens. He looked more disheveled than she'd ever seen him, a rare occurrence for the usually immaculate Li Feng.
"Alright, Professor Li Feng?" she teased gently, placing the food on his small coffee table. "Looks like you've been wrestling with a particularly stubborn equation."
Li Feng straightened up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "The variables are... proving to be exceptionally complex." He gestured vaguely at the circuit board. "This system is designed to detect non-standard signal emissions. Julian's project is attempting a form of 'resonance,' a frequency alignment. I need to understand what that frequency is, and what it is resonating with."
Maya picked up a loose wire, turning it in her fingers. "Resonating? Like a tuning fork?"
"Analogous," Li Feng confirmed. "If a signal exists, it has a signature. A unique frequency. I am building a system to identify that signature." He found himself explaining it to her in simpler terms than he usually would, a habit he'd unconsciously picked up from their conversations.
Maya watched him, her expression thoughtful. "You know, you get this look in your eyes when you talk about these things. Like you've found the ultimate riddle." She paused, then added, "Chloe's really worried about him, you know. Julian. She thinks he's losing his way."
Li Feng nodded slowly. "His dedication is... extreme. It has consumed his life. I have noted similar patterns of singular focus in my own pursuits." He didn't elaborate on the unsettling self-reflection. He had seen the madness in Julian's eyes, a singular obsession that eclipsed everything. It was a familiar drive, but distorted, pushed to a dangerous extreme. He himself chased understanding, but Julian seemed to chase something else, something he felt compelled to unveil.
"Are you okay, though?" Maya asked, stepping closer. "You look tired. You know, sometimes the best way to solve a puzzle is to step away from it for a bit. Let your brain reset." She gently touched his arm, a warm, grounding presence.
Li Feng looked at her, his logical mind still processing the intricate pathways of Julian's project, but a new, soft variable entering the equation. Her concern was genuine, unquantifiable, and surprisingly... pleasant. "My brain is optimized for continuous processing," he stated, then, seeing her small, knowing smile, he added, "However, human input... is sometimes beneficial for system recalibration." He offered her a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "Thank you for the recalibration input."
He still didn't fully understand the 'connection' with Maya, but he recognized its utility. It provided a different kind of balance, a necessary counterpoint to the relentless pursuit of logic. As he ate the takeout, his thoughts continued to chase the elusive 'signal' from Julian's world, but now, there was a subtle, comforting warmth in the room, a presence that reminded him there were other frequencies in the world worth tuning into.
Days turned into late nights in Li Feng's makeshift lab. His sensors, placed strategically in areas Li Feng knew Julian's distributed network nodes were active, began to pick up faint, intermittent whispers. They weren't direct data packets, but almost like digital echoes, traces of an unusual energy signature. It was a high-frequency, complex modulation, unlike any standard communication protocol. It was erratic, brief, like a faint, distant radio signal trying to punch through heavy static.
He analyzed the signature. It wasn't random noise. It had structure, an underlying mathematical precision that made Li Feng's analytical mind hum. It was incredibly weak, suggesting either a tremendous distance or an extremely low-power source. Or, perhaps, it was a test signal, a preliminary probe from Julian's own system.
Then, during one particularly late night, the signal intensified slightly, becoming clearer, and Li Feng's custom software managed to resolve a fleeting, complex pattern within it. It wasn't data he could decode, but it was a repeating waveform, almost like a pulse. A single, unique, repeating digital pulse. He traced its origin point. It wasn't coming from Julian's immediate network. It was coming from outside, from a distant, unknown source. Julian wasn't just building a network; he was building something to find and communicate with this pulse.
The true nature of Julian's quest, and its potentially profound implications, began to unfurl before Li Feng. This was no longer just about a quirky student with too much computational power. This was about reaching out into the unknown.