Chapter 160: Chapter 160 Decoding the Password
Huo Jingrui scanned the people in the cave. "Once the personnel from the Armed Forces Department have transported all those boxes away, we’ll leave a team here to protect the experts and ensure their safety. Only then can we go after those people in the mountains."
Yunyi understood his meaning. It wasn’t about fearing every eventuality, but the ’what if’—the unexpected. National interests and the experts’ safety came first.
Huo Jingrui was also worried about the hostages’ safety, but he knew that whether his team went sooner or later, the hostages would face the same predicament. Besides, his men had been tailing them all along. If an emergency arose, they wouldn’t ignore it. Therefore, he had to arrange everything here first before he could leave with peace of mind.
His guess was correct. Those people had taken hostages as an extra precaution, especially since none of the men they’d sent out had returned to report, which greatly unsettled them.
It was just the misfortune of those few individuals; they had risked venturing deep into the mountains merely in search of food.
If Qiao Wenyu heard this, he would definitely argue, "We were only chasing a rabbit! How could we have known we’d already ventured deep into the mountains, and then have the misfortune of encountering villains too?"
As they were talking, Jian Zhenzhu spoke, sounding dejected, "They’ve been gone for so long. How could we possibly decrypt it? What if they installed a self-destruct device? Wouldn’t we lose our lives here?"
Lu Jingming hadn’t expected his own protégé, Jian Zhenzhu, to be like this. "You can leave with the Armed Forces personnel who are transporting the materials shortly."
Although Lu Jingming didn’t say it aloud, he knew that even if Jian Zhenzhu left this place, he wouldn’t be able to return to the Capital immediately. After all, they were on a secret mission, and Jian Zhenzhu wouldn’t regain his freedom until they completed their task.
Yunyi truly disdained Jian Zhenzhu’s character. How on earth had he caught Lu Jingming’s eye and become his disciple?
Since they couldn’t leave for the time being, Yunyi and Huo Jingrui walked over. They saw that the first combination lock had been decrypted, but unexpectedly, there was another one inside that also needed to be deciphered. Perhaps due to extreme tension, Lu Jingming’s and Si Huaiyuan’s results consistently differed. They dared not enter any solution rashly, fearing a trap.
Yunyi moved closer and realized it was a Vigenère cipher. She casually took the pen and notebook from Guan Xiuyuan’s hand and began to write out the ciphertext.
She had only written down two characters when Jian Zhenzhu said irritably, "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing sticking your nose in here?"
Yunyi couldn’t be bothered with him; she didn’t want to waste time in the cave. Ignoring his snide remark, she continued to write out the ciphertext diligently.
After finishing, she carefully checked it twice more before handing the notebook to Huo Jingrui. "Try this ciphertext."
Lu Jingming and Si Huaida both came closer to look at the string of ciphertext written in the notebook, disbelief flickering in their eyes. They each recalculated it, compared their results with what Yunyi had written, and then looked at each other, seeing the burning excitement in the other’s eyes.
They knew this wasn’t the time to speak.
Si Huaida glanced at Yunyi, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and took the lead, saying, "Comrade Huo, let’s first have everything that needs to be transported moved out of here. Then, everyone evacuate the cave."
Upon hearing Si Huaida’s words, Huo Jingrui instantly understood Lu Jingming’s underlying intention.
He glanced at his watch. The Armed Forces personnel should be arriving soon; the boxes were only being temporarily stored in a nearby cave.
He immediately gave the order, "Everyone, move all remaining boxes out of the cave!"
Following his command, everyone in the cave bustled with activity; Lu Jingming and Si Huaida were no exception. They were simply too eager to discover the secret behind that door.