Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 649: Chapter 629: The Cipher Stick

Luo Xiying again pulled out a fruit from her bag, taking a bite, the pink juice splashed in the air, appearing delicious. But who was there to see it now?

”I don’t think it’s going to be that simple,” Luo Qianqian pursed her lips, and looking at Jimo Cheng and a strange man, she spread her hands, ”Think about it, if he rose to prominence ten years ago, he would need time to learn, right? I was barely born in the nineties. It wouldn’t make sense for my family to buy an expensive electronic product that seemed useless for a young child, right? So those who were still in high school ten years ago or younger can be ruled out, right? After all, that thing wasn’t cheap...”

”Not necessarily,” Jimo Cheng frowned, somehow he remembered seeing this thing at home when it first came out.

Luo Qianqian rolled her eyes, ”Not every family is that wealthy...”

”However, looking around here, doesn’t everyone seem like they could afford a computer?” the man shook his head, dismissing Luo Qianqian’s theory.

”Buying a computer for a child and not fearing they’d lose ambition through play?” Luo Qianqian pouted, clearly dissatisfied. If she was still in middle or high school, even if she pleaded with An Zilan, she wouldn’t have gotten one.

However, she stubbornly believed that the ’7’ from ten years ago should have been an adult by then. This wasn’t speculation, but rather an intuition.

”Even if you’re right,” said Jimo Cheng with a smile, his face gentle, highly appreciative of Luo Qianqian’s cleverness but not in agreement, ”with their face half-hidden, how could you know their exact age?”

”It’s simple, just like you.” Luo Qianqian pointed her finger at the man opposite her and Jimo Cheng, ”You’re at most twenty, as I judge, you must have just come of age.”

The man stiffened momentarily but quickly regained his composure, ”Oh? Why?”

Luo Qianqian looked towards the man’s hands, ”Your hands don’t look like those of a working man, and importantly, these hands, I’ve seen them before, I should know you.” Luo Qianqian was certain. The man’s fingers were slender and elegant, irresistible for someone who loved hands.

The man suddenly laughed, ”Oh? Is that so? But this is my first time seeing both of you.” The man slightly lifted the hood of his hoodie, revealing clean, tidy black hair and ink-black eyes, along with lips that seemed faintly pale: ”Miss, do you recognize me?”

Luo Qianqian just smiled and after a long pause, spoke, ”Naturally, I don’t.” But her face wore a mocking smile as she grabbed Jimo Cheng’s sleeve, ”Jin Nian, let’s go upstairs.”

Jimo Cheng was startled, then nodded, taking Luo Qianqian’s hand, glanced at the man, and turned to leave.

The man hesitated, touched his own face, wondering if Luo Qianqian had recognized him? It seemed unlikely...

Watching others still rummaging around, Luo Qianqian pursed her lips, thinking that with so many tools here, they could just dismantle the house to get out, couldn’t they?

But aside from a few people like Luo Qianqian, who among those who came here didn’t greatly admire the great ’7’? Who would pass up the chance to be close to the legend, not to mention the huge reward at stake?

Luo Qianqian’s eyes slowly scanned the items in the room but noticed something odd, her brow furrowed as she leaned towards Jimo Cheng, ”Don’t those fridge and kettle handles look a bit strange?”

Jimo Cheng was startled, then nodded, whispering, ”I think they might be fingerprint collection devices.”

Luo Qianqian’s eyes turned cold, thinking to herself, of course.

But looking at a woman who was still examining a cup and had first suggested starting here, she quietly approached her.

The people in the room were firm in their belief that ’7’ was in this room, so mutual probing was inevitable.

”You know something, don’t you? Could you tell me?” Luo Qianqian said so, and Jimo Cheng was also startled, wondering why Luo Qianqian would approach this person directly.

There were actually only two reasons. The first was because she was the first to mention scouting the location, which made her a suspect. Moreover, her demeanor had always been a bit too calm. No matter the situation, she was neither hasty nor slow, displaying a tranquility like still water, clearly indicating she had already made up her mind.

Secondly, it was because Hei Yu’s gaze kept falling on this woman from time to time, totaling over ten times in one minute. Yet the woman kept her eyes on the cup in her hands, never once looking back at Hei Yu. Normally, one would respond when they notice someone staring at them, right? But she didn’t even lift her head.

Watching Jimo Cheng, who had caught up with Luo Qianqian’s pace, the man who had initiated the conversation hurriedly moved forward, fearing Luo Qianqian might face some mishaps.

The woman lifted her head, looking at Luo Qianqian with a smile, ”You’ve guessed right, half-way. I am indeed the NPC of this game.” She then handed Luo Qianqian a long strip of paper, ”Now, it’s your mission.” She whispered so lightly in Luo Qianqian’s ear, ”The method you found is the simplest one.”

After saying this, the woman lowered her head again to continue watching the cup.

Luo Qianqian looked at the strip of paper, equally baffled.

Jimo Cheng took the strip of paper and frowned slightly. It was a long strip filled with a random combination of letters and dots, spread across just two lines.

The man snatched the strip, glanced at it, and then casually picked up a straw from the nearby table and began to wrap it around.

Jimo Cheng frowned, ”Is it a cipher stick?”

In the field of cryptography, a cipher stick is a tool that can change the order of letters in a transmitted message. It consists of a processed piece of leather with a message wrapped around a wooden stick. In ancient Greece, records show that the Spartans used this method for military communication.

The recipient of the cipher would need to use a stick of the same size to wrap the cipher strip around it to decode it.

Luo Qianqian suddenly understood and then looked towards the man.

However, the man glanced at his watch, his face downcast, ”This has coordinates, surely, but when our device was brought over, they were all...”

He saw Jimo Cheng’s face hanging with a half-smile, patted Luo Qianqian on the shoulder, ”How awkward is it for a hacker without a computer?” Then he disassembled Luo Qianqian’s necklace, bracelet, and even her ring, handing over his glasses to the man, ”I’m lending these to you.”

Luo Qianqian was dumbfounded. What was happening?

”Ceramic, very clever of you.” Touching the still-warm items in his hand, the man shook his head gently, but his voice conveyed admiration.

Luo Qianqian, completely puzzled, wisely didn’t ask any questions.

The man put on the glasses, detached one of the temple arms and connected it to the necklace chain. Then, skillfully dismantling the bracelet, it was revealed to be a small keyboard. He also inserted a decorative piece from the ring onto the other temple arm.

Luo Qianqian clearly saw that the lens of the glasses seemed to light up?

Her hand covered her mouth as she watched those slender fingers type the combinations on the bracelet from earlier.

A moment later, he took off the glasses and restored them to their original state, handing them back to Jimo Cheng.

Jimo Cheng didn’t ask anything, just quietly put the items back on Luo Qianqian. Luo Qianqian also remained silent, just watching the man.

The man’s expression turned icy, ”The person is in Capital City.”