Big Black: "…………"
Big Black: ? ? ?
Author's Note: Dahei: Don't try to guess what a man is thinking.
(I'm finally back from my hike!!! Updates will resume as normal tomorrow, in the afternoon, with extra chapters if I have time. I'm so sorry for the two-day hiatus, I won't be going on any more long trips for a while, muah! (This guilty and stupid author hasn't dared to look at the comments for three days, I wonder if my head has already been turned into braised duck neck))
(The scene of whipping the corpse in the rain will be left for tomorrow, fist pump!)
Chapter 42
Wen Zheng fed the cat well before dealing with the calls from all sides.
Besides some routine greetings, there was a call from his very superior, which was both unexpected and expected.
When Wen Zheng called back, he thought the other party was going to confront him, but instead he heard a burst of laughter.
"It's rare to see you have the time to worry about these things," the senior leader said. "Wendy has already told me everything else. When the other company's representatives come, you just need to handle their reception, and you don't need to worry about anything else."
Wen Zheng was somewhat surprised. Standing at the window, he saw an orange sky. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Can we meet?"
Although the subspace turmoil is a matter of life and death for all humanity, during the period of relative calm before it erupts, nations are still engaged in various forms of competition, making complete unity impossible. Soldiers, as members of their respective nations' military forces, face restrictions and require vetting when leaving the country or seeking employment in other countries' companies.
Wen Zheng really enjoys games. If it weren't for these problems, he might have applied for a design job in survival space or other games, instead of ending up as a streamer.
However, when rules and freedom conflict, rules always take precedence.
He was slightly surprised when the top leader relented.
"Just a meeting, a bit of fun, do you think you can be lured away by the Allied Powers?" The leader laughed heartily: "You're binding yourself too tightly, Wen Zheng. Rules are rules, but people are flexible. Apart from training, I've never been too strict with you, so why are you so well-behaved? You don't seem like a young man in his early twenties."
Wen Zheng was speechless for a moment. He wanted to explain, but found himself at a loss for words.
The instructors didn't demand that of him, but his master did. He had lived with his master since he was ten years old, and only joined the army four years later. By then, some of his ideas had become deeply ingrained habits, unlike when his parents were alive, when he was more free.
After all, no matter how close a master is, he is still just a master, and there is no room for him to be willful or spoiled. His only two relatives have already left this world for the survival of more people.
The big boss told him to have fun, then hung up the phone. Dahei jumped onto the windowsill and looked out with him.
The holographic projections cast colorful light across the night sky, sometimes making it impossible to distinguish between stars and specks of light. Big Black watched intently, its fluffy tail swaying from time to time.
"Am I being too proper?" Wen Zheng muttered to himself. Da Hei let out a low growl, but it was unclear what it was saying.
Even so, Wen Zheng still felt a little comforted. He stroked Da Hei from head to toe, his voice slightly hoarse: "Good boy."
He knew that Dahei would leave sooner or later, but not yet.
He should cherish it.
***
The next day, Wen Zheng, along with Da Hei, met up with Deng Puyue at Rongcheng University Library.
Last night, Wendy explained the current situation to him in detail, and Wenzheng later went online to check out some forums.
The storm was brewing, the evidence of his cheating was irrefutable, and both the authorities and the public condemned him. Most of his original fans left, and the few who remained were too foolish to amount to anything, so they were forced to delete their accounts due to the backlash.
Two other elements stand out in this farce: Xuanyuan Tianlu, who took the opportunity to kick someone when they were down, and the fan group who were tricked into having sex by Shanyu.
Xuanyuan Tianlu was later mocked again. Everyone who wanted to visit his old residence went there, but his new residence was ignored, which infuriated him. Wen Zheng found the fans' behavior disgusting.
Putting this scumbag in jail would be too good for him.
Later, when he checked his private messages, he saw that one of the victims had sent him a thank-you letter. He replied, which was unusual for him, and said some words of comfort. In the process, he learned the other party's name and identity.
Jianming is a shy boy from the Mathematics Department of Rongcheng University, only a freshman. Judging from the conversation, he seems quite reserved.
Wen Zheng recalled the two keywords about the password that Cheng Mei had given him in the previous instance, and since he was thinking of going to Rongcheng University's library to find some information, he mentioned them.
Jianming warmly invited him over, even saying he would treat him to coffee.
Wen Zheng agreed, and thinking of Deng Puyue's aggrieved look today, he also called on Yu Di.
It was Sunday, and many local students had gone home, so the campus looked very quiet.
Jianming stood at the library entrance, looking around, occasionally tugging and pulling at his tall roommate.
The two people and the cat approached just in time to hear them talking, and they were immediately embarrassed.
"I really can do it myself..."
"You're all talk. You're probably carrying a kettle on your neck, all rattling around. You've already been fooled once, and you still haven't learned your lesson. You'll be bewitched again in no time and come back crying for a week."
"Ugh, you're so annoying! This time it really isn't a scam; he's even on the news!"
"What? Hundreds of years ago, there were Spring Festival Gala hosts who tricked college students. They were on the news every day."
"...Zhang Zhenghe! Are you ever going to stop? It's so rude of you to people to see this!"
"That's already very impolite. We agreed to meet at 1:00, and it's been 30 seconds since then. Where are they?"
"Ahem." Deng Puyue suppressed a laugh: "Well, we're right here. We're... online friends."
The tall roommate, Zhang Zhenghe, was taken aback for a moment, then immediately stood up straight, his expression becoming polite and warm. He extended his hand with a diplomatic smile: "Hello, what's your name? I'm so sorry, I was so busy looking for someone..."
"Ah!" Jianming shoved Zhang Zhenghe, almost pushing him down the stairs: "Hello Z, ah, you are Dahei, the real cat is even more majestic than in the photo, and Yu... Little Yu Dad."
I really can't bring myself to call him "brother" when I see his baby face.
After exchanging pleasantries, the four people and the cat breathed a sigh of relief and went straight into the library.
After last night, Jianming regained his usual smile. Although he is not an extroverted person and blushes easily when speaking, he was noticeably more at ease with his roommate around.
After thanking Wen Zheng again, Jian Ming almost burst into tears. His roommate didn't tease him anymore, but silently handed him a tissue, his eyes also a little red.
"This matter is over, but Z-Da and Xiao-Yu-Da, I will always remember what you did. If he hadn't been arrested in this way, there would probably be different opinions about what happened to us. Although there's not much I can do, please come to me if you need anything," Jian Ming said solemnly.
Wen Zheng didn't stand on ceremony with him and pressed the record button on his phone: "Fine, then say it again."
concise:"…………"
Jianming lent the card to Wenzheng, promising to return it to the dormitory gatehouse after use. On their way back, Jianming and her roommate said excitedly, "Z is so handsome and interesting!"
Zhang Zhenghe, the roommate, was seething with anger, internally raging: When will this ever end! When will it be my turn!
…………
Rongcheng University, with its 200th anniversary, houses a collection of papers from past students—papers that cannot be found on the open internet. Wen Zheng swiped his card, searching for keywords related to "book code" and "dictionary code," ultimately finding only two papers that mentioned these terms.
One article is just an overview of password replacement, while the other has two cited case studies.
Both methods employ various transformation rules for key reading, and Wen Zheng, after trying them according to the standard, was unable to solve the problem.
But this time, he had a strange premonition that he was getting closer and closer to finding the answer.
The large black plate was on the library table, but Wen Zheng paid it no mind. Ms. Liu's notebook was spread out in front of him, and he tapped the table with his pen.
Fireflies may glow, but they are not fire; dewdrops may form on lotus leaves, but they are not pearls.
[caoyingyouyaozhongfeihuo,helusuituanqishizhu.]
The key is long and has many repeating letters.
The essence of a key is to create a new decryption rule together with an alphabet, making the ciphertext difficult for humans to read easily.
The so-called scroll code is a password method that arranges letters in numerical order and fills in any missing parts.
Its advantage is that it can avoid probability tests of high-frequency letters, making it more difficult to solve.
For example, if the first letter is 'c', write 'c' after the number 1; 2 = 'a'; 3 = 'o'; and so on.
The letter 'y' appears frequently, so it can be replaced by either 4, 8, or 11.
The missing letters in this sentence are then sorted sequentially, starting with the total number.
The moment Wen Zheng finished making the watch, he knew he had finally found the right direction.
His hands trembled slightly as he located the corresponding part of the ciphertext in the table and wrote it down stroke by stroke.
——wangyuncangaoniao，linyuanxianyouyu.
I feel ashamed of the soaring birds gazing at the clouds, and envious of the swimming fish standing by the abyss.
The solution is in.
Thirteen years, a full thirteen years. He thought that fire would trap him in this mystery for the rest of his life, but because of Dahei's arrival and the help of various strangers he met, he finally broke through the fog and glimpsed a ray of dawn.
Wen Zheng almost violently ripped off the chain around his neck and inserted a tiny chip into the special reader inside the phone.
After typing the words of the poem, the blue page flashed briefly, and a simple new page popped up.
[Congratulations Xiaozheng, you solved the first one! Great job! Did you understand the first line of the poem? The key for the next one is the plaintext from the previous one. This time the ciphertext is: fwao, rqaw, jtts, dsmm, qdqg, kqmv, rrwa. Keep it up, Xiaozheng! :)]
Wen Zheng was speechless for a long time.
Big Black lay there lazily, one eye half-open as it watched Wen Zheng, as if observing whether he was crying.
Wen Zheng was overjoyed, but when he tried to speak, he realized his voice was completely hoarse. In his excitement, he flipped Da Hei over belly up and buried his face in it.
Big Black: ? ? ?
Big Black twisted! Big Black struggled! Big Black... Big Black turned into a puddle.
What's going on with this person? The massage is actually quite comfortable; is it a natural talent? It's just that the posture is really bad!
Big Black gritted its teeth, then thought about how it was now in cat form, and those stupid humans still treated it like a pet. What could it do but forgive them? With that thought, Big Black stretched its limbs out further, allowing the magic power it had previously exhausted to slowly flow through its meridians.
Fine, I'll let it go since he likes me so much.
***
"Good morning!" Li Xiaoting entered the office full of energy and greeted everyone.
Wen Zheng nodded to her for the first time ever and opened his mouth to say, "Good morning."
All eyes suddenly focused on them. What was going on? The aloof male god said good morning?! Did I hear that right?!
Wen Zheng was surprised that his casual remark had excited everyone so much. After a moment of surprise, he greeted the entire office with "Good morning."
"!!!" The crowd suddenly erupted, and a group of female colleagues, led by the gossip queen, rushed towards his seat.
"We saw the news, Wen Zheng!" one person exclaimed excitedly. "Did you bring down Jin Fanrong's brother-in-law?!"
"Jin Fanrong hasn't replied to our messages since last night, nor has he posted on his WeChat Moments. Could he have been taken away by the police?"