Translator: Lonelytree
It wasnât difficult to find Jing Ning and Old Master Jingâs itinerary. How to bring Old Master Jing to our side was the real problem.
In Jing Ningâs eyes, we were already dealt with. Once we appeared, Jing Ning would inform the mastermind. Gao Da and I would be caught. The chance of us showing up around Old Master Jingâs side was zero!
Just as we were at our witsâ end, my cell phone suddenly vibrated. I received a text message.
The message was strange. It was a string of numbers, nine of them to be exact. They were grouped in strings of twoâs and threeâs. The message was sent through the internet.
My heart couldnât help but beat wildly. Intuitively, I believed this text came from Jing Tian. But what did they mean?
Every code had a cipher. However, I didnât know the cipher to this one.
âBrother Gao Da, does Ardent Flame Alliance have any internal code cipher?â I asked him.
Gao Da was confused. âWhat is that?â
I gave up.
I showed the message to Gao Da. âI think Jing Tian sent this to me, but I donât know what these numbers mean. I need a cipher to crack it.â
Gao Da shook his head. âThe Alliance doesnât have anything like that.â
I thought for a moment. âThe cipher could be a book or something that is meaningful to the Alliance.â
Gao Da frowned, âMaster Qi studies computer science. His life is simple. Other than teaching and studying, he doesnât have any hobbies. Nanxing, youâre basically the reason he has a life. He reads all sorts of journals... With regards to books, he doesnât have a specific taste. He reads everything.â
I leaned against the bed and stared at the ceiling. âLet me think, let me think.â
I thought about the history between Jing Tian and me, hoping I could recall some hints. Jing Tian rarely needed to use secret codes with me.
I remembered everything he said, but at that moment, I couldnât think of anything.
In my mind, there was nothing that stood out. If Jing Tian had specified it as something important, I would have remembered it, but there was nothing like that!
Gao Da held his head and paced back and forth.
I closed my eyes and imagined I was Jing Tian. The other hostages were all intellectuals. The kidnappers knew Jing Tian because they referred to him as Master Qi. If they were his enemies, they would have shot him already. If they wanted Jing Tianâs cooperation, this was not the way to do it either. This was too big of a risk... unless they knew Jing Tian wouldnât help them without taking this drastic measure.
Jing Tian was already amazing to be able to sneak Gao Da and me out from under their noses.
I believed Su Shen and Su Qian were captured as well. Even if the kidnappers realized they were not me, they could use them to threaten Jing Tian.
The Ardent Flame Alliance had gone into hiding due to the emergency protocol. There had to be a reason why Jing Tian had released the protocol. Jing Tian was not in danger, but he was not free either. However, he managed to send out a string of numbers. Could he be given the freedom to come up with a cipher before he typed out the code?
That seemed unlikely... So what would these numbers correspond to?
What kind of code did he believe I would be able to fathom at this moment?