Chapter 560: Chapter 10 Limit Reasoning_2 Chapter 560: Chapter 10 Limit Reasoning_2 Passwords are a kind of information.
Don’t let the seemingly random string of numbers fool you; behind those numbers, there must be some deep meaning, or perhaps…
a deep meaning that has been artificially assigned.
Passwords that have no meaning at all are not non-existent, but they are quite rare.
Most passwords set by people have a unique significance or a unique story.
“So, let’s not brute force it just yet.”
Lin Xian took out the password diary from the coffin, and placed it next to the album and the old videotape:
“Since it’s just a four-digit password, there are only 10,000 possibilities.
Even if I try each one, it won’t take me more than a few hours to figure it out.”
“A four-digit password isn’t like an eight-digit one…
it’s very easy to crack; it’s just a matter of hand speed and patience.
I tried earlier, and although the lock has been sitting for over twenty years, it’s still smooth and quick to work.”
“Compared to the content in the diary, I’m actually more curious…
what kind of password Zhang Yuqian would set for this diary.
Perhaps the real [secret] isn’t in the diary at all; the four-digit password itself might be Zhang Yuqian’s real secret.”
Gao Yang snorted and stood up:
“I think you just want to peek at a girl’s private diary by yourself and don’t want to share it with me.”
“No, what’s there to share about a girl’s diary?” Lin Xian looked up from the coffin at Gao Yang:
“You’re the one being weird, aren’t you?”
Afterward, the two pushed the coffin lid back on and refilled it with the dug-up soil.
Although the lawn was never going to look the same again, even though Gao Yang tried his best to make the sod look neat, the dug-up soil was like shattered glass, hard to piece together just like before.
Gao Yang quickly gave up, patted the soil with a shovel, wiped sweat from his forehead, and consoled himself:
“Grass grows fast anyway.
You might think the spot we dug looks conspicuous now, but once it rains, it’ll blend in with the surroundings.”
who would come to this godforsaken place?
It’s creepy enough to scare anyone off.”
Late, the two packed up, loaded everything into the trunk of the Toyota Prado Gao Yang had rented, and as they left for the last time, they looked back at the vibrant, swaying pomegranate tree, Gao Yang even put his hands together and bowed to it.
“There’s no one buried there, what are you bowing for?” Lin Xian teased.
“Hey, it’s better to be respectful just in case.
It feels more secure.”
They turned around, walked through the muddy path, and left a place that was quiet, tranquil, and serene.
Gao Yang drove attentively on the highway while Lin Xian semi-reclined in the passenger seat, his hands automatically fiddling with the lock on the password diary.
He found that pushing up on the password wheels saved more effort, and after pushing up, he could directly press down the lock with his right hand, which was more comfortable.
So, he tried passwords starting from 9999 and adjusted the password wheels one digit at a time downwards, an age-old method of brute-force cracking.
Though it was boring, the speed was not slow.
There were only 10,000 combinations in total; each wrong guess eliminated one possibility, and the more wrong guesses, the greater the likelihood of the next password being correct.
Gao Yang had only driven past two intersections when Lin Xian had already made over 100 incorrect tries, and the numbers on the four password wheels arrived at 9811…9810…
After getting proficient.
He didn’t even need to look at the lock anymore; he could feel which position he was at.
Lin Xian felt he had become an emotionless password-cracking machine, push up one digit, press to unlock; push up one digit, press to unlock…
continuously repeating without engaging his mind.
With his hands continuously busy, Lin Xian looked back at the miscellaneous tools laid out on the back seat, along with an old videotape and a somewhat yellowed album.
This time, they had brought three items from Zhang Yuqian’s coffin.
Password-locked diary,
These were indeed the most valuable three items from that empty coffin.
Lin Xian still had no clue; Chu Anqing, Zhang Yuqian, CC, these three people, besides their looks, what vital clue could link these three girls from different eras…
Although they might all be Millennium Stakes.
But without knowing what Millennium Stakes really means, that statement is pointless.
He and Gao Yang needed to make another trip back to the Imperial Capital, to that upscale residential area in Chaoyang District’s Third Ring, to meet that dodgy middle-aged man and uncover the truth about the car accident Zhang Yuqian was involved in years ago.
This time, Lin Xian was quite sure he could persuade the man.
Now that it was 99% certain that Zhang Yuqian had likely turned into Blue Stardust and disappeared, and that the middle-aged couple was definitely eyewitnesses at the scene…
Lin Xian had no concerns, he could speak frankly about everything.
Back at the hotel in Qufu, Gao Yang immediately took off his dirty clothes, threw them in the bin, and rushed into the bathroom to shower.
Lin Xian also tidied up a bit, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and put Zhang Yuqian’s videotape and album back in his suitcase.
While rummaging through, he saw the casual clothes he had worn to the Astronaut Training Base.
He had changed into the training uniform the very next day, so the casual outfit had been worn only once and had since been packed away at the bottom of the suitcase.