TDU Chapter 77: Premium Components

Chapter 77 Premium Components

On the other side of the corridor, in the {Correspondent}'s room.  

Ole Lu had been beaten to a pulp; both of his nostrils were bleeding, and one of his fingers had been broken.  

"Please, stop hitting me..." Ole Lu begged. "If you kill me, no one will be able to deliver anything for you... have mercy on me..."  

"You old bastard!!" A'Mu growled, grabbing at the few strands of hair Ole Lu had left. "Haven’t I treated you well?! Huh? I gave you {Dào} and {trust}! How dare you destroy my key?!"  

"I'm really sorry..." Ole Lu forced a bitter smile, "I finished delivering the box and then realized there was still a key in my hands... I meant to bring it over immediately, but with just three seconds left on the three-minute countdown, I would have died if I hadn’t thrown the key into the pulverizer..."

"Do you take me for a sucker?!" A'Mu yanked Ole Lu's hair and slammed him hard against the wall.  

The impact struck Ole Lu's eye socket, causing blood to pour from his brow.  

"Ouch! Stop hitting me..." Ole Lu cried out on the floor, cradling his forehead. "If you keep this up, you really will kill me..."  

A'Mu took a moment to steady his breathing before gradually releasing his grip.  

"You old bastard... thank goodness I didn't fully trust you," he said, slowly standing up and pulling a letter from his pocket.  

"Wh—?" Ole Lu froze in place at the sight of the letter. "You didn't put the letter in?!"  

"Your little tricks are no more than a child's play to me," A'Mu snarled, a menacing smile curling on his lips as he squatted beside Ole Lu. "Listen closely, you old bastard. This is your final chance. If that letter doesn't make it this time, even if there are {consequences}, I swear I’ll storm into the corridor, gouge your eyes out, and crush your throat—do you understand?"

Ole Lu trembled, nodding in fearful acknowledgment.

A'Mu would certainly follow through on his threats. He was a true criminal; even if he lost the game, Ole Lu would never escape his wrath.

‘Punk Qi... this old bone of mine can only help you this far,’ Ole Lu murmured to himself.  

…

On the other side, Jiang Ruoxue anxiously clutched the box, stalling for time.

She found herself cornered, having underestimated the young man's unexpected cleverness.

With the two locks on the box destined to open, her only recourse was to buy as much time as possible, praying her team could secure victory with this slight advantage.

As the seconds slipped away, with just ten seconds remaining on the countdown, Jiang Ruoxue steeled herself and opened Lin Qin's door.

Lin Qin appeared momentarily taken aback by the {follow-up}, her expression one of utter bewilderment.

She had just dispatched the locked box, hoping that Qi Xia possessed the necessary tools to open it. Now, not only was the box intact, but it had also been returned with an additional lock.

"Make it quick! I’m running out of time!" Jiang Ruoxue urged.

Anxious that the {Infiltrator} might perish, leaving no one to convey the letter, Lin Qin hastily accepted the box.

She stared at the two locks on the box, her eyes widening slowly.  

‘So that's it... so he had another lock? I understand!’ 

Lin Qin quickly retrieved her golden key and unlocked the golden padlock.  

Now, only a silver padlock remained on the box.  

"Hurry!" Lin Qin handed the box back to Jiang Ruoxue. "Hurry and deliver it to the {Recipient}!"  

Jiang Ruoxue gritted her teeth, glancing at the box in her grasp, acutely aware of the precariousness of the situation.

This woman before her had seen through everything in mere seconds, clearly not someone to be underestimated.

"Um... let me join your team..." Jiang Ruoxue awkwardly requested, "We should collaborate; victory can only be achieved through collaboration."  

Lin Qin studied Jiang Ruoxue’s eyes intently, soon revealing a slight smile. "It's rather strange. If you truly wished to collaborate, Qi Xia wouldn't have devised this plan."  

"Qi Xia...?"  

“The situation has progressed to this point; even if you don’t cooperate with us, we won’t lose the match.” Lin Qin smiled apologetically, “I’m sorry, but I can’t agree to your request now.”

Jiang Ruoxue stared at Lin Qin, her inner thoughts elusive.  

"Ruoxue, the only thing you can do now is stall for time," Lin Qin said as she slowly began to close the door. "I'm sorry."  

Once in the corridor, Jiang Ruoxue’s previous demeanor faded away. She slowly made her way to the center of the hallway, softly murmuring to herself.

"So, that’s Qi Xia? How effortless this has turned out to be."  

After a brief pause, she nodded repeatedly, as if engaged in a conversation with someone.

"Yeah, I’m alright with dying. But what about the other matters?"  

"Ok." Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "Should I leave him a little surprise?"  

"Understood."  

With the iron box cradled in her arms, she stepped forward slowly, making her way directly to Qi Xia's door.  

Jiang Ruoxue gently closed her eyes and reached out to knock on the door.

As Qi Xia opened the door, his eyes immediately fell on the box in her hands, and a satisfied smile crept across his face.  

The box now bore only a single silver lock.  

This team was composed entirely of {premium components}; there was no way they could produce a {subpar aircraft}.  

"What is it? Are you handing the box over to me now, or do you need to stall for some more time?" Qi Xia inquired.  

Jiang Ruoxue slowly opened her eyes, and suddenly, a loud bell tolled in the distance.  

{DONG}!!!  

Qi Xia froze, a sense of foreboding washing over him. He quickly scanned the surroundings but found no signs of anything unusual.

"I'll hand it over to you now," Jiang Ruoxue said. "But you should know that even if you have this, you won't be able to unlock the door right away, right?"  

"Of course," Qi Xia replied, extending his hand cautiously to accept the box, still watching her warily. "Ole Lu must have transmitted the message some time ago, yet our continued presence in the game suggests that, even if they are aware of the letter's contents, the {Recipient} cannot unlock the door just yet." 

"Let's see what you've got," Jiang Ruoxue challenged.  

Qi Xia cast a skeptical glance her way. "If you witness my methods, it could cost you your life."  

"That's fine," she smiled, "who's to say who will lose?"  

"Fair point."

Qi Xia retrieved his silver key and deftly unlocked the final remaining lock on the box.  

He pulled out the envelope and opened it, his expression remaining unchanged. Afterward, he approached the large microwave, scrutinizing the prompts displayed on its screen.  

This was a sophisticated touchscreen that supported handwritten input.  

There were four spaces available for Qi Xia to enter the password, but he was uncertain whether he needed to input four digits, letters, or Chinese characters.  

Turning back, Qi Xia took hold of the encrypted letter once more.  

The next step was to decipher the secret code.

He unfolded the letter, revealing a solitary line of letters:  

{MLGDRZDQVXL}.  

Aside from this line, there were no additional clues in the letter.  

Upon seeing the sequence, Jiang Ruoxue also looked puzzled, seemingly unsure of the code’s logic.  

‘Every game has its {lifeline},’ Qi Xia murmured to himself. ‘If the secret code is overly complex, it would deprive the participants of this {lifeline}, so cracking it shouldn't be too difficult.’  

‘And among the straightforward methods I know for decoding, there is only one that doesn't involve numbers.’  

‘Caesar cipher.’