Chapter 14 — My House Is 42 Degrees Hot, Turns Out It's A Horrifying Plot

His words were brief. But it gives me great strength. I don't say anything more.

“Thank you, Mr. Ly.”

After hanging up. I stopped a parachute vehicle. Give the driver five hundred yuan. Ask him to take you to the scrap car yard east of the city. It is a corner forgotten by the city. Under the pale moonlight. The giant iron and steel yard looks like a silent forest. I followed Mr. Ly's instructions. Found the blue bus. It lies among a pile of rusty scrap metal. So trivial that no one bothers to pay attention. I reached behind the fender. Touching the cold key. The car door opens. An old smell that had been sealed for many years hit my face. Inside the vehicle compartment. There are several large crates arranged neatly. The first barrel contained mineral water and dry bread. Enough to last me a week. Second crate. It's a brand new set of clothes. A first aid bag. Along with some cash. Third crate. It's filled with sophisticated electronic devices that I don't completely understand. Next to it there is also a small black suitcase. I opened it. The hard drive is silver-gray. The thing that holds all the secrets. Lying quietly inside. Uncle Ly not only kept it safe. He even prepared everything for me. My nose bridge suddenly. Eye sockets heat up. In the middle of this cold dark night. I finally felt a rare bit of warmth from human kindness. In the midst of this cold and cruel journey of escape. Just a little warmth. It's enough to give me the strength to move on. I closed the car door. Close all curtains. This abandoned bus. Temporarily become my refuge. I screwed the cap on the water bottle. Drink several large gulps at once. Then take out the hard drive and tool kit. I don't have time to rest. I must find out quickly. After all, it's hiding something inside. The hard drive's outer shell doesn't have a single screw. Fits perfectly. Looks like a whole block of metal. I used a thin metal pry bar from the toolbox. Follow the gap. Little by little, search for the opening point. My hands are very steady. But my heart was beating like crazy. I felt like a bomb disposal expert dismantling a timer. Just a little carelessness. Everything will turn to ash. It took a full half hour. I just pried open that solid shell. Inside revealed a complex circuit board and storage chips. It doesn't have regular USB or SATA ports. All connection points are individually designed. Luckily. In the toolbox prepared by Mr. Ly, there are all kinds of conversion heads. It was like I was performing an extremely delicate surgery. Based on the shape of the connection port. I found a suitable adapter cable. Then take out a brand new, compact laptop. That's also what Uncle Ly prepared for me. I connect the hard drive to the computer via an adapter cable. The computer quickly recognizes the new device. My heart almost jumped into my throat. A black dialog box automatically appears. Takes up the entire screen. Middle of dialog box. There's just a cursor that blinks endlessly. And a line of cold white text.

“Please enter your security key.”

Security key? Not the password. It's a security key. Just one word different. But the difference is heaven and earth. That proves that this system uses a high-level asymmetric encryption method. If not that unique key string. Despite being the most powerful supercomputer in the world. It is also impossible to decode in a short time. Total effort. My entire venture. It seems that everyone is blocked in front of this invisible wall. I stared at the blinking cursor. A feeling of helplessness arose. Vuong Cuong. Only Vuong Cuong knows what that key chain is. But now. He was detained. I can't reach him at all. Cut off right here. I'm not committed. I continuously recall every detail when interacting with Vuong Cuong. Every word he said. He once said. The data inside is more valuable than his life. He also said. Inside is "their" life. And he also said... Suddenly I remembered something. The moment I broke his arm and took the hard drive. Before he was taken away by firefighters and authorities. In extreme pain and anger. He shouted something to me.

“You took something you shouldn't have.”

He mentioned the word “book”. Is that a suggestion? I took a deep breath. Trembling fingers placed on the keyboard. Type two words. Then press Enter. The screen does not have any response. The security key is incorrect. I leaned back in the chair. The feeling of disappointment is overwhelming. Am I thinking too much? Or have I missed some important detail? I closed my eyes. Repeat every scene in your head. One at a time. Just when I almost wanted to give up. A forgotten image suddenly flashed. Vuong Cuong's fake face. He always wears gold-rimmed glasses. And a very special habit. He likes to use handkerchiefs. Slowly wipe the lenses. That handkerchief... I remember it very clearly. It's a white scarf.