“This Xin Xinggao is really something.” Gu Nianzhi was impressed. “It’s not easy to crack the Nandou system’s channel coding.”
“Hehe, I’d be impressed too if she really cracked it from scratch.” Yin Shixiong shook his head is disdain. “It’s almost a shame that she wasn’t able to.”
Gu Nianzhi caught onto his implication. “Brother Xiong, did you figure out something?”
“Yes.” Yin Shixiong sent Zhao Liangze the data on Xin Xinggao that the Special Ops had unearthed. “Look for yourself. Before she left for abroad, Xin Xinggao participated in the development of the Nandou system under her mentor at T University. Although she wasn’t involved in the crucial components, she was able to understand the basis process and the general framework, as well as the coding rules. Additionally, the coding rules of the Nandou system and the European Copernicus are the same in regards to their compatibility purposes.”
Zhao Liangze replied from the other side, “As far as I know, this lab at Harvard’s School of Engineering was able to crack the channel coding of the Copernicus Global Satellite Navigation System system six months ago. With the help of a Nandou ‘insider,’ it’s not a surprise that they were able to figure out the pattern in the Nandou’s pseudo random passwords.”
Gu Nianzhi pat her heart in great relief. “That’s good, that’s good. I was really afraid that we were up against a genius here.”
“Yeah, right! Some genius. She was just a labourer.” Yin Shixiong opened the MATLAB software on his compter, “See, they send test signals to the Nadou system everyday, and when the signal is received, they import the data into their MATLAB for calculations.”
“According to his, they should be able to completely crack the code in no time.” Gu Nianzhi made an estimation with the amount of data and computing power of MATLAB, her face completely serious. “Uncle Huo, you musn’t use the Nandou system again.”
Huo Shaoheng sat in front of the computer and moved the mouse with one hand, while the other was draped on the back of his chair. He appeared much more relaxed now. “Nianzhi, we really owe you this time.”
His voice traveled from the speakers, his deep tones flowed into her ears and burrowed deep inside her heart. Her ears were tingling and she couldn’t help pinching her earlobes to soothe the feeling. She smiled. “Uncle Huo, I’m so happy to be able to help you guys,” she added, “Will you contact the Empire to change the channel coding for Nandou? Will it be a great loss?”
Zhao Liangze replied indignantly, “The biggest loss was to our operation; we fell right into the enemy’s trap. Other than this, it’s not a big deal. The Nandou civilian password was originally meant to be freely accessible to everyone anyway. But, whether the password was given or stolen, that’s a different matter.”
Gu Nianzhi snapped her fingers.”I got it! It’s like the neighbor got ahold of our wifi password and leeched off our internet?”
This was a fair analogy. Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong chuckled. “Yes, yes! That’s it! Greedy neighbors stealing our wifi! Such sh*tty neighbors!”
Gu Nianzhi giggled along with them, but she understood what Zhao Liangze had left unsaid—the true reason why he was so upset. Even though Xin Xinggao had led this American group in cracking the civilian password, it still involved certain coding rules. It would’ve been disastrous if the Americans had gotten ahold of the Empire’s coding rules because Huo Shaoheng hadn’t figured it out in time. This was no small blow.
“This is a serious matter.” Huo Shaoheng did not join in their joking, but pointed at the data analysis on the monitor. “They certainly won’t be able to crack the military password, because I was the one to create it. Of course, even the most complex password can be cracked if there’s a leak like this.”
Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong quickly nodded in agreement. “Cracking the civilian password was a leak to begin with!”
If Xin Xinggao’s team took the credit for cracking the password, Yin Shixiong would be the first to challenge it. Had she ask her father for permission to do this? Or had she asked her mentor?
“The data indicates that Xin Xinggao’s father is the director of the Imperial H Provincial Police Department. That’s why she was able to have the opportunity to be involved in the Nandou’s research and development when she was merely a junior undergraduate student.” Yin Shixiong angrily tapped his fingers while reading the results from the Special Ops.
Huo Shaoheng looked at him through the webcam. “I’ve already ordered the special team of the 6th Military Region to investigate the overseas relations of all the research and development personnel for the Nandou system. It will be on the record, just in case. As for Classmate Xin’s father, he’s no longer suitable to hold the position of provincial police department director.” Huo Shaoheng had issued an order to the national committee. “The military will investigate him and strip him of his rank.”
One problem was solved, but another emerged. Without the support of the Nandou system, Huo Shaoheng’s operation was now exponentially more difficult. There were still four targets to eliminate, but they had no leads yet. Without the guidance and locating functions of the Nandou system, they might as well have been deaf and blind. Zhao Liangze and Yin Shixiong were troubled; Huo Shaoheng discratedly lit a cigarette.
Gu Nianzhi watched them and noted the low morale. She said quietly, “Brother Ze, get Uncle Huo a coffee. It’s not good to smoke so much.”
Huo Shaoheng heard Gu Nianzhi carefully remind him. He held the cigarette and knocked the desk several times before lighting it and ignoring her request. He calmly inhaled and blew out a ring of white smoke.
Gu Nianzhi pouted when he didn’t listen to her. She looked over to Zhao Liangze. “Brother Ze, how is the operation going?”
“That’s what we’re worried about. If it comes down to no other option, we’ll just have to power through.” Zhao Liangze ruffled his hair in frustration. He hadn’t been able to rest at all the past few days—there were bruises under his eyes and stubble growing on his chin.
Gu Nianzhi had been thinking about this problem ever since she’d considered the possibility that the Nandou was being hacked. Now that she understood the research and development process, as well as the coding rules, she had a bold thought.
“Uncle Huo, Brother Ze, how about this?” Gu Nianzhi coughed lightly to get their attention. “We can’t use the Nandou system because we don’t want the Americans to track us. But, what if we used the Copernicus system instead?”
The European Copernicus system was developed before the Nandou system and because of various reasons, it was limited to use in Europe even now. It did not have global coverage, unlike the Nandou system. However, Huo Shaoheng’s mission was being carried out in Europe, so they only needed a navigation system for the continent itself.
“Use the Copernicius system?” Zhao Liangze jerked his head up, “That’s a good idea! However, we need to crack its code first, then hack into it like the Americans did with our Nandou system. Then we can use it for ourselves!”
“Crack the Copernicius’ code? Do you have time?” Yin Shixiong asked sarcastically. “The team in Harvard took nearly six months and even had the aid of a spy. Do we have that long?”
Zhao Liangze was discouraged again.
Gu Nianzhi looked at the solemn faced Yin Shixiong, then the dejected Zhao Liangze, and finally the impassive Huo Shaoheng. She raised her hand bashfully. “Let me try, I should be able to crack the Copernicus code in one day and night.”