Chapter 6, Chapter 01: Encrypted Words
Chapter 01 Encrypted Words
A week ago, the landline of London's All Things Trading Company suddenly rang.
The caller ID is blank, with only a cold line of "No phone number displayed".
The phone rang silently before hanging up on its own, leaving only an abrupt silence.
Albert, who became the company's CEO, clearly noticed this movement during the monitoring.
So he went to the rumored "Thunder House," which is MI5, the headquarters of the British domestic intelligence agency.
Interestingly, the location of this headquarters has changed again.
The original office has been transformed into a visual extravaganza.
The Memphis design, dominated by vibrant colors, was overused, a stark contrast to the previous mechanical style offices that adhered to formal frameworks and pursued cold rationality in Internationalism.
This is clearly a manifestation of the taste of a creative company owner with an inflated sense of self-importance.
There was no one in the office.
This saved Albert a lot of trouble.
Despite the complete change in the design of the entire office, Albert was still able to walk back to the door of the MI5 office based on his memory.
Even before the door was opened, he was standing in the corner cabinet.
As he stood in front of the cabinet door, with a soft "thump," the cabinet moved from the left to the right, allowing a clear view of the person behind the dark oak solid table.
It was Mycroft Holmes, whom the cabinet recognized as "the most powerful man in Britain".
Albert was not surprised; in fact, it was this very man who gave him his current position as director of MI6.
On the wide oak table, a lone orange file folder sat, standing out starkly against the dark surface.
Albert glanced discreetly at the file folder before meeting Mycroft Holmes's gaze.
Mycroft began by asking, "Mr. Moriarty, have you been busy lately?"
Albert's full name is Albert James Moriarty.
"James" is not a middle name, but one of the rare double surnames.
In the UK, if both parents come from prominent families, the likelihood of their children sharing both parents' surnames is higher. If both parents also have two surnames, their descendants may even have three or four surnames combined.
However, the surname "Moriarty" is a double-edged sword.
Its rarity easily attracts attention.
This is by no means convenient for secret agents who need to conceal their whereabouts.
Not to mention, this surname inevitably evokes memories of the shocking "Earl of Moriarty" tragedy that rocked London more than a decade ago.
Therefore, he never referred to himself as "Moriarty" unless necessary.
It must be said, however, that Albert's noble status did bring him great advantages.
For example, he was able to wear the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army when he was not yet 27 years old.
Now, at just over 27 years old, he has taken charge of MI6 and risen to the rank of colonel.
For tens of millions of people, such a rise to power is undoubtedly the ultimate expression of power and glory.
Now, Mycroft's greeting wasn't exactly gentle or cold; it was just casual, like discussing the weather.
This, on the contrary, reveals the relaxed attitude of those in positions of authority.
Albert smiled. “It’s impossible not to be busy. But the fact that you’d call specifically for me means there must be news more terrifying than a terrorist attack on London. In that case, I have to drop everything and come right over.”
The other party's attitude was simply the inherent politeness and attentiveness of a nobleman.
Mycroft wasn't about to join in the banter, and besides, he wasn't exactly the type to be overly enthusiastic.
As he spoke, he pushed the orange document forward another half an inch.
Albert took the orange file folder. "Did MI5 throw this at you?"
He saw the heading and official seal on the document.
The duties of MI5 and MI6 do not overlap.
Mycroft said, "This should indeed have been MI5's responsibility. But Michael, the radical criminal, had already changed his nationality before being apprehended. To avoid his extradition to Chile for trial, and given that the case involves a royal scandal, it's not something we can touch—"
"After taking everything into consideration, the higher-ups have specifically named you as the person in charge."
Having spent so much time in the military, Albert had developed an unshakeable habit.
That is, "not to offer any opinions on tasks assigned by superiors."
But deep down, he wasn't the type to blindly obey anyone.
The most obvious thing was that when he saw the contents of the file bag, his eyebrows lifted slightly and a barely perceptible sneer appeared on his lips.
The documents are very simple.
Currently, MI5 is dealing with the leader of a radical group who is using a royal scandal as leverage to negotiate with MI5.
The royal family is now eager to retract the scandalous video of the princess.
If it's just a photo, perhaps we can use photo editing as an excuse and then use big data blocking to deal with it.
Once the video is recorded, it's not so easy to cover it up.
In particular, the media does not report events solely based on whether the parties involved admit to them or not. As long as there are revelations, even if they are "unverified," they can trigger a lot of heated discussions, doubts, and public pressure.
Moreover, in this digital age, once a video is leaked, it is very difficult to delete it completely. It will be copied, spread, or even downloaded and stored multiple times.
If they do not admit it and cannot prevent the video from appearing, it will only be further interpreted as "covering up the facts".
This isn't the first time the royal family's public relations department has attempted such a cover-up.
The public is also unwilling to continue paying for it.
"The scandal documents are stored in safe deposit box number 118 in the basement of Lloyds Bank." Mycroft summarized most of the document's contents in one sentence.
Albert's gaze remained fixed on the text as he asked, "What is the mission deadline?"
"One month."
"Can I ask why?" Albert closed the file.
He knew perfectly well that Britain would never allow the prisoner to be extradited. If the prisoner believed he had nothing to fear, the matter could remain hidden from public view for at least a year, or at most five years.
"Because the news leaked."
Mycroft looked at Albert, his tone flat and even: "Michael bought himself an extra insurance policy."
"He leaked the intelligence and information related to the scandal to that media hyena Milverton. If something happened to Michael, the news would go directly to Milverton, and within an hour, the whole of Britain would know about the scandal."
Mycroft tilted his head slightly, glancing at the gloomy sky outside the window. "A few days ago, some cameras noticed him active in the Marie Leben district of Westminster. Now he probably wants to get his hands on that top story ahead of time."
He turned back and replied, "Clearly, this is a race between you and the hyena. You shouldn't disappoint me."
Albert: "Yes."
*
Someone once said, "Everything happens for the best."
Albert believed that this man had the Stoic philosophy of contentment ingrained in his very being.
He hadn't expected the so-called arrangement to come so quickly.
His first appearance at the bank was a direct encounter with Milwaukee.
At that critical moment, the man's intention to approach the vault was practically written on his face.
After Albert learned of his identity, he immediately understood that "Milwaldton had the right channels."
He must take the initiative to contact them and seize control of the situation before they disrupt his plans.
But Milton refused to meet with him at all.
Albert will certainly not give up so easily.
After mentally considering three possible scenarios, Albert decided to design a perfectly timed "accident".
So that afternoon, Albert sent his subordinate Moran, disguised as his driver, to cut the brake lines.
Cutting the brake line is an extremely risky act.
Albert had checked the road conditions and found that there were speed limits starting from Milford Sound's company, so the initial speed wouldn't be as uncontrollable as on a highway. Even if the brake cable broke, as long as he maintained effective control, it wouldn't pose a threat to anyone's life.
Furthermore, Moran was originally a professional military personnel. This kind of emergency response to a broken brake line is much easier than dealing with a fighter jet on fire.
Albert would lead the way and keep track of the road conditions.
However, the most important thing is that this imminent danger is what will convince Milwaldton of what he is about to say.
This will be a meticulously planned operation.
And one can also officially appear as a rescuer who happens to be passing by.
Everything is in place.
Albert watched Moran set off.
He remembered that Moran would keep the car in the designated lane and travel a certain distance.
However, just as Albert drove up in front of the car, Milwaukee's vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning, and the front of the car crashed hard into the rear of Albert's car.
There was no time to think; Albert began to jerk the steering wheel.
After a screeching sound, the two vehicles finally came to a stop.
Albert got out of the car, while Milwaukee was already standing leisurely by the roadside.
He remained expressionless, slowly adjusting his sunglasses, and at most glanced at Albert.
If Albert hadn't called him back, Milwaukee would have treated the car accident as a trivial incident and turned away.
“Mr. Milverton”.
After a few pleasantries, Albert got straight to the point: "It seems the matter at the bank yesterday isn't over yet. We've all been targeted by those people's accomplices."
He paused, then said, "I received a bomb threat this morning."
Moran, disguised as the driver McKay, stepped forward at the opportune moment and added in a voice just loud enough for Milwaldton to hear, "Were they the ones who caused our accident just now?"
Milverton tilted his head slightly, scrutinizing Albert behind his sunglasses.
He remained neither alarmed nor readily accepted the explanation, but instead posed a core question: "Interesting. You and I aren't close, so how can you be so sure I'm being watched by 'accomplices'? Or are you following me?"
“Because the letter said ‘you and your friend.’” Albert met his gaze. “Yesterday I only spoke with you the longest. The other party has clearly misunderstood.”
Milverton was in no hurry; he simply observed Albert quietly.
After a long silence, Milvolton's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, as if his tough, guarded posture had loosened slightly.
"Let's talk over dinner then." He spoke as casually as if he were discussing the weather. "I'm hungry. By the way, do you have any recommendations for good food?"
Milverton's impulsive and unpredictable personality makes him unpredictable.
However, for a wealthy man like Milwaukee, ordinary expensive food probably wouldn't sway him. Yet, he still prefers to stay in London.
Albert thought for a moment, then gave his most confident answer: "I know a place that makes really good fish and chips."
Milvolton seemed to pause for a moment, then suddenly mumbled something indistinctly.
The sentence had a peculiar syllable pattern, unlike any well-known language.
Albert: "...?"
Before Albert could ask any further questions, Milwaldton followed Albert to have a meal with him, his expression unchanged.
He also appeared quite cooperative during the meal.
Just as he was beginning to believe that he was gradually gaining the other party's trust, Milverton wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke without warning.
"You two know each other, right?"
Before Albert could compose any effective response, Milwaldton had already stood up nimbly and left the restaurant.
That evening, Albert repeatedly played back the recordings he had secretly made during the day in his study, pondering his questions over and over again.
"Where exactly is the flaw?"
His thoughts eventually settled on the strange, cryptic words Milverton had uttered when they left together.
Given Milverton's non-British citizenship and complex multilingual upbringing, this could be a key clue.
Therefore, Albert tried to use machine speech for matching and recognition.
French?
The result is close to "Un bouton là" (There's a button there). The context doesn't fit.
Portuguese?
"Amor junto lá" (Dear, together, over there) is a completely illogical statement.
Russian?
It became the ambiguous word "Анбучонле". It sounds the most similar, but this word has absolutely no meaning.
The light from the screen reflected on Albert's solemn face.
Although reason tells him that this might just be a meaningless muttering.
But the instincts and habits he had developed over so many years of work made it impossible for him to give up easily just because he couldn't find the answer for the time being, especially since this matter was related to a key objective.
Just as Albert began to doubt that he had followed the wrong clue, he suddenly remembered that he had never tried speaking Chinese.
To ensure accuracy, he first had the program read the sentence aloud using standard Mandarin pronunciation for comparison.
Surprisingly, its pronunciation is highly similar to Milverton's cryptic whispers, even surpassing the Russian version.
Hoping for the best, Albert immediately imported the recording into the translation program.
The original text result is displayed coldly on the screen:
"I won't pass."
"..."
A long silence fell over the study.
Albert turned off the recording and came to a definitive conclusion.
Milvolton's encrypted message is most likely unrelated to any language, or it may simply be meaningless.
It would be better to find another way to contact them.
That's what he was thinking.
A note from the author:
----------------------
He Ji: I'm not going to win. The British really love fish and chips...
*
Want to try out a new title, "Splash"? No updates for now. I'll update when I have time... Monday.
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