Austin watched Ella silently for a moment before turning to leave the laboratory.

Ella didn't immediately begin working but instead walked over to the ancient computer behind its glass enclosure, studying it quietly for a long while.

"Ella, the equipment here is incredible! With this quantum computer, we can crack the second encrypted data your mother left behind at least six months ahead of schedule," Robert exclaimed enthusiastically.

Ella nodded,inserting two black USB drives simultaneously into the external ports of the quantum computer.

"Let's begin." She said.

Robert's team immediately launched into intense work. Commands and parameters echoed throughout the laboratory as they set up the system.

Ella remained standing quietly to the side, her gaze shifting between the busy team and the quantum computer, not participating directly.

Her phone vibrated. The screen displayed an encrypted message from Willowvale Heights, from Blake.

|Ms. Brooks, I hear you've moved to a more secure location. It seems Mr.Raymond is quite attentive to you. However, I should remind you that the Drakmoor government's bid hearing is scheduled for next Monday. The Titan Project, backed by the Thornton Foundation, has already submitted its technical demonstration prototype. I'm looking forward to your Sprout Initiative. Don't disuppoint me.l

Ella's brow furrowed slightly, a complex emotion flashing across her eyes.She didn't reply.

"This is bad! The core layer of the second data set is locked by an algorithm we've never seen before. This isn't your mother's work," Robert called out urgently.

He pointed at a flashing red alert on the main screen.

"It's a parasitic algorithm. It's added another, more complex lock on top of your mother's encryption system, and it appears to be constantly self-replicating and mutating. Every time we attempt to crack it, its defenses double in strength."

Ella quickly walked over, her expression instantly darkening.

"It's Derek," She stated with certainty.

"He must have tampered with it in the Innovative Finance Bank vault."

"He couldn't access the core, but he managed to pour a layer of molten steel over the door from the outside."

"That bastard!" Robert slammed his fist on the control panel. "He's telling us that without him, we'll never get what's inside."

"No," Ella stared intently at the code.

"He's telling us that he makes the rules of the game."

"Is there any way to bypass it?" She asked.

"Yes," Robert pulled up another data model, though his face remained grave.

"Brute force attack. Using all of the DeepSea Laboratory's computing power to launch a 24-hour continuous saturated attack on this point.There's a 30% chance we could tear open a gap."

"But the risk is that this type of attack could also trigger the underlying protection protocols your mothervleft behind, causing all data to be permanently destroyed."

It was a gamble.

Risking everything Janice had left behind for that 30% chance of success.

Ella fell silent.

The atmosphere in the laboratory became oppressively tense.

Everyone stopped working and looked at her, waiting for her final decision.

Just then,the laboratory's internal phone rang.

Austin's voice came through, devoid of emotion.

"Come to Vila One.Now."

Ella didn't hesitate. She turned and walked into the underground tunnel that led to Villa One.

The tunnel was long and dimly lit, with only the echo of her footsteps breaking the silence.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged from a private elevator and found herself in an open space.

This was Austin's private residence, with an interior design as minimalist and cold as the man himself. Through massive floor-to-celling windows.

waves rolled in the twilight.

Austin stood by the window, his fingers sliding lightly across the screen of a tablet.

Without turning around, he spoke quietly.

"I've seen your mother's encryption system before."

Ella stopped in her tracks.

"Many years ago, my mother took me to your mother's laboratory once. It was a place that had witnessed countless technological miracles. That's when I saw her."

Austin turned and handed her the tablet.

On the screen was a very blurry old photograph, apparently captured from some surveillance footage.

The background showed a laboratory similar in style to this one. Janice stood discussing something with a woman in a white lab coat.

In the background, a teenager in a formal suit observed them from a distance, his expression cold and detached.

That teenager was Austin.

"My mother and she were friends," Austin said softly.

"I only knew that she was researching a completely new encryption method at the time. She said it wasn't about locking secrets away but about testing the person who would unlock them."

"She said the real key was never a string of code but a way of thinking."

Ella stared at the young face of Janice in the photograph, her heart clenched by an invisible hand.

"What way of thinking?" She asked.

"Reverse thinking," Austin looked at her.

"She said everyone tries to open a door from the outside,but what if the door doesn't have a lock at all? What if the only way to open it is to let it open for you, from the inside?"

Ella trembled, as if struck by lightning, instantly understanding something profound.

Without another word, she turned and ran toward the elevator.

"Ella," Austin suddenly called after her.

She stopped, but didn't turn around.

"I've seen Derek's parasitic algorithm before,too."

"Three years ago, when the Raymond Group was competing with Orion Global Holdings for a contract, he used the same method to lock up my chief technology officer's computer."

"That person ended up disgraced and is still in prison to this day."

"It took me three years to find a way to break it."

Ella froze.

She slowly turned around, her gaze intense, staring directly at him as if trying to see into his soul.

"The method is in the study, second bookshelf, third book-it's a copy of The Catcher in the Rye."

With that, Austin turned back to face the ocean outside the window, as if everything he had just shared was merely an inconsequential matter that didn't concern him.

Ella quickly walked into the lange study and soon found the book.

The pages had yellowed, giving off the scent of age. She gently opened it,and a small,specially-crafted chip silently slipped from between the pages with a faint sound.

She clutched the chip tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. Then she resolutely turned and left the villa.

Not once did she utter a word of thanks.

Because she knew this wasn't a favor-it was part of their transaction.

He needed her to win, so he gave her a knife capable of piercing Derek's heart.

Back in the laboratory, Ella immediately handed the chip to Robert.

"Load this in and try again," She instructed.

Robert's eyes instantly lit up, as if seeing a ray of hope.

Without asking questions, he quickly and skillfully connected the chip to the central processor.