The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

someone added.

"I get a headache whenever I see this ring. It has a psychological trauma..." another person said helplessly.

They all looked at Director Wang, hoping that he could give some guidance or suggestions.

However, Director Wang's furrowed brow, sullen face and tightly pursed lips told them that he had no good solution.

At first, Director Wang was convinced that it was just the wrong method, and that the starting point must be hidden somewhere, and as long as the right method was found, it could be exposed. However, after trying all the ways, he began to waver. The operation methods in his mind covered almost all known possibilities, but even so, there was no progress.

He began to doubt whether this loop really had a starting point. Perhaps, there was no such loop from the beginning? This thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly rejected it. He knew that this firewall was real and had to be cracked.

Seeing everyone's anxious expressions, Director Wang also felt pressured. He knew that he couldn't panic at this time and had to stay calm and rational. So he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

Seeing this, everyone quieted down and stopped making noise. They knew that Director Wang needed some time and space to think. So, they sat around Director Wang, staring at him with wide eyes, expecting him to give an answer.

Director Wang felt the expectations and trust of the crowd, and a warm feeling surged in his heart. He knew that he could not live up to the trust and expectations. However, he felt helpless because he himself had not found a solution and did not know how to answer this question.

He was silent for a while, then slowly said: "Perhaps, we should consider asking for external help." This sentence was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.

"Request external assistance?" Everyone showed surprised expressions, "But we have always relied on ourselves to solve problems."

"That's right, but this time it's different," Director Wang explained. "We've run out of ideas. If we continue like this, we'll just waste time, and we won't necessarily find any good ideas."

"But if we ask for external assistance, they don't understand the mission." Someone raised the question.

"Yes, they did not have access to this mission from the beginning." Director Wang admitted, "However, this firewall is different from the previous ones. It is self-contained. Moreover, our seniors and deputy directors have rich experience and profound professional knowledge. Perhaps they can bring us new ideas and inspiration."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. They knew that what Director Wang said made sense. At this time, one more person means one more strength, one more idea means one more hope.

So, they began to contact their seniors and deputy directors in the institute, hoping that they could come and help solve this problem together.

Facing the expectant gazes of the crowd, Director Wang slowly lowered his head, and with a hint of apology and helplessness in his voice, he spoke with difficulty:
"I'm afraid this is not going to be easy. If they were free now, this task might not have fallen on us in the first place."

He paused, then continued, "The deputy minister and his men are not in the district right now. They have other tasks on hand, so they are on a business trip and have not returned yet."

"They are in charge of a new project research and have gone to a place with almost no signal. It is extremely difficult to contact them now." Director Wang sighed. He had just imagined various possibilities of contacting them, but he felt that there was little hope. Even if he really contacted them, they would not be able to come back. Therefore, it was probably unrealistic to rely on new inspiration to promote this matter.

When everyone heard this, their expressions dimmed. Director Wang added, "Even if they rush back now, it will be too late. Time is too tight. There are only one or two days left. It is still unknown whether they can decipher it."

"Moreover, the project they are working on is also very important and cannot be done without people." Director Wang's words were full of helplessness.

Everyone fell into discouragement and loss again, and the glimmer of hope that had just been ignited was extinguished. The countdown to the mission deadline had quietly reached the sixth day.

Director Wang and his team members are still trying their best to find the starting point of the ring, but the starting point of the ring seems to be cleverly hidden. No matter how hard they try, they can't find any clues.

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, nine days had passed. They tried all possible operation methods over and over again, and even took time to go to major paper websites to learn the latest theoretical knowledge, hoping to find a breakthrough. However, all efforts seemed to be in vain.

After a few days, the team members were in a worse state than before. They didn't even have the energy to whine or complain, they just sat in front of the computer silently, their eyes full of fatigue and despair.

Doctors would come regularly to check their physical condition, measure their blood pressure and heart rate, and urge them to get up and stretch their muscles.

Originally, this was Director Wang's task, but now he has no time to take care of it, and he himself has become a member of the doctor's attention. The doctor has taken over the care of their health.

As there had been no progress, everyone was in a very low mood.

Even when they were ordered to rest, the ring was always on their minds.

When it was time to go to bed at night, they stared at the patterns on the ceiling with their eyes wide open. Those patterns seemed to have turned into strings of codes, running rapidly in their minds.

What you think about during the day, you dream about at night. They continued to write code in their dreams even when they fell asleep, and their sleep talk was all about that ring.

The doctor shook his head helplessly and said that this group of people had gone crazy, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe them as possessed.

As the deadline for the task approached, everyone became nervous. They couldn't leave the screen, as if they were glued to the computer and couldn't leave no matter how hard they tried.

Although the doctor knew the urgency of the task, he did not keep a close eye on them as he had before.

He chose to turn a blind eye, and at the same time stayed by their side at all times, paying close attention to their physical conditions. Once he found something wrong, he would take immediate action.

Under the careful care of the doctors, everyone's physical condition was not as bad as imagined.

Although their mental state was not very good, their bodies were fine. However, this did not relieve their inner anxiety and stress. The countdown to the mission deadline had reached the fifth day.

At this moment, Xiao Li, the youngest member of the team, suddenly stood up and shouted, "No! Our thinking may be wrong! This cycle may not have a starting point or an end point at all!"

Everyone was shocked by Xiao Li's words and turned to look at him.

Xiao Li is the youngest member of the team and just became an adult this year.

He wore thick black-framed glasses, messy hair, and a loose shirt. Although he was the youngest and had the least experience, his ability was no less than that of the others. He was one of Director Wang's most promising successors.

"Are you saying this ring is fake? A trick?" someone asked in confusion.

"It's possible!" Xiao Li answered affirmatively, "We have tried all the operation methods, and we can't find even a trace. This is too abnormal! Even if Japan's communication technology is so powerful, it is impossible to make the starting point of the ring disappear directly!"

"If this ring is really a trick, then there is no need to study it at all. We should just bypass it!" added another person.

"Yes! In this way, even if we use violent means to decipher it directly, the content inside is probably false." Xiao Li continued.

"Ahhh! We have been thinking in the wrong direction these days! We have wasted so much time!" someone wailed.

"Xiao Li, you are so smart! How did you come up with this idea?" everyone praised.

In fact, Xiao Li's idea did not come out of thin air. He had just finished a new round of running attempts, which ended in failure as usual. He had failed too many times and had become numb. In this numb state, his thinking became more rational and clear.

He simply stopped all attempts to run it and stared at the ring. He emptied his mind and let his thoughts drift away. If a ring really had information behind it, it must have a starting point and an end point.

This corresponds to the first and last steps of the encoding process.

A ring cannot be created out of thin air, it must be built from a starting character, just like a construction project that starts with laying the foundation and builds up from the bottom up.

They have been looking for the starting point but have no clues. Even Director Wang feels helpless. This is a very strange and weird phenomenon.

Xiao Li suddenly realized that their initial direction might be wrong. Only this could explain why they couldn't find the starting point.

This idea came to him suddenly, and Xiao Li himself didn't know how he suddenly came up with this idea. But he seized this flash of inspiration and explained his idea logically.

"If the loop is false, then we don't need to find its starting point. We just need to bypass it and run it using Sigma Theory. It's actually very simple to operate..." Xiao Li said as he walked to his workstation and quickly typed on the keyboard with both hands. A string of fluent codes jumped quickly, and he was ready to click the run button.

Everyone who learns to code knows about Sigma Theory. This is theoretical knowledge that beginners will come into contact with. Because it is too basic, it is rarely involved in actual use. Therefore, when Xiao Li mentioned this theory, everyone was stunned for a moment. They quickly searched for content related to this theory in their minds.

"If I remember correctly, this theory assumes..." Someone began to recall what he learned when he first learned code, with a look of confusion and surprise on his face.

"Isn't this too simple? This is content that even beginners will come into contact with!" someone questioned directly.

"Yeah, how could the last firewall of Japan's domestic network be so weak? Are they fools?" Another person expressed the same doubt.

"Even if the ring is fake, it doesn't mean that the other party will use such a simple encryption method. I still don't quite believe this. To be on the safe side, let's simulate it first?" Someone else made a suggestion.

"That's right, don't be anxious. It's been stuck for several days, you don't mind spending half an hour more discussing it, right?" Everyone echoed.

This step is not fault-tolerant. Once an error occurs, you cannot go back to the previous step. This is different from the simulation step. During the simulation, if there is any error, you can just enter the termination code to go back to the previous level.

However, the simulation process is not as simple as imagined. It is difficult for them to produce a simulated version of this ring in a short time. In other words, simulation is always simulation, and it is still different from the actual situation.

Therefore, they were inevitably a little worried. They were worried that if there was a problem at this step, it would take more time to repair it. Especially in such an urgent situation, they were more cautious, fearing that any mistakes would occur.

Of course, they were not questioning Xiao Li's conclusion. Xiao Li was the team's favorite, with an active mind and a good personality. Everyone usually doted on him, so how could they deliberately make things difficult for him?
But this mission was very important, so they had to be extremely cautious. They had to be more careful than in the simulated competition, and they could not afford to make any mistakes. Because no one could be sure what would happen to the ring if Xiao Li's idea was wrong, and what would happen to the entire firewall and the intranet.

Xiao Li respected the opinions of his older colleagues. Even though his finger had already pressed the run button, he pulled it back. He knew that this mission was no joke and he couldn't act on impulse.

However, he had a strong feeling deep in his heart that his idea was not wrong. If he continued to run it directly, the last firewall would definitely reveal its true face.

This was undoubtedly a milestone for the team. As long as he pressed the button, the dawn of success seemed to be within reach, flashing an alluring light.

However, he was not driven by selfish thoughts and did not make decisions unilaterally just to prove that he was right. He knew that a true leader was not only concerned with personal glory, but also had to take into account the harmony of the team and the ideas of every member.

Imagine if it was someone who was extremely utilitarian, he would have pressed the button without hesitation at that moment, trying to turn the tide on his own and lead the entire team to victory. That kind of scene... (End of this chapter)