Chapter 3: The Enigmatic Orb
Yue Tian Tian gazed at the slowly opening gate, murmuring to herself in a somewhat dazed manner, “Is this voice-controlled?”
“Untraceable, I haven’t even understood the question yet, and you’re already giving the answer directly?” Lin Yi Yi was still immersed in the previous question.
“Quantum physics also has some knowledge related to cryptography.” Si Nan explained to Yi Yi nicely, as Untraceable’s PhD research field was too profound, and the Secret Room team had never delved into the details of his expertise.
“It’s all about solving it. After all, there are rewards for quick deductions. Untraceable, keep up this momentum, and we’ll be steady.” Mo Yu didn’t care about these things and quickly guided the team back on track with their goal.
Coming into view for everyone was a vibrant garden, with sunlight streaming through the leaves, causing one to naturally squint their eyes.
“What a grand gesture. Is this perhaps the rooftop garden of an office building?” Yue Tian Tian casually plucked a leaf and gently tore it open. “Look, it’s a real leaf.”
“Hard to say if an office building would have such a garden. In any case, caution is of utmost importance.” Untraceable brought everyone back to reality.
“The place is too large, let’s split up and search for clues about the missing children, while ensuring that at least one teammate is within sight.” As the team captain, Mo Yu issued the first command. “If anyone discovers a puzzle or clue, gather together and do not act on your own.”
The group proceeded along the garden path. Yue Tian Tian was the first to notice a series of numbers engraved on a lamppost on the left: 258 12369 1456258 123654789. She called everyone over and then casually touched the lamppost, causing a telephone to suddenly pop out from below.
“1742.” Untraceable once again promptly gave the answer.
“Why? Could you please take a precious moment to explain it to us?” Yue Tian Tian couldn’t keep up with the pace at all and gritted her teeth as she spoke.
“Nine-square grid. Dial the numbers on the lamppost using the keypad and connect the lines.” Untraceable explained.
Upon dialing the phone, a voice came through on the other end, saying, “Hello, great detective. I know what you’re looking for. But are the children willing to be found by you? Here’s a hint - after finishing a day’s work, let’s enjoy ourselves. Does that ring a bell? Hahahaha!”
“What does this mean? Rowing a boat? Doing homework? Do we need to find a beach here?” Yi Yi’s thoughts kept diverging, but she couldn’t grasp the essential point.
With keen eyes, Mo Yu noticed a small arrow lighting up on the lamppost. Following the arrow, they arrived at a spherical structure deep within the garden, with a massive sphere nestled in the embrace of a banyan tree. Si Nan pushed aside the aerial roots hanging from the tree branches, revealing a door. He casually pushed the door, and it unexpectedly opened.
Inside, it appeared to be a chemistry laboratory. The only table had a chemistry book, two microscopes, a few test tubes, an alcohol lamp, a beaker, and a soccer ball. The test tubes were placed on the alcohol lamp, containing dark-colored powder that had not been cleaned up after an experiment.
“Does that song lyric mean to do homework first and then play soccer?”
“It’s possible. Let’s find the homework first and Tian Tian, check the soccer ball,” Mo Yu made a judgment.
Yue Tian Tian picked up the soccer ball, which seemed like an ordinary one. As she turned the ball around, a digital panel appeared on the metal door at the other end of the laboratory. Lin Yi Yi went to examine the panel, which displayed a six-digit password input window.
“This time it’s a six-digit number. Let’s search for clues,” Lin Yi Yi prepared to take action.
“720642.” Untraceable looked at the soccer ball and gave the answer. He glanced at Lin Yi Yi’s angry expression and explained, “Oh, let me explain. Chemistry laboratory, doing homework, the soccer ball has the same molecular structure as a carbon-60 molecule, and the molecular mass of carbon-60 happens to be a six-digit number.”
The faces of the others showed incredulity, helplessness, indifference, and indifference with a hint of indifference.
“Well then, the grand prize is within reach.” Mo Yu took a deep breath, entered the password, and pressed the enter key.
“Input error.” With a mechanical sound, the screen flashed a red error message.
“Did I press the wrong buttons?” Mo Yu looked at the others with a lack of confidence.
“You didn’t press the wrong buttons. We were all watching,” Lin Yi Yi looked at Untraceable and furrowed her brow. “We have one more chance. Let’s carefully search for other clues.”
The skeptical glances from their companions and the soccer ball with its alternating black and white panels reminded Untraceable of his own childhood.
…………
In his infancy, Wutian developed a profound love for football. His passion was so intense that at times he yearned to embrace the football as he slumbered. Alas, his stature was lacking and his physical fitness was subpar, preventing his physical capabilities from keeping pace with his fervor. Consequently, his classmates were disinclined to play football with him. Apart from watching matches, Wutian’s only interaction with football consisted of solitary moments at home, gazing into space, for hours on end.
On that particular day, the sunshine was as radiant as today, and the joyful clamor of neighboring children playing downstairs drifted into his ears. They longed to play football within the community, but none possessed a ball. Wutian sensed an opportunity and eagerly dashed downstairs, clutching the football. However, he was met with disapproving glances from his peers… Eventually, someone proposed that Wutian act as the referee. Reluctantly, he agreed.
Wutian diligently pursued the ball across the field, but alas, his sluggishness rendered him incapable of catching up to the ball. Naturally, his judgments as a referee failed to gain the approval of the majority. Throughout the entire match, his ears were filled with an abundance of shouts and reproaches.
After the game concluded, a child snatched Wutian’s football and ran off with it. From a distance, the child jeered, “You can’t even catch up to the ball, so it’s a waste to give it to you!” Wutian desired to give chase, but another child tripped him, causing him to scrape his knee. The other children gathered around him, laughing and leaping with mirth, their laughter piercing to his ears.
…………
“Hello, Wuheng!” Lin Yiyi waved his hand, interrupting his reverie. “Are you alright? You’ve been staring at the football. We found a book, come and take a look.”
The book contained numerous photographs of flowers and plants, along with related chemical equations and deductive calculations, which appeared both normal and perplexing. Wuheng flipped through the pages, this time, very earnestly, until he reached the last page and said, “I think I know the answer.” He pointed to a molecular formula CHO, with only the carbon element labeled as 1 as a subscript.
Lin Yiyi noticed the clue and said, “This is an organic compound, but some of the molecular subscripts are missing. However, there are too many organic compounds, what could it be?”
“With an abundance of botanical photographs that are abnormally present in a chemistry book, coupled with our current location in a garden, I speculate it to be anthocyanin!” Sinan confirmed with certainty.
“Exactly! So the password is 123220.” Wuheng found a kindred spirit.
“Wait, how did we end up at anthocyanin all of a sudden?” Yuetiantian looked utterly perplexed.
“The molecular formula for anthocyanin is C15H11O6 ,” Sinan explained, “We already have a 1 given in the book, and we need to fill in the 5, 11, and 6. But how do we derive a 6-digit password from 5, 11, and 6? That’s a question for Wuheng.”
“5, 11, 6, along with the conspicuous presence of the football, the answer becomes evident. The football is a 32-faced polyhedron, consisting of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons. The 11 in the middle represents the total count of these two shapes combined. Therefore, the password is 123220,” Wuheng quickly stated.
“Wait, how do you know the number of pentagons and hexagons on a football?” Lin Yiyi looked incredulous. “To be on the safe side, let’s count again, shall we?”
“I have counted,” Wuheng said deliberately, “Many! Times!”