?Chapter 1148:


    By the time the clock ticked past quitting hour, theb had quieted into a world of its own. The steady hum of the machines filled the space while Ste’s fingers struck the keyboard with precise rhythm.


    Sleep had be a rare luxury. For nights on end, she either remained in theb until dawn or carried her work home, refusing to rest. Though shadows darkened her eyes, a spark of determination lit her gaze.


    The door creaked open, and William stepped in quietly. He set a steaming cup of coffee beside her, his voice gentle. “Rest for a bit. You’ve been working nonstop.”


    Ste didn’t even nce up. Her fingers continued to fly across the keys. “Just a little more. I’m close… I can feel it.” The monitor glowed with rows of intricate forms and tangled code, as mysterious as an ancient scroll. They were thest encrypted files her mother had left on the USB drive.


    Ste knew these equations weren’t ordinary. They were fragments of her mother’s research, workpleted under the coercion of Erebus. Now that most of its members were in police custody, she was desperate to unlock what remained.


    She couldn’t fully predict how the decrypted forms might affect the world now. Still, being her mother’s final work, they deserved to be understood.


    Considering Erebus’s desperate pursuit of them, their worth was undeniable.


    As numbers and equations continued shifting across the monitor, Ste leaned closer, excitement rising in her tone. “Take a look at this. My mother didn’t rely on standard encryption systems. Every form conceals a fragment of data. It hides a piece of information.”


    William pulled up a chair beside her, narrowing his eyes at the tangled symbols. “So the reason you couldn’t solve it before was because you were working from the wrong premise?”


    “Precisely,” Ste said, her expression lighting with understanding. “She embedded the essence of her research into the encryption itself. Only someone familiar with her theories could ever break this code.”


    Her mother’s brilliance was unmatched. It was no wonder Erebus had made no progress after all these years.


    If Ste hadn’t devoted herself to studying these forms—or if she hadn’t caught that fleeting moment of insight—the truth would have stayed hidden forever.


    Now, armed with rity, Ste reopened the files and began decoding at a rapid pace.


    When the final line of code clicked into ce, a powerful surge of triumph coursed through her veins, sweeping away the fatigue that had clung to her for days. “I finally pulled it off!”


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    Without thinking, Ste turned and threw her arms around William, her voice bubbling with joy.


    William stiffened at first, caught off guard. A heartbeatter, Ste realized what she’d done and quickly pulled away, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment. Clearing her throat softly, she turned back to the monitor and began typing the final verificationmands.


    Watching her glow with energy and relief, William reached out and gently held her hand. “Your mother would be proud of you.”


    Ste’s lips curved into a quiet smile. After saving all the decrypted data, she met William’s eyes. “I’m submitting everything to the authorities. It’s too dangerous to keep this to myself.”


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