Almost instantly, Estelle took the layer reader and turned towards the elevator. "I need to use the research lab. Help me apply for access permissions."
Marry followed Estelle, jogging behind her, as she applied for the use of Room 5013 and asked, "General Manager Grey, aren't you going home?"
"I still have something to do, so I'll be staying a while longer," Estelle said. "You don't have to wait for me. Just accompany me to Room 5013, and then you can go home."
Marry left, and Room 5013, the research lab, was dim and empty, leaving only Estelle.
Her heart beat erratically as she struggled to control her breathing. Sitting at the desk, she began to quickly read through the papers.
Information layers are the most advanced cryptographic method currently available, relying on high-energy chip technology. Whether in physical or virtual space, the encryption layer is compressed to the extreme.
Like the nucleus within an atom, compared to the entire chip, the layer is merely a data point occupying one ten-thousandth of the linear dimension. In virtual memory, its proportion is equally minuscule, which is why information layers often remain hidden.
If it's just a data point, then even if Crescent's chip is severely damaged, it still has a high probability of being intact within one of the fragments.
If Gavriel left her the reader for this chip, then with enough time and effort, she should be able to find Crescent's information layer.
The layer reader emitted a pale blue light when powered on. Estelle connected the reader to the visual device and placed the fragmented chip on the reading platform.
Sure enough, the match was successful.
However, since it was no longer a complete chip, it could not be inserted into the card slot for identification. Manual scanning via the external reading platform was required. The scanning process would inevitably be extremely lengthy. One ten-thousandth is so small that the slightest oversight could cause the information to be lost like a speck of dust in a narrow field of view.
One hour, two hours.
Estelle sat at the table searching for the layer. She hung her head, with no major body movements, only her fingers moving slightly, as if she were a lifeless statue.
The visual device remained blank, showing no sign of an information layer. After scanning one section, she moved on to the next. Estelle's eyes were sore and her neck stiff, but she gritted her teeth and persevered. Dazed, it felt as if she had returned to the time when she was alone in the confidential room cracking the Eagla storage device.
But now, it's worse than that time. Back then, at least Crescent was still by her side.
"Live on..." she whispered softly. "Crescent, live on."
Unbeknownst to her, the sky in the city was about to brighten.
The sky turned a faint golden color. For the entire night, she had scanned less than one percent of the entire chip.
Her body was nearing its limits. Estelle recorded the coordinates, planning to continue next time. In an instant as her fingers left, the chip shifted slightly, and a faint blue light flickered across the screen.
She froze for a moment, then quickly returned to her previous position. At the same time, the visual device emitted a mechanical prompt: "An unknown information layer has been detected. Do you want to decode it?"
She was so exhausted.
Her mind was numb from exhaustion. Stiffly, she pressed the confirmation key, and in an instant, the compressed information within the layer was released. Silver-white lines of code surged up like waves, pouring endlessly onto her screen.
For a long time, Estelle sat there, thinking she was seeing an ocean.
The curtains in the research lab billowed. She turned her head to look out the window. Birds were taking off and landing among the green treetops, and the sun had already illuminated the entire city.
Winter was coming to an end, and spring was approaching.
Estelle slowly crouched down, leaning against the wall, burying her face in her knees.
