Chapter 1096: Zhou Jiajia’s Approach

Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

“It’s not that… I just have a friend who knows about hacking techniques. I want to see if she has a way.” Yang Ming didn’t hide from Xiao Qing instead.

“That’s good.” Xiao Qing nodded and didn’t ask more. After all, the identity of many hackers couldn’t be revealed, so she changed the subject and continued, “Trying is better than doing nothing. Right, was the jewelry exhibition successful? I read the newspaper…”

The stunning robbery from before had already been in the newspaper. Although at Yang Ming’s request, Chen Fei had tried to tone things down, there were so many witnesses that day. Therefore, the media was still made aware of this. However, under the request of Chen Fei, the identity of Yang Ming was kept secret. After all, Chen Fei did not provide information, so the media was no longer able to investigate, no matter how good they were. Therefore, the newspaper only briefly reported the bank robbery and that all the perpetrators were arrested.

“I read the newspaper. The exhibition was robbed during the second day of the opening. Is it true?” asked Xiao Qing. When the report just came out, Xiao Qing was doing an experiment. When she found out about the news, it was already a few days later. She found out that Yang Ming was fine from Sun Jie, so Xiao Qing did not bother him. However, now that she met with Yang Ming, she naturally had to ask.

” Hehe , it was nothing, just a few robbers who overestimated themselves. They were subdued very quickly.” Yang Ming said as calmly as possible, but he did not mention that he was involved in it himself.

” En , I believe in your ability.” Xiao Qing was still very assured about Yang Ming’s ability to adapt. After all, every time she encountered danger with Yang Ming, he could avert dangers calmly.

” Hehe , what kind of ability are you talking about?” Yang Ming asked with an evil smile.

“Stop it!” shouted Xiao Qing as her face became red. She rarely showed the attitude of a little girl.

Yang Ming also knew that this was the laboratory, and he couldn’t do whatever he wanted. For some things, he could only just take advantage of it with his words.

“You seem to be very busy recently.” Yang Ming saw that in Xiao Qing’s lab, there was even a bed. Moreover, the quilt had traces of it being moved. It was obvious that Xiao Qing was sleeping here, so he asked.

” En , recently I am researching a new model of the network transmission protocol. I am co-developing it with the labs of several famous universities in the world. So I often sleep in the lab,” said Xiao Qing.

“Would you have to be busy for a long time?” Yang Ming stepped forward and touched Xiao Qing’s hair, saying, “It’s easy to become old if you stay up late at night. Try to get people below you to do it. You can just instruct them.”

” He …” Xiao Qing laughed and said, “You are also bad enough to ask others to stay up late.”

“It’s nothing for these college students to stay up all night.” Yang Ming smiled and said, “However, you, if you don’t take care of your health, be careful. I might not want you.”

Xiao Qing naturally knew that Yang Ming was only joking and that Xiao Qing herself paid great attention to the issue of staying healthy. She rolled her eyes at Yang Ming and said, “Other Ph.D. students are almost the same age as me…”

” Hehe , I’m just simply saying. Then I won’t bother you for some time. When you are finished, contact me.” Yang Ming picked up the phone on the table and put it in his pocket, then spoke.

“Right, Yang Ming. That mobile phone is a secret device in foreign countries. When you take it, please be careful. Don’t let it be seen by someone who has other intentions. Don’t say anything to friends who you can’t trust…” Xiao Qing hesitated and said, “If your relationship with the hacker friend of yours is not too good… it is best not to say it, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.”

Xiao Qing was very proficient in technology and knew the consequences of this advanced technology. Since Yang Ming wanted to decrypt this mobile phone, this mobile phone must not be obtained from normal channels. If it were promoted, it would inevitably cause trouble.

“My friend can still be trusted.” Yang Ming laughed after listening to Xiao Qing’s words. Yang Ming also knew that Xiao Qing was worried about himself. After all, no mistake could be made if one is careful.

” En , then I won’t say anything else. There is no knowing what is in a man’s heart. You should be careful.” Xiao Qing advised.

” Ha , Sister Xiao Qing, why don’t I tell you the truth…” Yang Ming noticed that Xiao Qing was worried about him, so he simply said, “The relationship between that friend and me is like you are to me… she won’t betray me…”

Xiao Qing was stunned and immediately understood the implied meaning in Yang Ming’s words. Her face was red as she said, “Have I seen her?”

“You should have seen her before. That time at the door of the restaurant – Zhou Jiajia.” Yang Ming said, “My classmate…”

” En , it’s better that she is one of your people. At least, she won’t betray you.” Xiao Qing nodded and no longer asked further.

After leaving Xiao Qing’s lab, Yang Ming returned to the car and called Zhou Jiajia immediately. After all, Zhou Jiajia was more specialized in this kind of decryption problem! Although Xiao Qing was a master in the computer field, and she even participated in the formulation of some agreements, when it came to these marginal technologies, she did not know as much as Zhou Jiajia. Xiao Qing was only exposed to some formal techniques, unlike Zhou Jiajia who specialized in these marginal technology skills.

“Yang Ming?” Zhou Jiajia received a call from Yang Ming. She was obviously thrilled. She also knew that Yang Ming was busy with the jewelry exhibition with Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun, but Zhou Jiajia felt sorry for not being able to participate together.

She didn’t know anything about jewelry. Although Chen Mengyan also invited her to go together, Zhou Jiajia was afraid that she would be of no help, and instead, add to the chaos. So, she declined and stayed at school.

“Jiajia, where are you?” Yang Ming naturally felt that Zhou Jiajia was a little excited at the moment and was a little bit shameful. Sometimes, just a phone call will make this girl happy.

“I am at school. What about you? Is the exhibition over?” asked Zhou Jiajia.

” En , the exhibition is over; I am at school too. Do you have time in the evening? Let’s have dinner together.” Yang Ming looked at the time, and it was basically dinner time.

“Of course, when? Now?” Zhou Jiajia already had an appointment with Wang Xue to go to the cafeteria to eat. However, since Yang Ming called, Zhou Jiajia naturally had to cancel Wang Xue’s appointment. Wang Xue, who was on the side, listened to Zhou Jiajia’s words, and she was so angry that she curled her lips.

“Now is fine. I will wait for you at the school gate,” said Yang Ming.

A few minutes later, Zhou Jiajia came to the school gate. Wang Xue had already gone to find Tian Donghua. Although Zhou Jiajia felt that it was not appropriate to do so, she had not seen Yang Ming for a long time; so Zhou Jiajia had to make the decision to value boyfriend over friendship…

Zhou Jiajia got in the car and sat in the front passenger seat. Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun were not there, so Zhou Jiajia could naturally be at ease.

“Where do you want to eat?” Yang Ming waited for Zhou Jiajia to get in the car before starting it.

“As you please. I’m fine with eating whatever. What if we buy something to take home and eat? It’s cold outside.” Zhou Jiajia thought about it and said.

“Then let Aunty Li simply make something. There should be some ingredients at home.” Yang Ming said, “I will inform Aunty Li and let her prepare some food.”

Sure enough, Yang Ming called home and confirmed with Aunty Li that there were a lot of ingredients in the house. She could prepare some dishes immediately.

Yang Ming instructed Aunty Li to just simply make two home-cooked dishes because it was only him and Zhou Jiajia. They couldn’t finish it if there were a lot of dishes. Because the jewelry exhibition had just ended, Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun returned to the company together to help Zhang Bing and Zhao Sisi check the accounts and deal with some large orders that were received during the exhibition. They were probably busy these few days.

There were also temporary dormitories in the company; Lin Zhiyun and Chen Mengyan could sleep together.

The school was very close to the Hua Shang District where the house was located. Yang Ming and Zhou Jiajia returned home in just a short moment. Aunty Li just started to prepare. Seeing Yang Ming and Zhou Jiajia come back so soon, she said somewhat apologetically, “Mr. Yang, Miss Zhou, I just started preparing… I didn’t know that you will come back tonight, so I didn’t prepare in advance… It seems that it will take a while…”

“It doesn’t matter. We are not too hungry. Aunty Li, you can prepare it slowly. Don’t worry.” Yang Ming waved his hand and smiled.

“That’s good…” Aunty Li nodded. “There are fresh bamboo shoots in the refrigerator. There’s cabbage too. Is it okay if I make bamboo shoots and fried cabbage?”

“Alright, Aunty Li, you just cook as you see fit. Jiajia and I are not picky eaters.” Yang Ming said, “We will go upstairs and look into something. After the meal is done, let us know by the internal telephone. Just dial the phone in my small bedroom.”

“Okay, Mr. Yang, Miss Zhou, you can go and do your work.” After Aunty Li finished talking, she went into the kitchen again.

Zhou Jiajia obviously misunderstood Yang Ming’s words. She thought about how she had been embraced and kissed by Yang Ming before, and her heartbeat could not help but accelerate. In the past, Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun were there, so Yang Ming wouldn’t do anything to her. However, now, since both of them were not there, and only she and Yang Ming were left, it was inevitable for Zhou Jiajia to overthink.

However, Zhou Jiajia’s heart was somewhat nervous, but in the bottom of her heart, she did not repel these things. Her face was just a little bit aloof. She went to the second floor with Yang Ming and entered Yang Ming’s small bedroom. Seeing that Yang Ming sat on the bed, Zhou Jiajia didn’t know what to do.

“Sit down.” Yang Ming didn’t think so much. Seeing that Zhou Jiajia was still standing, he was a bit puzzled, so he waved his hand. “What are you doing? This is your own home. Why are you so restrained?”

” Oh …” Zhou Jiajia face became red as she carefully sat next to Yang Ming. However, there was a little expectation in her heart.

Yang Ming looked at Zhou Jiajia’s appearance. First, he was puzzled, then he immediately understood why Zhou Jiajia was like this. He reached out naturally and put Zhou Jiajia’s soft body in his arms. Zhou Jiajia did not struggle; she just fell into Yang Ming’s arms.

“Let me kiss Little Jiajia. Have you been thinking about your husband these days?” Yang Ming saw Zhou Jiajia’s shy look and couldn’t help but tease her.

” Ah …” Zhou Jiajia heard Yang Ming, and she was immediately embarrassed. “Aren’t we supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend first… we are not husband and wife yet…”

“It’s the same. There’s no difference.” Yang Ming said confidently, “Could it be that you don’t want me to be your husband?”

“No… of course not…” Zhou Jiajia quickly shook her head and denied it.

Seeing Zhou Jiajia’s cute look, Yang Ming couldn’t bear to tease her again. He gently lowered his head. Zhou Jiajia seemed to realize something, and her body trembled. She closed her eyes, but the eyelashes were still shaking. Obviously, she was not very calm.

Yang Ming gently kissed Zhou Jiajia’s lips. It was not Zhou Jiajia’s first time to kiss Yang Ming, but she was bold and active before; now, she was a little shy.

During the class reunion at the resort and at the cinema, Zhou Jiajia was a little silly and was somewhat stunned. She even forgot how to be ashamed, but this time, it was different. Even though Yang Ming was now her boyfriend, Zhou Jiajia was still a bit shy.

However, when Zhou Jiajia got used to it, she took the initiative to cooperate boldly.

Although Chen Mengyan and Lin Zhiyun were not at home, Yang Ming did not want to “f*ck” too soon. After all, if he proposed it, Zhou Jiajia would not refuse. However, Yang Ming thought that it was better to take it one step at a time. Otherwise, Zhou Jiajia’s heart would definitely have some regrets.

After the long kiss, Yang Ming did not do anything that was overboard. Zhou Jiajia’s emotions also calmed down. She leaned into Yang Ming’s arms to enjoy the warm moment.

“Jiajia, are you familiar with the decryption of the mobile phone password?” Yang Ming almost forgot about the formal matter. Originally, he called Zhou Jiajia to go upstairs to talk about the mobile phone, but he was moved by Zhou Jiajia’s charming look and left the matter of the mobile phone aside. He was afraid that they would do other things in a while and forget about the mobile phone, so he quickly talked about the serious matter.

“Mobile phone decryption?” Zhou Jiajia nodded after listening, but she was somewhat puzzled, “I’m familiar with some of it. Is your phone locked?”

“It’s not my mobile phone; it’s someone else’s mobile phone,” Yang Ming handed the phone from the driver, Chen Sisheng, to give to Zhou Jiajia. “I’ve checked it online. This is DCIKRS’ latest launch. A third-generation encrypted mobile phone…”

” En , I have heard of this DCIKRS company. I have also seen their news about the third-generation encrypted mobile phones, but I’ve never held such a mobile phone in my hand before. So, there is no research about this… So, this is the third-generation encrypted mobile phones!” Zhou Jiajia was a little surprised to see the phone from Yang Ming, and then said, “Three times of password errors will start the self-destruct program, right?”

Yang Ming nodded and said, “Yes, that is the one. Can you decrypt it?”

“Now, I can’t confirm… but I can try it.” Zhou Jiajia took the phone into her hand and looked at it briefly, then said.

“You… really have a way!?” Yang Ming listened to Zhou Jiajia’s words and suddenly was surprised. The phone that even Xiao Qing couldn’t handle; Zhou Jiajia actually said that she could try it. That meant that there was hope. However, Yang Ming reminded, “This mobile phone does not have a data interface to communicate with the outside world, and it is said that the flash memory chip is also specially made and cannot be read and written by normal means…”

“This is not the main problem,” Zhou Jiajia shook her head and said, “Without a data interface, I can find the JTAG 1 point [1] that communicates with the CPU on the mobile phone’s motherboard, and read and write using jump wires. Even if there is no chip data, I can also analyze the JTAG point from the peripheral circuit through the measurement of the communication line between the CPU and the font chip on the motherboard; that is, the flash memory… However, the key problem is that even if the data is read, the password inside is likely encrypted. This is the same as a wasted effort. Because I do not know the CPU information, it is impossible to simulate the program that runs the phone from the computer. If I can copy it, I can attach the dictionary to hack the password…”

Yang Ming was able to understand what Xiao Qing said. After all, it was the orthodox knowledge of computers, but the technologies that Zhou Jiajia spoke of were marginalized, which made Yang Ming very confused. At least, he did not know what this JTAG was.

“That is to say, the hope of cracking it is more uncertain?” Although Yang Ming did not understand, he still understood everything that Zhou Jiajia expressed.

“It’s not like this,” Zhou Jiajia said. “There is also a more troublesome way. That is to use the hardware platform of the phone itself together with the computer to crack it, which can be achieved from a technical perspective.”

“What are you saying?” Yang Ming heard that there was still a way, so he asked quickly.

“No matter how it is encrypted, or what algorithm is used, even if it is a function that can’t be reversed, when you enter a password, the program will compare this password with the correct password. Even if it is encrypted tens of thousands of times, there is a comparison process. After the comparison, the program performs a judgment and change. If the password is correct, the boot program runs; if the password is incorrect, the error is recorded in the information area of ​​the mobile phone. Once the number of errors is equal to three, it starts the self-destruct program. After knowing the operating principle of this mobile phone, it is still possible to crack it.” Zhou Jiajia explained, “This way, there are two solutions to crack it.”

“Two?” Yang Ming was a little surprised when he heard it. It was not easy to crack it, but Zhou Jiajia actually gave two approaches.

” Hehe , it’s just two approaches. Whether it could be successful is a different issue.” Zhou Jiajia shook her head and said, “I just analyzed it from the commonly used hacking ideas. The first one is relatively simple, but the risk is considerable. Finding some ways to find the JTAG communication point, read the program inside the phone, and then enter the wrong password. Then, write the previously read program to the phone, overwrite the record password error mark, and let the program resume the initial state. Although it seems simple, I do not know whether it will cause any bad reactions. Because we do not understand the structure of the phone, we do not know if the number of password errors is written in the flash chip of the phone or if it is also written in the CPU or other chips. If it is written in other chips, not only can we not reset the mobile phone, but we may also cause an inconsistency in the number of errors between the program and hardware, directly making the phone start the self-destruct program…”

[1] JTAG – JTAG (named after the Joint Test Action Group which codified it) is an industry standard for verifying designs and testing printed circuit boards after manufacture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JTAG

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