CHAPTER 401: AFTER REVISION: CHAPTER 401 BOOK ENCRYPTION

Step by step, Shire walked down the stairs from the command room, feeling a sense of crisis.

As the Commander-in-Chief of France, Xia Fei always holds the power to mobilize troops, and the military is about executing orders, which inherently brings uncertain dangers to Shire’s future.

Today, Shire can rely on the Italian army to get through this, but what if one day Xia Fei finds another opportunity to issue a similar order?

It seems Xia Fei has lost his patience and plans to bring Shire within range of his arrows.

To avoid this situation, it seems there is only one way.

With that thought, Shire unconsciously walked towards the officers’ club, suddenly realizing it might be a bit early, as the sky was still bright.

Just as he was about to turn back, he heard a voice from the officers’ club: "General, are you here to see Lucia?"

The club door opened, and a woman dressed as a bartender appeared in front of Shire.

Shire recognized her as Garell, Lucia’s colleague and friend, whom Lucia occasionally mentioned.

"Yes." Shire nodded, "I can come back later."

"General," Garell replied, "She’s off today, but I can have her come over right away."

"If she’s off, I can come another day..."

"No, General," Garell quickly explained, "If Lucia knows you’re here to see her, she’ll be thrilled. She wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity, I guarantee it."

Shire was taken aback and then smiled.

Well done, Lucia, you’ve fooled Garell into believing in your relationship.

Entering the club, Shire didn’t take his usual seat but chose a chair by the window, slowly savoring the coffee Garell brought him.

As he was about to finish the cup, he saw Lucia rushing through the command room doors.

She hurried, having only hastily applied some lipstick. She paused in front of the club, smoothing her hair and catching her breath, not wanting Shire to see her flustered. Then, quickly taking out a compact from her handbag to check herself, she stepped inside.

However, when she saw Shire sitting by the window, she felt uneasy.

Lucia sat opposite Shire with a hint of embarrassment, thinking he must be pleased to know she cared so much for him.

Unexpectedly, Shire leaned in and whispered, "Next time, you don’t need to rush. I usually don’t come for urgent matters, although they might be important."

Lucia was taken aback. This guy thought she rushed because of a task?

"Understood, General," Lucia replied coldly, "Do you have any instructions?"

Shire leaned in a bit more and asked, "Any updates on Grevy?"

Lucia shook her head slightly, "Some progress, but we’ve hit a snag."

Hearing Garell’s footsteps behind her, Lucia naturally changed the topic, "Do you have any free time this weekend? I don’t want every date to be here."

"You know," Shire shook his head reluctantly, "I don’t have time, Lucia. I have a lot to do."

Shire’s performance was a bit unnatural, but fortunately, Garell didn’t notice. She brought Lucia a cup of coffee, smiled, nodded at them, and left.

Lucia resumed the previous topic, "We can receive Grevy’s telegrams, but they’re encoded with ’book cipher.’"

"Book cipher?" Shire hadn’t heard of that.

"Yes," Lucia explained, "It’s where a book is selected, and the transmission consists of page numbers, line numbers, and column numbers."

Shire suddenly understood.

This encryption method is simple to use and difficult to decipher because it follows no patterns. One must know which book they are using.

"We even infiltrated Grevy’s servant ranks but found nothing." Lucia frowned, "The codebook is probably in his safe."

Shire fell silent for a moment, then said, "He might take action soon."

Lucia knew this meant Shire would soon set a trap.

Though, without the codebook, even if the "fish takes the bait," it’s useless. They’d watch the "fish" slip away from their hands.

Lucia felt a bit guilty, "We will find a way as soon as possible..."

"I think there’s someone we can use." Shire interrupted.

"Who?"

"Hari."

Lucia’s eyes widened, looking at Shire, "That spy?"

Shire nodded.

"But she’s a German spy. How could we use her?" Lucia looked puzzled.

"It’s simple," Shire replied calmly, "We know her secret, so we can blackmail her and turn her into our spy."

Lucia slowly nodded, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, but then shook her head, "But Grevy isn’t interested in women..."

"Arman," Shire interrupted, "Have Hari approach Arman."

Lucia immediately understood. Arman was notoriously flirtatious. Using Hari to seduce him would be easy. Combined with Hari’s skills, he might reveal all his secrets.

"We’ll try." Lucia nodded and then glanced at Shire, asking with concern, "Is something wrong?"

Previously, Shire hadn’t been concerned about Grevy’s matter. He allowed plenty of time for the "Lady in White" to investigate.

Now, the sudden urgency indicated something significant.

"It’s nothing," Shire answered, "Just some minor issues."

In truth, it wasn’t minor. It concerned Shire’s future and even his life.

To suppress Commander Xia Fei from ordering him around, he needed support from either Schneider or the parliament.

For Shire to gain enough influence in the parliament, he had to gather right-wing forces.

Grevy was the obstacle between Shire and the right-wing. Grevy was smart, cautious, and more importantly, had his ideals and principles.

Such a person was hard to buy off with money. Shire had no choice but to consider eliminating him.

As for Arman, his oratory skills might be useful, making him someone to win over.

"One more thing," Before leaving, Shire told Lucia, "I need intelligence on the Combray area, possibly requiring personnel cooperation."

Lucia’s eyes lit up, "From the Belgium direction?"

Combray was near the French-Belgian border. If it was the Belgium direction, it meant Shire planned to reclaim lost ground in Belgium.

Shire gently nodded. There was nothing to hide about this. He had to completely trust the "Lady in White."

Lucia was so excited she almost shouted, kissing Shire heavily on the cheek, holding his face in her hands, showing genuine emotion, "Thank you, General, thank you very much! We’ve waited a long time for this day!"

Shire laughed, "So, was it all a lie when you said it wasn’t just for Belgium?"

Lucia smiled and answered, "No, General, it wasn’t a lie. But if we can also contribute to Belgium, that would be even more perfect!"