19: Chapter 19 Remote Access: Century-Old Encryption Algorithm Instantly Broken

In the small VIP lounge on the second floor of the conference center, the heavy oak door blocked out the noisy chatter from the tea break area outside. Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting mottled shadows on the dark carpet.

There were only three people in the room: Lin Shen, Counselor Han, and the co-chair of the symposium, Ronald Miller, a senior professor from the Department of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Professor Miller was in his sixties, with silver-white hair and impeccable attire. He wore the gentle smile typical of a scholar, but deep within his azure eyes flickered a sharpness akin to a hawk, incongruous with his age.

"Mr. Lin, Counselor Han, please sit." Professor Miller greeted them warmly, pouring mineral water for both of them himself. "The symposium just now was excellent. Mr. Lin's remarks were particularly impressive, demonstrating the broad vision and clear thinking of the younger generation of scholars in your country."

"Professor Miller is too kind." Lin Shen maintained a polite smile and sat on the sofa opposite Professor Miller. Counselor Han sat slightly to the side, maintaining a professional observation and vigilance.

"This is not just polite talk." Professor Miller waved his hand and sat down opposite them. "I have studied quantum computing and condensed matter physics for over forty years, witnessing the rise and fall of countless theories and experiments. Topological Quantum Computing... it is an extremely beautiful and difficult direction. I am very happy to see young minds from different cultural backgrounds willing to devote themselves to it and challenge those most profound puzzles."

His tone shifted, becoming slightly more casual, as if it were just academic chatter: "I noticed that in your remarks, Mr. Lin, you had a very precise grasp of the error correction bottlenecks faced when scaling the superconducting/ion trap path to a larger scale. It seems you also have your own analysis and speculations regarding some... specific technical details of the 'athena' architecture?"

Here it comes. Lin Shen's heart tightened. The other party was clearly not here just for academic exchange.

"Professor Miller is an internationally recognized authority. Our understanding of 'athena' is mainly based on public technical reports and academic papers, as well as conventional inferences about its underlying physical principles." Lin Shen answered cautiously. "The error correction bottleneck is a common challenge for all current technology paths based on 'fragile' qubits; this is already a consensus in the academic community."

"A consensus, but often that also means a fixed mindset." Professor Miller said meaningfully. "Sometimes, breakthroughs may come from re-examining seemingly minor details within the existing framework, or... from exploring completely different frameworks." He paused, looking directly at Lin Shen. "I am very curious, does the 'Xuance Group' in your country already have some... unique insights into the specific theoretical models and material exploration of Topological Quantum Computing? Of course, I understand this may involve undisclosed research progress."

This was a probe into specific research directions and the depth of progress.

Lin Shen was well-prepared. He relaxed his body slightly and showed a sincere smile of slight regret: "Professor Miller, the theoretical framework of Topological Quantum Computing is mainly built by top theoretical physicists like Professor Wen Zhao. My team is more focused on trying to understand these theories and exploring engineering paths to connect them with possible material systems and experimental schemes. We are currently still in the early stages of broad learning and screening. If there are any 'unique insights,' it might be too early to say. We are mostly conducting numerical verification of some public theoretical models and trying to design some preliminary, verification-oriented experimental concepts."

He neither completely denied progress nor revealed any specific information, steering the topic toward the broader "early exploration" and "engineering attempts."

Professor Miller nodded, seemingly unsurprised by this answer, and did not continue to press for specific models. Instead, he asked: "Then, in terms of engineering paths, what do you think is the biggest obstacle? Is it material growth, extreme condition measurement, or... the incompleteness of the theory itself?"

"They are all huge challenges." Lin Shen said sincerely. "High-quality, atomic-level flat heterojunction growth is the foundation; precise measurement under extremely low temperatures and strong magnetic fields is the eyes; and how theoretical models can more accurately describe the complex interactions of real materials is the compass that guides us forward. All three are indispensable and require close iterative feedback. Frankly speaking, we have just begun to learn how to coordinate these links."

This answer pointed out the real difficulties while implying that their work was solid and methodical, not eager for quick success, fitting the state of a real research team.

Professor Miller picked up his water glass and took a sip, his eyes lingering on Lin Shen's face for a few seconds, as if evaluating the sincerity of his words. Then, he put down the glass, and that scholar-like, gentle, and slightly distant smile reappeared on his face.

"A very pragmatic view. Scientific exploration requires patience and collaboration." His tone shifted again, becoming more relaxed. "Speaking of which, besides serious academic discussions, this conference has also arranged some interesting... technical demonstration sessions. I wonder if Mr. Lin and Counselor Han are interested in participating in a small 'Future Cipher Challenge' event held in the exhibition hall next door this afternoon?"

"'Future Cipher Challenge'?" Lin Shen and Counselor Han exchanged a look.

"Yes. It's a traditional fun project of the conference." Professor Miller explained. "The organizers will select some famous historical encryption algorithms that have been cracked or are considered theoretically flawed, as well as some post-quantum cryptographic candidate algorithms in the process of standardization, and package them into simple challenge problems. Participants can try to crack or analyze them using their own portable devices or algorithmic tools. It is mainly to promote communication and showcase the technical styles of different teams in cryptanalysis and algorithmic implementation. Of course, it is purely for entertainment and demonstration purposes and does not involve the security of any real-world systems."

He looked at Lin Shen, smiling. "I have heard that the Dragon Country also has strong strength in cryptanalysis and high-performance computing. If Mr. Lin is interested, perhaps you can try your hand at it, and let colleagues from other countries get a more intuitive feel for the technical style from the East? After all, the combination of theory and practice is the complete embodiment of strength."

The invitation sounded reasonable, even like a "stage" to showcase technical ability. But both Lin Shen and Counselor Han instantly smelled the trap. Against the backdrop of 'athena' just demonstrating quantum supremacy, and on the Federation's home turf, inviting the Dragon Country representatives to participate in a "Cipher Challenge" was tantamount to an open, invisible technical "assessment" and stress test. If they performed poorly, it might be interpreted as a lack of technical strength; if they performed too well, it might trigger unnecessary vigilance and further targeted actions.

Counselor Han was about to decline, citing "tight schedule" or "inconvenient equipment," but Lin Shen raised his hand slightly, signaling him to stay calm.

"Sounds very interesting." Lin Shen showed moderate interest. "Being able to have such a relaxed technical exchange with global peers is a rare learning opportunity. However, our main purpose in attending this conference is academic exchange, and we did not bring specialized cryptanalysis equipment or large-scale computing resources. If it is just simple algorithm implementation and logical deduction, we might be able to try participating, just to broaden our horizons."

He did not completely refuse, avoiding appearing timid, and also set a "limited resources" precaution in advance, lowering expectations.

A flash of imperceptible light flickered in Professor Miller's eyes, and he smiled: "Of course, of course, it's mainly about exchanging ideas and methods. Equipment is secondary. The exhibition hall has standard computing terminals provided by the conference. Although the performance is average, it is enough for demonstrating core algorithmic logic. Then, see you this afternoon?"

"See you this afternoon." Lin Shen stood up and shook hands with Professor Miller to say goodbye.

Leaving the VIP lounge, Counselor Han immediately asked in a low voice: "Lin Shen, this is clearly a trap. We don't need to take this risk."

Lin Shen shook his head, his eyes calm: "Counselor Han, the other party has already made their move. If we retreat directly, it will only make us look guilty. Participating, but controlling it at the level of 'exchanging ideas,' not pursuing results, and even actively showing weakness, might be better. Besides..." He paused, "I also want to see with my own eyes what exactly they want to showcase, or what they want to probe."

At 2:00 PM, "Future Cipher Challenge" exhibition hall.

It was much smaller than the main lecture hall, but arranged more like a technology exhibition. Several rows of high-performance workstations were placed in the central area, and the large screen was scrolling the challenge questions and the current cracking progress ranking (anonymous) in real-time. Around it were various popular science displays of cryptography history, tools, and concepts.

The challenge questions were divided into several difficulty levels. The simplest ones were variations of some classical ciphers (such as Caesar ciphers, Vigenère ciphers); the medium difficulty ones were simplified versions of some early public-key algorithms that had already been cracked (such as RSA-768), or reproductions of known attack paths for some post-quantum cryptographic candidate algorithms; the highest difficulty one was a question labeled "Special Contribution," without specific algorithm descriptions, only providing an extremely long ciphertext and a description: "A conceptual cipher designed based on potential weaknesses of a future computing model (non-traditional Turing machine) based on certain hypotheses, seeking any form of analysis or insight."

Many participants were already gathered in front of the terminals trying, mostly students or young researchers, and the atmosphere was lively.

Professor Miller and several experts from the Federation were also present. Seeing Lin Shen and Counselor Han arrive, they greeted them warmly. "Mr. Lin, welcome! Want to try your hand? You can start with the simple ones and get a feel for it."

Lin Shen waved his hand modestly: "Professor Miller, you overestimate me. Cryptanalysis is not my specialty; I am mainly here to learn and observe."

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

"No need to be so modest. The power of thought is universal." Professor Miller smiled and pointed to the terminal labeled 'RSA-768 Simplified Challenge (Demonstration Only)'. "Why not give this a try? Although it's a simplified version, the core logic is the same, so you can experience the 'charm' of large number factorization."

RSA-768 had long been cracked in reality, but a simplified version meant shorter keys and significantly reduced computational load; it was indeed something a standard workstation could attempt. This seemed like a 'safe' choice—not so difficult as to be impossible, yet still capable of demonstrating some basic computing or algorithm optimization skills.

Lin Shen could no longer decline. He nodded, walked to the terminal, and sat down. Counselor Han stood silently behind and to his side.

The challenge interface was simple: input a decimal integer N over a hundred digits long (the product of two large primes) and factor it into its two prime factors, p and q. A timer sat beside it.

For a professional cryptanalysis team, such a simplified challenge might be solved in minutes or even seconds, requiring specific factorization algorithms—like the Quadratic Sieve or Number Field Sieve—and optimized implementations. Although Lin Shen had a solid foundation in mathematics, he didn't specialize in this field, nor had he prepared a dedicated factorization program in advance.

He did a quick mental calculation; direct brute force or trial division was clearly impossible. He needed to write or call upon a suitable algorithm on the fly.

Just as he was considering whether to try writing a simple Pollard's Rho algorithm or simply give up and admit inability, his gaze inadvertently swept over the description of the highest-difficulty 'conceptual cryptographic' challenge, labeled as 'based on potential weaknesses in future computing models.'

The descriptive text was extremely abstract and obscure, but a few keywords—such as 'non-Abelian statistics,' 'topological degeneracy,' and 'braiding operations'—struck Lin Shen like a bolt of lightning!

This description... why did it vaguely point toward certain characteristics of Topological Quantum Computing? A 'conceptual cipher' designed based on the hypothetical weaknesses of a Topological Quantum Computing model?

He instantly understood the true meaning of this 'challenge.' This wasn't prepared for traditional cryptographers at all. It was bait—a probe! A test to see exactly how far Dragon Country had progressed in its theoretical understanding of Topological Quantum Computing! The other side likely assumed that if Dragon Country had conducted in-depth research in the topological direction, they might possess a particular sensitivity and insight into this 'cipher' designed with similar concepts, and might even attempt to 'analyze' it using Topological Quantum Computing logic.

Conversely, if the Dragon Country representatives had no reaction to it, or could only tackle it using conventional cryptographic logic, it would indicate that their topological research was likely still superficial.

What a sophisticated calculation! Hiding the real probe within a challenge that appeared to be the most far-fetched and inconsequential!

Lin Shen's heart rate quickened slightly. He couldn't show too much interest in this specific challenge, as that would reveal his 'point of interest.' Yet, he had to respond appropriately to the simplified RSA challenge.

He steadied himself and decided on the safest course of action: demonstrate basic competence without chasing speed. He quickly wrote a simplified, unoptimized Pollard's Rho algorithm program on the terminal and ran it. On the screen, numbers began to flicker, and the timer ticked up second by second.

This algorithm was inefficient; for this simplified challenge, it might need to run for several minutes or even longer. However, this fit the persona of a 'non-professional cryptographer writing a program on the fly.'

Professor Miller and several other federal experts stood not far away, appearing to chat casually, but their eyes frequently darted toward Lin Shen's screen. Seeing that Lin Shen had chosen the most basic algorithm and that it was running at a mediocre speed, they exchanged looks, their expressions seeming to relax slightly.

Five minutes passed, and Lin Shen's program was still running, having not yet found the factors.

At that moment, a slight commotion broke out at the entrance of the exhibition hall. A conference staff member hurried to Professor Miller's side and whispered a few words. Professor Miller's expression changed slightly before returning to normal, but a flash of surprise and suspicion crossed his eyes.

He looked up at the large screen in the center of the hall.

On the screen, the progress bar for that highest-difficulty 'conceptual cipher' challenge, which had been blank, suddenly twitched. Its status changed to—'Analyzing (Connection Type: Remote High-Priority Access).'

Immediately following that, the progress bar began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye! The information panel beside it showed that the accessor was using an extremely efficient analysis method based on 'homology group dimension reduction mapping of new algebraic topological structures'—the description was incredibly professional and obscure—and was rapidly deconstructing the ciphertext structure!

The room erupted in an uproar! Everyone looked at the big screen, not knowing what had happened. Since its announcement, that challenge had been almost entirely ignored because its description was too surreal, leaving no way to even begin. Now, someone had actually accessed it remotely and appeared to be analyzing it rapidly using an unheard-of method?

Professor Miller's expression turned grave as he quickly looked at the staff at the control console. The staff were also bewildered, pointing to the terminal logs and indicating that the access request came from an untraceable address routed through multiple layers of encrypted proxies. The protocols and algorithm libraries being used were extremely unique and not on the conference's preset whitelist, but the system had allowed temporary access based on the 'principle of academic openness' and its ultra-high priority tag.

The progress bar advanced rapidly: 30%... 50%... 70%...

Lin Shen also stopped his pointless Pollard's Rho algorithm and, like everyone else, looked at the big screen in 'surprise.' Only he knew how fast his heart was beating. He recognized the core term in that analysis method's description—'homology group dimension reduction mapping.' That was a mathematical tool Topologist had used when optimizing the Topological Quantum Computing model to handle the topological classification of complex boundary states! This was definitely the 'handiwork' of Topologist or the base's theory group!

How did they dare? How could they intervene in this manner on such an occasion?

But in an instant, Lin Shen understood. When Professor Miller had privately invited him to take on the 'challenge,' the rear command center and the team had keenly sensed the underlying probe and judged that the 'conceptual cipher' was likely the true point of testing. Thus, they decided to beat the opponent at their own game, responding to the probe in the most direct and shocking way! Not through Lin Shen's 'performance' on-site, but through an irrefutable, remote, and technologically overwhelming 'remote crack'!

The risk was enormous! It would completely expose the depth of their own understanding of the relevant mathematical tools and theories, and might even trigger an even stronger backlash. But the potential reward was equally massive: by adopting an extremely powerful stance, they declared that Dragon Country was no amateur in the mathematical foundations of Topological Quantum Computing—they might even be leading the way! This would not only greatly boost their own morale but also deter the opponent, shattering their assumption of technological superiority in the topological field.

90%... 95%... 100%!

The progress bar was full!

On the big screen, that lengthy ciphertext began to decode and reorganize as rapidly as melting snow, finally revealing a clear piece of plaintext. Simultaneously, a detailed analysis report appeared, logically explaining how the 'conceptual cipher' was constructed based on a hypothetical reversibility loophole in non-Abelian anyon braiding operations. It utilized specific topological invariant calculations and group theory tools to complete a 'dimensionality reduction strike' style crack of its structure on a purely mathematical level. The entire process did not rely on any traditional computing resources; it was a pure victory of algorithms and mathematics.

The entire hall fell into a dead silence. Everyone was stunned by this inconceivable cracking speed and method. This completely exceeded their understanding of cryptographic challenges.

Professor Miller's face darkened completely. He stared fixedly at that analysis report—especially at several key mathematical construction names—his eyes filled with disbelief and deep wariness.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Lin Shen.

Lin Shen's face still maintained an appropriate expression—a mix of surprise and curiosity—as if he too were marvelling at this miraculous 'remote crack.' He met Professor Miller's gaze and gave an innocent shrug, pointing to his own terminal where the Pollard's Rho algorithm was still sluggishly running. His meaning was clear: 'Look, I don't have this kind of ability; this has nothing to do with me.'

Professor Miller's gaze lingered on Lin Shen's face for a full three seconds, as if trying to find any trace of pretense on this young Eastern face.

Ultimately, he found nothing.

He took a deep breath and forced a slightly stiff smile, saying to the audience, "It seems a mysterious top-tier expert is watching our activities today. This proves once again that the world of cryptography is full of surprises and unknowns. Our thanks to this... anonymous contributor for the brilliant demonstration."

His tone sounded calm enough, but anyone could hear the dryness and a hint of imperceptible annoyance within it.

The atmosphere in the exhibition hall became extremely subtle. Many gazes turned toward Lin Shen once more, but this time, the meanings behind them were far more complex: suspicion, speculation, re-evaluation...

Lin Shen knew that this 'cryptographic challenge' had ended in a way the other side had never anticipated.

That single strike from the remote access was like a clap of thunder; although it didn't name names, it was loud enough.

It announced that in this seemingly barren field of Topological Quantum Computing, overshadowed by the light of 'athena,' an explorer from the East had quietly lit the first lamp—and perhaps the light of this lamp was much more dazzling than many had imagined.