Chapter 160: Su Ming Dials the Drug Dealer’s Phone, Reverse Inferring the Organization’s Code from Fifteen Seconds of Silence!

The sudden hang-up from the phone call by Bomber left both Lin Tian and Gao Chao momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, their expressions quickly grew serious as they began to contemplate what went wrong in the conversation.

Su Ming, who had already had some suspicions earlier, furrowed his brows and thoughtfully stroked his chin as he spoke with a serious tone.

“Director Lin, Director Gao.”

“The sentence I just said was definitely different from how Rose normally speaks, or perhaps I failed to catch the organization’s code words.”

“Because this is Bomber calling us, not the other way around.”

“Normally, no one would make a phone call when they know they’re about to enter an elevator, let alone discuss drug trafficking matters in an elevator. Doesn’t that seem off?”

“It’s obvious.”

“Something must have been exposed, or Bomber sensed that something was wrong, but due to the similarity in voice, he couldn’t fully confirm it.”

This speculation was undoubtedly bad news.

If Bomber knew that Rose had been arrested, other members of the drug trafficking organization would likely get that information soon. At that point, the pursuit would become much more complicated.

Gao Chao also clenched his fists, clearly regretful for missing the opportunity to capture members of the drug trafficking organization through Rose, but he still held on to hope and asked.

“Deputy Team Leader Su, do you think Bomber will call again? To further confirm what happened?”

“If we can catch the second call, is there still a chance to delay the news of Rose’s capture?”

Su Ming thought for a moment and then nodded slightly, responding thoughtfully.

“It’s very possible for such a large and deeply hidden drug organization to use exclusive codes or specific phrases to communicate.”

“But if the issue arose because of the words or codes being exposed, then Bomber, unable to fully confirm it because of the voice similarity, had no reason to hang up.”

“He could have just continued talking, using specific code phrases to test me. That way, I would have slipped up without needing to rely on the elevator delay.”

“So I have a bold guess.”

“Is it possible that this drug trafficking organization doesn’t have specific codes or phrases to identify members answering the phone?”

“Instead, they might use something subtler, more traditional, and harder to detect. For example: timing the number of seconds the phone rings before answering, or predicting who will speak first after the call is answered, or waiting a set number of seconds before starting to speak.”

“These methods are actually more effective than codes for identifying whether the person answering is a member of the organization.”

“Plus, they avoid the complications of having to speak to confirm internal codes, which reduces the chance of exposing everything.”

Su Ming’s analysis was undoubtedly a daring hypothesis, but it made Lin Tian and Gao Chao exchange impressed glances, both realizing the ingenuity behind Su Ming’s thinking.

Given the circumstances of the previous call, it was indeed true that Bomber had become suspicious even before any identity-revealing words were spoken. The vulnerability could very well lie in the moments before any words were said.

Lin Tian pointed towards the exit of the secret room, his gaze cold and serious, as he said.

“Xiao Ming.”

“We have no way of knowing the internal code of when to answer the phone or how long to wait before speaking. For all we know, the drug trafficking organization leader might require them to answer at the tenth second, fifteenth second, or even the twentieth second.”

“Similarly, we can’t predict how many seconds they should wait after the call connects before speaking, or even attempt to guess.”

“Rose is the only one who knows the rule here. If necessary, let’s use some methods to force her to reveal it. If something goes wrong, I’ll take the responsibility.”

For Lin Tian to suggest such an illegal method, it was clear that the authority granted by their higher-ups to eliminate this drug trafficking organization was immense, and their determination was overwhelming.

However, Su Ming shook his head, resolutely dismissing the idea.

“That won’t work, Director Lin.”

“Rose was just captured by us, and her adrenaline levels are high. If we don’t give her some time to calm down, even if we use special methods, she likely won’t speak a word. In fact, she’ll probably become even more agitated and excited.”

“So this is definitely not a good choice, and it will only be detrimental to future interrogations.”

In criminal interrogations, some individuals are more suited to immediate questioning, while others require a period of calm before their emotions are subdued enough to open up.

Rose, who was just captured, is in an extremely high state of adrenaline, filled with anger, resentment, viciousness, and a death-defying attitude. These emotions describe her perfectly right now.

Under such conditions, even using techniques like memory recovery would likely be ineffective, and it would make future interrogations even more difficult.

Since they couldn’t extract information from Rose and Bomber’s next call was already on its way, the situation was becoming increasingly urgent.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes, his expression cold, as he picked up the unprotected phone and carefully laid out his plan.

“I plan to take an unconventional approach. Before Bomber calls again, I’ll dial the number of other members of the drug trafficking organization to get their internal code.”

“Right now, we can reasonably infer that the issue Bomber noticed was likely related to the timing of the call or the first words spoken.”

“And if we call other members, they too will have to follow the organization’s code to confirm their identity.”

“From this, we can deduce the drug organization’s internal code.”

Hearing this, Lin Tian and Gao Chao exchanged knowing glances, both recognizing the brilliance of Su Ming’s plan.

They had not expected him to be so bold and clever, not blindly guessing the code, but instead finding a way to deduce it by analyzing the behavior of other members of the drug trafficking organization.

Time was of the essence. They needed to find the right member before Bomber called and extract the internal code from them.

Su Ming quickly scrolled through the contacts on his phone and paused at the number for “Poison.”

“Compared to the others, we know more about Poison’s background.”

“Given his timid and cowardly nature, and the fact that he’s currently being pursued by Director Liu and the others, he’ll definitely follow the organization’s code. He’s our best chance.”

Without hesitation, Su Ming pressed the dial button for Poison’s number.

At the same time, he began silently counting the seconds in his mind.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

…

By the time ten seconds had passed, the phone still hadn’t been answered.

Lin Tian and Gao Chao exchanged worried looks. Despite their years of experience, the tense atmosphere made them both nervous.

But Su Ming remained calm, holding the phone and continuing to silently count.

Eleven seconds.

Twelve seconds.

Thirteen seconds.

…

When they reached the fifteenth second.

The phone was suddenly answered, and a male voice, deliberately lowered, immediately followed.

“Sister Rose, what’s going on?”

“Why did you suddenly call? Did something major happen?”