Darkstone Code

Chapter 1356: Chapter 1355: Who Are You Like?

Already preparing to sleep, his wife was startled, looking at the ceiling immersed in darkness after the lights went off, and thought for a moment, "I hope for world peace."

Intellectuals remain somewhat calmer compared to ordinary civilians during wartime, and as a woman, she is not keen on war.

Koskao was silent for a while, "I’m sorry."

His wife laughed and reached out to touch Koskao’s cheek, "You don’t need to apologize for the war, try something simpler, maybe we should have a day off?"

Perhaps only Koskao knew why he apologized, and he agreed, "Once I’m done with this busy period, we can take a good rest."

"That would be great!", his wife sighed lightly, "Sleep now, tomorrow we have a lot of work..."

For two consecutive days, Koskao recorded some intelligence in code. On the third day after work, near the sentry post, he tripped and fell.

A soldier quickly helped him up. After thanking him, he looked at his cracked leather shoes and complained a bit.

Someone at the research institute brought him shoes for the experiments, avoiding the embarrassment of having only one shoe.

Returning home, he first complained about his shoes cracking, then as usual, finished his dinner. Around eight o’clock, he took the broken leather shoes to a leather goods shop in the city.

He had been here a few times, but each visit was spaced out over many years.

As soon as he entered, a young man proactively greeted him, "Sir, what service do you need?"

"My leather shoes have cracked, I hope you can repair them.", he took out the leather shoes from the box, and after a glance, the young man shook his head.

"Sorry, sir, your leather shoes are severely deformed. Even if I can repair them, they’ll crack again soon."

"These parts can’t withstand long-term use, you should replace them with a new pair."

Koskao was silent for a while, "How long does it take to make a pair of shoes?"

"A week, sir."

Koskao nodded noncommittally, "The cost?"

"Ordinary cowhide is only forty-nine ninety, calfskin is sixty-nine ninety, and labor costs ten dollars."

The price isn’t cheap, but it’s not excessively expensive either. These handcrafted pure leather shoes are durable, even for heavy work they won’t easily crack, which is why many workers wear leather shoes or boots to work.

A pair of shoes, worn for three to five years, averaging out to just ten to twenty dollars a year, is within most families’ acceptance range.

Of course, there are cheaper options, but this is an established shop, so it’s a bit pricier.

Koskao remained silent, as if contemplating, and the young shop assistant didn’t rush him. After a while, Koskao suddenly asked, "Do you have crocodile leather?"

Who would use crocodile leather to make shoes?

The young shop assistant was puzzled but didn’t immediately refuse, instead asking Koskao to wait a moment, "I’ll ask the owner, I’m not sure if crocodile leather is within our scope."

The shoe store owner was an old cobbler, busy making boots for the city’s officers, suddenly, the shop assistant came in asking about making crocodile leather shoes, and his instinctive reaction was not to.

But he quickly paused, then set down his work, "I’ve heard of crocodile leather for bags, but not for shoes. Maybe we can give it a try."

This explanation...seemed reasonable, the young shop assistant awaited further instructions, "Measure the customer’s size, then check with them next door if they have crocodile leather."

Next door to the shoe store sells bags and jackets, they have various pre-tanned animal leathers.

After the young shop assistant left, the owner came out, sizing up Koskao, "I’ve never heard of anyone using crocodile leather for shoes, you’re lucky, I’m willing to try."

Koskao seemed to retort, or was flaunting his knowledge reserves, "I also know sharkskin can make shoes."

"Sharkskin?", the old cobbler shook his head, "Impossible, sharkskin is too soft."

"Add a bit...it works.", he mentioned some chemical material names, the old cobbler glanced at him again, then looked down at his broken shoes.

He fiddled with them, noticed something odd at the heel, put the shoe back down, and began measuring Koskao’s foot.

Soon, the young shop assistant returned with a complete crocodile hide.

As he returned, Koskao was paying the bill, then he nodded to the young shop assistant and left.

The old cobbler, with the crocodile skin, went back to the workroom.

Koskao returned to continue working, while the old cobbler got up in the middle of the night.

The conversations during the day seemed like ordinary small talk, but in fact, it was coded exchange, he found Koskao’s shoes, pried open a filled-in spot at the heel, and took out a pencil-thick small metal tube.

This small metal tube was only an inch long, containing many records coded within, the entire tube was sealed.

The old cobbler couldn’t open it, nor should he, only after this thing returned to their country, would it be opened upon confirmation.

He packed everything away and then crawled back to continue sleeping.

Outside, patrols with dogs occasionally passed by. The intensity of Peng Jieao’s operation to capture spies was growing, and the old cobbler was considering leaving here.

No one had contacted him for such a long time; it was only at this moment that he realized he hadn’t completed his work.

During the day, the old cobbler made a call to have someone pick up the completed leather shoes, and he used the opportunity to hand over a small metal tube.

And this person took the little metal tube and left the area, boarding a train bound for the port. There were people there who would find a way to get this intelligence back to Sedolas.

Koskao was still continuing to serve the Peng Jieao Empire, verifying the authenticity of data from various other places every day.

He didn’t know whether the intelligence he sent out would return to Sedolas or have any effect on the future; he only knew he had to do it!

Sometimes people become confused and biased, like those on the left who think everyone on the right is crazy, while those on the right think the left is.

Sometimes the world isn’t about simple rights and wrongs, but about needs and not-needs.

Koskao quickly acquired his pair of crocodile skin boots, but after wearing them for a few days, he put them away and made a pair of cowhide boots instead.

According to him, they were too ostentatious. People were momentarily surprised by his display, but quickly returned to normal.

At the end of July, after finishing all his work, Koskao stretched lazily.

He could take a break now; perhaps it was time to travel with his wife?

He seemed to have forgotten what he had done before. He sealed everything in a file bag, wrapped it up, and placed it on the table, waiting for inspection and receipt.

After all the file bags were collected, he stripped down to his underwear and went to the inspection room.

"Your hemorrhoids are worse than before, Mr. Koskao," the inspecting Soldier had some new findings, "You need to pay more attention."

"Also, your inspection is complete, you may leave."

After getting dressed, Koskao left there. On the way, he bought a bouquet and some cooked food, like ham.

Oddly, he felt a longing, an impulsion, like a bird about to leave its cage.

His steps became exceptionally light, and soon he was outside his home. He tidied his attire, adjusted the bouquet, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and he smiled, ready to express his current mood, but the one who opened the door was a military officer he had never seen before.

Through the space beside the officer, he saw the scene in the living room.

His wife and daughter sat at the table, while several soldiers methodically searched the room.

"Professor Koskao, I am a Major from the Secret Bureau... this is my identification."

The officer handed over his military ID and work permit, inviting Koskao inside, "Don’t worry, this is just routine work, if nothing out of the ordinary happens, we’ll be leaving soon."

"We deeply apologize for disturbing your life but hope you understand, given the current special circumstances..."

Koskao forced a rather weak smile and entered the room.

The officer glanced outside; pedestrians on the sidewalk avoided his gaze as he slowly closed the door.

Since preparations for war began, Peng Jieao people commenced cleansing internal spies, and they had already apprehended many.

The entire country was mad; hiding within madmen was actually hard. These outsiders, no matter how well they hid, were likely to reveal flaws.

Moreover, some had studied abroad; traveled abroad, making them prime suspects.

Some less significant individuals have already been arrested.

There were also some they discovered but hadn’t acted upon yet, hoping to catch more spies through them.

This time, they made some new gains.

A native who once studied in Sedolas had a brief encounter with the target before; whether he was a spy or not, a thorough investigation was necessary.

Inside the room, the anxious and uneasy look from his wife and daughter pricked Koskao’s heart a bit, and he comforted them through eye contact.

Then he sat down at one side of the table.

"We apologize for disturbing everyone, but this is the Emperor’s order, and we must comply."

The officer started with a very amiable attitude, then suddenly switched to a Sedolas accent, saying, "You’re not Koskao, who are you?"

In that instant, Koskao’s heart skipped a beat; within less than a second, all his hairs stood up, drenched in sweat!

He moved his lips, responded with Peng Jieao’s accent, "If I’m not Koskao, then who am I?"