- 5.2 - An Explosive Conflict (Part Two)

HIBARA

I MADE A call as soon as I took the final steps of the stairs. I told him that I decrypted his message and he then sent me the next clue through text. I tried to ask for his identity, but he dropped the call while I was speaking.

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This one now is unquestionably Polybius Square. A Polybius Square is encrypted and decrypted by using a five-by-five square with the English alphabet arranged vertically, having I and J share the same cell. The code uses double-digit numbers, where the first is the y-axis and the second is the x-axis.

1 2 3 4 5

1 A B C D E

2 F G H I/J K

3 L M N O P

4 Q R S T U

5 V W X Y Z

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C-A-F-E-T-E-R-I-A

I sent him the answer and he replied with: “No more clues. Find it within fifteen minutes or everyone in the location burns to ashes.”

I placed my phone back in my pocket and ran towards the cafeteria. I act