Decode the Chain
Three blocks. Each one is locked with a different scheme, and each opens the next. Solve all three to read what the ledger kept. Spelling matters, spacing and case do not. Your progress is saved on this device.
Block 1 · the ledger speaks in bytes
The first block is base64 encoded. Decode it.
ZXZlcnkgYmxvY2sgaXMgYSB3aXRuZXNz
Hint
Standard base64. Any decoder will do it, and so will a few minutes by hand.
Decoded.
Block 2 · raw bytes, no key
No key this time. Each pair below is one byte. Read the bytes.
74 72 75 73 74 20 74 68 65 20 6D 61 74 68
Hint
Hexadecimal. Each pair is one character of ASCII, and 20 is a space.
Decoded.
Block 3 · the key is trust
A Vigenere cipher. Every block so far has told you what to trust. This one is locked with the idea the series is named for.
SLV QARCF KDQVAUVLK
Hint
A Vigenere key is a word repeated across the message, shifting each letter by its position in the alphabet. Look at the name of the series, not the name of the book.
Just give me the key
The series is Zero Trust: A Mats Frost Series. Use ZEROTRUST, one word, repeat it across the letters, and shift each letter back.
Decoded.
All three blocks clear
Three blocks, one truth: nothing on the chain is ever really gone. You read them the way he did, one block at a time, trusting the math more than the people.
You decoded the chain. Here is the fragment it was holding for the people who did.