Oh my god... after the first book, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Then this book existed and gave me a run for my money. This book certainly isn't for the faint of heart, and there was a scare at the end where a browser error prevented me from entering the final answer, and it took me months to solve 4C13NT15T because I was being stubborn about brute-forcing it, but I just managed to do it. GG, M. GG.

(please make a third book)

Okay, someone tell me if I'm on the right track: In the second grid in 5OLV3R, the letters form a looping message. I've deduced that some of the characters are Greek and some others are Russian, but that weird 8 thing and the backwards 3 trip me up. I can't figure out what alphabet they're from, and when I try to translate what I can, it comes out with something that sounds like it COULD be a real word if I just changed some of the letters out for others. Am I being an idiot or whatever the opposite of idiot is?

Here’s a hint that’s appropriate for where you’re at: If you incorrectly guess the password enough times, you can make the console send a password reset email. Unfortunately for you, it’s going to the NSA and not you.

It’s actually possible to do this one in a more systematic way than trial and error. You can pick just a couple of random examples of particles colliding, then write out some simultaneous equations and solve algebraically.

You need to collide the particles, see what comes out, and figure out which output lowercase particles are associated with which input uppercase ones. This takes a bit of trial and error, but I was able to figure them all out by doing every possible collision with the first particle. Each uppercase particle is associated with a group of 3-6 lowercase ones, some of which can be repeated. Then fill in each bubble on the "Calculating..." screen with the corresponding uppercase particle symbol. The symbols will look like regular letters and spell out the answer.

In return, can you give me a hint on how to start H4X0R? I'm stumped. I found the IP address for the NSA database but can't figure out how to find the password to get in.

oh my god... just solved it and realized that I COMPLETELY FORGOT THAT THE QUERY COMMAND EXISTED. thanks for that tip, without it I probably would've been trying to use Google Maps forever...

i will take. literally any information regarding 4C13N71S7 as long as it isn't "oh look at what each atom is made of and then do predictions" or the like. i need a hint that will actually give me a decent idea of what I need to do (and won't make me guess a crazy amount until I find values that work for the number of each particle per atom.) I'm saying this because I know there's an easier way to do this than brute-forcing it and I KNOW at least ONE of you knows it.

for the hacker problem what is the favorite song you need to get acess to the key generator.

how do i break in to the usa server in h4x0r

Ah I had trouble with this too. There are a lot of similar sounding notes in happy birthday, and the solution checker is pretty lenient, but doesn't catch all possible arrangements. If you think you have a valid arrangement, I would just randomly swap a few of the similar sounding notes and see if it accepts it. That worked for me after only doing it once or twice.

I’ve come back to this theorem after a few months, and still can’t get the music for the music section quite right. I got twinkle twinkle little star pretty easily and yellow submarine after a bit, however I am nearly certain my happy birthday solution works, but the website won’t recognize it. The most annoying part is that I don’t think there is a way to save the puzzle half way through. If anyone has a suggestion it would be great, or frankly I’d be fine with just the answer at this point :(.

Ha! Yes, I was waaaay overthinking it. Thanks for helping me refocus and find the obvious!

I think you might be overthinking it, if I remember correctly, you can find a section called music from there you should know what to do.

I am stuck partway through H4X0R (I've finished everything else at this level)... any very small hints would be really appreciated.

I think I have the correct alias of the agent but can't figure out what to do with it. When I try to generate a key to encrpyt it as requested I'm asked for a password/'favorite song' but can't for the life of me figure out what it should be. I think I've tried all the obvious things and have poured over all the data in the main H4X0R account for clues but can't find the answer. I've tried poking around for clues & patterns and have noticed a lot of things like the capitalized letters in certain file names, but so far nothing seems to lead anywhere and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities. A small hint to point me towards what I'm missing would be greatly appreciated!

okay... i give up. can i just... have the answers for scientist and haxor? i know what I need to do. i can do all of the things. my potato PC keeps crashing and I can't get to the end. hooray me, I am amazing.

Hey all, anyone still here who can give me a hint for stage 3 of 50LV3R?

I'm seeing patterns in the arrangement of the letters but I have no idea what the numbers mean

Thanks for the final assist CMcB ... I think I just needed some time off before coming back around to it. And maybe by next Christmas M will have a third book out!

I think you’re overthinking it see if you can figure out which agent the original email you got is talking about.

I've said it once (I think) and I'll say it again: H4XOR. I've gotten into the NSA terminal and the coordinates from the "locate bad guys" program roughly translate to easter island, spare a couple hundred miles, but that's all I've got. Any confirmation that I'm on the right track, or am I looking in the wrong place as per usual?

Ah, ok, I guess I misunderstood. To refer back to your last question, no translation is necessary. Some of the symbols may translate to letters, but it's much easier to read them as is (as if they were English letters)