Chapter 168: Brewing

Inside the hotel room.

Xiaoyu sat on the sofa in her pajamas, eating snacks and quietly watching TV. Chen Mo was helping her dry her hair.

Every time she finished washing her hair, as long as Chen Mo was there, he would help her dry it. Though it was a small thing, it was their unspoken agreement.

“Chen Mo, did you know that this virus incident would lead the Public Security Bureau to ask us for help?” Xiaoyu asked, voicing her curiosity.

Before the Jiangnan City Bureau contacted Legion Ant Company, they had already arrived in Jiangnan City. What’s more, Lawyer Li had come along too. It appeared Chen Mo had known in advance that the Jiangnan City Bureau would request technical help from Legion Ant Company.

“Do you believe I have prophetic powers?”

“As if I’d believe you!” Xiaoyu said.

“Actually, I didn’t know they would ask for technical help. I came here with two goals in mind,” Chen Mo explained. “The first goal was to take you out for a few days of vacation. I’ve noticed how tired you were lately, so I wanted you to rest properly.”

At Chen Mo’s caring words, a glimmer of joy appeared in Xiaoyu’s eyes.

“The second goal was to help that girl. She’s an exceptional talent. She mastered the Chinese Character Programming Language in just months. With a little guidance now, she’ll surely become a top-notch programmer someday. And this virus is somewhat special.”

“What’s special about it?” Xiaoyu asked.

“This virus falls under the category of Semi-intelligent Viruses. Her program contained a section of smart code, making the virus highly unusual and capable of spreading quickly. I stepped in earlier when we were in Binhai City. Otherwise, half of Jiangnan City might have been infected.”

“That serious?” Xiaoyu was shocked.

“That’s why I said she’s talented—writing smart code like that. If no one helped her, her life could have been ruined. It’s a split second between heaven and hell, just like how a few wrong lines turned an antivirus program into a virus.”

“So you helped someone and then made her pay back by working for you?” Xiaoyu retorted with a hint of jealousy, giving Chen Mo a half-smile. “Taking me on this trip was just an excuse, right? Helping that girl was your real reason for coming here?”

“Oh? Is that sourness I smell? Like vinegar?” Chen Mo put down the hair dryer and sniffed playfully near Xiaoyu.

“Get lost! I’m not jealous at all.” Xiaoyu shoved Chen Mo’s face away, her cheeks flushing red.

Suddenly, Chen Mo pulled Xiaoyu onto his lap. “Now that things are solved, I’ll take you sightseeing tomorrow. I hear Jiangnan City has beautiful views. But tonight, I want sweet and sour fish for dinner.”

“You… mmm…”

After losing all her toughness, Xiaoyu let Chen Mo pick her up and carry her into the bedroom.

Wang Zhi was intently watching the tutorial video for Chinese Character Programming Language.

The virus incident had hit him hard.

As a cybersecurity expert, he felt crushed that he couldn’t handle a program made by a high school girl.

This time, Legion Ant Company provided them with technical support, but that didn’t mean they’d do it for free again. After all, Legion Ant Company employees weren’t hired to work for the bureau.

If something similar happened in the future, the tech team would likely face harsh criticism again.

Like him, other technicians were shaken too. They had racked their brains and couldn’t solve it, but Chen Mo fixed it effortlessly in under ten minutes. That gap in skill was plain.

With no urgent work at hand, he took the chance to learn Chinese Character Programming Language.

He had seen a bit of this new programming language when it first came out but wasn’t good at it and hadn’t watched the tutorial then. Now, watching it, he thought it seemed quite useful.

While he was focused on the video, his computer screen suddenly flickered. Watching the video, Wang Zhi snapped to alertness. Before he could react, the screen went black. A mask appeared—half gray, half shadowy—with red pupils and an evil grin that looked more mocking than anything, making it eerie.

They had never seen this symbol before and couldn’t figure out which hacker group it represented.

“What the heck!” Wang Zhi couldn’t help cursing out loud. The virus incident had just ended, leaving him frustrated by his helplessness. Now, these darn hackers were adding salt to the wound by invading the bureau system.

The screens of other staff instantly turned black, showing the same half-dark, half-light mask.

“Get moving, everyone!” Wang Zhi called out urgently, his expression serious. Such a silent hack could only be pulled off by top-tier experts. The virus incident was barely behind them, and causing more trouble could cost them their jobs. Hitting them now felt like a direct slap in the face.

“Track their location!”

“All the addresses are fake; they’re using zombie computers.”

Every technician focused completely. For them, this was a battlefield, thick with tension but no smoke.

Five minutes later, the computers returned to normal, but no one celebrated like they’d won. The office fell silent.

“Check what files are missing,” Wang Zhi said first.

Others started checking their computers, and soon a voice spoke up. “The program code file from the virus incident was copied.”

“The other files are intact.”

Had the intruder come just for that virus code?

A big question loomed in their minds. The bureau had many files; why take only that virus code? It was strange.

“The chief is here.”

Someone announced it quietly, breaking the tension.

“What happened?” Gan Cheng entered, looking grim.

“We had a hacker breach just now, but it’s fixed. The virus incident’s code was copied, and nothing else is missing,” Wang Zhi reported.

“Why did this happen?” Gan Cheng knew all too well how dangerous that program could be.

“The case just wrapped up,” one staff member explained. “I was about to archive that file when the hack happened.”

Gan Cheng’s face darkened. Trouble never came alone. This incident had just settled, and now this. If that program got out, it could cause major issues. No one knew what would follow.

They had to report it to the higher-ups for precautions. If the virus was used as a weapon online, the fallout would be awful.

News of the Jiangnan City Bureau’s official website getting hacked couldn’t be hidden. The half-dark, half-light mask displayed there was hard to miss.

A short while later, the bureau announced that their network had been invaded by an unknown hacker and they promised to hunt them down ruthlessly.

The Jiangnan City Bureau was furious. The bold hacker had invaded their system, stolen the virus code, and escaped clean. It was total disrespect. They couldn’t reveal what was stolen to the outside world.

The computer virus chaos had calmed down after Legion Ant Company stepped in and an antivirus was released. For infected home users, only their software was deleted; hard disk data was unscathed, so damage was minimal.

But they didn’t realize that a much bigger virus crisis was silently stirring.