Chapter 177: The Joker’s Purpose?
Chapter 177: The Joker’s Purpose?
In Huaibei City, at an orphanage in the suburbs.
A young man wearing black-framed glasses and carrying a large box came in with a smile on his face. It was the middle of winter, but the weather that day was relatively warm. As soon as he entered, several children who were playing immediately gathered around him.
“Wei Brother, you’re here.”
“Wei Brother…”
Every child’s eyes were full of joy, as if they regarded him as family. Seeing their expressions warmed Wei Zhe’s heart, and he patted the box.
“I bought some new clothes for you all.”
Instantly, the children surrounding Wei Zhe cheered and jumped with excitement. “Thank you, Wei Brother.”
“Wei Zhe, you’re here.”
While the children were making noise, a plainly dressed elderly woman came out of the building. When she saw Wei Zhe, a warm smile spread across her face.
“Director.” Wei Zhe smiled and put down the box he was carrying. “I brought some winter clothes for the children.”
“You always bring these things when you come,” the old woman sighed. “Although the orphanage is struggling, we manage to get by with government help and some donations from the community. In the future, just come to visit—there’s no need to buy anything.”
“Mm.” Wei Zhe nodded. “Let’s hand out the clothes to the children.”
“Alright.” The old director nodded, opened the box, and distributed the clothes according to size to the delighted children.
While the director was handing out the clothes, Wei Zhe looked toward a girl in front of an easel not far away, his expression softening.
Wei Zhe’s gaze made the girl quickly look away, slightly flustered. After a moment, she smiled at Wei Zhe and made a greeting gesture before turning her attention back to her drawing board.
Seeing how focused she was, Wei Zhe did not disturb her. He sat on a small stool nearby and quietly watched her.
Chen Mo wore a sweater and a black jacket, along with the scarf that Xiaoyu had given him. He looked no different from any ordinary young man.
Looking at the somewhat dilapidated orphanage, Chen Mo’s expression remained blank. Behind him were Wang Hai and White Pearl.
As soon as he entered the orphanage, he saw the children laughing and playing, and Wei Zhe sitting next to the girl.
Wei Zhe, who had been watching the children play, noticed Chen Mo. His pupils contracted, and he immediately stood up. As a programmer, it was impossible for him not to recognize Chen Mo.
Chen Mo should have been in Binhai City. His sudden appearance here made Wei Zhe’s heart sink.
“Hello, who are you looking for?” Wei Zhe walked over to Chen Mo.
“Let’s talk.”
Chen Mo glanced at the girl who was drawing and then walked over to a bench nearby, where he sat down and quietly watched the children playing in the orphanage.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Wei Zhe also took a stool and sat down beside Chen Mo. He was smart enough to know that Chen Mo’s sudden visit was no coincidence.
“You like that girl?” Chen Mo asked, looking toward the girl who was drawing.
“What do you want?” Wei Zhe tensed up immediately. “She has nothing to do with my situation.”
Seeing Wei Zhe’s reaction, Chen Mo shook his head with a smile. “I’m not here to cause trouble for you. Can you tell me your story? I’m curious—why are you volunteering at this small, obscure orphanage? Is it because of that girl?”
Wei Zhe gave Chen Mo a deep look, hesitated for a long time, and then spoke.
“No, I was an orphan too. I grew up relying on the kindness of others, so I often do volunteer work. Her name is Tang Xueyin. A year ago, when I came here to volunteer, I saw her for the first time. I liked this quiet girl from the very beginning, so I often come here.”
“A person who likes volunteering created the ‘Joker’ that threatens the world’s cybersecurity? That Joker—half pure white, half shadow—is you, isn’t it?” Chen Mo said.
Wei Zhe’s body froze. He looked at Chen Mo in disbelief, then calmed down.
“That incident with your company had nothing to do with me. I already left.”
Wei Zhe did not deny it. Once Chen Mo mentioned Joker, he knew that Chen Mo must be aware of his identity.
“Exactly because you left, I came to find you. I’m curious—why did you leave as the founder of the Joker Organization?” Chen Mo asked.
Wei Zhe fell silent, and Chen Mo did not speak either.
“Are you here to take me to the police?” Wei Zhe asked.
“If I wanted you to go to the police, I wouldn’t have come here myself. I have a list of all the members of the Joker Organization.”
After hearing Chen Mo’s answer, Wei Zhe lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. After a long while, he spoke.
“After the Chinese Character Programming Language was released, I started a technical exchange group on a forum and named it Joker. It was made up of hackers who were interested in the Chinese Character Programming Language. After the Jiangnan Virus incident, we realized that the virus was written in the Chinese Character Programming Language. We were all curious about what the virus code was that had such powerful effects.”
“So you broke into the city bureau and took the code file,” Chen Mo said.
Wei Zhe nodded, organizing his thoughts before he continued.
“After we got the code, we discovered a secret. That virus could actively spread through the network. The current system firewalls were almost useless against it. It could infect an entire regional network in the shortest time and then spread to the next region. That code made the others ecstatic.”
“So you wanted to use that virus to control the network world and make money?” Chen Mo asked.
“No.” Wei Zhe shook his head, a self-mocking expression on his face. “The reason is almost laughable.”
“How so?” Chen Mo asked.
Wei Zhe’s self-mocking expression piqued his interest.
“They wanted to control the network just to prove their skills and feel a sense of achievement. The thrill of holding a city hostage or blackmailing a country. Their goal wasn’t money—it was just for fun,” Wei Zhe said calmly. “I’m not that extreme, so I left. Then everything that’s happening now took place. As for why they framed you, I don’t know either. Maybe it was also just for fun. Or maybe your Termite System threatened their plans.”
This answer surprised Chen Mo. These actions were indeed extreme.
After telling Chen Mo everything he knew, Wei Zhe said nothing more and looked toward the girl who was drawing.
“If you like her, why not tell her?” Chen Mo stopped asking about Joker. Those things were not important to him.
“She’s mute—born that way. She knows how I feel, but she’s always held back because of her insecurities,” Wei Zhe said.
“If you’re not firm about it, it’s natural for her to worry. You can’t expect her to tell you, can you? Given her condition, she’s even more afraid of being rejected,” Chen Mo said.
Wei Zhe looked at Chen Mo, thought for a moment, and then nodded slightly. “Thank you.”
“I told you from the start—I’m not here to cause trouble for you. I came to ask if you’d be interested in joining the Legion Ant Company,” Chen Mo said.
Hearing Chen Mo’s invitation, Wei Zhe looked surprised and didn’t know how to respond right away.
“Why?” Wei Zhe asked.
“Times are changing. We need people who are skilled in the Chinese Character Programming Language,” Chen Mo said. “With a higher salary, you could help the orphanage more. It’s better than being an unknown programmer at some company.”
“I’ll think about it,” Wei Zhe said.
“I’ll wait for your reply. I came in a hurry and didn’t bring anything. But since I’m here, I can’t come empty-handed. Here is 100,000. Give it to the director so they can buy some winter clothes and blankets for the children.”
After saying goodbye to Wei Zhe, Chen Mo left the orphanage. In the information Ink Girl gave him, there were detailed records about Wei Zhe. That was why he came—Wei Zhe was a principled talent.
As soon as Chen Mo stepped out of the orphanage, his phone rang.