Chapter 27: A Flamboyant and Psychedelic Maneuver

At last, Lin Xi was convinced that Ye Huan hadn't been bluffing.

She stared in shock at the side of Ye Huan’s face as he drove, unable to believe the reality of the situation. Who was Jin Jiu? He was the founder and chairman of the Jin Group, a conglomerate valued at hundreds of billions. He was a notorious underworld kingpin whom the police and courts had spent over two decades trying to bring to justice, yet they hadn't been able to gather a shred of evidence against him. Such a formidable overlord had actually been subdued by a man who slaughtered pigs for a living!

"Do you believe me now that the cyberattack on the Lin Group wasn't Jin Jiu's doing?" Ye Huan asked, hanging up the phone.

Lin Xi didn't answer, but she believed him. However, she suddenly wondered: if it wasn't Jin Jiu, then who had hired the hackers to attack her company? Seeing Lin Xi lost in thought, Ye Huan didn't disturb her, instead driving at full speed toward the Lin Group headquarters.

The moment the car stopped, Lin Xi bolted out, and Ye Huan hurried to follow. They rushed into the Lin Group building and headed straight for the elevators. It was past ten at night, but a number of employees were still working overtime, along with the security staff on duty. The pair arrived at the Network Security Department.

"President Lin!" Wang Bin, the head of the department, hurried over upon seeing her.

"What's going on?" Lin Xi asked.

"The company network has been breached by a new, unprecedented type of virus. I am leading the team members on duty to try and crack it, and the rest of the team is on their way," Wang Bin replied rapidly.

"Are you confident you can repel this cyberattack?" Lin Xi asked.

"I am!" Wang Bin replied with absolute confidence.

"Good!" Lin Xi finally felt a sense of relief. "Get back to work, don't worry about me."

"Understood!" Wang Bin returned to his station, his hands flying across the keyboard as if they were cramping. The rest of the on-duty security team followed suit.

"Do you need my help?" Ye Huan asked, looking at Lin Xi, who was trying to maintain a facade of calm despite her obvious anxiety.

"What help could a pig butcher like you possibly provide? Are you going to smash the computer?" Lin Xi shot him a look and retorted sharply.

"Actually, I'm also a very professional hacker," Ye Huan said.

Lin Xi grew angry and whispered, "Would it kill you not to brag? If you were a professional hacker, would you be working as a butcher?" In her view, hackers were highly skilled technical experts in programming; they could command high annual salaries at any company, far more than someone who slaughtered pigs. If Ye Huan were a professional hacker, how could he possibly be doing manual labor? Besides, Ye Huan had been abandoned by his biological parents and trafficked; he hadn't received a higher education, so how could he possibly be a professional hacker?

"Oh no, they’re copying the company's data!" someone suddenly exclaimed.

Lin Xi looked over, only to see that all the monitors in the Network Security Department had gone black, with a line of text appearing on the screens: "Data copying in progress... 0.5%..."

"Block it immediately! We cannot let them steal the company's data!"

In that instant, Lin Xi panicked. If the company’s data were stolen, it would be a fatal blow to the organization. Specifically, the company had an R&D department; if their research results and data were compromised, the consequences would be unimaginable.

She didn't need to tell them; Wang Bin and his team were already trying to intercept, but it was to no avail.

"Data copying in progress... 2.1%!"
"Data copying in progress... 3.5%!"
"Data copying in progress... 5.4%..."

Watching the numbers jump rapidly, Lin Xi’s palms began to sweat with tension.

"This is a master," Ye Huan said after watching for a moment from behind Wang Bin, his tone surprised.

Wang Bin, busy hammering away at his keyboard, frowned. "Please don't disturb my work!"

Lin Xi ran over, pulled Ye Huan to the door, and whispered, "The company's survival depends on Wang Bin and his team. Why are you causing trouble for him?"

Ye Huan watched the "Data copying in progress... 8.2%" line on the screen and said seriously, "It’s not that I look down on Wang Bin and his team, but I'm afraid they can't stop the intruder from stealing the Lin Group's data."

"What would you know!" Lin Xi retorted bluntly. "Since the founding of the Lin Group, we have faced countless cyberattacks. Every time, Wang Bin has led his team to defeat the enemy. I believe that this time, Wang Bin and his team will create a miracle again."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Wang Bin and everyone else in the Network Security Department stood up. Wang Bin rose with a look of shame and despair. "President Lin, all the company's computers have been taken over remotely. We can no longer stop them from stealing the data."

Lin Xi’s face turned as pale as paper. She staggered back, nearly collapsing to the floor. Wang Bin’s words were, without a doubt, a death sentence for the Lin Group. Once all the data was stolen and fell into the hands of competitors, it would only be a matter of time before the company went under.

"Let me try," Ye Huan said, steadying the near-fainting Lin Xi.

His words felt like a final lifeline to Lin Xi. "The Jin Group has a master hacker. Call Jin Jiu now and have him send that hacker over!"

"It's too late for that," Ye Huan shook his head. "Now, you have to let me try."

Lin Xi fell back into despair. Wang Bin and the others looked at Ye Huan, not recognizing him. Wang Bin said, "President Lin, although I don't know who this gentleman is, we are currently just waiting for the end. We might as well let him try; treat a dead horse as if it were a living one. Even if he fails, it won't make the crisis any worse."

Lin Xi took a deep breath and said to Ye Huan, her voice drained of energy, "Do as you wish." Her tone implied that he could play around if he wanted to, as the Lin Group was already beyond saving.

Ye Huan immediately walked to Wang Bin’s workstation and sat down. He took out his phone, opened an app that neither Wang Bin nor Lin Xi had ever seen, and after a few operations, his phone was connected to Wang Bin’s computer.

The next moment, countless black boxes filled with code appeared on the screen. Ye Huan’s index fingers began to dance across the keyboard as if they were cramping.

"What is he doing?" Wang Bin and his team gathered around, watching Ye Huan’s slick, rapid movements like idiots, completely unable to understand.

Lin Xi leaned in, too. She couldn't understand it either, but Ye Huan seemed highly professional. For a moment, he became the only hope for saving the Lin Group. She had no choice but to choose to believe him.

"Lin Xi, what are you doing?" At that moment, several senior executives burst into the Network Security Department. The man in the lead, middle-aged, barked the question. It was Lin Xi’s uncle, Lin Qingyun, the vice president of the Lin Group.

Seeing Lin Qingyun, Lin Xi could not hide the disgust in her beautiful eyes. She said in a low voice, "Uncle, I will explain the situation to you outside." She did not want Lin Qingyun shouting and interfering with Ye Huan's work.