Chapter 30: A Tiger Devours Its Own Cub

As these words were spoken, everyone, who had been focused on the betting agreement and Lin Qingyun, turned their attention toward Ye Huan.

"You pig butcher, what are you implying?" Lin Qingyun demanded.

Lin Xi and the others also looked on with confusion.

"Didn't you notice that all the computers have returned to normal?" Ye Huan said with a faint smile.

The eyes of everyone in the room immediately shifted to the computer screens closest to them. The screens were no longer black, and the "Data Copying in Progress" notification was gone; they had returned to their standard startup interfaces.

"You... you, you actually repelled the hackers?" Lin Xi asked, looking at Ye Huan in disbelief.

"Let me check!"

Before Ye Huan could answer, Wang Bin quickly sat down in a nearby office chair. He typed rapidly on the keyboard, and then, looking at Ye Huan in shock, he said, "You... you really did repel the hackers. The company's files and data haven't been stolen."

Once this was said, Lin Xi and everyone present finally believed that Ye Huan had won the counter-attack against the cyber invasion. For a moment, the way everyone looked at Ye Huan changed completely.

Before this, no one, including Lin Xi, had expected Ye Huan to defeat the hackers. After all, even professional elites like Wang Bin and his team had been left defenseless and utterly defeated. A pig butcher—even if he knew a thing or two about hacking—was an amateur; they assumed he wouldn't even be as good as the members of Wang Bin’s team.

Yet... it was this man, whom no one had any faith in, who had accomplished what a professional expert like Wang Bin could not. It was a miracle! It was an unexpected windfall!

"Hahahaha..."

Suddenly, Lin Canglan, who had been lying half-dead on the floor clutching Lin Qingyun’s leg, jumped up. He snatched the betting agreement from Lin Qingyun’s hand and laughed wildly. "Lin Qingyun, you lost! Hahaha, you lost! You can resign in disgrace and get out of the Lin Group! Hahahaha!"

Lin Qingyun shot a venomous glare at Ye Huan, then looked at Lin Canglan as if he were a fool, sneering, "Second brother, you’re celebrating too early. When Lin Xi and I signed this agreement, there was no lawyer present. It has no legal standing; it’s void!"

Lin Canglan’s laughter cut off abruptly, replaced by fury. He was about to argue with Lin Qingyun when Ye Huan smiled and said, "Everyone here is a witness."

Lin Canglan paused, instantly understanding what Ye Huan meant, and became excited again. "Right, right, right! Even without a lawyer, we have witnesses! We can all testify!"

Lin Xi and the others realized it too; even without a lawyer, as long as a few people present were willing to testify, the betting agreement would be legally binding.

"You pig butcher, you're courting death!" Lin Qingyun gritted his teeth, pointing a finger at Ye Huan in a threat. Then, his eyes swept over everyone in the room like a predator, and he said coldly, "Let’s see who among you dares to testify for Lin Xi!"

It was a naked threat. Anyone who dared to testify for Lin Xi would certainly face retaliation from Lin Qingyun. Wang Bin and the others, who knew Lin Qingyun’s methods all too well, lowered their heads in silence.

Seeing this, Lin Qingyun was about to gloat when—

"Report, I dare!" Ye Huan raised his hand.

Lin Qingyun: "..."

Wang Bin and the others cast looks of admiration at Ye Huan. He had done what they wanted to do but were too afraid to attempt.

At that moment, Lin Xi felt as if Ye Huan was her most capable subordinate—someone who charged into the fray when faced with danger and trouble, and who could resolve them; someone who stood firmly by her side in a situation like this, even at the cost of offending a powerful enemy like Lin Qingyun.

Lin Canglan, however, felt no gratitude toward Ye Huan and didn't view him any differently. Instead, he thought that since Ye Huan had offended Lin Qingyun, he would surely face retaliation. He might even be forced by Lin Qingyun to divorce Lin Xi and flee Pengcheng!

"You pig butcher, do you know what the consequences are for offending me?" Lin Qingyun asked, glaring coldly at Ye Huan.

"What? Are you going to marry me and have my children?" Ye Huan asked.

"You..."

Lin Qingyun took a deep breath, furious. He realized that with Lin Xi and Lin Canglan as his backing, this pig butcher was not afraid of him at all. But he noted this grudge; he would definitely take revenge later.

Suppressing his rage, he turned to Lin Xi and Lin Canglan. "I am the eldest son of the Lin family. Even if I lose the bet and resign, Father won't agree to it!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Huan, Lin Xi, and Lin Canglan all frowned. They also felt that Lin Tai would likely not allow Lin Qingyun to resign.

"Who said I wouldn't agree?"

At that moment, a majestic voice came from outside the door. Ye Huan and the others turned to see Lin Tai walking in with a cold expression.

In truth, Lin Tai hadn't left the office after work that night, so he was one of the first to know about the cyberattack on the Lin Group. He had originally intended to command the counter-attack himself, but on second thought, he made a bold, gambling-like decision: to test Ye Huan once more. He called Lin Xi, and once she and Ye Huan arrived, he hid in the shadows to observe.

When he saw that Wang Bin and the network security department were no match for the hackers, he truly panicked, realizing that even if he had commanded the defense, there would have been no hope of victory. So, like Lin Xi, he pinned his final hopes on Ye Huan.

And sure enough, Ye Huan did not disappoint him.

"Dad, w-what did you say?" Lin Qingyun asked, looking at the approaching Lin Tai as if he were hallucinating.

Ye Huan and Lin Xi also felt they must have misheard. Even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs; would Lin Tai really allow his son to resign and forbid him from ever stepping foot in the Lin Group again over a mere betting agreement?

"Is your ears stuffed with donkey hair? Dad said he agrees to your resignation and that you are never to step foot in the Lin Group again for the rest of your life!" Lin Canglan, who had heard it clearly, said with a smug, gloating expression.

Lin Qingyun ignored him and kept his eyes on Lin Tai.

"A real man keeps his word, especially when you’ve lost to your own niece!" Lin Tai said with dignity, his voice firm and righteous. After saying this, his tone shifted: "However, you are the eldest son of the Lin family. It is unrealistic for you to resign and be banned from the company for life. How about this: you will be relieved of all your current duties and go to the security department to serve as the captain of the guards."

After saying this, Lin Tai nodded at Ye Huan and turned to leave.

In reality, Lin Tai was furious. At a moment of life and death for the company, Lin Qingyun, as the eldest son, had not only failed to assist Lin Xi in overcoming the crisis but had instead come to cause trouble. He was deeply disappointed in his eldest son. By demoting him to the security department, he hoped to temper Lin Qingyun's character.