Chapter 453 - One Of The Old Guys

While Ketchup was focusing on her secret evolution, Iris and Jin Liwei began talking about the hacking battle.

"Was it Eagle?" Jin Liwei asked. "It’s clear from our findings tonight that Eagle—that son of a bitch—is in collusion with those damn Youngs. And they’re doing it in the Singapore branch of MY company!"

Iris rested her head against his shoulder, feeling exhausted. The battle earlier took a lot out of her. She felt drained of almost all her energy.

"No, it’s not him. Eagle doesn’t have the ability to give me this much trouble," she told him.

Jin Liwei frowned. "Then who is it?"

"There are only a handful of hackers in the world who can make me struggle so much like this against them. And they’re those old guys. I don’t really know what their actual ages are, but they’ve been in this field for far longer than I am. That’s why I call them the ’old guys’. I heard rumours that Cross Academy recruited all of them but none accepted. I was the only one who did. Before I came, Cross Academy would occasionally hire them for some freelance work."

"So do you recognize the hacker you battled earlier?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Hackers of our level can mask all of our actions, even our own distinct styles if we really want to. We just don’t bother masking our styles because we don’t mind being recognized. This time, however, both of us masked our own styles. I didn’t recognize him, and I’m certain that he didn’t recognize me either."

"Then that’s good, isn’t it? That he didn’t recognize you," he said.

She nodded.

’Of course, it’s good. Those old guys would surely pop out from wherever they’re hiding and investigate once they discover traces of Fantom being active again. It’s best to make everyone believe that Fantom is dead,’ she thought.

Although Drakon was currently well-respected and idolized in the hacking community, (s)he still wasn’t considered to be on the same level as the legendary Fantom. Other hackers only deemed Drakon as having the potential to reach Fantom’s level someday.

"Unless there’s a new hacker who recently reached the most elite level in recent years, I can’t think of anyone other than one of those old guys who could give me this much trouble. Eagle doesn’t even have the right to be compared to any of those old guys—and me, of course. They’re not only many times more troublesome to deal with than Eagle but they’re also more dangerous," she told Jin Liwei.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He thought about what she said. "If the hacker you just battled is as amazing as you said, then why does it look like he’s protecting the Youngs? Ketchup got attacked because she was digging information about members of that damn family. How were they able to connect with such a fearsome hacker?"

"I don’t know. I think he’s also connected with Eagle and the other hackers I discovered in Jin Corporation’s Singapore branch." Then she gripped her hold on his robe. "We don’t know their motives yet, but if their intention is to harm Jin Corporation, then you must be very careful. As the President-CEO, you’re a prime target. It’s very dangerous if one of those old guys—if the hacker is really one of them—treat you as an enemy. Even Grandpa Lu would be helpless if they target him. After all, he’s not a hacker. I’m worried about you, darling."

Jin Liwei’s expression turned grave after hearing what she said. However, his eyes still became gentle as he looked at her worried expression for him.

He told her, "Don’t worry too much about me—"

"Of course I’m going to worry about you! I love you!"

His eyes widened before the corners of his mouth curved upward into a smile. "I love you, too. So much. Yes, this is love. You worry about me and I worry about you."

Then he suddenly remembered the self-deleting text message his Fifth Brother, Lu Zihao, sent him in the summer. Maybe this was what he was talking about when he said that Eagle had a possibly dangerous background. It just turned out that it wasn’t Eagle himself who was dangerous but the formidable hacker behind him.

Lu Zihao told him back then that he would be returning soon, but so far he hadn’t yet. Both he and his baby girl tried contacting him to ask him why he hadn’t returned yet, but he kept on telling them some sort of excuses.

"Soon," he would always tell them.

Jin Liwei felt a little pissed off at his Fifth Brother because his baby girl had been looking forward to his return so much only to be disappointed time and again.

’When that punk returns, I’ll give him a piece of my mind,’ he thought.

Then he thought of something else.

"Love, since we now know that the Youngs have been doing so many suspicious activities in the Singapore branch, I’ll immediately remove them from their positions and ban them from working at any Jin Corporation branches and our affiliated companies. Most importantly, I’ll fire that Rose Young as soon as I get to work in a few hours so that she won’t be able to bother us anymore," he told her.

"No!"

Jin Liwei was surprised. He frowned. "Why?"

"Darling, that hacker is protecting the Youngs including Rose Young. If he really is one of those old guys, then the situation isn’t as easy to solve as it looks. If you fire Rose Young and remove her family from power at the Singapore branch, then the hacker will surely become suspicious and investigate you—or worse, maybe even harm you.

"Just like how I have the ability to destroy Jin Corporation, he can also do it if he really wanted to. If I battle against him next time, I’m not even sure how it will turn out. He’s that formidable, darling. Any one of those old guys are all formidable. Nobody really won during our battle this time because I was too focused on escaping with Ketchup instead of defeating him."

The frown on Jin Liwei’s face only deepened after hearing her explanation. He clearly didn’t like the thought of allowing Rose Young and her family to continue working for Jin Corporation. It was like knowing one’s house was infested with pests but doing nothing about it.

Seeing his expression, Iris sighed. She framed his face between her hands.

"I know that it doesn’t feel good to keep traitors by your side, but we have to know first what the Youngs are planning and how they’re connected with the hacker I battled earlier and also with Eagle and the others. Besides, now that we know they’re up to no good, we can closely monitor them and be ready when they start to act on whatever evil scheme they’re planning," she told him.

He also sighed. Then he placed his hands on her hands framing his face and turned his head to kiss one of her palms.

"What you mean is ’keep your friends close and your enemies closer’, isn’t it?"

She nodded.

He sighed again. "I understand your plan, but I don’t like it. I prefer to cut the problem at its roots to prevent it from growing."

"I know. I also prefer your plan, but the problem is that we might be dealing with one of those old guys. I am confident in my own skills to go head to head against him, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll win 100% of the time. The stakes are too high if I lose. We might lose Jin Corporation and also endanger our safety if the enemies really want to harm us. I would choose your plan, if it weren’t for the possibility that one of those old guys might be involved. If one of them is really involved with the Youngs, then it’s safer for us to choose my plan. I don’t like it either, but it’s better to be safe than sorry," she told him.

He sighed several times before nodding. "Alright. But you have to be careful, love. I can lose everything, including Jin Corporation, but I can’t bear it if I ever lose you."

She nodded. "Be careful, too. I also can’t bear it if I ever lose you."

They embraced, just savouring each other’s warmth and presence.

A few moments later, Iris remembered something.

"Darling, help me sneak into Jin Corporation. Its current security system that I developed during the summer might be enough to block someone like Eagle, but it certainly won’t be able to stop one of those old guys. I need to update it from the inside."

"Alright," he said and paused. Then he told her, "You don’t need to sneak in. Just walk in. You’re their future Madam. There’s no need to sneak in like a thief."