Jiangnan Hotel.
Lan Xin stood in front of the luxury hotel, quietly marveling at the scale of the place. Just one night in the cheapest room here cost thousands. Was the Marching Ant Company really this extravagant with their employees?
But now wasn't the time to get distracted. Her team had come to assist the Marching Ant Company with a technical issue, and originally, they'd planned to send someone to the coastal city. But now, someone from Marching Ant had come in person. She had to admit—the company's approach was very different from the usual bureaucracy.
Not long after, Lan Xin saw four people walking toward her. When she recognized who it was, her eyes widened in disbelief.
Chen Mo—CEO of Marching Ant—and beside him, his legendary girlfriend He Xiaoyu. She had never imagined that the "person in charge" they mentioned would be the company's big boss himself.
Was Jiangnan City's Public Security Bureau really that influential? Could they have pulled strings to get someone like Chen Mo involved?
She quickly dismissed the thought. Even the top leaders of Jiangnan might not be able to get Chen Mo to show up personally.
"Hello, are you here to pick me up?" Chen Mo asked with a calm smile as he stopped in front of her.
"Ah—yes, yes." Lan Xin quickly nodded, a little flustered. "Mr. Chen, please get in the car."
Chen Mo gave a slight nod and entered the vehicle, followed closely by Xiao Yu, who sat beside him. It was a medium-sized business van. Including Lan Xin and the others, it wasn't cramped at all.
"How's the virus situation?" Chen Mo asked as soon as they got in.
"The infection rate is slow, but it's still spreading," Lan Xin replied truthfully. "We haven't developed any antivirus software that can stop it yet. We're not familiar enough with the Chinese character programming language, so we're hitting a wall."
Chen Mo nodded, unsurprised. He'd already instructed Mo Nu to slow the virus's spread without stopping it entirely—just enough to keep it from infecting hospitals, banks, or government systems. As long as essential services were unaffected, the situation wouldn't spiral into chaos.
What they were dealing with wasn't a regular computer virus. This semi-intelligent virus could self-replicate and travel across networks. Traditional firewalls were no match. If Mo Nu hadn't intervened, the virus could've shut down every major system in Jiangnan.
He had the power to kill it instantly—but he didn't.
This was the perfect opportunity to promote the Chinese character programming language. Its impact would far surpass any marketing campaign they could ever run.
About twenty minutes later, the car pulled into the Public Security Bureau.
As they stepped out, Chen Mo spotted a stern-looking man waiting at the entrance. He could tell at a glance that this was the bureau's top officer.
Gan Cheng walked forward with quick steps to greet them. He hadn't been told exactly who was coming—just that someone from Marching Ant was already in Jiangnan. If it weren't for the report from Lan Xin, he never would have imagined the legendary CEO himself had come.
"Mr. Chen, it's an honor to have you here in person," Gan Cheng said, reaching out to shake his hand.
"Hello, Director," Chen Mo said politely.
"This virus has really put us in a bind. It's been spreading across local systems—definitely not easy to handle," Gan Cheng explained.
"Can I see the girl first?" Chen Mo asked.
"Of course." Gan Cheng nodded, leading Chen Mo inside. "The girl's name is Lin Shu, a student from Jiangnan No.1 High School."
Inside a small room, Lin Shu sat in silence, her face pale and lost in thought. Her grandfather had cried in front of her earlier, and the memory was still sharp. He was old, and the stress of her arrest had taken a visible toll on him.
Biting her lip, she stared at the floor, her thoughts spiraling in anxiety. Then, the door opened—and she instinctively looked up.
Three people entered. When she saw who they were, her heart skipped a beat.
Chen Mo?
That face… she'd seen it countless times in articles and news reports. The founder of the Chinese character programming language. The most brilliant mind in the country.
Was she hallucinating? Had she imagined someone would come save her?
She lowered her head again, ashamed. She was just an ordinary girl. Why would someone like Chen Mo come to see her?
Then—
"Hello, my name is Chen Mo," he said as he sat down across from her. "Don't worry—we're here to help."
Lin Shu's eyes, which had been lifeless, slowly lit up.
Not… a dream?
Chen Mo smiled gently. "Hello, my name is Chen Mo," he repeated, seeing she hadn't responded.
"Y-you… Hello." Her voice trembled. Her eyes were red, and she didn't know what else to say.
"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.
"I wanted to participate in the Marching Ant programming competition and wrote an antivirus software in the Chinese programming language. I don't know what went wrong, but it turned into a virus… I didn't mean for it to spread—I really didn't." Tears welled in her eyes.
"Don't cry. We're here to help," Xiao Yu said softly, handing her a tissue.
"How long have you been learning the Chinese character programming language?" Chen Mo asked.
"Since it came out. I learned from the textbooks at school. I don't have a computer at home, so I do part-time work at an internet café to use their machines… I just wanted to win the prize money to help my brother with his medical bills. I didn't mean any of this."
Chen Mo turned to a middle-aged man with thin features and gold-rimmed glasses. This was Li Huai, a senior lawyer from Marching Ant's legal department.
"Boss," Li Huai began, pushing up his glasses, "from a legal standpoint, this case falls under unintentional mishandling of computer systems. There's no criminal intent and no benefit gained, so it doesn't meet the legal criteria for a cybercrime. She won't be held liable."
Lin Shu's eyes widened with hope.
"However," Li Huai added, "it would help her case tremendously if we can prove she was attempting to build antivirus software and made a technical error. That would serve as favorable evidence."
Chen Mo nodded, then looked back at Lin Shu. "You heard that, right? When the police take your statement, make sure to explain exactly what you told us."
Lin Shu nodded furiously, eyes still locked on him.
"Don't worry. You'll be out soon." Chen Mo smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you," Lin Shu said, her voice trembling. "I'll definitely repay you."
"When you get out, then you can thank me properly," Chen Mo said with a chuckle. "Right now, we've got to clear your name."
He stood and turned to leave. Lin Shu clenched her fists tightly, eyes brimming with tears.
"Thank you…" she whispered behind him.
As Chen Mo walked out, he looked at Gan Cheng. "Show me the code she wrote."
Gan Cheng didn't hesitate and immediately led him to the next room. Having Chen Mo personally step in? That was more help than he could've hoped for.