Inside the hotel room.
Xiao Yu sat on the sofa in her pajamas, quietly munching on snacks while watching TV. Chen Mo stood behind her, gently blow-drying her hair. Every time she washed her hair and he was around, he always helped her dry it. It was a small thing, but one of those silent, comforting habits that had grown between them.
"Chen Mo, about that virus incident... do you think the Public Security Bureau will ask us for help?" Xiao Yu asked, voicing her lingering doubts.
The Jiangnan Municipal Bureau had contacted the Marching Ant Company soon after the outbreak, and now they'd arrived in Jiangnan City. Li had even come along personally. It felt like Chen Mo had anticipated everything from the start.
"I have the gift of prophecy. Do you believe it or not?" Chen Mo teased.
"I believe you're full of it," Xiao Yu shot back, rolling her eyes.
"Actually, I didn't know they'd come asking for help," Chen Mo admitted, chuckling. "I came for two reasons. First, to take you out for a few days. We've both been running on fumes lately—it's time for a little break."
Hearing the concern in his tone, Xiao Yu's eyes lit up with joy.
"The second reason is to give that girl a hand," Chen Mo continued. "She's a rare talent. In just a few months, she mastered the Chinese character programming language. If we bring her in, she'll become a top-level programmer. And... this virus she created? It's not ordinary."
"What's so special about it?" Xiao Yu asked curiously.
"It's a semi-intelligent virus. Her software contains a segment of intelligent code, which is what makes it so unique and fast-spreading. Back in Binhai City, I had to step in personally. Otherwise, half of Jiangnan would've been infected."
"That serious?" Xiao Yu's expression changed to one of alarm.
"Yep. That girl accidentally wrote a piece of smart code. If no one helps her, her life could spiral. Just a few lines of code… and suddenly you're the author of a virus instead of a security tool. One thought can lead to heaven or hell."
"You're helping someone again... and what, she's gonna sell you out for a few bucks later?" Xiao Yu narrowed her eyes playfully. "So this whole 'trip with me' thing is just a cover? You're actually here to save the girl?"
"Huh? Why do I smell vinegar in the air?" Chen Mo sniffed dramatically and leaned closer.
"Get lost, I'm not jealous," Xiao Yu huffed, her cheeks turning pink.
Chen Mo grinned and wrapped his arms around her legs. "Well, everything's been handled now. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the mountains—play in the water, relax. Jiangnan's scenery is supposed to be beautiful. But tonight… I'm craving some sweet and sour fish."
"You—mmph!"
Without waiting for her reply, Chen Mo swept her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
Meanwhile...
Wang Zhi stared intently at the instructional video on the Chinese character programming language.
The recent virus incident had hit him hard.
As someone working in cybersecurity, having a high school girl's program completely bypass his team's defenses was a major blow. The Marching Ant Company had stepped in with technical support this time, but there was no guarantee they'd help again.
Their staff weren't hired to clean up government messes.
Other technicians in the office shared his frustration. They'd racked their brains and still failed—while Chen Mo solved the issue in under ten minutes. That's the kind of gap that can make a man question his career.
Now, with some free time, Wang Zhi had turned to studying the Chinese programming language in earnest. He'd skimmed over it when it first came out, but never got in deep. Watching the teaching videos now, he realized just how well-designed and elegant it was.
Just as he was getting absorbed in the content, the computer screen began to flicker.
Snapping back to full alert, Wang Zhi's eyes narrowed. Before he could react, the screen went completely black. A new image slowly appeared—a mask, half gray, half shadowed, with glowing red eyes and a chilling, mocking smile.
It looked like a logo, but no known hacker group used this symbol.
"What the f—"
Wang Zhi couldn't stop the curse. The virus incident had already crushed their reputation, and now this? A follow-up attack?
The computers across the office also blacked out, displaying the same ominous mask.
"Get moving, people!"
Wang Zhi barked the order as panic rippled through the room. Whoever this was, they were good—only a top-tier hacker could break in without leaving a trace. And coming right after the last disaster? This was a direct challenge.
"Trace their location!"
"They're using layered proxies and downtime networks—no clear origin!" another technician called out.
Every tech in the room snapped to full focus. For them, this was war—an invisible battlefield with serious consequences.
After five tense minutes, the computers rebooted. But no one was cheering.
"Check for missing files!" Wang Zhi ordered.
A few minutes later, someone called out: "The virus program code was copied!"
"Everything else seems intact," another confirmed.
Why just the virus code?
Everyone was left with a gnawing suspicion. There were thousands of files on their system, but the hacker only took that one.
"The director's here!" someone said.
Gan Cheng entered, face like thunder.
"What's going on?"
"We got hacked. System's stable now, but the virus code was taken. No other data was touched," Wang Zhi reported.
Gan Cheng's expression darkened even further. "Why was it still on the system?"
"It was about to be archived into the records when the attack happened," a staffer explained weakly.
This incident had barely been resolved—and now this. If the virus code gets leaked and reused for cyberattacks, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Gan Cheng knew this had to be reported immediately. They needed to get ahead of it and contain the damage. If this code was weaponized...
The Jiangnan City Bureau couldn't cover it up for long.
Soon, their official website displayed a warning: The city bureau's network was invaded by an unknown hacker. The matter is under investigation and will be pursued to the end.
A half-black, half-white mask with red eyes now marked the city's humiliation. The hacker had broken in, taken the code, and walked out untouched. The Bureau couldn't admit publicly what had been taken, but inside—they knew exactly how serious it was.
The virus incident may have quieted down on the surface. With the Marching Ants' antivirus software and the loss of only software—not hardware—it seemed like things were under control.
But what they didn't know was that a far greater virus threat was silently brewing in the shadows.