All 27 of them actually came, not one less! Gu Nianzhi’s heart trembled fiercely, like a cello that had been struck on the heaviest string and started playing a melodious symphony. The corners of her eyes quietly grew wet again.
They marched in one by one, and the door of the central control room slowly closed behind them. Gu Nianzhi bowed humbly to these 27 people and said in a low voice, “You all have suffered because of me. Thank you all, thank you all so much for not revealing my identity as the ‘Pink Piggy.’”
Gu Nianzhi found out from Zhou Qiyuan that despite the fact that these 27 people faced “severe torture,” none of them uttered a word about the “Pink Piggy”—even though they all knew who the “Pink Piggy” really was.
Those 27 people hesitated for a moment, then one of them said hurriedly, “Don’t be like that, Nianzhi. We’ve watched you grow up over the years, so why be so courteous and distant?”
Another chimed in, “Everyone here is family, so there’s no need to be so formal.”
Yet another added, “Why on earth would we reveal who the ‘Pink Piggy’ is? We wouldn’t because we are the ‘Pink Piggy!’ We’re not so stupid that we would betray ourselves, right?!”
Everyone smiled and snickered at the notion.
Huo Shaoheng walked towards Gu Nianzhi with a proud smile on his face and stood beside her, then said to his soldiers, “You guys don’t need to feel so restrained, either. You all have earned this. Thank you all for everything you guys have done.” As he said this, Huo Shaoheng also bowed deeply to them, and then standing upright, he paid a military salute to his subordinates, which was even more precise and powerful than Zhou Qiyuan’s textbook military salute.
The initial bow expressed Huo Shaoheng’s gratitude towards them as Gu Nianzhi’s loving husband, while the military salute afterwards expressed a commander’s gratitude towards his loyal and faithful subordinates.
Everyone froze for a moment as they took in the scene before them. They felt as if their hearts had been deeply moved, and a warm current was sweeping through their bodies. Each serviceman stood there dumbfounded for a moment by the humility demonstrated by their leader, then those 27 soldiers once again said as one, “All stand upright! Salute!” They saluted Huo Shaoheng again in order to express their heartfelt gratitude and unwavering loyalty through their most sacred military salute.
Huo Shaoheng’s piercing eyes swept across these soldiers’ faces. There were 27 people in front of him, not one less. It seemed like he really did have the talent to see the potential in people. The elites he cultivated did not disappoint him.
Huo Shaoheng nodded, and his tone was full of satisfaction. “It’s nice that you have all come back. I already have a critical task waiting for you all.”
“Yes, sir!” These 27 soldiers were also very excited to hear that they already had work to do. They loved their job dearly with all their heart, but in this case, after being brought to court by a foreign nation in possession of all of their personal data, they all thought forlornly that this time they would be forced to bid farewell to their beloved job. They never expected Huo Shaoheng and General Ji to ignore the US’ allegations and still entrust them with such critical responsibilities!
So what if they couldn’t go abroad for the rest of their lives? Their country was broad enough, vast enough, and had more than enough breathtaking scenery that they could enjoy for their entire lives. It would take a lifetime to thoroughly explore China alone.
What’s more, they were computer-obsessed “otakus.” Give them a computer and a network cable, and they already had the world… as if they were dying to go abroad!
“Huo Shao, we really, really didn’t expect that you and General Ji would still agree to let us come back to work.” A serviceman burst into tears. “The United States has put so much pressure on the country…”
Huo Shaoheng patted his shoulder and laughed. “If that’s what you really think, then we must oppose what the enemy supports. Similarly, what the enemy opposes, we must support! So if they are pointing fingers at you all in condemnation, this more than anything proves all your loyalty and hard work!”
Gu Nianzhi understood what Huo Shaoheng meant, so she quickly added, “Yeah, yeah, see how Mandela from South Africa received unanimous praise from foreign media? But what did he do? He turned a highly developed country into a developing country where poverty, backwardness, and war are rampant. So what’s the use of praise from foreigners? Foreigners aren’t stupid. If you dare to compete with them for global resources and become their rivals, see how they’ll react then!”
“That makes sense!” The corners of Huo Shaoheng’s lips curved up even more. “That’s what I mean.”
The 27 staff members nodded with relief. The first person rushed to his workbench immediately, kissed the monitor dramatically, then said with a smile, “Baby, I’m back. Did you miss me?” Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Gu Nianzhi also waltzed over and said with a smile, “What do you all want to drink? I’ll go make it in the kitchen.” They had a simple kitchen there, which was usually a place where everyone could eat and relax.
However, they all had been quarantined in the dormitory for a day. They had more than enough time to eat and drink, so they waved to Gu Nianzhi and said, “No, thank you. We have a lot of unfinished work to keep us busy!”
Gu Nianzhi asked with concern, “Please just give me a chance to make it up to you all. I want to do something for all of you. I heard that you were all tortured. Is everyone alright now?”
They looked from one to another, then suddenly they all burst out laughing and started beating the table. A serviceman frowned and said to Huo Shaoheng, “Huo Shao! We were ‘severely tortured.’ Does it count as a work injury? Is there monetary compensation?”
Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips. “Work injury? Monetary compensation? If those in the Secret Service can inflict work injuries on you guys, then that means you all need more training.”
Gu Nianzhi turned towards Huo Shaoheng sharply. What did he mean?! Did the so-called “severe torture” mean something different?
A serviceman near her smiled and waved at her. “You can help us to decipher a few documents. That would truly be a great help to us! As for ‘severe torture,’ what do you mean? No such thing happened.”
“Of course, I can help. Otherwise, what would I be doing here?” Gu Nianzhi grimaced at them as if she had suddenly understood something, and was thus in high spirits. When she was in a good mood, her productivity increased. In addition, not only was there Gu Nianzhi and Huo Shaoheng, but now there were also 27 more people involved in the big data analysis.
After two nights and a day of hard work, when dawn arrived, the program written by Huo Shaoheng finally captured the “culprit” hidden inside the data! Everyone had worked for 36 hours straight and finally succeeded in finding the data hidden by those four lines of AI code before the election!
Gu Nianzhi made cups of black coffee for everyone and carried them from the kitchen to the control room.
“Nianzhi, you’ve worked so long, aren’t you tired?” A serviceman looked at Nianzhi and saw how she was still so energetic, and he couldn’t help but give her a thumbs up. “This is indeed a girl who grew up with our Special Operations Forces, to be able to withstand such tedious and arduous work!”
Gu Nianzhi pouted and laughed. “Occasionally, I can withstand it. But you guys do this often, so you all have to take care of your bodies.”
“We’re all in robust health, and this time it was a matter of urgency.”
Everyone had finally found the evidence, so they all felt relaxed, and sitting together in pairs, they waited for the election polls to begin. They also planned to vote as well. At that time, the supercomputer in the central control room would be used to monitor the electoral process.
Clearing away all the remaining after-effects of those four lines of AI code before they voted in the general election also served as protection for this general election. It ensured that the results of the election would be fairer.
The main focus of their work fell on the shoulders of Yin Shixiong and his people, while Huo Shaoheng and his subordinates were responsible for monitoring and doing backup support in the central control room.
Gu Nianzhi chatted with the servicemen for a while, and when she returned to Huo Shaoheng’s side to see what he was up to, she saw that he was still busy on the computer. “Huo Shao, haven’t you found them all already? Get some rest.”
“That’s alright, I’m just downloading stuff right now. These supercomputers will be inaccessible for a while.” Huo Shaoheng really wanted to find out what was in the data hidden by those four lines of AI programming code as soon as possible. Therefore, he didn’t have the patience to wait for the election to end to find out, so he needed to download the hidden data to be stored on his laptop for immediate analysis.
Gu Nianzhi had nothing else to do besides watch Huo Shaoheng run the program for a while, so she soon fell asleep in her chair. Huo Shaoheng carried her to the sofa and covered her with a blanket that had been lying on the sofa before returning to his work.
…
At nine o’clock in the morning, the polling areas across the country opened, and people could finally start voting. There was also a polling station at the headquarters of the Special Operations Forces. The servicemen went out to vote in the polls, and the central control room grew quiet after they all left.
The sofa was a little too soft for Gu Nianzhi to sleep on, so she woke up due to discomfort after sleeping for only an hour. When she woke up, she saw that everyone had already returned from the polls, and they were all sitting in front of their respective workbenches while concentrating on their work. Huo Shaoheng still maintained his original posture, frowning from time to time as he scrutinized the data.
Gu Nianzhi rubbed her eyes, lifted the thin blanket, and got up from the sofa. She stood beside Huo Shaoheng and asked with curiosity, “What’s wrong? You look distressed.”
Huo Shaoheng pointed to the monitor. “Take a look. What’s going on?”
Gu Nianzhi leaned forward and saw a road map appear on Huo Shaoheng’s monitor.
“According to the span of time, the most recent data was analyzed first.” Huo Shaoheng picked up the mouse and marked the red dots on the monitor. “The road map here is based on Hong Kangquan’s route of activity that night.”
Hong Kangquan had gone out to a gay bar that night. Later, two field agents from the Special Operations Forces that were hot on his trail lost track of him. After checking the microchip tracker, it showed that Hong Kangquan didn’t go out that night, when according to the field agents, he had!
It was from that moment on that Huo Shaoheng discovered there was a problem with their monitoring program, and then he employed Gu Nianzhi to help them identify the four AI lines of code that had been discreetly mixed within the monitoring program.
Gu Nianzhi carefully examined the road map, then asked curiously, “He sneaked out through the bar’s back door, and then he took the subway? But where did he go afterwards?”
“Look here. From the Sihuan District subway station to the apartment complex he finally arrived at, it took him almost half an hour when in reality, it should have only taken him five minutes.” Huo Shaoheng used the mouse to draw a line between the subway station and the apartment building. “If my intuition is right, then he was avoiding the surveillance cameras along the way.”
Gu Nianzhi stared at the name and location of the apartment where Hong Kangquan had last been seen and couldn’t help feeling a sense of familiarity—but where had she seen it before?
