It took Luo Hui a full twenty minutes to successfully invade Bureau 101’s security system. But that sweet success only lasted for a few seconds.
“Shit, I’ve been found.” Luo Hui was very anxious.
Xia Lei reassured him. “It’s alright. I’ll shoulder the blame.”
As soon as he uttered his last word, a call came.
“Bastard, are you looking for death?” Shi Boren sounded like an agitated bull.
“What’s the matter? Why are you yelling at me, Boss Shi?” Xia Lei responded to the call as he motioned for Luo Hui to shut down his laptop.
Luo Hui could only flash him a sheepish smile. What good would that do?
“What the hell are you trying to do, kid? What is there left to uncover in Bureau 101? If you really wanted to know the contents of my computer, you better get your ass here! I can show you!”
“If it wasn’t Long Bing who mentioned that you were trying to learn to hack, my people would’ve already been on their way!”
Xia Lei’s spine stiffened. “Boss Shi, I’m not doing this on purpose…”
“Are you kidding me? You’re not doing this on purpose? Like hell I’ll believe you! Be honest, why did you choose to target Bureau 101?”
Xia Lei explained, “Because the security system of Bureau 101 is about the same level as the CIA’s. I wanted to learn this to hack into the CIA system to peek around. Perhaps I might be able to offer you something useful soon.”
“You’re delusional! It’s not that easy! Focus on your research and weapon production, stop trying to pull worrying stunts like this or you’ll land yourself in grave trouble someday!”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it. I’m sorry, I’ll reflect on this.”
Shi Boren’s tone took a sharp turn. “I’ll be celebrating my sixtieth birthday next month and I’m too lazy to write you an invitation. When that time comes, please bring Tang Yuyan with you. Remember, I’m not accepting gifts this time, just dress nicely.”
“I’ll make sure to be there, Boss Shi.”
“Alright, that is all. I’m going to let you off this time. If you try to pull this again, I’m going to throw you into prison personally.” With that, Shi Boren hung up.
Luo Hui let out a faint sigh of relief. “Wow, Director Xia. If you were someone else, this incident would probably land you in prison for a ten-year sentence or more. You just needed to endure a lecture.”
Xia Lei paid no mind to his words. Shi Boren was about to turn sixty. This meant that his days in Bureau 101 were numbered. Who would be the next head of the bureau after his retirement? It would be best if Tang Yuyan was his successor, but if it were to be someone else, what he instructed Luo Hui to do would definitely attract something more than a simple scolding.
“Should we carry on?” asked Luo Hui.
Xia Lei snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah, we should go on. Let me try this time.”
“You?” Luo Hui stared at Xia Lei weirdly. Luo Hui thought to himself, “You’re really trying to give it a go after merely watching me go through the process twice? Are you some prodigy?”
“Yeah, let me try.” Xia Lei pulled Luo Hui’s laptop over to face himself. He thought for a bit. “Let’s try hacking into Hanwu Weapons this time.”
Luo Hui didn’t know what to say.
Xia Lei began to work, his fingers dancing across the keyboard in a fiery dance. The sounds of his fingertips knocking on the keys were crisp.
Luo Hui looked at him with widened eyes, his full attention on the working man.
Xia Lei keyed in codes continuously with slight pauses to hit enter every now and again. Every movement of his was light and graceful. Surprisingly, every command was placed correctly. His actions had achieved perfect equilibrium with his thought process.
Ten minutes later, CCTV footage appeared on his laptop screen.
Aside from that, a few folders had popped into the display. It contains Hanwu Weapons’ most confidential trade secrets, blueprints, designs and customer information.
Luo Hui's breath was taken away.
Not only did Xia Lei hack into Hanwu Weapons’ security system successfully, but he had also done it in a time Luo Hui would never have managed!
That was not all. What Xia Lei did next had his jaw hit the floor.
Xia Lei had activated the webcam on Ye Kun’s computer’s to record footage inside Ye Kun’s office.
Ye Kun popped up on the screen with his young, beautiful secretary. They both were up to no good. The woman was nestled in his lap and both his hands were under her blouse.
Luo Hui was still in a daze, staring at Xia Lei blankly. The younger male didn’t seem to catch his words.
“How about we switch a location? Let’s try targeting something in Japan!”
They spent most of the day with continuous learning and practise. Xia Lei’s target went from Asia to Europe, then from Europe to the Middle East. Anywhere he wished, he attacked.
A little short of one full day, Luo Hui decided that he had enough. “Director Xia, what’s the point of pulling such a prank on me? Your hacking skills are way stronger than mine. What’s the point of me coming here?”
The fact that Xia Lei knew nothing about blackhat hacking before his arrival remained a mystery. Xia Lei may be a newbie before, but he superseded Luo Hui in a matter of hours. Who could blame Luo Hui for taking this to heart?
Looking at this from a different perspective would only give the same result. Anyone would have thought of this as a prank.
“Hehe, I just wanted to learn from the best. Please don’t be offended.” Of course, Xia Lei wasn’t going to spill the beans.
“I’ll be leaving now!” Now Luo Hui was really pissed. He started to pack his things while fuming.
Xia Lei dug his pant pocket to place a card on Luo Hui’s laptop. “This is a gift card made especially for our company. It contains credit worth up to fifty thousand RMB, you should use this to buy something you like at the mall.”
“Director Xia, what do you mean?” Luo Hui didn’t extend an arm.
Xia Lei gave him a smile. “I’m giving this to you. I don’t mean any harm. You work under Long Bing and Long Bing is a close friend of mine. There’s no way I’d plot anything against you. I just want you to help me keep this a secret, okay?”
That convinced Luo Hui to accept the card. He nodded. “Thank you, Director Xia. I won’t tell anyone about what happened today.”
Xia Lei smiled.
Shortly after Luo Hui’s departure, Qing Caiyue led a young male into Xia Lei’s office. This man looked about in his early twenties. He had on a pair of frameless spectacles and was fair-skinned. He looked clean and sophisticated.
Qing Caiyue took the initiative to introduce him, “Director Xia, this is who Madam Wu recommended. His name is Huang Xuewen, he works in the Artificial Intelligence technology field.”
The man gave Xia Lei a nod of respect. “Hello, Director Xia.”
Xia Lei stood up to approach the man with a smile. “I was expecting someone older. I’m really surprised to see someone so young.”
Huang Xuewen replied, “The older generation isn’t as involved in AI as my generation is.”
“What achievements do you have?” probed Xia Lei.
“I had won a few national and international AI technology competitions. Here, it’s all written in my curriculum vitae.” Huang Xuewen handed out his CV to Xia Lei.
Xia Lei took a brief look, seemingly satisfied with him. “You’re a Qinghua University Artificial Intelligence degree graduate and you’ve had an impressive share of accomplishments. Though you don’t have any working experience in any relevant field, I’m willing to hire you.”
Huang Xuewen replied, “Director Xia, I’m a fresh grad, I haven’t had the chance to work for other companies so far. Artificial Intelligence is such an unpopular field, it’s very difficult to find relevant jobs out there. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. May I be so bold to make a request?”
“Yeah. What is it?” Xia Lei was a little taken aback. It wasn’t difficult to tell that this youngster had close to zero workplace experience. Which newbie in the right mind would dare to make requests on their first interview? Xia Lei paid no mind to it as long as Huang Xuewen could deliver. He needed someone capable, not a people-pleaser.
Qing Caiyue stared at Huang Xuewen weirdly, equally bewildered as her boss. She wasn’t expecting Huang Xuewen to be this bold in his interview with Xia Lei.
Huang Xuewen hesitated for a while. “Now that I have landed myself a job, my classmates had yet to find themselves a job. They’re all from the same course, all of them AI graduates. I can guarantee to you that they’re all competent people. I know my request is a little too much but I really feel the urge to express it. Uh, Director Xia, we all respect your contributions to the nation and we idolize you as our hero. Can you please recruit them too?”
Qing Caiyue scowled. “What’s the matter with you? We’re here to recruit you, not your classmates. Are you going to pull in your relatives if Director Xia agrees to it? Quick, apologize to Director Xia.”
Huang Xuewen noticed that Xia Lei had no expression. Worried that he had offended his new boss, the young man panicked and immediately apologized. “I’m terribly sorry, Director Xia. I’m so sorry… I’m not good with words, please forgive me.”
Surprisingly, Xia Lei broke into a smile. “What are you apologizing for? The fact that you care for your classmates tells me a lot about your loyalty and I like loyal people. How many of your classmates wanted to come with you?”
“Twelve.” Huang Xuewen could feel his scalp tense.
“No problem, invite them all over. I’ll establish an Artificial Intelligence Technology department and I’ll have you lead them. What do you think?” said Xia Lei.
Huang Xuewen broke into a bright smile. “Thank you! Thank you so much, Director Xia!”
Xia Lei laughed. “Go, go. You start work tomorrow. Remember to bring along your classmates. No need to go through me anymore, just report straight to Secretary Qing.”
“Understood. Thank you, Director Xia! Thank you!” Huang Xuewen gave him a deep bow before he turned to leave the office.
Qing Caiyue was looking at Xia Lei with gleamy puppy eyes. “Director Xia, you’re such a softie. You’re too kind.”
Xia Lei replied, “What’s the matter with you? Go, arrange an office space for them. When Huang Xuewen and his friends arrive tomorrow, you’re in charge of showing them around and briefing their tasks to them.”
“Are you heading out again?”
Xia Lei nodded.
Tomorrow around this time, he would probably be in New Delhi already.
As soon as Qing Caiyue left, Xia Lei took out his satellite phone and made a call. “Where are you now?”
“I’ve been waiting for you in your car. When are we leaving?” Tsukino Kyoko’s voice rang.
