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Chapter 28: Hacker Invasion, The Last Hope
"Say no more! I already know everything that happened!"
Lin Qingyun bellowed, pointing and scolding:
"Lin Xi, ever since you became the CEO of the Group, the company has fallen into crisis after crisis, and now we've been breached by top hackers. Why are you like a jinx? Are you trying to drive the Group into bankruptcy?"
Lin Xi felt a surge of secret anger and said in a low voice, "Uncle, please keep your voice down."
"Keep my voice down? Are you afraid the colleagues in the cybersecurity department will find out you're the company's jinx? There's no need to hide something like this—everyone up and down the company already knows."
Lin Qingyun glared with wide eyes.
Lin Xi's expression grew even uglier, and she lowered her voice:
"Uncle, the company is facing a hacker invasion right now. As the Vice President, you should join forces with me to get through this difficult time, instead of making groundless accusations and trying to frame me!"
Lin Xi stared coldly and directly at Lin Qingyun, speaking with resolute force.
"Framing you? Do you dare say that all the catastrophic crises the Group has faced didn't happen within the single year you've been CEO?"
Lin Qingyun pressed aggressively.
Lin Xi was left speechless, because everything Lin Qingyun said was the truth.
When her grandfather, Lin Tai, founded the Lin Group and personally served as both Chairman and CEO, the company had always enjoyed smooth sailing. Even when minor crises occurred, they were never fatal and were easily overcome.
Yet ever since she took over as CEO, catastrophic crises had struck the Lin Group one after another. Although they were all resolved, each incident left the company severely battered.
"Uncle, let's work together to resolve this hacker invasion crisis first, and then we can argue about who caused the past disasters, alright?"
Lin Xi forced down the urge to continue arguing with Lin Qingyun and tried to persuade him reasonably.
"No way! You must give me a clear attitude today, otherwise the Lin Group your grandfather worked so hard to build will sooner or later be ruined in your hands!" Lin Qingyun pressed on relentlessly!
Lin Xi was about to explode with anger: "What kind of attitude do you want?"
"If you can't resolve this hacker invasion crisis, you must resign from your position as CEO and get out of the Lin Group!" Lin Qingyun said coldly.
Lin Xi finally understood why Lin Qingyun had rushed over in such a frenzy, shouting at the top of his lungs.
He was simply trying to use this hacker invasion as an opportunity to oust her.
She was just about to agree, purely to shut him up!
However, before she could speak, she saw Lin Canglan walking over with company executives from her own faction.
"Big Brother, you're an elder, yet you bully your own niece in front of so many outsiders. Have you no shame at all?"
Lin Canglan walked up to Lin Qingyun and asked coldly.
"This is a company, not a home. Don't try to use family ties to blackmail me!"
Lin Qingyun said righteously:
"Besides, did I say anything wrong? Every single catastrophic crisis the Group has suffered indeed happened after Lin Xi became CEO..."
"Oh, give it a rest!"
Lin Canglan interrupted Lin Qingyun and said:
"I know you've always coveted the position of CEO, which is why during the year Xixi has been CEO, you've constantly undermined her behind the scenes and tried every possible way to pull her down from the throne."
Having said that, Lin Canglan delivered a lethal psychological blow:
"I now seriously suspect that this hacker invasion was orchestrated by you behind the scenes."
"Second Brother, you're spitting venom!" Lin Qingyun cursed furiously.
"Not just this hacker invasion; I believe that every catastrophic crisis the Group faced during Xixi's tenure was your doing!" Lin Canglan said unhurriedly.
"You're talking bullshit!"
Lin Qingyun jumped up in anger and defended himself:
"I am a member of the Lin Family, a shareholder of the Lin Group, and a director. I would never harm the overall interests of the Lin Group for my own benefit."
Ye Huan, who was currently "battling" the hackers, stole a moment of leisure to glance at Lin Canglan, thinking to himself that his idiot, brain-damaged father-in-law was actually quite formidable with his tongue.
Seeing that his words had infuriated Lin Qingyun to this extent, Lin Canglan smiled triumphantly and asked:
"Do you have evidence to prove the hackers weren't hired by you? Do you have evidence to prove that all the catastrophic crises the company faced over the past year weren't orchestrated by you behind the scenes?"
Lin Qingyun immediately retorted: "Do you have evidence that these things were orchestrated by me behind the scenes?"
"At least you had the motive. Dad and everyone in the company know you've always been at odds with Xixi, and you've always wanted to drag her down from the CEO position so you could sit in it yourself!" Lin Canglan smiled.
"You..."
Lin Qingyun was left speechless by the retort, so furious that he swung his hand and slapped Lin Canglan across the face.
"How dare you hit me?"
Lin Canglan was incensed and slapped Lin Qingyun back with the back of his hand.
Lin Qingyun refused to show weakness and struck back with another slap.
Just like that, the two brothers actually started fighting in public.
Wang Bin and the others stood dumbfounded. Were these really the high-and-mighty company executives they usually saw?
This was far too down-to-earth!
"The hackers are stealing company data right now! If you two stand here fighting and bickering, you'll disrupt Ye Huan's focus. If you want to fight, take it outside!"
At that moment, Lin Xi only regretted that she had never learned martial arts; otherwise, she would have beaten Lin Canglan and Lin Qingyun—these two idiots who completely disregarded the bigger picture—to a pulp herself!
Ye Huan?
Hearing the name Ye Huan, Lin Canglan and Lin Qingyun stopped their mutual pummeling with uncanny synchronization.
The two of them stood up, bruised and battered, looking around in confusion until their gazes finally locked onto Ye Huan not far away!
"What are you doing, you pig-butcher?"
Lin Canglan ran up behind Ye Huan in two or three strides, raising a hand to smack Ye Huan on the head.
Lin Xi hurried over to stop him, saying:
"Dad, please calm down. Ye Huan is currently intercepting the hackers from stealing company data."
Upon hearing this, Lin Canglan was stunned: "How can a pig-butcher intercept hackers? With a butcher's knife?"
At that moment, Lin Qingyun strode over, pointed at Ye Huan, and demanded of Lin Xi:
*Lin Xi, is this the pig-buttering husband your grandfather found for you? You—you actually refuse to use experts from the cybersecurity department like Wang Bin, and instead let a pig-butcher try to intercept hackers? Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?"*
Lin Xi suddenly realized she had misspoken, causing her father and her eldest uncle—who had just been beating each other up—to unite in attacking her and Ye Huan.
But things had reached this point, and she had no choice but to tell the truth:
"The hackers invading the company are extremely powerful. Wang Bin and his team are no match for them at all. Right now, our only hope lies with Ye Huan. If Ye Huan can't solve this either, we can only sit and watch as the hackers steal all the company's data and files."
"Absurd!"
Lin Canglan and Lin Qingyun shouted in anger simultaneously.
Lin Canglan scolded: "Xixi, you're out of your mind! Wang Bin and his team are no match for the hackers, so you should be thinking of other solutions instead of pinning your hopes on a pig-butcher. You're just giving up and letting things rot."
Lin Qingyun wasn't nearly as polite as Lin Canglan, delivering a direct, heart-piercing blow:
"Has your brain been kicked by a donkey, Lin Xi? Or do you actually want the Lin Group to go bankrupt, so you deliberately had this pig-butcher impersonate a computer expert to indirectly assist the hackers in stealing company data?"
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Chapter 29: Ye Huan VS Hackers
Faced with her father's incomprehension and her uncle's malicious framing, Lin Xi suddenly realized that the only thing she could do right now was buy time for Ye Huan.
Rather than wasting her breath trying to reason with these two shortsighted idiots who disregarded the bigger picture, obsessed only with their own selfish gains and skilled in nothing but infighting.
"Uncle, do you dare make a bet with me?"
Thinking of this, Lin Xi looked calmly at Lin Qingyun and asked.
Lin Qingyun was taken aback. He had framed Lin Xi by claiming she wanted the Lin Group to go bankrupt and therefore had Ye Huan impersonate a computer expert to help hackers steal the company's data.
He had expected Lin Xi to angrily retort, but instead, she suddenly proposed a wager.
It left him with the strange sensation of throwing a punch at empty air and straining his lower back.
"What do you want to bet on?" Lin Qingyun asked.
Seeing her uncle take the bait, Lin Xi felt a secret surge of triumph and said:
"How about this: if Ye Huan fails to beat back the hackers and the company's data gets stolen, I will voluntarily take the blame, resign, and never set foot in the Lin Group again for the rest of my life..."
Hearing this, Lin Qingyun grew excited. He hadn't expected Lin Xi to be foolish enough to actually pin her hopes on a pig-butcher.
Lin Xi continued: "However, if Ye Huan beats back the hackers and resolves this crisis, Uncle, you must take the blame, resign, and promise never to set foot in the Lin Group again for the rest of my life."
"Fine, I bet with you!"
Hearing the terms, Lin Qingyun agreed readily and without a moment's hesitation.
In his view, even computer experts like Wang Bin and the entire cybersecurity department couldn't defeat the hackers; a pig-butcher stood even less of a chance!
"I object!"
Lin Canglan panicked, angrily shouting:
"Xixi, have you lost your mind? How can you gamble your entire future on a pig-butcher? I object, I absolutely forbid this wager!"
As if she hadn't heard Lin Canglan at all, Lin Xi kept her beautiful eyes fixed on Lin Qingyun and said:
"Words alone are untrustworthy. Please go draft and print a gambling agreement immediately, Uncle. Both of us must sign and press our thumbprints on it!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Lin Qingyun turned and strode toward the door.
Finally successfully tricked one into leaving... Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xixi, you're out of your mind!"
Lin Canglan pointed angrily at Lin Xi, lamenting bitterly:
"Ye Huan is just a pig-butcher, and you two only met today! How can you entrust the life and death of the Lin Group to him?"
Lin Xi replied calmly: "Dad, you hold a prejudice against Ye Huan, which is why you don't believe in his abilities. But you know me—would I risk the company's bankruptcy just to let Ye Huan mess around blindly?"
"He doesn't have an ounce of ability!"
Lin Canglan cursed aloud, then lamented that iron could not be made into steel:
"Xixi, they all say being in love lowers a woman's IQ. I didn't believe it before, but now I do! Xixi, you used to be so smart. How did you become an idiot the moment you met this pig-butcher? He's just a butcher! What kind of capability could he possibly have? If he could solve a problem that Wang Bin and his team couldn't, he would have gone to work as a cybersecurity engineer at some major corporation making a high annual salary long ago. Why would he still be butchering pigs?"
That logic was flawless!
Lin Xi was left completely speechless, so she quickly seized the moment to fake a look of regret and urged:
"You're right, Dad. Go quickly and stop Uncle from drafting and printing that wager agreement."
Seeing that his daughter had finally seen the error of her ways, Lin Canglan immediately turned and ran off to chase Lin Qingyun!
Fooled another one into leaving... Lin Xi thought to herself, now nobody will disturb Ye Huan and the hacker's PK!
"All the cunning in the Lin family seems to have been concentrated in you alone!"
Ye Huan, who was still locked in a PK with the hacker, said with a smile.
Lin Xi's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly. She hadn't expected her delaying tactic, which neither her uncle nor her father had seen through, to be instantly perceived by Ye Huan.
This pig-butcher was quite clever!
"I've already bought you time. I hope you won't let me down!" Lin Xi said solemnly.
"Don't worry. This hacker is no match for me. If he hadn't ambushed me first, I could have wiped him out in minutes," Ye Huan said with utter confidence.
However, his confidence sounded like sheer bragging to Lin Xi, which only made her feel even less confident in him!
At that moment, Wang Bin leaned in close to Lin Xi and whispered in a low voice:
"President Lin, I can't understand a single thing this butcher gentleman is doing. I have zero confidence in whether he can win this cyber defense battle. If he fails, won't you be forced to take the blame and resign?"
Lin Xi smiled and whispered back: "Do you think Grandfather would ever allow me to resign?"
Wang Bin was startled, but in a split second, he understood!
Even if Lin Qingyun managed to get past Lin Canglan, successfully drafted and printed the agreement, and forced Lin Xi to sign and press her thumbprint on it.
Chairman Lin Tai would simply refuse to recognize the validity of that gambling agreement.
Therefore, even if Ye Huan lost to the hacker, and even if Lin Xi willingly accepted defeat and resigned of her own accord, Lin Tai would never permit it!
"President Lin, the butcher gentleman was right—you really are full of tricks!"
Wang Bin whispered, his voice filled with admiration!
Lin Xi didn't reply, staring nervously at the computer beside her—or more accurately, staring at the changing percentage numbers reading "Data Copying in Progress" on the screen.
Data Copying in Progress: 12%;
Data Copying in Progress: 19.7%;
Data Copying in Progress: 31.4%;
Data Copying in Progress: 94.7%...
Every time those numbers changed, Lin Xi's face turned a shade paler.
Watching the company's data and files on the verge of being completely stolen, Lin Xi's face had gone as pale as paper. She felt utterly hopeless!
This pig-butcher was just bragging after all; he couldn't beat the hacker at all!
"Lin Xi, I've brought the wager agreement..."
At that moment, Lin Qingyun's excited voice rang out.
Lin Xi turned her head to look.
She saw Lin Qingyun with disheveled hair, bloody scratch marks across his face, and his clothes torn to shreds, as if he had just survived a life-or-death struggle.
As he walked in, his progress was agonizingly slow, as though he was dragging something heavy behind him.
Lin Xi, Wang Bin, and the others shifted their gazes downward, and there they saw an even more battered Lin Canglan, crawling flat on the floor with both arms locked in a death grip around Lin Qingyun's right leg.
"Lin Xi, sign it and press your thumbprint!"
Dragging Lin Canglan behind him, Lin Qingyun stumbled up to Lin Xi, panting heavily as he handed over the wager agreement, a ballpoint pen, and a red ink pad, looking utterly ecstatic.
"Xixi, don't sign it, don't sign..."
Lin Canglan wailed from the floor.
Ignoring Lin Canglan entirely, Lin Xi quickly signed her name on the wager agreement and pressed her thumbprint.
"Hahahaha, hahahahaha..."
Gazing at Lin Xi's signature and thumbprint on the paper, Lin Qingyun burst into triumphant laughter:
"Lin Xi, you're finally going to get kicked out of the Lin Group! I can finally take over as the company's CEO!"
Wang Bin and his team members looked at Lin Qingyun as if he were an absolute idiot, thinking to themselves that this fool had just been played for a mug by President Lin and yet was still happy enough to beam like that—how pathetic!
"Lin Qingyun, you're celebrating a bit too early!"
Right at that moment, Ye Huan stood up from his chair and said with a smile.
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Chapter 30: A Tiger Doesn't Eat Its Young
As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone—whose attention had been completely fixed on the wager agreement and Lin Qingyun—turned their gazes toward Ye Huan.
"What do you mean by that, you pig-butcher?" Lin Qingyun asked.
Lin Xi and the others also wore expressions of utter confusion!
"Didn't you notice that all the computers have returned to normal?" Ye Huan asked with a smile.
Instantly, everyone in the room shifted their eyes to the computer screen nearest to them.
The computer screens were no longer black, nor did they display "Data Copying in Progress"; they had returned to the standard startup interface.
"Y-Y-You... you actually beat back the hackers?"
Lin Xi stared at Ye Huan in disbelief, asking the question aloud.
Everyone else wore expressions of sheer astonishment, with Lin Qingyun and Lin Canglan displaying the most exaggerated reactions of all.
"Let me check!"
Before Ye Huan could answer, Wang Bin swiftly sat down in the computer chair nearby, his hands flying across the keyboard in a rapid sequence of keystrokes. Then, he looked up at Ye Huan in utter shock:
"You... you actually beat back the hackers! The company's data and files haven't been stolen!"
At these words, Lin Xi and everyone present finally believed that Ye Huan had won this counter-offensive battle against the hackers.
"Hahahaha..."
Lin Canglan, who had been lying half-dead on the floor, suddenly leaped up like a spring, snatched the wager agreement from Lin Qingyun's hands with a wild laugh, and shouted:
"Lin Qingyun, you lost! Hahaha, you lost! You can take the blame, resign, and get the hell out of the Lin Group now, Hahahaha..."
Lin Qingyun's face froze into the expression of a man whose father had just passed away. He stood rooted to the spot in utter shock, taking quite a while to snap out of it before offering a shameless, weasely grin:
"When Lin Xi and I signed this wager agreement, there was no lawyer present! It holds no legal validity and counts for nothing!"
"Everyone present is a witness!" Ye Huan said with a faint smile.
"Right, exactly, right! Even without a lawyer present, there are witnesses here—we can all testify!" Lin Canglan chimed in eagerly.
Furious, Lin Qingyun glared around the room at the crowd and said coldly:
"Who dares to testify for Lin Xi?"
"Reporting in, I do!" Ye Huan raised his hand.
A flash of icy light cut through Lin Qingyun's eyes: "Pig-butcher, do you know what the consequences are of offending me?"
Ye Huan shrugged: "I'll be waiting for your revenge."
"You..."
Lin Qingyun was so angry he nearly choked. He could finally see that with Lin Xi and Lin Canglan backing him up, this pig-butcher wasn't afraid of him in the slightest.
Forcing down his rage, he cast a playful, provocative glance at Lin Xi and Lin Canglan, saying:
"I am the eldest son of the Lin Family. Even if I admit defeat and take the blame by resigning, Dad will never agree to it!"
"Who says I won't agree?"
At that moment, a majestic voice echoed from the doorway.
Ye Huan and the others turned their heads to look, only to see Lin Tai walking in with a dark, stern expression.
In truth, Lin Tai hadn't left the office after work that evening, making him one of the very first to know that the Lin Group had come under hacker attack.
Originally, he had intended to personally direct the counter-offensive against the hackers, but upon second thought, he made a bold decision that was little more than a gamble: to test Ye Huan one last time.
So he called Lin Xi, and once Ye Huan and Lin Xi arrived, he concealed himself in the shadows to observe secretly.
When he saw that Wang Bin and the cybersecurity team were no match for the hackers, he truly panicked, realizing that even if he took personal command of the defense, there was zero hope of winning.
Thus, just like Lin Xi, he had pinned his absolute last hope on Ye Huan.
And sure enough!
Ye Huan hadn't let him down!
"Dad, what... what did you say?"
Lin Qingyun asked in a panic.
"Are your ears stuffed with donkey hair? Dad said he agrees to let you take the blame, resign, and never step foot in the Lin Group again for the rest of your life!"
Lin Canglan crowed with the smug expression of a villain who had just seized power, prancing around triumphantly.
Ignoring Lin Canglan entirely, Lin Qingyun continued to look at Lin Tai with a terrified expression.
"A true man honors his bets and accepts defeat," Lin Tai said heavily. "However, you are the eldest son of the Lin Family; forcing you to resign and never set foot in the Lin Group again isn't realistic. How about this: be stripped of all your official positions, and go down to the security department to serve as a security captain!"