Chapter 28: Hacker Invasion, The Last Hope
"Say no more. I already know everything that happened!"
Lin Qingyun shouted and accused at the top of his lungs:
"Lin Xi, ever since you became the CEO, the company has repeatedly plunged into crises. Now we've even been invaded by a top hacker. Are you a walking jinx? Are you trying to drive the company into bankruptcy?"
Furious inside, Lin Xi lowered her voice and said, "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. Lowering her voice, she said:
"Uncle, the company is facing a hacker invasion right now. As the Vice President, you should join forces with me to overcome this difficult time, instead of making groundless accusations and framing me!"
Lin Xi looked straight at Lin Qingyun with a cold and resolute gaze, speaking firmly.
"Framing you? Do you dare say that all the catastrophic crises the Group has faced didn't happen within the year you've been CEO?" Lin Qingyun pressed aggressively.
Lin Xi was left speechless, because everything Lin Qingyun said was the truth.
When Lin Tai, her grandfather, founded the Lin Group and personally served as Chairman and CEO, the company always sailed smoothly. Even when occasional crises arose, they were never fatal and were easily resolved.
However, ever since she took over as CEO, the Lin Group had suffered a string of catastrophic crises. Although they were all resolved, each one left the company severely wounded.
"Uncle, let's work together to resolve this hacker invasion crisis first, and then we can argue about who caused the previous disasters, all right?"
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 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 as CEO and get out of the Lin Group!" Lin Qingyun said coldly.
Finally, Lin Xi understood why Lin Qingyun had rushed over in such a panic and started shouting.
It turned out he wanted to use the hacker invasion as an opportunity to pull her down from power.
She was just about to agree, purely to make Lin Qingyun shut up!
However, before she could speak, she saw Lin Canglan walking over with corporate executives from her faction.
"Big brother, you're an elder—aren't you ashamed to harass your own niece in front of so many outsiders?"
Lin Canglan walked up to Lin Qingyun and asked coldly.
"This is the company, not 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 faced indeed happened after Lin Xi became CEO..."
"Oh, give me a break!"
Interrupting Lin Qingyun, Lin Canglan said:
"I know you've always coveted the CEO position, so throughout the year Xixi has been CEO, you've been undermining her both openly and secretly, trying every possible way to pry her out of the CEO's chair."
At this, Lin Canglan delivered a devastating psychological blow:
"I now seriously suspect that this hacker invasion was orchestrated by you behind the scenes."
"Second brother, you're making false accusations!" Lin Qingyun cursed furiously.
"Not just this hacker invasion. I believe all the catastrophic crises the Group encountered while Xixi was CEO were your doing!" Lin Canglan said unhurriedly.
"Bulls***!"
Lin Qingyun jumped in rage and defended himself:
"I am a member of the Lin Family, a shareholder of the Lin Group, and a board member. I would never harm the overall interests of the Lin Group for my own benefit."
Ye Huan, who was currently "battling" the hacker, stole a moment of leisure to glance at Lin Canglan. He thought to himself that his idiot, brain-dead father-in-law was actually quite formidable with his tongue.
Seeing Lin Canglan's words anger Lin Qingyun to this extent, Lin Canglan asked with a triumphant smile:
"Do you have evidence proving you didn't hire the hacker? Do you have evidence proving that all the catastrophic crises the company has 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?"
"At least you have the motive. Dad and everyone in the company know you've always been at odds with Xixi, always trying to pull her down from the CEO position so you can sit in it yourself!" Lin Canglan smiled.
"You..."
Left speechless by the retort, Lin Qingyun flew into a rage, swung his palm, and slapped Lin Canglan across the face.
"How dare you hit me?"
Seething with rage, Lin Canglan swung his hand back and slapped Lin Qingyun in return.
Refusing to be outdone, Lin Qingyun struck back with another slap.
Just like that, the two brothers actually started fighting right there in public.
Wang Bin and the others stood dumbfounded. Were these really the high-and-mighty corporate executives they usually saw?
This was way too down-to-earth!
"The hacker is stealing company data! If you two stand here fighting and bickering, it's going to distract Ye Huan. If you want to fight, get out of here and fight outside!"
At that moment, Lin Xi only hated that she hadn't learned martial arts; otherwise, she would have beaten up these two big-picture-blind idiots, Lin Canglan and Lin Qingyun, with her own hands!
Ye Huan?
Hearing the name Ye Huan, Lin Canglan and Lin Qingyun stopped their mutual pounding with uncanny synchronization.
The two of them stood up, bruised and battered, looking around until their gazes finally locked onto Ye Huan not far away!
"What are you doing, pig butcher?"
Lin Canglan rushed up behind Ye Huan in two or three strides and raised his hand to swat at Ye Huan's head.
Lin Xi hurried over to block him, saying:
"Dad, calm down. Ye Huan is intercepting the hacker to prevent them from stealing company data."
Upon hearing this, Lin Canglan was dumbfounded: "How can a pig butcher intercept a hacker? 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-butcher husband your grandfather found for you? You—you actually didn't use experts from the Cybersecurity Department like Wang Bin, and instead let a pig butcher try to stop a hacker? Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?"
Lin Xi suddenly realized she had said the wrong thing. Her father and her eldest uncle, who had just been fighting each other, had now teamed up to attack her and Ye Huan.
But things had reached this point; she had no choice but to tell the truth:
"The hacker who invaded the company is extremely strong. Wang Bin and his team are no match at all. Right now, our only hope is in Ye Huan. If Ye Huan can't solve it either, we can only watch as the hacker steals all the company's data."
"Absurd!"
Lin Canglan and Lin Qingyun shouted in anger simultaneously.
Lin Canglan scolded: "Xixi, you've lost your mind! Wang Bin and his team are no match for the hacker, so you should be figuring out other solutions instead of placing your hopes on a pig butcher. You've completely given up!"
Lin Qingyun's words were far less polite than Lin Canglan's, delivering a direct, vicious blow:
"Lin Xi, was your brain kicked by a donkey? Or do you actually want the Lin Group to go bankrupt, so you deliberately let this pig butcher pretend to be a computer expert to secretly assist the hacker in stealing company data?"
Chapter 29: Ye Huan vs. Hacker
Faced with her father's lack of understanding and her eldest uncle's slander, Lin Xi suddenly realized that the only thing she could do right now was buy time for Ye Huan.
Rather than wasting breath trying to convince these two short-sighted idiots who ignored the bigger picture, fought among themselves, and cared only for personal gain.
"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 slandered Lin Xi by claiming she wanted the Lin Group to go bankrupt, which was why she had a pig butcher pretend to be a computer expert to help the hacker steal data.
He had expected Lin Xi to retort angrily, but instead, she suddenly proposed making a bet with him.
It gave him 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 joy and said:
"Here's the deal: if Ye Huan fails to beat back the hacker and the company's data gets stolen, I will voluntarily take responsibility, resign, and never set foot in the Lin Group again..."
Hearing this, Lin Qingyun grew excited. He hadn't expected Lin Xi to be so foolish as to actually pin her hopes on a pig butcher.
Lin Xi continued: "However, if Ye Huan beats back the hacker and resolves this crisis, you, Uncle, must take responsibility, resign, and promise never to set foot in the Lin Group again."
"Fine! I'll take that bet!" Lin Qingyun agreed readily and without a moment's hesitation.
In his view, since even Wang Bin and so many computer experts from the Cybersecurity Department couldn't defeat the hacker, a pig butcher stood zero chance!
"I object!"
Panicking, Lin Canglan shouted angrily:
"Xixi, have you lost your mind? How can you gamble your entire future on a pig butcher? I object, I absolutely object to this bet."
As if she hadn't heard Lin Canglan, Lin Xi kept her beautiful eyes fixed on Lin Qingyun and said:
"Words alone are worth nothing. Uncle, please go write and print a gambling agreement right now. 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 are so foolish!"
Pointing an accusing finger at Lin Xi, Lin Canglan said in pained, exasperated tones:
"Ye Huan is just a pig butcher, and you two just met today! How can you stake the life and death of the Lin Group on him?"
Calmly, Lin Xi said: "Dad, you harbor prejudices against Ye Huan, which is why you don't believe in his ability. But you know me—would I risk the company's bankruptcy just to let Ye Huan mess around?"
"What capability does that mutt have?!"
Lin Canglan cursed aloud, then lamented in frustration:
"Xixi, they say love lowers a woman's IQ. I didn't believe it before, but I believe it now! Xixi, you used to be so smart. How did you become an idiot after meeting this pig butcher? He's just a pig butcher! What capability could he possibly have? If he could solve a problem that Wang Bin and his team couldn't, he'd have gone to work as a cybersecurity engineer at some major corporation making a high annual salary long ago. There's no way he'd still be butchering pigs!"
That logic was completely watertight!
Left entirely speechless, Lin Xi quickly seized the opportunity to put on a show of regret and urged:
"Dad, you're right! Go quickly and stop Uncle from drafting and printing that wager agreement!"
Seeing his daughter finally seeing 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 would disturb Ye Huan and the hacker's showdown!
"All the cunning wits in the entire Lin family are concentrated in you alone!"
Ye Huan, who was still locked in battle with the hacker, said with a smile.
Lin Xi's delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her eldest uncle and father hadn't seen through her delaying tactic, but she hadn't expected Ye Huan to figure it out.
This pig butcher was quite smart, after all!
"I've already bought you time. I hope you won't let me down!" Lin Xi said sternly.
"Rest assured, this hacker is no match for me. If he hadn't ambushed us first, I could have wiped him out in a minute." Ye Huan said with utter confidence.
However, hearing his confidence made Lin Xi think he was just bragging, which only left her with even less faith in him!
At that moment, Wang Bin leaned in close to Lin Xi and whispered:
"Director Lin, I can't make head or tail of what 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 resign?"
Lin Xi smiled and whispered quietly, "Do you think Grandfather would allow me to resign?"
Wang Bin was stunned, but comprehension dawned on him in an instant!
Even if Lin Qingyun managed to get past Lin Canglan, successfully drafted and printed the wagering agreement, and forced Lin Xi to sign and fingerprint it,
Chairman Lin Tai would never acknowledge that 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!
"Director 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, at the progress numbers reading "Data Copying..." on the computer screen.
Data Copying 12%;
Data Copying 19.7%;
Data Copying 31.4%;
Data Copying 94.7%...
With every single change in those numbers, Lin Xi's face grew a fraction paler.
Watching the company's data about to be completely stolen, Lin Xi's face had turned as pale as paper, and she fell into total despair!
This pig butcher really was just bragging—he couldn't beat the hacker at all!
"Lin Xi, I've brought the wagering agreement..."
At that moment, Lin Qingyun's excited voice rang out.
Lin Xi turned her head to look.
Lin Qingyun's hair was a complete mess, his face was covered in bloody scratch marks, and his clothes were ripped to shreds, as if he had just survived a life-and-death struggle.
He walked into the room with extreme difficulty, dragging something behind him.
Lin Xi, Wang Bin, and the others lowered their gazes and saw Lin Canglan, looking even more battered than Lin Qingyun, crawling on the floor and deathly gripping Lin Qingyun's right leg.
"Lin Xi, sign and press your fingerprint!"
Dragging Lin Canglan behind him, Lin Qingyun stumbled up to Lin Xi, handed her the wagering agreement, a pen, and an ink pad while panting heavily, and said with an ecstatic expression.
"Xixi, don't sign it, don't sign it..."
Crying out from the floor, Lin Canglan yelled.
Ignoring Lin Canglan completely, Lin Xi quickly signed the wagering agreement and pressed her fingerprint on it.
"Hahahaha, hahahahaha..."
Looking at Lin Xi's signature and fingerprint on the agreement, Lin Qingyun burst into wild, triumphant laughter:
"Lin Xi, you're finally going to get kicked out of the Lin Group! I can finally take over as CEO!"
Wang Bin and his team members looked at Lin Qingyun as if he were an absolute idiot, thinking to themselves that this guy had been played for a fool by Director Lin and yet was still celebrating like this—how pathetic!
"Lin Qingyun, you're celebrating way too early!"
Right at that moment, Ye Huan stood up and said with a smile.
Chapter 30: A Tiger Doesn't Eat Its Cubs
As soon as those words dropped, everyone—whose attention had been entirely focused on the wagering agreement and Lin Qingyun—turned to look at Ye Huan.
"Pig butcher, what do you mean by that?" Lin Qingyun demanded.
Lin Xi and the others also wore expressions of confusion!
"Didn't you notice that all the computers have returned to normal?" Ye Huan asked with a smile.
Instantly, everyone present shifted their gazes to the computer screen closest to them.
They saw that the screens were no longer black, nor did they display "Data Copying..." Instead, they had returned to the standard startup interface.
"Y-Y-You... you actually beat back the hacker?!"
Lin Xi looked at Ye Huan in disbelief, asking the question.
Everyone else was equally incredulous, especially Lin Qingyun and Lin Canglan, whose facial expressions were the most exaggerated of all.
"Let me check!"
Before Ye Huan could answer, Wang Bin quickly sat down in the nearby office chair, his hands flying across the keyboard to run a series of checks. Then, he looked at Ye Huan in shock and said:
"You... you actually pushed the hacker back! 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 hacker.
"Hahahaha..."
Half-dead on the floor, Lin Canglan suddenly bounced up, burst into wild laughter, and snatched the wagering agreement right out of Lin Qingyun's hand. He crowed:
"Lin Qingyun, you lost! Hahaha, you lost! You can resign and get the hell out of the Lin Group now, hahahaha..."
Lin Qingyun wore the expression of someone whose father had just died, standing there completely dumbfounded. It took him a long moment to snap out of it, and then he smiled shamelessly and said:
"When Lin Xi and I signed this wagering agreement, there was no lawyer present! It holds no legal validity and doesn't count!"
"Everyone present is a witness!" Ye Huan said with a smile.
"Right, right, right! Even though there was no lawyer, we have witnesses here. All of us can 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 dare!" Ye Huan raised his hand.
A cold glint flashed in 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 choked back a breath of pure rage. He could finally see that with Lin Xi and Lin Canglan backing him up, this pig butcher was utterly unafraid of him.
Suppressing his anger, he cast a mocking glance at Lin Xi and Lin Canglan and said:
"I am the eldest son of the Lin Family. Even if I accept defeat and resign, Dad will never agree to it!"
"Who says I won't agree?"
At that moment, a majestic voice rang out from the doorway.
Ye Huan and the others turned to look and saw Lin Tai walking in with a stern, cold face.
Actually, Lin Tai hadn't left the office at all after work that evening, making him one of the first to know the Lin Group had come under cyberattack.
Originally, he had intended to personally command the counter-attack against the hacker, but on second thought, he made a bold decision that bordered on gambling—to test Ye Huan one more time.
So, he called Lin Xi, and after Ye Huan and Lin Xi arrived, he hid in the shadows to secretly observe.
When he saw that Wang Bin and the cybersecurity team were no match for the hacker, he genuinely panicked, realizing that even if he took personal command of the defense, there was absolutely zero hope of winning.
Therefore, just like Lin Xi, he had pinned his last hope on Ye Huan.
And sure enough!
Ye Huan did not let him down!
"Dad, what... what did you say?" Lin Qingyun asked in a panic.
"Are your ears stuffed with donkey fur? Dad said he agrees to let you resign and never step foot into the Lin Group again!" Lin Canglan gloated with the smug air of a petty villain achieving his ambitions.
Ignoring Lin Canglan, Lin Qingyun kept staring at Lin Tai in sheer panic.
"A real man honors his bets. However, you are the eldest son of the Lin Family. Forcing you to resign and never step foot in the Lin Group again isn't realistic. How about this: we strip you of all your positions, and you can go down to the Security Department and serve as the head of security!"