An awkward scene unfolded. Apart from the woman named Alin, everyone else lowered their heads, none daring to meet Brother Qiang’s eyes.
Alin’s face was etched with barely contained anger, but Brother Qiang, looking weary and disheartened, waved her off before she could speak.
“I never expected this… I truly never expected it!”
Brother Qiang let out a deep sigh, his voice heavy as he spoke. “Well, if that’s how it is, I won’t say anything more. I hope you all have bright futures ahead of you.”
With that, he turned and walked away. Those still standing there kept their heads down, not even daring to watch his retreating figure.
“All of you…” Alin finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She slammed her hand on the table. “Are you all heartless wolves? Xiao Hei, do you know who covered your mother’s surgery fees last month? Chen Feng, you’ve always wanted to get into Spark Company—do you have any idea how much effort Brother Qiang put in behind the scenes to get you that internship opportunity there?”
“And Zhang Lai, just yesterday, Brother Qiang ordered a custom laptop for you, your favorite model, because he was planning to recommend you to Master Rui’s Cybersecurity Firm. He wanted to give you a farewell gift… You all talk about chasing a better future, but did you know that Brother Qiang was already thinking about all of that for you?”
“But look at what you’ve done! This is just too heartbreaking for him! I… Zhang Lin is ashamed to be associated with you!”
With that, Zhang Lin flung her hand and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind her with a loud bang.
“Brother Qiang! Brother Qiang!”
Brother Qiang heard Zhang Lin’s voice calling after him from behind.
“Alin, why did you come out?”
Zhang Lin gave a small smile and said, “Brother Qiang, you asked earlier who still acknowledged you as their big brother. Well, I do. So here I am.”
A hint of warmth flickered across Brother Qiang’s face. “Alin, it really means so much to me that you still believe in me.”
“I’ve always believed in you, Brother Qiang. You should know how I feel.” Zhang Lin said softly. “And… please don’t be too upset. Those guys must have been swayed by Ghost’s influence to act this way. Just give them some time, and they’ll definitely—”
Brother Qiang shook his head. “Actually, Ghost was right. My personality just isn’t suited for leadership…”
“Brother Qiang…” A note of urgency crept into Zhang Lin’s voice, but he cut her off.
“Let me finish first. I’m too soft-hearted, and I tend to overthink things, so I’m not cut out to be a leader. That’s why I’ve always been strict with myself, hoping to set a good example for those young lads and keep them from going astray.”
“Because I know all too well—for a skilled hacker, it’s all too easy to amass a fortune. But the easier something seems, the more dangerous the abyss lurking behind it. One wrong move, and there’s no coming back from it.”
“But in the end, I still underestimated the darker side of human nature. If they follow Ghost, they’re doomed. He’ll lead them straight into that abyss.”
Zhang Lin’s face tightened with worry. “Brother Qiang, what are we going to do then? You’re not really going to abandon them, are you?”
Brother Qiang sighed. “What can I do? What they’re doing now is challenging the nation’s laws and its bottom line. I’ll admit, the Plague virus is incredibly powerful—at this stage, it’s practically unsolvable. But nothing in this world is invincible. No matter how strong a virus is, it was made by humans, and it will eventually be cracked by humans.”
“And when that day comes, everyone—including Ghost—will end up behind bars.”
Zhang Lin clenched her jaw. “No, I have to go back and stop them!”
“Can you really stop them? Once Pandora’s box of human greed is opened, there’s no closing it.” Brother Qiang shook his head.
Zhang Lin hesitated. “Then… if we don’t intervene, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“They’ll likely face over ten years in prison. And by the time they get out, the world will have changed, and their lives will be ruined.” Brother Qiang sighed again. “If we want to save them, words alone won’t work. The only way is to wake them up with a hard lesson—to show them that there’s always someone better, always something greater out there.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Alin, do you remember what Ghost said earlier? He said that losing to an antivirus software was what solidified his decision to replace me. That means… he didn’t release this virus at this particular time for no reason. He has only one goal: to challenge that antivirus program.”
Zhang Lin’s eyes went wide. “That can’t be… is that really what Ghost meant?”
Brother Qiang nodded. “Exactly. It has to be. Ghost is an arrogant guy. The reason he didn’t participate in the previous cybersecurity competitions was because he thought all the antivirus software out there was too weak—a waste of his time.”
“But when we all lost to that one antivirus, it sparked his competitive drive. And since he can’t directly take it on right now, he resorted to this.”
Zhang Lin was stunned. If that was true, then everything Ghost had done was purely to satisfy his own ego.
“So if we want to help those guys, we have to do everything we can to minimize the damage the Plague virus causes to the world. That way, even if they’re caught in the future, their sentences might be lighter.” Brother Qiang spoke gravely.
“Brother Qiang, are you saying…”
“We’re going to Yunjing City. We’ll find the team behind that antivirus software, join forces with them, and defeat the Plague virus.” Brother Qiang took a deep breath. “That’s the only way we can save them.”
Zhang Lin thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. “You’re right, Brother Qiang. I’ll go with you.”
“No time to waste. Let’s leave now.”
——–
The worm virus codenamed “Plague” had struck with a ferocity that caught everyone off guard.
At first, many netizens brushed it off, thinking it was no big deal. But to their horror, even with various antivirus programs running, it managed to silently infiltrate their computers, seize administrative privileges, delete files with reckless abandon, and completely brick the machines.
Even paying members of Master Rui’s software weren’t spared.
“Is this Plague virus insane? Both my desktops and three laptops are infected! And the worst part? My antivirus was on the whole time, and it showed no signs of anything wrong!”
“These antivirus programs are only useful when it’s time to charge you money—otherwise, they’re just decorations. Can’t even handle a worm virus. Absolutely pathetic!”
“The bigger question is, what are we supposed to do with our computers now? I spent ten thousand bucks on mine, and even the repair shops say they can’t fix it the moment they hear it’s the Plague virus!”
“You guys think you have it bad? I was in my ranked promotion match! I’ve tried to hit Gold five times now!”
“If you can’t even make it to Gold, maybe give up on the game already. It’s clearly not for you.”
